Forever Foxed

Letterpress beginnings...

2011-08-14T16:00:00.002+01:00

Back in 2008 I wrote a blog post about buying my Adana press on eBay as I planned to move over from printing cards with my Gocco to Letterpress. Sadly, my plans were put on hold due to lack of space (and probably the steep learning curve required!) I did buy some lovely Crane's Lettra paper though, which has been sitting in a box waiting to be put to good use, along with various tubes of Adana ink and other essentials.

On Saturday I finally got everything set up in my office; I ended up covered in ink, nothing new there, but it was enjoyable working with the press and I'll certainly be printing again soon using some of my own designs.

Here is my first official Letterpress card, made using a vintage block of a Scottish Terrier. Available to purchase on Folksy & Etsy, as usual.

Emil Otto Hoppé

2011-02-17T19:04:00.015Z

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the preview of the Em il O tto Hoppé exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. There were around 150 photographs, including beautiful studio portraits of just about anyone who was well known in the 1910s-1930s. Also included were photos of ordinary people in everyday scenes along with articles from illustrated newspapers and magazines like The Graphic and Picture Post.

Imagine my suprise at seeing this photo of a girl at the Pet Cemetery in London's Hyde Park. It's obviously posed, but poignant, none the less.

However, it was this photo of a bandaged Fox Terrier that really made my day. It was taken in 1935 in the waiting room of the Croydon Animal Hospital, run by the Canine Defence League (now know as the Dogs Trust). I wonder what had happened to this little chap.
Photographs from "Hoppé Portraits: Society, Studio and Street" by Phillip Prodger and Terence Pepper, National Portrait Gallery: London, 2011.

Christmas Open House Festival in Brighton

2010-11-27T08:51:00.007Z

Forever Foxed is delighted to be back again at the beautiful Bungeroosh Gallery as part of the Christmas Open House Festival in Brighton, which runs for the next 3 weekends. If you're in the area, please drop by and say hello. There are some very talented artists there, selling lovely jewellery, paintings, clothing, ceramics and much more.

Here is a quick glimpse of my display stand with my new mugs featuring our signature Forever Foxed Fox Terrier.

Typeface Dogs

2010-10-29T12:51:00.006+01:00

Two of my favourite things; dogs and fonts. Perfect.

Yes, I know that this design was done a while ago by grafisches-Buro and has already done the rounds of Facebook & the blogging world, but I thought it was worth sharing again.

Noodling about

2010-10-16T17:13:00.006+01:00

We found out this week that Noodles has reached the final 25 dogs in the Winalot Competition. This means that he will have his portrait taken by wildlife photographer Andy Rouse which we're very much looking forward to.

An overall winner is selected from the 25 finalists and they will star on Winalot packaging! Noodles is playing it pretty cool at the moment. Let's hope all this attention doesn't go to his head!

The C Word

2010-09-26T10:19:00.003+01:00

I know it seems far too early to be thinking about Christmas but here's one of my latest seasonal designs.

It's available from my website, Folksy and Etsy shops, as usual. More designs coming soon!

Meet Noodles

2010-08-08T08:13:00.000+01:00

Today was a big day in the Forever Foxed household as we adopted this handsome chap, a Welsh Terrier called Noodles. We were not particularly looking at any other breeds apart from Fox Terriers, but when we heard about him via the Wire Fox Terrier Association Welfare & Rehoming Scheme we couldn't resist.

We hope that he adjusts well to his new life with us and are looking forward to sharing many adventures with him.

Many thanks to Beryl Kay, Andrew & Sue Hunt and Anne Maughan for your help in enabling us to adopt our lovely new little terror.

Fox Terrier Fun Day

2010-07-24T13:52:00.011+01:00

Last Sunday was the annual Fox Terrier Fun Day, which took place in a field on a farm in Hertfordshire. The aim is to raise money for Fox Terrier Rescue; last year they made nearly £500! I hope they manage to top that this time.

The day included demonstrations of grooming smooth and wire coats, nail cutting, lots of fun competitions and the highlight for me, a fancy dress contest. I did take lots of photos of this but was laughing so much that none of the pictures were particularly good. The winners (both dog and owner) were dressed as clowns and I'm hoping that there will be photos available on the FTR events page shortly.

