I cannot believe that it is now some 35 years since I first picked up a Pyrography tool and decided that this was the craft for me! Admittedly, I struggled for a while but soon learnt that good quality wood was a must (mainly sycamore although beech, hornbeam, lime or cherry is great) and it was a case of trial and error! I also invested in a better quality Pyrography machine that could control th
e amount of heat - bliss! Looking back at my earlier efforts I cringe but as time has gone on, I think I have improved although I am ever looking at improving further. In the early days I attended craft fairs, steam rallies and shows selling a large range of gift and kitchen ware. If there was electricity I could personalise as customers waited and this proved a great success. I continued with shows for many years as I was able to fit it around my family but as they left the nest I decided a change was needed and I went back to work full time for about five years leaving my pyrography as a hobby. Redundancy and poor health saw me spending more time at home and that’s when I decided to concentrate on personalised wedding keepsakes. I had always made horseshoes for the shows I attended and they often were the first things to sell out so it made sense! I introduced new colours - I used all white originally as it was so neutral but I was finding customers asked for ivory more and more. Different designs were introduced then I started thinking of different types of bridal keepsakes, spoons, hearts and rolling pins were introduced. Then some lovely lady asked for an anniversary keepsake - I thought I would try that and it proved very successful. One of the brides I made a horseshoe for gave birth and her Mum wanted something to commemorate the birth so that’s how the birth plaques started. My lovely customers have been such a help in my range developing and I thank them all! I now sell solely online and have my own website www.blackberryweddingdesignsandkeepsakes.com or can be found here on Facebook or Etsy
The next stage is to introduce more personalised gifts not just for weddings but for all occasions and over the next few months I hope to be able to share these new products with you
