About Me
Hi, I'm Kirsten Miller (now Flores!) and I'm a polymer clay artist specialising in small animal sculptures. I started Quernus Crafts in 2009 after leaving behind a 15 year career in law (you can read about my decision to do that here) - and since then, literally thousands of wee creatures have appeared! Originally from Scotland, I now live in Greater Manchester with my husband, Enrique, and I make the wee creatures in my gorgeous studio in Castleton, Rochdale. I'm shown here with a beautiful ceramic hare made by Jackie Needham Ceramics.
One of the best things about what I do is that the wee creatures make people happy. They have a spark of life about them that I can't explain, but it makes each one unique and very special, with their own personality. I have a group called Quernoholics Anonymouse on Facebook for all people who have been following and collecting the wee creatures over the years - it's a great place to hang out! I do live videos each month in the group, which you can also watch on my YouTube channel.
I believe in giving something back - you can find out about the charity work I do here. And there's lots more information on my FAQs page about how I work generally.
Away from the studio, I like to knit (only scarves, mind you - I'm quite happy sticking to straight lines!), and I sing in a couple of small groups around Manchester - I love singing one-voice-per-part Renaissance polyphony in particular.
Blue Pit Mill in Rochdale, where my studio is based - I moved in here in 2020, and I absolutely love it!
My workbench in my studio in Blue Pit Mill, with the webcam set up for a live demonstration.
Setting off to work on two wheels (in good weather only, mind you!)
The Terracotta Army - Quernus style :)
The code I live by (print by Chloe Vaux, who doesn't have an Etsy shop anymore, but you can find more prints like this here).
Beautiful rainbow bunting made for me by the lovely Rachael Greenway.