Julie Fountain is the glass artist at Beach Art Glass, creating handmade glass lampwork beads for people who love colour and nature.

Working from her home studio in beautiful Malvern, Worcestershire, she has been melting glass since 2007 and her designs are particularly inspired by the sea - despite living many miles from the coast.

Julie works closely with a skilled silversmith to create simply wearable jewellery that will last a lifetime.

Benedict Homer has two distinct styles of work. The first is sculptural; apples and pears created from burred or spalted wood. Since childhood, he has been captivated by the strange beauty revealed by fruit during in its decaying process and these sculptural pieces are influenced by living and working in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire – apple and pear country.

The second is the whimsical Happy/Sad bottle stoppers, with a smiley face on one side and a sad face on the other denoting whether a bottle is full or not, which draw on his product design background.

Inspired by the surroundings of the north Cornish coast and her own Swedish heritage, Carin Lindberg creates one-of-a-kind jewellery, which showcases unusual and beautiful stones in simple metal shapes with characterful textures, patina and brushed finishes.

She is passionate about producing unique pieces that are wearable and accessible, using quality materials, the best craftmanship and highest attention to detail.

Contrasting surfaces and unexpected stone combinations are incorporated into naturally elegant, contemporary jewellery for women and men who appreciate the story, the passion and the creativity that goes into the handmade work of this Cornish-based independent maker.

Commissions are welcome, please contact Carin to discuss

Dee Barnes is based in Leicester and designs both jewellery and ceramics. At the heart of her creative practice is the desire to explore colour, form and texture through functional, accessible pieces.

Dee's ceramics are made using traditional hand-building techniques including coiling and slabbing. Slip and underglaze colours are applied in layers and patterns always vary, with a vivid array of colours running through all her work.

Her jewellery is hand-painted silver and aluminium with acrylics and resin, each one being unique.

Dee is happy to take commissions, so feel free to contact her via her website, which features all her collections.

Helen Brice is a self-taught goldsmith, with over twenty years at the bench.

Her mixed-media background allows her to approach jewellery design from a somewhat unorthodox perspective. Preferring to explore new designs in the workshop rather than in a sketchbook, she is usually inspired by a particular gemstone or setting, which becomes the feature of each piece of jewellery.

Helen's unique style is manifested as a growing collection of signature 'Showstoppers!' – predominantly rings. These highly coveted, one-of-a-kind pieces are instantly recognisable, and their mostly organic and asymmetric design stems from her love of architectural detailing and naturally occurring pattern and texture.

To step into the world of Jo Verity is to view life and death with a completely different perspective, employing traditional decoupage techniques to create a kaleidoscope of images built within the one object.

Looking to her smallholding for inspiration, her essential specialty is to use the skulls of deceased animals, which she then transforms by collecting, curating and printing images to reflect the habitat and the natural world of each respective creature.

The scale of Jo’s work can vary dramatically from the skull of a small bird skull to that of a horse. She enjoys meeting clients’ requests with bespoke commissions, each piece receiving her detailed attention.

Richard Evans was the graphic designer at the innovative design studio Hipgnosis for several years before setting up on his own in 1976. In that year, he started a working relationship as exclusive designer for The Who which continues today; he is also webmaster for their official website thewho.com and manages their social media.

He has worked with a wide variety of artists, including The Doors, Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison and Louis Armstrong, and his most recent work can be seen on the cover of Robert Plant’s latest album.

His range of limited edition artworks will appeal to lovers of great music and fine graphic art alike.

Shelley Faye Lazar specialises in hand-painting silks and wools to create vibrant luxury scarves, shawls and couture dresses and tops, which are both functional and decorative. Colour is her passion, and silks and wools are her canvases, as she uses a kaleidoscope of dyes and techniques to produce ‘art to wear’.

Shelley has exhibited at major prestigious events, such as Art in Action, Craft in Focus and Hay Festival of Literature, and gained a following for her use of vividly bright colours and graphically bold designs.

Each garment is uniquely designed and executed, one size fits most.

Sue Lowday works with fabulous vegetable tanned leather that is expertly crafted into an array of belts, bags, wallets and purses shaped to intrigue and delight.

Slow Fashion, eco materials and sustainability are the essence of her work, primarily working with ‘top grain’ leather that is the strongest of its kind and has a beautiful natural finish. Each piece is individually stamped with her special maker’s mark to define quality.

After over thirty years of designing and working with sustainable vegetable tanned leather, and with pieces in seven public UK museum collections, Sue has many loyal customers who highly value her work.

Susan Holton creates beautiful contemporary knitwear and accessories for women. She explores stitch, yarn, fibre and colour combinations in developing her distinctive knit fabrics and gorgeous garments, so the result is truly unique. Her knitwear is finely crafted with meticulous attention to detail and finish to ensure perfect drape and fit.

As well as her distinctive and unusual cardigans, jackets, sweaters and wraps, her collection includes hand-dyed and hand-painted scarves, wrist-warmers and mittens, and quirky hats. All of which make lovely and unusual gifts for you, your family and friends.

Vivienne Cawson trained in textile design. Whilst freelancing, she taught Art and Design in Further Education and painted when time allowed, becoming professional in 2005.

Inspired by flowers, she enjoys contrasting them with geometric pattern. Using watercolour spontaneously, she creates lively, fresh work removed from faithful reproduction of her subjects.

Vivienne’s recently published book ‘The Kew Book of Painting Orchids in Watercolour’ has been well-received by critics and public alike, and her work translates well into greeting cards, cushions and calendars.

A member of The Leicester Society of Artists and The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, she teaches, demonstrates and leads workshops in the art of watercolour.

WORD WIZARD

Valerie Potter has over twenty years’ experience as an author, ghostwriter, copywriter, journalist, researcher, editor, sub-editor and proofreader.

She is happy to consider any editorial project, great or small, from writing/editing catalogue or website text to helping knock a novel or autobiography into acceptable shape before submission to a publisher. Her specialist skill is to polish up existing copy without altering it beyond recognition, so it retains the original author’s voice – only better!

In ‘normal times’, Valerie also works as a publicist for theatre and music tours and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, so would be interested in discussing press and marketing needs for products, people and events.