tess' spotty blog

What I've been...

2012-01-22T14:50:00.000+11:00

Buying: Baby stuff. My op-shop op-session has served me well and I've been scouting out most of what we need during my regular visits. Such as these wooden toys for 50c each (it's the beginnings of the McCabe Good Time Family Band Solution) and enough burp cloths and swaddles for a tiny football team. We've also been gifted some excellent things by very generous people. I'm looking forward to this whole mums-hand-me-down-kids-stuff-circle that I've been invited into. It sits well with me (the giving, eventually, as well as the currently receiving, of course!)
Bookmarking: Anna Walker. Cute overload!
Enjoying: Hearing Ira Glass talk at the Athanaeum this week. What a rad guy! Funny, humble, nerdy, smart.
Reading: How to have your second child first. Nice to balance out all the 'must-dos' from baby care books with some 'it not the end of the world if you don't'.
Listening to: Wild Flag and new Surfer Blood, as well as Creative Mornings.
Preparing: To have a big Teahouse Handmade online sale... more details next week!
Loving: This quilt (pictured below), by Leslie.

P.S. Bump update: Odd pregnancy side effect #826 - replying to/writing emails in my head, instead of in the usual internet way. Sorry if you're someone who hasn't heard from me in a while...

Christmas goodies & a look at the future

2012-01-05T12:49:00.001+11:00

Hello, 2012 and happy new year everyone!

I want to share with you some of the rad things I received for/around Christmas time because it was a pretty great year for hand made loveliness.

First of all, goods swapped/purchased from the recent Harvest Xmas Market (which was a totally fun day the Sunday before Christmas)...

Top to bottom: Beci Orpin's 'picture book', Compendium of Me; knitted necklace from Sweet Polka; earrings by Dani M.

And Christmas surprises from fabulous family, top to bottom: Earrings and brooch by And O Design, purchased at the Curious Oyster Shoppe; iPad cover made from an old knitted sweater by Gaye Abandon; and this rad Dakota wallet from Status Anxiety (bonus, I no longer have to take my Myki card out of my wallet to swipe it on public transport - holla with me if you know how much of an awesome thing this is).

My Christmas/NY break was as expected, but with more regular afternoon naps (especially on those freaky heatwave days last week). I had time to think a lot about 2012 and what I'll be spending my time doing. And I have to be honest here - 2012 is not going to be a year where this blog gets a lot of that time. In fact I'd say we're pretty much on a downhill from now, and I fully expect to 'sign off' indefinitely come March. Even though I spent last year talking about how blogging regularly is really important - and it is - I should have asterisked that with a *but don't stretch yourself too thin trying to administer more than one blog!

See, the CWC, its events and blog, is going to be my main 'work thing' during this early motherhood gambit. So in the interest of not overcommitting myself (and then being committed), I'm starting to shed other responsibilities in preparation, one of which is unfortunately the upkeep of this blog. Just letting you know. The CWC blog will still be awesome and updated regularly, and I'm looking forward to maintaining it. But I think come April I need to reduce the number of saucepans on the stovetop, at least until my baby proves independent enough to amuse himself quietly for a few hours a day, possibly with his own blog or whatever this iGeneration is so adept at using iDevices for these days...

A cruisy, crafty Christmas

2011-12-14T12:10:00.000+11:00

Image: Crafty Christmas tree ornaments, gifted from the lovely Shannon (crocheted by hand!) and the Polli girls... thanks ladies!

I'm very much looking forward to Christmas. It's a Melbourne year (as opposed to a Brisbane year), which means pre-Christmas family visits this weekend, and then a relaxed 25th consisting of Dad's traditional lasagne, a post-lunch nap (Christmas day seems to be the only day I consistently take an afternoon nap!) and then an evening movie. Easy peasy.

I plan to spend the last part of this year sewing through my fabric stash, and doing little housey projects that will have no chance in H of ever being done once lil' McCabe arrives on the scene.

Oh, but before all of this, I'll be participating in the Harvest Market this weekend selling the book, so come along and say hi if you're in town. I'll be sharing a table with The Hungry Workshop, and trying not to swap all my day's earnings for other items in the room...

Ye olde cakey makin'

2011-12-10T16:46:00.001+11:00

I've inadvertendly started collecting vintage bake ware this year.

After reading about the nasties of non-stick/Teflon, I decided to oust my small collection of cake & muffin tins and start again. But of course you can't just go to any old shop and buy old-style metal bake ware anymore... it's ALL non-stick/rubber/other random materials I'm not sure should be heated to high temps around food.

So I've been on the lookout for second hand cake and baking tins, and here's my collection thus far:

There's a lady at the Camberwell Market who sells vintage cookery stuff and that's where I picked up this round spring form pan (hosting a newly-baked Rhubarb Yoghurt Cake, which will be consumed in a matter of hours from now). I always forget that stuff at the Cambo market isn't that cheap, and this one cost about $15 I think.

But I made up for it with these three:

A cake holder (albeit plastic, but it was $1.50 AND it's yellow!); long-sought-after-and-then-found-at-my-local-op-shop mini-muffin/cupcake tray ($3); and a square cake tin ($1).

Next on my to-find list is one of those donut-shaped round cake tins, and a banana bread/lasagne tin.

And I just had to include this pic of my glass lemon juicer. It's such a classic. On deciding I needed one, I walked into the nearest Salvation Army Store and immediately spied it on the glassware shelf, for only a few dollars. Why would you buy anything new these days without checking out your local op shop first?

A local collaboration

2011-12-07T10:13:00.001+11:00

I made a new cushion for the lounge room armchair the other day.

It's a collaboration of sorts, but the collaborators (collaborees?) don't know about it until now.

On this side the fabric is designed and screen printed by Susan, purchased from from her at Markit the other weekend.

On the reverse is more of the lovely chalk fabric from Harvest Textiles a while back (which if I remember correctly was a collab with Ink & Spindle).

And if you want to get even more incestuous, I sewed it on the Elna ZZ machine I 'permanently borrowed' from Lara a while back.

A bit matchy-matchy with the recovered footstool, but that's cool with me...

Hooray for locally made/designed/collaborated home wares!

PS - home wares on sale!

Playing catch-up

2011-12-02T12:00:00.000+11:00

November/December is the treadmill season of the year. Running from one place to the next, events back to back, social 'we must catch up before Christmas!' plans, shopping for the big day... it's all fun and fine but it does not leave a lot of time for this blog.

So, a catch-up:

The book is out!

The book I compiled for Creative Women's Circle, Conversations with Creative Women, is out now, and we had an excellent time at the launch last Friday night. It all went off without a hitch, and even though it was a bit of a blur for me I had a great time, met some great new people, and had some lovely feedback after wards. The raffle went off and we sold a stack of books too. In total I think we have sold almost half of the books so far, which is great. See some photos of the night from Harvest Workroom (the venue where we held the launch) right here and also over at the Kish + Co blog here.

Meet Elroy*!

About 12 months ago when we were shopping for our car, Patrick stumbled upon applications for the Victorian Electric Car Trial (an initiative of the Vic Dept of Transport). He entered the 'lottery' and our numbers came up! We are now babysitting an electric car for three months (we have to fill in surveys and travel logs about our experience driving an electric car around Melbourne), and OMG it's like driving a iPhone. Literally, because you have to plug it in to recharge at night.

Bump-watch

The bump is thumpin' my abdomen daily which is cute & a little ticklish. Also, he is nocturnal (which means not as much sleep for me any more). Health-wise everything is good. Clothing-wise I haven't bought anything particularly bump-friendly yet, though I had a #win at Savers recently, finding a pair of jeans that I can do up the top button on for just $7. However, according to something I read, lil' thumper is supposed to double in size over the next four weeks. So, by Christmas day, I will be unmovable from the couch and in a muu-muu, and not for the usual too-much-Christmas-lunch reasons.

And in short:
Seeing: The Future, Our Idiot Brother, Burning Man. Three very different films, all recommended!
Attending: Fun launches like Microflora's single and Tae Schmeisser's new jewellery line
Talking: About the book and other such things at The Design Files over here today!

*Yes, we are those people who give our appliances human names. Our other car is Wally and will be foster-parented by our friends during Elroy's stay with us.

What I've been...

