What a wonderful brooch and maker we had for September! Thank you Jennie (A Little Vintage Etsy shop) for your time and generosity and donating one of your Frida hand-sewn brooches for one lucky person to win.
And thank you everyone for joining in and showing everyone your brooches over the past month.
The lucky winner who used the hashtag #noveltybroochfriday on Instagram on a Friday is.......
Congratulations @ashlapin!! If you could email me your postal address to tunabake@hotmail.com Jeannie will forward you your prize.
Next month's brooch is a return to the beginning of Novelty Brooch Friday more than a year ago. This special maker is such a generous person and a fantastic creative, stay tuned for Friday's reveal and another Novelty Brooch Friday.
If you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a beautiful brooch to the giveaway and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs and shop and hopefully i'll get you a spot on the calendar.
Since the beginnings of Novelty Brooch Friday (over a year ago) the driving force behind it, other than seeing everyone's brooches, was meeting brooch makers and sellers. There is such a passion and excitement about their craft or the selling of others craft I find so appealing.
I don't often get to meet the generous people that answer my questions and offer one of their creations to a lucky person, but recently at a craft market Finders Keepers I was lucky enough to meet a few of the lovely ladies who I have met online.
One of those lovely ladies was Jennie, Jennie is the person behind A Little Vintage Etsy shop, specialising in soft material crafts. I am lucky enough to own one of Jennie's Frida brooches and this month she is offering one to a lucky winner!
And so in the monthly tradition I asked Jennie to answer 5 questions about her work and shop.
When did you first discover you liked creating your work out of
soft materials and sewing?
My first real discovery in textiles, was actually when my
Grandmother passed away. I was given her old linen tea towels. Linen makes the
best tea towels – so all my cotton ones became redundant. Then one night I
decided to sew them all together to make a table cloth. The only thing was,
that I didn’t have a sewing machine .. so I did it all by hand! All I can say
is, it must have been a very strong urge to make that table cloth! (some of the
tea towels were beautiful Laura Ashley that I had been collecting over the
years in England).
Do you have reoccurring themes you like to base your works
around?
For the last year or so – the main theme has been Frida Kahlo. I
have made a Silk Collection of dolls, some wall hangings and of course the
little thread drawn brooches. Apart from admiring Frida’s artistic talent and
amazing strength of character, I think what draws me back to her is how
expressive and extreme I can go with fabrics/face/jewellery etc. It’s also fun
to see how each Frida turns out, as they are all recognisable as her – but none
are the same! Another reoccurring theme is flora/fauna, I have always been
drawn to flowers in art, let alone fabric. I remember painting a huge floral
wall hanging in high school for the library – so much fun! And when I was a
nanny in England for many years, one of the ladies I worked for used to pay for
the flowers every week when I went to a floristry course. Then, the flowers
were displayed in their home (where I lived too)! It gave me way more scope,
being able to buy what ever flowers I wanted – especially in expensive London.
Can you tell us a bit about artists/crafts people you admire?
Obviously Frida Kahlo – as mentioned above.
I also admire Annemieke Mein – she is a clever textile artist who
creates such amazingly realistic images – mainly of insects/fish/birds. I adore
how she captures movement in her works – such an inspiration.
Are there any particular materials you like working with or
would like to work with?
I love working with texture. Any fabric that has the touchy –
feely element. It gives another dimension, is a lot more interesting to look at
- and creates depth.
Is there any advice you could give anyone thinking about
starting a business?
Go with your instincts, there is only so much you can be
told about how something should be done. I’m talking about the creative side of
business. What is going to set you apart is being different. This is probably
where it was a good thing that I haven’t had sewing lessons – the way I sew is
not the way other people do! Which has helped me be different and original.
Thank you Jennie for your offering one of your wonderful brooches and giving us a little insight into your interests, loves and inspirations............and so here it is, the fabulous Frida brooch you could win. Just use #noveltybroochfriday on any friday in September on Instagram and show everyone your brooches.
See you on Friday!
x
This past month I offered one of my brooches to be given away as unfortunately the donator fell through at the last minute. I'm sorry I couldn't give away one of my Lea Stein's but hey! Instead, I chose this cute ballerina (who's skirt always reminds me of a sea urchin).
As an extra little treat the winner will also receive a pack of my 'Waiting' series of postcards.
Thank you everyone who has entered this past month.
I chose at random with the Random Number Generator app the winner.
And the winner is.....
@damfino, if you could email me your postal address (tunabake@hotmail.com) I'll send you out your prize.
Next month I'm back on track with a fabulous maker of brooches, I own one of her lovely creations and have been following her a while on Instagram. Keep a look out on Friday for the creator and brooch you could win. Remember just use the hashtag on any Friday in September to be in with a chance and also just share your wonderful brooches.
See you on Friday.
xx
If you're a brooch maker/ designer or vintage seller that would like to donate a beautiful brooch to our giveaway and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs and shop and hopefully I'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com
