More new things in Handmade Happiness

Handspun Shetland fleece, knitted and then felted by Georgina Hutber with horn button decoration

Bobble bag made by Georgina Hutber.

Very pretty hydrangea and dried roses wreath by Brenda Tilbury. £24.50

Dried roses heart made by Brenda Tilbury. £24.50. SOLD

 The New Year has brought a rush of new makers into Handmade Happiness with their work.
Georgina Hutber spins, dyes, knits and felts and the shop now has several of her bags and scarves. I particularly like the bag with horn buttons pictured. It is designed to be worn across the body and as the wool is very thick would be an ideal safe carrier for anyone's personal computer.

Brenda Tilbury has bought in more of her pretty romantic wreaths.

Emma Clay came in yesterday with her work which has a birds' eggs theme. Her pictures look original and fresh and I can picture them against any 'shades of white' painted wall lending a contemporary, clean look to a room.

I'm making Valentine's cards and doing some embroidery for an order. More of that later...

Samantha Robertson's ceramics

Samantha Robertson's beautiful bowls and coaster tiles in Handmade Happiness

Samantha teaches pottery and somehow she finds time to also make her own decorated bowls, coasters and night lights. The small bowls are £12, larger bowls £18 and coasters £5. Great gifts.

This week Kate Box has been in with a new navy knitted wrap and more of her popular wrist warmers. Sue Inglis has made new Valentine cards and Justine Jenner re-stocked with more of her white cups and saucers and dimpled jugs. Then yesterday Tanya Williamson brought in lots more of her wildlife cushions. So Handmade Happiness is filling up again after the usual empty look it gets after all the Christmas selling.

Quite a few new visitors are coming in after seeing the feature on Handmade Happiness in the local free magazine Life in Petersfield. Look out for more features on local makers in the months ahead.

Heart wreaths

Heart wreath made by Brenda Tilbury for the Handmade Happiness Valentine's window.SOLD

Green heart wreath made by Brenda Tilbury hanging from the flagpole at Handmade Happiness

New in Handmade Happiness

Doll and mushrooms designed and made by Jill Haines. Doll £38.50; mushrooms £7.50 each.

Cat by Jill Haines. £14.50

Mushrooms in spring colours made by Jill Haines. £7.50 each.

 Jill Haines' things are beautifully made and a welcome addition to the gifts offered in Handmade Happiness.

 Samantha Robertson just brought in more of her popular tile coasters and decorated ceramic bowls and Brenda Tilbury has made the most amazing large rose decorated heart shaped wreath for the window. Brenda also made the big green heart that she attached to the flag pole outside the shop and some dried rose heart decorations also for Valentine's Day.

I got to work decorating heart shaped boxes today and tomorrow I'll work on Valentine's cards...

Please note...

Lovely, arty fabrics by Bluebelle Grey. My neighbour, Tara Interiors stocks this brand.

If you want to see me, personally, I won't be in the shop this afternoon, so come in the morning.
After a quiet January week I've decided not to open on Tuesdays for the time being. As from next week the shop will open Wednesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm. 
January is always the quietest month of the year customer-wise. It is very cold, often raining and if I were a customer I would stay at home too!!

On a brighter note, Jill Haines brought in pieces of her work this week. Delicately embroidered toadstools, a rag doll wearing vintage materials and an amusing felt cat with a fish. I like her work and look forward to stocking more of it in the months to come.

Look out for this month's Life in Petersfield if you live locally, the shop is featured in it. 

A death in the family

First of all, apologies to anyone who visited Handmade Happiness on Saturday and found it closed. My mother had died the day before so I couldn't work that day.
Having been healthy all her life my mother succumbed to dementia around the time of my father's death, nearly five years ago.

 To anyone reading this who has someone in the family suffering with dementia, my heart goes out to you. It is the most cruel disease and, as with cancer, I do hope that a reliable cure can be found soon.

From today, Tuesday, the shop will be open as usual, 10 to 5, closed on Sundays and Mondays.  

