what is threaduary?

• primarily an instagram project although it can be shared anywhere
• a daily stitching project, a time to experiment or finish off that 'thing' you've been meaning to for ages, an excuse to take some time to make something and to feel really good about it
• you can make anything you like, set yourself a goal, a realistic goal. It could be a full project that you want to do a little of each day, it could be experimenting in a style or material you've not tried before ,or even a new subject.
• post a photo  of your project or inspiration each day using the hashtag #threaduary and tag me (@marnalunt) in it so I can see what you're up to.

My aim and reason for making #threaduary is this.

• An excuse to experiment... try out new base materials leatherette, neoprene, weights of cloth.
• By daily practise I'm interested to see how my work develops throughout the month.
• If I want to miss a day I can, as long as it is to do something that makes me happy and good for my mental health.
• My chosen subject is seasonal botanicals, drawn from life rather than photos. So I'm limited to what is in the florist (usually spring blooms at this time of year). 

That's all. The more complicated you make it the more likely you are to fail and this is about making you feel good, as soon as it doesn't make you feel good why do it? So it would be great if you wanted to join in and have a go at stitching something each day of the month. But if you just want to follow the hashtag and see whats going on that'll be fab too. You can follow the hashtag on Instagram or just follow me and then you'll see it too.

What to expect to see from me during this month.

• Daily photos of the work I produce.
• A weekly blog with a round up of all the daily instagram posts, how I felt about making them and what I learned.
• In the weekly blog one free design will be included for you to print and use yourself, either as a colouring page or a guide/outline to stitch yourself. The design will be from one of the pictures I have stitched that week.

A big thank you to.....

DMC have very kindly given me the threads to use in this project, they aren't paying me to do the project, it's all me. It's not a sponsorship or all that malarky but I haven't often used their threads for a full on project and as part of the experimental nature of this project I wanted to use just one brand. I thought it would also make it easier for those of you who wanted to join in to know exactly what colours I use. I reached out to them and asked if they would send me some threads that I can use and they said yes. They have been very kind to do this as I asked for a lot because I use so many bloody colours, I have to say I have always seen how much they support embroidery artists and I do think its a great attitude and thats why I thought I'd get in touch in the first place. So go have a look at them, they have tonnes of free patterns, you could use some for your #threaduary project, how ace would that be? 

The post #threaduary : an everyday stitch project to help creative block appeared first on Thread Therapy With Marna Lunt..

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As well as being a traditional method of creating beautiful arts and crafts, hand embroidery is a useful tool for achieving a state mindfulness.  The repetitive nature of the stitching and close work helps to focus the mind and put you ‘in the moment’.  We like to call it ‘Thread Therapy‘. It’s a chance for your mind to relax and unburden itself from invasive thoughts.   You can read more about hand embroidery and mindfulness here, in a recent blog post.

Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Marna has become well known for the fantastic Thread Therapy hand embroidery retreats she runs in the stunning North Yorkshire Moors.  A small group are treated to a relaxing weekend of mindfulness and stitching, with delicious meals and relaxing treatments.

There is another option if you haven’t got a whole weekend to spare but are still keen to create something beautiful with Marna.

Enjoy a one-to-one hand embroidery workshop with Marna Lunt

Marna offers one-to-one workshops at her home studio, she will take you (or you and a friend) through the process of creating an embroidered lampshade, lantern or simply help you get to grips with all the basic hand embroidery stitches. You can have a chat in advance and work out exactly how you like to spend the day and what you would like to achieve with your hand embroidery workshop.

Marna regularly adds new dates up when she is available to teach – see all the dates and details here.

To enjoy the workshops and weekend retreats you don’t have to have any experience at all with hand embroidery or fabric. Marna will teach you new skills and inspire you to create something you can be proud of. You leave rejuvenated with a new passion for hand embroidery to soothe your soul.

Hand embroidery is easy to learn, we offer free online embroidery lessons, just sign up for our newsletter by clicking here and we’ll email you with the details to get instant access.

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We have a  new range of hand embroidery patterns that can be downloaded directly from the website featuring pretty snowglobes with cityscapes.

Snow globes are magical and this time of year is perfect for creating these pretty city designs, complete with little flakes of snow (we’ll teach you how to do that stitch!)

