Introducing Fellow Madeit Seller - Lauren - from 'Ayana Jewellery'

As I love encouraging others, particularly those that handcraft items, I thought I would dedicate a blogpost once a month, sharing some information about other handcrafters that I have met.

This month I have great pleasure to introduce to you, Lauren from 'Ayana Jewellery'.

 Lauren is a very skilled jewellery maker that handcrafts rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces. I met Lauren through the handmade market site, Madeit. I asked Lauren a few questions about her craft. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy reading about her journey ...

Tell us a bit about 'Ayana Jewellery'.

Behind Ayana Jewellery is myself and my partner Vincent. While I develop, design and handmake each item, Vincent supports me with the business side of things from marketing to bouncing ideas.

After studying as a silversmith in New Zealand, I moved to London where I met Vincent. Together
the journey of Ayana Jewellery began. I spend long evenings in my bedroom apartment making and designing jewellery. Vincent helping where he could.
We re-located to Sydney in early 2015 and re-launched Ayana Jewellery. We now design and make contemporary fashion accessories from our creative home studio in Neutral Bay (Sydney).
The artistic inspiration for our products comes from our travels. The ones ‘desire’ to see, feel, taste and yearn.

Resonating from cultural motifs to architectural shapes and forms.

Each jewellery item in our range is handcrafted with love from start to finish, with each piece not quite the same as the one before. We design and make with the fun loving women in mind and the idea that jewellery is to be worn and enjoyed every day. 

What do you like most about being a handmade designer/creator?

I predominately work with sterling silver (925) so popping on my apron and taking to the bench with saws, hammers and solder to bend, curve and form shapes making the jewellery come to life has to be my favourite part of being a creator. On the other side, I just love when I sell something and get awesome feedback from the customer - you never stop getting that little buzz!

Why did you choose to create jewellery?

I never really know how to answer this question - I just love jewellery and it fascinated me that I could create my own from a few lengths of wire, some sheets of silver and a soldering torch. After doing a night course I was hooked and went on to do a full-time course.

What is next? Do you have any new products/designs/ideas planned?

We have just started doing markets in Sydney which are awesome and a great way to interact with customers, so we'll be doing more of those in the next few months. We also have a new range of Drop Designs which we have tested at the markets, they will be going up online in the next few weeks.

Our plan for the next few months is to get our jewellery into a few more shops and get more locally handmade items out there whilst educating the customers so they can understand and appreciate "handmade". We are already stocked with Bonty in Canberra, Boxable Gift Boxes and will soon be in Manly Gallery.

Thank you Lauren for sharing about your handcrafting journey and your beautiful products. I love the simplistic, modern design of your jewellery and I wish you all the best in your endeavours.

If you would like to view more Ayana Jewellery products, simply click here to view what is in store.

Thank you for viewing!

~ Jen

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about other handcrafters and want to know more about Tupsy Turvy Designs, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Winter gardening and a fabric pendant design

Winter is knocking on the door...

 It is not just the cooler weather, the extra showers of rain, the gusty winds and the muddier boys’ clothes that give it away. It is the greenness and lushness that seems to grow in boldness and be more evident.

We are blessed with room for a garden that we enjoy growing flowers, fruit trees and vegetables in. On the weekend (usually Sunday afternoon) hubby, myself and the boys, all get out into the garden and weed, plant, pick or prune. It is very rewarding to receive delicious, home grown produce for our efforts, whilst the boys are learning a lot about plants and how they grow.

The only drawback, at this time of year, are … the nettles. We know that it is getting cooler and wetter when the nettles seem to pop up and thrive. It also sees us with trousers, jumpers and gloves, making sure that we don’t have any skin exposure so that we don’t get stung by the nasty weeds. All part of gardening, I suppose …

My latest creation uses greens, but more of a spearmint green, rather than leaf green, teamed with bursts of purple. Here is the result …

I had the idea to use my hand painted creations, but rather than use canvas or paper to paint on, instead use fabric. I have managed to turn my paint into fabric paint, by adding a special textile medium to the colours. This makes it more waterproof (but not recommended to swim or bathe in). I like the idea of using reclaimed materials in what I create, hence a lot of the beads and the fabric are reclaimed. I am not totally happy with the top part of this prototype pendant, as it bunches rather a lot. I am making alterations to the design which will hopefully fix this problem. I loved creating this design and will definitely make more.

