Jennie Rawlings

An Old Favourite

2012-02-27T22:30:00.002Z

I've been rushed off my feet so far this year and been so busy in fact that my plans for a new Mother's Day cushion range has run more than a little behind. So it's enormously gratifying that I have had more than one inquiry about my "Perfect Mum" cushion that was the very first design I released last year. I figure, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, so the design be shortly be available again in my shop while I continue to work on my Jubilee creations for June. Thank you for your continued support.

'Tis The Season II

2011-12-09T00:45:00.001Z

Today, I popped into my shop at Botany Bay, Chorley to add a bit of Christmas cheer to my display with a new range of Christmas cards and miniature gift bags. Shortly to be available on Folksy, the card range is a blend of red, green, white, tartans and wooden decoupage and the gift bags are designed to perfectly wrap your small gifts such as jewellery, charms and stocking fillers.

BIG LOVE

2011-12-04T09:28:00.001Z

Here are some pictures of my new range celebrating warmth and fuzziness shortly to be available in my shop.

Tis The Season...

2011-12-02T13:39:00.001Z

I've just finished this commission of some festive gift bags for a customer and I'm about to put some more of them in my shop. I'm really pleased with them. The brief was one large size and one small, a bit of colour and a bit of humour. The big one £8.50 measures 40cm x 25cm so it's big enough for a bottle and the small one measures 20cm x 16cm £6.00 - nice for little trinkets. Both are made of hessian and felt, are hand printed with a festive message and tie at the neck with a ribbon.

Merry Christmas! xxx

Hot Shots

2011-11-16T22:59:00.001Z

I have a new range of designs for celebrating weddings and love. I have created them especially for a photo shoot to be directed this weekend by the lovely Natalie of Sweetness & Light Photography in Bolton and I'm very excited to see the results of her work.

It's been a few months since I've come up with anything new due to commitments with the launch of BOYGIRLBOY but I'm back and feeling inspired.

I think my favourite is LOVE BIRDS (above). If you look closely, you can see the birds singing away.

Commissions coming next: A new wedding dedication pillow and a selection of Christmas gift bags.

One More Week Of Crazy

2011-10-15T12:45:00.002+01:00

I've got one more week of crazy getting BOYGIRLBOY ready for The Luxury Wedding Show and then it's back to work on some more designs. Gearing up for Christmas now although shockingly late I'll admit. I haven't had time to do any lists either so, while Her Nibs is asleep, I'll do a quick one. X-Factor Predictions (so I can look back and see if I was right! : )

My X-Factor Predictions

Winner: Mischa P. She doesn't really need to be in the competition.
Frankie Cocozza. Will get the girl vote.
Craig Colton. Fantastic voice. Too likeable to leave early.
Janet Devlin. Unbelievably talented. Doesn't believe it yet.
Marcus Collins. Again, Great voice. Too likeable to leave early.
Sami Brookes. See Craig Colton and Marcus Collins.
Nu Vibe. Will get all the teenager's votes.
Sophie Habibis. Great voice but not edgy enough.
Rhythmix. Good but not as good as Girls Aloud.
The Risk. Can't remember them at all.
Johnny Robinson. Lovely guy but seriously...no.
Kitty Brucknell. Won't stay unless she calms down and it seems clear she can't.

So, if anyone cares (and I can't imagine they do), that's my pick! Roll on Junior Apprentice next week. But first, it's SHOWTIME!!!! : )

A Nice Nod From Business Boom Bolton

2011-09-27T19:19:00.000+01:00

It's always a pleasure to be recognised in your own back yard which is why I was very proud to read an article about my exploits on the excellent Business Boom Bolton blog today. Business Boom is a central hub supporting and promoting local creative businesses and they contacted me last week because they found my shop on Folksy and were interested in promoting me. I sent them some quotes and images and voila! Hot off the press. I'm very grateful. It was particularly good to read because they were also kind enough to give a mention to my BOYGIRLBOY exploits as well. Thanks very much indeed!

A little bit of a big shameless plug

2011-09-27T02:14:00.000+01:00

I've been very quiet recently because I've been hatching a new arm of the business and now I can say that I am happy to present BOYGIRLBOY - Bespoke Framed Seating Plans creating custom designed plans and matching guestbook signature frames for wedding and formal dinners. The idea grew out of my own wedding four years ago when I wanted to set up my seating plan as an enduring keepsake to hang at home after the big day and I couldn't find a company doing it the way I wanted it. http://www.boygirlboy.com. I have just published a press release on a new blog http://www.boygirlboyblog.blogspot.com. Fear not, I have not given up on my beloved cushions but I have had to spend some serious time getting it all set up. Shortly, I will be turning my attention to produce for FromTheWilde.com's lovely Christmas shop. More on that shortly. In the meantime, I will be heading down to London to officially launch BOYGIRLBOY at the National Wedding Show. More on that soon. Wish me luck and thanks for reading.

It's all Relative

2011-07-25T01:52:00.002+01:00

No posts for a while. Sorry about that. I'm tempted to say I've had a bad couple of weeks but in light of the dreadful headlines we've seen since Friday, that might come over as a bit callous. Truth is, compared to Norway and the Winehouse household, I've had a couple of weeks of blissful normality with a couple of hiccups that have caused me, at best, mild irritation. In my little bubble, however, I've been driven to the limit by a combination of technological malfunctions and teething troubles. Neither of these is a metaphor. I only just got my new computer yesterday and my daughter has a mouthful of little pearly whites brutally erupting through her little gums that is causing her, and therefore me, semi-sleepless nights. I've been countering this by upping my trips to the swimming pool (and therefore her trips to the creche) and cutting back on work which isn't ideal but I figure I'll be no use to anyone if I go completely round the pipe at this stage.

