Tag: contemporary craft

Hello February!

Hooperhart

I don’t know about you but I’m usually quite relieved to get January out of the way and this year is no exception. February feels to me like the start of the year proper, so to celebrate I’m offering free postage on everything in my HooperHart Folksy and Etsy stores! No need for a discount code – zero postage has already been applied, and will continue for the whole month.

Dream Wheels

A wee update on what I’ve been up to as Rudy and the Rowan Tree, the offshoot I use as a place to experiment and try out ideas which are unrelated to my Hooperhart work, and often more playful – I love creating my HooperHart pieces incidentally, but sometimes it’s nice to mix things up a bit! I’m currently loving making spirograph-inspired hanging decorations using embroidery thread and wooden discs – I call them Dream Wheels and you can find them on Folksy and Etsy Free postage also applies to my Rudy and the Rowan Tree stores for the whole of February!

Gift vouchers are go!

In other news, I wanted to draw your attention to my newly launched Gift Vouchers.They can be emailed directly to the recipient so make gifting super easy! They are exclusively available from my HooperHart Folksy store. There’s so many gorgeous products on there you might want to make it your go-to for gifts in the future though – all made in the UK to boot!

Thanks for reading and have a fabulous February!

Happy New Year Sale!

Hooperhart

Hello and a Happy New Year to you! I hope you all had a lovely festive season and are gently easing into 2023. My start to the year went a bit awry with our Hogmanay plans being stymied by heavy snow – of course it was the first year in a long time that we decided to venture outside! Let’s hope this is not indicative of the rest of 2023.Anyway, I usually like to kick off the New Year with some cheeky wee reductions to give things a bit of a boost, so I’m here to tell you about the HooperHart and Rudy and the Rowan Tree January sales!

For the whole of January you can get

20% off EVERYTHING

in HooperHart’s Folksy and Etsy stores

using the code: FAREWELL2022

And to make way for new work, there are a sizeable reductions on selected pieces in the

Rudy and the Rowan Tree Folksy store

(no code needed)

January and February are usually a quiet month and therefore a good opportunity to plan ahead and start new work – I’ve already got a list of things I want to get started on so watch this space!

Thanks for reading and all the best for 2022 x

Thank you!

Hooperhart

Well, that’s the busy season over for me for another year and I have to say it was rather frantic, but in a good way! Coming into it I was quite concerned about how it was going to go, particularly as online sales in 2022 had taken a worrying nose-dive even before the harsh reality of the Cost of Living Crisis started to kick in. However I’m pleased and relieved to report that I was very pleasantly surprised (on some occasions completely gobsmacked!) at just how many people turned out to support local events and small creative businesses. Maybe this year folk are really considering carefully how they spend their money and who they spend it with, possibly buying less but buying thoughtfully…I don’t know but whatever it is I am extremely grateful!

There is no doubt that many challenges lie ahead for most of us financially in 2023; the price of everything is rising and there can’t be a single small business in the UK who will not be affected by this. For myself, production costs have already increased substantially over the past few months…this plus a countrywide shortage of my main material (plywood) has been preying on my mind, and I know that at some point soon I will have to sit down and seriously consider how I can make changes in order to continue doing what I love and what I have worked so hard to develop over the past six years. Looking on the bright side, reflection and re-evaluation are not usually a bad thing, so I’m hopeful I can up with a workable plan!

Whatever happens I will be back next year with news of what I’m up to…in the meantime check out the sale in my Folksy shop – starting on Boxing Day!

I’ll take my leave with a massive THANK YOU to everyone who supported my artistic endeavours this year…I wish you happiness and good health this festive season!

Perth Museum & Kinkell Byre

Hooperhart

Ooofftt! Another busy weekend (a huge thank you to the people of Perth and the team at Perth Creative Exchange) to be followed by 5 days of panicked making! But I’m on the home stretch now with my last two events of the season this week.

On Thursday December 8th I’m returning to Perth Museum and Gallery for the 2nd Christmas shopping evening. Last time was a very civilised affair with mulled wine, minced pies and a choir singing carols (some in Gaelic- a beautiful backdrop).

Then on Saturday and Sunday is the Kinkell Byre Christmas Market near St Andrews. In addition to an array of gorgeous art, design, craft there will be street food and refreshments available. This looks like a gorgeous venue with spectacular sea views so the perfect place for a spot of coastal Christmas shopping.

Hope to see you there!

The Barn Gallery & Creative Exchange, Perth

Hooperhart

Another weekend gone, and we’re on to the next upcoming events! Saturday, December 3rd sees the opening of an eclectic Christmas show at the beautiful Barn Gallery at the Bield in Blackruthven.

I was part of an exhibition at this gallery 5 years ago and it’s really lovely, tucked away in gorgeous surroundings near Tibbermore in Perthshire. There will be 16 artists displaying a mix of Craft Fair and Exhibition style work, ranging from Christmas decorations to sculpture, painting, jewellery, stone carving, heritage knits, stained glass and woodwork. Opening hours are 10-4.30 (closed Mondays) and homebaking and hot drinks will be available on weekends!

