With Valentine's Day approaching, there's the age-old question of "love", "loving" and "being loved". Celebrating those we love, those who have loved us, the loves we have lost and people whom we value and treasure today is perhaps a more sensitive way to look at what is one day out of 364 others. Perhaps there is someone who just needs to know you appreciate them? Say it in a small way. https://folksy.com/shops/Mollygosh

I love to take photos, any time, anywhere and anything that catches my eye. It might be the colour, or pattern or texture or just the mood of the day, and from an inspirational perspective they all become part of the creative melting pot from which I make and teach others to make glass jewellery. Sometimes a collage of images collected over several months piece together into a jigsaw of ideas, and then it's time to play with materials to see what emerges. My advanced fused glass jewellery course leads you through the "inspiration to design" process over 2 days and is a great way of pushing your glass-making into finding your personal style. The next course is Saturday and Sunday 25th and 26t

I'm am delighted to be taking part in the Maker's Yearbook during 2017 to help me focus, structure and develop my small business. One of the commitments we have to make is to do something each week for ourselves that isn't directly related to our business, so I dutifully headed with my good friend Deba to the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey. We just caught the final days of the 1920's Age of Jazz exhibition, a be-sequinned and sparkly-glass-beaded-treasure-trove of "flapper" dresses and outfits to die for, accompanied by iconic photographs by James Abbe, film and theatre photographer. Both being enamelers, we spotted this unusual enamel brooch featuring three Macaws. In an age befor

What does the word "enamel" mean to you? Perhaps it reminds you of your Grandma's blue and white plates, or chipped antique baths, or London Underground Tube signs, (or maybe even having your teeth fixed!) There's another world of enamelling I'd like to introduce you to going back to the art and jewellery of ancient civilisations. The Egyptians, Romans, Greek and Chinese all have a history in colouring metals using finely ground glass, fused with heat onto the surface, and although the techniques have not changed, the kilns we use nowadays mean exciting results in just minutes! I am running a introductory day course in Enamelling on Copper on Saturday 21st January at Rainbow Glass Studios I

For those of you who have not worked with fused glass you have yet to encounter the glories of dichroic glass! The word dichroic in its simplest form means "two-coloured". Where glass is concerned it reflects visible light split up into two (or more) distinct beams of different wavelengths (colours). It's ideal for use in fused glass jewellery where an eye catching "bling"factor is valued! I personally like to use it as an accent alongside transparent and opaque glass, but some of my students use it with complete abandon producing wonderful exuberant creations akin to the iridescence of peacock feathers. Today I have been preparing for the "Fused Glass Jewellery for Beginners" course I am ru

Perhaps it is because small people are nearer to the ground that they see small things we miss? Or they are newer to the world and are still learning to see and notice things? To be childlike is not to be childish, let your eyes be fascinated by your surroundings! For anyone who has lost their inner child, I would prescribe an outing to The little Angel Theatre to rediscover what it is to imagine at play and a reading of "The Velveteen Rabbit" by Margery Williams. A dose of magic and finding out what it is to be real!

How much do we really look, see and marvel at the beauty of the world around us? Join me in my journey of discovery and inspiration!

"Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness" ....the opening line from a poem "Ode to Autumn" by John Keats. I had to learn this for my "O" Level English Literature which at the time seemed a chore but had we looked and seen the glories of autumn colours whilst reading it, we would have been held inside the warmth of the world he was describing....Today it inspires me to colour domes of anodised aluminium to make my echoes of autumn earrings