Bletchley Park Event Round-up, and Cause for Congratulations!

Photograph By Paula Harris. August 2013

Hello All,

We hope you have all had a fabulous Summer, and enjoyed the intermittent sun as much as possible. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that it's not quite over yet!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who attended, participated in and helped with the Bletchley Park 'Summer on the Lawn' event. It was a huge success and the majority of the feedback we have had has been extremely positive. The wheels are already in motion to get organised for next year and we hope to see an even better turn out next Summer.

We are still awaiting the final figures for the amount of money raised for and donated to The Bletchley Park Trust and Open Door charities through attendance and participation in the event - we will update you when we get this information.

We would also like to congratulate our clients Jules and Myles Cooper on their recent wedding!

The happy couple were married on August 31st 2013, and Amethyst Sky was privileged to be commissioned to create the bride's bouquet, posies, corsages and button holes, and even a topper for their wedding cake!

The Bride was keen to have something bespoke and beautiful for herself and her wedding party, and after some initial consultations Sara Young designed these fabulous arrangements:

Bouquets, Posies, Button holes and
corsages designed and made
 by Sara Young. 2013.

In her brief to us, Jules asked for a tear-drop shaped Bride's bouquet arrangement (Centre), with a contemporary edge.The bouquet consisted of deep red roses and delicate white feathers, and was interspersed with vintage brooches;some dated back as far as 1918.

Jules also told us that both she and her husband to be Myles liked steam-punk and vintage style, and asked if we could incorporate this into our designs with out being too 'left of centre'

We were only too happy to oblige, as we both have a soft spot for this style too!
It is fair to say that we had lots of fun designing and creating these accessories, perhaps even a little too much fun!


For the bridesmaids, Jules chose to combine long stemmed Calla Lillie's with a red centrepiece, which was then draped with crystals to complement the bridesmaids dresses. Simple white rose arrangements were chosen for the Mothers of the Bride and Groom to complement any outfit they chose to wear.

Corsages for the Mothers of the Bride and Groom

The button holes were crafted using simple flowers, but as you can see form the picture, the steam punk element was incorporated here too, with wire wrapping and tiny cogs detailing some of the foliage.

The cake topper that Jules chose was also designed to echo the Bride and Groom's accessories. In the bouquet, tiny crystal beads were fixed over the flowers in the little bouquet, and steam-punk cogs were fixed on to the top hat

By all accounts the couple, their families and guests all had a fabulous time, and we were privileged to be able to help make something beautiful for Jules and Myles on their big day.

If you would like us to create something similar for you, please get in touch either through the blog comments section below, or via our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AmethystSky2012 and we will do our very best to help you. 

Wedding Photography by Jeff Whiting:
you can see more of his fabulous work here >
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/technojeff/

The Summer Collection.

Hello again dear readers!

Yes, it's true, there has been a little bit of  gap between posts from the Amethyst Studio's recently. Apologies to anyone who was waiting with baited breath for the latest instalment of the studio shenanigans!

So what have we been up to?

Well, as you know the Bletchley Park 'Summer on the Lawn' event is looming on the horizon and we are frantically preparing everything we need to for this. As usual the 'to do' list seems to grow daily rather than shrink, but we are edging ever closer to the finish line and extremely excited about all of the activities, stalls and acts that we have lined up for the weekend.

There is so much to see and do over the course of the event that it would be impossible to list everything here, but our sister company Cerulean Sky Ltd are handling things well and working closely alongside us and the events coordinator at Bletchley Park to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Among of the highlights of the weekend will be a vintage clothing fashion show, which will see a catwalk procession of models showcasing various designers work.

We are working along side one of our team at Cerulean Sky Ashly Ellis, who is not only a model, but also runs a small Pin-up girl agency of her own. You can find out more about her on our Cerulean Sky blog page

http;//www.blog.cerulean-sky.co.uk

Image supplied with kind permission
from Model Ashly Ellis.

The designers have been working hard and have created ensembles to represent fashions from varying era's right up to the 1950's. We have encouraged everyone taking part in the weekend to dress themselves and their stalls in keeping with the theme of Bletchley Park, although we are also all keen to highlight the pre war history of the park too so are including all fashion era's from Victorian times onwards.

We have also decided to set up a kissing booth, where people can have their photo taken with one of the models kissing them (just on the cheek, or a peck on the lips though; no tongues I'm afraid!) We think this will make the day just that little bit more attractive to those who aren't just coming for the great day out and ubiquitous retail therapy opportunities!

