First taste of Turkey

It's creeping up on us you know...

Kilt pins are still flying out the door, new jewellery design masters are being made, waxes are being lost and cast and we don't know if we're on our bums or the joint between our shoulder and wrist. Ooh, cryptic.

Looking forward to getting some new jewellery designs into the set. We're all having a go at model-making and coming up with some pretty super stuff.

A small note on the shop: We're going to be open here in Carradale right up until 5pm on Christmas eve (-ish, Mike's usually around a bit later and if you find yourself in that all too familiar situation at 4.45 on the 24th December, give us a call (01583 431683) and I'm sure we can accommodate a late visit!)

This is turning into a pretty big "small note"... We'll be away until Wednesday 6th January 1010 so feel free to come and wish us a happy new year and spend some of your Christmas Pennies!

Web orders are still fine but there may be a small, wine-induced delay in sending stuff out after Christmas eve and if you find yourself worried about getting stuff on time, we can send your order via Special Delivery on request and should be good up until around the start of the Christmas week.

Now... I've been thinking about putting together a bit of a step-by-step introduction (I won't say tutorial!) to lost wax casting so you can get a feel for how it is we do what we do. In the meantime, here's a piccy of the Jewellery Workshop...

Well, I think that's enough bloggering for now. I'm off to make some more flowery, silver rings and even more importantly - a cup of coffee!

Take care and speak soon.
:)




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Right, just ignore all the enticing offers that Sandy spent hours this morning adding to our web site; the 15% discounts, the gold 'Star' bangle ( a real special), the wonderful little pendant sets.

Concentrate instead on the important things of life. THE LOGS HAVE ARRIVED.

Last seen in a messy pile in the middle of the forest, they are now neatly stacked up in our back yard and will provide 4 years worth of heat for our house and the cottages.

Sadly the driver was so quick and effecient that, unlike last time when we held all the traffic up, killed the rose and demolished the fence, I was unable to get any photos of him perched up on his crane swinging them into place because by the time I remembered how to work the camera they were all in situ. But anyway here they are and if you , too, have a bit of space, a saw, and a stove, then they are a fine investment.

Walked from Skipness to Tarbert - and back - on Sunday. Its a super path and part of the Kintyre Way. If you are holidaying down here, preferrably in one of our super cottages, the Kintyre Way is a walk that can be done in bits and pieces . Each section is unique in it's own right with all sorts of wonderful views, and the sea always around somewhere. With a little help from your friends it is easy to do the whole walk in a week, using only one base. Well worth thinking about.

Keep your eye on the site because we are chopping and changing our offers all the time. And if you are in a hurry for something just e-mail or ring to check on availability.




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Back to jewellery...

Sorry to be a bore, but I thought I should let you know that we're currently busy working on some new designs for next season but in the mean time I've added some Gold Pendant/ear stud sets to the website at a seriously tempting Christmasy Price.

The sets all come in display boxes and the pendants sit on 9ct Yellow 16" fine chains and the studs have 9ct butterflies so it's a good way to win some brownie points this Christmas.

In other news I've also added some silver kiltpins to eBay at the usual silly discounted prices (shh!)

Plus Trish has put up a rather attractive set of antique silver coffee spoons! They were made by Brook and Son (Edinburgh) and hallmarked in 1926. There's only a couple of days left on them at the time of writing this so go and grab them while you can! They really are pretty special.


Keep checking our jewellery site , kilt pin site and back here at the blog for all the exciting updates! :S


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What ghastly weather but then again it is November; I judge a good summer on the number of times I go in swimming (5 last summer, well below average) and a good November on the number of times I can get into the garden. Twice this November, probably average.

So what better to do than to spend the week-end plastic-ing (sic) the workshop floor. Most of it had been done before, but there was a large chunk of ancient cement under the work benches which was just the place to lose diamonds, gold ear studs, sprues etc etc. So we look forward to a huge rise in profits now that we don't actually lose half our stock. Making jewellery is an unbelievably dirty job , despite the fact that we collect as much of our dust as we can seeing as how it's full of wee bits of silver , and this was a great excuse to give the whole place a thorough going over.

It's a ghastly job involving primers and top coats and lethal mixtures of different components which are all stirred together like mad ( me and the Stanley drill) then shoved on the floor as quickly as possible (Mike). All went pretty well apart from a few bubbles, and (sadly for the gang who had been hoping for the morning off) it was dry enough to walk on this morning. So our work will just be better and cleaner than ever.

And the Monday morning cleaner (me) will have a much pleasanter job!












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Well on top of things

Surely the aim of every manufacturer is to dispatch orders instantly. In thirty five years in the buiss I've rarely cracked it - but sometimes we do. And today is one of them, well almost.
Don't worry it cannot last!
And what about the weather. We seem to be catching the lot at the moment. The fields in front of the house always seems to be flooded - poor sheep and cows. It's the sad time of the year when you walk the dog in the dark, spend the day at work in the 'light', and walk the dog at the end of the day in the dark..
Starting to work on the new designs for the Spring show in Glasgow. A few more Kilt Pins (and a few of the less catchy ones out), New pendants and ears, looking good at the moment. loads of work to do. We thought CAD CAM would be helping us by now but the problems seem never ending and there is little doubt it is better value to make masters by hand. But not totally lost faith and we will have another crack at it soon.
Cricky, it's time for Spooks!



