Juliette Orton

I have been busy squirrelling away in preparation for the Designer Maker Fairs that are coming up and these are my latest additions to the range.  I have added these little beauties to my 'Emerging Bud' and 'Sea Garden' collections.

I managed to come by a big display unit this weekend which is fab for storing my work in and has really made the new space feel a lot more professional.   I can actually invite clients in without feeling shamed by the mess!

I had a meeting in London yesterday and took the opportunity to get off at Tower Hill and see the amazing ceramic poppy art installation at the Tower of London.  It is incredible to see the sheer volume on display and by 11th November there will be 888,246 poppies, one for each British and colonial death in WW1.  The exhibit is called 'Blood Swept Lands And Seas of Red'. The artist, Paul Cummins, said he had been inspired after reading a soldier's will. The installation will be dismantled following Armistice Day and the poppies will be sold for £25 each to raise an estimated £15m for six armed forces charities. 

This car belonged to my Dad, it is a Salmson. He passed away in 2012 having spent many hours tinkering away with it in the garage. There is something rather beautiful about the simplicity of its 1925 engine.  It was shown recently at the Goodwood Festival of speed and Rowan Atkinson enjoyed looking under the bonnet. Maybe one day it can be the inspiration for one of my new ranges......?!

I've been playing around with some photo manipulation apps and love the effects that you can get. I really need to get to grips with photographing my own work more effectively which is going to be my next big challenge!

I'm starting to organise myself now in my new studio space but the start of term and my teaching 3 days a week has meant a bit of a slow start! Still, this month I have managed to fit in a couple of commissions, 2 exhibition submissions, a meeting about using my designs for a book cover and some end papers, a competition entry and a visit to Kirty Allsopps Handmade Fair at Hampton Court Palace which is not too bad!   I met the lovely Charlotte Bezzant and saw her fabulous silver jewellery on display at the Fair and discovered all sorts of interesting things at some of the other stands. My head is buzzing with product ideas but I need to sort some admin things out before I launch into anything else.