MEET: Clare Bears

Today we meet UK Handmade team member Clare, who is also the talented designer/maker behind the gorgeous range of cuddly plush bears, Clare Bears.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got started?
My name is Clare and I live and work in Gateshead in the sunny North East. I am currently working full time on my bears after being made redundant from my job while we wait for the arrival of our first baby at the end of November. So, I am making lots of handmade goodies for the nursery! I am also having great fun being involved with UK Handmade.

My first ever bear I made was when I was in the Brownies aged about 8. It was a Pooh Bear kit that I'd been given for Christmas and I submitted it for my craft badge and Brown Owl thought I couldn't have made it because it was too good! She said my Mam must have made it, so I suppose it was a compliment. We had to go and make something worse so she would believe I'd made it. But I was always the one to steal the scissors and tape and glue. I was very happy with all things crafty.

What is the ethos behind your work?
I have always had a soft spot for a cuddly toy. From the one that went everywhere with me (seriously, everywhere, I went nowhere without Bonzo) and the few that were always on my bed at home. My Nana used to say that they came alive at night to dance round your room and protect you from all the monsters under the bed. OK, I was small so I believed it but that meant that all my toys had personalities. I still believe that each toy has a personality and each one should be loved. I aim to make toys that are loved until their stuffing falls out.

 Handmade jointed plus bear - Maple Bear

What kind of formal education, training or experience do you have that applies to what you do?
I did a chemistry degree. Yep really handy! All of my sewing knowledge and experience has come from women in my family who have been there and done that. With the occasional You Tube video thrown in more recently. I read a lot of blogs and learn as I go. I am easily tempted to buy craft books and I learn a little from each one. So I don't need any certificates to say I can do what I do. I just do it and if I make a mistake then well, I start over.

 Bear Bunting

What inspired you to start making bears?
Making plush toys became a way to keep me and my sister entertained when family visited. My Step-Grandma made bears herself and she taught me how to follow a pattern, how to cut out the fabric and how to do all the little finishing touches that you don't find out about in book. So I collected patterns and made toys until I had too many in my bedroom. I occasionally made them as gifts for friends and made the odd sale here and there. Until I found Etsy and then all the fun began!

Handmade jointed plush bear - White Icing Sugar Bear

What do you love most about what you do and what do you find the most frustrating?
I love being able to do something I enjoy. What more can anyone ask for? I find it frustrating when I have too many ideas and not enough time, money or materials to make them come true. But if that's all I've got to worry about then that's not so bad.

Is handmade a lifestyle choice for you and if so why?
It is more now than before. When I first left university and got a job I had more money than I'd ever had before so you go a bit mad buying nice things that everyone else has. Now we're in a different situation and there is something much more satisfying in spending time, care and attention to detail to make something for someone or buy a handmade item from someone who shares that view.

 Pattern - Make your own Bear, Mouse or Koala

Can you tell us a bit about where your bears are made, can we take a sneaky peak?
My bears are currently made in my spare room (and on the sofa) and it's never as neat as the picture suggests! But that room will soon become the nursery and then who knows? I think it'll be from the dining room (which is not even a dining room and more a cubby under the stairs) and wherever I can keep my craft stash. My knitting stash lives near the sofa generally and all my fur fabric is on a big shelving unit that is in the spare room.

  
How do you balance your work and home life, what do you do to wind down?
It's a hard job trying to put down the project I'm working on. I do have an understanding husband and he has his own hobbies so we strike a good balance. My non-commercial craft of choice is knitting so I often do that to wind down. And I can't sleep without reading a good book for a little while before closing my eyes.

Do you ever experience periods of creative slump and if so what helps you through?
Regularly. I try to go and work on something else to take my mind off it like knitting or another sewing project. I may go and surf some blogs, I go back through my ideas scrapbook and see if anything jumps out at me. Or I just go and make something better that I haven't liked for a while. Tweaking a pattern can be just as satisfying.

Pink and grey stripy sock bear

If you could give an aspiring maker one piece of advice what would it be?
Keep at it. Work on your photos and work on your product. Never think your work can't be improved. My jointed bear pattern has been changed many, many times over the ten + years I've been making it.

Who or what inspires you most in your work?
I don't think I could point to one thing. I get ideas and inspiration anywhere. I do like to look at vintage teddies though and see if I can recreate them with a modern twist. But not the vintage jointed teddy types, the vintage well loved and sad looking toys that are a little past their best. I love their personalities more.

