SHI Designs Launches - Contemporary Shell Art

It is fair to say it has been a while since I last blogged and now with holidays only a distant memory and dare I say it Christmas only around the corner it is time for me to get back in the saddle!

As a family we had a fabulous summer holiday this year on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  We visited two of our favourite places namely Sanibel Island and Little Gasperilla Island.  Both islands are truly unique and stunning places.  Adorned with sandy white beaches carpeted in shells they make a fab place to while away the hours just walking and shelling.  Little Gasperilla Island has the added benefit of being a fossilized beach, this means, that in addition to the great shelling you can also find hundreds of smalls fossilized remains.  The most abundant being sharks teeth.

Since returning home I have spent a good while cleaning and sorting all of the lovely treasures from the sea which my family and I collected.  These treasures have provided me with the inspiration for my new project.

I have now launched SHI Designs a range of contemporary shell art all lovingly preserved in box frames.  The first batch of my lovely creations are now complete and have already been showcased at a craft event in Corby, Northamptonshire.  These pictures (a few of which are shown below) are all for sale but only locally within Northamptonshire and surrounding counties.  I feel a little nervous about posting them so will offer a delivery service at a small cost depending on the location.  The pictures are priced from between £20 and £120 plus delivery.

As they are all unique due to the nature of the materials used you will have a truly original piece of art!
The shells and sharks teeth which have been used have in the main been collected by me but some more delicate or rare shells have been purchased for my projects.

Commissions can be taken as I have two frame sizes available and can change the colour background on the pictures.  I am happy to also discuss design changes and will add to my portfolio as time goes on. Whilst I have displayed some of these on my website www.sanibelhomeinteriors.co.uk they cannot be purchased through the website and any enquiries regarding a purchase or commission should be directed to my email sanibelhi@btinternet.com

So here are my new creations, it would be lovely to get some feedback on these.

The Tree of Life - created using fossilized sharks teeth which  my family and I have collected.  A truly original one off piece of art! £120.00 plus postage.  It is set in dark wood box frame.

LOVE Letters - Black Box Frame 53cm Sq £70 plus postage.

Sanibel Sand Dollar - White Box Frame 25cmsq - £20.00 plus postage

Small Wonky Heart created from button top shells in black box frame 25cm sq. £25.00 plus postage.

Love is not Symmetrical - Already sold! Commissions of this design are £70.00 plus postage. 

Spiny Jewel Box in White Box Frame 25cm sq - £20.00 plus postage.

Butterflies of the Sea - White Box Frame 25cm sq - £20.00 plus postage.

It's a Small World - White Box Frame 25cm sq - £20.00 plus postage

Sanibel Sand Dollar - available in different colour ways.

New Year New Colour!

Well with all the great intentions that I set out in my last blog (October 2012) here I am making yet another attempt at prioritising social media. The run up to and including Christmas week was extremely  busy.  I visited a company called DLC in Brackley for the first time with a 'Pop Up' Shop and really enjoyed meeting some lovely Ladies and Gents who purchased many of my Christmas decorations and gifts.  I also took my shop along to Avon HQ in Northampton and was able to help a few people tick off those all important Christmas Gifts.  Online business was bubbly and I managed to ensure all orders arrived in time for Santa!

In addition to managing the business I took on several homemade gift projects myself.  With 2012 having been such a bumper year for the UK with the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee I wanted to capture as many memories as I could for my children (aged 10 and 12) so that in the future they could look back and recall their involvement in 2012.  I set about compiling a scrap book each for them containing memories from the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee but also memories personally pertaining to them i.e. birthdays, holidays, holding one of the Olympic Torches seeing Usain Bolt run in the 200m heats and for my son his Year 6 Prom when he left Primary School.  In addition I also included some great achievements i.e. Felix Baumgartners leap of faith at the edge of space and lets not forget the releases of films such as Skyfall and The Dark Knight Rises.  I did not realise how long it would take me to complete these scrap books but alas having started them at the end of November I was still finalising them Christmas Eve!  They were worth the effort, the kids loved them on Christmas Day and whilst they will now be stored safely at some point in the future they will bring smiles and memories back to them.

My creative side also came into its own both before and after Christmas.  For my husband I created a piece of Contemporary Shell Art titled 'Love is Not Symmetrical' as seen here;

For the house I finally covered a sofa in the study which needed some TLC.  The sofa having only cost me £25 and I believe has been transformed from a dull plain occasional sofa to a funky more usuable one!  Judge for yourself.  The material I purchased from Ikea for the grand sum of £22!!! What a bargain.

Before

After

Selling interior decorations and gifts has its advantages, you get the benefit of visiting trade shows and viewing the forthcoming trends and of course selecting products to sell but you also can sneak a few products in to your sales lines which are personal favourites.  Here are a few of my personal favourites which I have showcased in my home...  Back soon X

Winter Flora Heart - White 

Winter Flora Heart - Red

                       

Bombay Duck Indian Inspired Photo Frames - Available in Purple, Fuchsia or Turquoise