Open The Creaking Door to a cabinet of curiosity, where you may venture to discover a myriad of botanics, neo-victoriana and a little treat of whimsy.

Latest Posts

@TheCreakingDoor

Nala is sooo happy running around on the snow-covered frozen lake! Happy Boxing Day! Here’s some of the wonderful natural sights from our walk around Clover Leaf Island at frozen Lake Otty. Pretty chilly at -14°C. We made an exciting visit to the Diefenbunker Ottawa on Sunday, - Canada’s Cold War nuclear bunker, to do an Escape Room with friends for @horleyman’s birthday and generally potter around the dystopian museum originally built in 1961. It was pretty creepy walking down the tunnel to the entrance of the bunker and oh myyyyy- so many ashtrays! The decontamination showers and the Prime Minister’s quarters were suitably bleak, as was the modest war room which still had remarkable staging for the different levels of seniority. And no, we didn’t escape the Radioactive escape room, but was lots of fun nonetheless. My latest creation - simple layered vintage tin earrings with gently ringing chimes as you move. Features wonderful illustrations of Indian life and love with delicate green and blue backgrounds. I love how the gold outlines have survived years of use for this vintage tin box bringing out the highlights on their beautiful saris. I made the chimes using tiny offcuts from the tin, so nothing is wasted. Each piece is cut and sanded by hand, so no sharp edges and I’ve also decoupaged the reverse with vintage papers to complete the design. Lightweight and delicate on handmade brass earring wires. Available - please DM me. Inspired by common themes in folklore narratives that cross cultures, this bracelet tells the story of a man who wakes with a start with his hands curled around his bow and arrow, with no memory of reaching for it. Beside him his wife sleeps peacefully, and in fog between the real world and the sleeping world, he sees her take form of a doe he had been tracking through his slumber, an elusive spirit-creature dancing beyond his reach. Realising it was a dream, he sets aside his bow and wraps his arms around his wife grateful that the only thing he caught that night was a reminder from the dreaming world: some treasures are meant not to be hunted, but held. It’s amazing to be back making again. Here’s my first creation out of my new studio space in Ottawa, using finds that travelled across the Atlantic Ocean from England. Just before I left, I came across a wonderful but somewhat battered vintage tin box with incredible Indian illustrations. I’ve created a piece inspired by common folklore themes that seem to cross cultures about deer women. From Artemis and Actaeon in Greek mythology, Sadb and Fionn mac Cumhail in Irish mythology to the Deer woman of Native American mythologies and a general folklore narrative of the deer hunter and the woman - where a hunter meets a mysterious woman in the woods who’s tracks inexplicably disappear where deer footprints begin, suggesting her dual nature as an animal-spirit. See my next post to read the story in this bracelet. Joyful moments to be back making again… And now in 🇨🇦! I’m settling down nicely in a new studio space here in Ottawa, and getting all my treasures unpacked after they sailed the Atlantic to be here. So heartwarming to spot this little treasure at a funeral today at St Peter’s Anglican Church Cemetery, Cobourg, Ontario. Swipe to see the little roly-poly! ♥️ Thank you to our friend in high places - Mike Halhed for taking @horleyman and I flying last night in his 1972 Cessna light aircraft over Gatineau to see the Autumn colours 🍁, with a city tour of Ottawa 🌆 to finish. It was spectacular! And I even got to fill her up when we got back as well. Too cool!