If you had the time to learn a new skill what would it be?
I am actually the happy owner of an Adana Letterpress. I wish I had the time to get it working and to work out how to use it correctly.

ClareBears shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ClareBears
Supplies shop: http://www.littlegreyclouds.etsy.com/
Blog: http://claresbears.blogspot.com/

MEET: UK Handmade Writing Competition Winner - Fiona Stolze of Silk & Art

Fiona Stolze is joint winner of our recent Writing Competition, alongside Victoria Baker.  Based in Bristol, Fiona is designer and creator of Silk and Art.  Fiona creates stunning handcrafted silk products including cushions, art, silk wall hangings, scarves and greeting cards, in original and beautiful Mandala style. We caught up with Fiona to find out more about her and her work.

What inspires you?
I feel inspired by a great many things, life in all its splendour.  But I have a great love for all things Indian.....the amazing vibrant colours, the fabrics, the spices, the music.  And I love the movement and colours together and have always had a great affinity with the Impressionists. I also take huge inspiration from the inner world accessed by meditation and becoming still and play beautiful spiritual music whilst I am painting in my studio.  You can see lots of evidence of this in my mandalas. I love beautiful things and find my inspiration and enthusiasm growing as I always get inspired by other people living and expressing their passion. 

Handpainted silk cushions

How did you get started?
I've always been a very arty, creative person but never had any formal education in the arts. I used to draw, paint and generally try out anything interesting that crossed my path. I always loved buying a book and teaching myself how to do something. My background is in teaching and then I moved on to become a foreign language secretary, a freelance translator and then after my first two children were born, I trained in alternative therapies and got involved in my spiritual practices of healing and meditation - both of which have stayed with me. 

It wasn't until 1999 that I created my first mandala, which was a far cry from the work I do now. I went on to paint one or two more, then something odd happened. We were going to sell or house and a woman that accompanied her son spotted my artwork, fell in love with it and bought one of my mandalas on the spot.  Just the piece of silk, no mount or frame. She told me that others would love to see what I did and that I should consider doing it for a living. Nearly 11 years have passed since that day and I have certainly sold a lot of artwork in the meantime. We left Germany and moved to Glastonbury where I began to sell lots of small pieces of work, including window pictures, cards, bookmarks and scarves. But all the time, I steadily continued to create mandalas, building up a collection. 

I invested in a professional steamer and the French dyes which are so beautifully translucent and give the finished piece a gorgeous sheen and softness. I visited fairs and often left without selling anything, as I was clearly in the wrong venue. There were opportunities to sell my original paintings through shops and commissions came my way too. But the big change was when I took the decision to expand my website, started blogging and really got out there. Interestingly, my written work attracts a lot of attention to my artwork.

Silk Mandala Pictures

Whose work do you admire?
The sand mandalas of the Tibetan monks. They get rigorous training in this art and create these mandalas using coloured sand. When the mandala is complete, it is taken to the nearest water and cast in, symbolic of the transience of life. They are never allowed to claim ownership of the work they create. I love the work of Monet.  His beautiful waterlilies......mostly painted when his eyesight was failing.

Silk Scarves and Sarongs

Describe your typical working day......
Ideally I like to waken and start the day with my gratitude exercise. I sit quietly with my hands on my heart and list all the things I am grateful for in my life. Feeling the gratitude for what I already have attracts more into my life and creates abundance. I then move into a meditation which can sometimes last up to an hour. This is the ultimate healer if followed with dedication and intent. My work.....well, I'm really lucky that I have an attic studio with lots of light. My table is in the window and I have a good view from the second floor out over the treetops with a wide expanse of sky. In our last home in Ireland, I had a huge studio with a panoramic view of the Irish sea......idyllic.

I like to set everything up to create a very relaxing and creative ambience. I choose meditation music which I play to set me into a real right-brain space, where I can totally surrender to the process. I often light a candle and burn incense too and I will clear everything away from the table so I can almost walk around my mandala.  I love to be able to approach it from every angle. I typically work in short bursts at the bigger pieces and then step back and contemplate. I love to sit and watch and wait and feel the paintings. When I'm doing other pieces such as scarves or hangings, I have the end picture in my mind's eye and I can sometimes move forward at an intense pace, excited to see the completed item.

