Happy New Year......

.....it's time for a change!

Firstly, an apology needs to be made for neglecting the blog a little over the last few months! It has been an extremely busy December which saw Graceful Deviant selling in Bath during the Christmas market they hold annually along with improved internet sales and some different selling venues throughout the year.

So this post isn't really to speak about my silversmithing journey other than to say that there are a few New Year resolutions! The first being that there will be a new illustration each month that will be transformed into my jewellery along with a lot more one-off stone pendants. The second is that Instagram will be used solely for studio behind-the-scenes shots so that you can see before, during and after photographs. Lastly, I'm going to try and select slightly fewer events to attend but choose larger ones as regular fairs didn't seem to work out quite so well.

But the main news for 2016 will be from The Blue Starfish point of view as I have been realising some valuable lessons over this past year of market and fair selling. Ultimately it boils down to the fact that my jewellery making designs and materials have not progressed as much as they potentially could have done and with the surge in people beginning to make their own jewellery mine just doesn't cut the mustard any longer!
And that's ok! I had been trying for a while to incorporate more handmade elements and artisan beads but the jewellery still wasn't attracting the eyeballs when out and about at fairs and so I guess the design element is still 'simple' or too 'commercial' looking.

Having said all of that I don't want to stop having a second jewellery line (especially as I have a huuuuggggee stash of gorgeous beads) plus Graceful Deviant is quite monochrome so it gives me a chance to explore colours and different metals. With that in mind I have decided to have a complete clear out of The Blue Starfish side of the studio and restock with some simple basics - copper and brass sheet, artisan glass and some precious metal clays.

Most importantly comes a rebrand. I have thought long and hard about this but as soon as I'd made my decision I was filled with excitement and itching to get started so I know it is the right thing to do.

-> So, The Blue Starfish will cease trading at the end of January 2016 <-

What will follow is a brand new website filled with new designs that have a rustic, earthy element but most importantly, a more handmade element. It will launch as 'Metal Mountain Jewellery'.

The decision to change the name has also been heavily influenced by the fact that I am consistently being mistaken for an eBay store called Blue Starfish Design who claim to hand make sterling silver and copper jewellery for very small prices. I certainly don't want to be associated with eBay wholesalers! Did I say that 'out loud'?! It appears I did :)

The launch date for Metal Mountain Jewellery is yet to be decided as time is required for design and development along with sourcing some new artisans that I'd like to incorporate. That said, the domain name and website building is already underway and I am very excited about being able to bring something different to my markets and fairs.

I hope you are all looking forward to 2016 and it would be great to have you on board to keep following my handmade journey :)