The Wonder of Christmas Markets

I have had the wonderful opportunity of visiting  various Christmas markets over the festive season, two in France (although one was in the Alsace and is as near to Germany as you can get without actually being there!) and two in Scotland. It was interesting looking at the way in which different countries tackle markets and the difference in produce available. The market I visited in Glasgow was small but very popular with the locals adding a certain ambiance to the whole affair, the one in Edinburgh delightful because it is set around a park and the Christmas lights and ice rink add to the atmosphere hugely. However the produce here was nearly all imported goods. In France the fare for sale was mostly locally produced handcrafted items which I find much more interesting. Mulled wine was available at each one and of course I had to try some in each destination but was unable to set a preference! (Perhaps I should have studied harder?)

I walked past smelly cheese stalls, handcrafted chocolate stalls, hat and wooly jumper stalls and of course many jewellery stalls. I am yet to walk past any jewellery stalls however that has jewellery for sale made from beads and off loom weaving. Perhaps it is just to expensive to produce because of the time involved; competing against quickly strung beads or imported silver from India. I can’t believe that there are not the people out there making this stuff, but then again its not as if I had a stall at one of these markets – mental note to sell before the New Year starts, must try harder to ‘get out there’!

The photo shows the church at Mulhouse wonderfully lit up at their Christmas market.

Life in France

I have had a love affair with France for many years now and finally got to move the Limousin two years ago. Limousin is right bang in the middle of the country. We have cold winters with snow but hot summers and four very definite seasons which I love and find excitement with each changing season. Limousin has three ‘departements’ and I live in the Creuse which is the least inhabited (and stupidly one of the seven regions of France which does not produce its own wine!). It does however have the most spectacular countryside and I live amongst woodland and rolling hills and hedgerow full of wildflowers. It has most definitely influenced my work in both embroidery and beading; I find myself almost exclusively trying to recreate the colours and forms of the flowers.

Selling my work here is a challenge because of the language however the culture in France is to shop in markets and they are everywhere, making it easy to sell wares directly to the public for very little outlay. I have also found a shop in a local town which runs like a gallery charging commission. I think its a great way to have a shop. The shop owner doesn’t need to buy stock reducing overheads and artists get a chance to sell products in a ‘proper’ shop. I wish I could find more of these shops in other parts of the country!

Art-to wear Jewellery

What is ‘art-to wear jewellery and how is it different to any other type of jewellery and adornment?

I have demonstrated many times the process involved with off-loom bead weaving that makes up my pieces; the picking up of those tiny beads, usually one at a time, onto a long thin needle and thread and weaving into another bead, gently shaping the beads with increases and decreases of stitches into forms that, when put together make recognisable shapes such as petals and leaves. This is a time consuming art form and whilst it is true that some stitches can grow a piece of beadwork more quickly than other stitches, it is still a slow methodical process. Usually when people see how I have created the jewellery a better understanding and acceptance of the value of the jewellery emerges. I never like to claim that jewellery made in this way is ‘costume’; for me I reserve that term to those mass produced items that have been cheaply imported into the country from afar and sold in department stores and market stalls. There is nothing wrong with this type of jewellery, it serves its purpose as a cheerful adornment and can be thrown away after a few occasions of wear without any guilt, much like clothes bought in supermarkets and some well-known chain stores.

I prefer to refer to my creations as ‘art-to-wear’. It is unique; even if I reproduce a piece to the same design because it is handmade chances are something will differ with the end product. My jewellery may use semi-precious stones or 24 karat gold plated beads but no, it is not solid gold or platinum nor does it have diamonds in it, but those pieces bought in fancy jewellery shops are, on the whole, also mass produced with one gold chain and pendant looking exactly like the next gold chain and pendant because they are produced by machines.

Beaded jewellery made by bead artists is different; it is worn by women who are not afraid of being different. Confident women who are happy to stand out and who like the idea of knowing that no one else has a piece just like this one. Art-to-wear jewellery is considered, (just as any art work is considered), from the initial concept through to the execution. It has been designed with an eye to both form and function; it is a visual representation of an idea or emotion.

In this respect beaded jewellery should be regarded as art, useful art that you can wear and take with you wherever you go and not just stick on a wall to admire!