Eventually, I had a big change in my life and moved to an Essex village, I soon
realised that commuting from here would be too much and quite honestly
it filled me with despair! I enjoyed this new found space and fresh
air, so I took up my pen once again and started to draw. I have
always had a love for pen and ink and have had illustrations published
in magazines. One of my new drawings of the
Coalbrookdale Inn, Ironbridge was purchased and used to promote the
business in the form of adverts and chocolate bar!. To cut a long story short... how did I find pyrography? Well, on a quiet Sunday afternoon in the village with nothing better to do I took a stroll up to the Parish Rooms to have a browse around a craft show.
There was a wonderful display of objects from painted eggs to rocking horses. I eventually came across the pyrography stall, to my amazement there was a woman 'drawing on wood'! It was similar in effect to pen and ink, and I have often thought how lovely it would be to put a
drawing onto an object, to give as a treasure or even sell. The lady whose name I now know as Jo (another!) was helpful, she must have been pleased to see somebody so excited about her craft! She shared with me her collection of books and showed me the basics.
Discovery
In
the Christmas of 2001, after many hints I recieved my Peter Child
machine. I visited Roy Child's workshop and must have looked like a
child in a sweet shop! - Wood! Books! On arriving home with my new
gadget and Stephen Poole's book, 'The Complete Pyrography', I set to
it! Firstly,I followed the book's guidlines, practicing the lessons on wooden
spoons. These were inexpensive so mistakes didn't really matter! I'm
sure my family eventually lost their expectation on receiving their
birthday and Xmas presents, as all they received was pyrography! During
my first attempts I noticed that a few pieces had faded, this was
partially due to the fact that they were placed in the window and also
I used to burn very lightly, just touching the wood. This hopefully has
now been rectified, but I still wouldn't advise placing pyrographs in a
bright situation.
After browsing the web, I found a group called UK Pyros, and quickly
joined! They have given me wonderful advice about all aspects of
pyrography along with funny and interesting chat!
My next step was to attend my first fair. My friend who is a reiki
healer invited me along to a healing fair. So off I went with about
twenty items and a rickety paste table. I must admit I was very
nervous! It was a really hot summer's day and I had no shade! - phewee!
I managed to sell about £20 worth. I'm not sure it was the right fair
as it was rather 'hippy' orientated to say the least! However, a good
day was had by all even though I came home with a rather burnt face!
Pyrography Today
I now regularly attend fairs, and always find that they are very
different both in income and attendance. Don't be put off if your first
fair is not too successful. You will learrn what people like. I began
selling larger items and found that you need to have 'bread and butter'
goods, like keyrings, badges and spoons.
I have always found it hard to part with my work, as it becomes
personal to me. Although I have now started to overcome this, it's such
a pleasure to see customers smiling at my work, and reading the funny
sayings on my keyrings. I dont know how many times I've heard the
words, "Oh look, - todays menu, two choices. Take it or leave it!" It
always makes me giggle!
As I always demonstrate at shows, I love to see people looking on in
admiration, and also to hear their comments. Some of the most popular
are: "how long does it take to dry?" and
"don't buy any thing I've got a soldering iron in the garage"!!
Children's school fetes are always a joy to attend, but you have to
make sure that you're ready for the onslaught! I have often sat burning
solidly for two hours adding names to door plaques. Once one's got one
they all want one!
Ebay has also been a valuable tool for me. Along with being able to
sell my work, I now reach a wider audience, from America to Canada,
Europe to Australia. Receiving private commissions is always wonderful,
I love to work along with customers to fulfil their ideas. I would like to share as much as I can about pyrography so I will be developing my 'whats pyrography' section with lessons. So we can work together!
Eventually, I had a big change in my life and moved to an Essex village, I soon
realised that commuting from here would be too much and quite honestly
it filled me with despair! I enjoyed this new found space and fresh
air, so I took up my pen once again and started to draw. I have
always had a love for pen and ink and have had illustrations published
in magazines. One of my new drawings of the
Coalbrookdale Inn, Ironbridge was purchased and used to promote the
business in the form of adverts and chocolate bar!. To cut a long story short... how did I find pyrography? Well, on a quiet Sunday afternoon in the village with nothing better to do I took a stroll up to the Parish Rooms to have a browse around a craft show.
There was a wonderful display of objects from painted eggs to rocking horses. I eventually came across the pyrography stall, to my amazement there was a woman 'drawing on wood'! It was similar in effect to pen and ink, and I have often thought how lovely it would be to put a
drawing onto an object, to give as a treasure or even sell. The lady whose name I now know as Jo (another!) was helpful, she must have been pleased to see somebody so excited about her craft! She shared with me her collection of books and showed me the basics.
In
the Christmas of 2001, after many hints I recieved my Peter Child
machine. I visited Roy Child's workshop and must have looked like a
child in a sweet shop! - Wood! Books! On arriving home with my new
gadget and Stephen Poole's book, 'The Complete Pyrography', I set to
it! Firstly,I followed the book's guidlines, practicing the lessons on wooden
spoons. These were inexpensive so mistakes didn't really matter! I'm
sure my family eventually lost their expectation on receiving their
birthday and Xmas presents, as all they received was pyrography! 
During
my first attempts I noticed that a few pieces had faded, this was
partially due to the fact that they were placed in the window and also
I used to burn very lightly, just touching the wood. This hopefully has
now been rectified, but I still wouldn't advise placing pyrographs in a
bright situation.
After browsing the web, I found a group called UK Pyros, and quickly
joined! They have given me wonderful advice about all aspects of
pyrography along with funny and interesting chat! 
I now regularly attend fairs, and always find that they are very
different both in income and attendance. Don't be put off if your first
fair is not too successful. You will learrn what people like. I began
selling larger items and found that you need to have 'bread and butter'
goods, like keyrings, badges and spoons.
I have always found it hard to part with my work, as it becomes
personal to me. Although I have now started to overcome this, it's such
a pleasure to see customers smiling at my work, and reading the funny
sayings on my keyrings. I dont know how many times I've heard the
words, "Oh look, - todays menu, two choices. Take it or leave it!" It
always makes me giggle!
As I always demonstrate at shows, I love to see people looking on in
admiration, and also to hear their comments. Some of the most popular
are: "how long does it take to dry?" and
"don't buy any thing I've got a soldering iron in the garage"!!
Children's school fetes are always a joy to attend, but you have to
make sure that you're ready for the onslaught! I have often sat burning
solidly for two hours adding names to door plaques. Once one's got one
they all want one!