Introducing Vaux St, Muck & Brass and Frilly Industries

Searching for new makers is one of the highlights of my job. I'm always looking for more people to add to our shop who are doing something fresh, exciting and different. I'm also personally a complete magpie for anything jewellery, so finding new jewellery designers is always my favourite!

Over the last few weeks I have had deliveries from some very exciting new stockists, all of whom haven't sold their work in a shop before, which makes it all the more rewarding.

Vaux St

Vaux St Square Tiles Necklace and Geometric Beaded Necklace, both £20

Vaux St is a jewellery brand run by Ray from her studio in East London. Her designs are modern, fun and bring a smile to your face, with her signature gorgeous colour combinations and jazzy patterns. All pieces are handcrafted by Ray using polymer clay, meaning each piece is one-of-a-kind. The polymer clay is also very light, making these necklaces very comfortable to wear. Every time I look at these necklaces I'm reminded of pick n mix sweets, hence the props in the photo! 

Muck & Brass

Muck & Brass Drop, Spherical and Cone Pendant Necklace, all £28.50

When I received an email from local lady Mary telling me about her new jewellery business, I jumped at the chance to stock her work in our shop. Mary started Muck & Brass in January as a career change to allow her to be more creative and spend time with her family. She collects flowers and plants from the local Oxfordshire countryside and then encases them in resin to create her designs. She also uses sterling silver for all her chains and findings, meaning you have a quality piece which will stand the test of time. 

The jewellery comes beautifully packaged with info about the Victorian flower language symbolism of the flowers used- perfect as a present for a loved one.

Frilly Industries

Frilly Industries Tools of Mass Creation Scissor Necklace, £20 | Frilly Industries Baby Balls of Yarn Wooden Stud Earrings, £17.50 | Frilly Industries Big Ball of Yarn Engraved Wooden Brooch, £12

Frilly Industries are a design duo from Birmingham who have been working in the arts sector for 20 years. Their other business We Are Frilly is all about participatory arts practice and evaluation, but Adrienne and Kirsty fancied another outlet for their creativity, and so Frilly Industries was born. 

Their jewellery is etched and cut in house using their own laser-cutter, who they have affectionately nick-named Bertha after a childhood favourite TV show. Collections range from personalised medals, coffee cups with witty slogans, crafty tools, famous film stars... There's quite a lot of laser cut jewellery out there on the market but I love how Adrienne and Kirsty have used the technique to add lots of detail and texture to their designs. I also love how they use colour- each of the yarn ball designs is made from a randomly painted sheet of ply, before the design is engraved and cut, meaning each piece is unique.

So, that's a little intro to the latest additions to the Shop at the Old Fire Station team. If you'd like to find out more about these great brands, please check out their Instagrams (linked above) for more behind-the-scenes pics and general awesomeness, or come in to see us and have a look at the jewellery in person!

Christmas Making Space: The Compartment Store

This week has been busy starting to get ourselves prepped for Christmas- installing our festive windows, giving the walls a bit of a paint refresh and generally getting the last bits finalised for the installation of our Christmas Making Space exhibition.

The second exhibitor are the lovely ladies of The Compartment Store, a stationery brand who aim to 'bring the thoughtfulness back into gift giving'. They seemed like the perfect match for a Christmas exhibition!

Cat and Vicky met at university and established the Compartment Store back in 2013. They both have their own businesses doing similar creative things; Cat works as Kitty Farrow, a professional book binder and box maker, and Vicky works as a visual merchandiser and stylist and also has a small gift-wrapping business, Gift Wrap HQ. They were inspired by old-fashioned department stores and wanted to create a brand with a similar feel; a wide range of interesting products but also great service. The Compartment Store in it's physical form is a vintage trunk, fitted out with boxes made by Cat, each housing a different collection. The trunk allows you to browse for a particular item or to discover an unexpected surprise- something that you can't help but send to a friend to make them smile.

(all images by The Compartment Store)

Their range consists of the best cards, tags and trinkets you'd ever need for snazzing up a gift. They created a special range for us last Autumn based around the idea of a time capsule- one was buried here at the Old Fire Station in 1894. The range consisted of various pieces to help you conserve and record- notebooks entitled 'Secrets' and 'Adventures', tiny commemoration tubes for holding precious mementos and lucky penny pouches.

(all images by The Compartment Store)

Above is a sneak peek of the festive range they'll be bringing to us for the exhibition. I'm sure you'll agree- there are some right crackers there! (I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.) I personally can't wait to unpack the delivery and see what they've come up with!

Sadly Cat and Vicky won't be taking part in our Meet the Maker workshops, but we have opportunities to make gifts and decorations with Kina Gorska, Anabelle Lou and Miesje Chafer. Why not come along to a workshop and then buy some Compartment Store stationery to package up your make for a friend?

Christmas Making Space: Kina Ceramic Design

If you haven't yet heard about our next exhibition Christmas Making Space, on our website, Facebook, or Twitter, let me fill you in...

Last Christmas, we filled the Gallery with an extended range of Christmas gifts from our Shop, including furniture from local furniture school Rycotewood. This year, we wanted to expand on last year's exhibition, showing more work from designer-makers with a real focus on their making process. We wanted to show you not only some beautifully designed handmade products, but to explain what makes them unique and different from gifts you could pick up from any high street store.

So, to introduce our first exhibitor...

(image: Kina Ceramic Design)

Kina Gorska is the lady behind contemporary ceramics brand, Kina Ceramic Design. Kina is based in Yarnton, a small village just north of Oxford, where she creates a range of quirky and modern tableware and home accessories with her partner Darek. Kina's designs aim to bring an element of the unusual to everyday objects, making something useful and practical but with a fun twist.

(images: Kina Ceramic Design)

Kina works in porcelain, which is what gives her pieces such a clean, crisp finish. To create a piece, she firstly forms a clay model from her initial sketches to give a 3D form. This model is then recreated in plaster, which then provides the template for the plaster mould. Liquid porcelain is then poured into this mould before being left to dry. Once dry, the porcelain goes through three firings to harden it and to fix any decoration that has been applied.

(images: Kina Ceramic Design)

Kina will be running the first of our Meet the Maker workshops on the 21st November, where you can decorate one of her porcelain baubles with transfers. For more info, please check out the event here.

Next week I will be profiling another of our Christmas exhibitors, stationery brand The Compartment Store. And keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram and Twitter for more exhibition updates and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks...