A week ago I got a lovely email out of the blue from a lady who had been to a talk I had given at Cambridge Contemporary Crafts a couple of years ago. She had been watching Great British Railway Journeys – Series 5 – Episode 2 Stockport to Leyland and had spotted one of my pendants being worn by curator Erin Beeston. The curator of Samuel Crompton’s home Hall i’ th’ Wood, she had been speaking to Michael Portillo about the invention of the Spinning Mule in 1779 that had revolutionised the Cotton industry in Bolton. I of course got straight onto iplayer and here is how my pendant looked:

As the pendant is in a large size that I rarely make now, I know that it was purchased from maker Tracey Birchwood at her studio in Manchester Craft and Design Centre. Tracey very kindly stocks a wide range of my jewellery as well as panels and other designs of mine.

It’s always nice when someone gets in touch regarding work they’ve spotted or something they’ve bought, because they are doing so because they want to and not because they have to – this makes those emails very special.

I also got an email a few days prior to this from a lady who had bought some of my Almanac Gallery Christmas cards after Christmas because she liked the designs so much – she just wanted to let me know.

“Just to let you know that I came across your Christmas card at Salt’s Mill, Saltaire, yesterday, and I thought it was lovely. So I bought two, even though Christmas is over!”