2011-11-17T14:51:00.001+11:00

Doing: Trying to take it easy (lots of sitting around in this chair), sleeping a little bit more, exercising a little bit more, not sweating the small stuff.
Winning: This EcoNino change table mat (but in green) thanks to the lovely folk at State of Green.
Reading: This and this and this.
Forgetting: People's names, things at the supermarket, to hang out the washing I put on earlier in the week...
Eating: Out. As much as possible.
Going to: The movies. As many as possible.
Lamenting: My shrinking wardrobe and expanding to-do-by-Easter-2012 list.
Growing: In case it's not completely obvious by now: a baby. A boy one!

Eeeeeeekk.

Post #250

2011-11-11T14:13:00.001+11:00

Oh boy. That's a bit of pressure isn't it? Blog post number 250. Feels like I should be announcing something... ;) But instead, here's what I've been up to:

Visiting: MONA: A beautiful space; some confronting, some beautiful, some ugly art; a gorgeous location; a giant scone at the cafe. Definitely worth the trip to Tasmania last week.
Enjoying: The final CWC speaker event of the year.
Watching: The Slap. And this classic in full on YouTube (um, hello David Duchovny!?)
Looking forward to: The Design Files Open House - it's going to be massive, like, MASSIVE. I just know it.
Excited about: The book. It arrived this week!

What I've been...

2011-10-30T21:14:00.000+11:00

Baking: Bill Granger's glazed lemon teacake (recipe here). Total winner.
Making: new pieces for Teahouse Christmas '11 brooch and earring collection... the last Teahouse collection for a while (I'm taking 2012 off from the 'House). A number of them are now at Craft Victoria, and the rest will be available online soon...
Bookmarking: Here's the Thing - Alec Baldwin's new podcast interview series.
Loving: My new Nancybird bag (right)... a large canvas tote that fits my big laptop, has an easy-access phone/keys pocket and a nice wide shoulder strap for comfort when hauling around lots o' stuff.
Celebrating: Our fourth wedding anniversary... with a trip to Tasmania this week. Yay!

Super-duper Metremade sale

2011-10-20T12:57:00.001+11:00

Liz and I have decided to have a giant fire sale to send the last remaining items we have from our Summer '10 Metremade range to good homes. Everything is one flat rate - $5! - which is quite insane for handmade goods, but frankly we need the storage space and the closure.

All of these things and more, available online here!

We'll also throw in a smaller item or two - earrings, magnet, fat quarter to sweeten the deal, until we run out ;)

New branding for Simply Phoebe

2011-10-13T16:04:00.000+11:00

Phoebe and I have one of those funny serendipitous histories - about a year ago I blogged about a few of my favourite-looking things from the Finders Keepers market that was about to hit Melbourne, and the fabric necklaces from Phoebe's label Simply Phoebe were among them (I loved her product and her product styling, using lifesized cutouts of charcoal-drawn ladies). Fast forward two months and who was my neighbour at the North Melbourne market? Phoebe!

As you do at markets, we spent the hours chatting and discovered we were both Brisbane natives. And her 'ladies' were actually drawings by her artist father.

I love Phoebe's personal style - almost always a bold colour paired with black and flattering cuts. She's clearly making a product that she loves because she' iss always sporting one of her new fabric creations, often paired with another local artisan's handmade accessory. Passionate about sustainable fashion, her pieces are made from offcuts, recycled and secondhand fabrics.

So when Phoebe asked if I would help her with a brand revamp, stationery and swing tags I jumped at the chance! As we are both fans of spots and dots it was always going to be a big part of the design. From there I came up with a few concepts that married Phoebes block-colour aesthetic with her dad's drawings, and here are the results.

Top to bottom: Logo, business bards and circular swing tags 'in situ' on necklaces from Simply Phoebe's new range. Printed on Envirocare card by Shout Out Loud.

Thanks for being a model client, Phoebe!

The thing that is no longer just an idea but now a real thing that you can buy...

2011-10-05T15:59:00.004+11:00

I've almost finished the biggest personal project of my life thus far:

A book!

Earlier this year I had the idea that I would like to put together a book for the Creative Women's Circle. Having gone through some ups and downs in my creative career over the last 18 months, some moments of self-doubt and asking the question 'where to next?', I wanted to ask other creative women, people who I have admired or who intrigue me, how they do it. How they got to where they are. Do they ever have those moments?

Putting together this book has been a fantastic learning experience, and a perfect storm of creativity, challenge, organisation and developing strategies to overcoming that creeping self-doubt. Having designed a fair few books in my job, that part was relatively easy - but I have learned a LOT about the other side/s of the publishing dodecahedron: writing, publishing, printing, marketing etc.

Soon, boxes of these things will be arriving on my doorstep, and I am 85% okay with my taking the risk of self-funding and self-promoting this thing so that each and every one finds a new home and a happy reader.

But probably the best thing about this book, even if it only sells a dozen copies*, has been the connections I've made with other creatives around Melbourne and interstate, and the overwhelming support I've received thus far for this little project from friends and family. It's already paid for itself**.

Over here I reveal who is interviewed in the book and if you're really taken, perhaps you could pre-order it! I have some great ideas for packaging and I can't wait to have a big pre-Christmas wrap-fest posting them out to everyone.

*Lordy I hope it sells more than a dozen copies.
** Not literally. It would be great if you helped me pay for it.

The Hungry Workshop

2011-10-03T14:32:00.004+11:00

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Jenna and Simon from The Hungry Workshop, an ex-Brisbane now-Melbourne duo with a giant letterpress machine and a keen eye (& skills) for great design.

I rummaged through their portfolio/sample box with delight... loving the fluoro colours and thick textured paper.

They have just done the artwork for upcoming Finders Keepers market! Nice typography! (Here's an interview with them).

Uber-awesome wedding invitations.

I even got a little keepsake to take home:

Jenna has contributed to the CWC book in a special way which I can't wait for you to see (more on THAT in a post later this week...).

Hooray Hungry Workshop, welcome to Melbourne town.

All images, except the bottom one, from The Hungry Workshop's website.

Eleven days

2011-09-26T14:00:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I was told by the #1 reader of this blog (my dad) that it had been almost two weeks since I had posted here. Knowing he is probably keeping count, I thought I better check in and answer a few frequently asked questions (again, those of my #1 reader).

Why haven't you been blogging?
Well, I was on holidays for two weeks (blissful), but I've been mainly busy with this CWC project (more details in the next couple of weeks, including how you can pre-order it!), and making work/life plans for the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012 (Eeep. It's closer than you think).

What have you been doing seeing as you haven't been blogging?
Searching for the unfindable. Deco-tragedy struck the other weekend when one of my beloved kitchen cannisters toppled over and shattered into an unrepairable number of pieces...

RIP, spaghetti cannister on the right.

Finding a replacement/new kitchen cannister pair is proving difficult. I'm just not into those ubiquitous and bland kitchen containers that tell you what should go inside them. Sure, it may be my 'you're not the boss of me!' independent spirit, but also, the fonts they choose are generally the worst.

On the upside, I did recently purchase this cute butter dish for the fridge from Etsy vintage seller Vintage Soup.

What have you been eating?
HEALTH. Or at least trying to. I continue to face off with brown rice, but mostly come up the victor. Jane Kennedy, I love you, but how come none of your recipes that I make turn out like the picture? And L'uccellino in Yarraville, you are fast becoming my favourite pizza place in town.

When will you post another blog?
Soon, I promise!
Sheesh.

Design upgrade: Computer monitor + Washi tape

2011-09-15T14:20:00.004+10:00

It has been quite a while since I've done a design upgrade!

This super quick and easy upgrade involves some patterned Washi tape, and my computer monitor.

Before:

Boring grey computer monitor frame!

After:

Subtle, yet cute, Washi tape addition. The tape was the perfect width and the whole project took about 3 minutes to do.

What could you Washi today?*

*If you work in Washi's marketing department and you want to use that line as your new global marketing campaign tagline, please pay me in tape products.

Nostalgie

2011-09-07T17:44:00.000+10:00

I'm on holidays.

In Brisbane, my former home. In the almost-six years since we left this town, for Melbourne via the World, we have visited twice-yearly-ish. But usually the visits are short and spent travelling between two or three family abodes in various corners of this sprawling city and are often mired by the acute stress of national gift-giving holidays.

