Bea's Beastlies Boo Pendant

My good friend Justina is the creator of Bea's Beastlies, and owner of Mama Bea Makes.

The Beastlies, Gonks and Dolls are all hand made from recycled and vintage fabrics, and they are full of personality. You will find them all in Covent Garden every Sunday, in the Apple Market.

This chap, one of the Beastlie Boos, was the inspiration for my silver Boo Pendants.

Made from fine silver, and textured to look like stripey wool, he has tiny button eyes, and woolly looking hair....I hope that he has captured the look of the Original......

I will have these pendants in my Etsy shop by the weekend.

My first Etsy Treasury List

I could (and sometimes do!!) spend hours looking at Etsy, there are so many beautiful Handmade and Vintage items, from all around the world in one place!!!

So this morning I thought I might have a go at curating my first "treasury", it is a retro transport themed collection of items, take a peek!!!

I've gotta move..........................

I finally got back to working on my fine silver jewellery yesterday, and now I need step away from the virtual world, and get on with some more soldering........

The new pendants will be in the shop later this week............I can hardly wait!!!

Vintage English Silver Charms

I've had a lot of fun collecting vintage silver charms to post in my etsy shop I quite often want to keep them, and I've even started a second charm bracelet for myself!!! These ones have been listed for sale today though........

With Easter on the way, this Nuvo Easter Egg would make a perfect gift...


I love things from the 1960's so a lot of the charms were made in the 60's, and depict items from the time.

They bring back good memories, and I love the detail! As a child I always loved miniature things, I hope you like them too!

Stock Taking, when I should be stock Making!

I've spent the weekend rummaging through haberdashery....

I've been a doll maker for over 20 years, and during that time I've gathered rather a lot of vintage and antique braids, laces, threads and fabrics. I almost certainly have more than I could possibly hope to use, so I will be listing some in my Etsy Shop.

I'm still working on my hand made stock, but in the next couple of weeks some of what I have been working on will be revealed.

For now, I'm off to photograph some more Vintage Jewellery......keep checking my shop...... :0)

Well, it's been rather a long time...........

I was due to have a holiday in November, and the day before we were due to fly my other half got rushed off to hospital.......2 surgeries, and 2 re-admissions later.....he was finally discharged by the district nurse last week.

And then there was the house move......I still have boxes to unpack, but I have enough unpacked so that I could open my Etsy shop this week.

Dottie Dollie Etsy Shop

This week I have been listing vintage jewellery, like this little fellow!

Next week I will add some vintage haberdashery, and some handmade jewellery too, so keep coming back to look. I have some interesting items.........

We're settling into Colchester nicely, it's great to be so close to the Town. with museums, shops, restaurants ad the cinema within 10 minutes walk, oh, and the roller disco!!! I'm saving that for when friends come to visit :0)

Ceramics - A Fragile History

I don't often watch live TV these days. I prefer to watch what I want, when I want. Last night I caught up with episode 2 of BBC Four's Ceramics - A Fragile History

This episode charted the rise and fall of the Potteries in Stoke on Trent, a potted history really of the story of all Industrialisation in Britain over the last 150 years. The quest for cheap labour leaving the factories abandoned & desolate.

I was fascinated to see the sheer number of kilns shown in the archive footage. Seemingly rising up out of the terraced cottages.

The rows of women (all dressed rather fantastically!) painting the finished pots, singing while they worked. Sad to think of the talent wasted by the closure of these factories.

The programme left me with mixed emotions, both my Grandfathers, & my Dad worked the massive Ford factory in Dagenham.

Rows & rows of newly made cars were parked up in warehouses & giant car parks very close to where we lived. The ebb & flow of the workers streaming in & out at the shift change times.

No one could be sad to see the end of all that smoke though......I would not have wanted to live in the midst of all of that pollution! My own electric kiln generates a lot of heat, and some worrying smells at times! The residents of Stoke on Trent must have needed strong lungs.

The Ford factory in Dagenham now has wind turbines to power production, see how clear the air looks in this picture.....

They were installed in 2004, and are HUGE!!! I went down Kent Avenue with my Dad, & stood at the base of the east turbine soon after they were put up, they are an amazing sight. The air may be much cleaner, but the number of jobs in the factory has decreased massively from the heyday of the plant. Most production was shifted out of the UK, after years of difficult relations between workers & management. Economics rules, so much of the plant was closed down, like those in Staffordshire.

I guess we have come full circle, from "piece workers" carrying out production at home, through the mass factories of the Industrial revolution, to our current economic crisis, where those with the love of "making" once again set up "cottage" industries to sell their unique handmade wares.

A fragile, and ever changing history indeed.

The changing of the season

I'm very excited!


The weather is starting to change here in England. Athough the days are still very bright, the leaves are well & truly falling. The clocks went back at the weekend so the nights are drawing in. The squirrels in the tree outside are busy gathering nuts & seeds ready for the cold weather.

There are changes in my own life too! I'm preparing to move up to Colchester, further out in Essex. I'm also taking a sabbatical from my day job, this will mean more time for creating / designing & making.

I have not been able to focus on creative things for a while, so I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to take stock, up sticks, and make some changes!!!

I can't really focus on dolls at the moment as there is too much packing and organising going on, so in the meantime I'm making some jewellery, inspired by the work of my great friend Mama Bea........



Bea's Beastlies

I can't wait to reveal all soon! Here's a sneak peak...........