Hairy Growler Jewellery.#Blog.

I am a mad owl and i make jewellery from silver coins and spoons

2011-10-28T10:06:00.000+01:00

I am a mad owl.

I stayed up super late last night making these.... I usually find myself obsessively locked in my workshop until 2 ish, but last night was ridiculous. I feel like i need to carefully remove my eyes and soak them in whiskey for a few hours.

Anyhoo hoo these lovely little wise owl cufflinks emerged and i have just found them on my work bench so i thought i would take a quick picture and share them.

I feel like the shoe makers elves came round to help but slapped me around and poked me in the eyes afterwards... maybe i made some inappropriate comments? Anyway the point is i can't fully, yet, remember making them completely, especially the eyes, i don't remember doing the eyes!

I've gotta go to bed...........zzzzz

www.hairygrowler.com

A lovely new wise owl brooch for the winter... Handmade and recycled from a spoon

2011-10-27T13:57:00.001+01:00

Wisdom & Elegance

Each one of these beautifully crafted owl brooches is handmade, totally green, completely ethical, 100 % recycled and utterly unique.

Old, unwanted antique dessert spoons are transformed using traditional hand tools and a passion for green principles and ethics.

Each owl is carefully outlined on the surface of the spoon. This is slowly and meticulously followed with a traditional jewellers piercing saw. The final shape is filed and polished to perfection. An old spoon recycled into a gorgeous, wearable brooch.

An integral and interesting part of the brooch is the antique dessert spoon from which it was cut. This simple 'donor' spoon is also given a little 'Hairy Growler' treatment. It is transformed in to an wonderful Objects D' Art which acts a lovely resting place for the

brooch when not being worn. Both are presented in a lovely box.

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk

Leaping hare cufflinks - recycled silver sourced from old coins

2011-10-26T12:36:00.000+01:00

New Leaping hare cufflinks.....

I have made these lovely leaping hare cufflinks by recycling two English sterling silver shillings and two silver three pences. These coins are unwanted by coin collectors due to wear marks from being used to buy and sell over one hundred years ago.

Rather than let them simply be melted down for the silver content I absolutely love coming up with designs and ideas to transform them into something desirable. By doing this the historical details are retained, simultaneously adding depth, interest and intrigue to the design.

These gorgeous little leaping hares are individually hand cut with a traditional jewellers saw from the sterling shillings. The opposite side of the cufflink is the sterling silver three pence. The cufflink chain is also completely recycled sterling silver made at the workshop.

100% Handcrafted & Recycled in Cambridge, UK

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/gfgreen%20field%20hare%20cufflink3.html

Three little birds sitting in a tree... handmade and 100 % recycled from a silver coin.

2011-10-11T19:12:00.000+01:00

Three little birds...

This beautiful little silver tree pendant has been meticulously handcrafted from a flattened sterling silver florin coin, pre 1919. These lovely old pure silver coins are fab to work with.

Discarded and uncollectible by numismatists, these coins are just screaming out to be lovingly and sympathetically recycled. Rather than simply melting them down for the silver i prefer to invest time into creating a piece which is beautiful and ethical. I aim to not only create a contemporary, wearable design but also revive some of the original history, interest an beauty.

Each one of these trees is a complete pleasure to make, totally unique and completely individual. Once crafted the tree is finished with a simple mounted amethyst, garnet or star hanging freely at the bale. For added interest the 'off-cut' surrounding silver coin is included with the necklace. This can be stamped with personal initials upon request.

www.hairygrowler.com/threelittlebirds

Handmade and recycled silver dancing vixen and jumping fox

2011-10-10T19:28:00.000+01:00

Inspired by re-watching 'The animals of Farthing wood', i have crafted Fox and Vixen from two sterling silver florin coins. Our perception of the fox continues to evolve through the passage of time. Once viewed as cunning and sneaky they now have earned admiration and respect.

I originally designed these to be a pair of necklaces to share but i guess it makes more sense to offer them individully too!

The fox and vixen have been roughly sketched onto the surface of the flattened silver coins (Gorgeous recycled sterling silver.) They are then cut out by hand using a traditional jewellers piercing saw. Each necklace ordered will be completely unique and individual. Be assured that it will be equally, if not more beautiful.

Handcrafted in Cambridge.

www.hairygrowler.com

Celebrate the summer and winter solstice with a recycled coin stonehenge penny pendant!

2011-10-06T14:34:00.000+01:00

Celebrate the Summer & Winter Solstice.

These pendants represent a time when the importance of nature and our earth was a prime focus, held dearly close to us. The true meaning of this ancient, awe-inspiring creation has been lost in the mists of time. How did our ancestors manage to carry the mighty stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure?

To celebrate my love of these stones I am combining the recycling of unused raw materials and using the inherent history of the raw materials to add weight, relevance and interest to the piece.

Each one takes several hours of precise hand piercing with a traditional jewellers saw. You can choose which solstice you want to celebrate, treat yourself to both or share them with a friend.

Usually, my coin pendants are launched on www.luckysixpencejewellery.co.uk website. This site is dedicated to handcut coins.

A lovely, original, recycled pendant with a fantastic history.

www.hairygrowler.co.uk

Leaves of recycled silver.

2011-10-05T15:43:00.001+01:00

This beautiful little silver tree pendant has been meticulously handcrafted from a flattened sterling silver florin coin, pre 1919. These lovely old pure silver coins are fab to work with.

Discarded and uncollectible by numismatists, these coins are just screaming out to be lovingly and sympathetically recycled. Rather than simply melting them down for the silver i prefer to invest time into creating a piece which is beautiful and ethical. I aim to not only create a contemporary, wearable design but also revive some of the original history, interest an beauty.

Each one of these trees is a complete pleasure to make, totally unique and completely individual. Once crafted the tree is finished with a simple mounted amethyst, garnet or star hanging freely at the bale. For added interest the 'off-cut' surrounding silver coin is included with the necklace

www.hairygrowler.co.uk

Hand made and recycled sterling silver hare cufflinks.

2011-10-04T16:59:00.000+01:00

New cufflinks made from two silver shillings and two silver threepence's.

I've been wanting to make these for ages, although i never dress smart enough to wear these little hares. The backs are formed from silver 1890's threepence pieces, of which one has a star and the other a moon cut out. The hares are cut from shillings. They look and feel real nice.

www.hairygrowler.com

Autumn... one of my four favourite seasons. Handmade and recycled silver teaspoon tree ring.

2011-10-03T18:24:00.000+01:00

Autumn.

I love spring, summer and winter... but i cannot deny that autumn is extra lovely. Getting up super early and seeing my breath in the crisp air, nice. So, today i have celebrated October with a new ring to add to the Woodland s collection.

It has been handmade and recycled from an old Victorian teaspoon. Individually hand cut, each hairygrowler piece is completely unique and offers the antithesis to cast silver jewellery.

I love autumn. Handmade and recycled jewellery designed to celebrate autumn

2011-09-30T20:22:00.000+01:00

Autumn.

Its an obvious one; but i do love autumn. Lovely colours, sweet, crisp air, you can start to see your breath.....

I finished this lovely pendant yesterday. The oak leaves are cut from an old English half penny and silver shilling, whilst the acorn is cut from an old 'Thrupney bit'. perfect for autumn.

Handmade and completely recycled. Made for you in Cambridge at the Hairy Growler workshop.

The Green Man throughout the seasons... Handmade and recycled from silver coins

2011-09-11T12:31:00.000+01:00

Winter

Golden Summers

Autumn.

I absolutely loved creating these green man necklaces. They have all been those creations where for hours you're thinking 'this is not going to look good or work too well! aarghh'. A daunting thought to have tumbling through your mind when you are many hours into a piece - 'think happy thoughts les' i was telling myself. I did think happy thoughts ! yay! and this is the end result. Needless to say i was over the moon with the finished piece.

The original winter time Green Man has been created and recycled from two sterling silver coins circa 1880's, absolutely lovely silver to work with. The process used to make it, as with every Hairy Growler piece only involves traditional hand tools and methods. Every piece is hand cut, filed and polished by myself in Cambridge.

Each Green Man i create will be made using the exact same process and materials and the end result will be guaranteed to be equally as lovely if not more so. Upon request I have created two other members of the Green Man family. One is an Autumn woodland Green Man and the other is a golden summertime Green Man. If you would prefer one on these please feel free to contact me with your request.

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/wgreenman.html

Handmade, recycled jewellery, wedding gifts and wedding cake knives

2011-08-21T18:06:00.000+01:00

Well it has been a ultra hectic few months, the last blog entry being in May! yowsies I know i am normally pretty irregular with these blog posts but four months is lame. I just though i would do a quickie to get back in to the rhythm.