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This is our log supply for the next 4 years. Forest Enterprise sell odd piles of logs from round and about for a very reasonable price; they get delivered to the back yard ( a very complicated business involving holding up the traffice, demolishing fences and killing my favourite rose ,Dublin Bay, ) but it's worth it. Keeps Mike busy sawing and chopping, keeps the house and the cottages cosy, and of course helps dry the clothes on the pulley.

We went and admired our logs on a splendid frosty morning last week-end with cracking views of Arran and discovered yet another new forest road for walks.

Today they should be delivered - more dramatic, and hopefully less blurry, photos to follow!

Got some nice offers on our web pages for Christmas, so do be tempted. The price of gold whizzes up by the hour but these prices are fixed till Christmas, so good value.

Seems that yet again they are muttering about opening the gold mine at Tyndrum. There is no doubt that there is plenty of gold in them thar hills - our panning instructor from the Leadhills says he's very successful up there - so perhaps we will be making rings from Argyll gold in the near future.








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GRANTS FOR PULLEYS!!!

When Heather the Weather gaily says there will be showers, what she really means at the moment is that there will monsoon- like downpours interspersed with very noisy hail. The glen is sodden, everyone's rooves are leaking, and we are having such a job getting the cottage sheets dry (6 changeovers in the last 10 days).

So - three cheers for the pulley. Put in when we installed our fabulous , clean, wood-burning stove it is our saviour and EVERYONE should have one. If the Government were really serious about this global warming nonsense they would supply them free. Sandy's eccentric parents have theirs on the upstairs landing. GRANTS FOR PULLEYS is to be my campaign for 2010.

Claud (my new bike) and I had a damp wee trip up the glen before work to check out the new electricity sub-station. More expense to get expensive power from expensive subsidised wind farms when with all this rain we could each have our own hydro scheme. Anyway, we noticed that the ring ouzels that were here last week, and who always flock in at this time of year, have migrated south and all we saw was a nice little tree creeper.

After 28 years of my trusty Falcon tourer I have a very ambiguous relationship with Claud, No his chain doesn't fall off when the wood lorries go by, and his gears aren't stuck in second, and he looks gorgeous. But I am very loyal and I look at my last nameless bike left alone in the shed and feel really really mean. Perhaps we'll have an official wake.

Busy now organising a super OFFER for those who have bought on our internet site over the last few months. So buy something quickly and you can get the next bitty 15% off.





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Well, Mike spent a good hour last night writing you all a wonderful newsy blog and, guess what? Yes, it evaporated into the ether. So if you find it tucked in among your e-mails please please post it. it would make him very happy.

Got our hugest order ever off on Thursday; living down here, couriers aren't a serious option so we have to depend on the post which is USUALLY superb. However this latest erratic strike arrangement is very hard on wee businesses like ourselves. We are doing our best using Special delivery, e-mail and BACS and inevitably will not revert back in the future if we can avoid it. Shooting yourselves in the foot or what? And what do you do when customers say they haven't got goods because of the strike, and you have proof you sent them? Lose money or lose the customer. Certainly don't expect the Post Office to find the parcel for you.

English school holidays still and all the cottages full; poor souls, the weather was ghastly. Two attempts to visit the relations on Arran were thwarted as the ferry was off, and now it's stopped for the season. However everyone was very brave and said they were having a wonderful time. The gang at work are revving up for Hallowe'en and a big fancy dress party up at the Hotel so lets hope the rain and gales forecast aren't too bad.

Green Archie's rocker switch for the lights has gone wonky - it just never ends!





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A splendid week away down in Oxfordshire on a Canal Boat.Done boats many times before, such a contrast to West Coast life. Went down the Thames to Abingdon, what a treat. Would you belive it but it was all so peaceful and tranquil. Last night in Blackpool - don't ask! My idea and I would not have missed it for the world, but not that tempted back.
And back to Wallis Hunter on Monday morning. The gang, as ever, have been terrific. Sandy even cleaned his bench. Thanks all of you.
The shop has died, earlier than last year. Bit of a shame because it looks so good. Strange how different ranges go at different times of the year. The higher metal prices don't seem to detract. We always try to keep prices as low as possible on the grounds that visitors will only be in once. If they go away without a fair deal they sure will not be back next week.
Glasgow museums have a range of McIntosh Jewellery. We claim to be the last of the original producers still in production? Still, it is Scottish produced McIntosh. But good effort by them as we do seem to be selling quite a lot.
And do I hear that it looks as though bits of RBS are to be palmed of under EU competition rules. Well it would look bloody great if Campbeltown branch were included and it went to Tesco. After all these years in our love hate relationship I would have to move. I hate Tesco so much.
And YES we do need the fish farm in Carradale if we have a cat in hells chance of keeping jobs here and not letting Carradale become a retirement home.



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Ah, the saga of the washing machine. After we waited 10 days for the 'engineer' to arrive from Tarbert - via Crianlarich because a landslide had blocked the road - he told us he could find nothing wrong but would change a few critical bits anyway, and off he went.

It still didn't work properly.

Another half hour press button 1,2,3 etc call to Hotpoint who said they would send a new machine.

Which arrived another 10 days later

So here is Trolley doing it's bit, removing the old new machine before the new new machine is fitted.

....and it works!

Anything to make our holiday cottages that bit better.

And we are working on a super new web site for the cottages; Sandy has been taking photos, and Steve is planning the site, and Mike has been giving sound advice. Book on line and all the modern gizmos, you just won't be able to resist a short break in Carradale




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