They keep falling… Today I’m quite excited to launch a new product – my copper cloud decorations. These came about through a challenge I set myself recently – to make something from the scrap metal on my bench.
It didn’t necessarily need to be that start of a new product range or anything I would sell. It just had to be something. I see a lot of designer/makers setting themselves challenges like this and I guess they do it to get themselves out of a rut, or to try and think differently and approach something new. I guess it’s like standing on your desk, Dead Poet Society stylee and seeing things from a different perspective.
So on the day I set myself the challenge I had a load of scrap copper on my bench. Bent bits, straight bits, curvy bits, long bits and short bits. For some reason I was drawn to some wire that had been curled round to form a loop. I hammered the loop and it looked good.
I made another loop and then another and I ended up with lots of loops in a row. For some reason it made me think of clouds so I started forming a cloud shape from the looped wire and soldered the ends together to complete the shape. I made a few this size.
They were quite small clouds and I didn’t really know what I was going to do with them but I liked them and they got a great response on my Facebook page and Instagram feed. My sister in law suggested making the clouds into a bracelet, so I got some thicker wire and made a larger one, but it didn’t work as a bracelet.
So I started forming ideas of making a cloud mobile from small clouds.
But I really liked the large clouds and decided to make more of those as they looked really good as individual pieces. I drew out a rough cloud template, annealed some lenghts of copper wire and set about making more large clouds, using the illustration as a guide.
I then started playing around with buttons and wire and came up with this idea of using raindrop shaped buttons to embellish each cloud:
Things were starting to take shape and rather than making a mobile using lots of clouds, I settled on the idea of individual hanging decorations. Here’s one of the finished ones in action:
That’s shot against my lovely sea view, but here is a better picture that shows the cloud not in silhouette. This one is hanging up in my studio window catching the light as it moves.
I made a few in this style with the twisted wire to hold the button in place but after a while I decided to alter the design and just use simple loops so that the rain drops hung on straight uninterupted lines, like this….
Each cloud is completely unique, as they are all individually hand formed and textured. I love the patina on teh copper and again each cloud is different. I want to try the couds out with vintage glass chandelier drops too, but the ones I have at the moment are too large, so I’m going to keep a look out for smaller ones.
These Copper Cloud Decorations are now available to buy in my online shop.
They’re £18 each – why not check out the listings and pick out your favourite.
I ship nationally and internationally.