So when was the last post? June I think.
That is simply unacceptable. (ha)
From here on I will aim to get a note, however short, on every week or two.
Life is complex, a lot going on. Which is NO excuse.
To explain these pics:
Stefan and I are rebuilding on the site of his childhood home, in Stopnica, Poland, 100km NE of Krakow. We spent a few weeks in the summer, getting it ready for the builders who will come in soon and lay the foundations. The plan is to do a lot of work ourselves, and we expect it to take up to a couple of years. Maybe it will be quicker. We want to live there. When we can actually make the move is predicated on the fact that we are living with and caring for my elderly parents, each mid 90's.
To me it is beautiful. Very lush in a good summer, like this one. I am crazy about the easily availability of fresh, seasonal fruit and veg. The weather is extreme and the winters long and hard.
But, you have to live somewhere, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. We will have a super duper little house, very warm, and surrounded by extended family who live from next door to all over Poland.
My own family is tiny: my son and his family live right now in Germany, and who knows where they will live next. So why stay in London? We can choose; what a privilege.
The language: It has its horrors, but although of course I will never be able to speak well (I assume; who at 67 learns Polish for heavens sake?) I think it will be ok. I am getting a bit of a handle on it. It is certainly better every time I visit, so there is hope!
 |
| Me clearing rubble and shoving it outside |
The picture is taken standing further over to the left, with the tree on the right. The end wall, on the right, will also come down, so the builders have access to lower the floor to the level of the garden, thereby gaining height for a 2nd floor.
So, meanwhile I am working on the business and building new clients. So far I have had custom from a couple of clients in Savile Row and Burlington and Piccadilly Arcades, and am working on samples for more clients. It seems they all like the idea of painted glass cufflinks and buttons done to match fabric. It is a bit fiddly and not cheap, but for those who want something very special, it is a good thing.
Meanwhile I have been included in Who's Who in Gold and Silver, a great honour.
http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/exhibitions-promotions/who's-who-in-gold-silver/
Also work continues on samples for clients with my friend Lucy Batt,
lucyalexandrabatt.com. She engraves glass and together we can decorate glass, front and back, and as usual, possibilities are endless. She has some excellent clients who want exclusive designs; just the thing.
The website is being redone as I write, by Tony Astley,
www.sixtillnine.co.uk. That is exciting; the shop will work and look good and hopefully I will be able to generate business that way too.
Laura, my trusty assistant, is helping me get to grips with Facebook, which is still a struggle for me. Stefan is very good at it, (he does it, and I don't) and he has posted loads of pics of the Polish venture:
https://www.facebook.com/stefan.majka.1?fref=ts
More soon and, as the man said, if you have been, thanks for listening. f
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