That Post Christmas Day, Pre New Year Lull. 

Time to think about what we do...

Being self employed, these few days in between Christmas day and New Year leave me with a bit of a quandary. I'm not working, and that cant be right can it? Anyone in any form of retail will tell you that the run up to Christmas is incredibly stressful, that is added to ten fold when the business is your own, and then even more so when you hand make the majority of the stock, so this sudden "thumb twiddle time" is a bit of a shock. I tend to use it to plan roughly what I intend to achieve within the year. So, let me tell you about the three main ways I fill the hours of the day, well, the working hours of the day with anyway.

Firstly the Antiques and Vintage goodies. For seven years I've dealt in Antiques, Collectables and Vintage goods in Hay-on-Wye the Book town, famous for its Annual literature Festival. www.hayfestival.com  Found nestling in the Welsh borders, frankly, it's known for being a bit eclectic. We have a unit in Hay Antiques Market and I'll be honest, I LOVE IT!

I source and stock a collection of vintage and antique furniture, renovate pieces and source an array of English china, along with other items, most of all, I love the sublime characters I meet in the trade and in Hay-on-Wye itself. If Dickens was still alive and kicking, he'd find a gold seam of Characters to use in Hay. I promise to tell you about them sometime.

I also run a little design firm called Elam & Eager Fauxidermy. I make life size textile taxidermy, using vintage upholstery materials, such as Sanderson linen and welsh wools. After all what else do you do with a BSc Hons in Zoology? We've made Badgers, Black Bears, Hares, Foxes, Stags, essentially what ever takes our fancy, we'll try and have a go.

We currently only sell them at events but I think its time to move online, don't you? Each of our lovely beasties gets signed, named and dated when finished. We've sent them around the world, and I'm incredibly proud of every characterful beastie we've made in the craftorium. Each one is unique in its own right. The best bit, is when I get a photo of them proudly hung on the wall and "re-homed". It's all born out of our love of the Natural World.

Then there is Sara And Heart. With its roots in my Bespoke Handmade Jewellery Company (Sarah Elam Jewellery) that I started in 2003. We make hand made individual jewellery designs,

and under the same Design House source items for Vintage Decorative Living. We also make soft furnishings from vintage welsh wools and vintage linens. For years we've mainly attended fairs and markets in the Cardiff area with our goodies. We've just finished the well known Cardiff Christmas market, 43 days trading in the centre of the city. Hard work to say the least.

In between all of this I travel around visiting Antique Fairs, sourcing goods, gardening, cooking, renovating the house, walking the dog and doting on my niece.

Not a bad way to fill the hours of the day :-)