Handmade Fabric Cupcake Brooches

The latest additions to my range are pink and aqua handmade fabric cupcake brooches. These brooches have been designed to sit alongside my heart brooches which I blogged about previously. All brooches can be found in both my Folksy Shop and my Not on the Highstreet Shop.

I have not listed these brooches as suitable for personalisation but if you would like one personalised with a name or (short!) message of your choice then please email me with your requirements and I shall see what I can do (studio@clairehurd.co.uk).

Claire x

New Handmade Make-Up Bags

I have been busily listing new handmade make-up bags in my online shops today.

I have several designs available at the moment but will only be continuing with a few of them long-term. Additional designs will appear seasonally and in preparation for craft fairs/shows but I feel it is better to only have a few that are constantly in my shop to keep my product range clear and defined.

Here are my latest additions which are currently limited availability, with the exception of the Matryoshka Doll bag which I intend to stock permanently.

All make-up bags are available in both my Folksy shop and my Not on the Highstreet Shop.

Handmade Valentine's Love Heart Framed Artwork

My latest addition to my online shops (Folksy and Not on the Highstreet) - a lovingly handmade embroidered and appliquéd Valentine's Love Heart framed artwork.

The fabric heart has been teamed with gingham ribbon, cotton lace trim and a natural mother-of-pearl button. The motif has a soft grey printed heart tag and hand-embroidered 'Love' text. The artwork comes framed in an off-white locally made textured wooden frame with stand and hanging hook. The artwork has a pale cream mount with a red border and is signed and dated with the year. The frame measures approx. W.16cm, H.16cm, D.1.5cm and has a glass front.

If you would like to order one of these artworks with a personalised message then please contact me at studio@clairehurd.co.uk.

Valentine's Love Heart Brooch

I have just added a new product to my online shops. My new handmade fabric Love Heart Brooch is now available both on Folksy and NOTHS.

This love heart brooch has been delicately handmade with satin ribbon, lace trim and button detail. The text 'Love' has been carefully embroidered by hand. I have used a sturdy vilene on the brooch reverse to give a clean finish and keep the fabric heart in shape. There is a brooch bar securely stitched to the reverse. The heart measures approx. W.5cm x H.5cm.

If you would like a personalised Love Heart Brooch made to your own specifications then email me your details at studio@clairehurd.co.uk.

I shall be adding more fabric brooches in this style to my shops over time based on my favourite motifs from my existing products - cupcakes, teatime, boats etc. Watch this space ....

Happy New Year!

Happy new year! I hope you have all had a wonderful festive season and are feeling fresh and inspired ready for the new year.

I have had a lovely family break and am now eager to get back to work and start filling my shops with new products. I have all sorts of plans for 'Claire Hurd Design' this year and I look forward to sharing them with you.

I have pictures to show you of my final Christmas stocking commission for 2009. This stocking was extra special to me as I was making it for my gorgeous niece's first Christmas. She is an absolute bookworm and has already discovered a love of Fairies (a girl after my own heart!) so I personalised her stocking and added a pretty Christmas fairy for her. The embroidered 'Christmas 2009' text is on the stocking foot-arch reverse.

Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to win not one, but two blog giveaways. I have been extremely lucky recently with giveaway wins as I really do not enter many, only those where I am a real fan of the products!

My first was a lovely festive package from Monda Loves. I received some beautiful handmade tree decorations, some lovely handmade cards, a little stash of red and white fabrics and buttons and some of my favourite chocolates. Such a lovely surprise - thank you very much Monda!

The second was from Ruby Wren Designs. I received a lovely assortment of Ruby Wren handmade greetings cards including the 3D butterfly one below. I now have lots of lovely eco-friendly cards to send to my friends, great motivation to send more hand-written letters. Thank you Hayley for my lovely prize, I look forward to using them.

A Few of my Favourite Things

Well, things have finally slowed down for Christmas. My final last-minute orders were sent out yesterday and my online shops are 'on holiday'. I have some new designs and products to share with you in the new year but in the mean time I thought I would share a few of my favourite things with you. I plan to do a post like this every now and then to share my favourite textile designers with you and am starting with the following three as designers I have admired for many years.

First up, Belinda Downes. Belinda produces beautiful embroidered, hand-painted and appliquéd book illustrations that I have long admired. Such wonderful attention to detail and delicate images that work really well in print. This summer I also came across her fantastic greetings cards under the label 'Paper and Cotton Ltd'. Of all the textile illustrators I have come across Belinda is definitely one of my favourites.

Next up is Poppy Treffry. I love Poppy's relaxed hand-drawn style and have been a fan of her work for many years. It is wonderful to spot her products in so many fabulous stores such as Liberty in London. There seem to have been lots of textile badges around this year at the various craft fairs I have visited but my firm favourites are still those by Poppy Treffry which I first discovered several years ago on one of my many visits to the Eden Project in Cornwall.

And finally, Clare Beaton, another of my favourite textile illustrators. I am not sure exactly when it was I first stumbled across Clare's work but I have been enjoying her gorgeous children's book illustrations for quite a number of years now and must admit I have a growing collection of her books! Clare's embroidered and appliquéd illustrations are always so cute with lots of lovely trims used for texture and detail. I love all her little finishing touches.

Well I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favourite designers and look forward to discovering more in the new year.

Merry Christmas to you all and thank you for all of your wonderful support this year.

Claire x

Christmas Giveaway on Facebook

I am having a Christmas giveaway on Facebook. Pop over to my page for a chance to win one of my cute little Christmas Robin decorations and a Christmas Pudding card.

Claire Hurd Design Facebook page.

AMENDED 13th Dec. 2009 - We have a winner!

Congratulations to Julie Davis who was randomly selected using 'Random.Org' as my Christmas giveaway winner. Your prize will be on it's way to you very soon.

Thank you to everyone who entered. The kind comments and messages you sent were lovely and a real boost.

Handm@de Cambridge Christmas Craft Fair

I am back! It has been a while as I have been very busy keeping up with online orders and preparing for the Handm@de Cambridge Christmas craft fair.

The craft fair took place on Saturday and I am really pleased with how it went. It was my first craft fair and I was not really sure what to expect so went along with the attitude that as long as I covered my costs I would be happy. It turned out that despite being a relatively quiet fair I easily covered my

costs and made a healthy profit on top.

It was lovely being able to chat with my customers and I received lots of really positive feedback on my products which was very encouraging. I was also able to catch up with some familiar faces from the Winchester and Oxford fairs. Through the Handm@de craft fairs I have met some really lovely fellow designer/makers and it was wonderful to chat about crafty things and share hopes and dreams with people working in similar fields.

I particularly want to introduce my blog readers to the following people - all truly lovely, very friendly and creating beautiful products.

Julie of 'Little Button Nose', Karen of 'Chalk Hill Studio', Karen of 'Hodge Podge Arts', Cath of 'Emerald Framing', 'Twinkly Spangle', Natalie of 'Nat's Nest' and Alice who organised the event. It was wonderful to meet you all and sorry if I have missed anyone!