There were 8 dogs there looking for new homes, 2 very handsome Smooths and 6 Wires, including a mother and daughter who need to be rehomed together. A small Wire Fox Terrier with sticky up ears called Sid stole everybodys' hearts though; I hope they all find their perfect forever home shortly.

It was a fantastic day and lovely to see so many Wires and Smooths together. Already looking forward to next year...

New Greeting Card

2010-06-20T16:29:00.007+01:00

Inspired by this photo of Jackson I have re-printed one of my early cards using my trusty gocco. It's currently available on Folksy and Etsy.

I like Jackson's expression in the picture as he looks slightly guilty. Probably because he knew he wasn't allowed on the chaise longue!

Forever Foxed's Muse

2010-05-12T19:54:00.005+01:00

Our muse, Jackson the Wire Fox Terrier, died peacefully in his bed on Monday morning. He had battled long and hard against too many illnesses, a very brave little dog indeed. He leaves a huge terrier-shaped hole in our lives and will be greatly missed.

Open House Festival in Brighton

2010-04-28T21:35:00.007+01:00

This year I will be taking part in the Open House Festiva l in Brighton during every weekend in May. I am based at the beautiful Bungeroosh Gallery near the seafront. If you're in the area, please drop by and say hello. There are some very talented artists there, selling lovely jewellery, paintings, clothing, ceramics and much more. There will be cakes too, so no excuses!

Dogs have rights too!

2010-04-05T14:45:00.020+01:00

Today I joined 30 or so other dogs and their owners marching along Brighton seafront, campaigning for more businesses to welcome dogs into their premises. The Easter Parade for Dogs was organised by the Parisian-style tea salon, Metrodeco, one of Brighton's few dog friendly cafes. Co-owners Maggie and Helen believe that if more places relaxed their attitude to allowing dogs inside it would be good for tourism, making the city more appealing to dog owning visitors. They point out that most dog owners are responsible and since opening their cafe a year ago they have never had cause to ask an owner to take their pet outside.
The march today ended back at Metrodeco with refreshments for dogs and humans alike. Hurrah for Metrodeco!

Walking the Dog

2010-01-12T19:17:00.028Z

In 2002, purely by chance, I met the illustrator David Hughes. I was walking my previous Fox Terrier, Watson, and he was with his, Dexter. We got talking about dogs, as you do, and on departing exchanged email addresses. And so began a brief correspondence about Fox Terriers and stuff in general.

After losing touch for a while, I emailed him last year and he told me about his forthcoming graphic novel, "Walking the Dog". He mentioned that it was semi autobiographical and loosely based around his daily walks with Dexter. The book was published earlier this month by Random House and you can read a preview of it here.

I was amused and touched to discover that our meeting was documented in the book. Here I am with Watson, looking his usual angry self.

The book is funny, dark, disturbing in places and probably not for the faint hearted. I laughed out loud in places, got rather muddled in the middle and admit that a lot of it went over my head. For me though, one of the joys of the book are the illustrations. I really wish I could draw like this.

CityDog Magazine

2009-12-29T10:41:00.012Z

I was delighted to discover that 2 of my Forever Foxed Christmas cards were featured in the Holiday 2009 edition of CityDog Magazine, a US journal that is available in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco.

There are lots of lovely dog items in there but I was
particularly taken with the Reindeer Hoodie made by Chilly Dog Sweaters. I wonder what Jackson would think?

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-19T18:51:00.002Z

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year,

From all of us here at Forever Foxed HQ, including Jackson, the reluctant Rudolph.

Folksy Upcycle Competition

2009-11-29T08:53:00.020Z

Folksy, the UK online marketplace for buying and selling stuff, are running an Upcycle Competition. The idea behind it is to make something new from second hand/charity shop stuff which will be sold at auction on 7th December 2009 in aid of Sue Ryder, the healthcare charity.

I'm not a natural crafter so I've been seeking inspiration for quite a while. I don't sew and my knitting skills are pretty basic so I decided to stick to working with paper. I've been interested in making books for quite some time and so finally thought I should attempt an accordion photo book. I've never made one before so it was a bit of a learning curve but there are lots of handy tutorials available online.

