Tuesday Talent - Greg Guedel

Greg Guedel is new to me, I discovered him in the Winter edition of Stampington's Prim magazine and was smitten.

Greg is a young American chap who works from his studio in Indiana as a wood carver.  Each of his pieces is hand made using linden mainly but also cedar, pine and aspen woods. He then hand paints and finishes his work before sometime making an assemblage, where he uses found and vintage objects.

When I was a child, there was a shop in Southport called Wayfairer's and in the toy dept was a treasure chest of the most wonderful wooden toys from Germany.  Mr Guedel's delightful designs are the grown up version of those childhood toys.  So very appealing.  I am charmed by the form, the rich colour and his details such as the vintage glass beads and interesting wires.

Should you wish to see more of this chaps agreeable sculpture he has a strong presence on Pinterest, an excellent website at www.gregguedel.com and an Etsy shop at GregGuedel, where his prices are not bad at all.

Apologies also for being so long in posting, my whole family has had a really vigorous virus that literally laid me up in bed for over a week and has put a dear friend in hospital.  What with nursing duties, falling ill myself and then recovering I have not made a doll for nearly three weeks.  Unheard off.  So fingers crossed back to the grindstone this week - looking forward to it.

Fuzzypeg, Giunea Pig Podge and Me!

 I have been asked several times now about my reasons and inspiration for making my bird dolls. Watching birds is second nature to me as is always feeding the birds. I find them beautiful and mystifying.

I am a country girl and had a wonderful aunty with whom I wandered the counytyside learning to identify trees, flowers and birds. Books have always been a joy to me and as a child I had a doting grandma who spent hours reading to me and encouraging me to read very early.

My grandparents had a caravan at a lovely spot near Cartmel Fell in the Soouthern Lakes and in the nearest town, Grange over Sands there was a shop ran by a cheerful old fellow called Jolyon Dodgeson he sold greeting cards, napkins, stationary and children's books.  It is from this shop that we bought books that filled my imagination with animals in pretty dresses and smart jackets.

Like many children in England I grew up with Beatrix Potter and The Tales of Peter Rabbit, my collection of her stories was read by all my cousins growing up and then came back to me when I had my daugher and she shared them.  Also Alison Uttley's Little Grey Rabbit stories were important to me and I fondly remember tales of Fuzzypeg the hedghog and Mouldy Warp the mole but my favourite by far was the adventures of the animals in the world of Racey Helps.  He was a writer and illustrator working in the 1940's, 50's & 60's, the stories started out as adventures for his children but he began to write them down and illustrate them and they became a gentle success published in wonderful colour by the Medici Society.  His beautifully detailed illustrations have stayed with me all my life, less well known than either Beatrix Potter or Alison Uttley but just as worthy.

Still a child at heart my bird dolls started as a wish to make illustrations in my head come to life but as I progress they have become more totemic than that.  They are stuffed with herbs in their stuffing and quite often have a polished stone at their heart.  I have shared all these stories with my daughter and the original books from the 1960's are as well worn and loved as any books can be.  They take me all the way back to perennial summers in the Lake District, walks filled with wonder and the chance to see a hedgehog slipping past in a blue jacket with brass buttons.

Book Recommendation - Poupee a Coudre by Alma Fanteria

Being a doll maker, I collect doll books and my usual recourse is to wait to see what is new on Amazon but this excellent book was a gift from France and I don't think it is easy to find so I wanted to share.

It's a lovely book, the doll style is unique and the clothing suggestions are very elegant. There are full size patterns that as a maker I found easy to follow although my french isn't good enough to follow all the instructions fully. It is a really great addition to any doll maker's library and being French not that obvious a find.  Highly recommended.


Poupee a Coudre: exercises de style
By Alma Fanteria
Publishes by Marabout
ISBN 978-2501112789
Around £12

Tuesday Talent - A Return Visit to Sally Nencini

 I really enjoy all of this lady's work and I wanted to share her new lambswool knitted dolls inspired by the original Clothkits dolls from the seventies.

Sally is an Irish lass now living in Norfolk, she has an impressive background in design and her expertise shows in the creation of both her lovely girls and her lambswool rabbits.  She has five design combinations for the dolls with different dresses, hair and eye colour.  Her rabbits come as both boys or girls and remind of Miffy rabbit from the children's story books.

Have a peep at her Folksy shop to get prices and availability.  Her work is beautifully made with an excellent finish and original design.  She sells as SallyNencini on Folksy.

Can I just take the time to say a very happy New Year, my very best wishes to all in 2017.