About us
We are a truly small family firm. I'm Eleanor Lewis and over the last decade I have developed a passion for decorative plaster working and cannot pass on a chance to visit a National trust property to see the ceilings. My husband Richard Ayling is to blame. He too shares this infectious love of this most mysterious of crafting materials. It all started during the renovation of our house as we explored the possibility of creating for ourselves the plasterwork we wanted but could not afford.
To cut a decade long story short of learning conventional plastering skills at college to the mysterious skills of fibrous casting, we have arrived here and the launch of our website.
We have plans to offer an expanding and beautiful range of decorative plaster work, much of which has been in development over the last couple of years, so please visit back regularly to see our collections grow.
In the mean time, please browse our range of traditionally hand made plasterworks to see if we have just that piece you have been looking for and please remember to stop by regularly to see what's new. While here, why not enjoy the world of ornament and design through the pages offered in Of Form & Fancy an eclectic mix of all things decor.
It's not all about plaster
Believe it or not, mixing plaster is only part of creating decorative plaster work. It starts with a paper and pencil coupled with knowledge of shape, form and design history. If you pay a visit to our Of Form & Fancy pages, just some of the complexities and history that surrounds the wonderful forms of plasterwork can be found. There are hours of drawing undertaken before any project starts. From there model making begins which can be in clays, waxes or any number of other modelling mediums. From there moulds are created, sometimes several to create just what is needed for the final project.
Coffee & even more coffee
Although decorative plasterwork follows many rules of form making, innovative ways of interpreting designs can be found, moving this whole process towards an artistic endeavour. Before you know where you are, a new design idea has taken you way past midnight and coffee on tap is always helpful.
In the bleak Welsh winter, we work here...in the wet summers too!
South Wales is historically known for heavy industry and so it is perhaps fitting that for our delicate type of work, we operate from inside Unit 5 of what was once the heavy coal mine training centre, for the now closed Abernant Colliery, near Swansea. The whole site is now an industrial enterprise site comprising of 24 units of small businesses. The grey sky and wet floor is the norm for this part of Wales.
We are on social media too
You can also stay abreast of our casting life by giving us a follow on our Instagram page. Our website and social media presence is run and maintained by our daughter and so we can say absolutely no politics or miserable world news is guaranteed - just the beauty of decorative plasterworks. I hope to see you there.