Quernus has a new online home!

15th November 2016

Well, the time had to come one of these days! I've now launched a brand new website for Quernus, which has everything under one roof - info, shop, blog, events - the whole shebang!

Here's the link to the new site, which is just the same website address as you've been used to over the years:

www.quernuscrafts.co.uk

This move has been a long time coming, really - I started this blog way back in 2009 primarily as a way of charting my creative journey after I gave up my job as a lawyer. Since then, I've tweaked this blog to within an inch of its life, I've set up lots of social media sites, as well as a separate shop, and I've basically used this blog as a signpost to give people the information they need about all things Quernus. I'll leave the Blog Archive here (just on the right hand column) so you can still browse through all my past posts - there are some interesting things in there!

I'll also leave the link to the Feedback page for all historical feedback - I've now got a new Guestbook page over on the new website if you want to leave comments :)

The first wee creature I ever made was Pigling - and the Quernus wee creatures have come a long way since then! My technique has improved with the making of thousands of wee creatures since then, although the style has stayed remarkably true to itself :)  It's good to reflect on the journey I've been on, and the move to a new website is the start of another wonderful chapter!

Pigling the First - made 23 July 2009

Little Millefiori Armadillo - made 10 November 2016

See you over on the new website!

Quernus has a new home!

15th August 2016
After 7 years working from home, I've now moved into separate workshop studios. I've charted the whole process in pictures on Facebook, and I've also made a short video tour (about 1 min 30 seconds), which you can watch here.

I'm based in a turn-of-the-century factory in Rochdale (near Manchester), just north of the city centre. It's quite a landmark, even though I only have a very small section of it, buried in the ground floor next to the loading bay! But it's perfect for me and Zeus - there are plenty of lovely walks near by and I'm very much enjoying exploring a new part of the world again.

I have a purple front door! This tickles me no end :)

Part of cycle path 92 just next to my workshop. Gorgeous!

After a few weeks of unpacking and sorting things out, I'm now back in the swing of things, and tickets will be going on sale shortly for the next events (a Penguin Mini SQE on Tuesday 16th August and SSQE #7 on Monday 29th August, both at 9pm BST). I'm so inspired in my new space and I can't wait to get started! (For more information about how these events work, see the How to Buy page.)

And here are some of the first wee creatures to hatch in my new workshop - these Little Pastel Daisy Penguins appeared in my shop yesterday as Random Creature Listings, and were sold out in a few minutes! Just as well I have so many more ideas bubbling away for RCLs, as well as to the events ;)

I have created a separate photography studio in my workshop where I can take photos of the wee creatures using a Lightcase, which I've had for a few years since their crowdfunding campaign, but which I've never had the space to use before. It's wonderful, and with the natural daylight bulbs and IKEA worklamps, I now have the ideal set up!

And of course, my workshop wouldn't be my workshop without Zeus, who has been my constant companion for over two and a half years, and we're spending even more time together now, because there aren't any coffee shops nearby!

Quernoholics Anonymouse!

19th February 2016

Following the success of the secret Facebook group I have set up just for the Super Secret Quernus Events (see How to Buy for more details), I have now set up a larger Facebook group which anyone can join called Quernoholics Anonymouse :) This is a group for fans of the wee creatures, and is a great place to post pictures of your collections, display ideas, have a chat with fellow fans, ask me questions and make suggestions. At the time of writing, there are over 260 members and dozens of photos posted - it's a lovely place to hang out!

Creature Events - The Conclusion

18th January 2016
Happy New Year! I hope you've all had a relaxing time over the festive period, and you've kept safe and warm (or cool, depending on where in the world you are!)

After my last post, I've now had a chance to review how the Random Creature Listings worked in the run up to Christmas, compared to the Creature Events, and I've had some wonderful feedback from you all - thank you!

Creature Events - A Review

Jane Austen Mouse reviewing the Creature Events

18th November 2015

First of all, I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has adopted a wee creature during these Events, and for making each of them a total sell out, usually within an hour of opening my shop. It really means a lot to me that you love the wee creatures as much as I do!