Make pin cushions, christmas decorations or frame your finished design, you could even embroider the patterns directly onto clothing or homewares.

CHOOSE YOUR SNOWGLOBE PATTERN

Your finished embroidery will make thoughtful gifts for family and friends, whether you’re embroidering for yourself or for others, these patterns will provide a perfect starting point to practise mindfulness.  You will soon find yourself relaxing into the designs.

You can read all about how embroidery can help you to learn the art of mindfulness here – Embroidery and Mindfulness

Learn Basic Hand Embroidery Stitches Online

Don’t worry if you’re not sure how to get started with hand embroidery.  Sign up to our newsletter for instant access to free online hand embroidery lessons, plus all of the patterns come with help sheets to get you started.

ACCESS YOUR FREE HAND EMBROIDERY TUTORIALS NOW

The post Hand embroidery patterns and mindfulness appeared first on Thread Therapy With Marna Lunt..

So what is Embroidery? ‘Embroidery is the handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as beads, pearls, quills and sequins.’ I know, a rather generic definition taken straight from the dictionary, but stay with me!

Although the art of stitch is considered a simple process of passing thread through fabric with a sewing needle, embroidery is a historic craft which joins together hundreds of cultures and countries, with traditions spanning across thousands of years, it’s a diverse handicraft that holds many concepts and connotations.

I could start by making reference to maybe the Bayeux Tapestry or delving into the history of oriental embroidery, although a truly fascinating subject in its own right, I’ve decided to touch on a history of embroidery that we can all relate to. This is a blog that looks at the role of embroidery in the lives of women & communities and how this has established our perception of embroidery in the modern day.

A History of Samplers

The embroidered sampler could be considered a favourite pastime for textile traditions and holds a very rich history in British textile heritage. With examples spanning back to the 14^th century and still created in modern day, a history of samplers deserves its very own blog post! Dating back to years gone by the sampler was in fact a rite of passage for young girls, a means for educating young women with vital skills to be used during married life. Consider it a stitch dictionary, a means of recording embroidery stitches, a practice of pattern and decoration. Embroidery was traditionally a craft for women, during years within the Tudor and Stuart periods it was considered inappropriate for girls and women to be educated, reading was prohibited leaving a woman restricted to more domesticated tasks.

Photo: V&A Archives, Linen Sampler Embroidered with Silk, Unknown Maker, Germany 1500-50

The V&A Museum has around 700 samplers in its collection; a visit I couldn’t recommend enough, exploring embroidered samplers from hundreds years past is quite simply mind blowing. Studying a sampler gives us such a great insight into the life of the embroidress’, it paints a story that official documents never could. You’ll be surprised to see such young ages exquisitely embroidered into the sampler.

Embroidery is something which typically is passed down from one generation to the next; I have very fond, happy memories of both my Grandmothers and my mum teaching me to sew. Think back to who first taught you to sew on a button? Who sat with you as you threaded your first needle? Who helped you to knot the end of your thread? More often than not it will be someone very close to you. Not only did you learn vital skill, but an experience of bonding and creating with a loved one, a traditional skill that has been passed down from generations before you and something you can pass on to younger generations too!

Sewing Circles, ‘Stitch n Bitch’ and Community Quilts

Sewing in groups, in workshops or within a community is somewhat of a tradition, think of the WI, or maybe you’ve attended Marna’s embroidery courses? The term ‘Stitch & Bitch’ was coined just after WWII, where communities and groups would form to share knitting, crotchet and embroidery skills, but groups like this extend further than establishing a new hobby or skill, it’s an opportunity to bond with others, perhaps share news and worries with friends, stitching topics of the group into the textiles. Sewing could be considered as a form of therapy, a means of focusing life’s tensions and issues into a creative and constructive project.

Photo: Liberty, Dalston Darlings Quilt

With the Women’s Institute celebrating their centenary year, I couldn’t miss this group of inspirational ladies out! The wonderfully British institute is still going strong, still steeped in tradition but propelling into the modern era. Working alongside Liberty of London two WI groups; the Dalston Darlings and the Shoreditch Sisters, created two inspiring community quilts, which have taken pride of place in the Liberty window displays. Constructed with Tana Lawn Liberty fabrics and decorated with endless applique and hand embroidery, the quilts evoke themes of community, feminism with the history of Liberty and the Arts & Crafts movement sewn into the seams.

