We've been easing out of the craziness of Christmas and into a bit more of a structured New Year. Lots of planning and preparing (maybe by the end of the year we'll end up totally organised and ready for Christmas). At the start of January, we announced brand new dog designs- a Storage Jar and 2 Side Plates as well as Badgers, Foxes, Cockatoos and Spoons which have been doing well so far!

No sooner have these have arrived, and I am well on my way with other new designs, as this is where I thrive - Clay Corner! When things become a bit much, and I have been at my computer for too long, I have to retrieve into my workshop and play with clay for a bit, it really is my happy place. :-)

As I write this I have pretty much finished modelling a new flying trio of Blackbirds, these will be cast in black clay, which makes a lot of sense, (less painting) and also adds to the other new black clay designs I am working on. Did you see our colourful black clay Mugs?

I have also started on several other sculptural projects, it makes sense to do several at once, so I can rotate what I am working on whilst pieces dry a bit. I have started on a pair of Staffordshire style dogs for the mantelpiece, I am big fan of these designs and fancied making my own interpretation of these staples in English interiors. Here is a picture of me whacking the early stage of the design into shape with a spoon! It really is the best way to shape clay at this stage, it smooths out lumps and bumps and is also incredibly satisfying to do!

You can see below some of the clay work that is involved in the process of making some of these designs. It usually takes about (a year?) to get the design from the initial idea to shelves and homes. 

You can see below some of the clay work that is involved in the process of making some of these designs. It usually takes about (a year?) to get the design from the initial idea to shelves and homes. Below are the almost finished flying blackbird models, their next stop is a journey to Sri Lanka!

In January I also went on a solo trip to London to visit the Top Drawer trade show. I used to exhibit there for years, from the mid-nineties until covid hit. So I like to visit just to keep an eye on trends, and to catch up with Trade Show friends. I was also looking for potential suppliers for new products and often manufacturers are there that can do custom designs. It helps motivate me to get new products into production. I just loved these mirrors pictured below (and forgot to take any other decent pictures to show what the show is like!)

When it comes to my office space, I've been feeling inspired to move out of my tiny (but cosy) office and into a larger room shared with Dave so that I can dedicate my tiny office to social media instead. I will decorate it and put up shelves and make it look like the essence of 'Hannah Turner' so that we have a lovely-looking room just for making content. To get to this point I have to make the other office bearable as it's quite a tip, so I have been in there cleaning and sorting. We have a huge amount of ceramics that are missing their boxes and they need a better place to live! I think a sale might be in order....?

Outside of work, I have been getting excited about the growing season ahead, tidying my garden, clearing the greenhouse and ordering seeds. Simple pleasures! Gardening is a real passion so January kick-starts this work. The seeds in the picture below are from She Grows Veg, someone I spotted on Gardeners World. She has an amazing array of heritage seeds, and I love the packaging too. I'm heading off to France soon so hopefully, I'll get to do some work on the garden at our Air B&B that is pictured above.

Hannah x