Well here we are! Day one!

Day one for you that is and you are most welcome.

I have been on the Made by Hands of Britain journey for some time now and what a journey it has been! It is a cliché, but it really does feel as if my whole life has been leading to this point. From being a young girl, I have always had a fascination for handcrafted things and have, throughout my life, tried with mixed success, to put my own hand to making anything from wooden toys, spoons and pottery to print making, mosaics, clothes and food of all descriptions. I think any maker, however skilful, will tell you that there is nothing more satisfying than toiling and tussling with a particular medium or material to create an item that is useful, beautiful or both. There is a definite relationship that builds up over a period of time between a maker and his chosen material and just like any relationship, there is a period of struggle where one, will attempt to enforce their will and nature upon the other, until a compromise and understanding is achieved, at which point something beautiful and almost irresistible emerges, for the maker and the eventual owner.

I am in awe of the skill, care and passion that the makers within this site and beyond, dedicate to their craft or art and have gained nothing but utter respect for them.

Controversial as it may be to some but for me there are no such people as artists or craftsmen, there are only makers. All that is made, without exception, has been conceived, designed and fashioned from the makers, chosen material to serve an aesthetic and functional use, whether that be spiritual or practical, whether if feeds the mind, the soul or indeed the stomach!

You will never be able to purchase (or make) something with more honesty, authenticity, integrity and meaning than that which has been made by hand with those very same sentiments woven into the very fabric of the work. You will never be saying or learning more about yourself as an individual, than when choosing to buy (or make), surround yourself and fill your home with items that have been made by hand. You will never be more connected to your fellow human beings (or yourself) than when purchasing (or making) something that has been conceived, designed and created by another human being (or yourself). You will never be able to grow to love your possessions more than when they have been made by hand.

In these troubled times you will not make a better purchase than to

"buy something once and buy it well, make something once and make it well!"

I hope, while you wonder around the site, that you too will see and marvel at the Handmade Producers and Service Providers and consider, having at least one of these things grace your home, or indeed be encouraged to put your hand to making something yourself and that as a result your life will somehow be richer for it.

ENJOY!

*please forgive me for not including any pictures just now, I need to dig through the Gilly archives to find evidence of all my past handmaking endeavours large and small, great and not so great, so watch this space!

As promised, a little later than I would have hoped, pictoral evidence of my handmaking endeavours.

As mentioned they are nowhere in the league of the makers who appear on Made by Hands of Britain but they will at least show you my love of handmaking and handmade things.

This is the fire place in my dining room. It used to be one of those mock ski lodge stone affairs - not to my taste, I'm afraid. So I knew something needed to be done. Having discovered Antoni Gaudi some years previously, the light bulb came on with what to do here: my own homage, dare I say shrine (as it looks a bit like that!) to the great man.

Thinking that, because I would only be dealing with random bits of pottery, it wouldn't take me that long to do. How wrong could I be? All in all it probably took me about 18 months to complete, not working non stop, mind! Although, I did discover how happy I could be when a plate or cup got broken.

But my house was blessed with not one but two mock ski Lodge fireplaces. Clearly, I had not learned my lesson with the first project. Furthermore, I thought this one would be easier because I was only dealing, in effect, with one 'colour'. Once again, how wrong could I be! However this only took me a year and I learned not to be superstitious about broken mirrors. I dare say, our resident Mosaic Artist, Anne Cardwell would be appalled! She probably could have whipped these up in a weekend. No pressure Anne!

Nevertheless, they are done now and not only do I feel a great sense of acheivement but they also give me a great deal of pleasure.

I will be showing you more in future blogs...

I did want to be able to show you a skirt that I had made over twenty years ago, that would probably be back in fashion now. I had actually made it from some curtain material I bought from Habitat, when I worked there. However, I have searched my house high and low to no avail. I am devastated!

I would like to make a point here. Had this been a skirt or trousers that had not been made by hand, let alone by myself, I wonder if I would be feeling the same right now. When someone (either oneself or someone else) has gone to the effort of sourcing the raw materials, thought about the concept and the design, used skill and igenuity to grapple with the strengths and limitations of that material and ultimately created something which has beauty and function, how can one not make a connection to such a thing and realise that it is so much more than a possession to be discarded when the next big thing comes along. Surely it is something to be treasured and loved as part of the material of ones life.

Gillian Montegrande

Here is a new zoomorphic jug made from home-dug stoneware, at the raw, unfired stage, decorated with a little

Hell’s Mouth red ochre. I’ll post this jug again when it has been fired.

I’m quite getting into this now. Upside down firing is a Chinese habit of course. The pots are usually fired on their sides rather than truely upside down. This modified Pilgrim vase is glazed with gorse ash - lots of it.