But this jaunt (it's main purpose to travel to Byron Bay at the weekend for my dear friends Liz and Joel's nuptials), feels different and better. Just moments ago I was lying on the guest bed at my brother's house, and I remarked to Patrick about how this used to be our life in Brisbane. Remember? Working a 38.5-hour week? Coming home when it was still light outside, hanging out watching Spongebob Squarepants and the News Hour with Jim Lehrer (yes a person can watch both those things in succession and learn from both), and when the sunny air cooled we'd make dinner, maybe walk to get ice cream on a week night (even in Winter). Somewhere a window was always cracked open, year-round.

Life changes, people decide to pursue better careers that they like so much they want to work at them more often, and perhaps move somewhere where Winter temps are not conducive to eating cold desserts or having fresh air running through the house.

I love my now-life in Melbourne and I know that I could never move back here and have that old lifestyle miraculously return. Because it was essentially just a younger person's lifestyle. But I do like that I can come to Brisbane and lie around at 5pm and be transported for a moment to the memory of that time. It's a nice thing to remember to look forward to.

Image from my fave new Brisbane shop, Little Jane St in Fortitude Valley. Also what I love about Brisbane - their VJ timber board homes.

More maps, and manly ones at that

2011-09-01T16:25:00.000+10:00

Another map I designed is up on The Design Files today, for Lucy's super duper Melbourne Man Week!

Cufflinks, lace-up shoes, trousers (or 'slacks'), intellectual reading material, beards, bow ties... they're all covered and so there is really no excuse for shorts, muscle tops or anything made from fleece on any respectable male in Melbourne.

Thanks to Lucy for inviting me to do another map design (my last one for the Hobart Walking Guide is here!).

What I've been...

2011-08-27T18:29:00.000+10:00

Eating: Mushrooms, spinach, parmesan on Crostini at Cavallero in Collingwood. WHY can I not replicate cafe mushrooms at home? While a shame, it is good for Melbourne's cafe economy I guess.
Melting: A plastic chopping board after putting a hot frypan on top of it in the kitchen sink. Who knew heat could melt plastic? Science.
Hearing: Many great speakers at Craft Vic's annual Craft & Design As A Career seminar day.
Working on: A restaurant identity, a wedding invitation, and another commissioned map design (to be revealed soon!).

Image: Giclee print from Inaluxe

What I've been...

2011-08-19T17:38:00.000+10:00

Enjoying: a weekend in the mountains at the family B&B.
Eating: my favourite meal at Mamasita - chickpea fritters with mushrooms, pumpkin and jalapeno sauce with purple cabbage and chilli. Seriously the most awesome thing ever and I order it whenever I go there (which I did on Monday for lunch. No-queue score!)
Visiting: the Vienna Art & Design exhibition at NGV.
Sleeping on: our new enviro-friendly (though not wallet-friendly) latex mattress from The Comfort Shop in Richmond. They were nice and threw in free delivery and a discounted mattress protector and generally just did not give us the hard sell like a few other places did. Plus they do not feel the need to sell mattresses via an 80s celebrity or olympian endorsement.
Looking forward to: Demetri Martin, the next CWC, and holidays.

Image: cute jacket at J.Crew.

Let's have a chat!

2011-08-18T13:53:00.000+10:00

Next Wednesday, I'll be participating in an event at Swinburne's Wantirna campus called the Living Library.

A Living Library functions like a normal library but, instead of borrowing a book, students and patrons can borrow a person. The “borrower” of a “Book” has the unique opportunity to have a fifteen-minute conversation with a person already working in the industry that they would not normally meet at this stage of their studies.

This living library's theme is 'Arts & Design - Inspiration meets Conversation', and in addition to myself, students can also 'borrow' visual merchandiser Aimee McCallum, visual artist and photographer Jenny Wood, as well as a multimedia expert and a graphic arts/film specialist.

Perhaps you could borrow me, and we could talk about your graphic design portfolio, getting a job, blogs, Adobe software, networking, maps, self-employment, being organised, managing money as a freelancer, books to read, craft, Twitter, 30 Rock... whatever really!

To find out more, contact the friendly Wantirna library staff on 9210 1296.

New art

2011-08-11T12:20:00.000+10:00

The other day, I picked up this lil' beauty from Craft Victoria:

It's an artwork from the Polygramatic series by Melbourne darling Emily Green.

Perusing Harvest Textile's blog recently, when Ms Green was in residence, I saw some in-progress pics of these large-scale pointy collage pieces. Instantly smitten, I knew that when they were ready to exhibit in Craft Victoria's gallery window, I had to enquire about purchasing one.

Unfortunately when they went up I knew I wouldn't be in town for a while. Luckily, by chance street-style photographer extraordinaire Cheryl Lin tweeted a photo of the window, and from that pic I sent my selection to the lovely girls at CV, and purchased it over the phone. How web 2.0 is that? Online shopping indeed.

Not sure where my new artwork will live just yet, but I'm excited to have it home.

What I've been...

2011-08-08T14:46:00.000+10:00

Blogging about: my experience having new bio photos taken (professional ones!) with Cheryl, and a Beginner's Guide to Twitter over at Creative Women's Circle.
Learning: Wordpress!
Working on: A super-special Creative Women's Circle project... all to be revealed soon!
Eating: The best churros in Melbourne (in my opinion) at Gill's Diner, and a very tasty mushroom stirfry at Otsunami in Northcote.
Researching: New mattress purchase options. Oh, the googling involved for an eco-friendly couple who enjoy purchasing non-toxic products.
Keeping busy with: Design:Made:Trade, The Design Files Live Talks night at the stunning GPO Do Design Space, Life InStyle, various films at MIFF, and a couple of Craft Cubed events. It is festival-central in this town!

Design upgrade: Couch!

2011-08-01T16:58:00.000+10:00

Our couch has had another upgrade.

I know! What it is with us and this couch? All was well until the new armchair arrived and our ol' couch has seemed shorter, sadder, darker than everything else in the room.

I was BLOWN AWAY by the simple transformation of this Ikea couch recently and a light bulb went off. The legs of our couch just needed to be a lighter-coloured wood like the new armchair, and button tufting didn't seem too difficult given I already had all the fabric-covered button tools on hand!

Self-covered buttons from Jackobindi, covered in leftover black hemp cotton.

Marking out the places to put the buttons... it's the same on both sides and so the buttons are tied together through the cushion.

Staining the pine legs.

These are the old legs that came with the couch - short, stumpy and brown/black.

The new legs on the couch! Which makes the whole thing about 2-3cm taller.

Now, this blog post may have made things look super easy and fun to do, but in the interest of reality, lets review all the bumps in the road to couch nice-ness:

1. It's hard to push thread through a cushion and have it link to a button on the other side! After about two buttons I invested in a proper upholstery needle (a really long one) and this made things marginally easier. It was still a bastard of a job though.

2. The pine legs, found at Bunnings, were from a company called Leggz. Leggz obviously think it's a fine idea to stick their stickers on the raw pine, so when peeled the stickers tear and leave a sticky residue that cannot be stained until an hour of rigourous hand sanding has been undertaken. FUN.

3. The stain, also from the B-shed, came in a little bottle and I picked the colour based on the sample that was hanging right there in the store. Lucky I did a test patch, because the stain was effectively purple instead of the teak-orange example I had chosen. They gave me a refund, but not before I had to talk to three different people about it, and the bottle of stain burst open in my hand at the store. FUN.

4. There were other issues with the legs and how they screwed into the frame, which involved a second trip to Hardware Hell.

Alas, it all worked out in the end. And big-ups to Patrick for remaining calm and doing such a good job with the power tools! Team McCabe does it again.

Final project

2011-07-26T09:17:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago I handed in my final project for my year-long art subject at Latrobe College.

The first projects I did this year were quite abstract, and more about playing with different painting techniques, colours and surfaces, but for this final project I wanted to go back to my earlier works that were representative of built environments. So I chose two interior spaces and broke them down into their shapes and colours. Can you guess where they are located?

That's okay, I'm not really going to make you guess. The top one is a foyer in the ACMI building, and the bottom one is inside Parliament train station.

Overall I'm happy with both, though I wasn't thrilled with the results from the clay board I chose to paint on here. Definitely prefer wooden surfaces. If nothing else their natural surface discrepancies hide inconsistencies in the flat colour panels. I like the size though - not much bigger than a CD cover.