A chance to win the REAL Loch Ness Monster!

Loch Ness Monster spotted again!

29th August 2015

On 13th September 2015, a very special event is taking place in Loch Ness - a group of 6 swimmers will be swimming the full length of Loch Ness in relay, all 24 miles of it. One of those swimmers, Enrique Flores, is a good friend of mine, and he is raising money for COBI (Comunidad Y Biodiversidad Asociación Civil), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the conservation of marine biodiversity in coastal communities of Mexico. For more information about this amazing challenge, click here.

How to make miniature knitting

Little Knitting Mice

7th March 2015

It really is starting to feel like Spring in Leeds - the wind has lost its biting chill for the first time, and the snowdrops and crocuses are coming out in force! But even though it's warming up, the creatures have been having a lot of fun with trying their hand at knitting!

Happy Valentine's Day!

7th February 2015

Well, no sooner has Christmas disappeared from sight than Valentine's Day is on the horizon ;) Of course, this has been a lot of fun for me, as I've been playing around with new creature designs for the big day itself.

Christmas....only 37 days away!

Tiny Angel Star Mice

17th November 2014
So I'm not quite sure where this year has gone, but if you come across it on your travels, can you let me know?!

How to make a miniature polymer clay carved hollow pumpkin

12th October 2014

I've been having such a lot of fun making Halloween creatures this year - so many ideas, so little time! One of the designs I've had the most fun with has been the Pumpkin creatures - I've made Mice, Polar Bears, Bunnies, Penguins and Dragons, all perched happily in their own pumpkins! 

A chance to win Little Bath Tub Mouse AND feel warm and fuzzy!

Little Bath Tub Mouse

28th February 2014

As most of you know, I adopted an elderly rescue dog, Zeus, some 6 weeks ago. He'd been at the Liverpool branch of the RSPCA for nearly 2 years, having been the subject of a cruelty case, which the RSPCA won last year. He'd been overlooked many times simply because of his age, which is such

Love is in the air

Valentine Penguins

2nd February 2014
Happy belated New Year! The past month I've been taking some time out to work out the best way forward for Quernus, after what was by all accounts a rather manic period in the run up to Christmas.

You can read about the changes I've made to how I work, and also check out the new and improved FAQs. You'll also notice a slight change to the design of my website and shop.

2013...the year so far

7th November 2013
Crikey, it's been a while since I last posted! This year has been absolutely manic, and looks set to continue that way until Christmas at least! It's been a year of change, new ideas, new directions, big learning curves - and above all, FUN!

Some thoughts on selling at events

At Stonyhurst Spring County Fair 6 & 7 April 2013

8th April 2013
I had a wonderful time at the Stonyhurst Spring Country Fair at Stonyhurst College near Clitheroe at the weekend. It was great to have a weekend away in lovely surroundings, excellent food and accommodation, and even better company! OK, so sales over the course of the weekend weren't great for me, but I still  felt that the weekend as a whole was a great success, both personally and professionally.

Mini Guinea Pigs!

23rd January 2013
A new wee creature has arrived in the Quernus menagerie - the Mini Guinea Pig! Up until now, I have made guinea pigs on commission, and they have been fairly large at about 8cm long, with textured fur, like these three commissioned by Erika in Denmark.

Quernus Christmas Sale!

28th December 2012
After the excitement of the Country Living Fair, followed by a rather large number of Christmas orders, the Quernus creatures have finally had a chance to put their paws up and have a large glass of Baileys to celebrate Christmas! And they want to continue the celebrations with their very first Christmas sale - for a limited time only, you can adopt a Quernus creature for 20% off the normal price! This sale will last as long as the wee creatures do (there are only a limited number of each design) - once they're sold, that's it for another year! The sale will end on 31st January 2013.

The Quernus Christmas Sale is happening over in my shop, and is for all Christmas creatures (and Christmas cards) still looking for a home.

To claim this discount, simply enter CHRISTMAS20 (make sure you use all capitals) when going through the checkout process. The discount can only be used against those items bought from the Sale section.

