Makers Blog — SingleMaltTeapot

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SingleMaltTeapot is the creative hub of Vic Phillips. A photographer & woodcrafter living & making in the Brecon Beacons.

Along with Samantha Wheeler it is our journey as we explore, cook and craft our way to the goodlife.

So tomorrow is the wondrous Just A Card Day run as part of @justacard , just one of the very many things this completely wonderful campaign is doing to make the world of makers brighter on a daily basis. It's so easy when we see folk's shops, stalls or online stores full of beautiful things to think everything is going swimmingly and that being there must be an indication of success, paid rent and a life to glitter on instagram. Too often that's not the case, souls are poured into our makes and each month is a struggle to go 'Can I keep doing this thing I love'. #JustACard helps highlight this and makers but also present a solution....buy yourself Just A Card. Making a small purchase may only dent the loose change in your pocket but for a maker, folk doing this can be the difference in both returns but also in feeling like people see and love what they are doing. I picked up this card from the lovely @peggyandkate with the campaign in mind (though ended up totally in love with a print that I just HAD to have too 😝) and grabbed it with all of you in mind. Those who pick up a card when they can, who support people making beautiful things with their hands and their hearts. You guy are thoroughly good eggs and we need you a bunch more than you realise. THANK YOU!!
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#thatsdarling #theartofslowliving #thatauthenticfeeling #thenativecreative #craftsposure #creatorslane #thedulcetlife #makersmovement #postitifortheaesthetic #nothingisordinary #littlestoriesofmylife #letsmakeadifference #feelfreefreed #folksy #craftyfoxfinds

With just under a month to go I'm super excited to holler about something I'm equally excited to have played a part in. Over the weekend of 20-22 Oct. I'll be joining a very specially SingleMaltTeapot curated group of makers at Manchester Folk Festival to lead some glorious modern craft workshops. There are just 2 spots left for some soon carving over the weekend, on Friday morning but with such lovely talent around me there's a whole bunch to get up to. The wonderful @skybearuk will lead you through your own lino print design, cutting and pressing it onto a set of cards ready for Christmas (or birthdays....or your wall) while @bymoonandtide has the calligraphy skills to make everything you write look beyond beautiful and @sosatsuma has all the autumn feels covered with some cosy chunky knitting. Come join us at the wonderful International Anthony Burgess Foundation (@misterenderby) for a spot of craft amongst some wonderful folk. Search Manchester Folk Festival or head to www.ManchesterFolkFestival.org.uk 🙂
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#kinfolk #momentsofmine #seekinspirecreate #byarrangement #craftsposure #thatsdarling #seekthesimplicity #aquietstyle #thehappynow #wearethemakers #handsandhustle #themakers #thedulcetlife #feelfreefeed #makersmovement #makersgonnamake #folksy #thenativecreative #villagesociety

How do we all feel about Mondays? New week new start or the slightly begrudged step away from those two days of fun and frolics? I'm not a coffee drinker though I have certainly tried to learn to like the taste and today I most certainly could do with a bit a caffeine kick. Willow is starting to accept that perhaps not every night time wake up means she needs a feed but only at the trade off she gets to stay awake and party in her crib for an hour instead. With her very much able to roll over but not quite big enough to go into her cot bed (as we found out yesterday) this means keeping a very watchful eye to replace a bubba trying very hard to wedge herself into the side of a crib 😝
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These little creations, though not the only makes of mine you could use to pop coffee into things are the only ones specifically designed for the job. Made initially for a commission to hold just the right amount of cafetiere grind coffee to load up your morning brew. They also do a pretty good line in a nice amount of loose leaf tea. If you see something you like there's free P&P on pre orders and the Oak scoop (top right) has already been snapped up. DM if you want to grab one of the others 🙂
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#kinfolk #momentsofmine #seekinspirecreate #byarrangement #craftsposure #createmakeshare #seekthesimplicity #aquietstyle #feelingfolksy #wearethemakers #handsandhustle #themakers #thedulcetlife #feelfreefeed #makersmovement #makersgonnamake #folksy #thenativecreative #thecreativescorner

There is something odd that happens when I pop Willow into her carrier and go for a wander around Cardiff. A sort of 'awww, what a great dad, it'd be great if more dads were like that' look. Which seems kinda harmless but guys.....why aren't more dads like that??
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I can only guess at why really but something that seems to be backed up a bit by folk I talk to is dads wanting to just switch off once they are not at work, needing to wind down. First up, that full time job is not the hardest thing to be doing all week. Parenting is relentlessly, wonderfully demanding, it's harder work than any days work I do. There are no lunch breaks or tea breaks, there are just nap times where you try to fit in a days worth of tasks into about 2 hours. In between you forgo all your own pleasures to try and keep these beautiful little blobs smiling, clean and fed.
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So it's crazy tough but it's wonderful. Willow will sit in my arms, one hand nestled in my beard feeling safe and content. She'll smile when she wakes up from a nap, worried that she is alone and see's my face appear or laugh when I sing her silly songs. If 40 hours of my week were away from her I would be refusing to let her be anywhere but my arms the rest of the week. That time is utterly precious and should be grabbed greedily.
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If nothing else though, you have a baby, a commitment, a responsibility to no longer put yourself first, ever. It's tough, boy is it tough sometimes but that first thought is now, what does my bubba need? This is the life you are tasked with shaping, protecting and growing and you never get to cut corners on that. Dudes of the world, parenting is not something that should have folk thinking I am special. It's is something every dad should be engaged in, for your partner, for your bubba but also for you because parenting is extraordinary and boy are you missing out of you're not joining in.
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#slowliving #dadding #kinfolk #thatsdarling #thedulcetlife #newdad #darlingweekend #thatauthenticfeeling #seekthesimplicity #thehappynow #theartofslowliving #villagesociety #nothingisordinary_ #aquietstyle #postitfortheaesthetic #littlestoriesofmylife #peoplescreatives

There's an air of autumn in the house now as I sit and work on some spork designs for @lovinglifeinwelliesblog with the hope of providing something a million miles away from those plastic atrocities sitting snapped sadly in an equally disappointing tub of pasta salad. Figuring out just how to get something durable, usable, pocket fittable but also beautiful is certainly more of a challenge than I'd expect from those 5 little letters but leaves me particular excited to see where Chelsea chooses to take the design.
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I also stumbled across these designs I put together for some teaspoons for a commission that didn't happen last year. Over the next month I'll be putting together a couple of collections for one or two new stockists so their reemergence is somehow fitting with a couple of these almost certain to find their way onto my restocked supplies of wood.
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Finally, a little alluding the many things on the tip of my tongue that I cannot cram into one gram but shall over the coming days and am excited to holler about. @goodlifeexperience was an utter joy and I'll be catching you up on that along with the makers joining Single Malt Teapot at Manchester Folk Festival in a months time; with (whisper it) christmas just invisible below the horizon I'll be adding things to the online store more regularly as well as hopefully some workshop news soon. After all I'll be trying to fire up things on the blog again, talking about the things close to my heart, wood, craft photography and the glorious chaos that is being a dad. Do come join me if you can!!
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#slowliving #thatauthenticfeeling #kinfolk #theartofslowliving #nothingisordinary_ #thedulcetlife #thatsdarling #craftyfoxfinds #villagesociety #makersgonnamake #thehappynow #makersmovement #seekthesimplicity #thegoodlife #maker #thecreativescorner #aquietstyle #postitfortheaesthetic

Vic Phillips

My #MondayMotivation? Getting @themarkrad along for some spoonage #MakeASpoonMark 😛 Also feeding the bubba, which I now shall. #Lunch4Willow
about 2 days ago