Better Concerts and Music

Making home made jewellery was never my first ambitions, but now it's my dream and drive in life.

I first got into it when I was taken unwell at work, doing a job that had been my career for 31 years. It had become a technique of life and bought in the money to live comfortably. Having a medical problem that would not let me return to that career, I was racking my brains for a pursuit to keep me occupied after my early retirement. Around this time, a neighbour and best friend took me to a massive craft fair on the Sandringham Royal estate, here's where I found my inspiration. I was introduced to several stall holders all making their own designs of jewellery, I have lengthy conversations with a lot of them, they jointly gave me the confidence to try it myself.

After that I was introduced to a lady who taught me the simplest way to make jewelry with seed beads, using needles and thread. She was incredibly patient and taught me so much about techniques and also gave me details of the easiest way to source the beads. It was then that I realized that I too may be good at this craft and I could make something more of this glorious pastime.

These days I get great joy from buying semi-precious stones, and freshwater pearls, coral pieces and more. The greatest pleasure of all is in the designing process. I try to think what my customers would like, and how they'd like their jewellery to be finished professionally, so that it will give them great pleasure and a life time of service. Taking the basic elements and shaping them into a statement piece of jewellery that not only I, but others too would adore, gives me great pride and a real sense of achievement.

Lately I've been in a position to share this fantastic entertainment with some neighbors, by teaching. I was asked by a local economy woman to hold workshops in the art gallery attached to her working windmill. The women are also dependent and they all look forward to meeting me once a month to fill their minds with the abilities of this amazing hobby.

One of those ladies is blind, and arrives at the workshop together with her reliable guide dog “Olivia”. This blind lady has felt her way through each workshop, using beads larger than the other ladies. She was my latest inspiration to make jewellery for those that couldn't see, or were partially sighted in a way that they could manage somehow to put it on independently. All of this has been achieved with the usage of toggle clasps that can be simply felt.

Another adjustment to some designs that I have recently made for lesser-abled women is for the ones that suffer with metastatic inflammation and need to use magnetic clasps, the strength of these is determined by the weight of the beads threaded on the jewelry.

Innovating jewellery designs for the lesser-abled ladies in my life and seeing how happy it makes them has driven me to carry on with this enthusiasm, giving it a new lease. I hope to be making many utilitarian and creative designs for several years to come for girls of all ages, styles and backgrounds.

Lorraine Cannell is a handmade jewellery designer and entrepreneur. She is also the owner of thebeadqueen.co.uk

If you are thinking of going to stay in the normal kind of Sussex cottages where the smell of bark mulch fills your nose more than anything else why don’t you look at somewhere a bit more unusual? Staying in a cottage is brilliant as they are so quiet and you can relax but this year you may want to try a place a bit different?

Windmill

Well like the title suggest this is a bit of a strange one to stay in but there are many places you can look to stay in one. Many of the best ones are found in France and even have their own swimming pool. So many of the windmills out there that you can stay in date all the way back to the 17th century, perfect for history lovers.

Loch Ness

Yes, there are many places around the lake that you can stay and once again they date back from many centuries ago. They have of course all been updated now and there are many additional features to these hotels. Tennis courts, golf courses and cricket pitches are available. There are tours that go across the lake, is the Loch Ness Monster really made up?

A Yurt

This has to be the most unique one on the list simply because when you stay in them it is amazing to see just how much can be sustained from the area around it. Streams provide the water, solar power provides the heating and you provide the food by hitting the streams with your fishing gear and hunting down that delicious dinner. Yurts are actually not rare at all but finding one to stay in isn’t going to be easy, the best place to look is likely to be Portugal but be warned most of them are in the middle of nowhere.

So whether you love the smell of compost from a cottage or love going away to strange places, there is always a holiday available to you.