Category: About

Picture This

Picture This

Can’t pictures be powerful…

This one from 2015 popped up on my timeline recently, how can this be seven years ago? The summer before I lost my Dad to cancer.

Sheds

It’s immediately took me back to a warm summer day sitting in my back garden on the decking he’d had laid for me. The sheds were looking tatty and I need cheering up so I decided they needed some TLC . Off to B&Q I went. The beach hut design was very much with a purpose in mind. If you look very closely you’ll see three numbers on the apex of each one. A 30, an 11 & 42. They were random to others but they were in fact my Dad’s date of birth.Each one of my sons chose a number and we proudly placed them on their sheds.

The blue and white shed has been a playhouse when my boys were younger bought one Christmas by my parents.

The three of them had spent many happy hours in there.

The yellow one, a rabbit hutch for a furry pet they also bought for my youngest son.

Dad always loved to be doing something in his shed. Mum despaired of it, always so cluttered and full of “just in case” stuff a.k.a. crap! But you know what, when you needed a bit of wood or a certain tool dad always had it.

It felt very fitting and very comforting as well as purposeful to paint those sheds that summer. Both my parents were very practical and many skills I have are thanks to them. So not only did I have a colourful corner to enjoy , it made me smile knowing they would’ve approved.

Mum and dad

We moved from that house four years ago after living there for 24 years . It was the very week we lost my mum and my only regret was leaving those sheds behind. The rest was just bricks and mortar, some happy memories some not so happy.

Our new house has been a fresh start for us. We were married in 2020 and this is our forever home. We’ve renovated it with the help of Mum & Dad in the form of my inheritance and I know they would be very proud of what we’ve achieved.

Dotted around the house as well as memory furniture I’ve refinished we have a lots of little mementoes. Believe it or not I’m not big on Photos despite having thousands on my phone I
don’t have them around the house. But Dad’s old flat cap and Mum’s sewing basket are amongst the mementoes I hold dear and have displayed. I smile when I see you then.

When we lose loved ones it’s impossible to hold onto everything. It can be difficult letting go but we must. Being able to gift them to others or donate to good causes helps. Knowing that they’ve been reused and reloved feels good.

FMN or Forget Me Not doesn’t have to be furniture, it can be a shed, sewing box or a fishing basket for example. I know not everyone has the time or inclination to refinish or a purpose it themselves. That’s how and why my FMN furniture business began. I am your furniture angel.

No one can take away that summer day in 2015 when I painted those sheds, the happiness it brought me and the seeds it set for my future to get me where I am today. That summer I realise life is for living and to always go with our hearts ,follow our dreams. Do what you love.

Beyond The Rainbow 2020/21

As we emerge from a year like no other, I was reminded of a few things. Of how every sector of life has been affected. We’ve clapped for the NHS , which has been amazing but what of the supermarket staff, care workers and Funeral Directors to mention but a few, all putting their lives at risk to be there for others.

NHS Rainbow

I was chatting to a friend whose Dad sadly passed away 2 years ago in Ireland. Estates & wills , house sales etc are always lengthy processes at the best of times but then a Global pandemic comes along & everything grinds to a halt. Unable to travel let alone tie up his affairs, her grieving journey is in limbo.

Will

I feel very lucky that I haven’t lost anyone to Covid but sadly so many have.I recently held our beloved family cat as he slipped away which was heartbreaking, but I felt so relieved that i was able to do that. It is absolutely unimaginable how poor families that have not been allowed to be by their loved ones side must be feeling. Then this arrived in the post. A beautiful, touching memento of our furry friend. Even though adding fingerprints to memory furniture is a service we offer, in that moment, as Bert slipped away it never occurred to me to take his paw print. But now when we come to say goodbye to another pet it is something I will consider.

I wonder how many families have lost loved ones in care homes and not even being able to access their belongings, go through their personal possessions and clear out their rooms even.

My Mum passed away just 3 years after my Dad 3 years before her. Unbeknown to me and my Sister, Mum Had spent that time getting her affairs in order. There was still a great deal to organize and I remember the feelings of guilt. As if we were giving her life away. When we donated clothes & other items to charity shops etc. it was like a betrayal. But the fact is, you simply can’t keep hold of everything that belonged to them. Her house sold very quickly and it was a bit of a blur.

Sold sign

So often I hear from clients that they feel guilty for not wanting to keep items of furniture in their homes that had belonged to their Parents or Grandparents for example. It may have been their pride and joy but It is not necessarily to your taste. They may love it but you don’t like it, or at least not in its original state. It is not disrespectful to deal with things as you see fit. This is how FMN memory furniture was created.
I kept one item in particular belonging to my late parents. It was a reproduction mahogany corner cabinet. The kind everyones parents had in the 70s. With a glazed top door behind which sat her Coalport China . Mum was very house proud and her front room was ‘for best’ . High days & holidays . The bottom door hid/housed her sherry and brandy for special occasions.

Ornaments

Sitting lonely & yes unloved in my garage for over three years after she died, I didn’t want anyone else to have it, I never intended to paint it and sell it but just didn’t know where or how it would work in my modern home. Until Christmas 2020 that is and suddenly I knew exactly what I needed to do with it.