To add to the frustration of not having access to any of my design tools for almost a month, we had a disastrous weekend at the Worsley Summer Festival. For those in any doubt, trying to flog homewares from an undefended gazebo during a monsoon, is not conducive to an overwhelming sales tally. In fact, it is a wonder that we managed to sell anything at all, huddled under a makeshift windbreak fashioned from garden tarp and household clothes pegs, but we did. It was some of the worst weather I have ever encountered in July and, hardy Brit that I am, even I must confess to the just the smallest sense of humour failure as I hobnobbed with the good denizens of Worsley while trussed up to the ears in an anorak and ankle-deep in a soup of mud and rainwater.

Happily the clouds parted and the sun came out for enough time for the Festival's highlight - the arrival on a horse-drawn barge of Victoria & Albert. I don't mind saying it was completely magical. Commemorating an actual journey made by the queen and her consort more than 150 years ago and devised especially to mark the 250th anniversary of the construction of The Bridgewater Canal, this classy reconstruction had the gathered crowds cheering and waving as if it were Wills and Kate arriving in convoy. The attention to detail in the costumes and the decoration of the barge was so impressive and enjoyable to watch that everybody forgot the unpromising start the Festival had encountered and really started to enjoy themselves and, mercifully, start shopping! Not a bad result seeing as how a few of us had contemplated the feasibility of constructing an Ark at one point during the course of the morning.

In other news, I celebrated gaining 50 followers on my Facebook page with a competition to win one of my new 'Edible' range cushions. The results I will announce tomorrow when I finally get around to making the draw. As a result of running the competition, I have gained an additional seven followers which may not sound like much until you recognise just how tricky it is to get people to click on that little 'like' button. Nope. In my view, 7 new followers in ten days is a triumph. I intend to run another competition when I get to 100 followers so I'd better get tweeting.

I have no new design news to report at the moment because, as I said, the tools of my trade have been temporarily suspended in the last four weeks but, now that they are restored, I intend to do some pretty nifty catching up. The first stop will be to expand the 'Edible' Collection, the beginnings of which have been very well received. I have had some very nice feedback from people who like the look of them to complement the furniture in their open plan kitchen/ living spaces. The double sided 'Eat Me/ Drink Me' design has been praised for it's cheekiness and 'Let Them Eat Cake' (so they tell me) actually looks edible apparently. So on the whole then, the beginnings of The 'Edibles' Collection would appear to be a success. Two designs, however, does not a complete collection make so watch this space for some new designs very soon.

This week I received a challenge from an old pal James who I used to work with in a former life. To pass the odd quiet afternoon in our shared office, we used to scour the internet for the best/worst music videos in a bid to find the definitive winner. It wasn't enough that the video was bad. There are any number of those floating about on YouTube. The heavyweight champion of this competition had to be a music video so egregiously bad that it actually made compulsive viewing. The acid test was whether it got us virtually rolling around on the ground laughing so hard that it caused actual physical pain and/ or potential loss of bladder control. A tall order.
Contenders for the crown have included (I lost my heart to a) Starship Trooper by Hot Gossip, Snooker Loopy by Chas 'n' Dave and Wired For Sound by Cliff Richard. To date though I've never found anything as pant-wettingly funny as I Wanna Love You Tender by Finnish power pop combo Armi & Danny from 1978. Shamelessly cashing in on the contemporary box office success of both StarWars AND Grease at the same time, the song, which is so annoying you'll be singing it all week is supported by some of the most insane choreography you will ever witness on film and I dare you not to want to show it to everyone you know...forever.

Anyway, back to my mate James and that challenge. Since we haven't found as single offering to even come close to topping Armi & Danny in about 2 years, it must be time for a new competiton. The very worst/ best movie plots. The rules are the same. It can't just be a bad movie. The plotline has to be so ludicrously awful that you really want to watch it. James kicked off the bidding with the first entry on this week's list (below) and the rest are others that I have since unearthed but, quite honestly, Bridge Across Time (1985), is really going to take some beating. Check it out.

Latest Contenders for the Title of Worst/Best Film Ever

Bridge Across Time (1985) Tagline: (honestly) There once was a lad named Jack, whose tendency was to attack. With surgical skill, He'd go for the kill, And apparently he still has the knack. (More like a tag limerick really). Starring David Hasselhof, this is the story of how the spirit of Jack The Ripper (who apparently drowned in the Thames under London Bridge in 1888) is transported to Lake Havasu in Arizona in the brickwork of the bridge and continues his murderous killing spree in modern-day America. Get me some popcorn now!
Over The Top (1987) Tagline: Lincoln Hawk will fight for his son the only way he knows how. And what is that way? Armwrestling! Sylvester Stallone goes on the road to try to win the trust of his estranged son while also attempting to win the World Armwrestling Championship in Las Vegas so he can win a truck and start his own trucking business. So bad that Actor David Mendenhall, who plays Sly's son, won Razzie awards for both Worst Supporting Actor and Worst New Star. Sly did marginally better by not actually winning the Worst Actor category in which he was nominated.
Day of The Dolphin (1973) Tagline: Unwittingly, he trained a dophin to kill the President of The United States. Sold!
Ape (1976): Tagline: Not to be confused with King Kong. Nice and informative this one and 10 out of 10 for the elimination of any possibility of confusion with the giant-monkey-kidnaps-scantilly-clad -American-temptress-and-goes-on-the-rampage-in-NewYork classic. Except that this is a film about a giant monkey who kidnaps an a scantily clad American temptress and goes on the rampage in Seoul. I fear therefore that the tagline may not be as effective as hoped. Nonetheless, it sounds unmissable.
SpaceCamp (1986): Tagline: They came to SpaceCamp with the dream of becoming astronauts. Suddenly...without warning...before they were ready...they were launched into space. Another public service done here with the tagline virtually eliminating any need whatsoever to watch the film...except I really want to know what happens next! Actually I do already. They all come back. Instant classic.
Teeth (2007) Tagline: It's what's inside that counts. A horror flick about a young lady who, to put it delicately, has a full set of nashers in a most unexpected and quite intimate place. Let your imagination run riot. My guess is they won't stock too many copies of this at Blockbuster.
Soul Man (1986) Tagline: He didn't give up. He got down. This film might also feature on a list of the most inappropriate and potentially offensive cinema outings of the last 30 years. C. Thomas Howell (what do you call him if you meet him, C?), is a bit worried about getting into Harvard so he blacks up in order to secure a place and a full scholarship and in the process, learns a few lessons about prejudice. Hmmmm.
Mamma Mia (2008) Tagline: "Here we go again". Three men inexplicably accept an invitation to the wedding, on a Greek island, of a woman they have never met and show up only to find that the girl is the daughter of an old flame...and one of them is the dad. More of Meryl Streep than you ever wanted to see then ensues. The story is told to the various hits of Swedish mega-band ABBA with many of the plot twists and turns aggressively crowbarred into the story to suit the soundtrack. But what of the forgotten classics that didn't make the cut? He Is Your Brother, Here Comes Rubie Jamie, King King Song, Put On Your White Sombrero, Nina, Pretty Ballerina and Hamlet III parts 1 & 2. Surely they could have got them in somehow? I hated it but must admit that the tenuous nature of the plot was actually weirdly compelling. And £600m (and counting) in the bank can't be wrong, can it?