Thank you for stopping by!

~ Jen. 

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

Introducing the 'Snail Mail Surprise Challenge' and how you can make a difference

Sometimes life is hard …

Hardship is evident in our lives, in the lives of our friends and in the lives of much loved family members. Turn on the TV or get on the web and we hear about awful things happening in our world. I am often left feeling helpless. Sometimes we need a ray of light and a little encouragement. I got to thinking about this and realized that I can do something as I make handmade cards - the perfect method for encouragement. So I came up with an idea and I’m hoping that this might inspire you also. I’ve called it ‘Snail Mail Surprise’.

At various times of the year I will instigate a challenge of encouragement (eg. 'to encourage a family member' or 'to encourage someone who is older than you') and I will call on a limited number of interested people to subscribe to the challenge (for free and for this one event, unless you want to participate in more later on). Those people who managed to subscribe for the event will be sent a (free) handmade card from me to fill out and give to someone who fits the challenge. Sharing of each challenge will be encouraged, not to ‘do the best deed’, but to celebrate these glimmers of hope and encouragement. I will even surprise one lucky subscriber for participating.

This will only go ahead if people are interested in participating. There will be a limited amount of subscribers for each ‘Snail Mail Surprise Challenge’. I would love to know if this is something that you would be interested in participating in. The only outlay for you would be time - to write in a card and give it someone (or post it, in which case you would need to pay postage costs), but I know that the impact that this small amount of effort could make on someone’s life at a particular moment would be enormous.

I am currently creating a batch of cards to be used in the first ‘Snail Mail Surprise’ challenge. I will let you know when I am looking for subscribers. 

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

Getting organised and greeting cards

A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated Mother's Day... 

Twelve months ago, I celebrated my first Mother's Day after what seemed like an epic age of heartache. Then, finally, I became a mother of two (very!) bouncy boys through adoption and my world changed. I now experience a different heartache: a heart aching with love my boys, a heartache when they are sick or upset, a heart aching with worry about problems, a heart aching with pride as I witness their amazing growth. It was a special day for me.

Mother's Day is also a time where I like to remind my mother and mother-in-law how much we all love them. I like researching easy, yet beautiful crafts that the boys and I can create together. However, there is only one problem with this ... I always leave the creation part to the last minute. I don't know how it happens ... I make up my mind what to create early enough and have everything ready, but the 'doing' part seems to happen days before it is due for giving. As it is, our creations are still drying and will be late in the post.

I often feel the temptation to 'pop into the shops', however, my creative streak is strong and the determination to make something personal overrides this. That is why I love handmade items and gifts - they are personal and created with love, whether you have made them yourself or bought from someone who enjoys creating. I love that I can have the help from my boys in creating these gifts and this year they have their hand prints (purposely) stamped with paint on them as a record of their growth in a year. Now, if I can only get myself more organised with birthday gift giving ...

Welcome to my new range of mixed media cards! I wanted a new design - something a bit more abstract and eclectic, however, I wanted to maintain the recycled/reclaimed material element. That is why every card uses a background consisting of a used book page. I initially wanted to add words to the card design, however, it just didn't look right, hence they are created without them. This has become a plus, as these cards are now free to be used for any occasion. Handmade cards are a wonderful way to convey personal greetings, particularly when each card incorporates a unique design.

These cards will soon be added to the store. To view what is currently in store, please click here.

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

A Caravan and the Journey of Life

Since meeting my husband, I've seen many new places ...

My husband is originally form the Eastern states of Australia. He moved numerous times in his childhood and it was the nature of his family to travel long distances for holidays and to visit family. My family were very different. Most of our family lived in the same state as ours and we pretty well stayed in South Australia for holidays or visited family within South Australia.

