Hello there! My name is Claire and I make wee bits and pieces for people to keep (unless you have bought a cupcake and ate it right away!). I live in Musselburgh with my boyfriend David, but I'm originally from Hamilton, which is just a few miles from Glasgow. I have been plagued by wee ideas about things to make and do since I was really small, and have usually made a good job of bringing them to life. I started out by making jewellery boxes from Fimo, then moved on to felt cuddly toys (when I was old enough to be trusted with needles). I would be engrossed watching programmes like; "Art Attack", "Smart" and even the making stuff bit of "Blue Peter". The beginning of an obsession.
I won my first (of two, haha) art awards in primary one. I came in third place in a painting competition and was awarded a certificate at our local civic centre. I was so proud! My mother was also very proud, the framed certificate is still hanging in my parents hallway, eek! I continued to make things, paint, draw and even make little comics in my spare time. At high school I picked Art and Design as a standard grade and then higher. I got really good grades, but unfortunately, thats where my studies ended. I put serious thought into going to art school, and my teacher assured me that I would have probably been accepted, but I decided that I wanted to work with people. I wanted to be some kind of therapist, maybe even an art therapist one day! Anyway, I got an honours degree in psychology, and thats as far as I got.
Since leaving uni I've had a couple of retail jobs (which were definitley not my calling, not much of a sales person, just want to chat), and now I just make things and support my boyfriends new business. He created a fuel drain company 7 months ago called Accidental Fuelling Solutions http://www.afs247.co.uk/ which I helped him start up and now I help him run. Its weird, I never thought I'd be capable of working on cars, but I've always been pretty technically minded so it kinda just worked! He trained me for a couple of months and now I've completed 10 jobs, all on my own. I might actually be the very first female fuel drain specialist in Scotland! Go me! Haha.
So, I finally plucked up the courage to take my handmade items to the public last month. After having an incredibly helpful conversation with Nikki Orr of Frugal Cool (http://www.frugalcool.co.uk/) at her shop on Musselbugh High Street ( Remade), I signed up for 2 fairs: Out Of The Blue and Funk Fair. I have to say, I was delighted with the response I received! I sold so many things, I was really, really chuffed! I also met some lovely people in the stalls next to me: two girls who made stunning handmade leather bags (Im sorry, I cant remember the name of the company), and Julia Laing of Materialised (http://www.materialised.co.uk/). Julia, thanks for the pep talk and advice in general, you are a cool girl and make some bloody super stuff!
Well, I'm off to watch a Danny Boyle special on Film 4. I hope you have a better understanding of my reasons for starting this blogger. I also hope you might come back some day and say "Awrite!".
Be good!
Claire x
