Julie Mills Design

The third stop on the Coriandr Express is Handmaid, by Julie Mills.

"My name is Julie Mills and I am a Northumbria Fashion Design graduate, specialising in textiles - mainly print and embroidery.I love bold print and bright colours.

I am inspired by the English countryside and romantic visions of the past. I love pattern and for some reason I am strangely drawn to pink and birds - or pink birds! :)

I like to make bags, purses and scarves and I have recently discovered a love of knitting, by hand and machine.

I pride myself on making quality items with high quality silks and cottons, which may be hand dyed, hand or digitally printed, knitted, appliquéd or embellished.

I also take on commissions, please email me."

Julie's shop is filled with wonderful, original items - like this Spotty Bird Silk Scarf (I love the bold repeat design and bobbly handstitched trim!)

And these sweet little Fair Isle Knitted Coin Purses

My last pick from Handmaid is this amazing silk Pink Bird Scarf, with hand stitched edges and a cute-as-can-be digitally printed bird design

You can find Julie's own website here, and can check out other items from her Coriandr shop below.

Shiny New Item!

This morning I went through my button box, and found quite a lot of sweetie-coloured buttons - some new, some vintage and recycled - so I decided to make a shiny new bracelet with them! It's stretchy too, so it'll fit most wrist sizes.




I'm really quite pleased with how it looks, and quite tempted just to hang on to it!

The bracelet is available in my Etsy, Coriandr, Folksy and Misi shops.

Blue Fish Handmade

..Is the next stop for the Coriandr Express!

"My grandmother showed me when I was 6 how to knit and crochet, since then I realized that what I enjoy is making things... I love fibres, alternative fashion, accessories inspired by a history, colours, textures so I make things I love, I like everything I made and if only I didn`t have to make money for my living and staying at home with my little ones I would make all just for me..."

I absolutely adore Izabela's items - so original and beautifully made!

The Red Doilies Earrings are an absolute bargain, and completely different to anything you can buy on the high street




And I think this Delicate Flower Necklace is my favourite item in the Blue Fish Handmade Coriandr Shop



You can become a fan of Blue Fish Handmade on Facebook, or follow Izabela's blog here.

Do take a look at the rest of the amazing items by Blue Fish Handmade on Coriandr.

Coriandr Express...

First Stop, Dig The Earth! Whose greetings cards are all half price during May! Brilliant!




Dig The Earth is based in Yorkshire, producing vibrant and original cards, that are amazingly eco-friendly as well as eye catching! The artist, Kev, uses 100% recycled envelopes, prints his cards locally onto 100% recycled card, and even packages them in biodegradable corn starch 'cello' bags. You can follow Kev's blog here.

I particularly like his Carousel Card No. 2, below, (and No. 1 actually...)


And who could resist this lovely Together Card



And finally (perhaps my favourite), the intricate Concentricity Mirror



Also, as if these beautiful products weren't enough, Dig The Earth is running a special promotion throughout May - all greetings cards are half price! So get buying! :)