Hi there! Welcome to my blog. On here you’ll be able to find out more about me and take a look at things I do for work and things I do because, well, I love them.
First things first, if you’re here because you’d like to commission me as a freelance feature writer, click on ‘Portfolio’ and you’ll be able to see the type of work I’ve been involved in. You can also download my CV and see what I’ve been up to on my latest blog entry.
If you’re not looking to commission me and just want a little look around, may I recommend a visit to ‘Things I Like’ which, as the name suggests, are things I like. From vintage china to little bits of junk, I collect everything!
For those of you with crafty tendancies (and by that, I don’t mean sneaky) take a peek at the ‘How to’ section, but whoa there! Don’t run with those scissors and try not to smear PVA glue over the screen! It’s here you’ll find (hopefully) lots to inspire you if you’re thinking of holding a party but don’t just want a party where everyone stands around in the kitchen or trying to smoke out of the window.
I hope you have a good visit – let me know what you think!
Clare
One of each for me please
Each year, my sisters ask me if I’ve made a Christmas list yet. This normally happens at the end of October – maybe this happens to you too? If it does, you might be interested in the feature I’m working on for Kalimocho. It’s the cream of creativity showcasing the prettiest top ten handmade gifts from independent makers and designers. Above, are a selection of the products I’ll be talking about – Isak bread board from Illustrated Living, purse from Laura Fallulah and necklace made by All Those 3hrees at Green Rewards.
The feature will be live in a couple of weeks so keep checking back to see what the other goodies I’ve found.
Today I went to the National Trust’s Killerton House to meet the Devon Guild of Spinners and try my hand at this handicraft. I’m currently writing a piece for Knitting magazine about the resurgence of spinning so it was great to have a go.
Of course, my results were not amazing but I was allowed to take home the yarn I’d spun which is affectionately known as ‘Art Yarn.’ What that actually means is that it is lumpy, bumpy and misshapen!
I’ve put some of the pics of my day on Flickr. Eyes right to have a peek.
Do I seem a little lazy? I do apologise – I’ve been meaning to put my latest work up for a while now and I’m only just getting round to it. I blame Twitter (see top right).
Give me five minutes and then mosey on over to the portfolio section of my site and you should be able to see my most recent features which includes one on England rugby star, Danny Care for WestSide magazine. You can see him below courtesy of the fantastic photographer, Chris Bissell who shot him for the cover while the interview was taking place.
He's scrumbelievable
It might seem a bit nosy but I really wanted to know who washes his muddy kit (and I’m sure you do too) so have a look here
I said I’d never join Facebook, get a Blackberry or sign up to Twitter. So it’s no surprise that I’ve now signed up to Twitter. At the moment, I’m editing veg pics for a feature on Doddington Hall’s kitchen garden. Just so you know.
Stalk me at SoManyNicknames and we can compare pet names.
Tip me up and pour me out
Local magazine Living South was kind enough to feature a product from Pogostick Pie in its August issue.
Here is our lovely floral jug basking in the limelight. We haven’t finished making the website yet but if you want to see a selection of our vintage china, have a look here.
For my birthday, I was given a beautiful new camera which is why I’ve been so distracted of late. If you fancy having a peek at some of my pictures, have a look at the ‘photos’ section of my blog.
But if you can’t be bothered or are on your way somewhere else, here’s a taster:
Sweetpeas, Pattie's Garden – July 2009
I’ve also been busy working on commissions for Prima, Sew Hip, Kitchen Garden and Knitting magazine – all of which you’ll be able to see in the ‘portfolio’ section shortly. I’m particularly pleased with the Prima piece as it tells the stories of three generations of women who enjoy craft and, as you’ll gather, I’m pretty fond of crafts too. In theory more than practice however. I often don’t have the patience to see fiddly things through which is why photography is so great – instant results and it keeps me out of trouble. And if you believe that, you will believe anything…
Freelancers who work from home may display all, if not, some develop some of the following behaviour:
- An excessive thirst for knowledge sated only by upgrading from Radio 2 to Radio 4
- Inappropriate crushes – checking out the check out girls/boys whilst hunting for lunch is common
- A distaste of post arriving after lunch time – the wait is too long
- An uncontrollable urge to tell the builder next door everything about themselves
- Be able to count on one hand the amount of people spoken to (does not count email) before 12 noon
- The need to have ‘watercooler’ moments on email. Every ten minutes.
- A real desire to do all the washing up, admin and general housework before tackling the ‘real’ work
- Running to the local shop in their PJs
- Owning at least one pair of ‘easy’ trousers
I was lucky enough to meet Shikhita Singh of Fair Cake cupcake company a while back when I was writing a piece on London’s top ten cupcakes. Hers were some of the loveliest I have tasted and so I attended one of her courses to see if I could learn some of her tricks!
If you want to learn to make cupcakes, I’d thoroughly recommend it as Shikhita made it fun and super-easy to follow. Click here to find out more about the course and to see my photographs of the day.
We can't all be perfect but we try
When you spend your life writing about other people – it’s easy to be complacent about seeing yourself in a magazine. However, this week – the shoe is most definitely on the other foot.
A journalist from The Mirror visited my Stitch and Bitch group in Herne Hill and wrote a feature on the knitting group for her blog. If you have a little look here, you will see that my Antoni + Alison knitted jumper – bedecked with oversize bow – has finally found fame! I have to admit that it looks pretty good and detracts from the strange facial expression I am pulling. For which I am thankful.
It’s worth noting that, to date, the jumper is my largest and more-or-less only completed project but I think it was worth the effort. I love knitting but am all talk and no action – I write lots about it for magazines but rarely seem to get round to doing it myself.
Thanks to Erica Crompton at The Mirror for reminding me that I can make things and that I really should do more of it!
Taking a bow
On a lovely sunny day (not so long ago) a bottle hunt took place on the Downs above Brighton’s beautiful beach. It was, by far, one of the best examples of free fun I can think of.
Just imagine, underneath your feet – the relics of history – from the original brown glass Marmite jars (Love it? I hate it) to the Brighton-specific Hooper-Struve spa bottles. I was surprised that Time Team weren’t there and our hosts Daphne and Simon who told us about this find, couldn’t have taken us to a better place! Simon it seems, is a master huntsman when it comes to finding them and try as we might, it were he that kept unearthing them.
One of my favourite finds was this RAF piece of china – unfortunately it was broken but I’d like to think about the conversations it must have heard and the people that used it.