For my accordion book I used some recycled kraft paper that was used to wrap a parcel. This means it's a bit crumpled, folded and marked in places but I think that adds to the charm! I then made accordion folds at carefully measured intervals to give the book it's shape. I didn't want to be too ambitious so I decided to make 8 openings for displaying items. I wanted to use the photo book to display some of my vast collection of vintage dog playing cards and postcards. It was difficult making the final selection but I knew that it would have to include a tribute to Caesar, Edward VII's favourite fox terrier. I have a postcard that shows him walking in the procession at Edward's funeral in 1910 (although the background has been edited out) and thought this would be perfect!

Once I'd decided on the items, I made templates the same size out of cardboard and used these to decide the exact position of the apertures. Using my bone folder (one of my tools from my real job as an Archivist!) I scored an outline on the reverse. I then made diagonal cuts using a scalpel and carefully folded the paper back. I then placed the cards in position and folded the paper over to hold them in place. I rather like this technique as it means the postcards are interchangeable.

I found some lovely old tweed material in a second hand fabric shop and had just enough to cover the front and back covers with it. As a final touch, I cut out a Scottish Terrier from felt and stuck it on the cover, along with black ribbons to enable the book to be tied flat, when not on display.

There are some beautiful and very creative entries to the competition which you can see by clicking here.

New Forever Foxed Tea Towels!

2009-11-22T08:04:00.000Z

I'm very excited about my new tea towels. They feature the Forever Foxed signature Terrier screenprinted in vivid green, blue and red outlines on a lovely white linen/cotton mix tea towel.

Currently available in my Etsy (US$)and Folksy (UK£) shops; better snap them up quick while stocks last!

Toulouse-Lautrec's Fox Terrier...

2009-11-03T20:07:00.026Z

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's Post Impressionist images of the people in Paris around the fin de siecle. Did you know that he also painted and sketched dogs too?

I was intrigued to discover a letter that was recently up for auction in which Lautrec mentions buying a fox terrier.

The letter reads:

"I have just bought a Fox Terrier at the London pound. At the end of five days, the dogs are either killed or sold. The Queen wants it that way.

So for ten shillings I've got a
dog worth at least 5 Louis [100 Francs]. It would be very nice if you could send the errand boy to fetch it at the Gard du Nord tomorrow, Wednesday, at half past 5. Give it a drink, feed it and so on, and send it on again from the Gare d'Orleans to the following address: M. Victor, Cartage Contractor at the Langon Railway Station, Langon, Gironde, COD. In fact, I don't need to tell you who he is. Thadee will be responsible for enlivening the stay of this poor animal, who is named Judy, after Punch's wife. Inform Victor with a short telegram at Verdelais so that he will not fail to be there. I think I’ll be back about the 15th. I’m eating perfectly good grill[ed meat] and shall work a little, from a sense of duty. Salaam-aleikums to Thadee. Greetings to the friends and you".

The letter dates from 5th June 1894 and is written by Lautrec while staying at Morrell’s Private Hotel in London to his friend, Alfred Natanson.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find out any further information about Judy the Fox Terrier. I wonder what became of her...

Fox Terrier Fun Walk No 2

2009-09-25T21:59:00.001+01:00

Fox Terrier Fun Walk #2
Originally uploaded by Forever Foxed

Calling all Fox Terriers and their pals. Fancy joining us on our second Fox Terrier Fun Walk on Saturday 10th October? We'll be meeting at 11.00 at Brighton Marina and heading off along the Undercliff Walk towards Saltdean. Be there or be square.

Wire Fox Terrier Stuff #5

2009-09-18T20:28:00.007+01:00

I am coveting this unusual retro fox terrier figure from the Ćmielów factory (pronounced “tschmee-loov,”) in Poland. It was designed by Mieczyslaw Naruszewicz in 1965, who I believe was part of the Institute of Industrial Design and it is now being reproduced at the factory using the original restored moulds.

Supposedly inspired by the work of Henry Moore and Picasso, there are many other lovely dog sculptures by different artists in the collection so go and take a look...

Wire Fox Terrier Stuff #4

2009-08-23T11:00:00.000+01:00

I recently came across this delightful recording by Tony Schwartz called "A Dog's Life" . It was broadcast by the CBS Radio Network in the late 1950s and then later released as a record. It tells the tale of the first year in the life of Tony's dog, a rescue fox terrier cross called Tina. The record has an amusing narration by Ralph Bell which documents Tony's visit to the animal shelter to select a puppy, seeking advice on housetraining, selecting a name and so on.

