Saloukee's Blog

Some time to take stock of life and business …

saloukee — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:17:29 +0000

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind of a year and sometimes it’s nice to sit and allow yourself to realise that despite often feeling like you’re just fighting fires … that actually somewhere along the away some things were achieved. I wanted to take stock of some of the things in my business and my personal life that happened to me this year and write them down as a record to look back on and smile about:

IN BUSINESS:

* I had my first book published and in its first 6 weeks sold nearly 900 copies

Signed copies now available online at saloukee.com

* I sold my work to The National Portrait Gallery as stock for their gallery shop

* I undertook 2 full day workshops teaching teachers new techniques in the manipulation of paper, not a small feat!

* I accepted a position as a visiting tutor at the School of jewellery, Birmingham

* I had record numbers of sales to customers for First year wedding anniversary gifts for their loved ones

* I did nearly 500 demonstrations of hand weaving and knitting with paper yarn to over 60 primary school children, on my own over the course of 8 days!

* I was asked to be a short course tutor of ‘Making sculpture paper jewellery’ a course that I wrote and designed myself for West Dean College, Chichester

* I launched a new website with the skills of my web designer Matt and learnt Dreamweaver and HTML in the process

* I got my very own Mac and learnt to love it pretty quickly

* I single handedly launched two new online shops on Boticca and on Saloukee.com

* I reached over 600 followers on Twitter and over 400 on Facebook

* I designed and made private commissions to several special clients worldwide

* I sent copies of my book to my old high school teacher (as a thank you for his guidance in my career) and to my aunty whose husband proof read my first chapter but died during the writing the following of the chapters (the book is dedicated in his memory).

* I had my work published in a portfolio book and selected to be published in 3 other books due out in 2012, as well as other press worldwide

* I managed to get to number one and two in Google when typing ‘paper jewellery’ and number four when typing ‘Sarah Kelly’ – I’ve still not managed to pip a very famous American contemporary christian singer/artist with the same name :-/

Google ranking for 'Paper Jewellery' 16.12.11

IN LIFE:

* I saw my best friend become a mummy after being such a beautiful pregnant lady

* I was in turn then asked to be a Godmother to her very beautiful little girl who I love so much already

* I finally made the move out of home – yippee!

* I had to go in to hospital for the first time in my life, so I quickly dealt with my fear of all things medical. I had two operations with two general anaesthetics and morphine in the space of a month … I survived both but I’m three wisdom teeth down : -/

* I then decided to commit to a studio in the Big smoke, where I would base Saloukee HQ from … beginning January ’12 : )

Papered Parlour studio

* I moved in with the boy of my dreams

* I surfed in Hebridean waters on the day of the Royal wedding with my two brothers and stood up several time, it wasn’t until later in the summer in Biarritz that I finally felt what it was like to catch a ‘real wave’

* I ran over three miles none stop for the first time in my life without collapsing!

* I swam 100 lengths in under 48 minutes and raised over £200 for Marie Curie nurses

* I made maiden voyages to Norway, Ireland and Greece for the first time where I caught mackerel, drank Guiness and scuba dived

Norway, summer 2011

* I learnt to snowboard and even managed to get over the fear of the button lift and of turning … my first road trip in a borrowed motorhome will see in our New Year : )

* I went to my first wedding abroad

* I watched my big brother pass his PGCE, move out for good and become a real life teacher – god bless those 7 year olds!

* I was able to see my little brother and his wife move back to England from the Outer Hebrides after many years of strength in such solitude

* I saw friends fall in and out of love, marry, fall pregnant and get very grown up

… and all in all I came to the end of it feeling happy with where I came from … and I wanted to leave on this note … this is something I wrote for a blog on starting up a business some time ago which still feels poignant and relevant to business and life every time I read it …

“Be flexible, take every opportunity that comes your way, don’t be knocked by those that don’t believe in what you do or simply don’t get ‘it’- there’s enough people out there that will, learn to take criticism and not be offended, learn to laugh when you want to cry, surround yourself with positive people, take time for yourself, be passionate and open to new inspiration, love your friends and family more than ever…they will be the ones to help you through when times are tough. Be stubborn, vigilant and confident in your product and quite simply don’t ever give up…it will happen if you’re determined enough!”

