Easter highs and lows

Hello!  I hope everyone had a lovely Easter break and enjoyed the glorious sunshine - how beautiful was it for the long weekend!  It seems a very long time since I last did a blog post - I've had a few ups-and-downs over the last few weeks with work and things, which has left me feeling a bit fed up with everything. Humph.

Firstly, I've been having problems getting paid for a lot of freelance work I've undertaken, and I always resent having to chase payment.  It really ruins a working relationship, and as a freelancer you have to trust that people will honour payment as you are always doing the work up-front.  Any suggestions for how to overcome this??.... I'm sure it's a common problem for freelancers - its a fine line of trusting people / companies whilst also ensuring you aren't left out of pocket and will receive payment.

Secondly, I've been working hard towards getting my own range of melamine plates produced (you might remember I posted a while ago about the samples and different designs I'd been working on).  I selected 10 designs to launch a new range, and ordered multiples of each design to be shipped to me from the UK where they are being produced.  I was really excited when I received my first shipment of goods a few weeks ago - but this quickly turned to disappointment when I realised one of the designs had a fault.  Of course I assumed the fault would be rectified straight away given it was a production issue, and I had paid in full for the goods to be produced and shipped half way round the world.  Sadly this doesn't appear to be the case, and is resulting in e-mails not being returned and long periods without communication.  Its such a frustrating situation, and makes you question the relationship and trust you have worked hard to build up.

On a brighter note I've been badly neglecting my Me Old China Etsy shop due to feelance work and developing the melamine plate range - but I finally got round to listing some new designs at last!  I have lots more designs that have been cut from plates, but I still need to get round to sanding these and transforming them into the pendants.             

These two designs are part of a collection made from this very cute English retro plate called 'South Pacific' - they would have been perfect for the summer if I'd got round to listing them in time!

These two rather funky designs are also from an old English retro plate with a pattern name 'Tyrol'.  They are a little more 1970's in feel - and very bold with the red and yellow florals on the black background! 
And this shows the plate after it has been cut with the pendant shapes.  More designs available over at Etsy!

And I also had my 'Knife & Fork' cut-out plate featured over at Kaboodle as part of an Etsy round-up of designs for Earth day.  Thanks Etsy and Kaboodle - this helped to cheer me up!

Me Old China at Small Space Jewellery

Last week I dropped some new Me Old China jewellery designs to the lovely Small Space Jewellery in Fitzroy.

Small Space took a selection of Clarice Cliff pieces and Vintage Floral designs, to add to the Willow 'Fancy a Cuppa' collection they already have.

The range above features pendants cut from a Clarice Cliff dinner plate.  I picked up two of these second-hand plates from the local Oxfam shop when I was back in England.  The plate pattern is called 'Tonquin' and was designed by Clarice Cliff in about 1954.  This particular pattern was originally designed for the American market place and was one of her most popular tableware designs, it depicts a traditional English landscape scene and printed in this unusual pinky-red colour. 

The Vintage Floral designs are also taken from a second-hand old English dinner plate.  The sweet floral patterns (taken from the centre of the dinner plate) feature alongside sections taken from the rim of the plate!  You can see the ribbed texture on the bottom of the jewellery pieces, that ran around the very edge of the plate rim.  So as well as adding some textural detail to the pieces, it also helps to reinforce the origins of the jewellery by highlighting their previous use as a domestic dinner plate! 

A big 'Thank You' to Small Space Jewellery for their support with Me Old China! 

Me Old China off to Portobello Lane

I've just sent a package of Me Old China jewellery off to the very lovely Portobello Lane in South Yarra!  It's always exciting to package the jewellery pieces up knowing they are going to a good home and will be sitting with other beautiful jewellery creations.

Portobello Lane have selected quite a few pieces from the 'Fancy A Cuppa' collection, including a range of teacup, kettle and teapot brooches (above) and pendants (below)

And also some Willow pieces from the 'High Tea' collection (below).  The double pendant featuring the doves is one of my favourite pieces - and I was quite tempted to keep it for myself! 

A big thank you to Portobello Lane for their continued support with Me Old China :-)

New stockists for Me Old China!

I'm really excited to announce two new stockists for Me Old China!

The first is a newly opened on-line store called Kindred Gifts.  Kindred Gifts beleive in offering an ethical and sustainable alternative to gift purchasing - and you won't find any mass-produced items in this store!  

The products featured at Kindred Gifts are created by artisans who hand-make their designs often using vintage, recycled or organic resources and packaging, or, follow fair trade principles and contribute to the safe and fair working conditions of communities where the products are made - gotta love that!  