Happy New Year, everyone!

And the winner is....

31st October 2012
I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered the competition to come up with a phrase to be printed on this Santa Teacup Mouse's placard. With nearly 100 brilliant entries, I was definitely spoiled for choice, but one suggestion pipped the others to the post with its originality, quirkiness and brevity (which was quite important given the size of the placard!) So, a big congratulations to SAM for coming up with the winning entry - "MERRY KISSMOUSE" :) This wee mouse will be heading off to live with you very soon!

There were several entries that deserve a mention too - there were so many wonderful suggestions, I was just blown away by your inventiveness and wit! Here are some of my favourites:

"Mousie mistletoe kisses £1.00" - Nina J.
"Keep Calm and Be Merry" - Courtney Y.
"Please stop here, Santa" - Pamela B.
"Santa's Little Helper" - Alisha M, Honey Daze
"Santa Paws: The Mouse Before Christmas" - Lemur Lady

Many thanks once again to everyone who took the time to enter - I had so much fun reading all your ideas, and the mice had a good chortle as well! I will be selling a limited number of these special Merry KissMouse Mice in the run up to Christmas, and if anyone wants to reserve one (price £23 plus shipping), just drop me a line.

Competition time!

8th October 2012
This Christmas, I will be doing a limited edition Santa Teacup Mouse! This wee mouse has a lovely Santa hat on and is perched in a festive green tea cup, but he just doesn't know what his placard should say! Can you help him?

Wedded Bliss Part 2

Teapot Mice

4th October 2012

In the second part of my series of articles about the wedding cake toppers I've made, I thought I'd start off by looking at the role that props often play when I'm working on a design. And first up are these adorable Teapot Mice, made for the lovely Helen and her husband Gareth. Helen first got in touch with me in April through Etsy, as she had spotted the Teacup Mice and she thought the style would work for their wedding theme. Helen  had in mind the idea of a mouse in a teapot, and after we spoke on the phone, we came up with the idea of a mouse in a teapot, and also another mouse pouring a cup of tea (I just love the circularity of that!) Helen managed to source this wonderful miniature teapot, to which I added the mice (the little grey mouse just tagged along for the ride - the handle was just crying out for a mouse!)

Photo © Richard Moore 

And this was the amazing cake, upon which the Teapot Mice were perched! Isn't it beautiful? You may spot a little cup and saucer at the bottom of the cake - another couple of mice found their way in there, holding a sign saying "Keep Calm and Marry On". Perfect.

Another commission that involved a certain circularity was a computer mouse on a, err, computer mouse! These two mice were based on the bride and groom's professions, with the groom in IT and the bride a scientist. I managed to find a fairly flat computer mouse on eBay, and the mice were right at home!

Another recent commission I did involved a beautiful ceramic apple from Penkridge Ceramics. Jo had got in touch to see if I could make some fairly simple mice for her wedding, to include three little mice to represent their daughters and the flower girl.

What I loved about this commission was that the mice are wearing elements of the real wedding outfits, but just in highlighted form. So the bride has a couple of flowers at her waist, similar to those on Jo's dress, and the bridesmaids and flowergirl are wearing sashes, again taken from their dresses. The apple is just wonderful - Edie's mouse is clambering up the side (she loves climbing), whereas Lily's mouse is dancing. The tails of the bride and groom and entwined in a heart.

Signs are always a pretty popular prop when it comes to weddings. These two giraffes were commissioned by Al as a gift for her sister's wedding. The groom is about 9cm tall, and the bride is 8cm tall.

There is one final installment to go in this series of wedding cake toppers - if you'd like to see more of the sort of commissions I do, pop over to my Flickr page
.

Wedded Bliss Part 1

Michelle and Paul's wedding mice

10th August 2012
I consider it a great honour when I'm asked to make wee creatures to perch on the top of a wedding cake. To be a part of someone's special day is a big thing, even if it's only a small part, and I love working with people to come up with just the perfect design.  I've clocked up quite a few now, so I'm going to take a look at some of the ones I've made over a couple of posts.