Hoping for exciting, new prospects in 2012 … just you watch this space!

Best Christmassy wishes, Sarah and Saloukee ; ) x

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saloukee — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 10:55:08 +0000

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It’s #BLACKFRIDAY we’re offering #free

saloukee — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 09:16:13 +0000

It’s #BLACKFRIDAY we’re offering #freeshipping on ALL orders until midnight, Sunday, type #TFIFRIDAY at checkout : ) x http://ow.ly/7EIkp

Saloukee jewellery …. on trend for 2011

saloukee — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:33:09 +0000

Saloukee jewellery took itself to Olympia Exhibition Centre last month for the Autumn/Winter Top Drawer – The UK’s leading event for design led fashion and lifestyle gifts. We were lucky enough to be involved on a project with Interior Lifestyle Futures who promote design and innovation from within the West Midlands. Saloukee were one on 12 companies to exhibit on the stand amongst some very talented designers including:

Plant and Moss

Nubu England

Charlotte Hughes Martin

It was a really enjoyable show and proved itself very worthwhile for all involved. Saloukee have a couple of projects and new suppliers in the pipeline, but watch this space for updates.

It was exciting too to be selected by Trend Bible to be featured in their trend guide for the event. Trend Bible bring accurate and relevant insider information on new seasons trends. They put together some beautiful displays at the show and also created a mini trend guide for attendees to take away with them and also to help them navigate the show whilst keeping in mind the trends for the upcoming seasons.

Saloukee jewellery were excited to have three pieces of our paper jewellery included in the Utilitarian trend. A trend which in part is nostalgic and traditional but is more about refocused, recontextualised design. Craftsmanship is key with casual, tonal colours that suggest one-off designs.

Saloukee Top Drawer feature- Image Courtesy of Trend Bible

For the Utilitarian trend feature, products were displayed on uniformed wooden boxes to enhance the paired down feel and utility styling of this trend, right up our street. More news from the world of Saloukee … coming soon x

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saloukee — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:55:05 +0000

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To ambition, to vision, to the future and to success …

saloukee — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:41:30 +0000

Following finishing my book earlier on this summer, it was really quite strange not to have such a large project to work on. Don’t get me wrong it was a great relief to know that I had finally come to the end of the writing, checking, checking again, sending and then re-reading, but after the relief, I’ve felt a little lost. After expending such a lot of energy into something that I had so much passion for and was so determined to stay enthusiastic about until the end, it was quite some feat to come out the other end with a retained amount of boundless creativity for a new project. In all honesty it’s really taken me the rest of the summer to really redefine what it is I want for my business going forward and how I will reach the true ambitions I have harboured all along.

Of course as predicted I spent much more time dedicated to the book than I thought I ever would when undertaking the commission but me being the perfectionist that I am, I just wasn’t going to let any of it fall below the standard I wished and hoped it could achieve. With that in mind, I really realise that the rest of my business has ultimately taken a patient back seat whilst I fulfilled a lifetime goal of having my own words, creative thoughts and visual published in a book with my very own name on the front.

My 'paper jewellery' book now available for pre-order on Amazon! Including work from some of my design heros: Wendy Ramshaw, Rob Ryan, Jum Nakao and Nel Linssen.

As I come out of the other side, realising that I am no longer carrying the heavy burden of any more editing, photographing, emailing, writing, styling, decision making, I can see that I can now actually give my business the attention that it deserves. The one strange thing is that somehow the burden had seemed even heavier at the finish for other reasons.