If you fancy having a listen it is available to download from the Smithsonian Global Sound website for the bargain price of $3.97 You can also view the liner notes here. Utterly charming.

Branching out...

2009-08-15T15:04:00.006+01:00

Due to popular demand (!), I've decided to branch out and include some more terrier breeds. Sticking to the square beardy ones for the moment though.

My latest badge features a West Highland Terrier (or Westie, as they're more commonly known).

Still having trouble photographing these badges because of their shininess. I keep getting my own reflection on the red background area, urgh!

Undiscovered Christie

2009-06-26T07:20:00.000+01:00

I'm sure most Fox Terrier fans have read "Dumb Witness" by Agatha Christie, in which the mystery is solved by a WFT called Bob, with the assistance of Poirot.

I was delighted to read about the recent discovery of two unseen Christie short stories which will be published by HarperCollins in autumn. One of these is called "The Mystery of the Dog's Ball", which was eventually re-worked into the novel "Dumb Witness".

"Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making" by John Curran will contain this and another never seen before short story, along with insights into how Christie worked, re-using ideas and developing plots.

Take a look at the official Agatha Christie website for more fascinating facts.

Badges Smadges

2009-06-16T07:18:00.000+01:00

Inspired by my love of all things shiny, I've just finished some terrier-ific badges. Trouble is, they're very difficult to photograph as I keep getting light reflecting off the surface. Any tips from budding photographers out there?

The glare on these isn't too bad, but I've another couple which are on darker backgrounds which I'm almost tearing my hair out over.

I'm also deliberating over what to label them in my various webstores; here in the UK we call them badges, but it seems in the US they're known as buttons. How strange!

You can buy them from my Etsy and Folksy shops...hope to get them onto my website later this week

Nell

2009-06-06T14:29:00.009+01:00

I recently saw a report about a woman who left £100,000 in her will to Nell, her 4 year old Fox Terrier. You can read more about it by clicking here.

I hope my WFT, Jackson, doesn't get any ideas!

"Handsome eh? Maybe I should ask Nell for a date?"

Original Sin

2009-05-16T07:48:00.006+01:00

"Fox Terriers are born with about four times as much original sin in them as other dogs are, and it will take years and years of patient effort on the part of us Christians to bring about any appreciable reformation in the rowdiness of the fox-terrier nature."*

I'm sure many of you will recognise this quote from Jerome K Jerome's 1888 novel, "Three Men in a Boat". The book is a humorous tale of 3 pals having a jolly good time on a boating holiday along the River Thames. They have various scrapes and mishaps along the way, accompanied by a rather mischievous fox terrier, Montmorency. The characters were based on JKJ and two of his real life friends but I was somewhat disappointed to discover recently that the dog was entirely fictional. 'Montmorency I evolved out of my inner consciousness,' admitted Jerome. 'Dog friends that I came to know later have told me it was true to life'.

I have thought about using at least part of the above quote on a greeting card for quite a while, and after much deliberation, here it is. My tribute to Montmorency

"Montmorency's ambition in life, is to get in the way and be sworn at. If he can squirm in anywhere where he particularly is not wanted, and be a perfect nuisance, and make people mad, and have things thrown at his head, then he feels his day has not been wasted.

To get somebody to stumble over him, and curse him steadily for an hour, is his highest aim and object; and, when he has succeeded in accomplishing this, his conceit becomes quite unbearable."*

Sounds like a typical terrier to me...

*Quotes and Montmorency illustration both from "Three Men in a Boat"

Wire Fox Terrier Stuff #3

2009-05-02T07:00:00.001+01:00

Ok, I know I already said that I wasn't a collector of soft toys, but I simply couldn't resist this Wire Fox Terrier made by Donna at Leafpeople. He stands at around 12 inches tall and is currently residing on top of our bedroom cabinet, safely out of reach from the snapping jaws of our real WFT, Jackson. And what could be better than one lovely soft toy? Why two of course!

After receiving my smashing WFT, I asked Donna to make a similar Irish Terrier toy for one of my pals. She put so much thought and effort into getting the toy to look exactly right and lo and behold, here they are together. I was sorely tempted to keep both dogs myself but Molly the Irish Terrier has now gone to her new home where her owner is as delighted with her as I am.

Donna makes all manner of other lovely things and welcomes custom requests so please take a look at her beautiful shop on Etsy.

