Monday Makes: Bespoke Bridal Comb

A little update...

So we had a break from our Monday Makes posts last week.  It was the Bank Holiday and there has been so much to do.  If you follow us on facebook or have read our other posts, you'll know that Mr. Morgan and I are expecting our first baby.  Well, I'm now over 38 weeks pregnant and it could be any day now!  It's all exciting stuff and I guess I imagined that by now everything would be organised, calm and serene, that days would be spent lazily supping tea on the sofa with my feet up and a good book.  Of course, life isn't like that and I'm sure all mothers will tell you that those last few weeks are anything but serene!  In our house all energy is being pumped into completing the decoration of our hallway.  It's been a hard and long job but the end is in sight - a good thing of course, when the nursery beckons!  We now have just a little bit of painting left and a carpet to be fitted but we couldn't have got this far without the tremendous efforts of our wonderful family who have turned up to help strip doors, hold ladders and paint walls!  We really have been blessed.  Last Monday was one of those days when family members came along and got stuck in for the day.  I had some combs to finish and then joined in with painting and providing food for our merry workers.  It really wouldn't have been fair to sit and blog, so I decided a week off was for the best.  Whether there will be a Monday Makes post next week, I have no idea!  Anything could happen in the next seven days.  But I know I'm enjoying writing them, and having just one regular post a week is helping me to focus on the blog and I hope to start fitting in some more themed/regular posts in the upcoming months, to really get things rolling.  I hope you're enjoying these little insights into my making too!

This week is all about our bride Chloe's bespoke comb.  Chloe came to visit the studio a few months ago looking for a comb.  Like so many brides before her, she really loved our vintage inspired pearl and diamante comb.  I always love it when brides pick up this piece, because it was one of the designs I put together.  It's also available with Swarovski crystals in place of the pearls, although I don't have a great photo yet, this was the version that Chloe really liked as she didn't want pearls, just lots of lovely sparkle!

Chloe was drawn to many of the pieces made with the navette (or 'little leaves' as some of my brides like to call them) shaped diamante stones and asked for a piece that was along the lines of the original comb but with navettes instead of so many round stones.  I love working with the navettes and couldn't wait to get started.  It took a couple of attempts but I was really pleased with the final design:

I'm sure you'll agree that Chloe made a truly beautiful bride, and I was so thrilled when she took the time to send over a little collage of wedding images so soon after her wedding.  She was a bank holiday bride, so whilst we were getting covered in paint and dust, Chloe was busy looking stunning!  

Congratulations Chloe!  We wish you all the best for your married life!

If you'd like to purchase your own Chloe Comb, it's now available here.

Melissa

xx

Monday Makes: Bespoke Bridal Headdress

This week's make has to be one of my favourites of 2014 (although having said that, I've been blessed with some amazing clients, with wonderful ideas this year, so my favourite does tend to change on a daily basis). 

 I first met bride-to-be Bec at the King's Lynn Wedding Festival last year, where she showed me a picture of something she liked but wasn't quite sure if it was exactly the right thing for her wedding.  She wanted a design that would make an impact but still remain pretty, and was pleased to have met somebody who would be willing to try and put all her ideas together.

I soon heard from Bec again and we arranged a consultation in my home studio.  She bought along an amazingly enthusiastic friend and their energy for wedding planning was really infectitious.  Anyone planning a wedding needs a friend like Bec's!  I can find consultations just as intimidating as brides (what if you don't like my things?  What if you think my house is a mess?  etc. etc.)  So to have two beaming ladies awing and ahhing over all the pearls and sparkle, was really lovely.  It made me realise how lucky I am to have this little job, working with pretty things all day and being able to make people smile, sometimes when I'm tired and busy, I forget that feeling!

The first photo of the completed design, before the ribbon was added

Bec still liked the image she had first shown me, but she wanted more sparkle and really loved the impact of our vintage inspired headdress, so we worked on a design that could incorporate both looks.  We opted for white Swarovski pearls to co-ordinate with her dress, handwired to make flower shapes, with the diamante navettes of our original design and some clusters of smaller pearls, as both ladies liked the use of these in some of our other pieces.

The final design, wrapped with brunette ribbon

The final design was wrapped in a brunnette ribbon so that it would blend seamlessly with Bec's beautiful dark hair.  We were so thrilled when she sent us this beautiful image, not long after the big day.  Doesn't she look amazing, and so happy? 