Male Embroiderers

A history of embroidery tends to be somewhat stereotypical, a very sexist notion in this day and age, enough to make Germaine Greer squirm! Yes some areas of embroidery were considered women’s work, a domesticated craft for the female species. But there are very interesting, quiet elements within history where fellas embraced embroidery! Hooray!

To be an experienced sailor back in the 19^th Century meant that you had to be competent with a needle and thread, if you were at sea for months at a time, repairing boats sails, sailing kits and uniforms were a necessity. However, sewing at sea propelled into complex needlework, known as ‘woolies’, sailors would embroider images of the ships that they served on.

During WWI, men who were severely injured were given embroidery projects as a form of rehabilitation, often considered as a solution to shellshock. Last year, St Paul’s Cathedral displayed an exquisite altar cloth; hand stitched during the war, by over 133 First World War servicemen – an early example of art therapy, which the British Army still uses to this day.

Photo: St Paul’s, WWI Altar Frontal

Military quilts are an amazing example of sewing for rehabilitation; the V&A’s exhibition ‘Quilts 1700-2010’ revealed a phenomenal array of quilts created by servicemen recuperating from their war wounds.

Photo: V&A Museum, Military Quilt, Francis Brayley, 1864-1877

The Subversive Stitch and Contemporary Embroidery

Contemporary craft is an ever evolving world which pushes boundaries past twee cushion covers and tea towels. Embroidery has taken on a new revolution, pushing past immaculate embroidery stitches and challenging our perceptions of a once domesticated task.

A fantastic example of subversive stitchers are infact the Suffragettes (my heroes!) although maybe not an obvious choice it demonstrates the power of the gentle art of sewing!

Hand embroidered flags, banners, rosettes and sashes were worn, paraded and displayed each presenting the uniform Suffragette colours, phrases such as ‘Votes for Women’ ‘Deeds not Words’ and possibly the most powerful ‘Democracy Begins at Home’. The banners were exquisitely crafted, carefully appliqued and decorated. A homely, quiet and domestic task of embroidery and sewing played a role in producing an effective propaganda tool, broadcasting their right for the vote, the right for freedom of speech and the absolute right for equality.

Photo: Wikipedia, Suffragette Banner – Musuem of London

This aspect of the Suffragette movement inspired Tracey Emin to get stitching with her collection of quilts and appliqued bags, adorned with angry statements and often sad stories contradict with the painstaking, quiet action of sewing.

Photo: Tracey Emin, ‘I do not expect to be a mother’ 2002

Creating a message and portraying a concept is a difficult task. Contemporary embroidery pushes boundaries, banishing domesticity, it’s more than executing uniform stitches. It challenges our perceptions and our opinions. The art of stitch is a hugely subjective, it envelops our heritage, embroidery is a craft which we call all relate to in some way. With the help of Marna and textile artists across the globe, the quiet craft of embroidery is reaching a revolution within the art world.

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I’m not worried about telling my ‘secrets’ because when you buy from me you’re buying not just the product but my knowledge of colour, my choice of fabrics and vintage buttons and pearls? So this is how I make my rosettes, all you have to know how to do is back stitch. And if once you’ve seen this tutorial, you want to buy some of my colour choices and button selections then you can buy one of my rosette kits from my shop;)

So let’s get started.
What you will need:

A selection of fabric
A selection of ribbons
Pearls or buttons
Scissors
Fabric glue
Fray stop
Blue water soluble pen
Badge pin
Needle and thread

When choosing your fabric you want a piece of felt to use as a base, a backing piece to cover your workings, and four to five different patterned fabrics for layering. It’s up to your personal choice. I often use a plain one, one with spots, stripes and vibrant pattern and a softer coloured piece. I find the vibrant patterns work best with slightly toned down, less busy, fabrics. The darker colours to the back and the less vivid to the front or your writing won’t be seen.
Your ribbons want to compliment the colours of the fabrics, I use a lot of ribbon, I just think its more lavish. You can find many of the ribbons I use in my supplies shop. I love textures, thick velvety with soft satins and cotton.