Fox Terrier Fun Walk

2009-04-25T18:57:00.001+01:00

Last Sunday saw the first "Fox Terrier Fun Walk" organised by Fox Terrier Rescue in Stanmer Park, Brighton. 16 WFTs in total attended, including my dog, Jackson, and we had a very pleasant amble around the park. The dogs all got along swimmingly, and were certainly a very handsome bunch so we stopped off at various points throughout the walk for plenty of photo opportunities.

You can see more photos here and if you have a Facebook account, take a look at the photos and video in the Foxed - Wire Fox Terrier Group Events. We hope to meet up again soon, so please contact Fox Terrier Rescue if you wish to be notified when the next walk takes place.

Want to be a Facebook fan?

2009-03-21T11:44:00.000Z

I know, as usual I have discovered Facebook ages after everyone else. But just to be different, I've sent up an anonymous Business Page, which is much more limiting than the usual Personal Pages. It probably doesn't help because I don't actually know what I'm doing, and I haven't created a personal profile either. It seems that I can't become anyone's "friend" but if you also have a Business Page I can become a "Fan". Strange eh?

Flying Fox Terriers

2009-03-14T07:46:00.000Z

Remember the Beswick flying ducks that used to grace every UK living room wall in the 1960s and 1970s? Stan & Hilda Ogden had a set in Coronation Street.

My latest card is an homage to this kitsch classic, but with a fox terrier twist.

It's currently available on Folksy & Etsy.

PS Thanks to Diana for the idea and Reagan for the wallpaper!

Typesetting Lesson

2009-02-27T14:13:00.000Z

Last week I spend an enjoyable day with Mike, Treasurer of the British Printing Society and his two cats. He is my letterpress mentor and very kindly offered to teach me the rudiments of typesetting, using one of his Adana 8x5 printers.

I'd already read "Type and Typesetting", published by Adana, but like many people I find it much easier to learn something while actually doing it. It was useful to have grasped the basics of Ems & Ens etc in advance though especially since maths was never my strong point.

Although I'm going to be using my Adana for very simple words and phrases in my card designs, I think it's important to be shown how to print the correct way. Using a composing stick for the first time was interesting and I'm certainly not going to break any records for speed, but it was immensely satisfying to see something I'd typeset being printed.

I realise now that I should have taken a series of instructional photos for this blog, but hey ho, you'll just have to watch this fabulous 1950s video I found instead. Pay attention because there are questions at the end. Answers on a postcard please....

Wire Fox Terrier Stuff #2

2009-02-20T09:31:00.001Z

The second item in my collection to feature in this occasional series is a knitted wire fox terrier called Barksdale. He was made by Sally Muir & Joanna Osborne. Although I'm not usually a fan of cuddly toys, I like Barksdale because he's a bit quirky. He almost makes me want to break out my knitting needles!
I was amused by the comment on their website which says "The knitted fox terrier is very much better behaved than the real version, almost as adorable and you can take him for walks in your pocket". Have they met my dog, Jackson, I wonder?

Photo courtesy of Pet Heaven

Light Box

2009-02-09T12:44:00.000Z

It seems that every Tom, Dick & Harry on Folksy and Etsy are obsessed with light boxes at the moment. I thought I should investigate further, as like many sellers my product photos could do with a little ooomph. I thought about buying a ready made kit but in the end I'm such a cheapskate that I decided to make one myself. I used this tutoria l as the basic guide which was very helpful and quick to do.

I bought the poster foam board stuff from an art shop for around £1 per sheet and a local light shop was having a closing down sale so I got some very cheap light fittings and daylight bulbs. The first bulbs I used were fine, but after one or two attempts I decided to try energy saving daylight bulbs instead. They are the equivalent of a 75 watt normal bulb and they give a much brighter intense light.

The box is stuck together with masking tape and can be disassembled easily enough between uses. I'm still experimenting with different backgrounds at the moment. I bought some royal blue card as a back drop and while it works well with some of the things I've photographed, I think it's a bit too dark with my cards. Trouble is, since my cards are mostly white or cream they don't stand out too well against the white of the poster board. I'm thinking of using a lighter blue, but I'm still experimenting at the moment. So don't all rush off to look at my product photos, as I haven't changed them yet!

