It’s all hands on deck at Ash Farm as final preparations are underway for the first Summer Open Studio this weekend. A fantastic selection of makers from across Wales will be showcasing a wide array of creative and beautiful items to tempt you and Sian will be selling her stunning range of knitwear, accessories and items for the home – including some new alpaca designs that are currently exclusive to this event.
To complete your enjoyment there will be tasty snacks and drinks for sale provided by Paternoster Farm (formerly Slow Pig) and Absolute Events Bars.
A big thank you to all of the contributors who are pulling together to make this ambitious project a successful and enjoyable event and thanks to Hu Studio Design for sponsoring the promotional artwork.
Joining the Summer Open Studio for 2019
Sarah Hatton of Hatton Willow weaves many wonderfully things. Arches, mazes and hurdles provide a large canvas for her skills, but her artisan baskets showcase the variety, functionality, skill and beauty of her chosen craft. These thoughtfully designed items, expertly crafted from managed Welsh willow, are the epitome of functional beauty.
Sian Reason-Jones brings urban chic to rural West Wales with an inspired collection of contemporary concept jewellery this is both striking and wearable, combining industrial materials with organic forms to produce uniquely beautiful pieces.
A love of colour and pattern led Kathryn Willis to create beautiful jewellery and panels in the rich jewel tones of vitreous enamel, drawing inspiration from the Welsh landscape and textile heritage as well as themes of growth, repetition and nature to create her unique pieces. Kathryn has also produced a unique range of alpaca inspired jewellery especially for this event!.
Lynda Shell creates bags, clutches, purses and scarfs using a variety of luxurious and durable high-quality fabrics, from leather to linen and wool. Drawing on her interest in historic artefacts, she creates contemporary pieces using various techniques such as silkscreen printing, free machine embroidery, hand stitching and beading.
Using a combination of modern and traditional techniques, Dan Staveley’s photographs are a hauntingly beautiful collection of images that are fresh and modern and yet evoke an earlier era in the art form. His pictures are a unique expression of a thoughtful, contemplative approach to the natural world as well as man-made environments and provoke reflections on time and perspective.
Astrid de Groot creates spoons, bowls and reusable coffee cups using traditional tools and techniques from indigenous wild hardwoods of rural Wales. Most of the wood is foraged – broken branches on the roadsides or fallen trees in the woods – making her creations truly sustainable as well as expertly and beautifully made unique treasures.
Reptile Tiles specialise in the production of colourful and contemporary tiles for both private and commercial clients and have work located throughout the world. Inspired by the wonderful and diverse history of tile-making across the world, they produce a wonderfully varied range of tiles, from the quirky to the sublime, with subject matters varying from underwater scenes, animals and birds to plants and landscapes.
Gill Oakley from Stone Hen Ceramics creates hand-built stone wear and porcelain gifts for crafters and collectors of beautiful things. From buttons that tell the tales of vintage textiles to luminous candleholders, dishes and art plaques, her individually crafted pieces will bring texture and light to your home.
Alison Moger’s unique approach to textile art is always sure to put smiles on faces. Her lively and quirky designs using free machine embroidery and applique techniques result in framed artworks, small accessories and decorative items that have bags of delightful personality.
Claire Cawte transforms raw British wool into a collection of accessories and art pieces sculpted and crafted from felt. Working with a range of natural shades and colours derived from plant-based dyes she makes soft, wearable pieces and decorative items in organic forms.
The beautiful gold and silver jewellery crafted by Rose Wood draws upon her exquisite eye for both the forms and details of the natural world. Her pieces combine a contemporary ease of line with a soft finish to produce wearable, modern pieces that do not compromise on luxury.
Imogen Mills is a mixed media artist who will be showcasing fine art pieces at the Open Studio. Using a variety of media in her work, from paint through to weaving and stitch, she explores the use of textures and surfaces to describe and examine her responses to the natural world, and sea-swimming in particular.
Pandora Hughes of Opal Stained Glass reproduces the shifting moods of the Pembrokeshire landscape by utilising the medium of stained glass to create bright, contemporary artwork. The vibrant colours and varied textures in her work combine with light to produce works of art that change throughout the day and with the seasons.
A thoughtful artist in numerous forms of expression, on any given day Erica Frances George may be found writing, printing, painting or cutting paper – or exploring something else altogether. Inspired by words as much as by images, her work is marked by brevity; excess is cut away until only the true and the beautiful (and sometimes the pithy) remain.
To complete your enjoyment there will be tasty snacks and drinks for sale provided by Paternoster Farm (formerly Slow Pig) and Absolute Events Bars.
Celebrating Summer – An Open Studio Special Offer.
We hope to see lots of you at the Summer Open Studio, but you have not been left out of the celebrations if you can’t come in person. Sian is offering a fantastic 20% discount on her Bach blanket in Campion and Sweet Cherry for both our Open Studio visitors and our friends further afield who we won’t be seeing this weekend.
We may have been sweltering through the last few weeks, but the cooler evenings of September and autumn are just around the corner. This sumptuous blanket in soft fruity shades is the perfect way to ward off the chill and remember the fun and feasting of summer days.
To claim your discount on Sian’s iconic design in this vibrant colourway, simply add the blanket to your basket in the usual way and enter the discount code bach20 at checkout.
Offer valid on 17th & 18th August 2019.
Precious New Arrivals at Ash Farm.
Long awaited and much anticipated, we have two three! delightful new arrivals at Ash Farm this summer. Little Bucks Fizz and Prosecco have been such a pleasure to watch and get to know over the past few weeks. Their names reflect the sense of joy and celebration felt by the whole family as they take their place on the farm. Like all babies, they bring excitement and a sense of new possibilities and yet in no time you can’t imagine what the place was like without them!
Our third cria arrived just arrived at 7pm yesterday evening! Both baby and mum are doing well and looking forward to being shown off with pride next weekend.
The Summer Open Studio provides a wonderful opportunity for you to meet the alpacas, who really are at the centre of life at Ash Farm and the creative force behind so much of what happens in the studio. They truly are the stars of the show.
You will be able see them throughout the weekend in the field adjacent to the Studio. For the best chance to meet these charismatic animals, be sure to be here at 2pm this Saturday and Sunday.
Who could resist?!
