Monday 12th September 2011

Harvest Moon (Full): Monday 12th September 09:27
Last Quarter: Tuesday 20th September 13:39
New Moon: Tuesday 27th September 11:09
First Quarter: Tuesday 4th October 03:15

Autumnal Equinox: Friday 23rd September 03:09 Capricorn

Hello Friend,

Bird&Bee's 2011 so far...

SO FAR...the year has been a busy and exciting one, completing numerous Creative Learning projects in Sheffield and the North, installations nationally and travels by train on the continent. As part of Creative Partnerships, we explored how to make a chocolate bar from 'Bean to Bar' in our 'Unwrapping Chocolate' project. It took us on a journey from the Cocoa Plant all the way to the Sweet Shop. We also made our own Fairtrade chocolate bars which illustrated the twenty steps it takes to produce a finished chocolate bar. We formed a Rainforest School and built a living rainforest, including authentic soundscapes, which culminated in a beautiful butterfly release. We ran a discovery project called 'The Lost Vikings of Valhalla' where we learnt about Vikings by creating a Time Capsule which was 'discovered' by the children and lead to 'real' Vikings appearing in school and learning how to write in the Runic language. We developed a platform for parents to view children's school work and have open dialogue, remotely. We explored local identity and global citizenship which culminated in a multicultural skill swap event.

We created a 200 x 120 metre, LandArt installation for Shambala Festival which involved mowing a meadow by day and a Phosphorous light installation by night...'We are all made of Stars' - inspired by Carl Sagan's Pioneer Plaque...

...'Harmony' has been on the road in schools, exhibitions, one of which was at Chatsworth Estate as part of the 'Weekend of Wonders' exhibition. She has recently had new brass fittings too and is working wonderfully. We hope to offer Limited Edition Drawings from Harmony in the near future, a set of postcodes and a scaled up version of Harmony, ten metres high! We also spent the Summer Interailing - as my daughter starts Secondary Education it seemed like a good idea to broaden horizons and see the world a little. We took in Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Croatia. Venizia (Venice) & Firenza (Florence) were truly inspiring!

New in 2011 from Bird&Bee

Signed & numbered, Limited edition Lunar Wheel Calendar 2012 available in deep black.

Limited Edition for 2012

With all the hysteria that has built up around December 21st 2012 and its Mayan connections, Bird&Bee attempts to dispel the myth that the end of the world is nigh! Bird&Bee is offering to it's first 500 friends - a Limited Edition Lunar Wheel Calendar 2012 in Deep Black, as a celebration of Life, Cycles, Nature and the Now!

The Limited Edition, signed and numbered copies are accompanied with a witty pamphlet and sticker set, entitled: 'How to Survive the Apocalypse' - a guide to surviving the 'doomed' date of 21/12/2012 and the world as we know it! It has plain facts, insights, anecdotes and illustrations to help you come to terms with the fact that the world ISN'T going to end in December 2012!

Every year we make a new wheel to track the motions and movements of the Moon, the Sun and the Stars. Each 'arm' on the wheel is a full sweep of the phases of the moon for that given month, radiating out from the hub of the wheel. Each arm depicts the full Lunar Phase progression, Moon Quarter Times, Lunar Ingress Signs, Sun Ingress Signs, Solar Eclipses, Lunar Eclipses, the Earth Date and weekends within. All of which are set out in a ledgible format so you can navigate the whole of the year at a glance. At the foot of the chart is the key to all symbols used, Pagan Moon names, a handy guide to the Sunrise and Sunset times for every Sunday in the year and dates for Solstices, Equinoxes and Pagan Festivals. The chart also makes it easy to tell when British Summer Time begins and ends. All times on the chart are centered on Greenwich Mean Time for the location:

00° 0', 51° 32' North

The 'Original' Lunar Wheel for 2012, in the ever-popular deep 'prussian blue', is still available to order on our website.

Bird&Bee Sticker Set

As a little keepsake we have printed up a nice little gold & silver sticker set to accompany our other items.

Small but perfectly formed, the sticker sets include 6 different designs ranging form 50mm to 70mm in diameter. They each contain little Bird&Bee illustrations, so you can adorn your journals, folders, diaries, fridges or windows at your leisure.

Stocks are limited so be sure to add them to your cart. Bird&Bee will be giving away a Limited Edition, framed, one off, signed, Artwork on the Winter Solstice to the most innovatively placed/situated stickers - just take a picture and email it to: stickemup@birdandbee.co.uk or MMS Bird&Bee on +44 (0) 7855 755 595

Lunar Wave Folding Calendar Card 2012

The ever popular Lunar Wave Calendar 2012 is ready to order too but this year they are 'Back in Black'. The usual wealth of information and detail along with a few tweaks and changes here and there.

Bird&Bee's Moon Mug 2012

This will be the third year we are producing Bird&Bee's Moon Mug.

This year the Duotone mug is a Prussian Blue outer with a pure white inner and lovingly guilded in shiny silver as before. Whilst remaining the same volume, we have opted for the 'Cambridge' style this year.

You can wander out into the night with a steaming hot brew of your choice and gaze at the lightshow above for a while with the knowledge of the Moon in your hands! The Moon Mug shows a full lunar phase depiction for a whole year, with Lunar Quarters, Lunar & Solar Eclipses, Solstices, Equinoxes and Pagan Moon names too - a mountain of knowledge, beautifully crafted, right there in your hands! The Moon Mug will be sent to your door in nothing less than a 100% recycled, protective packaging box. Available to order now - they will ship from 25th September 2011.