Artisan of the Week, Ruth of Sumptuosity

Happy Sunday everyone. Today we will be introducing you to the small company Sumptuosity. Ruth, the lead designer from the company, has agreed to tell us a little about herself and and her roll in Sumptuosity. This company consists of 4 people who all work together towards the making and selling of some of the most gorgeous pieces I've seen in a long time. I really am smitten with their designs and workmanship.

1. Could you please introduce us to who you are and what you do?
Hello My name is Ruth and I am one of the founding members of Sumptuosity, I am also the chief embroiderer. At Sumptuosity we design and make small gift items using free hand machine embroidery, silk and lots of vintage fabrics. Our range currently runs from single button brooches to handbag mirrors, bookmarks, notebooks and lavender bags.

2. What led you to take up your craft?
I started to sew again in the Summer of 2000 (the first time since I had been at School due to a horrible sewing teacher!) and as a release from the pressures of writing up my Ph.D thesis. The idea of turning the craft into a business was entirely the influence of my 'go-getting' husband. The second major influence was going to a talk and demonstration of the artist Naseem Darby. Life was never the same again after that.

3. Which part of your work do you most enjoy?
The best and most enjoyable part of my work is the embroidery. I absolutely love to do my freehand embroidery and really enjoy that first switch on of the sewing machine in the morning.

4. Which part do you find hardest?
The hardest part for me is definitely delegation, as I hate to tell other people what to do and I am always reluctant to give up any of my designs for others to sew.

5. Where do you hope to be in 1 year’s time?
In a year's time I hope that the business will be preparing for the New York International Gift Fair - fingers crossed.

6. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
The best piece of advice that I ever heard was in the talk that Naseem Darby gave - she said that in regards to free-hand machine embroidery, people should just have a go, enjoy it and not 'worry' about getting it wrong; as there was no such thing as getting it wrong, broken thread, broken needles were all part of the experience. Just go for it.

7. Could you name artisans sites/shops would you recommend are worth a visit?
I would definitely recommend that people look at Naseem Darby's website. Also have a look at Naive Textile Art, a wonderful mother and daughter team that I have met at trade shows and have been very impressed with their work.

8. What is your favourite sandwich filling?
My favourite sandwich filling is Falafal, hummous, sweet chili sauce and lettuce all stuffed into a wholemeal pitta bread. Yum!

Thank you Ruth for sharing a little bit of information about your business and life. I was drawn to your work firstly by the freeform frogs. I have a thing about frogs. I think they are gorgeous, so you drew me in and the more I looked through your website the more I liked. Check out what I mean readers. The site is full of utterly fantastic items.

Written by Lynne of Pirate Pixie Crew and Hyperloop Hoops

Rats!

Yes I am totally aware that some people will find my post today vile and repulsive, but I don't see rats as evil, revolting or disgusting creatures. To me, they are just another animal that fits into the grand scheme of things, just like eagles and elephants. Without wild rats lots of waste products would hang around for much longer than they do now. Rats are, for their size fairly clever animals and I for one do not want to exterminate them out of existence. I say live and let live.


Fishcakes flag waving rat is obviously with me on this one. Such a smily little face and cute pink paws. Who could dislike him?

Homegrown Gems pretty little zip purse has a rat silhouette on the front in fabric matching the liner. Great colour choices go towards making this very appealing.

The Little Red Hen sees rats as good dancers obviously as in her shop you can see this happy little ballerina rat. From the tiara to the tutu this little rat is very looks the part.

The rat on this ceramic dish from Suramics Pottery looks like he has his nose twitching, on the look out for something yummy to eat. I'm not sure the Tea bags the tray is for will fit the bill.

Just look at the cute face on this little ratty from Vic's original art shop. I think this must be a portrait of a much loved pet. Yes people do have pet rats and yes they love them just as much as I love my cats. Rats actually do make very good pets.

For those rat lovers I found a perfect gift for your ratty friends.

Pamper those pets with all these very cosy hammocks and sleepingbags from Scrivener's Retreat. Your ratty rat will be happy with a good night... or should I say days sleep.

I don't think I'd ever keep rats as pets myself because of their short life span and the heart break losing them would cause me, but I know lots of people that do.

Written by Lynne of Pirate Pixie Crew and Hyperloop Hoops

Heart warming

As I said earlier on this blog, this year really is chock full of friends and family getting married. this means there are lots of hearts and flowers flying around. A quick search on Coriandr brought me a variety of hearts goods.

Fen and Ned has created this pure genius mini memory aid in the form of a heart charm keyring with tiny notepad attached. You can write things that have happened during the day or things you need to remember to do. This is something I, as a very forgetful person, really needs.

This very simple silver heart ring from Silver 1 is adorable. It can be worn by young or old as a symbol of the love they receive and give out. I know many people that deserve this ring as a present.

Tamsyn Amber's felt covered hand bound, pink paged note pad is so very gorgeous. The first leaf of the note pad is beautifully patterned to make it extra special. I think this would make a great journal to write down those special memories in your life, so you can share them for years to come with your loved ones.