Tasty

2011-06-29T21:25:00.000+01:00

Even for me, it's been one hell of a couple of weeks. In the main comprising a lot of mechanical failure as well as some really exciting opportunities, lots more followers on Twitter and even a few more followers on Facebook (tricky getting people to click that little 'like' box). So where to start? Well, I was very happy that my own space on lovely online emporium From The Wilde went live on Monday. It's especially nice as From The Wilde also displays the collections of some other artists whose work I already know and absolutely love such as Poppy Treffry, Sophia Victoria Joy and Warbeck & Cox and a whole host of other amazing artists whose work I am less familiar with and am looking forward to getting to know better. All very inspiring stuff and I am brimming with pride.

I have also managed to produce two new designs in the face of considerable odds. Not only did my sewing machine peg out last week but this weekend, my beloved and much used MAC laptop ran up the curtain to join the choir invisible as well. All I can say is thank goodness for a creative mother-in-law with an available (and far superior) machine and the carbonite.com computer back up system or I would currently be experiencing the frustration and personal anguish of a sex addicted cyclist at a keys-in-the-bowl party.
The first in my new 'Edibles' collection "Eat Me /Drink Me" (pictured above) is a double-sided offering, handprinted and finished in a blend of cranberry and black ink on my customary hessian. It is a homage to the fabled size-altering consumables Alice encounters down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland. The second "Let Them Eat Cake" (below) references the infamous comeback usually falsely credited to Queen Marie Antoinette of France but that mostly now sums up our cultural leanings towards comfort food and indulgence.

That's two down and there's a few more in the pipeline. Or should that read 'piping' line? Forgive me. I'm a bit giddy. It's a rare occurance.

Now back to my new home at From The Wilde. For starters, it's worth mentioning that, as part of their 1st anniversary celebration at the beginning of July, From the Wilde is offering 15% off all purchases. Simply enter coupon code 2222 at the checkout. Secondly, I've been wandering its galleries and here is my pick of the lovely creations I've found so far.

Doorstop Warbeck & Cox £30

Bebe Blouse Trefall Design £18

Lavender Soap Sarah Harper Handmade £2.29

Victorian Wooden Tray West Egg Interiors £45.00

There we go, just a small selection from the vast array of beautiful items on offer but inspiration enough to motivate me for the enormous amount of catching up I have to do if I want to make a decent show at the Monton Village Festival this weekend where my cushions will be on sale all day. Pray for good weather and low winds so we can keep control of the gazebo. There's just enough time for one more thing before I go.

This week's list, in deference to France's doomed Queen, is about the hallowed and elusive art of the 'comeback' or for most of us, myself included, what we would say to people who offend or annoy us if we had the time to come up with something really witty and clever that negates the insulting effect of the original insult. Get it right, and in most cases, you'll trump the argument. On some rare occasions, it will lead directly down the path to madame la guillotine. Perhaps you have one you don't see here. Feel free to add it to the collection. Here are some of my favourites. I've never managed to use any of them (not quick enough) but there's still time:

The Best Comebacks

Dismissive: "A thought crossed your mind? That must have been a very long and lonely journey."
Very dismissive: "I'm busy right now. Do you mind if I completely ignore you tomorrow?"
Mega dismissive: "There you go confusing me with someone who gives a damn."
Superior and patronising: "I sincerely hope you were able to get a full refund from the charm school."
Harmlessly witty: "I'd like to help you out. Which way did you come in?"
Just plain rude: "I am really trying to see things from your point of view but I can't get my head that far up my b*m."
Anecdote 1 - Sharp as a razor from the Master of the comeback himself: Nancy Astor, the American socialite, becoming frustrated with an increasingly drunk and beligerent Winston Churchill at a dinner party exclaimed: "Mr Churchill, if you were my husband, I’d put poison in your coffee.” to which he replied "Madam, if you were my wife, I'd drink it".
Anecdote 2 (and my personal favourite): A woman reporter was interviewing Australian General Peter John Cosgrove about planned activities for a number of young boys who were visiting his Army base including, amongst other things, shooting practice. When she suggested that, in doing so, he would be equipping the youngsters to become violent killers he replied, "Well Ma'am, you are equipped to become a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?"

Touche. Now back to the sewing machine.

