Slumbermonkey Designs

Last Saturday I took part in the Dorset Team Spring Fair at the Allendale Centre in Wimborne. Along with over 60 other makers I spent the day selling, chatting, meeting (and buying!) in a cornucopia of handmade loveliness. There were so many amazing makers from jewellery makers, to embroiders, to ceramicists that I think every art and craft form was covered. Turnout was good considering that the day itself was sunny and warm, it was good to see so many people tempted in to buy. Last week I talked about my preparation and I am pleased to say that all that work paid off. When I arrived I knew what I needed to do, where to put things and how I wanted my stall to look. Here's a few quick shots taken before the buyers arrived. One of the lovely things that happens is you get to meet other Dorset Team members and put faces to those people you speak with online. My stall was between two lovely ladies. To one side was the fabulous  Gifting Moon  who makes the most amazing fun gifts

For the last few weeks I have been preparing for the Dorset Etsy Team Spring Fair. It's happening this Saturday so I am trying to be as organised as possible. There are some truly wonderful makers involved and it's a privilege to be involved. I haven't actually done many fairs so each one I use as a learning curve. One the the most important things I find, to do is to mock-up my stall so I know everything fits. This time I have invested in some props and display items to hopefully make my items stand out. Here you can see that I have opted for quite a natural colour to compliment the theme of my jewellery. I also sell greetings cards so have a clear display for those to make selection more efficient. Here's a tryout I did yesterday! Fingers crossed that offer gets lots of takers. Before Saturday I'm going to make sure that everything I have fits into my space so will measure out everything to make doubly sure. I also decided to spray my wooden

One of my other passions is designing patterns and I can fulfil this via my Spoonflower shop! My background is in textile design so I've never wanted to leave it behind. I think I have a very quirky and individual style, whenever someone buys a design I jump for joy. A lot of my stationery ideas start out as patterns, such as my llama range. Here it is as Land of the Llamas One of my best selling patterns features cacti and succulents. This trend shows no signs of growing tired and I love drawing the shapes and details. Here's my  Sun Room Succulents , what do you think? Finally here's a design I've created quite recently. One thing I like to do is show my ideas as mock-ups to show how they can work in "real life". This piece is based on organic vegetables. So many amazing shapes to draw! If you want to take a closer link at my store follow this link!  Slumbermonkey Designs.

After the success of March Meet The Maker I decided to try another monthly campaign. Quite luckily I found and signed up to #smallandmightystories straight away. This time it focusses on Instagram and using "your stories" to engage an audience. So far so good! However, a lot of the content is generated by me talking to camera. Now this is a scary concept if you hate having your photo taken but, in order to gain more confidence, I went for it. My first post can be viewed above! This also serves as a bit of an introduction for you too. Although I am now only six days in it has been fun trying to come up with ideas related to the prompts provided by @socialmouthsam ( https://www.socialmouth.co.uk ). Here's one that shows you where I work, my studio in my garden! If you want to take a look at my Instagram check it out here  Slumbermonkey Designs  and take a look at my stories, they only last 24 hours!

  Welcome To My Garden Spring is one of my favourite seasons and one that I get lots of inspiration from. This year it feels later because of all the snow (and they keep saying we may have a white Easter!) but signs of life are appearing in the garden. My mind has now turned to lighter and brighter makes, flowers and pastels. I love my studio in the garden and I find that what's around me finds it's way into my designs (like the pyrography sign above!). Pyrography is a technique where you burn the design into wood using a special tool. I have been using this method for pieces like the one above as well as door hangers and ornaments Hedgehog Sign. Another favourite subject is hedgehogs. You will find them all over my store as jewellery and stationery, but I though I would show you something a little different. This illustrated art work is also created using pyrography. With this item I once again been inspired by nature and have included lots of quirky organic fo

This month I have been taking part in a "Meet The Maker" challenge devised by the wonderful Joanne Hawker ( https://joannehawker.co.uk ). Every day throughout the month there is a prompt to follow. Inspired by that word you devise and then publish a post to Instagram. It has been a wonderful way to engage with the creative community and like minded individuals. I have tried to be individual in my approach and have hopefully put across my ideas and my passion for making. The video above shows me in time lapse (wish I was that fast!) hand colouring a piece of shrink plastic jewellery. Social media is such a huge part of building a business these days but this is such an enjoyable way to be involved. If you are on Instagram take a look at all the posts with the hashtag #MarchMeetTheMaker and see the diverse range of independent business taking part. My Instagram link is here if you would like to see more of my posts this month. See you there! https://www.instagram.com/slu