Like other artists I began early as a young child exploring ways to create wonderful and colourful pictures - expressions of my thoughts; especially of the things I loved.
I began to take this more seriously in the 1990's and began licensing some of my work and also selling some pieces here and there. During the same period my health declined and I concentrated on it more due to that, as I tried to heal. ​
I tend to paint whatever I feel inspired by and spiritually that takes me through land, sea and sky. It is so easy to see the magic there and so, I also create fantasy work too.
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I draw inspiration from the idyllic landscapes of England, Wales and Scotland and work in both traditional and digital media.
How Sleepy Oaks began...
Our hair accessory and jewellery roots go back to 2000 when I had a high street shop which specialised in hair accessories and jewellery.
Sadly I had to close my shop due to poor health and then as I tried to recover I turned to my artwork(I also sold my artwork from 1996) and concentrated on that as I tried to heal and exhibited both nationally and internationally and attended select events. In 2021 I began supplying a few local shops with some of my new and recent hair accessory makes and the rest is history!
I went ahead and opened a Facebook page for my sewing business in March 2022 and officially launched my new website at the end of April 2022.
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It really feels great to be back doing this!
Our aims
Gaynor Lewis/Fearneve - Through my art, I hope to be able to inspire people to be conscious of their environment and the beauty that exists within it and seek to bring a sense of joy, creativity and connection to the natural world to others.
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My art is a reflection of my love of nature and of the beauty found in the simple moments of life. I hope that my work inspires and brings a sense of joy to others, just as it does to me.
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Sleepy Oaks - Feeling good about how we look can help our confidence and our positivity and our aim is to create beautiful and functional accessories that you will love to wear.
Sleepy Oaks is passionate about creating new product lines to bring new and unique products to you.
Clothing and accessories for you and your much loved pets too!
Gaynor Lewis and Sleepy Oaks
Gaynor Lewis is a working artist based in Derbyshire.
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She is deeply inspired by the natural world around her; "the special places which fill us with emotion and stir memories."
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The name 'Fearneve' is sometimes found as a signature on her fantasy/mythical/spiritual work.
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The name Fearneve, pronounced 'Fair un Eve' is from Fearn (pronounced Fair un), which is the Celtic Tree Lore name of the Alder. The Alder has many magickal and spiritual associations. Her ancestral name is Eve, sometimes spelt as Yve, though pronounced the same.​
Born during the Alder month and with her ancestral name ~ Fearneve.
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Sometimes she will also create other things such as small sculptures - check out her dragons - and also pyrography and needlework. She enjoys writing stories and poetry and is steadily working on a few books.
Sleepy Oaks - All of the processes from the sourcing of fabric, ironing, cutting, sewing, packaging and posting are done by myself, here in Derbyshire, UK.
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At Sleepy Oaks, we try to go one better. For example many of our scrunchies are made with between 50 and 60 inches of length to ensure more ruffles. The elastic we use in our scrunchies has been voted 2nd in the top 10 elastics for 2022 for its quality and durability. Our elastic is cut to size and then heat sealed at the ends to prevent any fraying . Our latest scrunchies have the elastics sewn to make for a flatter finish, each one sewn around 40 times across to ensure a very good hold - there is no give and we are finding it much better and stronger than the previously knotted scrunchie elastics we made and also better than the knotted and sewn scrunchies we made.
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Sleepy Oaks will ALWAYS strive for a better product and we won't be resting on our laurels at all here!
"My previous rag trade style work history includes working as a lockstitch machinist, in quality control, in packing and also in the cutting room... I've been in the make up processes of mens sport shirts, ladies t-shirts, duvets, tablecloths, pillowcases, eiderdowns, curtains and tie-backs - but always when working for others. Now I use that experience I gained - for my wonderful small business, Sleepy Oaks."