First Post

Well here goes.... my first post, a bit like the first page in a new sketchbook!

I suppose I should start by introducing myself. My name is Islay Spalding and I am a jewellery designer and maker based in Broughty Ferry, Scotland. I studied Jewellery and Metalwork at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design graduating in 2005 with a Bachelor of Design Honours. I am now living back with my (very supportive!) parents in Broughty Ferry while I try and making a living out of my jewellery. I play the side drum with the Tayforth UOTC Pipes and Drums and have recently joined the MacKenzie Caledonian Pipe Band. This will be my first year playing with a competing pipe band since I started university and I'm really excited about getting out to all the contests and (hopefully!) winning lots! I also play the fiddle which came in really handy throughout my student years. Thanks to the people of Dundee it meant I didn't have to get a job, I went busking instead!

The aim of this blog is mainly to let people see what goes into creating the jewellery I make. I find it so interesting to see other jewellers workshops and how they work and I'm assuming other people do to. It's also a diary for myself, I used to keep a diary but now I feel I never have time and when I do I can't be bothered. I'm also very fussy about the kind of notebook I like to write a diary in and have yet to find the perfect one. Even if I did I would probably change my mind or decide I wanted a different pen! I suppose I've got very used to typing on my computer as well. I have an apple macbook and it is my baby, it makes me really enjoy using a computer and even inspired me to learn HTML to build my own website. The internet still amazes me, I don't know how I would go about doing what I do without it. Another aim of this blog is simply to get me writing more, something which I've never been much good at. I've always found it really hard to find the word or way of putting things I'm looking for out of my head and down onto paper or out of my mouth, but practice makes perfect!

I think that's all for now, I will post some photos of the jewellery I'm working on tomorrow, once my camera battery is charged!