We Are Birmingham

[Miriam Rowe]

It makes a great name for a blog post, and it makes an even better name for a cause! We Are Birmingham is the name of a store that will soon be opening in downtown Birmingham (the English one, of course- not the Alabama one). The store will be selling work made by local artists- until this store came along, it was really difficult to find retail outlets for selling unique, limited edition artwork. I'm very excited to say that I'll be selling my jewellery in the shop- I think it's an absolutely great thing to be a part of! The shop is opening on November 13th, and if you will be in the Birmingham area at any point, please do go see it! If you'd like to find out more, check out their website at http://wearebham.com

I've been busy getting things ready to sell in the shop, and it's been so much fun! The past two weeks have been spent going through all of the plaster pieces and metal I had left over from my Masters, and because I don't have much of a budget to work with, I have been making a game of seeing how many pieces I can make before I have to go buy metal. I think I've done a reasonably good job so far.....

It's been great fun making pieces for the shop, and I'm hoping these sell so I can keep making more! Here are some detail shots of some of the pieces I'll be putting in to the shop:

William Morris Flower Necklace

Vintage Flower Brooch

Pink Retro Earrings

William Morris Cufflinks

So yeah, if you're in Birmingham sometime in the next two years (which is how long the lease on the shop currently is), do stop by the shop- there will be photos, paintings, prints, jewellery, and loads of other interesting things for sale, all made by people in Bham. If you can't make it to the shop but think it's a good idea and are interested in helping out, there are several interesting ways you can support the shop: http://wearebham.com/suport-the-shop

Do any of you have anything like this in your town? As far as I'm aware, this is a pretty unique thing- I know I've never been in another town that had such a concentrated interest in local artists! I'd love to hear if there are other places doing similar things in the UK or US (or any other country!)

[Yu-Ping Lin (Rainey)]

It's quite great having a discussion here!

Thank you, Miriam!

[Natalie Smith]

It sounds like you have been extremely busy!!! You've got some really great pieces. I'm sure you are not going to have any trouble selling them. I look forward to seeing them in the shop. x

[Miriam Rowe]

Thankyou! And I can't wait to see all your new work at Flux [and all your MA work at SCHMUCK- still so excited about that!] x