Along with the crafters and artists that will be joining us are local cake makers, brewers, fruit and vegetable producers, florists, meat producers, and much more, and a host of volunteers have kindly offered to assist us with some fairground sideshow attractions.

We will be having a silent auction, where people will be able to make sealed bids for various items which will be donated by those involved in the day. The proceeds of this will be shared among the charitable organisations who will be joining us over the weekend these include:

Bletchley Park Trust - http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
Open Door - http://www.opendoormk.org.uk/
MK Arts Gateway - http://www.artsgatewaymk.org.uk/

 Among the lots being auctioned off is this absolutely stunning print, which has been donated by local fine artist Shelley Sapwell Wynnedebank, you can see more of her work and details of her upcoming gallery shows here: http://shellywyndebank.weebly.com/

We will also be joined by:

Inter-Action - www.interactionmk.org.uk
MK Play Association  - http://mkplayassociation.wordpress.com/
Woodchucks Recycling - http://www.woodchuck.org.uk/
Branch out - http://branchoutmkcic.wordpress.com/about/

all of whom will be raising awareness of their various causes and, hopefully, raising some cash for themselves with the sale of their wares and visitor participation in the activities on offer! Inter-Action and MK Play association will be providing family oriented fun with activities for kids and Woodchucks and Branch out will be showing off some of their skills and promoting their causes. (more on this in our next blog!)

If this wasn't enough, there will be demonstrations from a local chainsaw sculptor and from local smithy Nick Packham will be bringing along a portable forge to demonstrate some of his excellent skills - which the kids can also get involved in! There will be re-enactors, May pole dancing and musical acts, as well as involvement form local radio station MKFM.

So, what of our own work?

Well we have been developing the designs and construction of our new summer collection - we are looking into which colours and themes are hot this summer and creating a few new pieces which we are hoping everyone will love as much as we do! As ever, the temptation to keep them for ourselves is ever present, but alas, we have to let some of them go.

Sara has been perfecting her wire wrapping technique and has created this stunning piece which we don't think we are going to have for long.

I am proud to say that I designed this piece with a colour scheme which will complement any summer outfit:

This piece is part of a set which includes necklace (pictured)   charm bracelet and earrings.

 We hope you will enjoy both the event, and all of the stalls and activities on offer at Bletchley Park on the 3rd and 4th of August - we look forward to seeing you there!! 

Guest Blog: By Sarah Hodgkins, Founder of Charlotte Designs.

This week we are thrilled to be able to share with you a guest blog from local mural artist  Sarah Hodgkins of Charlotte Designs looking at how we can and should engage children in the arts and the benefits that this can achieve for everyone. A link to her fabulous site can be found at the bottom of this blog, please do go and have a look at some of her amazing work. 

Children naturally love any kind of art – painting, drawing, making music, the theatre.  Art stimulates the right side of the brain which controls emotional perception, intuition and

creativity. But research shows that even when working on maths and science, typically left brain functions, both sides are working hard, proving that well developed right brain functionality helps all areas of education. Kids should be exposed to the arts as their cognitive skills mature, so that their right brain will be as developed as the left; this means both hemispheres work in tandem, thus helping kids to achieve their full potential.

Art also a great leveler, it doesn’t matter what background you are from, where you are from or how much money you have, art cuts across all boundaries and brings everyone to a level playing field.

As a regular painter of murals for schools and youth groups, I am privileged to see how participating in structured artistic activities affects children, and it is quite fascinating. So what exactly do children learn from engaging in visual arts?

1. Creativity – Being able to think on your feet, approach tasks from different perspectives and think ‘outside of the box’. If you ask a child to draw a memory or make up a fictitious animal, they can do it. If children have practice thinking creatively, it will come naturally to them now and in their future career.

2. Confidence – Knowing that.there are no wrong answers in art helps a child to take ‘risks’ and builds confidence their own abilities.

3. Problem Solving – Artistic creations are born through the solving of problems. How do I turn this clay into a sculpture? How do I make my monster look angry? Without even realizing it, kids that participate in the arts are consistently being challenged to solve problems. All this practice develops children’s skills in reasoning and understanding. This will help develop important problem-solving skills necessary for success in any career.

4. Focus – The ability to focus is a key skill developed through ensemble work. Recent research has shown that participation in the arts improves children’s abilities to concentrate and focus in other aspects of their lives.

