Meet the Team - Little Birdy Crafts

Today we meet the mysterious avian Little Birdy and talk about her work - you can find her lovely Christmas decorations & porcelain feather jewellery in Paper Scissors Stone, Quakers Friars

Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your work?

My name is Little Birdy of Little Birdy Crafts and I am a Bristol based crafting bird that loves all things old, frilly and colourful and shamelessly admit to being a flamboyant Francophile! I am a multi- crafter and make work in textile, illustration, ceramics and paper and I also like to up-cycle as many things as possible, regularly getting glue all over my feathers while making my crafty fancies in the comfort of my vintage nest. If I didn't have to sleep my little wings and claws would craft all day and night long.

What do you think makes Paper • Scissors • Stone special? 

Little Birdy thinks Paper • Scissors • Stone is a tres bon way of showcasing the best of Bristol crafty crafters and offers gifts and art work that is truly unique and is a much needed breath of fresh air amongst all the big company shops of Cabot Circus. Having different showcases and featuring different artists and crafters every few months gives new talent a great platform and keeps everything fresh and interesting!

What do you love most about working in your chosen discipline? 

As I am a small bird my attention span can be a little short sometimes which is partly why I work in lots of different areas. I might fancy doing some illustration on some old vintage jugs one minute then making some fabric foxes out of old fairy-tale fabric the next or making paper cake bunting followed by some free hand machine embroidery! I like to feel inspired all the time and

hopping from this to that gives me endless ideas that can lead from an illustration to a porcelain piece that then inspires a fabric animal. Everything I make is completely unique and handmade so no two items are ever the same and I like how personal that is . Paper • Scissors • Stone will feature some of my handmade fabric christmas decorations of stars and trees along with a selection of the hand sculpted porcelain feather jewellery that I have been making for the past 2 years The pieces include necklaces, earrings and brooches which I make at Maze Studios. Each porcelain feather is sculpted with a scalpel and are all completely different and have a delicate and personal quality.

Describe your studio or workspace? 

Cluttered! Despite the never ending purchase of storage tubs, I am continually surrounded by recycled tin cans, fabric scraps, ceramic pens, needles, vintage china, glue and paper it seems. However after Christmas I shall be decamping to a marvellous wooden garden summer house {that I saved from its destructive destiny with the dump} which will house my crafty clutter neatly at the bottom of the garden!

What is your favourite part of Christmas?
Turning the fairy lights on the tree on Christmas morning and everything that follows!

If you could choose a fellow Paper Scissors Stone artist to collaborate with who would it be and why? Jess Quinn whose work I have been admiring from afar. Little Birdy has slightly fallen in love with her fabric Mr Fox in volume 5 and I love her imaginative animal creations!

If you could choose one Christmas gift for yourself from Paper Scissors Stone, what would it be?

The aforementioned Mr Fox!

Which is your favourite local independent shop or eatery in Bristol & why?

There are too many to choose from in Bristol! Well Little Birdy is partial to tea and cake on a very regular basis so...Cox & Baloney on Cheltenham Road because of its legendary cakes, vintage decor and chance to peruse vintage clothes, accessories, books and china and then 7th Sea just a few doors up which features lots of lovely handmade gifts and prints.

What are your plans for 2013? Firstly to have a week off and catch up on some sleep! After that I'm planning on finishing setting up my online shop on my website http://www.littlebirdycrafts.co.uk, doing a window display at the aforementioned 7th Sea, getting my craft fancies in more shops and getting a line of tote bags and cards featuring my free hand machine embroidery illustrations printed along with decorating my new garden studio. That's January sorted, not sure about the rest of the year yet!

What is your favourite Christmas song? 

'Little Saint Nick' by the Beach Boys closely followed by' All I want for Christmas is you' by Mariah Carey.- I have no shame.

Finally if you were a Christmas cracker, what inside treat would you be and why?

One of those cellophane magic fish that magically roll and unroll on the palm of your hand so I could slip through keyholes and under doors undetected at cake shops at night....

Thank you Little Birdy... we have loved hearing about your little crafting nest.

Little Birdy's porcelain feathers and other creations are now available to buy in our Christmas shop - Paper Scissors Stone Volume 5 is now OPEN!