My experience at LCAD has been great - the staff are wonderful and so encouraging (even suggesting I should pull all my work together into a show! Gah...). If you have a full-time job but want to dip your toes into continuing fine art study for fun, or to build up a diploma, I highly recommend them. I'm taking this semester off but look forward to continuing my studies there in the future!

Ruby red yarn

2011-07-23T15:56:00.000+10:00

This is a record for me, making something so quickly from something I bought only recently!

In fact, three things...

Two necklaces (the left one heavily inspired by Phoebe!).

And a bracelet for Liz.

The yarn is quite stiff (moreso than regular knitting wool) and this is both a good and bad thing for making accessories. But I think it would be a great product to make a woven basket or crocheted coasters.

What I've been...

2011-07-18T19:02:00.000+10:00

Eating: A mushroom-toastie breakfast at new Hosier Lane establishment Hoboken.
Watching: Tree of Life. A film about a man remebering his life growing up in 1950s America, during simpler times when men did not share their feelings and women did not speak out against their husbands. Starring Brad Pitt, and CGI dinosaurs. In a word: ambitious.
Bookmarking: Gatsby and Me. Instant style-smittenness.
Embroidering: More earrings (now restocked at Craft Victoria), and a bunch o' new brooches which should be called 'The Brown Owls Collection' as they have been designed & made at a number of craft nights over the last few months.
Enjoying: The Tour de France. Not in a I-know-what-is-going-on or boys-look-hot-in-lycra kind of way, but in the way that after eight years sitting next to Patrick while he watches it and I compute/craft/read/ask-silly-questions, I'm appreciating it for it's presence in our home as a winter-time ritual and white-noise-like background hum. Plus, old French castles are cool.

Image: gorgeous jewellery at Pieces of Eight by Jimena Rios

D:M:T ticket giveaway!

2011-07-16T13:37:00.002+10:00

Yo! Four double passes to Design:Made:Trade next weekend (23 & 24 July), valued at $20 each, have come in to my possession.

Would you like one? If so, leave a comment (with some kind of contact detail) by 6pm Monday 18 July 2011 and I'll randomly draw 4 winners and post one each to said winners.

D:M:T, part of the upcoming State of Design festival, is really great (check out my post from 2010), and there is lots more to see this year, including Craft Victoria's makers studio setups.

Henceforth, you should go and if you wanna go for free, comment.

Update: winners have been contacted - thanks for entering!

Book nook

2011-07-14T16:40:00.000+10:00

Okay it's not exactly a nook, and those are DVDs in our new bookcase, but look! A new book case! Purchased on eBay and such a good fit in the space. And here's a first-look at our new armchair, made to order (in Australia) by the absurdly-named Pash Furniture.

Posts on this blog have been annoying me of late, mainly because I want to take pictures of things but the winter light at home is doing me no favours.

Hopefully in the next week or two I'll share the sequel to 2010's Revamped Couch - Couch Revisted! It's exciting.

What I've been...

2011-07-11T18:05:00.000+10:00

Eating: Not sure what has been going on lately, but it has been a super-social month despite the cold weather. El Joyero, Supermaxi, Gaylord, Papa Goose, Mopho, Chef Lagenda, all in one week (!) with different people. I am missing my kitchen.
Reading: Sarah Silverman's Bedwetter. Of all memoirs, comedian's memoirs are definitely the best (er, not that I've read that many other memoirs). I think some of the smartest people become the best comedians and have the most interesting insights.
Booking: Tickets to Louis C.K. in September. (Have you seen this?)
Enjoying: The History Boys at Heidelberg theatre... starring Tim!
Bookmarking: The Enthusiast, by the persons who brought us Is Not Magazine (& thanking them for the heads up about Louis CK!).

Image: lovely new work from Tastes Orangey.

Social Media talk at Craft Victoria

2011-07-05T16:51:00.000+10:00

Whoa, third post this week... that's some commitment to blogging I've got going on!

...and that is exactly what I'll be talking about when I re-present (that's present again... it's an encore) my talk as part of 'Social media for makers' at Craft Victoria on August 8.

If you missed out on the June event then come along! Also speaking will be Shelli and Jeremy. Tickets are here and fun and nerdiness is ensured.

Popcraft buy

2011-07-04T12:22:00.000+10:00

Look what I picked up at Popcraft yesterday (while at Harvest seeing Beci Orpin's residency exhibition/party)... it's an intriguing ruby red yarn from Dairing. I don't know much about it but the texture is great - I think I'm going to make a necklace or two from it!

Other colours of this yarn, as well as heaps of other great yarns & wools, AND classes for the knitting enthusiast - all at Popcraft in East Brunswick until 30 August.

What I've been...

2011-07-03T22:19:00.000+10:00

Eating: Tasty pizza (and great service too!) at L'uccellino in Yarraville, and amazing locally-grown food at Innocent Bystander in Healesville.
Visiting: Tarrawarra gallery in Yarra Glen on a recent daytrip. How awesome is regional Victoria!?
Seeing: Little White Lies. It was good (you know I love a this-is-how-the-French-live film)... but it was long. And made even longer by the fact that my dream that night was just the characters of the film getting around continuing their various storylines...
Enjoying: The ballet! A last-minute free-ticket opportunity came up on Wednesday and I surprised myself at enjoying it so much.
Congratulating: Patrick and the Exit team on their upcoming world premiere in Montreal... hopefully the first of many film festival appearances (I wouldn't mind popping over to Toronto, Venice, New York, Sweden...)

Image: Very cute t-shirt print from the uber-talented Kat Macleod for the Australian Ballet!

I just want to wake up without having a heart attack

2011-06-29T14:02:00.000+10:00

Alarm clocks. They are a necessary evil. But I am having real trouble finding one that has my three necessary ingredients, in order of importance:

1. A regular-volume alarm sound (I'm being reasonable here, though an adjustable volume would be ideal.)
2. An easy-to-hit snooze button that lets me sleep for 5-10 minutes more
3. Illuminated numerals (preferably in red).

Okay, they may seem like quite specific requests and you're thinking I'm a crazy control-freak about my sleep-waking devices (that would be true, but it's not just me). Let me delve deeper into why I'm thinking this should not be as hard to find as it is:

- My clock lives on my bedside table, which is pretty close to my head, and therefore, ears. It does not need to be SO loud that I wake up with a start (surely it's not healthy to be startled out of deep sleep every morning?). Equally important is the alarm sound - which is, when you think about it, the most important part of the alarm clock concept. Yet a request to hear the sound of an alarm clock is often met with stifled sighs in a retail environment, and is rarely an option when purchasing online.

- Snooze buttons. Great invention. There should always be one. And it should be easy to hit in a half-awake state. It should not be a small switch hidden at the back right next to the button that turns the alarm off completely.

- Illuminated numerals. Science fact: red numerals are quicker for the eye to focus on in a darkened room. And red conveniently does not emit as much light into the dark room, as blue or green light numerals. So red is the go.

Our current alarm clocks. Which we've owned for 18 months, and for 12 of those months they have both been broken in different ways, and while still function, do so at limited capacity. At $90 a pop you can see why this is annoying.

There are a host of other bonus things I'd love to include in my alarm clock wish list (AA-battery operated! Easy to program! No superfluous button-pressing beeps! All of which our current alarm clocks lack) but I'm trying not to be too picky (too late!).

Oh and it would be nice if it looked good as well. But looks, as I have found, can be deceiving.

The heart-attack inducing culprit. Where's the fire?!? Oh, wait, it's just time to wake up.

I know what you're thinking 'Why don't you just use your phone!?'.

Alarm Dock (via Swiss Miss).

No. Not an option. Mobile phone within 0.5m of my person 24/7? Not sure on the science, but it can't be wise. Also, checking email before getting out of bed in the morning is not conducive to a productive workday I have found.

Long-time readers will remember I blogged about alarm clocks here once before. The Furni ones are definitely still an option, but the price (and the fact that they're almost always sold out) is prohibitive.

The search continues...

On website portfolio design

2011-06-24T14:05:00.001+10:00

I am about to begin a new phase of my career as a graphic-designer-slash-creative-thinking-person, and while the finer details are still being nutted out, what I do know is that sooner or later I'll have to redesign my website.

Recently I've found myself looking more closely at other designer and creative websites, trying to figure out how I want to present myself amongst all the other 'shopfronts' out there.

It is unusual for me to be redesigning my website now, as up until 2008 I pretty much redesigned it ever year.