Hand & bulb

My Mum started a tradition over 30 years ago. Each Christmas she would buy me and my Sisters a Snow Baby Ornament . A tradition we have carried on after losing our parents. We still buy each other one every year. As you can imagine there’s quite a collection now. I do love when it’s time for them to make an appearance, and feel sad when they have to be packed away. This year nowhere that I placed them felt right. This is when it came to me that Mum‘s former drinks cabinet would make the perfect home for them.

Forget me not

I set about creating my own memory furniture. Our house is decorated in neutral Scandi tones so the dark wood regency cupboard didn’t fit at all. I got to work removing the doors and the shaped plinth on the bottom before I began refinishing it in a contemporary grey colour. The shelves were given a woodgrain effect in a taupe. The finishing touch was an angel feather containing some of my Mums ashes which I discreetly attached to the top cornice . My snow babies were home.

Forget me not items

As part of my journey with FMN I have reached out to various organizations, forming relationships with those in the funeral industry, house clearance agencies, care homes, hospice and other makers of Keepsakes.We share a passion and common goal to assist bereaved families on their grief journey. Helping to preserve something precious, creating links from the past with their future. Because after the rain there is sun & when the two come together they create magic. What lies beyond is up to us…

Rainbow

A Mouses Tale

My Home Town. I’m lucky enough to live in Gods own county – Yorkshire. As we’ve just celebrated Yorkshire Day I thought I’d share with you some of my local history. The village we live in is Conisbrough, just off the A1 near Doncaster which was famed for its industrial heritage building famous steam engines such as Mallard.

But our little village is steeped in history too. We have a Medieval Castle mentioned in the Doomsday Book & the Novel Ivanhoe.  If you are ever in the area it’s well worth a visit & is part of English Heritage.

The view from my Kitchen window is breathtaking as I look out towards the Dearne Valley and Conisbrough Viaduct, a fantastic architectural feat of engineering and just beyond it is a quarry currently mining limestone being used to restore BIG Ben!

There was at one time a Brick Makers in the village too employing many locals as did the coal mines at nearby Cadby & Denaby Main. 

The other Famous landmark in the village is St Peters Church dating back to the 8th Century and it holds a wealth of history but what I love the most about it is this little fellow

Robert Thompson ‘Mouse Man’

Each of the pews in the church was made by this Yorkshire Man who was famed for making each one of his pieces with a carved mouse hidden somewhere uponit – hence he gained the accolade of being the Mouse Man.

So This Yorkshire Lass wants to follow in his footsteps. I am by no means a carpenter but I do want my pieces to be special for each one of my clients. To this end  I offer the option to incorporate hidden mementos. These include Thumbprints, Angelwings & feather mouldings which can  contain ashes or Locks of hair , photo & signature transfers or Decoupage items of clothing.

If you would like to own a unique, one of a kind item of furniture do get in touch and together we can make your very own Forget Me Not Piece.

How I Found My Niche

Welcome to my first ever blog. I’m delighted that you’ve taken the time to join me and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Never thought I’d find myself saying that I enjoyed writing, but I really do.

As a child I struggled at school. I hated being the one asking for help & not getting any, so in the end I stopped asking. I do recall at secondary school having a wonderful science teacher named Mrs Mason who had faith in my abilities as did my form tutor Mr Watson who was also my Geography teacher. I left Dearneside Comprehensive June 1979, never having been kissed behind the bike sheds like the popular girls. I had 2 C grades in Biology & Geography, but not much else. My favourite memory was that of the cherry blossom that lined the entrance ….

I fared much better when I attended Barnsley College doing subjects I’d chosen and enjoyed. Being a miner’s daughter I had a good work ethic. I worked from the day I left school, first job at almost 16 behind the bar at Ings Lane Social & Social Club in the pit village of Bolton on Dearne where I grew up. This gave me a good grounding & I have fond memories.

After a life of ups & downs, I found myself (through choice) a 46 year old single mum of 3 boys. This was the hardest but most rewarding job ever. I always had the love and support of my Mum & Dad who always believed in me & encouraged me in whatever I did.

Both my parents were quite creative- Dad with his DIY. I recall he once came feet first through my kitchen ceiling whilst working on a job in my bathroom above. Mum was  a skilled seamstress. When me and my sister were growing up she’d make us matching outfits. I had the latest Rarra Skirt in every colour imaginable. She was a good cook too.  We never had much money growing up but we were loved and well fed. 

Sadly I lost my Dad in 2014 and mum 3 years later in 2017 both to Cancer. My world was turned upside down. I didnt cope well after losing Mum & decided to leave my job in Education. I needed time to grieve. My therapy was painting. I worked on furniture for  friends & had a small shop but knew it wasn’t where my passion lay. Much of the work I did was inherited furniture & it gave such comfort to families, re-loving what once would have been sent to the skip.

At 55, I realised, THIS was what I loved to do.  So in January 2020 I decided to Niche my business & focus on  Memorial Commision Work under the brand of Forget Me Not Furniture & the rest, as they say, is history or it will be once this Virus does one!!!!