Catherine Conaty, the brains behind Cairo Made That, talks about her love of mosaics and leadlighting and gives us some insight into her creative business.
What do you make? Unique stained glass mosaic pieces, including drink coasters, fridge magnets, wall hangings, large fine art pieces, paving stones, brooches, house numbers and mirrors of all sizes. Anything, really! What I love about mosaics is that you are only limited by your imagination. I also make leadlight (copperfoil) stained glass suncatchers when I am feeling so inspired.
What was the inspiration for you to start your brand? I have been playing with glass as a hobby for over a decade. Over the last few years, I have been watching the growing indie craft movement in Brisbane with great interest. I decided that I wanted to be a part of it, and take my hobby a step further to see what would happen. I visited a BrisStyle market one day at Hamilton, and thought to myself “this is my kind of scene” and so I joined up and haven’t looked back. I honestly love being a part of the creative community that is BrisStyle and beyond, and making a bit of treat money from my hobby has been an added bonus!
How did you decide on your name? Cairo is my nickname, which stems from an Egyptian style of haircut I had as a child. I wanted to choose a brand name that reflected something about me, but wasn’t limited to stained glass (as I love to dabble in other crafts too!) Having said that, I am so busy with my glasswork that I never seem to find time to make anything else! The sewing machine that I bought with great intentions hasn’t ever really had a workout…..yet!
What’s your favourite thing to make and why? Oh….where to start! I get bored making the same thing many times over, so you can consider anything from the Cairo Made That range to be a limited edition! I’m having a lot of fun at the moment working on a technique called ‘glass on glass’ mosaics, which allows you to create works which look a bit like leadlight windows, but are actually mosaics. It is nowhere near as rigid as creating a leadlight, and you can get some spectacular effects. I also love making my paisley mirror range, because they always turn out differently and it is a very organic kind of design with no set rules. Japanese yuzen paper (behind glass) tends to feature quite often in my work, because I am attracted to the beautiful range of colours and designs and how they complement stained glass and mirror.
Where else do you sell your products? I am not doing any markets at the moment, as I want to concentrate on creating bigger fine art pieces, so Handmade High Street is my only outlet. It’s a great way for artists to showcase their work, and I am so pleased that there are places like this in Brisbane which genuinely support the individual, and provide them with an opportunity to test out the marketplace at a low cost. Thanks guys!!
Is your work eco-friendly? Yes! Minimising my impact on the environment is a core philosophy of my work. I use a lot of recycled mirror, and clear glass from picture frames (which I buy from op shops), together with the stained glass and Japanese paper. Each time I cut a piece of glass, I save every offcut for future use. Nothing is wasted down to the tiniest pieces of glass the size of a fingernail. It’s not just the final product that is made from recycled materials though. As part of my creative process, I re-use newspapers, ice cream containers and margarine tubs (for grouting), glass jars and bottles (for storing), paddlepop sticks and old spoons (for mixing), old towels and sheets (for cleanup) and surprisingly, old dentists tools (for the finishing touches). You can create mosaics on all kinds of surfaces, which can be from re-purposed objects too! I’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg for mosaic materials though – I primarily work with stained glass, but there is a whole world out there of other recycled materials for mosaic artists!
Do you do custom work? Oh yes absolutely. I’ve made all sorts of things over the years. My most recent work, “Put a bird on it” is pair of large windows made using the glass on glass mosaic technique (and my biggest piece to date). I loved making it, and am delighted with the final result! My client tells me that the sun shining through the windows radiates beams of coloured light throughout his house onto the floors, walls and furniture, which lasts from sunrise to sunset (and then his neighbours get to see the all the colours at night time when it is lit up from the inside).
How can people get in touch? The best place to see pictures of my work is by liking my Cairo Made That page on facebook. You can email me at cairomadethat@gmail.com, or call me on 0404 044 143. If you are interested in learning how to mosaic, I am planning on running some beginners classes with Handmade Highstreet when their workshops get up and running, so would I love to hear feedback from people about the kind of things they would like to make.
