So, Wimbledon came and went for another year.

I could not have asked for a better tournament, nor a better(er) final. I’m not really a sports fan, tennis is the only thing I follow, and that purely for one reason: Roger Federer.

Years ago, one of his wins was shown on the news, and my dad said to me ‘look at this guy, the way he plays is amazing!’ I thought ‘yeah yeah, tennis is boring, it’s just two guys smacking a ball back and forth, ho hum.’ Then I watched… and ended up completely captivated. If the fact he’s the most ever slam-winner and a holder of multiple records wasn’t enough, his playing style is simply beautifully.

Funnily, I was working on a comic at the time that required me to draw a lot of wings, and the way Federer held his left arm outstretched for counter-balance as he went in for one of his signature forehands reminded me of a spread wing (I have loads of photos of him saved away as reference material for just that reason; plus he’s pretty easy on the eyes ;)

I’ve since become a fan of several other players: I like both Mischa and Sascha Zverev, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Rafa Nadal (I started off as a Nadal-hater after watching the final of the 2009 Australian Open, but my mum adores him, and this video completely swayed me); but Federer is ‘the one’. How he plays, how he wins, and who he is as a person, is all so inspirational.

I made a ‘tennis bracelet’ to go with this most historic of tennis tournaments. Have I not mentioned my attempts at jewelry-making before? These were actually the first thing I listed at my Etsy store, before cards or artwork or anything else.

The idea came about because I had some buttons that I took off a coat, and I wanted some kind of project I could use them for. A Google-search later, I figured out how to weave a cobra-stitch pattern with strips of off-cut material, and started playing around with colour/pattern/theme combos from there. It was a good excuse to buy up some pretty fabrics; and since most of what sell is made from remnants, it’s a form of upcycling which is both sustainable and stylish.

I have a range of whole different bracelets available, check them all out here. I make-to-order so I can create any possible size needed; I also do custom orders, so if you have a specific request, just ask.

The one based on the Other Mother character from Neil Gaiman’s novel ‘Coraline’ (bottom, far left) is very popular.

The Wimbledon ones pictured above will have some of proceeds from sales go to the Roger Federer Foundation. Stock is limited, so get in quick!

Eventually, I’d like to add a ‘Shop’ page to this site; along with an ‘Extras’ section, where I can show of various non-professional goodies: fan art, personal work, rough sketches, that sort of thing. Would anyone be interested? Is there anything else you would like to see? Let me know, I’ll see if I can make it happen!