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I can't remember a time when I did not make things........ the more I do the more ideas l get!!

ARCHIVES CRAFTS

I graduated from Leicester De Montfort a long time ago with a degree in 3D design. A year before I graduated I set up a stall on Leicester market together with my partner Phil selling handmade jewellery at a time when most jewellery came from H Samuels or Woolworths. It was great fun ...................and we earned a living! We still get out and love doing markets and craft shows though sadly many markets are no longer viable and a lot of craft shows are too expensive.
So here I am on Folksy!
I find it really funny that a few years ago James from Folksy came along to give a talk to Creative Leicestershire along with another online company and I was asked to give a short talk at the same event.
I chose the title 'How not to sell online' for my segment! We had a lot of laughs and I often bump in to people who remember that talk. I don't know if l am much better at selling online but l keep trying and learning something new every day. What I am sure of is that I love all my Folksy online customers!
And we are still making a living 40 years on!

The age old tecnique I use is called repousse work (raised work).
The metal is worked alternately from the front and then the back with metal tools untill I achieve a relief design. The surface of the piece is sculptural - think bas relief like a woodcarving!
I then clean and patinate the surface of the pewter and hand polish to bring out the highlights.
These plaques and mirrors are not stamped, hammered or cast but involve many hours of meticulous hand work.

Repoussework pewter is an old craft that I discovered whilst on holiday in Scotland many years ago. On a visit to Hill House in Helensborough, the house that Charles Rennie Macintosh, designed for the publishing tycoon Walter Blackie, I saw a pewter panel made by Macintoshs' wife, Margaret Macdonald Macintosh. I sought out further work by the Glasgow Four, the beauty of some of their work moved me to tears.
When I returned home that summer in 1992, my love affair with pewter began.

I am a member of Design Factory / Design Nation and an award winning member of Creative Leicestershire. We have been lucky enough to exhibit at The Worshipful Company of Pewterers in the City of London and Tate Britain Art Market.
As well as selling my work online we regularly attend art and craft markets and shows.
Please get in touch to check where we will be next!

Contact:
Sharon Dickinson and Phil Ashcroft
Landline 01476 870089
Email: sharondickinson@live.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/archivessharon/

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