The knife above, i am not sure about the size of the photo, its looking kinda small on my screen, but it is a picture of a recent commission. Thank you Rebecca Jones!!!!! Big thank you for the opportunity to make such a special wedding gift for you. The commission brief from Becky was straight forward and allowed great creativity.

I will talk more about it soon. The wedding cake knife website is www.theweddingcakeknife.co.uk a long one i know, but you can just click the link. :)

Toodlepip

Les

Stonehenge and Glastonbury Festival handmade and recycled silver necklace.

2011-05-31T20:59:00.000+01:00

New and fresh for Glastonbury Festival 2011, the Hairy Growler, handmade and recycled 'decision maker' necklace pendant. I will be making a series of 10 pendants for the festival. ( Find me in the Green Fields if you can.)

The decision making arrow spins beautifully to select one of twelve areas. Each pendant has been meticulously hand cut from old Victorian sterling silver coins. The arrows are formed from old 'thrupney bit' coins.

Completely recycled and ethical, perfect for the Green Fields.

www.hairygrowler.co.uk

The Glastonbury Festival 2011 - Decision Maker necklace - handmade and recycled.

2011-05-29T16:32:00.000+01:00

The Glastonbury Festival 'Decision Maker' pendant....

Finished at last! I have made this from 2 sterling silver coins. The pendant can be worn either side up. On the decision maker side there are 12 options....

Pyramid Stage
John Peel Stage
West Holts Stage
Other Stage
The Park
Arcadia
The Stone circle
Avalon
Shangri-La
Acoustic Tent
Dance Tents

or my favourite come and see me in the Green Fields...

So, when one of those many moments arrives when everything is happening at once and your brain is happily spangled. Too many amazing artists, performances and things happening at one time, leave it to your jewellery to decide!

When everything is under control simple enjoy the midnight scene of Glastonbury Tor.

www.hairygrowler.co.uk

Peace, Love & Happiness. An unusual new piece of jewellery ready for Glastonbury 2011

2011-05-13T23:02:00.002+01:00

This beautiful new love dove necklace is crafted from one sterling silver crown coin, English and circa 1880's.

The silver coin was flattened out in my usual manner. Once stretched out to the desired working shape i simply draw the design (a really rough outline guide!) on to the surface area. This rough sketch is then embellished with my piercing saw and a extremely fine blade. From here the pendant is filed, sanded, polished matte, and finished with a wee bronze star. A lovely old 1920's bronze coin is recycled to make the olive branch and star.

Handmade and recycled in Cambridge, England.

handmade celtic cross pendant cut from an English coin

2011-05-04T15:07:00.000+01:00

This one pound coin design has been around for many years. It unfortunately has been relatively unnoticed. The traditional Celtic Cross is a lovely design and desrves to be noticed!

Once the celtic cross has been carefully cut out it really stands out and looks great. These one pound coins are extremely difficult to cut through accurately. Thus they take more time and greater concentration to create. Each one takes several hours of precise hand piercing with a traditional jewellers saw.

A polished (coin to the left) coin pendant is created as standard.
If you would prefer the darker, matte finish (coin to right) please do not hesitate to request so after ordering.

Usually, my coin pendants are launched onwww.luckysixpencejewellery.co.uk website. This site is dedicated to handcut coins.

A lovely, original, repurposed, handcrafted pendant with a fantastic history.

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/pencelticcross.html

hairy growler handmade jewellery using only recycled, green raw materials

2011-04-30T14:59:00.000+01:00

I have just finished making these lovely little earrings for our new 'green fields' collection for the summer. I hope to make a few pairs for Glastonbury Festival 2011 as i imagine they might be appreciated by a couple of my regular visitors. Each pair will be hand cut like these ones from the 'bowl' of an antique dessert spoon. Each pair will be slightly different, unique but guaranteed equally lovely. The inherent curve of the spoon 'bowl' offers me a fabulous piece of raw material screaming out to be played with!

An over the top guide to putting on and taking off fork bracelets and bangles.

2011-04-24T21:15:00.000+01:00

Get jazzed up with the Queen and celebrate.

2011-04-19T10:03:00.001+01:00

The Royal Wedding

Prince William & Catherine Middleton

Friday 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey

Celebrate with the Queen. Gin in tea cups and Jazz cigarettes.

Each 'commemorative coin!' pendant will be handcut from a 5p,10p (shown), 20p or 50p, your choice.

Exclusively from the Hairy Growler Royal Mint.

www.hairygrowler.com

Environmentally friendly, eco-conscious, green and beautiful. Mermaid necklace recycled from an old silver coins and spoons!

2011-03-28T09:45:00.000+01:00

Twisting the minds the fishermen....

I have just cut the two beautiful mermaids from an old antique dessert spoon. The anchor has been carved from a sterling silver 1916 silver shilling (date still visible which looks fab) The star has been cut from an old 'thrupney bit' 3 pence coin. Each one of these necklaces i make will be unique, individual, different and equally, if not more beautiful than the one you see.

www.hairygrowler.com

Environmentally friendly, eco-conscious, green and beautiful. Mermaid earrings from old spoons!

2011-03-23T09:39:00.000Z

One of the mermaids is diving to the ocean floor to gather a magical starfish. The other lady of the sea is admiring a magical star against the glittering background of the ocean surface. Her tail attractively sweeps downwards towards your neckline. (in theory!)

Worn, they look absolutely lovely. Each pair is handcrafted and recycled from an old antique desert spoon. The mermaids are suspended from gorgeous handmade sterling silver earwires. More info will be available on the website.

A recycled 'bunch of flowers' earrings. Handmade and recycled from antique spoons

2011-03-18T19:44:00.000Z

A new asymmetrical earring set. Each set is cut from a pair of dessert spoons. Five unique, individual flowers. You just have to choose which two to wear or share!

The designs are familiar ones if you are a regular visitor to the website or workshop. I love recycling antique dessert spoons as they are in abundance in local charity shops, etc and are the perfect shape to inspired ideas. Each set i create will be unique and individual, but i guarantee all will be equally as beautiful.

100% handcrafted and recycled. Completely eco-conscious, green and ethical produced.

Handmade and recycled silver daisy chain bracelet.

2011-03-08T21:42:00.000Z

New daisy chain bracelet for the Green Fields colelction.

Made from silver sixpences. I have made the daisies from victorian sixpences. Each daisy is then fused to the stem (made from silver wire i have forged from fork prongs!) They are then fed through each other like a real cute daisy chain. It looks fab. Sort of delicate looking whilst being incredibly strong, last longer than us lot that is fo sure. :D

www.hairygrowler.com

Sunday · ·

Andrea Walker, Fiona Reid, Dorothy Kennedy and 15 others like this.
- Nicki Iszard So pretty.
  Sunday at 10:08pm · · 1 person
- Harry Growler Thank you Nicki for the kind comment! And thank you too Kate, Sam, Nicola and David!! thank YOU! :D
  Sunday at 10:10pm ·
- Claire Spencer Ohhh very pretty x
  Sunday at 10:10pm · · 1 person
- Harry Growler Thanks Claire!!! :]
  Sunday at 10:11pm ·
- Harry Growler Thank you too Clare :)
  Sunday at 10:12pm ·
- Victoria Thornton oh it's gorge, is this available to order? would love one!
  Sunday at 10:12pm · · 1 person
- Clare Bentley What a gorgeous idea Harry! Love making daisy chains :)
  Sunday at 10:12pm · · 1 person
- Harry Growler Thanks Clare! they are good fun to make! Victoria, this will be available to order v.soon! I reckon i will have mastered it by next week and then it will be on the website straight afterwards. If you don't see it let me know you may just need your refresh your browser or gently push me along!!! :) Thank you for the lovely comment!
  Sunday at 10:15pm ·
- Harry Growler Cheers Anna! :)
  Sunday at 10:16pm ·
- Tami Jaggs Stunning. I was wearing a fork bangle today and I always get comments about it.
  Sunday at 10:17pm · · 1 person
- Harry Growler Thanks Tami! Its always lovely to read these comments! Thank yooo
  Sunday at 10:18pm ·
- Harry Growler Thank you Faye! :) Thank you Selina!!
  Sunday at 10:27pm ·
- Carrie Campanella Very pretty!
  Sunday at 10:47pm · · 1 person
- Harry Growler Thank you so much Carrie! :D
  Sunday at 10:54pm ·
- Liz Scarboro Gorgeous.simply gorgeous.
  Sunday at 11:16pm · · 1 person
- Harry Growler THANK YOU LIZ!!!! :)
  Sunday at 11:18pm ·
- Catherine Baigent That is gorgeous!
  Yesterday at 12:08am · · 1 person
- Lydia Williams This is beautiful! I have posted it on Jack's wall, hopefully he will get the subtle hint :)
  Yesterday at 1:24am · · 1 person
- Mao Zedog Beautiful! I Bow WOW ...
  Yesterday at 6:00am · · 1 person
- Fiona Reid Just perfect! Gorgeous as ever, XX
  Yesterday at 10:40am · · 1 person
- Harry Growler Thank you so much Catherine! :]
  Yesterday at 5:33pm ·
- Harry Growler Thank yoooo Lydia :D I love that photo! :)
  Yesterday at 5:34pm ·
- Harry Growler Thank you Mao ! hooooowl. :D
  Yesterday at 5:35pm ·
- Harry Growler Hi Fiona, thank you so much for the lovely message! :D
  Yesterday at 5:36pm ·

Moon gazing in March....