The 2003/2004 version. Up until 2008 (when I went full-time freelance), my 'business name' was The Delicatessen. This website was made in flash (as was the style at the time), which never ceases to amaze me because I have no recollection of how to use flash now.

The 2005 version. It scrolled left to right! Another naughties trend.

Presenting my own work on a folio website has always had its inherent challenges. In the early days I struggled to collect images of work that was for actual clients - not just student projects - let alone work that I was really proud of showcasing online.

2006 - the 'trying to get a corporate job in a foreign country' folio website. Check out that harsh drop shadow - ouch! The little tabs popped up though which was cute.

Even when freelance work did start regularly coming my way, the inevitable compromises you make as a graphic designer working with a paying client (trying to keep the integrity of your design idea in tact) came along with it. This can be a shock to students and new designers, I think, especially when the concept work you love is not chosen as the solution.

But I realised very early on that is part and parcel of being a graphic designer, and I still find it intriguing that experienced designers put concept work in their online portfolios. Because the job of a graphic designer, in essence, is to solve a problem, and in the end there is only one solution - the solution that the client has approved to represent their business.

I'm not sure if either of these designs ever made it online in 2006/2007, but I still quite like them.

This 2007 design was really basic, and the whole site was only two pages.

What I'm realising now (apart from the fact that apparently I love blue and beige in website design), is that for my next website design, I have to take stock of everything I've ever worked on, and really think about what I want to show that then represents the kind of work I want to continue to do. This is harder than it sounds! There are so many projects I'm very proud of, but given the option would decline doing another project like them again. Perhaps all designers go through this at some stage? I'm not sure. Less is more though, I'm thinking. And I need to put out what I want to get back. That is my new website portfolio brief.

What I've been...

2011-06-21T15:40:00.001+10:00

Eating: Very tasty tart at Miss Jackson at another crafty evening last week (no wonder they recently won the Age best cafe food award!); also, Dinner at the warm and toasty Gills Diner.
Not eating: a steak sandwich at Gold Class Cinema. Gold Class confuses and amuses me... how does one eat all those dinner meals in the dark while watching a movie? I rarely emerge from a cinema not covered in chocolate from standard-issue cinema snacks.
Watching: Bridesmaids at the aforementioned Gold Class. Maybe it's just me, but **spoiler alert** I was really hoping it would end with Helen and Annie deciding to start a luxury wedding planning & catering business together...
Enjoying: having our balcony back in order. Just 2 weeks after our balcony makeover was feeling nice and finished, our building corp insurance came through - the defective surface uprooted and new tiles layed.
Reading: New purchases Women of Design and Contemporary Graphic Design.
Bookmarking: www.designlovefest.com

Peppermint magazine

2011-06-15T18:25:00.000+10:00

I feel honoured to have been interviewed recently for the most recent issue of what I think is one of Australia's best magazines, Peppermint.

My blog in print on my blog (click image to read)

Peppermint is not only a beautiful-looking mag, but it's packed full of eco-friendly fashion & products, stories about good people, and all sorts of other nice stuff. If you care about your health and the environment and use any beauty products, you should not buy a single product more before consulting this publication! I'm so glad Peppermint exists that I subscribed this year because I want it to keep on existing! (And considering the quality, it's not expensive to subscribe either).

Thanks, Peppermint!

Deep Dark Africa

2011-06-13T11:50:00.000+10:00

A new online store called Deep Dark Africa, started by South African fashion & decor stylist, Alexia Kondylis, has just launched. I'm sure it will be all over design blogs in the coming weeks, because it's a really lovely curated selection of home wares and accessories from artisans from all over Africa - high on design, light on cliches.

Deep Dark Africa loves handmade, believes in fair trade and aims to be as eco-friendly as possible. Here are some of my favourite pieces...

What I've been...

2011-06-10T16:28:00.000+10:00

There's a lot to love about this photo. (Fine Little Shop via Making it Lovely)

Eating: Dinner at Cumulus, because unbeknownst to me (or due to my lack of memory), Mamasita is closed on Sunday nights. Which is a shame as I was really thinking a lot about their chilli mushroom tofu thingo while I was...
Watching: Meek's Cutoff as part of the Kelly Reichardt Focus On series at ACMI. I loved Wendy & Lucy and love Michelle Williams... maybe Meek's is more of a grower (or maybe I was just really hungry).
Enjoying: Offspring. Last year I was watching it because I felt like I should, but this year I'm watching it because I want to!
Bookmarking: nothing much. I'm in a blog slump I think... I have my stable of design-life blogs that I love and I know there are more out there but I need recommendations. Do you have any?

My weekend in Brisbane

2011-06-07T21:17:00.000+10:00

I was up in Brisbane for a few days last week, to catch up with family and because my favourite phrase in the whole world is '23 degrees and sunny'.

This visit I had some time to wander around by myself and see what's new (thanks, friends who have all moved away) (seriously it's fine most of you are in Melbourne now anyway).

I spy Hideyo origami flowers, as well as lots of Pony Rider at Lavish in Woolloongabba.

Logan Road/Stanley St in Woolloongabba has become a little hub of stores, restaurants and bars over the last couple of years, and even though I was disappointed that the big mid-century furniture place I remember being there is now more antique-y, there are some nice shops like Lavish (above) and Absolutely Fabulous (below) to get good design wares from. We ate at 1889 Enoteca on Thursday night (yum) and there was a line out the door at Pearl Cafe on Saturday morning.

Absolutely Fabulous has a good mix of retro gems and new stuff, including Mattt bags and lots of Elk jewellery and accessories. If I wasn't scared it would get crushed in my luggage home I would have bought that golden butter dish... and those little spice cannisters were too cute!

Those concrete busways all over Brisbane actually are quite efficient, as I hopped on a bus from Stanley St toward Fortitude Valley and within minutes was wandering along Brunswick St toward Artisan (a.k.a. Craft Queensland).

The Nudie jeans store on Brunswick St didn't have girls stuff, but the friendly guy did direct me upstairs to Fallow - which walking in to was a bit of a trip as the "winter" sun shone so brightly outside. From what I can gather, Fallow is run by the same people as Bessie Head (which was like a saving grace of interesting clothes in Brisbane when I lived there). They stock lots of Aussie labels and the overarching theme is black, but they have lots of great jewellery and quirky curios as well. A dapper Brisbane gentleman (who still had to dress a bit casual due to the humidity, hehe) would be quite at home here.

Around lunch time my brother was playing a solo gig in Winn Lane, which ex-Brisbanites might know as 'the alley where you load in when you're playing at The Zoo'. Indeed, this alley has been Transformed with a capital T and now houses several shops including Little Jane St (SO CUTE - stationery and indie magazines curated to perfection) and Sunday Social (vintage clothing and accessories).

While listening to Paul play we ate and drank from Flamingo Cafe (pictured) and because it was the first Saturday of the month, a number of indie designers were taking part in the Valley Laneway Market (not to be confused with the Valley Markets in the Brunswick St Mall... this laneway market is much nicer).

On my walk back to the city I stopped in at a few places along Ann St, including Akira (who has a fabulous heritage listed space underneath the Zoo) and Dogstar (to see if I could see some Simply Phoebe stuff! I did!).

So, not an exhaustive shopping guide by any means, but definitely some areas to check out if you find yourself in Brisbane any time soon. Also useful were these Good Guides, available in shops and cafes, and they cover many of these areas and I didn't get to revisit like Paddington, New Farm and West End. But I'll be back in September (when I'm really, truly in need of southern winter respite) so maybe I'll do a 'part II'...

Blogging elsewhere

2011-06-06T16:48:00.000+10:00

For the last couple of weeks I've been researching lots of creative women throughout the 20th century for my stint as a guest blogger on The Design Files! It's been fun and informative and I hope you enjoy the posts, which will appear every morning this week thanks to the skilful Lucy and Jenny.

As for posting around here, I have so many things to share! But all in good time...

Crazy brain part II

2011-06-01T20:31:00.000+10:00

Today I finished my second-to-last project for my art class.

For my last project I showed the colours my brain conjures up when I think of a day of the week. For this piece I created a 'rosetta stone'-style piece with the colour I associate to a letter of the alphabet!

Another small piece, the same size as these ones. The title will be something like "A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z."

'Scuse the intense gallery lighting and iPhone photo quality.