How you make the rosette:
1/ Place the felt at the back and chose what order you want your fabrics to go. Then cut them into circles with the larger being at the back.

2/ Arrange you ribbon on top of the felt and glue in place.

Place the fabric on top of the ribbon and glue in place.
3/ Write on your rosette with the blue soluble pen whatever you like, I chose kiss me because its valentines day coming up, but can also be used on New Years Eve too.

Now glue on your pearls.
4/ At this point I let the glue dry before then stitching everything in place. I use glue as well as stitching because then I know everything is fixed very firmly and you won’t find pearls pinging off left right and centre. A badge gets a lot of wear especially when made for special occasions, there’s much hugging and jumping around generally or at least there should be!!
5/ I hand stitch all my products but if you don’t feel comfortable doing this there are may others ways in which you can achieve a lovely finish, they’re lots quicker and easier and just as much fun. You could machine all the items together, you could just stick with the glueing (sorry about the pun;)), both work fine. With the writing you could use fabric pens or stamps with fabric ink.
I like the effect of hand stitching, I like thick layers of lavish fabric and lashing of ribbon dripping down from a colourful gem like circle. I don’t like the stitching or the rosettes to look too perfect, to me they’re a bit soulless and look shop bought or factory made and and that’s not my style.

I don’t use a bond a web fixer on the rosettes because I like the fabric to have a lip around the edges, for them to curl up and move and be flexible, I find them to be more jolly that way. I want the wind to ruffle them.
6/ I use a hand dyed woollen thread when stitching the words, again I do this for a reason, I like the way the texture works against the rest of the fabrics. When I make something I think about every tiny detail, there’s always a reason for these little touches and a choice of material used and the suppliers I chose. The threads are just the right shade to go with the ribbon and fabric, i often use vintage silk thread too but only when that precise colour is available. I think I may sound a little deranged, well that wouldn’t be far wrong, I don’t always get it right, if only I was perfect (do not tell my children I’m not, if they sense weakness I will pay;)). When things go wrong, I just start again, swearing as I go;)
7/ Now for the backing. You don’t want all those workings showing, not pretty, so I use a plain piece of fabric to cover it, just glueing it in place, then glue or stitch on your badge back and cover that working again with a smaller piece of the same backing fabric.

8/ Now turn your rosette to the front and give it a squirt of water to get rid of the pen marks.
9/ Fray stop time! Some of the fabrics I use have a very lose weave, like the Harris Tweed and linen. I love these textures and want them to look a tiny bit shabby but to too much, they’ll just fray too much and look shabby in a not so cool way if not treated, so I coat these edges with lashings of lovely stinky fray stop, cor it’s a bit pungent. Works beautifully though.

And there you go once its all dry and gleaming you can pin it on and wear it with pride.
I hope you really enjoy making this and have lots of fun wearing it. They are gorgeous things to make for your kids, or fun hen nights but to name a few uses.
If you want an extra special one from me I’m always happy to oblige, hopefully from seeing this you’ll see the time and thought that goes into producing these and that I want every one of them to be very special and unique.

I have created this free tutorial for use at home and not for resale, this design has been registered officially and the copyright belongs to me. By all means use this for gifts and personal use but please don’t profit from my hard work and time. If you want to reproduce any information or photos please ask permission first. Thank you.

The post The Little a Rosette Tutorial appeared first on Thread Therapy With Marna Lunt..

(fist published Oct 4, 2014)

On wednesday last week me and Mr Marna packed up his little electric car and pootled on down to that big busy place down south called London. We were getting ready to wiggle our stuff at the Autumn Decorative Living Fair in Chelsea Old Town Hall organised by the rather fabulous Caroline Zoob.

It’s been a serious honour to go to London to do this fair, Caroline rang me in the summer to have a chat about it and I was massively excited and touched that such an accomplished and talented embroideress would ask me to attend her fair. She knows what she’s taking about I can’t hide any mistakes from her. Anyway enough of the gushing, although I may start again later.

I have always been a bit scared of exhibiting in London, mainly because I know I would have to drive down, I couldn’t, no matter how much I have tried, get everything in a bag on the train. Such a big and busy place that you don’t now well is always going to be a bit daunting travelling to for the first time, so my clever hubby came with me to keep me from being on my own and freaking out about logistics.