2011-03-03T23:04:00.002Z

Moon gazing in March...

Made this evening i used two sterling silver florins and a silver sixpence for the moon. I have oxidised the whole piece and then satin brush polished the hare and moon for lovely contrast. I love it. Could be a new pendant for me!

I will pop this on the website in the new Green Fields collection soon.

www.hairygrowler.com

Brian Froud inspired commission request

2011-03-02T21:38:00.000Z

This lovely brooch / piece of coffee table art was produced as a commission request. The customer came to me with a lovely sketch based on Brian Froud's lovely, lovely, lovely pixies. (he is a new / re found artist to me!) So the brief was simple and straight forward. Create a lovely brooch using recycled victorian sterling silver spoons.

I used to 1890's silver dessert spoons. Check into the website for more details... :]

Green, eco-conscious, tree jewellery made from spoons! who would have thought?!

2011-02-13T19:00:00.001Z

I have crafted this lovely oak tree of life brooch to celebrate the beauty of nature in the autumn and winter seasons. The inspiration comes from the wonderful slice of time when we move from the fabulous green and yellows of summer to the reds and evenually browns of autumn and winter. Every year after an eyeful of green i am never disappointed with the amazing visuals of naked trees all around.

Each individual branch of the tree is painstakingly handcut, filed and polished. Each one I make is entirely original, green, eco-conscious and special.

The brooch is presented with the 'donor' spoon. When the brooch is not being worn it slots netly back into the spoon to form into a wonderful and interesting piece of art. The brooch and spoon are shipped in a lovely presentation box.

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/clpnewautumntreebro.html

A lovely bunch of flowers... hairy growler style. (green and eco-conscious of course.)

2011-02-11T17:41:00.000Z

A bunch of flowers, well..Hairy Growler ones.

This flower brooch consists of part of a dinner fork, four coins and a brooch fitting to the rear. At first glance it simply appears to be a beautiful flower brooch. However, closer inspection reveals the fork as the stems and the coins as the flower heads.

Each coin is 'domed' into a cup shape, then hand pierced and drilled. The fork is weaved into an interesting and unique shape. The coins are then soldered into position on the end of the fork prongs.

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/eflowerbro.html

A green leaping hare - handmade using a silver coin as the raw material.

2011-02-10T19:10:00.002Z

New lovely mystical leaping hare pendant. Recycled from a silver half crown coin.

This lovely mystical leaping hare pendant has been gently handcrafted from an old (1898) sterling silver English half Crown coin. The coin has been flattened, hand cut, filed and polished. The look and feel of this old English silver is perfect and unbeatable compared to the modern equivilent silver 925 alloy.

The pendant is suspended from a delicate unobtrusive silver chain, adorned with bronze stars cut from old 'Thrupney bit' 3d English coins. Each hare is approx 45mm leaping across and 22mm in height.

It looks real nice on :)

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/ffleapinghare.html

handmade and recycled silver jewellery - tweet me.

2011-02-10T17:03:00.000Z

Another one to celebrate Spring....

This bangle will feature in my little collection of springtime jewellery. I have recycled it from a sterling silver Edwardian dinner fork and a silver sixpence (the cute bird). It looks fab on the wrist.

www.hairygrowler.com

Cute sweet heart bracelet made from a spoon.

2011-02-09T18:45:00.001Z

This lovely bracelet is both bold and delicate. It is primarily created from the 'bowls' of two antique dessert spoons. Each link carefully and uniquely designed, hand pierced, filed and finished. The details between the main elements are made from pieces of old pennies and 'thrupney bits', crafted in to stars and hearts, star crossed.

This bracelet is finished with a small, recycled, semi-precious stone, either a garnet or amythest.

http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/sclovegrowsbrace.html

The green fields are coming...

2011-02-09T13:12:00.000Z

The green fields are a coming....

The spring collection is complete and ready to be uploaded to the website. These are the first piece which will be part of the summer festival collection (or something similar)

I have cut this pair from the 'bowl' of an antique soup spoon and I have given them a nice 'scratchy, brushed satin finish'

www.hairygrowler.com

Tag. you're mine.

2011-02-03T14:37:00.000Z

Tag. you're mine.

Made from a beautiful Victorian sterling silver Half Crown this pair of pendants share a lovely history together. The pendants are presented within the surrounds of the whole coin. At the perfect moment these can then be added to the stars and worn as pendants. The stars and jigsaw pieces can be added or removed at ease using the simple and secure silver double split ring bale.

They can be worn with a lovely black cotton neckcord or silver chains (shown).

www.hairygrowler.com

Build a little bird house in your soul

2011-02-02T20:00:00.000Z

Handmade in Cambridge. This is the new tree brooch design for the Spring collection of Hairy Growler Jewellery. Like every piece i make, this brooch is delicately handcrafted and made completely from recycled raw materials. The spoon used on this particular brooch was sourced from Wood Green animal rescue charity shop just outside of Cambridge. (a difficult place to visit as you want to leave with a van full of dogs.)

If you like this please follow the blog or visit the website..... more to come soon. :)

How frogs fly...

2011-01-26T15:52:00.002Z

How frogs fly....

We have all seen frogs flying around, especially when in the woods. The last time i did i am sure this is what i saw. So i used my saw to cut the vision from an old antique spoon. There is nuthin wierd about that. Anyways, this lovely little brooch fits perfectly back into the spoon when not being worn.

This will be available on the website soon. Please let me know what you think :)

www.hairygrowler.com

Freedom fighter - love bomb

2011-01-25T18:55:00.003Z

Freedom fighters - love bomb

This fresh and original pendant is the result of recycling an old antique teaspoon and an old English sterling silver coin. The pair of wings are delicately hand-pierced from the bowl of the tea-spoon, while the heart is shaped from the old silver coin.

The elements are joined to form a lovely and beautifully designed handcrafted and recycled pendant.The necklace is finished with a little golden bronze star and a lovely delicate silver chain.

As with everything i make, each love bomb necklace is custom made. The letter stamping in the silver can be completely cusomised, initials, date, symbols, you chooooose. The wee stars can also be stamped with meaningful initials or numbers.

Let me know what you think?

Tweet Hearts. An ethical and beautiful valentines day gift, made in Cambridge.

2011-01-24T20:03:00.002Z

tweet hearts.

I have just finished this tree using my new saw. Good saw, feels light and sharp, which is perfect for wee details and embellishments. As with all of my silver tree and birdy pieces i have used a lovely Victorian sterling silver coin as the raw material. These are great as they are beautiful silver to work with and they obviously hold tremendous history and and unknown stories.

Its great to recycle these as the coins would simply be melted down by coin collectors due to too much 'detail' being rubbed away throughout the 100 year+ circulation. This combined with the innate value of the silver means they don't sit around for too long in collectors files!

I have simply drawn a basic freehand sketch onto the surface and then blasted it with my saw. I love it. If you do and you would like on let me know by message, the wall or email, etc and we can sort something out! They will be on the website if i get time very soon.

The wee heart is cut from an old penny. I will stamp the initial of choice into the heart. Alternatively you could have a lovely bronze heart, semi precious stone, etc... you choose.

I thinks thats it?...mmm.. wel for now.

My little love bird...

2011-01-23T20:51:00.002Z

my little love bird.

I have just made this using an old Victorian sterling silver Forin coin as the raw material. The design is a special one for Valentines day. If you would like one i can personalise it by carving some initials in the tree trunk and on the 'donor' coin remains. I am also going to offer the usual Hairy Growler choice of semi precious stone, heart or star garnish charm.

I will pop this on the website this week, if you want to get your paws on one before hand do not hesitate to private message me, write on the wall, email, call, pyschic projection, whatever.

www.hairygrowler.com

“Useful” - a design exhibition in Norway

2011-01-21T17:16:00.002Z

“Useful” - a design exhibition in Norway

Redesign: Necessity, morals, fashion and opportunity

Recycling is important in an environmental issue but it is also a creative and exciting approach to the design profession.