Like the last project I applied layers of paint and then sanded them back, to achieve a smooth surface as well as the worn-in look (and also because sometimes my brain doesn't tell my hand to mix the right colour the first time!).

While I'm not as happy with this work as I have been with others, working on it really started to solidify exactly what I enjoy painting and how I like to work: block colours, straight lines/edges, sanding back for a smooth surface, and small canvases. But I have also found through my projects this semester that I miss painting subjects. So, for my final piece in one months time, I'm going to go back to depicting structures - probably interiors. I'm excited - it feels good to have some direction in this area and like a little series is developing...

What I've been...

2011-05-28T16:32:00.000+10:00

Eating: Awesomeness as usual at our fave Peko Peko, and disappointment at St Kilda 'institution' Soul Mama... I don't know where to begin with that experience so I'll just say... nothing.
Watching & reading: stories of prodigies via Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Mrs Carey's Concert, and My Kid Could Paint That. Facinating stuff.
Nervous about: The talk I'm giving about Social Media for Makers at Craft Victoria on Monday night... eeep.
Bookmarking: Solid Frog - interior design goodness + more.
Planning: a little trip to Brisbane next week
Dreaming of: Other trips to farther-away places that might happen in the second half of the year
Working on: a series of guest posts for one of my very favourite blogs! More on that soon.

Image: Yellow Diva FanDeck light shade at Form Function Style

Jerry.

2011-05-26T18:46:00.000+10:00

Nuggets of goodness from an old interview I read today with Jerry Seinfeld:

I'm big on civility. (That should be someone's campaign speech - I'd vote for them.)

Who should I marry? You can make all the charts and have all the discussions, but it doesn't guarantee anything. Marriage is a big bet. It's the only bet of its kind, one in which you say, "This feels right...I think I'll change everything."

You can know things in so many different ways, and then when someone puts it a certain way, it suddenly becomes new.

'It's yours to design'. (Relating to when you're the one in charge of what you're doing/planning with your life. See above!)

My three rules for living. First, bust your ass. That's a universal law, no matter what you do. Second, pay attention. Learn from everything and everyone all the time. One of my favorite expressions is "Wherever you look, there's something to see." Finally, my third rule: Fall in love. Fall in love with your street, your tennis game, a pillow. You can be passionate about anything. Someone could say, "I love this fork," and I'd think that was great. Pay attention; don't let life go by you. Fall in love with the back of your cereal box.

Jerry should be taking over from Oprah I think.

It was the best of times, it was the Modern Times

2011-05-24T21:50:00.000+10:00

On Friday my bestie Sean and I went to the opening of Modern Times, a Short-run Shop (coining a new term for Pop-up Shop there... because with the amount of forewarning and promo it had, it didn't really pop up and surprise anyone!).

The grey couch pictured was my favourite... looked great with two Designed in Brunswick cushions!

Sean and I are big lovers of the mid-century-time furniture. So there was lots of ooh-ing and mentally sizing up couches and sideboards to fit in our already-crammed apartments. Alas, we thought we should leave some of the goodness for the rest of Melbourne to procure so we went home emptyhanded.

But I really liked the combination of original MCM pieces, new furniture, and supporting artwork and homewares from local artisans. The best of all interior design worlds.

Modern Times have a blog too, which I hope they continue after the shop closes its doors. These guys obviously have lots of MCM goodness to share.

Papped!

Books not on paper

2011-05-19T14:47:00.000+10:00

What's this?

It's my home made Kindle ebook reader cover! Made from fabric from my Japan stash (super soft linen, lined with felt... my Kindle is warmer than most of Melbourne right now).

What I've been...

2011-05-14T10:04:00.001+10:00

Attending: The launch of this at e.g. etal... stunning jewellery from all around Australia and New Zealand. The series of rings by Nga Waiata (pictured) were amongst my favourites.
Watching: Friday Night Lights, and as a reminder that it is actually quite an accurate portrayal of daily life in Texas, the doco American Teen.
Seeing: The world's most terrible mime artist (he talked throughout... and for the most part was just playing air guitar, badly) and Tim's debut Melbourne theatre performance (1000% better than the mime!).
Eating: More protein. Or trying too. It's a tricky one.
Listening to: Nova Scotia and Twin Shadow. Like.
Bookmarking: Textile and Terrain.

More pot plant love

2011-05-10T13:00:00.000+10:00

Is this turning into a gardening blog? Maybe gardening appreciation... Thanks to Isabel who alerted me to these amazing 'string gardens'.

Also, I love this mass of pot plants (and the grey wall, and the Aludean-esque wall art) in the new House & Garden mag (styled by Natalie Dalton and found at her blog Daily Imprint).

A love story in typography

2011-05-09T11:10:00.000+10:00

My friends Liz and Joel are getting married in September (though it is probably much more wedding-ly to say 'in the Spring').

Most designers would agree it's hard to be your own client. Liz has a graphic design background (we met at uni), but when it came to her own wedding invites, she was stuck getting the story of her and Joel's courtship (which takes up the centre spread of the invitation) looking right. I was more than happy to help Liz out - after all, I owe her big time for all her help with my wedding in '07 (not only did she facilitate the making of my dress, but we sewed about 50 tote bags from scratch to give to guests).

So recently I spent an afternoon tinkering with Liz's invite layout, adding some new fonts and little illustrations... and look what arrived in the mail last week!

Can't wait 'til September!

Teahouse Winter '11 + an interview

2011-05-06T14:52:00.001+10:00

As I mentioned last week, I've been experimenting with drawing on fabric. Similar to my 'freestyle embroidery', I have no plan. I just put pen to fabric and draw in a similar way to when I'm talking on the phone or listening in class. Grids, architecture, triangles, compartments... this is the essence of my subconscious.

And now you can buy my subconscious in brooch form! These and others are being delivered to Craft Victoria this afternoon...

Alas, if you prefer me in a slightly more conscious format, you can read an interview with me about the Creative Women's Circle and my life-long love of handmade things today on the madeit blog.

Have a good weekend!

Balcony plants

2011-05-04T16:54:00.000+10:00

The Easter long weekend saw Patrick and I engage our friends and plant-consultants Sean & Tim to help us greenify our desert-like outdoor space.

The brief was simple enough: we required drought-hardy (read: virtually unkillable due to forgetfulness of watering), sun-loving plants for our existing collection of mis-matched pots. Off we went to Poyntons armed with a sketch and some dreams (and some money).

Here's what we came home with:

Succulents! And lots of them. Cute.

The only vegetable that seems to love our arid balcony is shallots. They're sitting inside my sweet $5 Mornington Peninsula op-shop wire potplant basket.

A yukka (?) from Poyntons, a Cacti-like plant (apparently not actually a cacti though) from Camberwell Market, and the apple of my gardening eye - the jade tree that never dies.

I love how our solar-reflecty window film makes for cool outdoor photos.

There's still a bit to do with the balcony, but the fact is the tiles are to be ripped up and replaced in the coming months anyway, so we'll see how that works out before doing much more.

The things you find saved in your email drafts folder...

2011-05-03T18:02:00.000+10:00

Image: MK Architects via Desire to Inspire

"Maybe it is a good thing for us to keep a few dreams of a house that we shall live in later, always later, so much later, in fact, that we shall not have time to achieve it. For a house that was final, one that stood in symmetrical relation to the house we were born in, would lead to thoughts—serious, sad thoughts—and not to dreams. It is better to live in a state of impermanence than in one of finality."
—Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

Yeah, I respectfully disagree, Gaston - I would be pretty freakin' happy to live in my mega-dream house methinks.

Craft and cake

2011-04-29T10:57:00.001+10:00

The other week I indulged in quite a bit of cake thanks to the folks at Miss Jackson, all the while developing the new Winter Teahouse range and chatting to some lovely ladies about blogging, crafting and everything in between. You can come along next time! Details of the next Brown Owls here.

Thanks to Michelle for the photos!

The best investment I've made for my business this year*

2011-04-26T12:48:00.000+10:00

The other day, I bought a cape. This cape (but in black):

This was not a fashion trend decision, it was a business decision. For my office is cold during the Winter months, and add to that my native Queensland blood (which freezes at a higher temperature), and the fact that my job doesn't exactly require me to move around a lot. And then parts of my brain start concentrating on keeping itself warm rather than the task at hand. Bad times.

