Finally we're up and running!
Talk about storm before the calm. The very essence of my ceramic pieces comes from simplicity and a calming, relaxed modern country feel. Getting this online store up and running was anything but simple, calming and relaxed.
It's funny really, when you do a bit of online shopping from the comfort of your armchair, you don't really think about how much effort has gone into making each product, let alone the website you're purchasing from.
I have to confess.....I've never been good with technology. My six-year-old recently learned how to use PowerPoint at school, and eagerly asked me what age I was when I used it for the first time. I may have mumbled sheepishly that I was in my 20's, to which she was completely shocked. (yes, darling, I was born last century)
But this website building journey has brought it home to me that I am much more comfortable, happy, calm and relaxed, elbow-deep in clay, making the items that are sold on this site, than making the site itself.
My products are made with love and passion, and with a little part of me which has been forged out of a childhood in the country. My Mum has always been a crafty woman, creative and inspirational. Dad is the handiest, most talented jack-of-all-trades that I know. So I know that's where I get my passion for 'making', and 'making do'.
Country simplicity to me is taking time out of technology and our mass-produced world, to look up at the stars which fill the night sky, without the disruption and pollution of city lights. It's laying in bed at night and only hearing the wind through the trees, or wildlife coming out to play when they think we've all gone to bed. It's not going to the shops every day because we can, but looking at what's in the pantry and making something bloody amazing from the simplest of ingredients, and enjoying every single crumb.
That is what drives my passion for ceramics. I hope to recreate for my customers those feelings of a relaxed country farmhouse, where they can enjoy simplistic beauty that is unique and special, and take time out to enjoy the little things that mean the most.