In the exhibition “Useful” the museum will emphasize on usable design objects created of readymades and already used objects. "Redesign", which this type of design often is called, has become an important trend within the current design field. The museum wants to focus on this trend and look at how and why garbage and readymades has been, and are being used to create new designs, and the motivation factors for this type of design.

Redesign may be a question of lack of materials and necessity. It can be a question about a moral responsibility and a question about sustainability for some, and for others it is mainly a fashion phenomenon. Not least, it may be a creative design approach, which is especially interesting in an Arts perspective.

Although redesign has become a trend in today's design field, it is by no means a new phenomenon. To put the theme into a historical context, we will therefore (also show some) include objects from the Museums historical collection that uses recycled materials.

There will be emphasis on showing the great variety in the field, from design icons that are "accepted" items incorporated into the design history, to objects that can almost go into a "craft tradition", or "street art". The latter are often products that are found in many different variations and designs, and cannot be attributed to a defined person or manufacturer.

The exhibition will be on display in The Art Museums of Bergen dep. Permanenten West Norway Museum of Decorative Arts from 1. of June till 28. of August .

A recycled spoon 'tree of inspiration' brooch. Completely green and ethical jewellery

2011-01-11T22:51:00.006Z

This is just another quick blurby bloggins to try and keep this as part of a routine which will hopefully develop into something interesting and consistent! The brooch above is a sneak peek of the jewellery which i will offering in spring 2011. If you like the look of this please keep an eye on the NEW PRODUCTS section of the Hairy Growler website, Harry Growler facebook page and this blog..... Lots more to come.

Hopefully i will be back at the Cambridge Art & Craft market from the 22nd January (if this is when it begins again!! i havent confirmed that yet! but personally i have good intentions!)

recycled and repurposed... an old antique silver dessert fork.

2011-01-10T23:40:00.002Z

2011.... wierd. It is the year 2011. I know. 'get a grip'. but it is quite strange... 2011. Anyways its a new term! I have loads of new ideas and designs so i am going to do the usual burst of well meaning blog posts and then..... nothing for months! Be prepared. Dont even bother reading this pap. Just look at the pretty bits and bobs trickling from my cut to bits fingers. In fact STOP. and do something less boring instead.. Why dont you.....

visit www.hairygrowler.com

NEW, GREEN, ECO CONSCIOUS PRESS FEATURE

2010-10-12T19:59:00.002+01:00

translation:

Cutlery around your neck? Sounds crazy?

The jewelry of Hairy Growler are made of Victorian cutlery and old English coins.

Yay Thank you Millie in Belgium!

Spoon guitar.

2010-08-14T20:32:00.002+01:00

The fabulous world of finding uses for surplus spoons. Original and unique, the spirit of Hairy Growler is strong in this one! Cheers Gav for stumbling upon this one!

Phew! That was a lot of Glastonbury inspired jewellery, now for my Cambridge living.

2010-07-25T21:03:00.000+01:00

Well after the shameless promotion of my new Cheeky lil pixies collection, oops there i am doing it again. Stop. I am trying to get back to some sort of normal internet blogging, give an insight to the everydayness in the workshop and life. Okaythenherego.. nope, nothing. Just a two dimensional spoon obsessed fool. Yay, but i do have fun most of the time which is good. Actually i think i may as well just dip back in to the promotion of jewellery as it will definitely be more interesting. See you in Cambridge. Les.x

see you shroom - in september.

2010-07-23T21:00:00.000+01:00

This quality kuff would look fabulous on many a wrist. It can be made any size what-so-ever. It is especially suited to those who like to beat the first frost of the season. A dedicated mycelium piece. Each one is completely handcrafted and recycled from old pewter tankards that one used to receive on special occasions, but are now unfavourable, thus dumped in charity shops. Fair enough. Better than being land filled!

Handmade in Cambridge.

One unusual soup spoon - handmade and recycled jewellery

2010-07-22T20:57:00.000+01:00

Each one of these gorgeous brooches is totally handcrafted and recycled from the 'bowl' of an unwanted, discarded, neglected antique soup spoon. Every single one is completely unique, an absolute 'one-off ' piece.

These brooches with fairies, wild magic mushrooms and woodland take a great deal of love and attention to create. All require skill, time and patients. The results are exquisite. Recycled and lush.

Included with the brooch is the soup spoon from which it was cut. This is an interesting object for the wearer and is a fab talking piece. It also acts a lovely resting place for the brooch when not being worn.

Handmade in Cambridge.

More fairies for the all new Cheeky lil pixies collection

2010-07-21T20:54:00.000+01:00

This beautiful little fairy brooch is one of Hairy Growler's all time classics. I have been making variations of this design for over ten years. Each one produced is individually handcrafted and completely made from recycled raw materials, an old dessert spoon.

The design is roughly sketched on to the surface of the spoon. This basic outline is embellished and detailed freehand with the jewellers piercing saw. The resultant fairy is polished to a wonderful satin, scratched brushed finish. The reverse of the brooch is lightly signed and fitted with locking brooch fittings.

The brooch comes complete with the spoon it was cut from which is a wonderful talking point and item of interest. This is a fab object to keep and use as a 'nest' for your brooch! Alternatively you are welcome to send the remaining spoon back to us and we can recycle it in to another piece for your collection!

Handcrafted in Cambridge.

September - the picking season.

2010-07-20T23:52:00.000+01:00

This is a gorgeous little brooch perfectly compliments the Hairy Growler cheeky lil pixie collection. He has been handcrafted and recycled from an old, neglected antique spoon 'dug up' at a local charity shop in Cambridge. Totally undesirable to most shoppers as a purchase, I immediately saw that this here little spoon was going to be the beginning of a whole new style of cheeky pixie boys. The perfect shape and size for what i had been sketching! It was meant to be.

Here he is, 'green' from every conceivable angle, off to enjoy the delights of the countrycyde.

The remaining spoon is also worked upon to turn it into a gorgeous object and talking point for the wearer. It also works nicely as a little nest/home for the brooch when it is not being worn!

Original, unique, magical and completely recycled. Handmade in Cambridge.

Hairy Growler

Make a wish - thank you.

2010-07-19T22:50:00.000+01:00

A lovely little fairy offering a star for those that deserve one. She has been handcut from an old, unwanted and severely neglected antique dessert spoon salvaged from a local charity shop.

After delicately drawing and cutting the design out from the 'bowl' of the spoon, I carefully file and polish the piece. A secure, locking brooch fitting is then fitted on the back.

Handcrafted and completely recycled.

Hairygrowler

The cheeky little tinkster - handcrafted and recycled jewellery with magic.

2010-07-18T23:48:00.000+01:00

This cheeky lil pixie is well up for it, any time of the day or night! The perfect symbol of energy and vibrance to wear and enjoy at any opportunity.

It is meticulously hand cut and shaped using traditional hand tools and techniques. The raw material is an old, neglected antique spoon. These old spoons are no longer desirable in the 'mass market' (although most people i know love this old cutlery!) However, most pieces i use are understandably unwanted as they are generally in poor condition. Perfect doners for being recycled!

The remaining spoon is also worked upon to turn it into a gorgeous object and talking point for the wearer. It also works nicely as a little nest/home for the brooch when it is not being worn!

Original, unique, magical and completely recycled. Handmade in Cambridge.

Cheek lil pixies collection

Summer is blossoming - handmade and recycled spoon jewellery with a difference.

2010-07-17T23:45:00.000+01:00

The uplifting scent and feel of spring turning to summer... All from a cute little tree brooch created and recycled from the middle of an old unwanted antique spoon found in a charity shop in Cambridge.

Each one i make is completely unique and recycled. Every one the result of time, patience and a love of what we create. The individual tree design is free hand drawn onto the outside of the soup spoon. This is followed by the piercing saw, files and finally polish. The outcome is a beautiful, inspired by nature brooch, which has been created with green principles and a love of original design.

Included with the brooch is the antique spoon from which it was cut. This is an interesting object for the wearer and is a fab talking piece. It also acts a lovely resting place for the brooch when not being worn.

Hairy Growler - Cambridge

Cute little fairies - handmade and repurposed

2010-07-16T23:43:00.000+01:00

A beautiful and simple brooch hand pierced from the 'bowl' of an old, negelected antique dessert spoon.The gorgeous little fairy is sketched on the spoon and then cut, drilled, filed and polished. The final result is quite lovely. The brooch as a simple and effective locking catch on the reverse. Completely green, ethcial, original and whimsically beautiful.

Handcrafted and recycled in Cambridge, UK

Hairy Growler

Gorgeous new tree jewellery - handmade and recycled

2010-07-15T23:39:00.000+01:00

This gorgeous tree brooch is delicately hand pierced from the 'bowl' of an old, discarded and unwanted dessert spoon found in a local charity shop. The majority of this cutlery is inherited and unwanted. Once donated, it then sits for years in charity shop cutlery trays, neglected, waiting for me!