So the other day I was at Country Road looking through the sale section, and there were these 100% wool capes, with holes for arms (not sleeves) and a big collar. There were lots of them and they were 50% off. It's not the most attractive design for any woman's figure, and I'll probably never wear it outside of my office, but my OH MY is it ever warm! I'm positively toasty as I type this.

If you're like me, trying at length to keep warm during Winter without using a lot of electricity (or buying a slanket), go and get one right now. This giant woolly tent jacket will be the best $89 you've ever spent.

*Other potential titles of this post included: "I wear a cape to work, but I'm no superhero!"

The Tassie map

2011-04-22T12:39:00.000+10:00

Readers of Australia's most popular and awesome design blog, The Design Files, may have noticed a little map of Hobart's design & food hotspots that Lucy commissioned me to design for her 'TDF hearts Tassie' series of posts this week.

Thanks to all for the nice comments and emails I've received about the map! It really was the funnest job ever, thanks to Lucy for being a great 'client'.

If you didn't see it there, here it is.

(Click to enlarge or visit it on The Design Files)

Mind grapes

2011-04-20T16:27:00.000+10:00

This year has been going so quickly, I'm already at week 9 of semester II of my art course at LCAD, and I've barely even mentioned it here.

The theme of this semester's works is 'the little, seemingly insignificant moments and events that have an impact on us'. My classmates explored concepts such as a kiss, running in the park, the temptation to eat an ice cream, and light peeking through a curtain. The concept for my project was something my teacher described as 'odd'...

For as long as I can remember, whenever I think of a day of the week, a month of the year, a single number or letter, my mind automatically conjures up a colour palette. It's just this weird subtle subconscious thing - like if you said to me 'lets meet on tuesday', tuesday has this colour palette:

So instantly I will associate those nice warm colours to the experience of our meeting on tuesday. Before we've even had the meeting. Isn't that weird? When I was a kid, swimming lessons on tuesday always seemed like they would be better than swimming lessons on monday, because of their colour palettes - even though I hated all swimming lessons.

From far left - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Saturday and Sunday

This association of colour to words is called Synaesthesia. It's a "neurologically-based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway", if you want to get technical about it. Some people smell music, which I think is even stranger... just associating colours to words is probably fairly tame.

I can't not think about colours when I think of days, and the colours have always stayed the same, even though another person with the same condition might think Tuesday is all blues and greys. Brains are weird.

Production-wise, these little paintings are postcard sized, painted on board with acrylic and then sanded back. Taking to my painting with sandpaper was hard to start, but the surface is so smooth and I love how the colours appear to have worn into the wood grain in some areas.

My teacher wants me to expand the series to include months, numerals and letters next... we'll see!

What I've been...

2011-04-19T16:37:00.000+10:00

Weeks they are a-flying by, aren't they? While in blog-land I've been spending time over at Creative Women's Circle, here's what I've been up to in 3D...

Drinking: Hot chocolate at Manchester Press, found via Broadsheet (thumbs in the air to both of them).

(Or should that be where I've been) Visiting: Wye River for a weekend with friends. Many a pun-laden conversation was had, in between pretending we could actually ever live in a place as nice as this, cooking up tasty food, perusing our iDevices and Community marathons. Nerds.

Coveting: All of the ceramics at Shelley Panton Studio. I first met Shelley through the CWC, but only recently popped into her beautiful shop which is nestled amongst the tree lined streets of Middle Park. Not only are her ceramics gorgeous but she's managed to source a lot of things from other local makers and suppliers that I have not seen elsewhere...

Laughing at: Claudia O'Doherty's What is Soil Erosion and Kitty Flanagan at the Comedy Festival. And of course, Tina Fey's memoir (awesome front cover and all).

Eating: If you have a special occasion coming up, and you are a vegetarian, I highly recommend Jacques Reymond... and no, not just because I'm an upper middle class Good-Food-Guide reading yuppie (though I am a bit that), but because they have an all-vegetarian degustation. That is in no-way inferior to it's meat-laden version, nor does it contain any fake meats, and it is styled in a similar way to the meat one, so your are not compromising on the visual feast either. That is something to support. Merci, Jacques!

A little break...

2011-04-13T15:21:00.000+10:00

Hello dear reader,

My blogging time recently is being spent over at the Creative Women's Circle site, getting that up and running in earnest... throw in work, play and other in-real-life stuff and this space becomes a little neglected.

See you back here soon.

tess

Designing blogs

2011-03-31T13:31:00.001+11:00

So the new Creative Women's Circle website has launched! I'm excited for the future, and have lots of plans for world domination by helping others with their world domination plans.

But really, it just adds yet another example of custom blog/website design to my portfolio.

The new Creative Women's Circle website with rotating banner.

Patrick's website

For my brother Paul and his solo/band project, BigStrongBrute.

Fiona's website for her Kensington shop, Onabee.

A website for child and family counsellor, Simone Kaplan.

Another recent logo & blog design for my Mum's Bed & Breakfast in Queensland. Welcome to blog land, mum!

TINA FEY HAS A BOOK COMING OUT

2011-03-30T15:06:00.000+11:00

Thanks to Tim for alerting me to this fact.

Image via Amazon.

Yesterday

2011-03-27T15:27:00.000+11:00

I had such a great day yesterday.

No big announcements, no mind-exploding opportunities presented, just a series of small events that made me go to bed that night with a smile at the thought of what a really nice day it was.

It started off pretty normally - a little sleep-in, 3 loads of washing completed before lunch, some toast and some blog-reading and staying-on-top-of-it-work-admin-y stuff.

In the afternoon I caught a train (on time!) into the city to meet Liz, and we promptly visited Little Cupcakes for a 'birthday cake' - yes it was my birthday a month ago, but Liz was adamant cake still needed to be eaten in celebration! And who am I to debate such a convincing argument?

If you've ever been to Little Cupcakes you'll know it's generally always packed full of people, and we had resigned ourselves to curb-side takeaway, when at that moment a table became vacant out front... so we ordered tea and coffee and chatted amongst the Degraves St bustle enjoying our tiny baked goods.

Next, I needed to exchange a purchase at Obus, which is something I never love doing - I know what its like in retail to see a customer beeline for the counter when they walk into your shop - but they were so nice about it... which made me like Obus even more (if that is possible).

From Obus we popped down to Leonard St for a look, and after a minute or two, in walked Cheryl Lin from BusinessChic, who I had seen speak at Pecha Kucha the other week. I was so pleased to be able to tell her in person how much I liked her website and presentation.

Left: Super-stylish Cheryl Lin. On her blog BusinessChic, she asks important questions such as when is it appropriate to wear a tutu to work (assuming you're not a professional ballerina)?

A short time later we were on a tram toward the Finders Keepers market at Docklands, and there we spent an hour wandering with wonder at all the nice things for sale... and saying hello to Phoebe and Tamara and chatting with friendly stallholders. I bought an Emily Green necklace (like this one!) and some earrings too (yep, totally did not stick with the plan :)).

Loved these DIY & limited edition lamps from Two Layers of Cells at Finders Keepers...

It was just after 5pm by the time we were back into the city, but we took our chances and headed up to Pieces of Eight in the hope that it would still be open. It was!

Peta Kruger necklace

Laura diFlorio landscapes

Anna Clynes rings

Between Degraves St, Obus, Leonard St, Cheryl Lin, Finders Keepers and Pieces of Eight, I went home that day reminded of the variety and creativity and general excellence of Melbourne.

At home that night, Patrick made a vego massaman curry for dinner, and we watched some favourite shows.

It was a great day.

Come to Finders Keepers! Bring money!

2011-03-25T18:14:00.000+11:00

The first time the Finders Keepers market was on in Melbourne I collected together a few of my fave finds, and (can you believe) it's been six months, and this weekend the market graces Shed 4 at Docklands yet again!

But in going along as a shopper I need to focus: my wallet will have to stay home otherwise. It's coldin' up in Melbourne so I'm directing my attention to nice things that I can layer and that will add warmth to my wardrobe.

Such as:

Beattie Lanser and pretty patterns

Frankie & Ray scarf (and um, I already own a brooch exactly like that. Coincidence?)

Stella Ann for business attire (and yay for real-looking models!)

The Encouragement Award.Will I be sitting in front of my computer in this next week? I hope so...