Dad's The Word

2011-06-07T00:48:00.000+01:00

Just in case you haven't been anywhere near a shop in the last month or so, it's Father's Day next Sunday (the 19th not the 26th as I thought up until yesterday). I had been thinking about these designs (left - now available at my shop on Folksy.Com) for a while but hadn't got my act together because I had assumed I had buckets of time. I really must start checking things more. As you can see, my proverbial 'act' was then in fact 'got together' PDQ when I realised my mistake.

Working in this industry is all about a whole heap of deadlines many of which are holidays and special occasions. Father's Day is the last one for a while I think (unless you celebrated Bastille or Independence Day). You can never be too prepared apparently. I am reliably informed that I should already be doing more than just 'thinking' about Christmas.

Father's Day is a tough one because many men are hard to buy presents for. None of the men in my family ever seem to get over-excited enough by anything to the extent that it can be termed a 'pastime' and, when they do, they are not natural activities to accessorise (golf club covers anyone...good grief no.) As my father honestly explained the last time I complained about not having any inspiration in this regard, the sort of things he wants, I can't afford to buy him. I imagine he probably wants his own personal golf club or ownership of the MCC, in which case, he's absolutely right. My dad is probably an extreme example as he really is almost impossible to find a present for. Most desperate attempts have ended in disappointment and, in some cases, offense (a walking stick at 45 and a golf caddy at 62 must have made him wonder whether we all thought there was something wrong with his legs). So he has had to content himself with the customary annual hardbacks, socks and golfballs while the quest to find the perfect present goes on. I have had one instance of success and that was when I made him a cushion for Christmas about ten years ago. To my knowledge, he still perches it on his stomach every time he settles in front of the television in his den. I don't think that it is a cushion he necessarily would have chosen for himself (dalmation spots and black velvet anyone?) but it is unique among my other gifts in that he actually uses it and I don't find it still in the packaging (sometimes in the same room) when I tip up for Christmas the following year! I like to think it was because I made it. ; )

So for Father's Day I have designed some cushions for other people's fathers (my own can't stand the occasion...or says he can't). I know men don't 'do' cushions as such but hopefully these are masculine and funky enough to grace the private comfort areas of a few dads about the place who 'really don't want anything' but might like it because it reminds them of a relationship they are (hopefully) at least passingly enthusiastic about.
I've done a quick search of some of my favourite sites and come up with some other ideas that I think might pass muster for those who aren't averse to the idea of a present next Sunday (and who already have a cushion to hug in front of the telly ;0) ). Starchild Shoes are best known for baby slippers but I really like their Union Jack men's slippers on NotOnTheHighStreet.com. For the sporty parent, I really like this 3-D soap from Soaps By Laura on Folksy and I think this tape dispenser from Georgeous Gifts is particularly original for the home office as is this cardboard shed by Paperpod on WowThankYou.Com although there might be severe competition for residence from the actual offspring themselves. It's obviously the thought that counts.

No post about Father's Day would be complete with a list about fatherhood. So here's mine. This is my:

7 Factoids You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know About Fathers

A popular story circulating on the Internet (a few people have been using the cut and paste function so it's hard to know the true source) claims that it was Sonnora Dodd from Washington who had the idea for a "Father's Day" while attending a service for Mother's Day in 1909. You see? And I would have put money on it being a man's idea.
Father's Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday in June in the following countries as well as the UK and the USA: India, Canada, China, France, Greece, Japan and Hong Kong. It has been claimed that Father's Day makes up the fifth-largest card-sending holiday in the world by Hallmark Cards who have no identifiable interest in the accuracy of that statistic whatsoever. Honest.
A poll by search engine MSN in 2007 placed Baywatch actor and Germany's national mascot, David Hasselhof, as the most 'searched for' Dad on the Internet. Father to two girls, Hasselhoff rewrote the book on emabarrassing Dad things to do by falling off the wagon so spectacularly that the girls videoed him unable to stand up and posted it on Youtube to shock him into going to rehab. It worked and Hasselhoff later defended their actions. For the record, other embarrassing things that dad's do include dancing at a child's birthday party, wearing jeans after the age of 50 and driving a Passat.
Still on the subject of the embarrassing things that fathers do, Dale Price of Somewheresville, USA clearly didn't think that calling his son Rain was going far enough when it came to shaming his only child. When little Rain was old enough to go to school on the bus, he decided to mark the occasion by waving him off every morning...wearing different fancy dress. Costumes to date have included a clown, the Roman god Neptune, a pirate complete with an artificial leg (which is real by the way), Ariel the mermaid and (in a bid for The Turner Prize no doubt) a man reading the newspaper while on the toilet. Presumably, if he hasn't already, he will shortly be snapped portraying a man who needs a divorce lawyer and a good psychiatrist.
In a week where a twelve year-old was named runner up for singing in the Britain's Got Talent competition, it is perhaps fitting to note the achievements of another young British teenager. In 1998, 12 year-old Sean Stewart became Britain's youngest father - a record that he still holds (although he is no longer 12 of course). He was allowed to take the day off school to be at his 16 year-old girlfriend's side during the birth of their baby son. Apparently taking the concept of coursework to a whole new level, the girlfriend Emma, was in the middle of her GCSE's at the time of delivery and one of her subjects was 'Childcare'. This no doubt came in useful when Sean and son were fighting over the X-Box or needed a time out on the naughty step. For the sake of balance, the UK's oldest recorded dad is 79 year-old Raymond Calvert who described the baby boy he had with his 25 year-old wife in July last year as 'his little miracle'.
According to records, the most prolific father in history was Russian Feodor Vassilyev whose first wife gave birth to 69 live children. All but two survived infancy. During the course of 40 years, she gave birth to 16 sets of twins, 7 sets of triplets, and 4 sets of quadruplets giving women everywhere a genuine reason to be grateful for the invention and development of the modern television set. When his wife finally pegged out in 1965, Vassilyev remarried and fathered another 20 children with his new wife. What a guy!
Jim Bob Duggar and his wife, Michelle, have turned their procreative activities into the subject of a spirotual website. The husband and wife team, again from Somewheresville USA, host the site about their growing family of children whose names all begin with the letter 'J'. A counter on their homepage proudly proclaims the total so far as "19 kids and counting". The eldest, Joshua, is now 23 while the youngest, Josie, is currently 18 months-old. In between, there are 17 children with names as exotic as Jessa and Jinger who all have their own profile page that includes details of each child's favourite Bible verse, Bible character and hymn. Joshua has a wife, Anna, who clearly wasn't entering into the spirit of things at all when they named their daughter... McKenzie. There weren't any names beginning with the letter 'J' left anyway.

