Blog #5
Hello !
So what's been happening here of late... well I took some time away at the coast with one of my oldest chums... and that restored me beautifully... sea air, lots of giggles, lots of sleep and way too many Margarita's !! I wombled down to the Northampton Racecourse to take part in the Lightening Bolt Drawing World Championships... sadly any creative whizz I do have, does not translate well scribbling with chalk onto a pavement... whereas other folks... Oh My Word ! Huge fun had... so lovely to go out and begin seeing people again... Lots of smiley familiar faces !
So what's been happening here of late... well I took some time away at the coast with one of my oldest chums... and that restored me beautifully... sea air, lots of giggles, lots of sleep and way too many Margarita's !! I wombled down to the Northampton Racecourse to take part in the Lightening Bolt Drawing World Championships... sadly any creative whizz I do have, does not translate well scribbling with chalk onto a pavement... whereas other folks... Oh My Word ! Huge fun had... so lovely to go out and begin seeing people again... Lots of smiley familiar faces !
For ScruffyDog... it's been a brilliantly busy time of late... creating some awesome bespoke requests... What I really love is that Folks seem to celebrate milestones with handmade ScruffyDogTreasure... I've just made a heap of 21st Birthday gifts... I also remember making to mark their 18th and even their 16th !!! Telling a story... Each piece has it own chapter... Your Story. How lucky am I to be asked to make such keepsakes ? It makes me smile (despite feeling old!) *smirk*
I have just made my first Wedding Day bundle... gifts for Mother of the Bride, the Groom and all the Bridesmaids... not forgetting something 'blue' for the Bride... This had me tied up in a few knots... and inexplicably quiet for quite a while... but how proud am I... I've recently been asked to make a Hugget Keyring... for a smashing lad who is off to Uni... It's the little things... they mean the world...
Alongside commissions... I have been gently trying new design ideas... the twin ring necklets, interlocking rings and ear threaders have gone down a storm... I must thank my Niece for that one... I had no idea really what they were when she set me that challenge !
I also have to thank her for introducing me to the crazy world of TikTok ! Now ordinarily I would just shy away from yet another social media platform... but this one is quite clever and easy to use... If nothing else, its fun, it makes you think in a different way... that sparks creativity and that what drives me and feeds my soul...
I have dabbled and tried to show a step by step sequence of how I make an interlocking ring... it's pretty involved... and this is a fab way of showing you folks what it is I do...
Scruffy Dog Silver (@scruffydogsilver) TikTok | Watch Scruffy Dog Silver's Newest TikTok Videos
I had my very first guest to The Shed who I taught to make her own stacking set of rings... That was HUGE fun... and gave me a tiny shot of confidence to maybe think about offering the odd session now and again to anyone who'd like to have a go at bashing precious metal !
This little idea is parked until next year... for now... it's the downhill steamroller ride to the festive season... Christmas orders have already started to be booked in. Fairs are being scribbled into the ScruffyDogDiary... I've really been wrestling with this... My little business had to switch pretty quick to being online with lockdown and things... this entailed a giant learning curve... It's not going to be so quick to joosh it back to selling out and about in person at all the larger events I used to love doing... So I've decided to stay small, stop local, and just go out and have some fun... Dedicate the extra time to my bespoke work and keeping the online ScruffyDogShop brimming with goodies... A happy balance I think for the rest of this year...
So DATES SO FAR... whip out those diaries folks !!!
Sunday 26th September - Rural Crafts Open Day at Green Acres Farm - Staverton
Saturday 16th October - Buckingham Meet the Makers Market - Buckingham
Saturday 30th October - ScruffyDog PopUpShop outside Duston Village Bakery
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th November - TBC
Saturday 4th December - Buckingham Meet the Makers Market - Buckingham
So that's life in a nutshell... beautifully busy and loving what I'm doing at the moment... I seem to have hit a seam of creativity so am just riding it ! I have splashed out on some new tools and the excitement of experimenting and simply playing is clearly what makes me tick !!! Check out my new starry skies texture plate and these glorious angel wings ! My head is bubbling with what I can do with these !!! Been wanting them for ages !!!
I have just made my first Wedding Day bundle... gifts for Mother of the Bride, the Groom and all the Bridesmaids... not forgetting something 'blue' for the Bride... This had me tied up in a few knots... and inexplicably quiet for quite a while... but how proud am I... I've recently been asked to make a Hugget Keyring... for a smashing lad who is off to Uni... It's the little things... they mean the world...
Alongside commissions... I have been gently trying new design ideas... the twin ring necklets, interlocking rings and ear threaders have gone down a storm... I must thank my Niece for that one... I had no idea really what they were when she set me that challenge !
I also have to thank her for introducing me to the crazy world of TikTok ! Now ordinarily I would just shy away from yet another social media platform... but this one is quite clever and easy to use... If nothing else, its fun, it makes you think in a different way... that sparks creativity and that what drives me and feeds my soul...
I have dabbled and tried to show a step by step sequence of how I make an interlocking ring... it's pretty involved... and this is a fab way of showing you folks what it is I do...
Scruffy Dog Silver (@scruffydogsilver) TikTok | Watch Scruffy Dog Silver's Newest TikTok Videos
I had my very first guest to The Shed who I taught to make her own stacking set of rings... That was HUGE fun... and gave me a tiny shot of confidence to maybe think about offering the odd session now and again to anyone who'd like to have a go at bashing precious metal !
This little idea is parked until next year... for now... it's the downhill steamroller ride to the festive season... Christmas orders have already started to be booked in. Fairs are being scribbled into the ScruffyDogDiary... I've really been wrestling with this... My little business had to switch pretty quick to being online with lockdown and things... this entailed a giant learning curve... It's not going to be so quick to joosh it back to selling out and about in person at all the larger events I used to love doing... So I've decided to stay small, stop local, and just go out and have some fun... Dedicate the extra time to my bespoke work and keeping the online ScruffyDogShop brimming with goodies... A happy balance I think for the rest of this year...
So DATES SO FAR... whip out those diaries folks !!!
Sunday 26th September - Rural Crafts Open Day at Green Acres Farm - Staverton
Saturday 16th October - Buckingham Meet the Makers Market - Buckingham
Saturday 30th October - ScruffyDog PopUpShop outside Duston Village Bakery
Saturday 27th & Sunday 28th November - TBC
Saturday 4th December - Buckingham Meet the Makers Market - Buckingham
So that's life in a nutshell... beautifully busy and loving what I'm doing at the moment... I seem to have hit a seam of creativity so am just riding it ! I have splashed out on some new tools and the excitement of experimenting and simply playing is clearly what makes me tick !!! Check out my new starry skies texture plate and these glorious angel wings ! My head is bubbling with what I can do with these !!! Been wanting them for ages !!!
Signing off now as I do seem to chatter on ! Hope to see you out and about... Please continue to like, share, leave reviews on my socials... tell your Friends and Family about me if you think they might like what I do... ScruffyDog works best by word of mouth by happy folks... If you are thinking about ordering for Christmas... Don't leave it too late... My orderbook is quite chunky... If you are local and would prefer to shop in real life rather than online... You absolutely can come visit by appointment only... Bring a bonio for the Girls to keep them quiet whilst you browse !!!
Take care all...
Steph x