This particular brooch is deftly crafted, formed and polished into shape using the traditional methods, tools and a passion for nature and our environment.

Included with the brooch is the antique dessert spoon from which it was cut. This is an interesting object for the wearer and is a fab talking piece. It also acts a lovely resting place for the brooch when not being worn.

Tree brooches

Faeries and fungus.

2010-07-14T20:37:00.003+01:00

This lovely brooch is recycled from the bowl of an old, neglected antique serving spoon. Each one we create depicts a scene of a beautiful fairy sitting amongst the magical mushrooms and dreaming amongst the stars.

The old discarded antique sreving spoon is firstly decorated with an outline of the fairy and shrooms. This outline is meticulously traced and embellished with a jewellers piercing hand saw. The piece is then carefully filed and polished to bring it back to life as a delightful wearable brooch.

The remaining spoon is also worked upon to turn it into a gorgeous object and talking point for the wearer. It also works nicely as a little nest/home for the brooch when it is not being worn!

Original, unique, magical and completely recycled. Handmade in Cambridge.

www.hairygrowler.com

More Glastonbury 2010 green fields creations...

2010-07-05T21:25:00.002+01:00

This absolutely beautiful ring was designed and created whilst in the green fields at Glastonbury 2010. A regular customer wanted a gorgeous ring to celebrate the summer. She kindly donated a fabulous pearl necklace which had been neglected due to a broken catch. This is an aside as she didn't request that the necklace form part of the ring.

She was delighted. Especially when she immediately noticed i included one of the pearls as the central focus of the design. The petal sets have been carefully recycled from three sterling silver English coins circa 1895! I used a lovely small silver threepence and florin for the larger flower with the pearl and a silver shilling for the other flower. The connecting underside of the ring is formed from an old sterling silver dessert fork prong! Wrought into a fine silver band the ring has been hammer textured to give sparkling silver facets.

Fortunately i have a lovely long line of these pearls now and i will certainly be on the look out for other neglected necklaces, yay, another pastime! I look forward to creating more of these beautiful rings so please feel free to order one! Each and every ring is handcrafted, recycled and completely unique.

Glastonbury was awesome and very shiny...

2010-07-04T12:11:00.005+01:00

Hey all! or, well, the one or two who read this, yay, how are you! We are back from Glastonbury and back in the workshop working double hard again. It is super sunny summertime again and it is quite tough to be in doors. Then just when i escape to be outdoors i am gagging for the shade of indoors, its fab...

Glastonbury was an amazing success and a lovely working holiday. I met a lot of interesting, friendly, funny, wacky, weird, bizarre (you know who you are.)folk which made the stay the best ever!

The recycled pendants above were very well received. Each one is the product of fusing three sterling silver English shillings together. A glass style resin is used to highlight the details carved within. They look great and feel like a nice little lump of silver around your neck (which will suit some and just be a little to substantial for others.) I made six different styles of tree all based around simple geometric shapes. The organic tree shape is cut from the centre coin and resonates from within.

I will have these on the website soon, if you cant wait that long (you guys also know who you are!) please don't hesitate to contact me through the website.

I will do another blog soon, a download of my tiny mind whilst at Glastonbury, shouldn't take long and will clear some space for everyday reality! otherwise the transition from the hyperreal, ultra colourful nomadic city of Glastonbury to life in England, Europe, The Earth, 2010 will drip-feed and i may risk the possibility of coming across as a bumbling baffoon (already to late! arrgh.)

toodlepip

Les

Twittering tweetness - we're going to Glastonbury festival, tweet tweet.

2010-06-07T19:07:00.002+01:00

Hey, just a quick update and outlet of nervous energy. Just finished these sweet little birdie studs, which i am quite please about. I used to make these years ago, although they definiately weren't as cute as these and they most certainly did not have a lovely oxidised sterling silver wire nest to rest in when not worn!

I think i will show these off at Glastonbury, see what the overall reaction is and then when i get back make a wee webpage and then let them fly the nest (i hope, - in theory? - there is a horrible thought that they might just sit in their nest, not move, get older, not as... no, stop there it could go all morbid, self refecting and well.., no just stop those fingers typiiiing, yip, p nearlyyy. y

bye.

les

tweet tweet tweet tweet - handmade and recycled silver bird ring

2010-06-05T00:33:00.005+01:00

Beautiful new ring designs for the summer. I have been working on this flower blossoms and birdies design since last spetember and i am now smiling! I have decided to hand cut each one of these from only the finest antique sterling silver fork handles. Obviously I only use cutlery that has found its way to me due to being unwanted by antiques dealers due to no longer being part of a set. Single items of old cutlery are dificult to sell and tend to sit around in shops, looking lonely for years. I love to 'adopt' these little orphans and reinvent them as gorgeous wearable jewellery. Each ring is completely unique, individual and original, oh, and 100% ethical and recycled!

Each design is freehand drawn onto the surface of the of the fork handle. This basic sketch is embelished and detailed with a miniture hand saw and micro drill. Once cut out the piece is formed into a lovely ring. This is then polished to a shiny or brushed matte finish.

Even as the maker of these rings i look at each one in its newly shiny shape and form, and feel quite pleased! Hours earlier it had been a relatively unattractive, old fork.

Handmade and completely recycled in Cambridge.

Spring time inspiration...

2010-05-08T20:49:00.003+01:00

F.f.f.f freezing again which sucks as i was definitely in Summer mentality mode last week, cuttin grass in shorts. Nevermind that check out this lovely little commission i completed a coupleof weeks ago. It has to be one of my personal fav's.

The design brief was to simply create something beautiful and sweet to keep a couple of extremely precious photo's safe. inside the lid is two flowing spiral catches to frame a favorite photo depending on the mood. Oh and the whole case is crafted from recycled sterling silver.

I have loads of new collections ready for Glastonbury festival which is only 5 weeks away now!! Arghh! That cant be right? 8th May? go on the 20th June? Its about right! Crap. bye. les.x

Glastonbury Festival 2010 - is a coming and we are a going.

2010-03-25T17:41:00.002Z

I know, i hate to keep banging on about it, but i have to have a outlet for the caffine fuelled excitment in my brainbox. Here is another wee design i will be carrying down to Glastonbury festival this year. I have cut this little beauty from an old sterling silver florin coin. The details from the surface of the coin are still visible to appreciate. The overall feeling of this musical note collision is one of experimentation.

goodbye.

les.

Glastonbury Festival 2010 - Recycled jewellery is a gogo.

2010-03-21T23:00:00.003Z

Yip, Yip, Yippee. Glastonbury is the big 4 oh! this year and it should be quite a 'do'. So we are extremely please to be 'in' again this year. We have been attending many years now and it is definitely the favourite event of the Summer. Each year i am nervous applying for a stall, always fearing the old rejection letter which would serverely suck. Anyway, we are in and it is gonna rock. To celebrate i have already started building new stock for my 'regulars'. I hope you will all be pleased to see the new pieces i know i am having fun making them.

Well another boring blog post in the making, i know, what can i say i am just a barrel of good times.

The new trapeeze necklace shown above has been recycled from two silver coins, one English florin and one Shilling. The finished pendant has a lovely movement when worn and is the perfect sunshine, happy go swingy lucky necklace certain to make you smile which is more than a converstaion with me would make you do. ;0).

Check out Hairy Growler website under the new products section for more details of new and up and coming work.

nitey nite.

les

Spring butterflies fluttering around and made from recycled silver coins.

2010-03-18T21:49:00.002Z

Hello! I have just made this little lovely necklace and thought i would share it with you before i do anything else with it. Absolutely perfect for the beginning of spring, especially as the sun has been knocking around the past few days.

Each butterfly has been cut out of an old, uncollectible sterling silver English coin. The little butterflies cut from silver sixpences and the larger ones cut from shillings and Florins.

The overall length of the complete necklace is 17" which means it should adorn most necklines beautifully. This length could easily be lengthened or shortened upon request.

To see this in more detail why not revisit the website

Have a happy recycled jewellery giving Mothers day.

2010-03-08T23:32:00.002Z

Here is a little sneeky peaky of some new pieces i have made for mothers day, unfortunately for my mammy these are not for her little paws. The first piece i have crafted from a sterling silver Victorian fork prong and two out of circulation bronze coins. The brooch fitting is discretely situated to the rear. The second brooch has been fashioned from the 'bowl' of an old antique soup spoon.

Recycled dinner fork rings, a design, a concept and now a reality!

