Well, that was a busy year! Usually Christmas sneaks up and surprises me, pouncing from out of nowhere with its little tinselly paws, but this year I was ready for it. Or so I thought... Having smugly made small batches of my most popular designs, I left myself time to prepare for Christmas, but the volume of orders I got this year was much higher than I’d expected. Which is obviously brilliant! My lovely customers were very organised and a lot of them got their orders in super-early, which was greatly appreciated!

I still ended up working right up to the last minute, but got to take the boy home to my family this year for some much needed rest.

Mum’s cat still hates me, and was most displeased at having the present fort she was hiding behind dismantled so we could open them!

The rest of the year was also super-busy. I decided to be brave and did my first ever shows with the lovely E17 Designers, who have been totally brilliant! I am naturally very shy, so standing in front of people talking about my jewellery is terrifying! As I have finally built a display (I am a rubbish carpenter it turns out) I am planning to do more this year, so hopefully it will get easier.

This was my display at the Walthamstow Garden Party.

And tweaked for the E17 Designers Christmas Market.

The E17 Designers also took over a shop in the Walthamstow Mall as a pop-up for a few weeks leading up to Christmas. It’s the first ever time I’ve had my jewellery displayed in a shop, so it was really exciting!

Lauren Grace Jewellery shop display 2015

So, what else have I been up to this year? Lots of roller derby jewellery was made, more shiny biscuits were created, and I did a lot of wax carving.

Another very cool thing that happened this year was reconnecting with an old friend from college, who is both talented and wise, and has given me a lot of excellent advice.

Our house is still a wreck, but I have at least put some paint on the walls now. Loki helped.

Loki also likes to help out at my workbench when I bring things home from the studio to work on. He really is a furry pest – it’s just as well he’s cute!

So, 2015 was pretty cool, and all in all I am very excited to see what 2016 will bring. I have grand plans, new designs and can’t wait to get started!

Farewell 2015