Here's a photo I took of a pot of Colonel Ichabod Conk's Moustache Wax (don't ask!)
It hasn't been manipulated in Photoshop at all as I thought it I'd show how it turned out without any editing. Not too bad, I think. I set the white balance on my camera to Daylight and used the macro setting. The camera I used for this was a pretty basic Sony Cyber-shot.

Finally, I thought I'd show you a photo of the light box itself. You can see that in this photo I'm only using 3 lights, but usually I'd have 4 at least. It's a bit difficult to get a decent photo of it, but I'm sure you can get the gist. I don't have a tripod for my camera so I rest my shaky hands on a
couple of books to steady the shot. I don't usually have the lights in this position either, but it was tricky trying to fit everything in. The box itself is balanced precariously on my cooker hob!

As you can see, my photography skills are limited, but I thought it might be useful to show how an amateur can improve macro shots and I hope at least some of you find it helpful.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

2009-01-31T14:01:00.000Z

Just uploaded this new card to Folksy, Etsy and also my website.

It's a portrait of sorts of my Wire Fox Terrier, Jackson, and it was produced using my gocco printer. I like the rough and ready feel to the illustration and the keen eyed will spot that I'm using Cocktail Script, one of my favourite fonts again.

The idea for the design came when Jackson sneaked into our bedroom for the umpteenth time. He knows he's not allowed in there, but he should win some sort of award for persistence. Anyway, I caught him curled up on my pillow (yes, it's always my pillow) and it was such a lovely photo opportunity that I took several pictures before shooing him off.

This one was my favourite and so for the card I simply copied his position but changed the location to his red dog bed.

It's the first time I've used Jackson himself as a study for a card although of course he's the general inspiration behind all of them. Let's hope it doesn't go to his head. He'll be signing pawtographs next...

New Forever Foxed Website

2009-01-15T13:33:00.000Z

I'm delighted to announce that my new Forever Foxed website is finally live, hurrah! Although I was very fond of the old site, the new one is such a treat. Alas, I can't take any of the credit myself, it's all down to the lovely Reagan from Zea Creative. She really has the patience of a saint and deserves some sort of medal for putting up with all my silly questions.

I'm still going to keep my Etsy and new Folksy shops going, but once items have expired in my eBay shop at the end of the month it will close.

Please take a look at the new website and let me know what you think...

Tintin's Anniversary

2009-01-10T09:00:00.000Z

Blistering barnacles! Today marks the 80th anniversary of the first appearance of Tintin. Drawn and written by the Belgian cartoonist George Remi, better known as Hergé, Tintin was first seen in "Le Petit Vingtième", a weekly children's newspaper on 10th January 1929. Apparently, Tintin was based on an earlier character created by Hergé called Totor who was a boy scout. Tintin however, is a roving reporter, (not that there's ever much evidence of this in the books), who is drawn to dangerous intrigues in which his bravery and quick thinking save the day. He's usually accompanied by Milou, his white Wire Fox Terrier, more commonly known as Snowy.

There have been a few Tintin stories doing the rounds recently; I saw this story on Thursday asking if Tintin is gay. Not that it matters, of course, but I'm sure Snowy knows the truth ;)

Also just read in The Guardian that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are going to be playing the Thompson Twins in the forthcoming Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson film. Hard to imagine really as they don't look a bit alike. In the books they were impossible to tell apart except by their moustaches! The actor playing Tintin has yet to be cast and I'm guessing that Snowy will be some kind of CGI monstrosity, sigh.

Happy Anniversary, Tintin. And Snowy too of course!

Wire Fox Terrier Stuff #1

2009-01-03T12:44:00.001Z

Over the years I seem to have accumulated a lot of Wire Fox Terrier stuff. I don't deliberately look for WFT things, they just seem to creep up on me. At least, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I thought I might post about some of these items so this is the first in an occasional series on WFT stuff that I either already own or secretly covet.

Much of my collection, (known affectionately by my SO as the "Wire Fox Terrier Museum") was given to me as a gift, including the latest addition, a lovely brooch created by Cherish Me Designs.

Go and pay her shop a visit and snap up one of her beautiful designs...