2010-03-02T19:54:00.004Z

This is a quick one, as i am on one... I have just found one of my original drawings for recycling a fork in to a set of rings. I remember toying with the idea of making a single ring accompanied with the original fork as a simple and effective recycled gift; or to create a couple of rings; or to create a set of four rings for close friends or family members. Then i remember closing the sketch pad and now 10 years later looking at it again as if it was yesterday.

I have just made the fork ring you can see above an i really love it, despite the lame sketch! In fact i am going to design a webpage for the ring / concept this evening and it should be up and ready by around 2am knowing me, which in turns means that tonight's great idea will create a sleep deprived monster tomorrow morning. Hay ho.

tatty byes

les

Footprints. The recycled, repurposed silver coin transformed in to an original Buddha pada.

2010-02-28T23:59:00.004Z

Just thought i'd share a piece i made recently as a commission for regular customer who wanted something special and original for her Buddhist fella. The idea and various symbols were suggested and accompanied with links to inspiring photographs found on the web. It was apparent that this iconic representation has been used in jewellery, although mostly simply mass (relatively) produced castings. My customer wanted something special, original and ethical. The footprint has been created from to sterling silver English Shilling coins. The end result is quite pleasing and i quite liked the idea of making another one for myself!

toodlepip

les

Eco conscious, eco friendly, ethical jewellery Gift vouchers

2010-02-25T23:10:00.003Z

I am pleased to announce the new Hairy Growler Gift voucher section. This is another area of the website developed by requests from my regular customers, thank you! We have produced a little collection of gift vouchers which can be purchased credit, debit cards, bank transfer and paypal. They range from £20 - £500 and are a great way to buy a gift for someone special without the risk of getting completely the wrong thing! Snap them up.

ar, ar, arrr.. A lovely seal pendant cut out of an antique soup spoon

2010-02-23T23:53:00.002Z

Just finished this little seal for a regular customer who simply wanted a new recycled pendant to go with a previously commissioned turtle pendant. A little sketch of a seal fitted perfectly on the 'bowl' of a soup spoon. The remaining spoon handle will be recycled into a fab little repurposed spoon handle ring, whilst the middle bit of the handle will form part of a segment bracelet.

Remember to visit the NEW PRODUCTS 2010 section of the new Hairy Growler website to view the just made pieces of recycled loveliness. Anyways my eyes feel like they need to be popped out and soaked in a mango smoothie so i had better stop starring at this hyper bright screen and maybe just got to sleep (an early night for once!).

Goodnight. les.

Dachshund jewelry - handmade, recycled spoon brooches

2010-02-19T23:26:00.001Z

Please click the images for a closer look...

"The Dachshund is a dynamic and affectionate breed. They are bold, proud and can be quite tenacious at times. They enjoy the outdoors and love to dig. They like to bark and are mischievous little dogs. Their small size makes them ideal for apartment living, and they are relatively easy to care for. A Dachshund is a loyal companion who will love spending time with you. " - Dachshund Savvy.com Thus the perfect little dog to inspire a lovely little brooch handcut with a traditional jewellers saw from the 'bowl' of an old antique Victorian dessert spoon. Each brooch is completely unique, individual and special, just like the real thing...

The one above was created and inspired by a customer who liked the shape and style of the Dachshund but wanted something minimal, simple and stylish.

toodlepip

les

2010-02-17T23:07:00.001Z

Please click on the image for a closer look.

If you like the look of this pendant you must visit my new and improved cut out coin jewellery website. All new pieces and a much more lovely website to move around in.

I have recently got my hands on a little collection of these lovely old 'Anna' Indian coins direct from a friend in Goa, India. The ohm symbol is free hand drawn on to the suface of the coin and then carefully cut around using my my piercing saw. Please check out the new Workshop pages for further details on the process and work workshop. The end result is a beautiful pendant!

Better keep on working! The tip of my nose is quite cold now.

bye.

les

A happy handmade and recycled Valentines day.

2010-02-14T11:32:00.005Z

Please click on the image for a closer look...

The run up to Valentines Day is always a touch busy.. But this year, wow, peeps were feeling the valentines jewellery! My little fingers are without their prints, totally polished off! In fact the fingers themselves are looking bling.

In between creating lovely recycled valentines gifts ordered from the website i made a simple but lovely selection of Valentine inspired original pieces of jewellery, primarily to sell at the Art & Craft market in Cambridge. Well, the weekly Saturday market arrived, yesterday; i turned up fairly on time (ish), set up, keen.., with new pieces to show off, to sell.. Only to find that every new piece i made was still in the workshop! Aarghh, really annoying, dumb-ass, forgetful ee-diot. So i set up in the snow which was interesting and effing freezing, and just could stop thinking about how amazingly useless i was. I am over it now. I am warm and looking at the pieces i made and thinking well they look good for the website. Usually i like to trial run a design at the market before spending time creating a webpage for it which is quite time consuming.

So if you have a spare moment it may be worth cheking the new products area of the website as i will be adding new Valentines day inspired work here, great for anytime of the year!!!

tatty bye

les

The new Handmade and recycled Hairy Growler website.

2010-01-30T19:06:00.003Z

Well we made it to the future, 2010. Twenty Ten sounds good to me. To celebrate such a futuristic sounding year we are living in i have 'knocked up' a new Hairy Growler website. Please all flock to the website. I have made several new changes, including new pieces of jewellery, new and improved images of my work, new categories, a new recycling workshop area, etc.

In addition i am proud to announce that we have a excellent creative writer on board who is going to make attempts to juice up me limited vocab! Stephanie Robinson. Check out her style at www.stephanie.jane.robinson.blogspot.com. To begin with she has re-written the new website intro and we are rather pleased! yipee.

I shall be back soon... i know, barely believable, but there is a nugget of optimism in my typing.

toodlepip

les

Recycled fork bangles and bracelets

2009-12-06T12:30:00.002Z

Handmade silver jewellery. A little piece of your heart.

2009-11-18T18:25:00.004Z

Hello again! It has been a while. But i am alive. Thank you to all of you have been ordering from the website over the past few months. The tweet collection is growing nicely and i have bird brains. No change there.

The lovely little sterling silver heart pendant above is beautifully hand cut from an old English sterling silver shilling. After flattening the coin and cutting out the heart and jigsaw shape i carefully make a little bronze jigsaw piece to fit the hole.

The silver heart pendant and little bronze jigsaw (cut from a old threepence coin) hang beautifully together. However, i have hung the two separately so that the little piece of the puzzle can be given to someone special, a little piece of your heart.

Could this be a new era of efficiency whereupon i maintain a regular blogging routine?....

tatty bye

les

Hairy Growler Jewelry - handmade and recycled angel wings

2009-09-18T16:58:00.004+01:00

Hello! it has been a while. I'm not the greatest blogger thats fo-shore. well i feel like poop. man flu no less. i hope you are well, shiney and smiley. I have just finished this lovely wee necklace and thought it may be of interest. This was made for one of my regular customers (it was a pleasure! thank you!). Those of you who visit my saturday stall at the art and craft market in Cambridge will probably recognise it, as it normally has a primo position! I am boring myself, sorry about this. Anyways, i am currently creating some lovely new bits n pieces ready for Christmas so please keep an eye on the website for the Christmas collection.

toodlepip les.x

Handmade sterling silver flower rings. Completely recycled from 140 year old dessert for handles!

2009-08-09T23:58:00.002+01:00

I am standing here again thinking i better go to bed rather than do this! But i thought it would be nice to post this photo of the rings I've been working on all evening. Freshly chopped from gorgeous sterling silver antique fork handles (140 years old!) These two forks were given to me at the art and craft mkt in Cambridge on Saturday. All the lovely person wanted in return was a photo of what they were turned into ! I am really pleased with these rings and i will definitely be creating a small range / collection. I shall offer these for sale at the market next Saturday and if i get a chance i will pop the on to the website. Each ring will be priced at £68. Obviously i will create any size requested. The remaining prongs from these forks will be turned into lovely earrings as a thank you to the kind customer you donated the forks. The forks themselves would have been worth a great deal of money if they were part of their original set. As individual forks they are undervalued and relatively unwanted by antiques dealers and collectors. This makes them the perfect raw material for me!

I will try to include a quick pic of the earrings. Oh, and i have been busy knocking up another website dedicated to the birth spoons and Christening spoons i create. Please visit it if you get a chance, its a little boring compared to my Hairy Growler website :[ well see what youse think!

Here goes.. the link www.thebirthspoon.co.uk

sleepy bird and cheeky bird... i is sleepy bird.

2009-07-28T22:41:00.003+01:00

i am the sleepy owl. i dont know who that funny looking fellow is. Oi, of my branch, oh. nope. i am back to sleep again. This time i am feeling quite peaceful. I am willing to share, just stop staring like that. weirdo. x nite nite.