I’m so glad I stopped being a scared wuss pants and went for it because it was grand. Stunning location, fantastic very high quality fellow exhibiters, wonderful organisation, incredibly helpful staff, set up was easy as was breaking down and  to be honest I loved every second. A long day but just the right amount of time for me know I hobble around with a walking stick a lot of the time.

Part of the reason that I loved it so is of course because I got to be with Simon which is rare on these occasions, he got to meet my friends and put names with faces and he got to see why I love doing fairs and meeting so many of the people that follow me. He got recognised by people for his blog posts which was really wonderful to see. There’s nothing more joyful than see someone you love be recognised in his own right and be seen as I see him instead of how he sees himself. He was quite shocked that I had people wanting to take my photo (as was I actually, I don’t take a great photo, my eyes vanish) and some had come especially to see the Liberty shade. It was nice for him to see me in artist mode not just mum and wife mode, food shopping and the like.

I have to thank my gorgeous neighbour Lois who was so lovely and I could have easily bought everything she had, a lady of huge taste and kindness, for making the day a very happy one. I also spent a lot of time eyeing up the stunning flower painting that Lisa had on the other side of me. And I hugely enjoyed seeing some of my favourite creative ladies Viv from Hens Teeth, Alice from Homes and Antiques magazine and Gil Fox. Lots of their goodies  are photographed below.

Ooooo and I have found a new favourite place to buy all my favourite sewing goodies. Sonia from The Old Haberdashery, I did a bit of damage to my credit card with that one. Highly recommend.

And now for the photos, I could have taken 50 more but I thought this would suffice. Enjoy dear readers.

So as an exhibitor I recommend it, if you get the opportunity to have a stand go for it and if you can visit and like vintage brocante chic, french linens and textiles, and handmade and vintage haberdashery and gifts then you must go. I’m not quite sure where I fit in on that list but my style somehow worked beautifully with what surrounded me.

Hopefully I will have the chance to do it again, and thanks to Caroline and the fabulous people I met both buyers and sellers who made it such a marvellous trip for me.

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The pincushion is a sewer’s best friend, quietly sat beside you at the sewing machine and your right hand man during your embroidery projects, this is a little blog post about our faithful friends the pin and the pincushion. As an embroiderer’s essential aid the pincushion is a safe home for pins, with a rich history the pincushion is still a trusty tool that can be found in the modern sewing box.

I’ll start with the pin; although now considered a cheap haberdashery staple (admittedly easy to sprinkle around the house waiting for unsuspecting toes) the pin was actually a delectable treat for embroiderers. So expensive in fact, men set aside ‘pin money’ for their wives as an allowance for their sewing supplies. Pins, needles and threads were incredibly expensive, made before the days of the machine pins were created by hand. And so the pincushion was born – a means to keep precious, pricey pins safe.

The pastime of embroidery was for the rich, so much so, the pincushion became a symbol of status, often worn from the waist like a chatelaine and even mentioned in wills and lists of assets!

The Layette pincushion is a curious object originating from the 17^th Century; presents created for new mum’s to welcome little ones into the world, with names, dates and messages spelled out with pins. A pincushion was a very precious gift to give, as pins were used to fasten blankets to babies an alternative than stitched garments, so the blanket could be adjusted as the child grew.  Typically the Layette Pincushion was given after a baby had arrived because it was considered bad luck to name a child before it was born. Furthermore perhaps pushing into superstitious themes of voodoo, inserting pins into a pincushion was believed to inflict pain during birth. The Layette Pincushion was a present made with considerable skill; the cushion was often made with silks, which would easily disintegrate with too many pin holes.

When the industrial revolution arrived, so did the machine woven cloth, printed fabric became more accessible and items such as the pin and needles became readily available in the sewing basket. Along with the machine, life became a little easier and time was freed up, sewing was transformed from laborious domesticated tasks, to decorative embroidery projects. But through this revolution the pincushion remained an imperative element to the sewing basket.

Most of us have the famous red tomato pincushion, but why on earth a tomato?? Generally tomatoes were used in the household to repel evil spirits, often given as a housewarming gift to attract good spirits to a new home. But because tomatoes have a short shelf life unsurprisingly was a tricky gift to give, so people made fabric versions, the pincushions were stuffed with sawdust, wool or emery to preserve and keeps the pins sharp.

