little bird casting was set up and is run by emily pennant-rea
I live in a beautiful village in Somerset with my husband and children - three very loud and larger than life boys.
I grew up in Oxfordshire with a bronze foundry at the end of our garden, a magical place which my boys now adore. The foundry is run by my parents, both sculptors, and as we grew up they would frequently make moulds of our hands and feet, as well as those of our cousins, our friends, and often friends of friends.
I have always loved these treasures from our childhood and when my first child was a toddler I set about making moulds of him. As is often the way, my close friends were new mums and dads at the same time and I started doing moulds for them as birthday and Christmas presents. I quickly realised how much I enjoyed creating a unique memento of that incredibly special and fleeting time, when children are in their early months and years, and how rewarding it was to pass these mementoes on to each family.
From this Little Bird Casting officially became a business in 2014, and has grown (with a few pauses as other children arrived) from there.
the foundry
Lockbund Foundry is a family business, next door to our family home, and was set up by my parents in the early nineties. It has grown hugely since then and currently employs 15 people to cast the work of many clients, from members of the Royal Academy, The British Portrait society and the RSBS through to students and first time makers. It is set in the middle of the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside, next to the Oxford Canal and surrounded by green fields, streams and trees.