Also this weekend you can find me at Creative Exchange’s Winter Market in Perth:

Creative Exchange is part of WASPS and the artists will be opening their studios around the building in addition to the market on the ground floor. Entry is free and there will be a pop-up cafe so if you’re in the Perth area pop along from 10-4 Saturday and Sunday.

Another busy week of making awaits!

TTFN 🙂

Perth Museum & Art Gallery and The Yard

Hooperhart

Hello again! After an extremely busy weekend at Glasgow’s Kibble Palace (5000 visitors in total!) I’m back to quickly let you know what I’m up to over the next few days. On Thursday the 24th you can find me at Perth Museum & Art Gallery for a Christmas Shopping Evening

As well as selected art and craft from around Perthshire there will be free mulled wine, mince pies and entertainment, so if you’re in Perth pop along between 4-7.30pm.

On Sunday November 27th I am taking a break from HooperHart and returning to The Yard as Rudy and the Rowan Tree! I first did this market back in May, and it’s a wee gem, tucked away in a hidden courtyard. There’ll be the usual craft stalls, street food and live music so it will make for a fun day out as well as an ideal place to start ticking off your gift list. It’s also dog friendly so join us from 11-4 on Sunday.

Ice Factory, Perth

Well, time to get back to the making or I won’t have much in the way of stock for these events!

Thanks for reading and TTFN 🙂

Exclusively Highlands at Blair Castle

Hooperhart

So somehow it’s November in four days’ time, and once again I am wondering how that happened (like I do every year). This means that the festive fair season will shortly begin in earnest, and this time it’s kicking off with a big one – the Blair Christmas Fair

Nestled in the breathtaking scenery of Highland Perthshire, venues don’t come much grander than Blair Castle and late autumn is the perfect time to visit. There will be 75 stalls of the finest Scottish arts, crafts and foods spread across the courtyard, ballroom and grand hall, so it’s the ideal place to start ticking off your Christmas shopping list whilst enjoying some glorious surroundings!

Grand Ballroom, Blair Castle

The fair runs from Friday 4th – Sunday 6th, 10am -4pm (children admitted free) and you can book tickets from the Atholl Estates website. Hope to see you there!

The Yard Dundee

Hooperhart

I’m trying to be more consistent/frequent with my blog posts so here’s another one!

I’m just back from a lovely break away on the Isle of Bute to celebrate a Big Birthday which was just idyllic. The sun was out so we were mostly beach-based, and I even went swimming IN THE SEA! Twice! At the beginning of this year I didn’t think that was ever going to be possible due to an ongoing health issue, so I was over the moon to be feeling physically able to do it. I was rewarded with sight of four seals popping up to see what all the splashing about was! All in all the perfect end to the summer.

Anyway, it’s back to business this week, particularly with the start of the busy season just around the corner. The calendar is filling up with markets and fairs so I thought this would be a good time to mention that the first one is coming up soon:

The Yard, 71 Brewing, Dundee

You can find me (as Rudy and the Rowan Tree) at the Yard @ 71 Brewing, Ure Street, Dundee from 11-4 on Saturday, October 1st – there will be loads of fellow creatives, guest food traders and DJs, plus it’s a really cool venue with great beer if that’s your thing!

Hope to see you there!

Autumn Almanac

Hooperhart

Another summer of record-breaking temperatures comes to an end…spectacularly in Perthshire with torrential rain and flooding replacing scorched earth and water shortages.

As we move into September, I’m trying not to focus on the implications of these extremes in the weather and staving off the melancholic thoughts by looking forward to my birthday (it’s a big one!), enjoying the changing colours on my daily walks, and planning the rest of the year’s making.

Wooden Autumn Decorations by HooperHart on Folksy
Fox Brooches by HooperHart on Folksy
Starlit Fox mini framed diorama by HooperHart on Folksy

The calendar is filling up with festive events and it’s looking like I’ll be a bit busier with these than last year, now that things have returned to normal (whatever that is!). Keep checking my ‘SHOP’ page for details of where you can find me in person this winter. See you soon 🙂

What makes me happy

Hooperhart

Hello! Thank you for visiting my little corner of the internet 🙂 I have been neglecting it quite badly – I was a little shocked to see that I have only done 3 posts on here in the past year…3!!! That is very poor I think you’ll agree…in my defence it’s been a difficult year and my mind has been elsewhere for much of it. Health/work/money issues, bereavement and moving to a different county (and not yet having a home of our own) are all things which have really gotten in the way. Making my work always makes me feel better by taking me out of myself and giving me focus, but there have been so many times when I’ve felt ‘what’s the point?’ However, the only thing for it is to keep going and keep doing what makes me happy (where possible)! So in lieu of any new work, here’s a wee round-up of some of my favourite pieces from the past year…

I’ll be back at some point with some new pieces and hopefully more positive news! Thanks for reading and remember, you can follow me on Instagram Facebook and Twitter for all my latest news