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In March, the Harbour Marketplace reopened after what felt like an age from closing the doors on Christmas Eve, it was lovely to welcome visitors back!

This feels like a a good time to reflect on my first year in Folkestone – it has been eventful! I excitedly opened the doors of my first inSilver hut, number 10 on 4th May 2024. Since then I moved to hut 13 and finally settled into hut 34.

I involved myself in the local community – such as promoting the Harbour Market place for Independents Day as we are all independent traders.
I joined local small business ‘Hulas’ in their specially organised litter picking event, in and around the harbour for World Clean Up Day.
I also adorned a miniature Folkestone Mermaid in silver seaweed for Open Art 24 that was later auctioned off in support of the Folkestone Rainbow Centre.

I have received some enjoyable commissions since trading at the harbour, a personalised Sapphire bangle for a 21st Birthday present, wedding rings in silver and also in gold, a commission for sea glass rings and even one set with a meteorite.

In October, I celebrated my 10 Year Business Birthday, there have been many changes within that decade. Prosecco and a business logo branded cake was shared with visitors and the harbour trading community.

I managed to complete the Jewellery Making course that I began the previous year, pushing my making skills to another level, happily I passed and wear the final pieces with pride.

In November I was interviewed for a feature in Folkelife about trading at the harbour marketplace, it’s such a great location, with a wonderfully supportive community and great sea views – it makes a perfect workplace in the sunshine.

The Festive Marketplace at the harbour in November and December, saw my hut decorated with a vintage 1950’s sledge suspended from the ceiling, along with gift wrapped parcels and more fairy lights than you could shake a stick at.

I felt quite sad when we closed the marketplace to the public on Christmas Eve. I lost my sense of purpose and the lovely community that I classed as my friends. Still working in my hut throughout January and February was extremely cold and miserable, this really affected my work mojo and my planned time for making stock and trying new methods fell by the wayside.

In early January, I walked along the beach and found a seahorse washed up on the beach. Unfortunately it had been out of the water for too long for it to recover, but as with the Starfish, I took it home to preserve it’s beauty and made a cast from it. The casts will eventually be silver seahorse statement pendants.

I have thoroughly enjoyed being beside the sea, it has been my dream to relocate for many years. The harbour and surrounding beaches make a beautiful backdrop for my photography and social media posts. This year I have got lots of ideas for designs and I’m looking forward to getting them into production for the upcoming tourist season, I do hope you will visit.

Aimi x

Eventually I am living the dream! This country girl from Leicestershire has finally moved to live and work by the coast in Folkestone!

Originating from the landlocked Midlands, I had always dreamed of living by the sea, the calming crashing of the waves and the barefoot walking along the beach was always idyllic and soothed my soul.  With Folkestone being a creative town and it’s independent shops and quirky venues, it instantly felt like home and the thought of living here was very enticing and I was always sad to leave. With both of my daughters flying the nest recently, I decided it was time for me to relocate and in January 2024 I applied for a hut to trade at Folkestone Harbour. Happily, I was quickly accepted as a trader and then had the task of fulfilling lots of jewellery making workshops that were outstanding from Christmas gift vouchers and beyond. Between January and April, I hosted 58 jewellery making workshops ( in 2023 I did 89 in the whole year) it was exhausting but it meant that everyone had visited and made their desired piece of jewellery and meant that I was free to go. This is to be the end of the workshops for the foreseeable future as I don’t have the space for them in my hut.

On Saturday 27th April 2024 I held my last two workshops, packed up the shop, essential pieces of furniture from my house and on Wednesday 1st May, the removal company accompanied me and my belongings to Folkstone. It was to be a quick turnaround as I need the hut to be ready for trading for the bank holiday weekend on Saturday 4th May! Luckily with the help of some handy men, everything fell into place and the hut was open on the Saturday with welcoming sunshine and visitors.

Nearly four weeks on and we are approaching another May bank holiday. The Folkestone Market area has a lovely community with friendly and welcoming neighbouring business owners in the other huts, with a fabulous variety of goods from handmade, vintage to quirky and amazing imported from far and wide. I have made my mark on the hut, set it up as my workshop and shop and it feels like part of me.

I do hope you will visit if you are in the area, I will be here from May to October and have just been accepted for the Festive Market – November and December. Some huts are open through the week – depending on the weather, but we are all open Saturday’s, Sunday’s and bank holiday Monday’s from 11am-6pm.