My Adventures in Letterpress

2008-12-28T15:00:00.000Z

I am very excited by my new toy, an Adana 8x5 Letterpress which I recently bought on eBay. My press dates from around the early 1950s and is showing a few signs of neglect, but nothing that a bit of tender loving care can't sort out. A few parts were missing but I'm hoping to pick up some bits and pieces shortly before I begin work on my first card designs. I've also just joined the British Printing Society which has some useful information and links on Letterpress.

I love all the terminology associated with letterpress printing. I think that getting to grips with it all is going to keep me busy for quite some time...

Christmas Card Exchange

2008-12-11T20:14:00.000Z

This is the second year that we've taken part in the Dogs with Blogs Christmas card exchange whereby participants send Christmas cards to pals all around the world. Most people use straightforward photos of their dogs on the cards but we wanted to do something a little different.

I thought I might experiment with my gocco printer and print a photo of our dog Jackson with a difference. I decided to use this photo as I like the way he's looking directly at the camera.

Firstly I edited out the background and then superimposed a cartoony big nose and added the antlers. When trying to print a photo using a gocco it's best to add dots to the image so that it comes out like a newspaper photo. I could have done it in Photoshop, but I like the lo-fi photo screens that the gocco manufacturer Riso produce for this so I used one of them instead. It's placed directly on the photocopier screen and the image is put on top and copied. All images for gocco have to be photocopied or drawn using a special pen to get the right amount of carbon to work properly. It's all a bit technical for me, I'm afraid.

I then added the message using Lionel Text Diesel in red and silver ink.

I like the way it looks sort of faded, although the photo doesn't really do it justice and the writing is actually straight on the original cards, not slightly skew-whiff as seen here!

Famous Fox Terriers No. 1; Thomas Hardy's Dog

2008-11-21T18:04:00.000Z

I was interested to read recently that the author Thomas Hardy owned a very mischievious fox terrier called Wessex (or Wessie for short). Related to Caesar, Edward VII's terrier, he was bought by Hardy's second wife, Florence, for security at their house in Dorchester, Max Gate.

Many of the biographies on Hardy comment on the terrier's foul temper and his distinct lack of table manners or discipline. His crimes include shredding the trouser legs of several guests, 3 nips at the postman, terrorising the servants and taking a chunk from the leg of author and champion of good causes, John Galsworthy. Wessex did have one or two favourites though and these included T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia), a close friend of the Hardys.

When Florence first brought him home in 1913 Hardy initially took a dislike to the dog and was recorded by their cook, Mrs Stanley, as saying to his wife "two things that you have brought into this house that I dislike are the dog Wessex and Mrs Stanley's child". Later he seems to have changed his mind and became very attached to Wessex, taking him for car rides, giving him an eiderdown to lie on in his study and feeding him goose and plum pudding at Christmas until he was sick.

Wessex is often mentioned in letters from Florence to their friends: in 1924 to she writes to E M Forster: "By the way Wessie has been clipped by the vet: his mouth well tied with tape, and myself gripping his collar and terribly alarmed. He nearly burst with rage, but looks much improved."

In another letter, this time to Rebekah Owen, she wrote: "Wessie sends his love. He is really a good dog - but all of his kind are fighters - more or less. My husband actually kisses him every night before he is carried off to bed. Perhaps he won't always fight. Today he met a curly brown water spaniel and had a great frolic with him. But he hates smooth haired fox terriers because one attacked him once - one with a black face. And he hates black faces."

J M Barrie, dramatist and novelist, reports that Hardy once showed him a letter from a company that had presented him with a radio. Apparently they were initially delighted to find out that he liked it, only to be disheartened to learn from another source that the radio was in fact bought for Wessex.

Once, Barrie and Hardy took Wessex to a dress rehearsal by the Hardy Players for a local production of "Tess". He was well behaved until the time came for one of his favourite radio programmes "Children's Hour". He howled and kicked up such a fuss that Hardy had to take him home. Hardy was also known to get up early in the morning just to turn the radio on for Wessex's listening pleasure.

Sir John Squire says this about one of his visits to Hardy: "Once as we were leaving the dining room Wessex leapt up and and began to tug at his trouser leg. "What on earth's up" I asked. "Oh", said Hardy, "he won't let me leave the room until he's had a few minutes of the wireless". He turned on the machine and we sat down again, while the dog, on his haunches, with his tongue hanging out, delighted in his daily dose of Bach. "Mind you", added Hardy, as we rose again, "he doesn't like the talks!""

