Julia Rothman

New York based designer Julia Rothman is the latest guest blogger on Design*Sponge this week - check out this interesting post about how to make a repeat pattern.

But it reminded me of one of her prints that I'd been eyeing up - I'd completely forgotten who it was by until I saw her name again in print. Funny thing, the brain!

A piece of history

My Nan is the keeper of this little piece of family history which I'm totally fascinated and thrilled by.

Both my mom and dad's family come from Ireland. Although my Dad's side moved away several generations ago, my mom's family are still there - she and her immediate family moved to England when she was 9. My mom was born in Dublin, but my Nan was born and raised in Cork, where her father (my Great grandfather) James Walsh was a political activist.

As a political activist he was imprisoned by the English on Spike Island off the coast of Cork. Whilst there, he made a few pieces of jewellery of which this Tara brooch is one - fashioned from an English coin.


Across the top, on the front of the brooch there's an inscription which we believe is a Gealic word (einead?) followed by the location and date (Spike Island, 1921?).


The back of the brooch still displays the coins year at the bottom (1903?) and most hauntingly, the image of Britannia with her staff at the top which has been doctored to look more skeletal.


He apparently made more items which my nan's sisters were given but this is the only one that I have seen.

My nan remembers visiting her father at Spike Island when she was roughly 10 years old but doesn't remember how long he was actually held for or any other details. I got in contact with the Cork Public Museum to try and find out more and received the following information:

"Prisoners were renown for making some jewellery from coins, Irish Harps from animal bones or macramé bags. Macramé is a skilful art created by knotting pieces of thread and strings together. As your great grandfather was imprisoned on Spike Island, it is most likely he was anti-treaty during the civil war and therefore had alot of free time on his hands. Making items like the aforementioned was a way of passing the time.

If your great grandfather was interned in 1921, it would mean he was arrested by the British during the War of Independence. I do not know when exactly he was arrested but he would have been released in December 1921 when the British authorities released all IRA prisoners as part of the terms of the Treaty.

I did come across a handwritten record of the signatures of all those who took part in a Hunger Strike from August 30th to September 3rd 1921. A "James Walsh" from Cork City took part and he was located in Block A Room 18.

As for the brooch, "einead" could be an old Irish word for companionship. I am not sure why spike became "spice" but it could have been a mistake or simply a space issue. I can not identify the coin from the photo but hopefully I have given you some answers to your questions."

Who's going to feed the cat?

We spent the morning at our first antenatal class today which means I'm now having to reluctantly enter the world of realisation. I was quite enjoying my stay in ignorance too. The brochures are true, it is bliss.

I'm sure you're actually meant to come away from these things feeling much better and at ease with the whole process of childbirth but I actually came out more anxious than I was to start off with (that would probably be down to my stay in ignoranceville).

I'd originally just been focusing on the pain and how I'd cope with that, but I'm starting to think that I should actually be focusing on staying calm and at ease and that in turn, that will help me deal with the pain.

So now I'm considering a home birth! Purely for the potential calming benefits.

I'd never even contemplated this for a second before, and I might even change my mind again by the morning, but right now it's a whole new perspective.

Why I love Dooce

I'll have to remember this one...

"Three whole hours of nipple twiddling"

Laura Baxter jewellery

I came across this gorgeous necklace a while ago on Twig. It's not just the leaf form that appeals but also the oxidized shade and use of a coloured necklace (i love reds & oranges).
I loved it enough to go on a search of this Laura Baxter person to find out more and came across her website which was a bit of a disappointment, so having gone back recently I'm excited to see there's a new one on it's way.

If I remember correctly from the original site (which is now down) Laura Baxter is a UK based jewellery designer. I've also read that she makes wall panels and decorative items using these same botanical themes so I'm even more excited to see what this new site is going to offer. I just love these leaf forms and looking at the holding page that's there at the minute it looks like there's going to be more of that to oggle at.
yum yum yum

#@!*

I've just spent the last hour and a half measuring, drilling, filing, sawing and sanding a piece of silver only to drop it down a gap in the floorboards.

deeeeeeep breath

A new day a new resin piece

Well, it's a gorgeous Friday morning - my official day of the week to spend at my work bench. It's Spring, the sun is shining, I have my coffee, the baby's keeping me company by beating me up on the inside and I'm ready to go.

Last week I made a new pendant which I'm really happy with so today I hope to get it finished, photographed and listed on Etsy. Here's a sneak preview...


There seems to be preference for bright summery colours at the moment so I'm moving away from the original brown and creams I've been using in favour of these more vibrant colours. Red is my favourite colour too so I really love this one.