A Lack of Water and Candy Colours

The saying is true … ‘You don’t realise what you have until it’s gone’.

It happened last weekend. My husband realized that the water softener hadn’t been turned on for a while so in an interest to try and preserve our water pipes, he turned it on. The only issue with that, is that somehow the salty stuff all got stuck in a pipe somewhere and caused a blockage. This meant that we only got a trickle of water out of the tap when it was turned on, and hot water was practically non existant.

I am in no way blaming my husband for this event, as the water softener really needed to be turned on, but it did pose and interesting challenge for a day. Boiling rain water on the stove in order to have hot water to clean dishes and trying to ensure that your person is cleaned and ready for the day. It did cross my mind that before indoor plumbing and hot water services, this was how people made sure they had hot water and that they had to wash in a different manner. It also hit me quite hard that I do live in a very privileged society – that there are so many people that have to deal without running water, let alone hot water, everyday. It is saddening and sobering to realise that others miss out and that we live in an unequal world. In the end, the plumber did arrive at the house and altered something in order to avoid the problem and I am very relieved to have water pressure and hot water back in the house. Indeed, I am very blessed to live where I do and in this day and age (I do have plans for a way in which Tupsy Turvy Designs can help and benefit others less fortunate later in the year).

The latest art creation to hit the studio table is a collection of painted book pages that will become the base of a set of cards that will be used for my first ‘Snail Mail Surprise Challenge’. This time, I thought I would go with a mixture of vibrant colours – bright, happy and cheerful, all ready to provide some encouragement to others. This colour scheme was inspired by a mix of sugar coated, colourful gumdrop lollies. I am getting a bit daring with this set as I am going to try a few new mixed media techniques in their creations. I love seeing the layers unfold in the painting process.

Thank you for stopping by. Once this card set is finished, I will launch the first ‘Snail Mail Surprise Challenge’. I can’t wait! I hope to see you soon.

~ 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 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.