Don't You Just Hate It When You Miss The Trailers?

2011-05-31T00:46:00.000+01:00

Ever get the feeling you're a little late for the party? After a few days of really serious Internet surfing wherein I have discovered more brilliant designers and makers than my brain can possibly take in, it certainly feels like it. There is so much talent in this country I feel quite patriotic. As if I need an excuse? God Bless You Ma'am! Ahh...That's better. A less optimistic person than myself might feel somewhat disheartened in the face of such competition. But not I. No, I like a challenge. And merely being associated with such a venerable community fills me with enthusiasm. We all have to start somewhere.
Here goes with a list of people and orgs I've found this week whose websites and blogs I think are particularly inspiring: Charlotte Macey Textiles, Emmaline Bride, Helena Carrington Design, Tiny Tin Robot, Poppy Loves, Decor8, Creative Boom, From Britain With Love, Katy Lunsford Photography, The Juicy Fig, WowThankYou, Designed In England, Style Made Simple, Mangle Prints, Angel & Blume and All Wrapped Up Events. And it's clear that this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I must admit I'm still finding blogging a bit of a task. I'm almost never lost for words, so it is a strange that I find writing about myself and my musings a very slow and frustrating process. This, for example, is the first out of about four drafts to make it to press and it still feels as if I'm at the helm of an Alpine snowplough with flat tyres. Although, it's occurred to me that I could just fill up a few lines by mentioning my litte brother who is 34 today. Happy Birthday mate! Could this be the year? (you know what I'm talking about ; ))

Anyway, I've started a new cushion range. That's worth a bon mot or two. And a photo of course (above). They're not on sale yet but will be on Folksy and Etsy shortly. These pillows are terrific fun to put together. I've loved selecting the colours of felt and suede, cutting out the shapes and matching them up to the best effect. And that wide-guage sage ticking is the fabric equivalent of chocolate; so soft and clean. Ever since I worked out how to use the buttonhole function on my sewing machine and bought a freestyle embroidery foot, it's been a whole new world.
I'm on the lookout for inspiration for christening gear this week since we're looking at having Her Majesty baptized soon. I've always loved the idea of a long, traditional, embroidered gown (which will make everyone including her no doubt grateful that she is a little miss and not a bouncy boy. Gown or no gown, it's still basically a dress.) Originally, I planned to make her outfit from the fabric of my wedding dress but I'm afraid that, now it comes to it, even Coco Chanel armed with a syringe of Rohypnol couldn't persuade me to put a pair of scissors to such a treasured thing. And it's a good thing too since, having done a bit of research, I now favour white linen whereas before I was absolutely dead set on dupion silk and lace. It's uncomfortable to change your mind about something you've been decided on for so long but such a relief when you you do. I'm finding that more and more these days.
Right. This week's list is about disaster movies and facts pertaining thereto. The link to this post is tenuous in the extreme (there's no link) but I did find myself watching The Towering Inferno last night for the first time since 1998, so I'd say it's long overdue.

Disaster Movies: The Rules

Of all the different genres of disaster movies, the most popular subject for natural disaster is epidemic (The Andromeda Strain (1971), Outbreak (1995)). For man-made calamity, it is aeroplanes (Airport (1970), Passenger 57 (1996), United 93 (2002)) .
A common feature of disaster or doomsday films is a large cast of very famous actors (The Towering Inferno (1974), The Poseidon Adventure (1972)).
The films almost always feature protagonists who completely hate each other at the start but who reach a state of deep mutual affection by the time the credits roll (2012 (2010)) Often, they find the time between explosions to have sex too. (Titanic (1995) The Day After Tomorrow (2004) ).
Disaster movies mostly feature highly polarised characters who are either wise and selfless or outrageous egomaniacs with few or no social skills. The former usually survive while the latter often end up under the nearest falling object. The only circumstance under which a 'good' character will die will be as the result of an outrageously flamboyant act of bravery and self-sacrifice (The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Armageddon (1998)).
The President may be played by an actor from an ethnic minority group (Deep Impact (1998) 2012 (2010)) but is never played by a woman. In some instances, the President will personally save the day (Airforce One (1997) Independence Day (1996)). Without exception, the President will be the wisest person who has ever lived.
On the rare occasion that disaster zone footage is shown of somewhere in the world other than the United States, the inhabitants of such places are usually portrayed going about their business in full national dress (Armageddon (1998)). According to Hollywood, they do not have jeans, t-shirts or trainers in countries outside North America and the European Union.
Characters aged 16 and under always prove completely immune to disease and impervious to bullets, fireballs, big cracks in the earth, floods, bombs, falls of over 20 feet and falling debris. Similarly, any animal that can reasonably be termed as a pet will develop the survival skills of Bear Grylls the moment the s***t hits the fan.