Lauren Ceramics's work is always beautiful and her shop is always worth a visit and when I visited it today I found this pretty ceramic heart shaped magnet. Imagine putting one of these on all the fridge doors of all the people you love with a small message to remind them of that love pinned underneath it. Now imagine the smiles that doing that would bring.

How will you keep ring marks off your favourite wooden table when you and your partner are drinking that mug of hot chocolate when you come in from that long windswept walk on the beach hand in hand? Well Bluefairy has a perfect solution, these pretty red heart fused glass coaster.

Show someone you love them with a heart shaped gift that has been lovingly handmade for you by a talented crafts person. Or make a gift yourself. Handmade goods whether made by you ore an artisan really do say "I love you" more than something from a high street shop.

Broken Rainbow

Today I was going to write a thank you post to our sponsors, those people who place ad's in our Project Wonderful Ad boxes on the far right of the blog, but I noticed the ad that was placed there for Broken Rainbow and it gave me a jolt. Broken Rainbow is an organisation that offers help and advice to "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people experiencing domestic violence."

I started this blog as a way of showing my support for artisans that hand craft good and sell them and in the main the ads we get are from artisans, but this ad just reminded me that many people are suffering from domestic violence whatever their sexual orientation is and that we all need to keep our eyes open to that fact and show support and offer escape routes for people in that position.

Domestic violence isn't only about physical violence, it can be about controlling behaviour that causes a person to become isolated from the world, threats and fear causing behaviour, such as verbal abuse or destruction of belongings. It can be very difficult in some circumstances to see that someone is suffering from Domestic abuse, but if a person is being manipulated by a family member/partner to behave in a certain way, their access to friends and family is being controlled or a person shows fear of a member of their household then maybe it's time for you to have a private word with them about it and offer them support, help to get good advice and love.

So today I'm dedicating this blog to people that are in dangerous/abusive situations in their own home. If you are in that position I wish you a safe day and the strength to seek the help you need to change the situation you are in. There are organisations you can get that help from who will be non judgemental and will only ever intervene as much as you feel able to cope with. You also have a friend in me. I may not be able to change your situation, but I am here to listen if you need an ear and I can remind you that you are a fabulous person that deserves to feel safe in your own home and that the feeling of safety is your right to claim. Remember you are NOT alone. There are many people here that want to help you, take courage and ask for that help. It won't be an easy path, but it has to be better than the path you are on now.

Below I am going to put some links and phone numbers to help groups within the UK. If you are a reader of this blog and know of links and phone numbers I've missed or you are a non UK reader and have links for organisations in your country please add them to the comments section of this post and I will add them to the list.

National Center for Domestic Violence - Tel:0844 8044 999
Broken Rainbow - Tel:0300 999 5428
Woman's aid - Tel:o8o8 2000 247 This site has a list of regional help
Citizens Advice Bureau Domestic Violence - Organisations that give confidential information CAB has local phone numbers and you can find yours here
Refuge - Tel:0808 2000247 (this is the same as woman's aid as the phone line is run by both organisations)

If you are being physically attacked, or you are frightened for you're life or the life of anyone else please telephone 999 immediately.

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their own home. If you don't, seek help to change that situation.

Nesting

So many people I know are getting married soon. It's like there has been an out break of nesting disease hehehe. I'm glad to see that romance and love isn't dead, but I have to admit that it baffles me a little. Marriage is something I've never hankered after. If I have love and trust in someone that's enough for me. I don't need to pledge that love for them in front of other people and I equally don't need my partner to do make that pledge either, because if he has told me he want to be with me forever then that's enough for me. That's not so say I'm against marriage, I'm not. If people want to celebrate their joy of being in love and make a public commitment, announcing they have found their life partner then I'm very happy to go along and wish them well and celebrate their happiness. I just don't feel the need to do that myself.

Everyone that's nesting needs a warm safe place to be. This woolly nest from Cozy Cabin Creations would be prefect to keep all your little important items safe in.

Tzaddi Shop's decoupage stacking hand blown glass plates are gorgeous. They would look fabulous on a dining room table as the centre piece for a dinner party.

Reeneegurumi's pattern for cute little nest sitting birds is great... and there is a space inside them to hide a special surprise for the one you love. Get creative and make some.

Now you can take your nesting spirit everywhere with you with Sweet Treat's beautiful earrings. Wearing your nesting feelings on your sleeve... or should I say ears hehehe.

KotiBeth's photo of a nest ready for occupancy shows how much weaving and work relationships take to thrive. Marriage is not just about that one day of joy and celebration. It's about loving, caring and working with that partner to build a fantastic life together.

The couples I know that are getting married this year are so suited to their partners that I am certain that through good and bad times they will be there for each other and I couldn't imagine one without the other in any of the cases, so to me the act of getting married in each case is just a formality they have chosen to do, as I believe that with or without those promises made and contracts signed they will be with each other 'til their dying days. The fact they have invited me along to witness them making those vows and sign those contracts makes me very happy. All I wish for them all is that their path together is long and it has few boggy or rocky patches for them to get over.