New Designer - Golden Browne

The latest designer to join us here in Bird's Yard is Golden Browne, 60s inspired clothes handmade here in the UK by Nic Browne.

Nic Browne bringing her designs to Bird's Yard

Nic says of her work:

"I'm inspired by the swinging sixties and make clothing for modern modettes. My garments are made using a mixture of my own designs and vintage sewing patterns. I specialise in mini skirts and dancing around my room to the Kinks."

Our Latest Nesters...

We’re always on the lookout for new designers here at Bird’s Yard. We love to bring our customers lots of different and unique pieces as well as supporting small, independent makers, artists and designers.  And we’ve had lots of people join us in the last couple of weeks – here’s a little round up…

Dave Draws

Hand illustrated ceramics based in Manchester.

Hannah Lord

Silver and glass jewellery; glass homewares handmade in Sheffield.

Becky Bygone

Handmade illustrated and button cards and tote bags from Lancashire.

Ayse Balko Studio

Local photographs of a variety of places around Sheffield.

Knotted Designs

Modern macramé plant hangers handmade in Scotland.

Aloha Vintage

Vintage and vintage style clothes and accessories based in Sheffield.

Daniels Bros.
Handmade wooden items made from reclaimed wood around Sheffield. 

Wooden penguins from the Daniels Bros. We have them in lots of guises in the shop

Find all of these latest arrivals in our two shops on Chapel Walk - Bird's Yard at no.44 and Birds & Beards at no.50

New from Finding Foreverness... customised rings

Finding Foreverness have brought lots of new rings into Bird's Yard recently, including a made to order range. Handmade in Sheffield, the sterling silver rings come in a range of finishes, settings and stones.

Featuring the Orbital Lab design, the rings can be ordered in your size as well as choosing from these options:

Choice of stones:

• green peridot
• purple amethyst
• red garnet
• blue topaz 
• orange citrine

Choice of finishes:

• polished
• oxidised/black
• matte/brushed
• hammered and oxidised

Choice of settings:

• tube
• prong

Orbital Lab ring with purple amethyst, hammered and oxidised finish, prong setting.

Finding Forevereness were inspired by space and time for creating their Orbital Lab design:

 "Themed around transformation, this collection explores the powers of space and time.  Maybe the twin circles set in motion transcend time and disappear. Maybe it reappears on another finger somewhere!? Or maybe its quite content simply being stylishly stationed."

Citrine stone in an oxidised/black finish with prong setting with a topaz in the polished finish with prong setting.

The rings cost £60, can be ordered in Bird's Yard and are ready to collect in 1-7 days.

Meet Vagrant Art...

Vagrant Art's work is exclusive to Bird's Yard in Sheffield. The brand is based in Scunthorpe where owner Kevin Pearson hand-makes a range of jewellery and other pieces using repurposed materials. Here we find out a little about why he brought his work to our shop...

What inspires your work?

My work is driven by a passion for questioning what we define as waste with much of my inspiration coming from early morning skip raids. Most of my pieces in Bird's Yard are made from scrap coins and I love to imagine where they might have been, whose hands they might have passed through and what they might have bought. I sometimes create imaginary journeys about what the coins might have seen in their lifetimes. 

Some of Vagrant Art's pieces in Bird's Yard

Why do you sell your work at Bird's Yard?

I usually trade at music festivals and artist markets, but Bird's Yard is something a bit special; a collective of makers where the place buzzes with energy and creativity and I always leave with a head full of new ideas that keeps me awake. 

Kevin of Vagrant Art working on his repurposed pieces

Which other designers' work do you admire in Bird's Yard?

I particularly like the other repurposing work, whether it's bits of musical instruments (Melodies Jewellery and Character Shop), old maps (Pink Flamingo and Life's Big Canvas) or bits of wire, there are some great imaginations at work. 

How does interacting with customers in the shop help your work?

The customers are a great bunch too and I owe them credit for several new ideas. I'm currently working on plectrums from old pennies, the prototype is out gigging at the moment and they should be in the shop in the coming weeks.

Old penny plectrums which will be coming to Bird's Yard soon.

New to Bird's Yard: modern macrame from Knotted Designs

With 1970s fashions and homewares making a comeback this season, we're excited to be welcoming Knotted Designs to Bird's Yard with their handmade modern macrame plant hangers.

The hangers use traditional macrame designs but use cotton stretch yarn in fresh white or bright colours to give them a modern feel too. They're ideal for hanging plants (real or artificial if you're not so green fingered) to brighten up your home, conservatory or garden.

Modern macrame hangers made by Knotted Designs and available in Bird's Yard

And they're not just for trailing plants either. Here are some inspirations we found...

How it's Made: Shadow Crafts Leather Clutch Bags

One of the things we love about what we do at Bird's Yard is supporting local Sheffield designers who make their items by hand rather than as mass produced pieces. Don't get us wrong, not everything in the shop is handmade, we have a mix of handmade and otherwise from independent designers - it'd be difficult to make some things all by hand, we're thinking books and vintage pieces for a start!  But lots are handmade and offer our customers unique and special pieces - something they tell us they love.

Shadow Crafts are one of the designers who work by hand making leather accessories including wrist bands, earrings, watches and these leather clutch bags. Here they share how they go about creating the beautiful bags...