Archive for June, 2009
Featured Seller – Jemima Lumley
Posted by onHello! My Featured Seller this week is a very talented jeweller and silversmith with a passion for lovebirds! I really like the fact that although the pieces look very delicate, close up they are created from very strong, bold graphic shapes. Fantastic work! Take it away…
Jemima Lumley
Introduce yourself…
I’m a jeweller, working mainly in silver, creating whimsical and wearable pieces. Everything is handcrafted by myself, from start to finish. I have recently set up a studio-shop with 5 talented craft people, on a busy high street in Bristol. I work full time as a jeweller, except for a Tuesday when I go to college, or playschool as we like to call it.
How did it all start?
It all started very recently, only about 3 years ago. Until then I had been an art director in children’s publishing for over 15 years. It was a gradual thing, rather than something planned!
After I went freelance in 2004, I found that I would have hours or even days when I was a bit quiet, so I took up crochet again. From there I started making scarves, wraps and corsages for selling locally, and then bits of jewellery came along – first charm bracelets with little crochet flowers, then necklaces and finally lariats. These I started selling to local shops, but I soon found I was bored of the repetitive nature of the work. I took a class one morning a week, in silver jewellery making, which I loved from day one! In 2007 I applied to the local art college for their one day a week jewellery course, and from then on I’ve devoted myself to working in silver. I’ve just finished my second year, and looking forward to the third, and final year.
Featured Seller – Llynfi
Posted by onHello! It’s time for a new Featured Seller…this week I have chosen the work of a mother and daughter team from Wales. They produce beautiful clothing and accessories all made from British wool (which is dyed to Global Organic Textile Standards) and Romanian hemp. If you like what you see, and I’m positive you will, just click any of the images for more information.
Llynfi Textiles
We are Sue and Emily James (mother and daughter respectively) and we work together under the name Llynfi Textiles, near Brecon in beautiful Mid Wales. The Llynfi is the name of the little river that runs close by us; it’s a ‘Site of Special Scientific Interest’, home to otters and kingfishers, and one of those places that makes you glad to be alive. Sue dyes the yarns and designs and makes the knits, Emily works with the fabrics – print and dress design and making, so it works really well.
How did it all start?
Sue: As a pipe dream many, many years ago! I grew up sewing, knitting, crocheting, handspinning with my mum and grandmother – one thing leads to another. Then when my mum died at 60, just as she had retired and finally been able to set up her own little weaving studio, I realised that if there’s something you really want to do, you just have to try. Llynfi Textiles started as Llynfi Angora 10 years ago when I finally got my Angora rabbits. It developed into ‘Textiles’ 4 years ago when I added British organic wool and decided to go for Soil Association certification for natural dyeing. I was delighted to be the first in the UK to get it. Emily decided to join forces after finishing her degree in Surface Pattern Design at Swansea Met., which was brilliant!
Have you always sold online?
No – we started by ‘doing’ local shows and exhibitions. We also sell through two shops, one in Hay on Wye and also Narberth in West Wales. But now we want to reach a wider audience, and having already had some success with an American site, we were really pleased to find Coriandr in the UK.
Featured Seller – Lullaby Lily
Posted by onHello! It’s Monday and time for a new Featured Seller…this week it’s the turn of Lullaby Lily who creates fabulous unusual knitted creatures. Where else can you buy a knitted Monster Slug for only £11? Click on any of the images below for more details…enjoy!
Lullaby Lily
Introduce yourself…
Hello, I’m Flora of Lullaby Lily hand knit creatures that comfort, and I’m based in Scotland.
How did it all start?
My mammy taught me to knit when I was a little girl. Since then I’ve knitted many garments and accessories for babies, children and grown-ups. A friend of mine had a devotional love of knit toys (especially vintage ones) which I neither understood nor appreciated. She suggested I make one. I laughed….
Fast-forward about 8 years and what the …? I’m loving creating and selling knit toys – AND talking about them endlessly on my blog!