New Year's Resolutions

Pam Dew's quilt in Handmade Happiness.£295. The fabrics are all designed by Kaffe Fassett.

I just found a sheet of New Year Resolutions I wrote maybe 10 years ago. Interestingly they were the same resolutions as I would write today.

 Basically: Improve your home, improve yourself, make more stuff to sell and write more. I have succeeded in getting a shop - that was one of my resolutions for decades as regular readers will know. But basically, aside from getting a shop and moving house I haven't pulled off any other dramatic changes in the last 10 years.

So if we don't put into practice our resolutions each year what is the point of them? The good thing is it focusses our attention on what we want and where we are going.

 I just got 'The Happiness Project' by Gretchen Rubin. She zoomed in on her life and read masses of books and came up with some interesting tips to make life happier. I'll tell you more when I've finished reading it. Meanwhile you can look at www.happiness-project.com for more details.

 Where Gretchen and I differ is that she gave her project masses of energy and determination. Energy and determination are vital to change and puting New Year Resolutions into practice. So pass me the iron pills someone I'm getting help in the energy department.

Nice things in Handmade Happiness

Sheila Barrow's Up the Garden Path embroidery.

Love these useful zipped bags made by Carol Smith

Clever knitting in this scarf by Jenny Drant

Love this sari silk I bought at the Knitting and Stitching Show this year.

Sophisticated grey porcelain decorations made by Niloo

Cushions by the talented Tanya Williamson

 When beautiful handmade things come into the shop I'm often tempted to buy them myself but I usually manage to resist. But I do regret not buying the little picture by Sheila Barrow at the top. It is a little bit of perfect.

I did buy the stitched  bags in the second photo made by Carol Smith and I keep my fairy making materials in them.

When Jenny Drant showed me her knitting this year I was blown away. A lot of us can knit but she takes knitting to a whole other level. I look forward to selling more of her work this year. 

I used the ripped sari silk ribbons to make the big decorative birds you may have seen in the window in November. Wish I'd  bought more now. The colours are intense.

Niloo makes the popular black on white spotted pots and this year she bought in these contemporary decorations. They really are little works of art.

People love Tanya Williamson's cushions and I hope she'll make many more for the shop this year.

I'll try and take some more pictures inside the shop today. I'm looking forward to having a bit of a spring clean ready for a sparkling 2016 when Handmade Happiness will be displaying a lot more of talented makers' work. I'll keep you posted.

The shop will be open from 10am to 1pm today.

Happy New Year !!!

Star garlands made by Sue Inglis

Spring flower mugs and plates by Kate Hackett

Love this painting by Christine Burgess

My favourite linocut card by Christine Burgess

One of those UFOs (unfinished objects) I'd forgotten about making...

Love this arty tea cosy made by Kate Box

All change! Wayne Osborne of Osborne Signs painting the shop's new lettering.

I hope your life in 2016 is everything you wish it to be!
Here are a few pictures from the first half of 2015. More tomorrow.
Handmade Happiness will be open tomorrow morning Saturday January 2nd from 10am to 1pm.

More pictures of Bath

Rushing waters of the man-made weir, part of the flood prevention scheme.

Established 1826. Like the coat of arms.

These pictures were taken at night on Christmas Eve.

In Bath for Christmas

A fake Father Christmas is waving high above a jewellers' shop with changing light projections below. Impressive.

I love Bath. 
Even though it felt a long drive after being in the shop on Christmas Eve the thought of seeing all my lovely children, their partners and my precious grandaughter kept me alert!

We rented a house together up a very steep hill just a few minutes walk from the city centre. No one is host or hostess. Everyone mucks in together and cooks and cleans up. We play games - this year Bananagram and Articulate and go out for walks in the beautiful yellow stone city that is Bath. The Georgian buildings and Jane Austen link mean Bath is full of tourists which gives it a great inter-nation feeling. 

Did you enjoy your Christmas? I hope so.