5. Non-Verbal Communication – There are many situations where a lack of vocabulary can make getting complex feelings over, very difficult. Expressing emotions through visual arts is liberating and enables the exponent to show others what they are feeling without needing to find the words to explain.

6. Receiving Constructive Feedback – Receiving constructive feedback about a visual art

piece is a regular part of any arts instruction. Children learn that feedback is part of learning and it is not something to be offended by or to be taken personally. It is something helpful. The goal is the improvement of skills and evaluation is incorporated at every step of the process.

7. Collaboration – Most arts disciplines are collaborative in nature. Through the arts, children practice working together, sharing responsibility, and compromising with others to accomplish a common goal. When a child has a part to play in the production of a piece of art, they begin to understand that their contribution is necessary for the success of the group. Through these experiences children gain confidence and start to learn that their contributions have value.

8. Accountability – When children practice creating something collaboratively they get used to the idea that their actions affect other people. They learn that when they are not prepared or on-time, that other people suffer. Through the arts, children also learn that it is important to admit that you made a mistake and take responsibility for it. Because mistakes are a regular part of the process of learning in the arts, children begin to see that mistakes happen. We acknowledge them, learn from them and move on.

Charlotte Designs are experienced in running workshops designed to help children create

large collaborative works of art. These can be painted directly onto walls, inside or out, or onto large boards. The benefits of physically doing the painting and the legacy of an inspiring piece of art, is a powerful combination. Not only will it develop the skills necessary to produce confident, well balanced individuals, but it will put a smile on everyone’s face, for many years to come.

Sarah Hodgkins

Charlotte Designs

www.charlottedesigns.co.uk

Engage – Inform – Inspire!

New Pieces, New Works In Progress, A New Event And Last Call For Bletchley Park.

Wire Wrapped Necklace - please visit our Misi store for more details. 

One of our new collection of necklaces.

Hello all!

First of all, I want to offer my apologies to everyone for the length of time between this and the last blog post but, happily, there is good reason for this. We have been so busy in the Amethyst studio's over the last couple of weeks, that there simply hasn't been time.

So, where do I start? Well, the summer collection is taking shape nicely, and we are getting some very positive reactions to our new wire wrapping technique for creating our new pieces. Pictured here are just a few of the finished pieces and works in progress that we have made. I'm sure you will agree that they are some of our finest pieces yet!

Large wire wrapped silver and blue pendant
presented on a Sterling Silver rope chain. £15 from Misi.co.uk 

Sharks Tooth style Pendant, with wire coil design ,
presented here on a leather thong .
 £12.50 in the Misi store.

Moon with pearl and and amethyst and crystal drop
Necklace incorporates Japanese miuki beads - £15 in the Misi store

We are also in the process of putting a collection together for sale at another event that we have been invited to attend in a few weeks time. Our sister company Cerulean Sky Ltd www.cerulean-sky.co.uk have just landed themselves a new client, one miss Jennie Grayson, who is a local clairvoyant medium. Jennie has oragnised a psychic fair, which is being held on 4th May ( Start Wars day!!  - May The Fourth Be With You.....[sorry, had to.]) at Old Stony Community Center in Milton Keynes - you can find out more details about Jennie and her event here: www.jenniegrayson.com

We are going to be exhibiting some pieces which have been created with a more mystical form in mind, and  we have finally found a new outlet for some of the semi precious stones and rock crystals that we have in the studio. We will be selling loose crystals and stones, as well as offering some pieces that are made into lovely necklaces, brooches, bracelets, earrings and bag charms.


Paula has also been busily making a new range of 'Fidgets' specifically for the event - The original Fidgets are here: https://www.facebook.com/fidgetsfun and are also still being sold through our Folksy shop at £3 each (+ p&p)
 These new little critters are for sale from just £4 each, and each one comes with it's own accessory, spell, affirmation, crystal or good luck charm!

A new range of Fidgets - Available from £4 each -
initially being sold exclusively at the Psychic Fair 04/05/13  

Paula has also been working on some new canvasses which will be up for sale online soon, below is one of the new range that she is currently working on.

We will also be bringing along The Unicorn, painted by Miss Lara Page - a good friend of the Amethyst Studios team, we think that this event will be just the right outlet for her work.












We hope you like what you see here, if you do, come along to the Psychic fair and meet us! it promises to be a great day out, with lots and lots of interesting things to see and do.

