Wednesday 27 January 2010

Valentine's Day is on the way!












In preparation for that good ol' romantic day, I've created some Valentine's Day cards after discovering Lovers' Lane in South Queensferry back in December - too good a street name to not use for such an occasion.

I've even been extra organised and added them to the website, available to buy in their very own shop, which you can access by clicking here. Of course do come and buy them in person at the Morningside Makers Market craft fair on 6th February if you prefer!

Jen x

Monday 18 January 2010

The hunt for street signs

Ever since I took that first street sign photograph almost 18 months ago, it has become an obsession - I can't go anywhere without first studying maps of the area I'm heading to in case there's a worthwhile street with a name I haven't yet added to my ever-growing list.

Without trying to sound too exotic, it was in Australia when I first stumbled upon the idea. A lazy week spent on Magnetic Island (ironically, a tiny island with only a handful of roads) presented 'Heath Street' - the name of my cousin's boyfriend in Canberra who we would be visiting just weeks later. How could I resisit!? How fun it would be to show him that many hundred miles north of his capital home, on a lovely, warm, quiet island lay a road named 'after' him?

Of course it didn't stop there, oh no... As Mr O and I continued to travel north up the coast, each new town we stopped at held more and more signs: David St and Campbell St in Mission Beach; Minnie St and Sheridan St in Cairns. And then to Melbourne - to this day the most affluent place on earth (that I have yet discovered) in terms of street signs.

This Sunday saw my first ever trip to somewhere with the intention soley for the search of street names - to Perth. Not a long drive from Edinburgh and with the snow no more than a splash of slush on the side of the road, not a bad journey either. A whole list of names to obtain (eight in total...not quite enough to rival Melbourne, but a good effort) and obtain-away I did!

Miles I walked, often in the wrong direction, looking, hoping, turning corners in the hope that the terrible map I had drawn out on a piece of scrap paper would somehow lead me to my destinations. And what a buzz! To find not only those names on my list, but also ones that I had somehow missed on my Saturday afternoon map-studying session (how did I miss you, Stuart Avenue?!) was quite a thrill.

My enthusiasm was fuelled thanks to my booking my first craft fair, at the Morningside Makers Market on Saturday 6 February, at the Columcille Centre on Newbattle Terrace from 10.30am-4pm - I need to start building up stock!

As for my Perth haul, I would like you to welcome Angus Court, Malcolm Court, Lewis Place, Rae Place, James Street, Isla Road, Victoria Street, Scott Street and of course, Stuart Avenue, to the list.

I wonder what next weekend will bring...

Friday 8 January 2010

New Year, new collage

Happy New Year! Thought it was about time to get a new collage up on to the website - please welcome Anstruther Harbour to the collection. Despite a rather grey day, the photos for the collage turned out rather well and I have to say the lovely bluey-grey of the water and sky is probably my favourite part.
And here we are in 2010...what will it hold. Well so far, I've got my Facebook page up and running. If you're a Facebook user, you can find my fan page by searching for 'Jen Owens Images'. I've also got my first craft fair coming up - more info to follow soon!

What with all this lovely snow, it would be a shame to not take advantage of some quite simply stunning scenery that's appeared over the past few weeks so fingers crossed it continues through the week so I can get out and about with my camera!