Aimi x

 

 

We are all aware of the fact that we need to do our bit to save the planet, so over the last few weeks, we have been mindful of how the business operates and have made some positive changes.

As often as possible, the silver we use to make our jewellery will be Ecosilver. This is produced from 100% recycled scrap silver rather than mined from the ground, purified and having a huge global footprint. Here is our scrap silver that is refined to become Ecosilver.

 

Unfortunately, some of our suppliers haven’t been quite as forward thinking as we would like, so there are gaps in the materials that we can source, but whenever possible, our silver of choice will be Ecosilver, as pictured on the right.

 

 

We have always been thoughtful with regards to our packaging, using fibre-filled padded envelopes rather than bubble wrap filled ones. We have always been happy to use cardboard for our gift boxes as they have a modern look and are biodegradable. Trying to source an environmentally friendly alternative to the foam inserts supplied inside them hasn’t been so easy, this part is a necessity to protect the jewellery, especially if it is to be posted. Our small bags have always been paper and more recently we have moved away from single use plastic bags for multiple items and now utilise card style gift bags.

These might be small steps, but we feel that they are positive ones. Any suggestions on how we can be more environmentally friendly would be very welcome!

 

 

A little while ago I received a call from Helen Machin, a journalist from The Tamworth Herald. She had seen one of my posts on a local Facebook page and was intrigued by the fact that I was a local jewellery maker because she also had a passion for jewellery!

Helen visited the workshop, carried out her interview, asking how I got into jewellery making and my progression into silversmithing and how my business operates. After a demonstration on how to make a traditional D-shape ring, Helen began making hers under my watchful eye. She did a great job and left with a huge sense of achievement.

The following day, Tamworth Herald photographer Rob Yardley visited the workshop and took some photos to accompany Helen’s story. This involved me showing some of the processes of making a ring and displaying the final pieces of jewellery.

The Tamworth Herald was issued and the feature was fantastic! I, along with my family, were really proud of the write-up and the photographs and the fact that it covered double pages. The feature attracted lots of interest to my business with new bookings for workshops, a couple of commissions and a lot more likes to my Facebook page!

To read the interview, please click the links below.

Insilver1 Insilver2

 

 

 

 

It is quite handy having a teenage daughter that likes the camera!

I took advantage of some warm September Summer sunshine, set up my camera in the garden and persuaded Tallulah to wear some of my jewellery. It is always useful to see where necklaces hang and how earrings dangle, especially if you are viewing online, so hopefully this will give a good indication of this. I had never taken photos of my jewellery being modelled on a real person so it was a learning curve for me to get the light right and for Tallulah to learn to sit still! We had fun taking these, a couple of these are out-takes, I think they set the scene perfectly 🙂

Watch this space for more modelled jewellery !

From the start of this year, I have opened the doors of the inSilver Studio and invited people to draw up a chair to the workbench to try their hand at silversmithing.

My first session at being teacher was from a request a couple of years ago from my friends, Fiona and Ange. They wanted to make bangles to mark their 40th Birthdays. We gave it a go and their silversmithing session was a great experience for all of us, they really enjoyed making their bangles and I really enjoyed sharing my skills with them. Being a teaching assistant at a primary school for a few years in my previous life, I found it very easy to demonstrate and explain each process as we progressed. There was also a bit of a role reversal as Fiona was the primary school teacher that I was the teaching assistant for all of those years ago!

Since then I have totally refitted the studio to allow more working space. I then tested the water with another couple of friends that wanted to have a go at silversmithing and were willing to let me do a trial run – they are still in awe of their bangles that they made! Once I was happy with running the workshops, I created a set of designs for rings and bangles for complete beginners to book in for and make. The added beauty of it is that if you struggle to find rings or bangles that fit, you can just custom make one!

I now have some fabulous Jewellery Workshop Gift Vouchers in stock, the illusive gift for that person that already has everything! They can be given as Birthday, anniversary or Christmas gifts, per person or per couple and are valid for 12 months. The jewellery making sessions are great to attend with a friend, partner, husband, wife or as a popular Mother and Daughter experience. On a couple of occasions, I have welcomed some thoughtful men, one making a bangle for his bride to be and another making a bangle as a wedding anniversary gift for his wife! The possibilities are endless and in the process, I have met some wonderful people that have been over the moon with the jewellery that they have made!

There are three custom made work benches to allow three people per session together, more can be accommodated if requested.

For more information and dates available, please see the Workshops page or simply email me!

I look forward to welcoming you to the studio!

Aimi
inSilver