Finally, our sister company Cerulean Sky have been ultra busy arranging the Summer on the Lawn event for Bletchley Park on the first weekend in August. The response from crafty types like us has been amazing and they have managed to fill most of the available tables in just a few short weeks! There are only around 20 or so spaces left for people to come and promote their crafts and sell their wares. However, there are a few types of craft from the 'wish list' that are unrepresented at the event. They are still looking for:

• Cake Makers
• Farmers Market (fruit, veg and natural produce i.e.sauces, chutneys etc)
• Quilting
• Toys
• Small Sculpture
• Antique and Retro goods
• Chocolatier
• Cheeses

We hope that someone reading this will be among these categories, or know of some local producers who are. If you would like more information please visit the Amethyst Sky or Cerulean Sky Ltd Facebook pages (Links as above) They are hoping to close the window for applications within the next few weeks to enable them to concentrate on the smaller details for the event, so the deadline is fast approaching. We look forward to meeting everyone and having a great weekend.

Shop Number 2, Clandestine plans In The Making (Shhh!) and New Works In Progress Too!

Where does the time go?

Artwork By Paula Harris - March 2013. 

We have been ultra busy in the Amethyst Studio this last fortnight. We have been busily creating new items for our summer collection, working on new canvasses and drawings for the original art works, and we have found a second online outlet for our wares.
Our work will now be available through our MISI store, you can see some of the items we have listed here on the widget at the side of this blog page (although please bear with us, the stock available on there is limited at the moment)

There are some exciting prospects in the pipeline for us and some of our fellow artists and crafty types over the next 12 months - we will be expanding the empire and edging ever closer toward world domination, although we can't go into too much detail about that right now,because the plans are all very hush-hush and secret so we'll keep it just between you and me for now, okay? :)
We will  however, be looking to include here some guest blogs and interviews from some of our friends who's work we know and love - so keep an eye out for that coming soon...

In the mean time, here are just some of the new works in progress and pieces we will be working on over the next few months

We have been racking our little designers brains to come up with some items that are more appealing to those who like accessories, but don't want anything too girly or bling. So, we are looking at designing a range around Hematite, Wood, Obsidian etc - incorporating a more masculine feel and hopefully appealing to a broader audience

Paula Harris - 2013

Like everyone else, we are sick of the cold dreary days and are all looking forward to the summer. Our thoughts have turned to warm beaches and relaxing in the sunshine. This bracelet is made using elastic so that it will fit larger wrists, and is easy to get on and off. It is great for beach wear and would look great on tanned skin.....

Paula Harris - 2013

Continuing the summer theme we are looking at using warm colours along side cooler silver and chrome tones. This wire wrapped piece will look great with a Maxi dress or gypsy top and is the epitome of boho style.

The copper coil necklace is evolving, we think that the addition of the focal piece has made this piece really pretty, again this style of necklace will complement practically any outfit and will look great against a tan. 

Sara and I have also been working our little socks making arrangements and new pieces for the summer events which are coming our way - the stock is growing daily! some of our new art pieces ( shown below) are already attracting attention on Facebook and Twitter, so we hope that when they are finished they will be sold in no time. 

This beautiful lady is going metallic! Best viewed in person, you can see the gold and silver high lights in her hair and the metallic purple background sets the whole thing off. She is set to be finished before the next blog so we should have a finished product to show you by then. 

Sara Young - 2013

This canvass is started with an acrylic swirl background - some have suggested that the foreground needs to be a TARDIS - let us know what you think......

Paula Harris - 2013

Paula Harris - 2013

I have been playing with some sketches  and stencils (exploring a street art theme - watch this space for more on that!) and have framed some older pieces to bring them a little more up to date 

Paula Harris - 2013

  

Paula Harris 2013

This is a small clue to the next piece that I will be creating, again - keep an eye on the blog for updates and new work.

Paula Harris - 2013

Along with all of this, we are including some fabric crafts in to our repertoire, but that is a whole other blog topic...

New Events, New Toys, New Items And A Give Away In The Folksy Store!!

Things are moving very quickly for us all at the Amethyst Studio's this year, and this week has been no exception. Not only do we have the fabulous Summer on the lawn event at Bletchley Park to look forward to, we have also been invited to take part in two more craft events - both being held at Milton Keynes Museum.