The other new stockist for Me Old China is the gorgeous Portobello Lane in South Yarra.   Portobello Lane is an independant boutique jewellery shop stocking hand crafted pieces from local and international designers.  They have a diverse range of jewellery from whimsical, cute and quirky pieces to selective elegant and sophisticated ranges.

I'm really thrilled to be able to stock my work with these two lovely stores, and it's great to take the opportunity to show my support and say a big 'thank you' to Kindred Gifts and Portobello Lane.  Thanks!   

Me Old China - new Willow jewellery (finally!)

I've finally had time in between a few other jobs I've had on the go, to finish making some new Willow jewellery and upload onto my Etsy shop. 

I always underestimate how much time is involved to create the pieces and get everything listed, but there is such an immense sense of satisfaction when they are all finished and ready to go.  I have some other plates cut and ready to be transformed into jewellery (including a gorgeous Clarice Cliff design) but these will have to wait a while to begin their evolution!     

The image above shows an example of a Willow plate once I've decided where the pieces are to be cut, and the individual pieces removed - so you can see the jewellery really is crafted from discarded dinner plates!  You can see more jewellery at my shop here: 

New 'Me Old China' jewellery on Etsy

After a busy few weeks working at the design studio I'm back working from home again, and have finally had time today to list some new 'upcycled' plate jewellery onto my Me Old China shop!

I've still got some more pieces to list - but I'd forgotton how time consuming it was to photograph the pieces, write the listings, upload the photo's and convert the prices into USA dollars. 

I need to get some more wall plates made and add these to the shop as I've sold a few of these recently - including two which made it all the way to the States which was exciting but also a bit nerve-wracking to know if they would make it all in one piece!  I've got some new ideas and possible designs I'd like to trial with the next collection of wall plates which will be fun - so I best get cracking on some new designs rather than procrastinating by writing this!!

'Me Old China' - jewellery (and plate) pictures

I have been organising some promotional material for the 'Me Old China' range of jewellery, and I decided to get some pictures taken featuring the pendants and their original source. I really wanted to emphasize the fact that the pendants are all cut from second-hand plates - so I decided to style some of the jewellery items sitting with old plates and cuttlery!

Ruby Patootie

I wanted to profile 'Ruby Patootie' which is another boutique stocking the Me Old China range! Ruby Patootie is based in the very cute Sparta Place in Brunswick (just off Sydney Rd, next to Mariana Hardwick).

Ruby Patootie 'draws inspiration from the myth of the ruby slipper and the belief that all girls can find their power in a new pair of shoes or indeed a new outfit' (absolutely right!). They stock hand-picked garments and one-off designs often with a slight vintage or retro feel to the ranges, and include accessories and jewellery from local artists (like me!)

There is a great selection of colourful prints and fabrics in the store, along with some gorgeous comfy shoes (I bought a pair) and is well worth popping along if you are looking for something a little different and individual to wear. You can find details of the shop here:

Quality Control.... Jolly style!

A very important part of any production process is quality control.

Jolly casting a watchful eye over the hand-sanded and finished pieces and checking all is OK to proceed.

Constructing jewellery from found plates is no exception - and my trusty sidekick Jolly is always on hand to ensure the qc process is closly monitored.....

Hmmm a closer inspection of the compositions is clearly needed here.

I spend a lot of time making sure the pieces of plates are nicely finished, removing rough edges and hand sanding each individual piece. I then carefully lay out all the pieces to start to explore different compositions and arrangements......
Nope! Didn't like the look of these ones.

..... and then Jolly comes along and has other ideas!
I'll just make sure everything is messed-up so you can start the process again!

Thanks for your help Jolly!

Making jewellery from recycled plates

My other work I am currently involved in is making jewellery out of second-hand and vintage plates! It sounds crazy I know.....
My background is as a surface-pattern designer for ceramic tableware (I used to design for Wedgwood) so over the years I have developed a love and fascination for all sorts of decorative patterned vintage china and 'kitchenalia'. With a magpie’s eye I am always rummaging through second-hand shops, salvage yards and antique shops for my next find - and this is where I generally find the plates to be transformed into jewellery.


Double 'Willow' featuring birds - SOLD

I carefully select the pre-loved plates for interesting composition and colour arrangements to transform into the jewellery pieces. The shapes and patterns are dictated by the plates themselves, with the finished pieces being a fantastic opportunity to showcase the beauty of the old plates and patterns.


Vintage Rose - SOLD

I like the idea of revitalising what many people would see as mundane discarded plate, and giving it a new lease of life by recycling it into new creations.


Vintage floral - SOLD