Tag Archives: Miscellaneous

Opening the studios of Banks’ Mill

Posted on by Abi

This weekend has seen the studios at Banks’ Mill in Derby open to the public. We are associate members of the mill, so packed up our wares and occupied an empty studio to welcome in customers.

We had a brilliant time talking to everyone and used the weekend to launch several new styles that have yet to hit our webstore, the feedback has been wonderful. We are branching into accessories in the near future, which included one of a kind textiles made from wonderful vintage fabrics such as French Linen. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few days as we are going to launch one of these on the web in a blog giveaway which will also include one of our silver pieces!

The Mill is a listed building, visually this means it oozes artistic character, practically it means a heck of a lot of stairs and no lift! If you can make it to the top floor not only are rewarded with the knowledge that you are quite fit, but you find such delights as jeweller Lucy Palmer.

I was trying to think how I could describe Lucy’s work and do it justice and I’m not sure I can, to put it simply it’s magical!

Opposite us was Lyanne McCredie who makes the most fantastic stained glass, if you ever watched Kirstie Allsops ‘Homemade home’ then you would love this studio. The precision, time and effort in these pieces makes you gasp at the patience that must be required.

We also met the lovely Helen Meakin who is a woven textile artist. Helen’s studio houses a large loom but instead of thread she weaves in metal! Her lampshades have an earthy brilliance and the golden accents catch the light to amazing effect.

Several other artists were kind enough to let me photograph their work to show you, the vibrant studio of Sara Taylor couldn’t possibly fail to catch your eye, infact I had my picture taken looking at this very wall for the local paper!

Next door to us was the wonderful Sheena Holland ,her work has graced the pages of several top magazines and it’s easy to see why when you look at these pics

My final artistic mention has to go to illustrator Tracey Meek who was selling these whimsical badges which instantly caught my eye.

There will be another open weekend before Christmas check Banks’ Mill website for details. It’s such a great way to meet artists in their own environment and to buy pieces which you might not otherwise see. Plus a lot do specials just for the weekend.

Many studios host open evenings/weekends so if there is one near you it is always worth checking. A lot of them will feed you too, we offered our visitors small heart biscuits with AE for ‘Angel Eden’ on them. Even though the tag said eat me in an Alice in Wonderland homage, many people didn’t realise they were real.

Remember to check back later this week for our competition.

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Long Time No Blog – Wirksworth Houses

Posted on by Abi

Gosh we’ve been naughty here recently and haven’t been concentrating enough energy on the blog. To make amends here is a little insight into how our house pendants are made.

I love living in Derbyshire, its such a beautiful county with a variety of countryside and a wealth of history. Its also right in the middle of the country, so it feels as though its halfway to anywhere else.

The county can claim to have the first National Park in Britain .There are bustling market towns such as Ashbourne and Bakewell, and also Buxton the beautiful Georgian Spa town which boasts the highest market place in the country. There are many picturesque villages like Ashford in the Water, Tissington and Eyam, the famous ‘plague village’, which went into voluntary quarantine when the plague was imported from London in 1665.

In December 2001, the Derwent Valley Mills in Derbyshire became inscribed as a World Heritage Site. Stretching 15 miles down the river valley from Matlock Bath to Derby, the World Heritage Site contains a fascinating series of historic mill complexes, including some of the world’s first ‘modern’ factories.

One of my favourite places is the fascinating small town of Wirksworth. It has many narrow streets and a maze of interesting alleyways. It has a wealth if interesting old buildings and many lovely views. The parish church in the centre of the town is situated in a cathedral-like close.

My Heritage Collection of jewellery is inspired by my love of historic buildings, many pieces based on Derbyshire cottages. I start by taking photographs and then create a line drawing.

The drawing is simplified and reduced and then I lay layers of wax over the top of the drawing. The wax is cut to the shape of the building and then further layers of wax are used to build up the details. Once it is completed the wax is melted away and sterling silver poured into the space left behind.

The silver house is then filed and polished until it looks good enough to wear. The pictures below show a selection of Wirksworth houses.

The house in the middle and the one on the left has already been sold.

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Happy New Year!

Posted on by Abi

Perhaps I’m a little late with the sentiment, but my current thinking is a new year means a new start. A chance to take a fresh look at things and decide if there are changes to be made. For us here at Angel Eden that means rethinking issues such as packaging as well as collections. I find these kind of tasks quite exciting, browsing samples of boxes and ribbons might seem mundane to some, but when the combination is right for your business it feels like a real accomplishment.

January is also traditionally a month to be frugal, after the excesses of the holiday season and the excitement of sales we all usually feel a need to tighten our belts. In the spirit of this I’ve been looking about my house wondering what old items I might renew. I’ve pondered with the idea of reupholstering some chairs but find the reality slightly daunting. Repainting or stripping furniture is always an appealing option. I have recently discovered a wonderful product called ‘Home Strip’ it’s a non toxic paint & varnish remover. It works brilliantly and all without toxic fumes or the need for a gas mask.

This idea of reusing and recycling has perhaps unsurprisingly made it’s way into our jewellery of late as well. As a constant fan of the sparkly and girly things in life I’ve always been attracted to the grandeur of antique chandeliers. The reality in terms of space and setting means I don’t actually own one of these beauties, but if I ever have room for a banqueting table you can be sure that one of these will take pride of place above it. It is possible however to find discarded chandelier drops in some antique stores. Obviously they all vary in terms of size and colour, but if you can find a use for them you can add a bit of grandeur to your own home.

We have taken some of our favourite finds and turned them into jewellery. I would love to hear what others think of these, obviously they are all unique by their very nature and I’m incredibly enthusiastic about them but it would be great to hear some outside opinions.

As a final note if you like me are a fan of vintage sparkly delights we our offering our customers 15% off this collection on our website. The 15% will be refunded back to you via paypal after purchase.

Please leave a comment and you will also be entered into our first competition of the new year to win a pair of chandelier drop earrings.

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