About Me

I really loved dressing up as a child, I loved colourful clothes and always had to match colours.  I especially remember a Japanese kimono and stiff Spanish petticoat that my Grandmother put in my dressing up box. My Grandmother gave me a Millefiori glass bead necklace when I was 13 and when it broke I repaired it and found matching beads to make earrings. That was the start of what over the years became my passion. This is the necklace; I love wearing it and the connection it gives me with my now long dead grandmother.

I grew up on a coastal Suffolk farm, married in 1982 and moved to Norfolk. In quick succession we then moved to Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and back to Norfolk in 1986. We had two children along the way, both settled in their own lives and surprisingly tolerant of my fixation with beads and jewellery.

In September 1994 I stumbled across the Janet Coles Beads catalogue. I spent many happy hours dreaming about the variety of beads available and buying just a few (well over time, quite a few) to make jewellery for myself.  

As my collection grew I realised that people I worked with commented more and more on my necklaces. They asked if I’d make some for them too. Soon I was taking a stall at fundraising events.  

In December 2016, after 25 years working in school administration and finance I left my job to concentrate on what I love - beads.

I am supported by my husband of more than 40 years. He has a sales and marketing background, has supported many business start-ups and social enterprises. He is now a full time writer and publisher.

I am a member of the Anglian Polymer Clay Guild anglianpcg.co.uk and the British Polymer Clay Guild bpcg.org.uk

Since 1963 I have lived with Type 1 Diabetes. It is now far easier to manage than it was then, but still means I have to plan my life more carefully than most. I also have to give myself five injections every day! Diabetes UK fund research into Diabetes and encourage a positive image for long term diabetics. I’ll be giving some of my profits to support the brilliant work they do.

Living with diabetes, my support for diabetes.org.uk

I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes before my 4th birthday, so I have few memories of a time when it wasn’t part of my daily life.  It was definitely more difficult for my parents than me to begin with.  They had the trauma of having to give daily injections to a daughter who didn’t want to sit still to receive them.  I soon learnt that it was less stressful and painful for everyone if I just sat still!

My parents were quick to join The British Diabetic Association, which is now Diabetes UK, and we received invaluable support and advice in my childhood, teenage years and during my pregnancies.  This year it is 60 years since I was diagnosed.  I want to support the research they fund and the help they give to anyone affected by diabetes, so that all diabetics are able to live a full and healthy life.

I have so far managed to donate £1,000 towards research by Diabetes UK from my profits. The more you buy the more I can donate.

Read more about my experience of living with diabetes

My New Jewellery Workshop

Turnpike Farm had been our home since 1998, so when we thought about downsizing we knew it would be difficult to find something that felt right. The search took over 5 years and brought us back to the place where we both grew up - Leiston, near the Suffolk coast.

We spent 2023 converting an old asbestos shed into a 3 bed house. I am excited to say that one of the bedrooms has become my new studio/workshop.

We have an acre of land, which was a pit at one time called Dunn’s Hole, which is why we have called our new home Dunn’s Barn, but we have yet to find anything about who Dunn was.

Robert Ashton - Writer

After writing 20 books on business skills my husband stopped taking on consultancy work, enrolled on the UEA’s creative writing MA in 2019, and graduated a year later with both a distinction, and the first three chapters of a book about how life in rural Suffolk continues to evolve. Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay will be published in the UK in April, and the USA this autumn. I’m sure that researching a book about Suffolk is one of the reasons we’ve ended up living here again.

Robert is now balancing researching his next book, in which he explores our relationship with soil with being both an active Quaker and a trustee of three charities. He says he needs the stimulation that comes from being active in the local community to be able to write, but I suspect that he’s just too easily distracted and finds it hard to say no. Luckily we both work from home, so I can keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t overcommit.

Robert Ashton

@robertashton1

Dunn's Barn, Church Road, Leiston, Suffolk IP16 4HL

www.robertashton.co.uk

My latest book Where are the Fellows who Cut the Hay? will be published on 04.04.24. Pre-order your copy here.