Bec and her husband on their wedding day

If you'd like to see a few more pictures of Bec's wedding and headdress, head over to her talented photographer's facebook page Craig Jacob Photography

Melissa

xx

Monday Makes: Bespoke Acorn Necklaces

The best bit of running Melissa Morgan Designs is making bespoke pieces for brides.  I love make things that ladies can't find anywhere else, that are personal to them, their style or their theme.

Last year Karla came to me, as she was looking for bridesmaid necklaces that would be personal to each of her maids and incorporate her gorgeous autumnal wedding theme.

Karla sent me several images of necklaces she liked, but none had all the elements she wanted.  Through many e-mails we came up with a design made up of a pearl acorn, oak leaf charm and a hand stamped, initial all in suitably seasonal gold tones.

We kept the necklaces personal by choosing Swarovski Crytstal pearls in three different gold/copper tones, so that each bridesmaid had her own bespoke piece.

The look was finished with co-ordinating stud earrings, made with Swarovski pearls and and gold filled findings.  These beautiful necklaces suited Karla's theme perfectly but also gave the bridesmaids a gift that was personal, original and that can be worn again and again.

If you like these pieces, and you'd like to see more of Karla's beautifully styled wedding, head over the Katherine Ashdown Photography's Facebook Page where you can find Karla's Storyboard - tons of heavenly autumn themed special touches!

Melissa

xx

Six Monthly Reflections

It seems like an age ago since I sat down in January and wrote about my big plans for 2014.  One of them was keeping the blog up to date and so I thought, why not start with a post about all I'd like to achieve this year and kill two birds with one stone?  Plus, by writing them all down and publishing them, it felt like a commitment to making sure I stuck to my personal promises.

Well, little did I know that the universe had other plans for us in 2014!  Just 6 days after publishing the post I discovered that a mini-person was taking up residency in my body!  Very exciting of course, but also completely terrifying.

The last 7 months have been an  interesting journey.  Luckily I avoided morning sickness, but January and February left me feeling exhausted and during the following months I suffered horrendous muscular pains meaning I was unable to sleep for many nights.  It's been hard to get my head around everything I set out to do.
We now have 6 weeks(ish) to go!  I'm getting tired again, and quite understandably the plans I made in January seem like a distant dream.  I'm hoping to use some of my maternity leave to build MMD up a little bit more, so I thought it might be a worthwhile exercise to go through my post again, for my own piece of mind and to evaluate the year we've had so far.

Our 'resolutions' revisited...

Set targets for sales, monitor these and react appropriately

It all began with good intentions... I set targets and recorded sales accurately for January, March and April.  It was a useful exercise as over the Christmas period I'd read an article entitled 'How to get a sale a day online' for some tips, only to find we already did average a sale a day!  Tiredness and work commitments have stopped me from smashing these targets, but to know I was already further ahead than I thought was a wonderful pick me up.  I probably should start this again!

Keep the blog up to date

Erm... we had a little flurry of posts in April, but other than that it's been quiet!  Luckily I have been given a new lease of inspiration from the fabulous Mollie Makes Blogging magazine that I took away last week.  That little notebook is rammed full of post ideas and schedules for the coming weeks, let's hope it works!

Increase our number of facebook likes

We've reached over 1700 likes, and I'm really happy with that!  There are some new ideas coming together to make the facebook page really worthwhile for our likers, so do come and say hi!

Create 'collections'

Another promise that's halfway there.  We have some beautiful new comb designs that are nearly ready and the bridal and bridesmaid jewellery collections are on their way.  With the birth of baby Morgan soon to be upon us, I've had to say no to a few bespoke requests, freeing up some time to work on the collections, at last! 

Learn new skills

In March I managed to get to Silver Pebble's fabulous silver clay workshop and you can read about what I got up to here.  Next up is pearl knotting!  Outside the world of jewellery I've also been trying out some other crafts that I hope to blog about soon. 

Read more

I've taken to reading a few monthly craft and jewellery magazines and it's unbelievably rewarding!  Each time I flick through the pages I'm filled with inspiration for new pieces, packaging and general business ideas, as well as finding out lots of new suppliers, blogs and craft shops.  Will definitely be keeping this up!

Don't let the 'bad guys' get me down! 

They're still out there - watching them get grumpy is fun!



So there they are, my six monthly reflections.  It has felt good to go through them, discover what I'm yet to do this year and what I've achieved already.  Thank you for indulging me!