So to celebrate our progress, we have decided to have a little give-away at the Folksy shop! www.folksy.com/shops/AmethystSky
The first 5 people to 'favourite' our shop will receive this lovely Tree of Life pendant as a thank you gift.

All you have to do is follow the link above to our shop, click 'Favourite' and then send us a message through the store (There is an option to contact the seller on the side of the page) either giving us your address to send the pendant to, or an email address where we can contact you for further details. 

Good luck! x

In June this year the museum will be hosting a Country Fair, which will incorporate lots of different types of crafts, including ours, and we will also be attending the Victorian Christmas Market again in December. We couldn't be more excited!

If you would like to keep up to date with the museum and it's events do have a look at their face book page. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Milton-Keynes-Museum

There are several new art works in progress too (which I will be updating the blog with later in the week) and Sara has been playing with a new little anvil, which was kindly made for her by Nicholas Packham who's work and art you can find here: http://www.ngp-artist-and-blacksmith.co.uk/

We recently acquired some copper wire and Sara has been working on some prototype designs and learning how to work with the metal and the hammers to produce more stunning pieces to add to our collection.
Below is an example of one of these prototypes -

I personally think that their addition to our collection will be amazingly popular - I love them already!

Exciting News From The Amethyst Sky Studio.

Today, we are excited to be able to announce the latest news from the Amethyst Sky studio.

This coming year we will be involved in several fabulous Arts, Craft, Vintage and Handmade fairs, not least of which will be the 'Summer On The Lawn' event, which is taking place at Bletchley Park on 3rd and 4th of August 2013!

We have been excitedly (and a little nervously) taking stock of all of the items that we have - both those for sale and those currently in production - and talking with our sister company Cerulean Sky Ltd (who are helping to organise the event!) about the marketing side of things.

The last fair we took part in was held at Milton Keynes Museum and covered 3 weekends in the run up to Christmas 2012. This event was a great success and, as you can probably imagine, the amount of visitors that the location attracted also brought many people to our stall.

The Christmas Craft Fair which is held there each year offers unique, handmade Christmas gift ideas for anyone looking for that special something that is a 'little bit different'. It seems though that last year, due to increased promotion of the event, the expected footfall at the venue was slightly underestimated, which was great!

However, this event seriously depleted our stock to the point where demand almost outstripped our supply.
This is an enviable position to be in to say the least, and we were astonished by the amount of sales we were making. Luckily, we were able to create more pieces during the event as we had already decided to make this event our priority for these 3 weeks, and had no other clients work or commission pieces booked in.

Having discussed the upcoming Bletchley Park event with our marketing team, it has come to light that the expected footfall at Summer On The Lawn  is expected to be somewhere in the region of 2.5 to 3 thousand people over the whole weekend.

This is fantastic, and not entirely unexpected since the venue is so fabulous and attracts many visitors, for varying reasons, all year round. However, this has presented us with a few small - and lovely - problems. How much stock do we need? and, how much should we take with us?

As a result, we are furiously working on new pieces to add to our summer collection, and putting extra effort in to completing works currently in progress. We have given ourselves some quite ambitious deadlines and goals for the next couple of months.This is so much easier cope with when you are as filled with excited anticipation as we are, and love to engage in the work that you do!

Cerulean Sky Ltd have also informed us that, along side the Arts, Crafts and Handmade goods on sale at the event, there will also be a farmers market, children's entertainment, re-enactors and demonstrations of Heritage artisan crafts by local practitioners. So if you are looking for a great family day out in the summer holidays, look no further!

One of the other participants this year will be Nick Packham, a local Smithy who is well know to us at the Amethyst studio. He will be demonstrating his blacksmithing skills for visitors and will be selling some of his fabulous sculptural work  - you can see some of his pieces here: http://www.ngp-artist-and-blacksmith.co.uk
(Nick is also an assistant curator of the Tecton Gallery in Milton Keynes - go check it out if you can, you won't regret it!) http://www.tectongallery.com

If you are interested in booking a stall at the event, either for your own crafts or for your produce, get in touch with our marketing team at:
http://www.cerulean-sky.co.uk - they will be able to send you more information and an application form to book yourself a stall!

You can follow us on twitter via @AmethystSkyArts, where we will also be posting updates and promoting our new pieces whenever possible.

Look our for updates and more information about the event on the Bletchley Park website too:
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/calendar/event_detail.rhtm?cat=special&recID=680644

Most importantly - if you can - do come long to the event, we would love to meet you.

P
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