Lady Cynthia Asquith described Wessex as "the most despotic dog guests have ever suffered under". On a visit to the Hardy's home in Dorset, Max Gate, with J M Barrie, she says "Wessex was especially uninhibited at dinner time, most of which he spent not under, but on, the table, walking about unchecked, and contesting every single forkful of food on its way from my plate to my mouth".

After his death in 1926 Hardy wrote 2 poems about him, "Dead 'Wessex' the Dog of the Household" and "A Popular Personage at Home".

Hardy recorded his death in his notebook on 27th December: "Our famous dog Wessex died at half past six in the evening. 13 years of age." The following day he writes "Wx buried" and "Wx sleeps outside the house for the first time for 13 years".

In a letter to his friends, the Granville Barkers, he says "We miss him greatly, but he was in such misery with swelling and paralysis that it was a relief when a kind breath of chloroform administered in his sleep by 2 good-natured Doctors (not vets) made his sleep an endless one - A dog of such strong character required human doctors!"

Hardy's wife Florence was also very upset, writing in a letter to Sydney Cockerell "Of course he was merely a dog, and not a good dog always, but thousands (actually thousands) of afternoons and evenings I would have been alone but for him, and had always him to speak to. But I mustn't write about him and I hope no one will ask me about him or mention his name".

Wessex was buried in the pet cemetary in the gardens of Max Gate. Hardy designed the headstone himself and his original drawings are annotated "Portland Stone. Edges and back may be left rough- letters to be cut deep". It is said that they still reside with Grassby Stonemasons, the local firm of monumental masons who executed the design which reads:

"The Famous Dog Wessex

Aug 1913-27 Dec 1926

Faithful, Unflinching."

Wessex's grave

Do You Flickr?

2008-11-15T07:51:00.001Z

I know I'm probably light years behind everyone else, but I've just discovered the delights of the image and video hosting website, Flickr. I like the idea of using it as another indirect marketing tool but I'm also just plain nosey and I love looking at these little snapshots of peoples’ lives. I suppose we're all voyeurs at heart.

In keeping with the Forever Foxed brand I'm using it primarily to post photos of our dog Jackson interspersed with a few of my greeting cards. Still not clear how blatant we're allowed to be about selling stuff so there's not even a hint of the word "etsy" except as a link in my profile. I've noticed that some people use it as a tag but I read on the etsy forums that it's verboten so I'm still being supercautious.

I've already joined a few Flickr groups and left some random comments here and there. I've even had 2 sales as a direct result of it which can't be bad in my first week of actively using it. So if you fancy a sneaky peek at my flickr page, please click here. Go on, you know you want to!

Happy Holidays!

2008-11-07T04:00:00.000Z

Why do Americans say "Happy Holidays"? It's not really an expression used here in the UK, but in a bid to please my US-based customers I thought I'd try it out on a new greeting card.

Do you like it?

Happy Howl-o-ween!

2008-10-31T08:40:00.000Z

Jackson says "Boo"!

Confessions of a secret fontaphile

2008-10-25T15:10:00.000+01:00

Ok, I admit it. I'm obsessed with fonts. A fontaholic, if you will. There are certain fonts that just make me want to poke my eyes out (you know who you are, Times New Roman) and anyone over the age of 12 who uses comic sans really should know
better. Other loathsome fonts include Arial (just so dull) and courier (nuff said). This is being typed in Trebuchet. Ah, a classic font that puts a spring in my step. I get my font-fix at Font Diner, a fine purveyor of fancy retro fonts. My favourite? It's got to be --------->

Christmas cards

2008-10-19T21:10:00.000+01:00

With the holiday season fast approaching I have been working on my new Christmas card range. I was very excited to be able to use my newish Gocco printer (yes, I know supplies are dwindling, yada yada yada, but I couldn't resist buying one). For those still uninitiated in the delights of Gocco, please click here to find out what all the fuss is about.

My first new design this year is fairly simple; two fox terriers under the mistletoe...

It's currently available to purchase from my Etsy and eBay shops and will be loaded onto the Forever Foxed website shortly.

Welcome to Forever Foxed

2008-10-13T20:54:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to my new Forever Foxed blog. Here I will be publicising my new greeting card designs and sharing my love of all things fox terrier.

Meet the inspiration behind the cards, our 9 year old rescue Wire Fox Terrier, Jackson.