Melissa xx

Real Wedding: Liz and Dale

A Fete Themed Family Wedding! 

I'm over the moon today to be able to share with you our first ever real wedding post!  All of the real weddings we hope to feature will be of days where Melissa Morgan Designs has had a tiny bit of input, but as well as this, I want to share with you weddings that can be an inspiration for your own celebrations.  Today's wedding is one of those such occasions.  I know from speaking to Liz (the beautiful bride) that a LOT of hard work went into planning this event, but also a LOT of love too, after all, weddings are special occasions where family and friends come together to celebrate the love of two people they cherish dearly.

A wedding at home is a task to undertake, but Liz and Dale did a sterling job of creating a fun, relaxed atmosphere with an abundance of original and home made touches.  I'll hand over to Liz to tell you more...

Photos courtesy of Dan Gelder Photography

'I had always vowed that I was never going to get married but then low and behold, I met Mr. Jupp (Dale).  We had talked about getting married years ago and then we were actually planning a white chapel wedding.  We had even mentioned it to friends and family so that they could start saving to come and join us, when the shocking news came that I was pregnant! Thirteen years and two kids later and we still hadn't tied the knot.  To be honest, I wasn't that worried either, however, I knew that if we ever were going to get married, exactly how I would want it to be...

Photos Courtesy of Dan Gelder Photography

...Luckily, when we moved, our new garden enabled us to bring my dream to life, and it all just came together naturally.  It was our wedding day but we wanted to make it a day of special family and friends, without any formality.  Most of all we wanted it to be great fun and to give everybody a bloody good knees up!  

Photos courtesy of Dan Gelder Photography

The marquee was full of straw bails alongside the tables, there was bunting, lot of bunting, apple bobbing, a coconut shy, hook a duck, retro sweets for the kids and coloured popcorn (it drove my sister almost insane working out how to make it coloured)!  We found the perfect marquee and decided on jacket potato company Juicy Jackets for our catering.  They were brilliant! 

Photo courtesy of Dan Gelder Photography 

 We felt so overwhelmed and humbled throughout the whole process, with the generosity of family and friends.  It was definetly a joint effort, and homemade.   My sister became wedding crazed, we held bunting making days, Dale's aunt worked wonders with dried flowers and made my bouquet.   For music, Dale's dad, uncle and our son Finlay, played at the wedding and then our friends, The Buccaneers, played later on in the evening.  

Photos courtesy of Dan Gelder Photography

 The two days leading up to the wedding were perfect.  We had a house and garden full of family and friends slogging away to put it all together. I can honestly say that Friday evening, seeing it all done and ready, was very emotional.  It had turned into something much more than we had envisaged, all with the help, support and love of family and friends.'

Photo courtesy of Dan Gelder Photography

In Liz's write-up she also mentioned that she 'always knew' I would make her jewellery!  This was such a lovely comment to read, and so here's the bit where I share what I made for Liz!  Liz managed to source an absolutely stunning vintage brooch, with the word 'Mrs' detailed in marcasite stones.  I took her ideas and added a a pretty rim of crystal and pearl, then put together a co-ordinating, vintage inspired necklace and a pair of static pearl earrings.  

Liz has been a firm supporter of Melissa Morgan Designs since she first found out about my little venture into the craft/wedding business and sent many brides my way before her own big day.  I'm not going to apologise for the outright soppiness of this part of the post - I want to use it to say a big THANK YOU to Liz for all of her support, and to let her know it was an honour to be able to add something to this amazing wedding! 

Congratulations Liz and Dale, we wish you many, many years of happiness together!

Melissa

x

Photo Courtesy of Dan Gelder Photograhy

Silver Clay Workshop

One of my goals for 2014 is to make sure I keep on learning.  With this in mind, at the end of December I decided to book a half day silver clay workshop with Emma Mitchell of Silver Pebble. I've seen silver clay jewellery before at craft fairs and demonstrated on television.  I'd always wanted to try it myself, so when I found Emma's blog through a jewellery magazine, I didn't hesitate to find out more and book myself on one of her workshops. 

Emma creates beautiful silver clay jewellery from her home in a pretty Fenland village.  Her pieces are all handcrafted and take inspiration from the rich landscape she calls home. 

A selection of beautiful Silver Pebble jewellery

So last month, after a relaxing drive through the Fens, I found the picturesque village of Reach and stumbled into Emma's warm and welcoming cottage.  Emma only has a few people at each workshop which meant it was a lovely, intimate gathering.   We had a pot of tea and a 'get to know you' chat before we settled down to work.