Oh ywes, i have just made this little pendant and i will pop it out at the mkt on Saturday and see if anyone wants to take it home with them. I made it from an old 1856! half crown pure silver coin. After flattening it out i was left with a nice surface area of silver to work with. The details of the coin are clearly visible, on the surface of the pendant, giving added interest to my owlies. The pendant will be £74 inc the silver necklace. The bronze star has been cut from an old thrupney bit coin.

I have some earrings in my mind to go with this here pendant. I shall fish around in there later and see if i can pull the little fellows out.

toodlepipsy

Glastonbury Tor - handcrafted from an old English Penny coin.

2009-07-10T00:16:00.004+01:00

Here i am again, tip tap typing, instead of drawing, drilling and designing. I was just standing, listening to 6music - george lamb show, laughing, and thinking about putting my lastest coin design i created for Glastonbury Festival on the Lucky Sixpence Jewellery coin website.

The Glastonbury Tor - suitably handcut from an old English Penny. The design was well received at the festival and i think it will sit nicely in the other designs collection of coins on the site. If i ever get around to making a webpage for it...

toodlepip

les

Glastonbury Festival 2009 - returning inspired

2009-07-03T01:58:00.000+01:00

I know, its just not going to last! Two blurbs in two days. I just had to get a quick picture of the 'Tweet' bracelet i made for Glastonbury online. Each lil birdy and blossom link is crafted from a sterling silver florin coin circa 1897. The four coins were rolled out and individually hand cut. The origins of the silver are clearly seen on the inside. It looks lush 'on' and i happily took a few orders for them at the festival. They will be made in the coming week!!

I must mention the 'Green Traders Award' to which i refered to yesterday. I typed that because i intended to do a monologue rant about the award. However, after listening to the 'stop that' warning in my mind i decided it would be far to boring! Although as i stand here typing in my workshop i feel the urge... But i wont! I will just keep applying and trying to win one. Basically if you are a totally green trader you can win an award (glasto tickets, green credibility, etc!) Oopps here i go!! - So for me, someone who recycles and repurposes everyday the award is something to really try for. I am sad, this is true! Its just this damn award - arrgh, each year i think in the back of my tiny mind, this year i will surely be recognised, even with a simple little 'bronze' award, wow maybee even a silver!! BUT NO. Not even a sniff, wink or nod.

Nevermind. Next year i will do the same if they will have me back. I will internally assure myself that i have a chance, i will outwardly pretend i dont give a shabba, and i will almost certainly be back here typing the very same boring words whilst setting fire to that already annoying 'stop that.' sign. There, gone, in the bin.

toodlepip

les

Glastonbury Festival 2009 - green traders award.

2009-07-02T11:17:00.004+01:00

Wow, back in one piece... well lots of tired little pieces stuck together with baked on dirt and mud. But back. I happily returned after having a fab time to lots of website orders, so big thank you and i promise to have all of the pieces created and posted out in the next 10 days!! The stall was good as usual and without my main man Tony working his bottom off i would have had a brain box meltdown. Not so good.

This lovely pendant entitled "Tweet" was one of a selection i created to showcase at Glastonbury. They went down really well and i will definitely be creating a small range for the website. The pendant displayed above was priced at £78. It is crafted from one sterling silver crown coin, English and dated 1887. The coin was flattened out in my usual manner. Once stretched out to the desired working shape i simply drew the design on with a fine nibbed marker pen (a design i have been promising myself to do for ages!! Its been sitting in my sketch book for ages and ages) This rough sketch is then embellished and used as a approx guide line for my piercing saw work (the best bit! yipee) From here the pendant was filed, sanded, polished matte, and finished with a wee bronze star and amethyst stone.

This pendant and the other members of the 'tweet' collection will be on the Hairy Growler website as soon as i possibly can!

I will do a few blog entries in the coming weeks. Its good to air the internal, thoughts that is, not belly wind, although this is good too, but in private. Saying that its not good to bore peeps so i will try to keep a lid on most of it. I am going to make a little sign above the laptop "Stop that." The little sign does sometimes make an apperenace in my mind but mostly i ignore it, like now. Better go and do some work. Well when i say work, playing with bits of silver :)

bye

les

Cambridge All saints art and craft market skills demo.

2009-04-07T23:06:00.003+01:00

Its been a while! Will i form a new habit? sadly i no this not to be possible! Anything that even barely resembles a routine or pattern i shy away from, procrastinating always. However, i have just finished this lovely tree brooch for a customer and i am really pleased with it! If you even order a brooch and fancy the spare part of the spoon its always worth asking as i may be able so send it with the brooch, for added interest! Especially so if you are reading this. Its the least i can do!!

I really appreciate the comments and emails i get about my jewellery, website and even this blog! its nice. Its great getting to talk to you and type to you. This weekend at the All saints art and craft market a few of us are doing bits and pieces to show how we create the things we are into. So that should be quite cool. I will be bashing and cutting old spoons and forks that people bring me in an effort to transform them into something they might want! I will try my cross eyed best!

On the Hairy Growler front I am in the process of turning some lush silver coins into gorgeous tree pendants. So far they are looking nice and shiny.

At this very moment i am filling my ears with The Moldy Peaches and Kimla Dawson, so i will continue to work and maybe go to bed in the morning. Thats how it works sometimes. Other times i cant make myself jump the threshold!

ta-ra

les

Spring is around the corner and down the road a bit. But not too far.

2009-03-07T00:05:00.003Z

I have just finished this lush little tree pendant. So i thought i would take a quick pic and pop it up so you can check it out. What do you reckon? I, as usual, love it! I have hand cut it from a sterling silver 1878 silver half crown coin, which i flattened out. Definately inspired from last Sunday's walk around bourn . The leaves are a coming... My eyes are begining to sting and i am covered with glittery bits of silver which are also shinning in my eyes as i type. I must go to bed, ready to hit All Saints tomorrow. booya. I shall take this little number with me and see if it attacts anyone. In the mean time why not, yes you guessed, check out the website for new updated sections and bits and pieces. And dont forget the coins at www.luckysixpencejewellery.co.uk !!

Nitey night.

les

Glastonbury 2009 - Hairy Growler recycled jewellery is in!!

2009-03-02T20:10:00.003Z

Its that time of year, always a worry, but we are in!! Yip pip pee. So now the stress begins as i try to create and craft enough stock to have a good selection for people to choose from! I am well pleased and can't wait. In fact i might go on to www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk and see whats going down this year.

I have just finished this fork bangle. It needs polishing, but i think this will definately be a new design. I will give it a go at Glastonbury and see how it goes down. I will let you know.

be back soon.

bye

les

New spring fairy brooch. Handmade and recycled faerie jewellery. The green, ethical and eco friendly choice!

2009-02-25T20:02:00.004Z

Well that was one quick moving month! No sooner was it 2009 and a quick snow fest it is now almost spring and the clocks move back. wow. I have been wishing my life away for the past few weeks, wish for warmth and cosy toes. This new brooch is going to be my springtime amulate. I have cut this one from a 1889 sterling silver spoon bowl. Dont worry the spoon was pretty worn and lonely! The thinking fairy. I will create these to order, anytime you like! It will probably take a while to get them up loaded on to hairy growler. However, you should check out the site regularly if you can as i am now constantly (well quite often) putting new pieces on the site.

I will be doing a little Mothers Day 2009 jewellery selection this year, which is worth a wee look. I am now boring myself, so sorry!! I will get myself together, warm my nose and come up with something more interesting to read!! Or at least some more little interesting pictures of pieces i am working on, etc.

bye for now. Les.

Beautiful repurposed fork bracelets.

2009-01-31T21:14:00.004Z

It is effin-ffffreezing here at the recycling towers in Cambridge. My nose feels like a polar bears toe. Yeah i know, and it looks like one too. Check out this lovely photo sent to me by two lovely customers, Marita and Saskia. Thank you! I love it. Recycled Fork bangles They make great valentines gifts, hint, hint... Although i am sure you all have one from mew by now. :)

I was at the All Saints art and craft market in Cambridge all day today. And that was one cold cold experience. Luckily there was lots of nice people about which temporarily helped me forget that i was jibbering in the cold. In fact like i am doing now... I think its time to leave the workshop and drink coffee. I will be back soon as i have some lovely new pieces to post on the blog. Cut coin pendants, some lush pictures of a wedding cake cutter i have been working on and of course some new pieces i want to put on hairygrowler.com in time for Mothers Day, yipee.

Have a nice relaxing Sunday. Go punting on a sledge.

ta-ra

les

More repurposed antique flatware, spoons and forks for Spring 2009

2009-01-19T21:47:00.000Z

The perfect set of earrings for Feburary 14th ! and any other day really! I am loving making different birdy earrings at the moment. On the Cambridge stall i currently sell five different variations on this style of earring! If you would like to see the others do not hesitate to contact me! Butterflies on the way this month! I promise....

