As you may have deduced from this site’s URL, I am Helen, and I make things.
Most of what I make is jewellery, but occasionally I like to blog about other craft or upcycling projects that I have going on (usually in a variety of piles and boxes all over my room and my desk). I live in York, UK, where I split my time between playing, recording and composing music, and making jewellery which I sell mainly via my online shops.
The first pieces of handmade jewellery that I ever made were my button necklaces, which I originally made for myself and as gifts for friends. When I took some samples to local jewellery shops, they took some to sell – and they were very successful. After a few experimental (and also successful) eBay sales, I set up my own online button jewellery shop. The site started small, but has grown over the years and now hosts a large collection of button jewellery.
Then I started making some pieces with other found objects, such as jigsaw pieces, gaming dice and safety pins, and a few years after the launch of the Button Jewellery site, the Unexpected Boutique was created in order to sell my new jewellery collections.
I make all of my own websites, which is something I learnt to do for fun during my free periods during school 6th form, and has proved incredibly useful!