To begin with, Emma talked us through the origins of silver clay.  It is a wonderful medium, created using particles of fine silver.  Once fired it becomes so pure it can be hallmarked.  I have a little bit of silver smithing experience, but silver clay is an entirely different kettle of fish and is so much easier to get started with.  The workshop aim was for us to create a selection of charms that could be used for necklaces or earrings.  We had access to all the materials we needed and were supported every step of the way. 

The small number meant that we had lots of 1 to 1 time.  Emma was a great teacher, very informative but also lively, and chatty, making everyone feel relaxed and at home.  We were invited to browse Emma's garden for inspiration and the chocolate cookie break was a perfect opportunity to get to know each other better and reflect on our creations.

At the end of the day I went home with a delightful selection of charms.  I've not decided what I'm going to do with all of them yet, but some have already been given a purpose.  I still can't believe that I started the day with a little bag of what looked like grey Plasticine and in just a few hours it had transformed into these gorgeous pieces! 

Leaf and flower earrings, completed with a little help!

Bee charm necklace, with added Swarovski crystals

I'm not yet sure if I will be using silver clay in my jewellery ranges.  However, I will be purchasing some of my own materials for some personal projects and special gifts.  I'll be sure to blog about them when I do!

For anyone who'd like to find out more about making their own silver clay jewellery, I can't recommend one of Emma's workshops enough.  I had a fabulous day learning a new skill and chatting to like-minded people.  It's always so much more fun going out and learning from real people than trying to teach yourself from a book or video!   

Find out more about Emma's workshops here: Silver Pebble Workshops

King's Lynn Wedding Festival

Not many posts of late, but that's because I've been busy out an about at various events in our lovely home town.  The first was the wonderful King's Lynn Wedding Festival on March 9th.  We did the Festival last September and had a great day, so decided we should do it again.  We've drastically cut the number of fairs we've been attending over the last twelve months, but this one is one of the good ones, mainly because it's organised by such a fab team of creative wedding suppliers and it takes place in one of the most gorgeous, historic wedding venues in King's Lynn, The Town Hall.

The Stone Room at King's Lynn Town Hall

One of the great things about a local wedding fair is I get to tell all the lovely brides about my home studio.  So many times I've done fairs and been asked if I have a shop brides and can visit, that it has been lovely to offer them the chance to view the collections in private or have a leisurely discussion about bespoke designs.  I've already had more consultations than I'd ever dreamed of and I know the brides just love knowing they're supporting small local business too.  It's definitely been a good decision to stick to local events.  

I was really pleased with how the stand looked on the day, it took a bit of planning and has changed a lot since our first fair in 2011 (I've compared pictures, and there's quite a difference).  We were very lucky in that my sister has been letting us use her black display stand and we have some gorgeous images from shoots with Amy Lewin Photography and Katherine Ashdown Photography that we could put to good use as a backdrop.  The trusty heads and crates came out again, but this time I wanted to show off our pieces with the beautiful new packaging and branding we have worked hard to put together.  Finally we made use of some frames I had made last Summer for a craft fair.  They showed off the combs and headdresses perfectly and I couldn't have been more pleased with how we presented on the day.

Our completed stand

Jewellery display frames, reused for combs

Vintage headdresses on display

Lots of sparkle

New boxes and business cards

New pieces on display

Pearl and crystal band, part of our Vintage Inspired Collection

Headdress and comb boxes

We had a truly wonderful day talking to couples and chatting with the other suppliers.  This particular fair has a great atmosphere, down in no small part to all of the 'little extras' that the organisers add to the mix.  There was a fantastic range of live music to listen to, free drinks, goody bags, cake samples and a hog roast to try!  Now I feel a bit sad that we didn't get a chance to photograph any of the other stands.  However we thought we'd add a list below of some of our favourite suppliers from the day.  If you're planning a West Norfolk Wedding then please take the time to check out these talented people:

Rebel Heart Photography - Wedding Photography

The Bottom Drawer Weddings and Events - Wedding Planning

The Little Lending Company - Prop Hire and Styling

The Town Hall - Beautiful Venue

Hairaid Shelter - Hairdressing and Glamour Make-Up

Twisted Melon Promotions - Music for your Big Day

Can't wait for the next King's Lynn Wedding Festival! 

Melissa

x