I never was
too sure what I wanted to ‘do’ in life until after a false start or two I began
working in a flower shop.
I was lucky
to be trained by some incredibly talented florists & attended college, to
learn as much as I could about the creative process. I loved the work but life moves on & I
needed to pay a mortgage.
Time for a
career change I started temping in an office whilst deciding my next move, I learned about paper, print, office politics
and what I didn’t want to do. It only
took 14 years until my next change
An
opportunity presented itself, a brave leap could be taken, and the fledgling
idea of Jackdaw Decor could take flight.
It
was time to embrace my love of making things; textural, tactile, 3D items of
loveliness, whether for me, as a gift or for the sheer joy of creating
something new from old. Re-using or re-purposing items rather than throwing
them away. Trying to use every last scrap. I hoard -in the true nature of a jackdaw-
shiny, bright, pretty things, paper, ribbon and beads that I will keep until I
discover what it was destined to become.
Inspired by
traditional Victorian techniques and styles, using modern and natural materials
in a fusion of floral art.
From mini book
flowers to truly unique bridal bouquets – my paper flowers are
created from a hoard of paper loveliness that I have lovingly collected over
the years; this means I cannot always source any more -once it’s gone it’s
gone. This gives my work a transient uniqueness which I love; I have no desire
to create the same item 50 times. I love the process of tweaking an idea to
suit a client, or to completely ignore the rule book & start from scratch –
it’s my fickle jackdaw nature coming to the fore!
Designs
inspired by and taken from nature: Like Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown I want my
products to be “more natural than nature”.
This is true
of the window & wall vinyls I design, they are based on real life images
& observations.
My reusable window vinyl snowflakes are based on
photographs taken by Wilson Alwyn Bentley (1865-1931), Whitby Abbey from our
own snapshots & my Christmas holly wreath from memory when as a florist we
made our own from scratch 100+ every year.
