Christmas sparkle

A garland of butterflies, flowers and a bug

Clara has made this beautiful necklace of rainbow-hued butterflies, pink fan flowers and little green pansies and a bug in the centre- it reminds of summer days as we head towards deepest mid winter.

 

This necklace is not on our webshop - contact us at info@clarafrancis.co.uk if you would like more details

Wild Hares and Hummingbirds

Next on the Book Club reading list is 'Wild Hares and Hummingbirds' by Stephen Moss - a year-long nature diary of the village of Mark in the Somerset Levels.

The book's title refers to Hummingbird Hawkmoths...but here is our vintage green hummingbird made by Clara 

And our favourite gold hare

win a beaded fox necklace: Kirstie Allsopp's Handmade Britain

Now's your chance to win a hand beaded fox necklace from Clara Francis!
We've been enjoying watching Kirstie's Handmade Britain on Channel 4 - we're going to try out some of her brilliant ideas from the 12 Crafts of Christmas programme.

Check out the competition details on her Handmade Britain website, and you could be the lucky winner of our beautiful fox...

Glass flowers at Harvard's Museum of Natural History

Here at Clara Francis HQ we are surrounded by glass beads, in ever hue and shade...you could say we are a little bit obsessed with glass...
We think these glass botanical models are amazing. They were made in the Blaschka's studio near Dresden, Germany from 1887 to 1936 for Harvard's Botanical Musuem.

Daisies (pic found here)

Apricot branch (pic found here)

Iris (pic found here)

our day at the Primrose Hill Designer Fair

We had a lovely day at the Primrose Hill Designer Fair.......We met lots of lovely customers, had very good carrot and pumpkin soup (and chocolate cake) for our lunch from the Primrose Tearooms, and had a look at the goodies from other designer-makers like Quinton & Chadwick who make cosy knitted scarves and gloves, and Vicky Thornton who makes ceramics, and cushion covers out of vintage fabrics.
If you couldn't make it to the Fair this year contact us via our website for more info on some of the special pieces that are pictured below.

Our butterflies were very popular this year - let us know if one of them fluttered under the Christmas tree for you this year.

Golden apple, gold daisy and star chain, and red beaded moth

bottom right - double unicorn with swarovski crystals

some of our earrings: snowdrops, pansies, crystal balls...

The Bow Necklace

Are you looking for a special piece of jewellery to wear to all those Christmas parties? We think our Bow necklace is just the thing.

For more details, contact Clara on info@clarafrancis.co.uk

Primrose Hill Designer Fair - Saturday December 10th

This is where we will be on Saturday!
The Primrose Hill Designer Fair, St-Mary's church, Elsworthy Road, NW3 3DJ
10am to 6pm

Enchanted paper meadows and forests

At this time of year we like to curl up with a good book - and we love this one on Paper Cutting, compiled by Laura Heyenga (preface by Rob Ryan, master papercutter).  We think our jewellery would look right at home within these delicate worlds created out of paper...

Su Blackwell's Wild Flowers (2007)

Helen Musselwhite: Beauties Hedgerow (2009) and detail of Beauties Cottage (2009)

Elsa Mora's Rain Girl (2008)