Moonstones

While it is still all white outside, here seemed nothing better than a handful of moonstones, with their gorgeous flashes of colour through milky white, to work with today.

Firstly I made a little bezel cup to re-make a stolen hare necklace. I will probably get the necklace finished tomorrow.

Then I made a bezel for a bigger stone, and decided that one deserved to be a ring. I haven/'t made the band yet as I thought I would wait and see if anyone was interested in this ring, and then they could have it made to their size.

And finally... here's a picture of one of my chickens in the snow today. Why not!?!

A mentor

A few months ago, I started selling my jewellery through the website madebyhandonline.com. I was delighted to be accepted to sell with them, as they are selective about who they take on, which means that they are a quality destination for high end Contemporary British Craft, and I was thrilled that my jewellery was sitting alongside that of makers who I really admire.

madebyhandonline.com was set up by two friends Sarah James, and Katie Honnor two years ago. Sarah and Katie share a deep interest and respect for the making community and have always had craft and making in their lives. Not only have they created a place where you can buy good quality handmade products, they also strongly support the British Craft industry in other ways. They do this by sponsoring some of the big National craft events, by working closely with the teams at some of the major events, and also by offering their support to individual makers.

I was taken on by them on a 'Two Years On' scheme, where they offer support to makers just setting out on their journey. They work in partnership with ChristianDodd LLP, and one of the best bits for me about the scheme is that they aim to pair each new maker with an established maker, someone who has been on the scene longer, and who may have advice and wisdom to share.

I recently found out that I have been paired with Phiona Richards. This is how she describes herself on her website: Phiona Richards creates interactive book sculptures and intriguing jewellery using traditional needlework techniques. "Having been brought up with a ‘make do and mend’ mentality I tend to collect and gather materials including books near the end of their existence and regenerate them into pleasing tactile structures using a variety of needlework techniques. Although they appear to be fragile and delicate they are quite robust and interaction becomes a therapeutic experience on many sensory levels."

Phiona and I have exchanged our first e-mails with each other. It is very early days in our pairing, and who knows yet what we might learn from each other, and where it may take us. Certainly I am someone who is always willing to take advice and to learn. I love to make new friends, I love all creative fields, and I am very excited, and already inspired when I look at some of Phiona's amazing pieces. I promise to keep you all updated about the benefits of having a mentor, and also about Phiona's gorgeous work, and where you can see it for yourselves.

A sad day for Charlotte Bezzant Jewellery

So those of you that follow me on Facebook and Twitter will already know that I have had nearly every single piece of my jewellery stolen. After the last couple of years of pouring my heart and soul into my little business, all I have to show are five pieces which were left behind.

Someone out there took it all, probably in the hope they could sell it, but on reflection when they see that it is 'just silver' and rather distinctive, they have probably chucked the whole lot in the Thames. What a waste of hours and hours of work, endless thought, creative passion, skills learned, what a blow to everything I have been trying so hard to achieve, what a bad world.

Here are some photos of most of the 'haul' that the thief took away.

Luckily I have a mother who brought me up to believe they are 'only things', so that gives me the strength to remember that they can be replaced. It is a setback, but I will recover.

I remind myself, no one was hurt, and nothing was damaged. I keep my fingers crossed that they could be recovered, but in reality I doubt I will ever see them again.

So what now for 2013? I have to decide if I re-make missing stock, or if I move on to new ideas that I was just ready to burst forth with. My feeling now is that I move on to new things, and make these pieces to order, as and when required.

Sadly it means that it is unlikely I will be able to take part in Richmond's Open Studio event this year - I just will not have enough to show, and it does mean that I can't really approach new stockists which was the plan for this year. They will hardly take me on if I have nothing to show. Luckily I had no Spring shows booked, as there is no way I could re-make all the missing stock as well as keeping up with commissions etc.

My belief in Karma is strong. Things will fall into place eventually.

Wishing all my readers a happy and healthy 2013, so sorry you are finding me at this time. It is normally a much more jolly affair here!

Charlotte

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