NEW Sheila Fleet Kirkwall Shop Update!
Sep 6, 2024
After two years of working behind-the-scenes on our new Kirkwall Gallery location, we thought it ...
Summer’s here! Orkney has been basking in lovely light during May and Sheila has been creating some wonderful new enamel colours for her Lunar design. She’s called it Lunar Bright.
Lunar Bright in Light Tropical
This shimmering colour reminds us of sunlight on a calm and peaceful sea, iridescent and mesmerising…
Lunar Bright in Hot Pink
A delightful warm colour. Think of wildflowers growing in the spring and summer, sea pinks, primula scotica, wild orchids and glowing embers in winter bonfires.
Lunar Bright in Spring Green
Feel the fresh intensity of new grass as you gaze at this new colour…
Enamelling Lunar Bright
Sheila chose her Lunar design for these new enamel colourways as its cup-like shape, inspired by ancient cup mark carvings in stone found at the Ness of Brodgar, lends itself particularly well to showing enamel. Lunar also has a reticulated surface. This is a technique where we melt the surface of the silver and, as it solidifies again, it forms a wonderful texture like rough rock, making the applied enamel glisten beautifully.
Each new Lunar Bright enamel blends three different colours…
Enamel is molten crystals of glass. Here Hayley is using a goose quill to carefully apply the ground glass grains. She judges the length of time each piece requires in the tiny, specialist kiln to the last second. Practice makes perfect, she’s been enamelling for 13 years now!
When heated to temperatures over 800 degrees, the glass grains fuse and change colour. As Hayley removes a Spring Green pendant the enamel looks brown but it quickly reverts back to the green colours we want as it cools.
Lunar Bright Pendants
Our pendants are available in a variety of chain lengths or on a neck wire.
Lunar Bright Earrings
We offer these stud earrings in two different sizes and we also have a selection of drop earrings.
Lunar Bright Rings
Our Lunar rings are dress rings, i.e. we wouldn’t recommend wearing while doing any manual work. If you’d like your finger sized, call into any of our shops and ask our staff.
We hope you like Sheila’s bright new colours and we’re wishing you all a wonderful summer with picnics in the garden, sunny days at the sea and walks among wildflowers.
If you‘d like to know more about Sheila’s colours visit our Guide to Enamels.