Botany Bay Bound

2011-05-24T01:49:00.000+01:00

This is going to be a very exciting week. First, my mum's coming to stay (which is exciting in itself) and secondly, I am opening my first 'shop' space at the Botany Bay mill near Preston. It's a five storey department store in a beautiful old cotton mill that's sandwiched between the Liverpool and Leeds Canal and the M61 motorway and set against a backdrop of rolling Lancashire hills. Have a look here: www.botanybay.co.uk. My space is to be on the second floor where I can sell some of my homewares and painted furniture. The best thing about it is finally being able to do the furniture which was my reason for setting up in the first place. The only thing standing in the way was a distinct absence of space chez nous. Now hopefully I will be able to produce pieces on a demand basis and take them straight to the shop floor. I'll be heading down there on Wednesday armed to the teeth with emulsion and polyfiller to sort out the space itself and will then hopefully be open for business in time for the bank holiday weekend. I will also be stocking a couple of my new hessian cushion designs for the first time (below) and adding them to my current inventory on Folksy and Etsy.

In spare moments, I have been having a good dig around on Blogger and Twitter to see what everybody else is up to and I found the button (bottom right) from a really interesting blog called All About The Boys in support of shopping from independent retailers. I also started following Poppy Loves which provides really inspiring and entertaining commentary on "all yummy things". I just can't believe how much great alternative stuff there is out there and it's particularly encouraging when you see how much overpriced, mass produced c**p you find on the high street.

In all the excitement I've lost track of current affairs but I note that Russell Brand has been thrown out of Japan on account of previous bad behaviour which puts me in mind of a list about events and ideas that have been about as welcome as swimming gala at a sewage works. The definition of (un)popularity is quite broad ranging but, in the context of entertainment, it is probably best when seen to be synonymous with ideas of the anti-social and unusual. So here goes...

My Top Factoids About Unpopularity

Aeroplane neighbours: In a 2009 poll, Katie Price and Osama Bin Laden were voted the least popular people to sit next to on an aeroplane. I'm saying nothing.
Academy Award Winners: Opinions about movies are always a subjective but some of them receive inexplicable acclaim that never really gets explained. This was definitively illustrated by in 1998 when James Cameron's Titanic won Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars. This cringefest of iffy special effects, blatant anachronisms, factual inaccuracies and unintentionally hilarious set pieces that plays fast and loose with one of the worst human tragedies of the past century was not only an incredible missed opportunity, it also facilitated the double tragedy of affording James Cameron so much Hollywood clout that he was allowed to spend the next 10 years perfecting yet another self-indulgent assault on the senses, Avatar. Cheers Oscar.
Music. Strangely, the sort of tunes that make us want to tear out our own teeth often become inexplicably popular. Good examples from the last 30 years include the obvious contenders "Agadoo" by Black Lace, Los Del Rio's "Macarena" and "Asereje" by Spanish group Las Ketchup (I'm seeing a bit of pattern here). But spare a thought for some lesser known yet hilariously awful songs like David Hasselhoff's classic "Jump In My Car" and "I wanna Love You Tender" by Finnish duo Danny & Armi. Featuring a video that quite brilliantly attempts to cash in (there's no way you can use the word parody in the context of this song) on the recent box office success of both Star Wars and Grease at the same time, it contains some of the most fantastically bizarre and scene-stealing choreography ever committed to film and is well worth a look.
Art. In 1987, photographer Andres Serrano took the (some might say egregiously dodgy) step of combining self-expression with religious iconography and consequently earned himself a whole heap of contempt. His piece, entitled Piss Christ, featured an image of a small crucifix suspended in a tank of the artist's own urine. Serrano received hate mail and death threats and, on the plus side, global credibility as an artist which many of his detractors probably view as a pretty cheap trick particularly when since the piece sold at auction in 1999 for $162,000.
Literature. Generally, banned books are more unpopular with the prevailing powers than they are with the individual but plenty cause upset in both camps. In any event, the act of banning a text usually makes everyone desperate to get their hands on a copy - often only to then wonder what all the fuss was about. Mein Kampf is understandably banned in most European countries and Russia to this day. How to Make Disposable Silencers (1984) is similarly ostracsised in Australia (although you can probably get all the info you need on the Internet nowadays and save yourself a tenner). Paul M. Handley must be kicking himself that it didn't occur to him to choose a more deferential title for his biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand The King Never Smiles. It was banned because criticising the King is illegal in Thailand which goes to show that research can only get you so far.
And finally, Names: The most popular boy's first name in the world today: Mohammed. The most unpopular?: Adolf (probably) but the last 100 years has seen many once popular names 'fall' from popularity. Herbert and Edna top the poll both falling almost 1000 popularity places in the space of a century. Elizabeth remains the most stable girls name falling only 3 places from 6th to 9th position. No prizes for guessing why. God Bless You Ma'am!

Yes please, Lord Sugar!

2011-05-14T01:03:00.000+01:00

The Apprentice is back! Yippee! I love this show. A weekly sixty minute showcase of some of this country's most deluded people and a masterclass (usually) in how not to conduct business. Sixteen young hopefuls individually poleaxed by Alan Sugar with the menace of a man who'd gladly go beyond basic summary dismissal were his ankles not manacled to the Boardroom table legs.
You can't really begrudge him his distain though when he's got some massively over-inflated ego wriggling on a hook spouting platitudes and asserting their tactical brilliance in the face of all evidence to the contrary. It beggars belief that any of them got onto the show in the first place until you realise what boring telly it would be without them. Really, who wants to watch a group of dynamic individuals at the top of their game efficiently and professionally turning a profit or balancing a sales ledger? That would be nowhere near as much fun.

I've had some business decisions of my own to make this week most notably, where to represent the business during the busy summer months. There are seemingly infinite opportunities but alas, a woefully un-Sugar-like budget that will limit my options to five, maybe six, trade fairs and public events. So, to boost things in the short term, I have decided to spend some time stepping up my web presence.