By just dipping my toe into the world on pincushions; it’s safe to say they derive from some very superstitious stitchers! It also suggests that the sewing basket was in fact a treasured and sacred item in every household, so next time you delve into your sewing box – think about your friend the pincushion and the good luck it brings to your sewing projects.

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MAKING A BUSINESS WORK

I am saddened when I see people try to obviously emulate my style especially when they under charge and make me look like I’m ripping people off, which by the way I would never do!! But I do value my experience, my talent and my time. I charge based on costs and time and experience, I am happy to be transparent about my costs if anyone has a problem with it. People rarely have a problem with it though because they do value creativity and the importance of it.

I have tailored my business to work in this new way because when I started out as Little A Designs (now trading under my own name) I was copied to such a huge extent I was personally and creatively broken. My logo was taken, imitated and my brand devalued, my website design was stolen, even the words I’d written from the heart were copied and pasted into other peoples websites, my designs were ripped off and undercut, everything I cared about and showed the world was taken. So I had to rethink. I had to make something even more me. To separate myself in some way from what others could emulate.

I guess in hindsight this was the best thing for me because I am now in a very happy, a lot prouder and calm work wise. I know what works for me and my family life, what I can give to people mentally and still have the energy to live and have fun. My style has evolved and now is a better representation of me than it ever has been.

Lucky me for learning all this so soon into my career. But sadly it’s not the case for everyone.

A NEW OUTLOOK

Two dear friends have been copied extensively in recently months and I’ll tell you what it feels like, firstly, pretty shitty.  You feel isolated, you feel violated and sick and frightened that people will not realise how hard you have worked and how precious those original ideas you created are to you. You can feel paranoid and angry but more than anything you feel really hurt. I felt personally invaded. And I wanted to give up. But then I reminded myself why I was doing this whole thing in the first place. I picked myself up after a little cry and got busy being better.

INSPIRATION

All ideas are inspired from somewhere, there is always a source for all our ideas whether it be a past master artist, the landscape, a sculpture or everyday object but what makes artists really great is the way in which their own mind interprets that inspiration and makes these evolved ideas solidly their own. I don’t just mean altering it a little, I mean finding a new take on it, problem solving, experimentation and enjoying the simple art of making something new. If you want to set up a business to sell your art it’s not just the piece of work you need to be able to make,  you need a business plan, you need to know how to cost your work competitively but realistically, you need to know the legalities of copyright infringement, tax, accounting, this makes you a business and a valid artist and not a just a hobbyist.

These are important facts that many don’t consider when they see something on Facebook, Etsy, Instagram or at a craft fair when they see some work and think ‘well I can do that’. But if you have already thought of all those considerations then FANTASTIC! Research that someones not already doing it (because even if you haven’t copied them, there may be someone out there doing the same thing as you, in which case if they got there first it’s their Intellectual Property and as much as you may not like it you’re just going to have to come up with a way of doing it differently).

The post The Art of Making appeared first on Thread Therapy With Marna Lunt..

First published June 2014

Dreams have been coming true in Lunt Towers this last two months, so much so I haven’t actually had to to tell you all about them. So, like buses, I’m going to tell everything and you may be inundated by exciting posts with many pretty pictures all week.

First up is the marvellous Mollie Makes magazine. I was featured in the magazine a few months ago when I contributed with a project on how to create a embroidered hoop with inspirational quotes. They were so pleased with how that project went they asked me back but this time do a cover project. I nearly wept. For a magazine to take notice of you and ask you to do something for them that they believe will help sell their magazine is an honour and really boosted my confidence. It’s easy to forget about the outside world when you’re creating on your own and this made me realise that people do like my work and appreciate the care and individuality I strive for. They saw that I was a capable artist of many things and trusted I could make something wonderful for them even though they’d never seen any specific examples.

Anyway, good things, hard work, happiness all round. Time to up my game further and blow their socks off. Nothing like a challenge to really make me shine.

So here is what I created. I’m really proud of it and love the textures and layers and the sparkle the sequins give. A floral sash made from fabric and pearls with a bit of hand stitching. The full project can be seen in their issue 40 which is available as a back issue.