Happy New Year from Hairy Growler Towers!

2009-01-18T19:35:00.005Z

Well so much much for the new year resolution of keeping this little blog bang up to date! I am allowed a little leaway seeing as i have been working hard on loads of new designs!! I have also made lots of lovely new pages for the website . Within the new look pages there is lots of new pieces new for 2009. There is more coming in the next couple of weeks and days! It takes up so much time creating web pages, etc. Its quite good fun but i would rather be playing with bits of silver.

I have temporarily removed the ? quick find button until that part is updated. If you were to use it at the mo you would be missing all of the new bits and pieces! So apologies in advance if this is a pain in the bum for you!

lots of luv les.x

Something for Valentines Day? Now that is organised!

2008-12-28T23:46:00.000Z

For all of you who curse and damn me for my lack of organisation. I know, that doesnt really count because i have simple created a new fork bracelet, that happens to have hearts on it! But you cant deny that it would be a great symbol of valentines affection! Therefore, i am ulta efficient and organised. Here we go... check them out in late Janurary 2009 at http://www.hairygrowler.co.uk/ , da-da.. You have to laugh.

Handmade, recycled, fork prong, star ring!

2008-12-27T10:32:00.000Z

I hope you are all well and enjoying some relaxing family time!!! I just thought i would include a quick picture of the initial stages of an old fork being transformed into a ring!! weeee. At this point i have chopped away two prongs to use in a different setting. Of the remaining prongs, one will be chopped and used as a bezel fitting on a pendant and the other is having starts cut into it and then it will be 'turned' into a ring. A fork prong star ring! Check out a pretty poor photograph of the finished item! www.hairygrowler.co.uk/quickfindcollection/ringsselect/pages/forkring.htm

We will also upload a selection of new sterling silver coin rings on to the Lucky Sixpence Jewellery website in Janurary, which will look great! I have a nice collection of pre 1919 sterling silver English coins, gagging to be rings!

Hairy Growler Jewellery.#Blog.

I am a mad owl and i make jewellery from silver coins and spoons

A lovely new wise owl brooch for the winter... Handmade and recycled from a spoon

Wisdom & Elegance

Each one of these beautifully crafted owl brooches is handmade, totally green, completely ethical, 100 % recycled and utterly unique.

Old, unwanted antique dessert spoons are transformed using traditional hand tools and a passion for green principles and ethics.

Each owl is carefully outlined on the surface of the spoon. This is slowly and meticulously followed with a traditional jewellers piercing saw. The final shape is filed and polished to perfection. An old spoon recycled into a gorgeous, wearable brooch.

An integral and interesting part of the brooch is the antique dessert spoon from which it was cut. This simple 'donor' spoon is also given a little 'Hairy Growler' treatment. It is transformed in to an wonderful Objects D' Art which acts a lovely resting place for the

brooch when not being worn. Both are presented in a lovely box.

Leaping hare cufflinks - recycled silver sourced from old coins

Three little birds sitting in a tree... handmade and 100 % recycled from a silver coin.

Three little birds...

This beautiful little silver tree pendant has been meticulously handcrafted from a flattened sterling silver florin coin, pre 1919. These lovely old pure silver coins are fab to work with.

Handmade and recycled silver dancing vixen and jumping fox

Inspired by re-watching 'The animals of Farthing wood', i have crafted Fox and Vixen from two sterling silver florin coins. Our perception of the fox continues to evolve through the passage of time. Once viewed as cunning and sneaky they now have earned admiration and respect.

I originally designed these to be a pair of necklaces to share but i guess it makes more sense to offer them individully too!

Handcrafted in Cambridge.

Celebrate the summer and winter solstice with a recycled coin stonehenge penny pendant!

Leaves of recycled silver.

This beautiful little silver tree pendant has been meticulously handcrafted from a flattened sterling silver florin coin, pre 1919. These lovely old pure silver coins are fab to work with.

Each one of these trees is a complete pleasure to make, totally unique and completely individual. Once crafted the tree is finished with a simple mounted amethyst, garnet or star hanging freely at the bale. For added interest the 'off-cut' surrounding silver coin is included with the necklace

Hand made and recycled sterling silver hare cufflinks.

Autumn... one of my four favourite seasons. Handmade and recycled silver teaspoon tree ring.

I love autumn. Handmade and recycled jewellery designed to celebrate autumn

The Green Man throughout the seasons... Handmade and recycled from silver coins

Handmade, recycled jewellery, wedding gifts and wedding cake knives

Stonehenge and Glastonbury Festival handmade and recycled silver necklace.

The Glastonbury Festival 2011 - Decision Maker necklace - handmade and recycled.

Peace, Love & Happiness. An unusual new piece of jewellery ready for Glastonbury 2011

This beautiful new love dove necklace is crafted from one sterling silver crown coin, English and circa 1880's.

Handmade and recycled in Cambridge, England.

handmade celtic cross pendant cut from an English coin

This one pound coin design has been around for many years. It unfortunately has been relatively unnoticed. The traditional Celtic Cross is a lovely design and desrves to be noticed!

A polished (coin to the left) coin pendant is created as standard.If you would prefer the darker, matte finish (coin to right) please do not hesitate to request so after ordering.

Usually, my coin pendants are launched onwww.luckysixpencejewellery.co.uk website. This site is dedicated to handcut coins.

A lovely, original, repurposed, handcrafted pendant with a fantastic history.

hairy growler handmade jewellery using only recycled, green raw materials

An over the top guide to putting on and taking off fork bracelets and bangles.

Get jazzed up with the Queen and celebrate.

Environmentally friendly, eco-conscious, green and beautiful. Mermaid necklace recycled from an old silver coins and spoons!

Environmentally friendly, eco-conscious, green and beautiful. Mermaid earrings from old spoons!

A recycled 'bunch of flowers' earrings. Handmade and recycled from antique spoons

Handmade and recycled silver daisy chain bracelet.

Moon gazing in March....

Brian Froud inspired commission request

Green, eco-conscious, tree jewellery made from spoons! who would have thought?!

A lovely bunch of flowers... hairy growler style. (green and eco-conscious of course.)

A green leaping hare - handmade using a silver coin as the raw material.

handmade and recycled silver jewellery - tweet me.

Cute sweet heart bracelet made from a spoon.

This bracelet is finished with a small, recycled, semi-precious stone, either a garnet or amythest.

The green fields are coming...

Tag. you're mine.

Build a little bird house in your soul

How frogs fly...

Freedom fighter - love bomb

Tweet Hearts. An ethical and beautiful valentines day gift, made in Cambridge.

My little love bird...

“Useful” - a design exhibition in Norway

A recycled spoon 'tree of inspiration' brooch. Completely green and ethical jewellery

recycled and repurposed... an old antique silver dessert fork.

NEW, GREEN, ECO CONSCIOUS PRESS FEATURE

Spoon guitar.

Phew! That was a lot of Glastonbury inspired jewellery, now for my Cambridge living.

see you shroom - in september.

One unusual soup spoon - handmade and recycled jewellery

Each one of these gorgeous brooches is totally handcrafted and recycled from the 'bowl' of an unwanted, discarded, neglected antique soup spoon. Every single one is completely unique, an absolute 'one-off ' piece.

These brooches with fairies, wild magic mushrooms and woodland take a great deal of love and attention to create. All require skill, time and patients. The results are exquisite. Recycled and lush.

Included with the brooch is the soup spoon from which it was cut. This is an interesting object for the wearer and is a fab talking piece. It also acts a lovely resting place for the brooch when not being worn.

More fairies for the all new Cheeky lil pixies collection

This beautiful little fairy brooch is one of Hairy Growler's all time classics. I have been making variations of this design for over ten years. Each one produced is individually handcrafted and completely made from recycled raw materials, an old dessert spoon.

September - the picking season.

Here he is, 'green' from every conceivable angle, off to enjoy the delights of the countrycyde.

The remaining spoon is also worked upon to turn it into a gorgeous object and talking point for the wearer. It also works nicely as a little nest/home for the brooch when it is not being worn!

Original, unique, magical and completely recycled. Handmade in Cambridge.

Make a wish - thank you.

A lovely little fairy offering a star for those that deserve one. She has been handcut from an old, unwanted and severely neglected antique dessert spoon salvaged from a local charity shop.

After delicately drawing and cutting the design out from the 'bowl' of the spoon, I carefully file and polish the piece. A secure, locking brooch fitting is then fitted on the back.

Handcrafted and completely recycled.

The cheeky little tinkster - handcrafted and recycled jewellery with magic.

A polished (coin to the left) coin pendant is created as standard.
If you would prefer the darker, matte finish (coin to right) please do not hesitate to request so after ordering.