I will publish details of my show dates here and on the website as they are confirmed. In the meantime, however, a selection of my products can now be found on sale at www.folksy.com/shops/JennieRawlings and www.etsy.com/shop/jennierawlings and I will very soon be in a position to open the shop on my website. Fingers crossed.

Today's list is an easy one. As a homage to the return of my favorite telly show, it is my:

Top Five Feats of Staggeringly Misplaced Confidence

(For the purposes of this list, none of the examples will be derived from this or any former season of The Apprentice.
This way, other people get a look in.)

Ironically, in 2008, Reality Television was voted history's second worst idea ever after the Atom Bomb. It was discovered that 19% of those polled held this view. Perhaps reassuringly, considerably more (51%) opted to put the genesis of modern WMDs in the top spot but the percentage is not insignificant. Not, that is, until I reveal that the collective identity of those surveyed was '1000 readers of the 24 Hour Museum website' (who?). Clearly a couple of hundred of them were no match for the millions of us who perpetuate the phenomenon of reality telly by continuing to watch it and thereby sustaining demand. Imagine what would happen if all those people applied a similar zeal to the campaign for nuclear disarmament.
Being the most famous family in the Universe, the British Royals might be regarded in some respects as a rather easy target but incidents such as "that hat" worn by Princess Beatrice to Wills & Kate's wedding can surely be construed as just begging for it. The best example of chronic misjudgement however is probably the time when Prince Harry went all "Who Do You Think You Are?" and turned up to a fancy dress do wearing the emblem of a certain German national socialist party as an armband.
Joseph Johann Von Littrow's Flaming Intergalactic Communicator. No, not an expression of exasperation, but a project designed to entice extra-terrestrial visitations. The 17th century Austrian astronomer proposed the digging of a 30-kilometer trench filled with kerosene be set ablaze in the Sahara Desert. After which his plan was presumably to pop the kettle on and wait. Or have a really big barbeque. The plan, wherein may conceivably lie the origins of the term "Not in my back yard", was never realised.
The RMS Titanic was on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic when she struck an iceberg and foundered off Newfoundland in the early hours of 15 April 1912. Controversially, the owners of the White Star Line who built her decided not to fit her with enough lifeboats for all of the passengers. This was partly because they didn't want to ruin the views from the first class decks but mainly because the liner had been widely marketed as 'unsinkable' and it seems that, in all the excitement, the owners had come to believe their own hype. 1,517 people died in the tragedy, many because belief in the myth of her infallible integrity delayed the implementation of vital evacuation procedures until it was far too late.
Finally, attend the tale of Bando Mitsugoro VIII. He was one, in a long line (at least 8), of famous Japanese kabuki actors who, in 1975, went to a restaurant with a few friends and ordered the livers of four Fugu (or Pufferfish). Consumption of the livers are now banned in Japan because the toxins they contain can cause suffocation through paralysis within a few hours. Mitsuguro proclaimed himself immune to the poisons and ate the lot. Apparently, just the tiniest portion of the organ is sufficient to have lethal effect, so it was of very little surprise to anyone (except possibly Bando Mitsugoro himself) that he suffocated through paralysis a few hours later. Totally mad but perhaps the bigger mystery was, given its rather anti-social after effects, why Fugu was on the menu in the first place.

And now for something completely different...

2011-05-07T00:05:00.000+01:00

List time! I have decided that the current format of this blog is doing nothing for me so, from now on posts will take the form of a three-pronged assault: a bit of news about me (for what else is a blog for if not to bang on about yourself unrestricted), a brief jolly into any current affairs stories that are of particular prominence and a non-exhaustive list of general knowledge facts on a topic (probably tenuously) linked to the subject of the post. This way, I get to actually look forward to banging on about myself (which is where at least one of my followers has noted I become a little bit dry) and we all get to better our chances of winning the pint of pounds in a pub quiz. Everyone's a winner. Mange tout.

Today was a day like any other. I spend the better part of it playing dodge the gulf stream of vomit my five-month old daughter likes to level at me following feeding time. It is an activity that causes her unconfined delight which I would fain deny her. Afterall, everyone expects new mums to look like unmade beds and smell of stale milk and we're all rather suspicious of those who don't.

So, in between playful bouts of dodge the spew, I spent the time seeking out materials to develop the work I have already completed on corsages. The idea of jewellery made from fabric is not a new one and not one that I had ever really considered before but I'm so pleased with the results on my bookbags that something in my circuitry is urging me to pick up the baton and run like a three-legged cat at Crufts. So I will. More on that shortly.


My bookbags all come with detachable brooches (above) which allow the bag to be washed as normal.

The royal wedding is still very much in the news this week and I think it is a tribute to the happy couple that the only thing scurrillous anyone has to say about it relates to people other than the bride and groom. And given that their nuptials were witnessed by an estimated £2bn people around the globe, this is staggeringly good going. Three cheers for the maid of honour's backside which has become the subject of a worldwide fan club. I would have thought it nigh on impossible to upstage a sibling who had managed to bag one of the world's most famous bachelors, but Philippa Middleton managed it with one well-chosen frock and good luck to her. I imagine sales of home Stairmasters have had an unexpected boost too....And squeeze!

And so on to this list. Let's see, there's the joys of motherhood, textile investigations or wedding tales. What a feast! I'm think going to write a list about....

The Most Infamous Dissappearing Acts

(of the last 100 years)

Clearly not exhaustive, and obviously seeking to avoid making light of some of the more tragic instances, this is my run down of the most bizarre and intriguing missing person cases since 1911.