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Company: Janet Bell Gallery

Website: www.janetbellgallery.com

Sum up your business in a sentence. Hard bloody work!!!! That was my first answer…… No, I am split in 2 halves, I am an artist, painting for my own gallery, publishers and other galleries. Then I am a gallery owner, sourcing and buying and selling the work of over 60 makers and artists.

When did you start your business? I started painting in 2001 whist managing an interiors shop in Brighton. There was a gallery next door which I took some paintings into and they sold them within 24 hrs. That continued for a year and gave me the confidence to give up working full time and concentrating on painting whilst working part time in Habitat. I also own a children’s shop with my best friend Zoe called Tinkers and Belles.

What & who inspires you? Everything….Living 30 seconds from the sea inspires me enormously. Most mornings we have coffee sitting on the beach or overlooking the water with the Snowdonia mountains as a back drop. I quite often pootle around the Island in my VW Campervan painting. Surrounded by all the work in the gallery inspires me too.

What sets you apart from others? I can’t possibly answer that. I think deep down having a background in retail and understanding the business side of it has helped with knowing how to price my work and sell it. How to deal with publishers and large companies too.

What did you do before setting up your business? I was a visual merchandiser for a large Interiors shop straight from college, then I managed a shop of 25 staff aged 23, then Brighton then Chester, and now I am well and truly settled in Anglesey.

The best part of your day/ running your own business. I love having coffee every morning with Zoe and my husband Sean between 9 and 10 catching up and making a plan for the day. As I said before, more often than not its sitting outside the local deli or the hotel on the seafront overlooking the sea and beach.

Why did you start your business? I have quite a strong work ethic and always took my jobs very very seriously. I figured that if I worked that hard for myself rather than someone else I could achieve anything.

Your favourite product & why. Ooooh so many…..Jane Ryan’s automata make me so happy. Ken Eardley ceramics and Liz Scrines lamps. Of my own work I am most happy with my Bluebell paintings I have done recently.

Your greatest business tip. Stay true to yourself, from a gallery point of view only sell things you love.

Your favourite colour. Aaaaghhhh, hardest question. Blue for painting but my home is mainly White and pale grey, influenced by my Scandinavian background.

Star sign. Aries

Your biggest weakness. Impulsiveness, not thinking things through and taking too much on.

Your biggest success. Finding my husband and having my Son.

Funniest moment. My husband and my first kiss, I’m saying no more. Lifting a tin of paint from a shelf in B&Q, the lid was off and pouring said tin of paint all over my head, funny now….not so then.

Favourite quote. “Having nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris and “Today you are you, that is truer than true. there is noone alive who is Youer than You” Dr Seuss

Favourite motto. Life isn’t about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself.”

Your favourite colour. My first thought is blue, but my home is all white and pale grey influenced by my Scandinavian background

Favourite artist. Emma Brownjohn, Yoshitomo Nara, Sasha Harding, Mary Fedden and Monet. I am influenced as much by Scandinavian designers like Bjorn Winblad and love Marimekko designers.

Favourite season. Summer, I love to be outdoors, bbq’s and picnics are my thing and Summer flowers are the best.

Star sign. Aries

Business dream. Corny but I think I am doing it.

Favourite flower. Cannot possibly say one, not in order but my top 5 are Peonies, Hydrangea, Anemone, Poppies and Ranunculus

What are you listening to right now. the new Empire of the Sun album, the new Camera obscura album, beth orton and Haim.

Your simple pleasure. Picnics and reading bedtime stories to my 2 year old son Rafferty

What’s your brew. Coffee but only before midday.

Tell us a joke. A horse walks into a bar and the barman says why the long face.

Well I must say I’m a bit excited by this interview, I am about all the fab artists that are so kind to give up their time to answer my questions and be on this blog to be honest. But I have loved Janet’s work for years, long before I even knew Facebook did business pages. I first saw her work as a card on a holiday in Cornwall and I have been smitten since. I stumbled across her gallery on a separate holiday and am now very lucky to have as a cyber friend. Her work just makes me happy. The bold colours smack me and face and scream be happy damn up and it is the best way to wake up in the morning. Thank you Janet for taking time to do this interview it is a total joy to me, and the paintings I own by you provide a constant sparkle in my home.

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