It is quite funny that now that my brother and myself are adults, we both travel a fair bit. My brother, has acquired a job that requires him to travel to various places around Australia and overseas and he is rarely in the one spot. As for me, though my work does not require me to travel, my husband, my boys and myself travel quite a few kilometres to visit family and love exploring new places in Australia and overseas. I, personally, enjoy seeing new sights, new people, new cultures, but also enjoy being back home.

I often relate to life being an adventure - one amazing journey. A journey where we meet new people - people that enrich our lives, pull us up back on our feet, people that change our lives. A journey where events are celebrated and milestones reached. A journey that feels a bit like a roller coaster - with moments of exhilaration and moments that drag us through low valleys of difficulties. 

No matter who we are, we all experience the rise and the fall of life on our journey. These times give us wisdom and a new outlook. It gives an understanding that we all have times when we trudge through dark times and valleys. It gives a realisation that we are needed to support each other, especially through these difficult moments.

I wanted to create a new canvas design that has a 'travelling along life's way' feel, hence the caravan motif. Once again, this canvas uses upcycled materials - old book pages as a base for the background and the caravan and lace for the curtains. It displays an encouraging quote, to remind us to enjoy all the moments of our lives. Of course, each canvas is uniquely and individually crafted where you receive an original product, not a reproduction.With the caravan motif, this canvas would be ideal for travellers, but would also be suitable for a nursery, encouraging the little one to enjoy life's journey.

Thanks for stopping by.

 I would love to hear about a wonderful adventure you have been on or an amazing holiday. Feel free to let me know in the comments.

Enjoy the adventure!

~ Jen

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about the story behind Tupsy Turvy Designs' products, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...

The Making of a Princess

I had a little shopping splurge last shopping trip. It has been a little while since I have bought some new clothes. I managed to find a couple of new items that I can wear out or at work. I also found a few items that are going to be perfect for casual wear or to wear when I am being more active. When thinking about clothes, I tend to move towards shades of blue, green or brown as I know that these colours suit me. I felt particularly adventurous and ended up buying a fluro orange top - stepping a long way out of my colour wheel! I go through a similar process when I am creating my lovely 'princesses' as each of them are different.

I love creating each 'princess'. I love starting with bits of old book page, then cut and shape it to create a girl image. Before too long a new princess is created with her own style and personality. There are many things to think about. I thought that I would share some of this process with you ...

Firstly, I think of a theme which usually incorporates the background colours. I think about 'What emotions or qualities do these colours evoke in me?'. With my latest princess canvas, when I looked at the pastel pink and emerald green colour combination, I thought of 'kindness', 'welcoming' and 'gentleness'. 

I then sketch my princess in my Art book, keeping these qualities in mind. In this instance, I thought about 'What would a kind, welcoming, gentle girl wear? What would her hair be like?'. I also think of a suitable quote to match.

When I am finished developing my background on my canvas, I then begin 'creating' my princess. I cut out all aspects of her body, clothing and hair out of book pages and layer them on the canvas and adhere them. I then paint her all white. I then make the dimensional aspect to her clothing. In this instance, I created the pleated ruffle that would highlight the bottom of her dress.

 Before I do much more, I need to paint my princess. I think of a colour that compliments the background and use it for her dress, ensuring that it matches the fabric component of her dress. I then add the skin colour, ensuring that it compliments the colour chosen for her dress. At first I made my princess' skin colour too warm which clashed with the blue/green, cool colour of her dress and I had to alter it. I find it amazing that each of my princesses have their own colour wheel too!

I then add her hair colour and her rosy cheeks. I finish my princess off by adhering the fabric feature, drawing details and adding shadows/highlights. I then have my finished princess.

I painted this princess canvas on a slightly larger canvas, giving her a little more room. If you wish to view this canvas or anything else in shop, please click here.

Thanks for viewing!

~ Jen.

P.S - If you have enjoyed reading about what happens 'behind the scenes' at Tupsy Turvy Designs, why not become a 'Golden Ticket Member'? It is FREE and membership entitles you to regular updates, exclusive sales, discounts and opportunities. Simply click here and enter your email address. Easy! I look forward to sharing more ideas with you soon ...