I intersperse my painting work with lots of work at the computer as I now have a Silk and Art Facebook page, my busy Wordpress blog, an Etsy and a Folksy shop, a page on Redbubble, participation on different online forums (particularly the Ning Silk Painting Gallery Network) and of course, my website which we are now in the process of streamlining and making easier to work with. Now, that may sound like a lot, and it is but you don't have to get me out of bed in the morning to make me do it and that's the key. Do the things you love doing and watch your self esteem grow.

Tell me more about the unique style of mandala......
Mandala is from the ancient Sanskrit language and means "mystical circle". These designs are in evidence all over the planet and examples of them can be found in many religions, including Buddhism, Christianity (rose windows) and Hinduism to name a few. With the exception of the Tibetan mandalas which have to follow a specific pattern and number system, a mandala generally has a central point (bindu), a series of concentric circles with patterns which can be geometric with specific significance, or more abstract, and an outer periphery. 

The image represents our life path, the journey we take through the experiences we create, starting at the central point and moving outward until we reach the outer edge. We are then able to return to the centre and start all over again on a new level, using the insights we gained the first time round. Mandalas have been scientifically proven to calm the mind and are often used by therapists. Creating a personal mandala can open doors to great depths and wisdom. Each one has its own story and inspiration and I never "think" them out beforehand, as they like to do that themselves. I mark the centre of my piece of silk and then use a fabric maker taped to a pair of compasses to randomly draw a few concentric circles. Then, off I go, drawing the mandala pattern, ring by ring with gold gutta.

The artwork you produce is so bright and vibrant, what influences your designs?
I often have a sensation of life bursting out when I create the mandalas. You will see many leaf and plant motifs, blossoms, sunshine, roots going deep into the earth, vines reaching up to the sky, tendrils growing out of things. I think it is the inbuilt desire to expand and grow and become all that I can be. I just love strong colour.....strong purples, vibrant fuchsia, burning orange and, of course, I also incorporate spiritual symbols in my work. There are yingyangs, Celtic knots, OM's, astrology and labyrinths.

Silk Wall Hangings

Do you have any new products on the horizon?
Yes, I always have many things on the go at once but I would love to create beautiful one-off pieces of clothing with mandala art on some of them. I am working on accessories too, including little bespoke clutch bags made with hand painted fabric.

I offer panels of silk with my mandalas on them. A company prints these for me on the same fabric I paint my originals on. I stretch them and apply the gold gutta pattern so that they are very close to the originals. I recently received photographs from a woman in Georgia who asked me to provide her with 24 of these panels for a specially created ceiling for her bedroom.  The final piece is amazing. I would love my work to be incorporated into many more wonderful projects like this and am looking into ways to promote the idea.

One big project I come back to again and again is creating a DVD with my artwork animated to music and
of course, the writing. I am planning to have my own book out in print in the next few years and hopefully smaller e-books on offer within the next few months. I am currently working on small tutorials. 

Where do you see Silk and Art in the next 12 months?
Definitely much more out in the public, with more recognition. I want to continue working with video both to publicise my products but also offer tutorials and self help books to those who live further afield.  I would love to establish my brand but also get my name known more too so I can do more things parallel to Silk and Art.

Silk Mandala Picture

When work is done, how do you relax?
That makes me smile.  ou'll often find me relaxing by sitting at the computer until late at night, putting the last minute finishes to my blog. Other times I will get completely lost in a book. How do I really, really relax? Well, I just love to have a really hot bath and just soak for ages right up to my chin and just chill.....well simmer. Meditation is something else which induces deep feelings of relaxation for me, a great way to start the day or wind the day up. Another thing I love with a passion is going for very long walks. There are lovely woodland walks which I can do easily from here along the River Frome. It's great for clearing my head and allowing myself to find the solutions I seek. I adored going for beach walks when we lived in Ireland, walking as far out as the tide would allow, stepping onto virgin sand. Feeling the tide lapping against my feet and the breeze in my face.  Water has something magical about it.  One day I'll have my healing centre beside the water.......

Mandala Greeting Cards

To see Fiona's range of products and get your own piece of Mandala art visit:-
Silk and Art
Silk and Art Blog
Silk and Art Etsy Shop

We will have an interview with Victoria Baker of Little Wren Pottery later today! Watch this space.