May bank holiday 1

I thought would take a break from my knitting to blog over this bank holiday weekend.  I am still contemplating what to do regarding a website and am not much further forward.  I have however been working with different photographers to get a different look to the pieces I make.

I am not always good at asking for help but when this friend offered to take pictures I snapped his hand off.  Just like when another photographer friend from the the day job took amazing shots of my pieces.

These are two of my favourites shots from Saol Photography.  My other friend has put a different slant on my pieces.

I feel really blessed to know such talented and creative people who have the ability to my pieces look amazing.

I also have some things in the pipeline with these cufflinks which are made to order from my Etsy shop.

Taking photos

When an email went round at my day job saying there was going to be a photography club I got really quite excited as I thought I would be able to learn more about taking better pictures of my jewellery.  Nearly a year on I can honestly say I have learned loads about taking photos and how important a good photo helps sell a product.  Here are a series of photos I have taken of a pair of earrings that I have made.

This picture has been filtered with Instagram

Before I go through my earring photos this picture was was the original photo I took with a Canon Powershot A400 (3.2MP, 5.9-13.2mm 1:3.8).  This was given to me by a dear friend and I will always appreciate this.

 I was then given another point and shoot by a family member, this was a Nikon Coolpix S210 (8MP, 6.3-18.9mm 1:3.1-5.9).  The following photos were taken with my Nikon.

This was taken outside.

I am not entirely happy with these photos, but they are not the worst one I took.

 Then just before the Olympics I made the decision to buy a more powerful camera.  I had the chance to hold and use a DSLR from Saol Photography and know I wasn't ready for a DSLR and settled for a bridge camera.  I am now owner of a Fuji Finepix S4400 (14mp
f=4.3-120.4 1:3.1-5.9)  What sold this to me was the macro settings of 2cm and the 28x zoom.  The next set of photos were taken with my Fuji.

I am happier with these photos as I think they are clearer, the detail is more prominent & they look more professional.  The best piece of advice I have been given is to use as much natural light as you can, along with a tripod.
There is still a lot of learning to be done but I am really enjoying my photography journey.

Decisions

Hello there.

I have been deciding what to do with a number of things.  The first decision I made was to get an accountant to do my self assessment.  Some crafters probably think the money could be spent elsewhere but as a dyslexic it's was one less thing to think about.

Another decision I have made was to cancel my current Eshop website, this was for financial reasons.  I can't believe it has been a year since I set it up.  It has been good experience to learn about html, taking good clear photos, selling online & what doesn't work.

Before Christmas I bit the bullet and did my first craft fair.  It was good fun, successful and a learning process.  It was a big decision for me to make but I am glad I did.

Another thing I decided is to incorporate my love of Basketball with crafting and made some cufflinks.  I also have been experimenting with Polymer clay, so watch this space for more handmade beads.

www.poppybead.co.uk will be back as soon as I make a decision I am happy with.

What's happening - Part 2

It been a while since I set up my website. But it has not brought the sales I would I of liked. There has been a few peaks in traffic, especially around the time my stitch markers were featured in Let's get Crafting magazine.

My stitch markers are at the top of the page

So I have decided to start again, it is important to have a website for customers who don't use social media. In the meantime I did think about using Etsy as my selling platform but I'm not sure yet. So I will blog with the items I have for sale I and will continue to post my photos on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flickr and Pintrest.

Drop me an email at poppybead@gmail.com if you want to buy specific pieces or to arrange a bespoke order.

What's been happening? - Part 1

Hi there

It has been too long since I blogged on my own blog.  Before, during and after the Paralympics in London I have been blogging on behalf on the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF).  

Since September I have been planning a few things such as new business cards, doing my first craft fair and building on what I have achieved so far.

My first craft fair took place on Saturday 1st December and it was enjoyable.  I will definitely do another fair at Christmas and another event with Space Hopper Events.

Some of my earrings

The stall on the actual day

Stitch Markers

Stitch Markers

Part 2 of what is happening will be on it's way. 

The crafting NTO

It's been a while since I last wrote a crafting blog entry.  I've been busy with the other love in life Basketball.


Some of you might know that I will be a NTO (National Technical Official) at the Paralympics.  I am extremely honoured and excited to be doing this.  Today is the opening ceremony of the Olympics and I am really excited for my peers who will be attending in my home town of London.


I have had the privilege to officiate at a number of tournaments over the last few years, one of the biggest being the World Wheelchair Championships 2010 in Birmingham.  I got to meet lots of great people from all over the world and I also started knitting again.


So in between my games I would be knitting, I would get a few strange looks but it kept my hands busy so my nerves were kept at bay.  Fast forward to 2012 and I have been planning what to knit over the Olympics and Paralympics.  I have decided to knit socks and a shawl as well work on my long-term sock yarn blanket project.  I have called on friends to help me choose what patterns and yarn to knit.


The socks I am knitting are called Mixalot by a fabulous designer called Rachel and the yarn is from The Knitting Goddess.  The shawl I am knitting is Meandering Vines, this pattern is the same pattern I knitted two years ago at the worlds.

The socks have been started.

I am so excited about my involvement in the Paralympics and watching the Oylmpics that I could burst.  I am fully aware sport is not everyone's cup of tea but these events should be seen as positive things.

Mandeville & me

I thought it would be fun to get a mascot for the Paralympics.  My Mandeville mascot has been on his travels and I have been tweeting the pictures.  

 His first trip was on the bus in the West Midlands.

Then he went to MAC for a spot of knitting. 

After that he went further afield when we arrived at Stoke Mandeville train Station.

We got to find out more about how and who set up Stoke Mandeville.  This is Ludwig Guttmann.

The statue wasn't very tall or was that me that isn't very tall. 

Mandeville managed to watch some of the action at the European U22 Championships. 

He even made friends.

He did want to help me officiate, but I had to say no.

After the action we went out in the sunshine and met a carbon fibre Mandeville.

  

I thought I would get out of the way and leave Mini me to the limelight.  Can you spot my Mandeville amongst all his mates?

After a long week of officiating Mini me relaxed and helped with some knitting and jewellery making.

  

Woodland Wilf wanted a race in Stafford so Mini me couldn't say no.  It was a tight finish but Mini me won against the garden gnome.

Mini me whilst in Stafford managed to do some scrumping of apples.

He was rather successful and will be turning these into apple sauce.

On the day of the day of the opening ceremony Mini me enjoyed a late lunch in the West Midlands.

I hope you have enjoyed the story so far.  To be continued……………………….