Frank William Abagnale Jr. Beginning when he was just sixteen years old, american Frank Abagnale managed to evade apprehension by the FBI for five years while assuming a number of identities to pass $2.5m in forged cheques, making the term confidence trickster appear woefully inadequate. Steven Spielberg's 2002 biopic of his career Catch Me If You Can saw him played by Leonardo di Caprio and took a bizarrely sympathic angle that made you kind of want him to get away with it which has got to be wrong, right? As it was, when he was eventually apprehended they forced to work with Tom Hanks for the rest of his natural life. So there was some justice in the end.
Richard Bingham, the 7th Earl of Lucan is everybody's favourite missing toff. Allegedly, he mistook his children's nanny for his wife when he bashed her over the head killing her and vanished without a trace in November 1974. Despite being missing for longer than I've been alive and the minor matter of him being declared legally dead in 1999, he still holds the title (but then again, it's hard to imagine anyone wanting it now).
Agatha Christie - Following a row with her unfaithful husband, Christie disappeared from her home one weekend in late 1926 and wasn't seen again...for eleven days! Not so much a disappearance as a mini break or, as we might say now, a bit of space 'to get her head around it'. Nonetheless, this less than fascinating chapter of her life has spawned a stream of films, documentaries, books and telly plays all speculating as to what happened to her during this time although we now know that she checked into a hotel in Harrogate posing as a South African tourist....Or did she? I'll leave it with you.
Adolph Otto Eichmann. The notorious Nazi who masterminded the Holocaust escaped from the chaos of post-war Europe to sympathetic Argentina where he evaded capture for 15 years. He was considered directly responsible for the deaths of over 6 million jews. In May 1960, he was grabbed by Mossad agents and smuggled out of the country to stand trial in Israel where he was sentenced to death and hanged two years later. He has no grave. As is common with controversial figures, he was buried at sea so that no memorial exists that can become a shrine for loonies and fanatics.
The body of Eva Peron. Her presence here is distinctive as the only person on my list who went missing after death. Eva Peron (known affectionately as Evita by her famous descamisados) was the actress wife of Argentinian President Juan Peron. She died of cervical cancer in 1952 but what is interesting is that shortly thereafter, Peron was deposed and, in all the kerfuffle, he lost track of the body of his First Lady for 17 years during which time he moved to Spain and re-married. When he finally caught up with her, he had her placed in an open coffin on his dining table and, rumour has it, had his new wife comb the corpse's hair daily. Well, I suppose she had to find something to do with herself since dinner parties were no longer a realistic option.
Shergar. The only animal on my list, Shergar was an exceptional racehorse who won the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths and who was taken from his stable in 1983 by masked gunman. No trace of the horse's body has ever been found.
John Darwin, nicknamed 'canoe man' walked into a police station in 2007 six years after being presumed drowned in an accident at sea. Claiming amnesia, it turned out that he had faked his own death to escape a mountain of debt he had accrued through poor property investment decisions and decided to 'reappear' after falling out with his wife who had cashed in his life insurance. In the end, he only served 3 years of his 6 year sentence for fraud.
Amelia Earhart - The intrepid female aviator tragically vanished without a trace whilst attempting to circumnavigate the globe in 1937. She was flying over the Pacific when she lost radio contact and was never heard from again doubtless prompting the circulation of a lot of telegram jokes about women drivers and their inability to read maps.
No list would be complete without Jimmy Hoffa. The Teamsters boss, who had strong mob connections, disappeared from a diner in Michigan in July 1975 while waiting for a meeting with two wiseguys. He was declared legally dead in 1982 but theories about where his remains ended up are perpetuated to this day, the most famous being that he was mixed into the concrete that formed the foundations of New York's Yankee Stadium.
Osama bin Laden. The number one place in the FBI's most wanted list was vacated this Sunday when the notorious Al-Quaeda leader was assassinated by US ground troops in Pakistan after almost 10 years on the run. He was widely believed to have ordered the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City and Washington D.C in 2001 that resulted in the deaths of approximately 3000 people. The top spot is inherited by Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera. Interestingly, Forbes list him as the 60th most powerful person in the world with his estimated fortune of 1 billion US dollars which will doubtless come in handy when buying all the extra hair dye, sunglasses and fake moustaches he's going to need now.

New designs at Capesthorne Hall

2011-05-03T01:16:00.000+01:00

This post features photographic highlights from this weekend's three day event beginning with my pitch in the marquee nicely framed with my own bunting which proved popular.

Even though it was a relatively quiet weekend, certain of my new designs were popular with customers and in particular my "Kate & Wills" Royal Wedding pin cushions with Friday's celebrations still very fresh in everyone's mind.

I have developed designs for two different types of apron. The cook's apron (blue with pinstripe details - below) comes in two colours and the pinny (bottom) will soon have an aqua/coffee version and most probably a pocket thanks to feedback from customers. Thanks also to my lovely mum for modelling them and showing them off so beautifully.

Royal Wedding Weekend

2011-05-01T23:41:00.000+01:00

We're in Cheshire this weekend for the Capesthorne Hall Craft & Food Fair and the weather has been absolutely glorious. With one day still to go however, footfall has been (I'm told) uncharacteristically low and there have been grumblings of overall disappointment from the exhibitors. Shame really. It seems a lot of people have taken advantage of the double bank holiday and gone otherwheres.

That said, we've had a really good time and made a few sales. The atmosphere is very jovial and the setting is beautiful. An 18th century Jacobean-style family seat set in 100 acres of park, lakes and woodland. As you might expect, there has been a good deal of chatter about the Royal Wedding on Friday which was executed, in my view, with a great deal of class. My "Kate & Wills" souvenir pin cushions have been very popular. I've received a lot of positive comment about my hand printed hessian sofa pillows and vintage cook's aprons. And there's something very civilised about sitting in a big white marquee with a cannister of tea, some cheese sandwiches and the aroma of a British summer's day in the countryside in your nostrils.

Very nice too. Cheers!