My pivotal moment was when someone showed me how to make a lovely knit toy. Key to this, for me anyway, was the concept of stuffing them with pure wool roving – as well as using gorgeous natural yarns such as pure wool, cotton, alpaca, angora, bamboo and experimenting with fancy yarns like faux fur, chenille, ribbon and metallics.
I’m still always knitting garments and accessories and my outlet for that is Knitkin here on Coriandr.
Have you always sold online?
I opened a US online shop last year with a few donkeys and pigs and now have over 160 sales there. I get a real buzz from connecting with people all over the world from Alaska to Australia.
After several months I opened a UK online shop, but then discovered Coriandr which I much prefer, so Coriandr is Lullaby Lily’s (and Knitkin’s) UK presence. › Continue reading
Improving Coriandr’s search
Posted by on
Over the last week we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to improve Coriandr’s search. Our aim is simple enough;
“make it easier to find the right things, quicker.”
As a marketplace, our opportunity to provide a great shopping experience starts with the search. The idea that gangs of buyers could be roaming the vaults of Coriandr, lost and alone, unable to find the one item that would complete them, is a very sad thing indeed! So much depends on the search doing it’s job well.
So, what are the plans?
- Make it easier to search. We’re going to be making some alterations to the way the search page looks and behaves. None of the existing search criteria will go, but the ease with which you can search for keywords, add tags, and generally browse through all the items on offer will be vastly improved. › Continue reading
Featured Seller – FeatherG
Posted by onHello!
This week my featured seller is the very fantastic FeatherG! A textile designer, print maker and photographer heavily influenced by the beauty of nature. Deep, rich colours are combined to create fabulous pieces! If any of the products featured in the photographs below catch your eye…just click on them for more details (and a quick link through to FeatherG’s Coriandr shop!)
FeatherG
Introduce yourself…
My name is Helen Casey-Green. I’m a printmaker and textile artist, working in silk and silk velvet, I also work in partnership with my husband as a photographer and we produce a range of limited edition cards from our original work.
How did it all start?
I’ve been working as an artist for many years. I started as a graphic designer and illustrator in the 1980’s (showing my age there!) spent a number of years in education as a secondary school art teacher, specialising in printmaking and photography, but took the plunge to become a full-time artist in 2003. Since then I have been developing new work and exhibiting around the country.
Have you always sold online?
Selling on-line is very new to me. On the whole I find most of my buyers like to see the work in person before they buy. Most of my work is very tactile, or textured, and that isn’t always easy to appreciate on a computer screen. › Continue reading
Inspiration Station – DrawPaintPrint!
Posted by onThe focus on sites such as Coriandr is always heavily on the crafters, which is entirely understandable. Pretty things that also serve a purpose AND are handmade? Fabulous!
Well, how about handmade things which are just there to be pretty? I’m talking about all the artists and illustrators that create little works of art ready to brighten up your house. Whether they’re drawn, painted, printed or collaged, I think there needs to be more of it, so artists, this inspiration is for you!
Featured Seller – Mollimoo
Posted by onHello! It’s Monday again and it looks like summer has arrived at last!
This week I have something to satisfy all you button-holics and I suspect there are a few of you reading this! From handmade unique fabric buttons to vibrant brooches and corsages, welcome to the world of…
Mollimoo
Introduce yourself…
I’m Tina Peacock and my shop is Mollimoo. I sell hand-sewn fabric buttons as well as brooches, knitted scarves and accessories. My buttons are made using thrifted vintage material as well as new fabric. I grew up by the sea in Cornwall and now reside in the beautiful Dorset countryside, though I can never be too far from the ocean! I’m a thirty-something stay at home mum to two gorgeous children and never have enough time to make!
How did it all start?
Last year I won tickets to a festival called Camp Bestival. There was a knitting tent there and I was so inspired by it all, that as soon as I got back home I got myself some needles and started knitting straight away. I hadn’t done it since I was about 9 years old and fell in love with it. Next came my fabric buttons as my interest in all things handmade grew and it went from there. I now have a massive stash of yarn, fabric and vintage buttons. I’m hooked!
Have you always sold online?
Up until now, my designs have only been for sale online. However, they are now for sale in a local ’shabby chic’ style shop as well.