With all these thoughts in my mind and my ever over-thinking brain working in overdrive I decided it was time for a designer clear out, of my office, my paperwork and ultimately my head…all of which I find happen in sync whilst undertaking the activities as one. I wanted to revisit what it was I set out to do in 2008 when Saloukee first came into being. To reestablish my values in my own head and focus on what will really take Saloukee to where it deserves to be. So with this is mind I wanted to record my findings as reference and commitment to my both myself and my business.

so … Sarah’s values for Saloukee and herself:

To pursue my creativity though my business
To continue to innovate within my designing
To challenge myself and my concepts through problem solving
To maintain the highest quality of output in my products
To continue to be determined and conscientious in all I do
To achieve measurable success and be proud of it
To articulate my visions and work intelligently
To endeavour to always learn and expand my knowledge

So just a couple to keep me going there! I also decided to do some looking and taking note of those who inspire me, whose companies I admire and whose achievements I could aspire to. The obvious choice for me was the amazing portfolio of work created by the ingenious Zoe Bradley. Her sculptural creations using traditional tailoring techniques in paper are to die for. With Liberty, Alexander McQueen, Vogue, Missoni and Tiffany’s all on her client list, why would I not dream of such things! Here’s some little trinkets of inspiration for us all to ogle…

www.zoebradley.com

So with these thoughts, I sign off feeling optimistic and happy that I actually gave myself time to have one of my ‘creative rambles’ (ie. vents) and write a blog entry.

Here’s to new, exciting things and focused vision

With best wishes,

Sarah x

Saloukee at Top Drawer 11-13th September 2011…

saloukee — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:59:16 +0000

Come and meet Saloukee’s creative director Sarah kelly and her new jewellery creations at Top Drawer on stand Q28 at Olympia this weekend. The event with showcase the most beautiful selection of design-led gifts and fashion accessories. Entrance is FREE is you register online before the event.

We hope to see you there!

Love Saloukee x

Saloukee’s lovely new website…

saloukee — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 11:24:28 +0000

Did you know that we have a beautiful new website… cleaner, fresher and cleverer than before! Check it out to see our latest designs, press, news and more…

updates to follow soon… x

Spring is here and time for some fresh ideas…

saloukee — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:51:36 +0000

It’s now officially Spring and this time of year always seems to bring a little more optimism to people when the sun is shining outside when you wake up in the morning.

Spring on 'emedemarta' blog

At the start of this year I’d found myself buried for months in my book … with some days feeling like I made giant steps… and other days feeling like I’d made no progress at all but I persevered and now I see light at the end of the tunnel. For most of the process it has been a pleasure. To work with 5 very talented designers, from product, textile and educational backgrounds has been eye opening and I hope I’m correct when speaking on their behalf, to say that it’s been a steep and welcomed learning curve for everyone involved.

I always dreamed of writing a book. Yet I can’t say I ever thought it would grace my path, at this stage of my career and at the age of 27. Quite surreal to think that I’ll be an author by the age of 28 … not that it hasn’t aged me more quickly in the process!

book writing-editing-changing

But after having many ‘full-on’ day of reading, editing, checking, changing then changing back again, writing and then rewriting and then writing some more, I find it strange that I often crave a little bit of light relief by writing my a blog entry! …

But really I wanted to write this blog as a bit of visual light relief. It’s great to have a nose around some other blogs and see what inspires and takes your fancy…and these are just a few little beauties that have caught my eyes in recently…

Joji Kojima On 'A Thousand Facets' Blog

ORISHIKI Suitcase found on Behance network

A Parisian Tale on design dautuore

Ropes by Christian Haas on Pleat Farm

Hina Aoyama Paper cuts on Upon a Fold

and watch my new inspirations come to ‘light’ with my new collaborative work with designer Hannah Stockham, we will be showing our work in a showcase hosted and organised by Make:Space in April, join our Facebook or newsletter for more details.

With love and good fortune, Saloukee x

Keep updated with Saloukee…

saloukee — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:34:51 +0000

why not sign up to our newsletter HERE for all the inside gossip, our future plans and latest news on Saloukee…

: Saloukee newsletter

With love, Saloukee x