Handmade Happiness properly re-opens on Saturday January 8th. But email me if you need to visit the shop by appointment before then or have any queries.  jennystacy6@gmail.com 

Happy Christmas!

Outside Handmade Happiness at Christmas 2015

Wishing you a very happy time this Christmas and may all your dreams come true in 2016! 
Thank you for reading this blog. I'll post again after the big day! 

Most men hate Christmas shopping

Night time sparkle.

I wish I could say to some of the men that come into my shop alone:
'Let me help you. Tell me your budget and I'll show you a range of things you can choose from.Maybe you won't think any of them are quite right. That's ok too.'
Instead they dart in, find it all too much and bolt for the door.

I get it. Lots of men loathe having to find presents for their loved ones. Let's not pretend otherwise. But I guess their wives or girlfriends have told them they'd like something from Handmade Happiness so they feel duty bound to come in. But then there's too much choice, they're short of time and they'd rather be anywhere than in a gift shop so they duck out, mission unaccomplished!

I'm here and I'd like to help you find the perfect gift. Just ask ! I will also gift wrap it for you free of charge if there's no queue at the counter.

Yesterday was the shortest day of the year. Early darkness is more than compensated by watching fairy lights. I love to sit in the dark with only the little flashing lights for company.

This year I've really appreciated battery operated lights. No more having to load down each socket with extra plugs and wires at Christmas. And a string of little lights can go anywhere you please. You could even wear a lights necklace with the battery pack in your pocket! 

Gift decorations and table decorations

Pale gold gift topper or table decoration by Brenda Tilbury.

For Christmas or a wedding. Pretty decoration by Brenda Tilbury.

Lots of sparkle on this impressive gift decoration by Brenda Tilbury

Imagine receiving a gift with this on it! Decoration by Brenda Tilbury

 Brenda Tilbury just brought in a tray of beautifully-made decorations. Handmade Happiness also stocks her wreaths and Brenda is responsible for the impressive greenery in the shop window this year. Brenda is an at-home florist and I'm wondering what her shop would be like, should she ever choose to have one!

Originally these decorations were intended to top Christmas presents.  But actually they'd also be lovely laid on Christmas tables or wedding tables. For really sumptous table decor each person could have an individual decoration on their place setting. More designs are available in the shop.

Please note Handmade Happiness is additionally open on Monday December 21st 10am to 5pm then business as usual until the afternoon of Christmas Eve when it will be open until at least 1pm.

In Handmade Happiness now

Owl cushion on midnight blue velvet made by Tanya Williamson £48

New lino cut Christmas cards by Jacqui Watkins. £2.50 each.

Jeremy Moore's attractive mugs, also stocked in blue, £16.00 each.

Interesting jug £22.50 by Jeremy Moore

 There are so many lovely gifts, cards and decorations to choose from in Handmade Happiness right now.

Certain items are consistently popular and lots of makers are muttering about having to start making for Christmas in January next year. Today I'll be contacting some of them to please re-stock this week.

I've also just started selling Jeremy Moore's ceramics.He uses a lovely deep blue glaze (not pictured) that I particularly like. I also like the deep rustic green celadon glaze of these mugs. Ideal for a country cottage.

Also new are the necklaces I've been making. A new take on 'worry' beads that I remember so well from my childhood in the Middle East. I can still picture men sitting cross-legged with a string of large, smooth beads in their hands. Feeling each bead as an aid to prayer and meditation is also what rosary beads are traditionally used for in some religious places.

On Monday I went to Chichester and I was amazed that so many items are being offered at sale prices. Whatever happened to the January sales? I remember when sales were in January and again in July. Full stop. Now sales are all the year round...but it's a bit worrying if shops feel the need to go into sale in the run up to Christmas. I asked why at Marks and Spencer and apparently it's to attract people back into the shops now that so many people choose to do all their shopping online.

Handmade Happiness is exceptionally going to be open on Monday 21st December, next week. Otherwise business as usual, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm but closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.