Introducing Ty Siriol Crafts

I've wondered for some time now about having crafts other than ceramics in a shop called 'Ty Siriol Ceramics'. Finally this year, my mum, Chris has taken over the crafts side of Ty Siriol Ceramics & Crafts and we have opened a second shop, 'Ty Siriol Crafts'. 

Not only does this segregate our stock nicely but it also gives my mum an opportunity to learn to use a computer and run a shop. I have to say that I'm really proud of how well she is doing. I've set her up with a laptop and the basic software to start with and she's hit the ground running. She does the photography and watermarking herself as well as uploading the stock onto the shop. She even has a facebook page now! 

My next task is to teach her to use the teams on Etsy and introduce her to the lovely Golden Threads team. I'm sure she would fit in really well. In fact it could become hard to tear her away. :) 

To give you an idea of what Chris has in her Etsy shop here are a couple of photos. Firstly, Chris is an artist and does some fantastic paintings.

One of Chris' silhouette paintings

This is an original oil painting that Chris has done. I have several of her works in my house.

 Chris also turns her hand to paper crafts and combines them with crochet. I call it mixed media crochet art! 

A mixed media greetings card incorporating crochet art.

Chris is also very experienced at knitting and crochet. Sadly I don't have any of her work in my files but these, which are mine, are also in her shop to give you an idea. 

My rhubarb and custard scarf

A scarlet red scarf with tasseled ends

These lovely wrist warmers are also in stock

Chris is also talented with ceramics and a few pieces in my shop were made by her. Here is an example.

A holly and berry bowl by Chris

I would like to congratulate my mum on her hard work and talents. Mum, this blog is all about you and how proud of you I am. :-)

If you would like to have a nose at Chris' new shop then you can find it here.
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts 

Pop by and please tell your friends. You never know, you might spot a unique gift for someone who has everything! 

Thanks for reading and take care,
Cathy xx


www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCrafts
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic

Craft fair: sneak peeks!

I'm going to be in Abergavenny Art and Craft fair again this Thursday. I'm looking forward to this one more because I know what to expect this time. We have booked a double table as we found that we were very cramped last time. We have 3 main sections to our stall, ceramics, paintings and crocheted goods. I'm also thinking of adding a small section for Christmas themed gifts. I wonder if it's too early but then I'm surprised at how many Christmas things I've already sold online.

I thought I'd give you an idea of what we will have on our stall. So here are a few examples of the ceramics that will be there. (Unless of cause they are bought online first! Website links are at the bottom of the post.)

My signature piece, the leaf bowls. These are suitably autumn themed.

A ceramic garden plaque for the green fingered member of your family.

'Time to drink Champagne and dance on the table' 

Ty Siriol's handmade and hand painted ceramic ring dish.

My mother's work is showcased in the Art section of our stall. She's a talented lady so I urge you to check her out. I'm working on trying to convince her to make prints of some of her pieces but she's a stubborn lady! Here, check out some of her work.

Wild flowers and butterfly silhouette.

Beautiful snowscape in oils.

Love birds silhouette. My favourite of the silhouette range.

The other section of our shop is the crochet section. We are going to be focusing more on this section at the next fair as autumn is most definitely in the air now. I'll be wearing my gauntlets to keep my fingers warm enough to do some crochet if it's quiet early on.

A ripple wrap shawl in peacock colours of blues and greens.

Crocodile stitch gauntlets. I'll be wearing mine to keep warm on the stall!

Triangular shawl in grey and white sequinned yarn. Beautifully soft.

Infinity cowl. I have several different colours available. See the Etsy link below.

Ripple scarf in midnight blues.

For those of you who saw me at the last craft fair, the scarf in midnight blue (above) is the one that I was making behind the stall. :-) It would make a fab Christmas gift... if I can bare to part with it!

Talking of Christmas... yes, I know, it is early but as I said above I've been getting Christmas orders for some time now. So here are a few Christmas things that will be on the stall for the next few months.

Box set of Christmas tree hangings. 'Peace', 'Love' and 'Joy'.

Christmas stockings with hook for hanging.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, with hook for hanging.

Santa nibbles dish.

So that was a sample of what we have to offer on our stall at the Abergavenny Art and Craft fair this Thursday (2nd Thursday of each month). If you are local and can pop by then please come and say hi. It's always lovely to meet you all in person. 

All this talk of ceramics has reminded me that I have to go and see Kenny (my kiln) and see what delights (or disasters) he holds for me today. It's like Christmas all year round with Kenny! :-) 

Thank you for reading my blog.
Cath xx

www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics 

The first craft fair for Ty Siriol at Abergavenny Art & Crafts Fair.

I've wanted to do a craft fair for years but have been putting it off for ages for the fear of not being able to guarantee being well for the day. Unfortunately, I'm not even able to guarantee being well on my wedding day next day and at the moment I'd say it's 50/50. However, I'm not going to get any better so I bit the bullet and went for it any way. 

