My first Art piece

Here it is, my first piece of artwork designed purely for sale. It is an embroidered detail on a linen background and will sell at £325 plus p+p. More details are on my website.
It doesn't have a name at the moment, I can't decide if I want to give it one and what it would be if I did. 
I am very pleased with it, it is a pretty piece so I really do hope that it can find a home.

What's in a name?

As the schools go back and I can start working longer hours on things I am starting to think about the release of my first 'Fine Art' piece. I am pondering the name of the piece. How important is a name? Is something likely to sell better if it has a name or will it be fine just being itself? Could a bad name actually reduce the perceived value of the piece? I give all my Hardanger patterns girl's names. This started after I created my first big piece 'Emmanuelle'. I spent ages trying to think of a good name for it but everything just sounded trite so I gave it the name of the person who I had created it for. I like giving them girl's names now as it gives them a sort of personality for me. It can take long enough working out which name to give them as it is.

I may carry on with the tradition and give the Art pieces girl's names too. It's going to take some thought.

What next?

I am trying to work out what to work on next at the moment. I have several very pressing projects on the go but I'm not sure which to go with. My priority has to be to find something that will bring in some money, I can't keep going on the way that I am. I am currently working on a book idea, a piece that I hope to get into a magazine, some fine art pieces, a new work to be sold in chart form and the knot garden pieces. 
I feel like I have a really good idea for a book that will fit well with the mood of the time but this has to be a long term project, there's no way that it will bring in any money in the near future as I have a lot of work to do and then there is no guarantee that I can find a publisher.
The magazine piece is a more likely way to make a bit of income but again, there is no guarantee of take up, the pay is very low and it takes quite a long time.
I am really keen on the idea of working on fine art pieces right now, of course I can't guarantee that they'll sell and they can't be cheap given the amount of work that goes into them. I would love to do some commissions. I would love to do an exhibition. It will take a lot of work though and if I am not constantly releasing new works will people stop looking?
I have designed a lovely new piece that I want to sew as my next 'chart release' this would be the quickest thing to work on but chart sales are too low, I need to take some risks and try and find something that does stand a chance of selling. I need to sell 10 charts a day to make a living, I don't sell anywhere near that many.
The Knot Garden series was a very big hit at my recent demo sessions. I have completed 2 of 4 and I am about 1/4 of the way through no.3. My hope is that I can interest English Heritage in them, either as charts, kits, cards, prints or all of the above, again - no guarantees.
So, 5 good ideas, all time consuming, requiring a lot of work and no guarantee of making anything from them. I have tried working with a rotation before, saying on X day I will work on this and on Y I shall work on that, but once I start working on a piece I tend to become absorbed by it. I have a couple of model stitchers helping me out with the book idea but can't afford to pay people to do it. I guess I'll just have to go with what feels right and hope like mad that something works.

Bespoke Art

I have been wanting for a long time to work on some 'fine art' embroidery pieces. Something larger scale and working with different styles and fabrics. I have decided to offer a High End bespoke design service to create beautiful individual works of embroidered art. I would work with the customer to create something personal to them, maybe to celebrate a wedding or a birth or just to be a piece of featured artwork to compliment their decor. Prices would depend on the types of embroidery involved and would be calculated to cover the amount of hours involved in sewing it and the costs of materials/frames etc. If you would be interested in this then please email me to discuss it.

New Ring Pillow design

Just finished my latest sample Ring Pillow. I've gone for a simple, sophisticated look with this one. A lacy edged Hardanger band with a feature centre. There's a lot of sparkle from crystals and beads and the names and date make it truly personal. This would be lovely if created using an offcut of fabric from the wedding dress or bridesmaids dresses if you are getting those handmade. This pillow costs £204 (£34 for the basic pillow and £170 for the Hardanger band) additional features such as the goldwork shown in pillow 1 could be added if you wanted(see the website www.indiagrace.co.uk for details and prices) Loads more ideas coming soon!

New bespoke range launched, Ring Pillows for that ultimate, personal wedding souvenir.

I am very pleased to be able to introduce my new line - bespoke, hand embroidered wedding ring pillows. A perfect souvenir of the big day for the couple who have a larger budget. Designed individually and made to order, especially for you. All the information about them is on my website http://www.indiagrace.co.uk/India%20Grace%20Designs%20-%20Ring%20Pillows.htm I offer a personalised design service, these three designs are just the first few ideas and you can mix and match to get the perfect design for you. If you have any friends that you think may be interested please share this.