Kathryn Newman Jewellery and Beads By Kat

Longtime silversmith, newbie lampworker. Making jewellery since forever.

I began as a wee girl, making pretty things with brightly coloured plastic beads and selling them at my little school fetes. Then along came the Janet Coles book and changed my life forever! (pause for nostalgic sigh...)

I am a craft tart, I do a number of them, and flit between them all - and I'm always up for trying something new! I'm also a power tool junkie...Jewellery and Lampwork is my passion and my job, my craftie hobbies include..
Knitting/crochet/sewing/dressmaking
Bobbin lace
Tatting
Paper craft including scrapbooking, pergamano, stamping
Encaustic Art
Embroidery/Stumpwork/Cross stitch
I've done Latch hooking but I hate it
Glass painting

I could go on and on but I'll leave it there!

Silversmithing began many Christmases ago, when my hubby who was desperate for ideas for pressies took my suggestion 'find me a new craft' to heart and went the extra mile. That shoe-box under the tree that had all the promise of shiny new shoes turned out to be a box of hammers, files and a saw... (what? - I'm still a girl!)
He'd had the foresight to purchase a piece of silver with it, so I bulldozed in, cut it out into a shape, hung a bead with it and scratched some design onto it and ta-da. The tools went back into the box for about 12 months but I was always on the look out for a course or something.

Finally my local college decided to run silversmithing in the evenings, and I took 3 years worth of this. Can't say too much about that really, learned far more on the 'outside', but it was a good start. I was commissioned by someone in France to make a number of items and the jewellery business started to grow. My level 3 project was a number of sterling silver charms which I absolutely love, and I cast and produce these still. Metal smithing for me, combines my love of jewellery and shiny things, and my love of tools, power tools and getting bashy with the hammers perfectly

I enjoy working with metal and colour, so my favourite mediums are metal with beads, or perspex but I also dabble with resin and inclusions from time to time. I've had a go at PMC but I really don't like the stuff! Had a go with polymer too, but I was not very good at that.

When I got made redundant from my day job in early 2010 I decided to make a go of it full time. The spare room soon became a studio, but with the frequent visits of father-in-law it became inconvenient so I shelled out for a shed in the back garden - the KatShack. March I decided to learn Lampworking, and went to Lush Lampwork for the most fantastic day ever, and then I went to Flame-off in April and bought the kit - and nothing has been the same since! There are beads beads everywhere lol.

I've been writing for Making Jewellery Magazine since last October and have about 7 articles out there.

I've also trained as a complementary therapist and have a number of massage therapies as well as Reiki healing and an interesting little therapy called Hopi Ear Candles.

I sell my stuff via my websites, and the odd bead set goes onto Folksy or Etsy as I'm still testing the best place to sell really.

Oooh, I wrote a book there! Might come back and edit again lol

Fab!
That will be next on your list, writing a craft book that is. xxx