I choose to start off slowly so I opted for a local craft fair in Abergavenny. It's on a Thursday once a month and has a very relaxed feel to it. I've been to a few of them as a customer and chatted to some of the stall holders who were kind enough to encourage to go for it. So with a great big push from Mr Ty Siriol I signed up.

Thankfully I was aware of how much work is involved behind the scenes after the many car boot sales I've done in the past. Of course, this is not a car boot so presentation was more important. My brother was kind enough to make some props for me to use on the stall. He made me some shelves and a pendant tree. It is useful having a carpenter in the family and all he charged was a few lagers, even better!! So look out for his handy work in the pics. 

I had a practise run in my dining room and set up my stall. I'm glad I did as well as I found a few problems with the set up that were fixed before the day. I have to say a huge thank you to everyone on facebook who gave me some great advice. In particular I have to thank a friend of mine, Cookie, from Cookie & Mo who was invaluable to me. Please help me show her my appreciation by popping by her facebook page and saying hi on her wall. Tell her that I sent you because I'm bossy! 
www.facebook.com/cookieandmo.uk

It's about time I showed you some pics. Here is my practise run. 

The pendant tree that my brother made for me. Isn't he wonderful!

My mock fair in the dining room. Practise makes perfect, or so I've been told!

Finally the day came. I had lots of help so a big thank you to everyone who helped out, whether it was lugging boxes, smiling at customers, or taking turns to keep L'il Miss Ty Siriol happy as it's school holidays and I didn't have a sitter. 

The stall looked like this. 

Me! Standing proudly behind my creations.

These are a selection on my mum's paintings.

Mr Ty Siriol having a well earned sit down. He lugged all the boxes for me.

 Lots of friends and family turned to to show support which was great. I felt really proud seeing all my work on display and being able to show friends and family what I do. L'il Miss Ty Siriol was very good and wanted to help out. She went shopping with Nanny for a bit and came back with lots of books. In the end it was all too much for her and I found her trying to sleep under the table. Take a look. 

L'il Miss Ty Siriol plum tuckered out.

All in all it was a good day. We had a few sales even though it was a slow day due to the summer holidays. I got through it physically and thankfully it finished at 3pm. In fact I have now signed up for the remaining Art & Craft fairs until the end of the year. Happy all around. 

Here's the link to the Abergavenny Craft fairs.  
http://www.abergavennymarket.co.uk/

Cath x
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics 

The Big Cheese Festival, Caerphilly

The Big Cheese is one of my favourite days of the year. It's a weekend long festival of all things Welsh and of course medieval as it's set in one of the greatest European medieval castles, Caerphilly Castle. Caerphilly Castle is actually the second largest castle in Britain with only Windsor Castle being bigger. 

Caerphilly Castle, Wales

If you'd like to know more about the castles history check out this link where you can find lots more impressive photographs.
www.castlewales.com/caerphil.html 


The Big Cheese Festival has lots of craft stalls from all around Wales with demonstrations in a variety of crafts, including wood carving, wool spinning on a wheel, smelting of arrow heads as well as more modern crafts. 

Wool that has been spun by hand and dyed.

Examples of tools used for smelting arrow heads or jewellery from molten metals.

There is also the obligatory funfair with all the rides and games that you can think of. That's not really my thing but L'il Miss turned out to be a dab hand at 'hook a duck'. I don't trust her yet with darts! :-)

Mr Ty Siriol's favourite part was the food festival. He loves anything food! There are so many stalls to choose from that you'll never go hungry. 

Mine and L'il Miss' favourite part of the festival was the re-enactments of medieval life and military. As well as having a medieval village set up in the castle itself there were also demonstrations of the different weapons they used and how they were trained. Boys as young as 7 years were recruited and trained to fight. Mock battles between rival tribes were re-enacted followed by demonstrations of different swords and later on, muskets and canons. Yes, they fired a cannon for us! L'il Miss didn't like the loud noise much though. After the demonstrations we were free to go and talk to the musketeers and swordsmen, and even hold some of the weapons! 

Re-enactment of a battle between tribes. Note the dead lying on the ground.

Cooking dinner on an open fire in the medieval village at Caerphilly Castle

L'il Miss Ty Siriol ready for battle!

Family life in the medieval village at Caerphilly Castle

Mrs Ty Siriol going into battle. Maybe I need to work on the camouflage?

Mr Ty Siriol ready to protect his clan! My hero!

Master John demonstrating the musket. In the foreground is the canon!

Demonstrating the long sword and hand canon.

It was a fantastic day out and there really is something for everyone. As over 80,000 people attended last year I do however recommend that you use the park and rides (there are several of them) rather than try to park in the town. The park and ride was free last time I used it. In fact the event itself is free! Maybe I should have mentioned that sooner. 

I'm now looking forward to the next date in my calendar, the Caerphilly Medieval Christmas market. Another one not to be missed and what little one wouldn't want to see Santa in such a gorgeous setting? Link below for more info.
www.visitcaerphilly.com/events/item/70823/Caerphilly_Medieval_Christmas_Fayre.html?

That's all from me for now. I hope you enjoyed the review and maybe I'll see you at the next event?

Cathy x
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCrafts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics