Who We Are -
And More About Our Vision
Greetings!
We are Albert and Julie, a duo of passionate craft people who believe that creativity is a journey, not a destination. Albert is a master woodcraftsman, with decades of experience as a skilled joiner and a penchant for precision and clever design. Julie finds joy in transforming “nothing” into something beautiful—whether it’s a splash of paint across a canvas or the delicate layering of intricate paper designs. For her, crafting is a sanctuary; for both of us, it’s a way of life.
At The Knicknack Shack, we invite you to join us in celebrating the perfectly imperfect magic of making. Whether it’s a polished piece or a quirky creation, every item tells a story—and we believe that’s what makes it special.
All our pieces are made with love and care and we strive to keep them plastic-free as far as possible. Behind the scenes, Albert’s technical brilliance and Julie’s flair for design make us a pretty wonderful team (if we do say so ourselves).
So come on in, get inspired, and let’s create something beautiful together—even if it’s not perfect. After all, that’s part of the fun.
what have we been up to......
April – May 2026
May already!! It is scary how fast time passes! We have been creating some 3d greeting cards, working with wood, playing with clay and pouring paints. And May has barely started yet!
CLAY PLAY MAY
Well… April into May has been a lot of fun. I received my new clay moulds that I ordered and also bought some kitchen moulds from The Range and Hobbycraft to see if they would work also. A Christmas gift, cobbled roller which could be adapted for many different projects – coffee beans perhaps?
I only had terracotta clay but it actually turned out pretty well. I revisited the seahorse mould as I have yet to take one out complete with tail end but I did successfully manage one! Then I painted the seahorses that I had made previously with blue and purple acrylic paint and then applied gilding wax very lightly and was blown away by the results! I bought some pine cone moulds and leaf moulds and also some playing card moulds which are great. The butterfly shape – I rolled out a piece of lace material over the top and it turned out fantastic. Really enjoying this journey so far.
Anniversary gift
Well another dive into the world of clay for what started as a coaster and finished as a very impractical coaster! But ok if your drinking vessel has a domed bottom:)
It is very bright and colourful and Albert told me the colours he would like so this is the result and I’m really rather chuffed – it looks lovely even if it is impractical! And the only reason it’s impractical is because I wanted to stick the Heart bead in the centre!!
Well it was our Anniversary!
A first experiment with clay so I am very early in my clay journey but have been watching some lovely helpful youtube channels.
I love this idea of a neon pink wood-effect heart with gilding wax detail. A simple but very eye-catching design.
I cut the heart out with a pastry cutter and then very gently rolled it over the top of my wood-effect embossing folder. Very pleased with the result The heart dried a little warped despite my watching it like a hawk as it dried. But lots of stuff to learn!
Another heart along the same lines but with a hearts in heart theme. I cut out the heart with the same pastry cutter and then rolled a heart patterned roller over it.
It didn’t warp as much as the first one when drying but I had to keep prodding a stick into the hole at the top to keep it open!
Well……. a lot more to learn on the 3D front! This was my first attempt at a 3D shape but I have a long way to go on this route!
I think I was going for a cat but his eye dropped out while drying and I lost it! So a one-eyed cat it is! or isn’t!
Albert says it’s either a Fat or a Cox!! Maybe it’s because of the totally disproportionate tail! Perhaps a little advanced for the stage I am at! Ha ha. I will continue to practice on this fun and enjoyable journey!
We would love to hear from you so please email us below. We would love to know what you have been experimenting with and designing and also we welcome your feedback and suggestions.