Advice to graphic design students

2011-03-24T17:50:00.001+11:00

I was a graphic design student/graduate once, I know what it is like out there. Hard. Super-competitive. Graphic design as an industry is competitive, and when your skill set and folio is comparable to thousands of others at your level, it is the little things that get you noticed.

As a graphic designer with a website, I receive fairly regular emails from tertiary-level students requesting work experience placement* and the occasional questionnaire. And it never fails to surprise me that students rarely go to much more effort than a bulk email to make themselves known to potential future employers.

The points below are nothing new - it is advice repeated in books and online over and over again. But if it helps one student re-think hitting that send button then my work is done:

1. Research. Gosh, when I was cold-emailing for jobs/experience, I researched the hell out of studios to make sure it was actually a place where I wanted to WORK, let alone making sure I had the right details when sending off an email & folio.

Even if you're not that picky about who employs you, it should be kind of a bit obvious from my website that I'm probably just one person, not a company or studio, so maybe that warrants tailoring of an email somewhat.

2. Ego-stroking. Again, comes down to research. Using my first name (again, I'm quite clearly a person) is a good start. That's not ego-stroking, just polite. Saying you like my work for x or y reasons, well, how sweet of you to say. Mentioning you liked a specific piece of work in my folio - or any other phrase that makes me think you've looked properly at my website and considered what it would be like to be on my team - well you are a diamond in the rough and I will probably go out of my way to help you.

3. Spell check. Isn't this chapter 1 of any job-getting handbook? And it's not just scanning an email for the red underlined words that are common in the English language... if you misspell the name of the institution you studied at, that's a dealbreaker right there.

And even if you're sure every word is spelled correctly, make sure you do NOT leave in the name of another studio that you obviously sent the same email to in one addressed to me. Yikes.

4. Your portfolio. I realise that while you're studying it is unlikely that you'll do any real jobs for actual clients, and the bulk of the work displayed in your portfolio will be assignments. You and I both know an international magazine did not commission you to design their front cover. But if you're going to put this in your folio, how about a bit of captioning: What was the brief? What were the boundaries? Do you enjoy that particular type of design? Why did you pick that font? Did you do the illustration? Inform me.

5. You're a person too. What do you need to stand out in a crowd of similar-looking folios and emails? Personality. When experience and skills are comparable, most small studios hire on personality... you're working together day in and day out - I need to know up front if we're going to get along. I also need to know if you're going to be able to talk coherently with clients and suppliers and just generally take the ball and run with it (in the right direction). So show me that in all your communication. A little effort spent looking at a company's about page, blog, twitter feed, can give you insight into the people behind the designs. If you think you'd connect and add value to their business in some way, let them know.

This is the kind of advice I would have loved as a student, and I hope it helps other students or graduates quit wasting their time (and mine), and start making a valuable impression on the people in your chosen field.

*For the record, I don't take on work experience students. Unless you're phenomenal.

Image: Awesome iPhone wallpaper from Attitude Creative (via DesignWorkLife)

Chunky scarves

2011-03-21T09:37:00.000+11:00

It was a bit chilly in Melbourne last week, and I started thinking about scarves. Big ones. I really like big chunky scarves...

Knittles

Swak Designs

Anaid Designs

Swak Designs

What I've been...

2011-03-19T15:45:00.000+11:00

Oohh, I have been a bit quiet on the blog of late... but things are bubbling in the background, so here are some peripheral happenings!

Seeing: Barney's Version.
Drinking: Apple and kiwi fruit juice, from DOC.
Eating: Caramel-chilli corn fritters at Steam in Rye, Victoria. Yum.
Visiting: Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, for the first time!
Realising: The last three places we've been on holiday - Japan, New Zealand, and far north Queensland; not to mention my ol' hometown of Brisbane - have been devastated by natural disasters this year. It makes it all the more heartbreaking...
Working on: New branding and bloggy websites for the Creative Women's Circle (yet to launch) and my mum's business, Turkey's Nest Bed & Breakfast (launched!).
Bookmarking: Sweetfineday. Honest, funny and good-looking, just how I like my blogs. I especially related to this post.

Image: Thinking a lot about painting & pattern design lately... La Garconne dresses found via Wikstenmade

Paper top

2011-03-08T16:57:00.000+11:00

I could go on about how I purposefully design simple, understated clothing for myself, but in all honesty, I rarely make clothes for myself anymore, and no-pattern-required, straight-line-sewing is just my limited skill set in this area, rather than a manifesto...

Years ago I bought a few metres of this very thin, slightly textured cotton-something to make sheer curtains. That never happened, but I've held onto it because it's such a great texture... almost papery.

And so this top is named the Paper Top. It's basically a rectangle with arm and neck holes (sack-y chic?). The buttons don't even have holes! I didn't go as far as gluing them in place, but it is pretty close.

Front...

Back...

And attention, parents of mine who read this blog, before you email me: YES it does need ironing. Or maybe it's just supposed to be like that! Kids these days...

Pecha Kucha and MIFA

2011-03-07T09:34:00.001+11:00

I popped along to a Pecha Kucha event on Friday night at MIFA on Collins Street. I'd heard of PK's before, but had never been along to one. The basic premise is a handful of speakers are invited show 20 images of their work/a theme and speak for 20 seconds about each image. That's 6 minutes 40 seconds only - which can go quickly or slowly or be just the right amount of time, depending on the speaker! As part of this year's Fashion Festival, the speakers and topics were fashion-bent. I loved it (but then, I obviously do like to see people speak about their work!)

There were lots of highlights, but equally engaging was the exhibition that is currently on at MIFA: Closing the Gap - Contemporary Indonesian Art. Definitely worth a look.

Eko Nugroho

Maria Indria Sari

One of the speakers at Pecha Kucha (whose name I forgot to write down - my one PK irk was that the speakers weren't introduced very clearly... a handout with names/contact details would have been great!) talked about Maria's work (domestic-chore-inspired characters intricately sewn and embroidered). It added so much to the artwork to know the concepts behind her work.

Soni Irawan

The exhibition runs until 18 March at MIFA - level 1, 278 Collins Street Melbourne.

What I've been...

2011-03-05T10:31:00.000+11:00

Taking a little trip to Mud Australia today to spend some birthday dollars!

Eating: Birthday dinner at Mamasita. I know everyone raves about this place but really, it is that good. The food is amazing (and my gluten-free companion was ecstatic), but not only that - the staff are super friendly too.
Watching: Inside Job. Makes you baulk at the fact that most world leaders make pittance against finance CEOs...
Working on: An identity for a Yoga teacher, a postcard for Little Pitcher, and a rather large government project...
Starting: the second semester of my art course! Fun.
Bookmarking: Rediscovering Oh Happy Day... they moved to Paris! Gorgeous.

Twenty-nine and feelin' fine

2011-02-28T11:47:00.000+11:00

Look what welcomed me to the final year of my twenties this morning?

It's the super cute teapot I blogged about recently. Thanks, Patrick, for reading my blog, taking notes, and generally just being super awesome.

Balcony update

2011-02-24T13:15:00.000+11:00

Summer ends next week in this here southern hemisphere. And our balcony revamp over the last few months has progressed. We have spent a bit of time lounging in our Cindy chairs, but I'm not ready to show any pics just yet. The plant situation still needs tending, and seeing images like this one make me want to hop to it and build a succulent army.

In plan-disrupting news, it looks like our Owner's Corporation will be re-tiling all balconies in the apartment complex due to the crappy way they were built in the first place. Who knows when that will be, but maybe they'll redo it in a nicer tile - so, we wait!

Image: design*sponge

Little Pitcher

2011-02-21T11:18:00.000+11:00

Here's a first for my little blog... an interview!

You might remember the Armadillo & Co rug we bought for our lounge room last month... it was puchased at Little Pitcher, a pretty store that has recently opened up in Moonee Ponds, curated to perfection and full of interesting and beautiful decor items for your home.

Proprietors Anita and Tereza have a keen eye for french-inspired design and are lovely ladies as well! I asked them a few questions about their shop...

Cute linen 'love seat'

How did the two of you meet?

Our husbands have been friends forever, and with the two of us having the same passion for gorgeous design, and beautiful and interesting living spaces. It became inevitable that we create a space that would inspire others too.

Little Pitcher started as a decorating service - can you tell us more about that?

Our decorating service is structured to allow for our clients to broaden what they already have, and focus on complementing and adding to their look. We are able to work with you and freshen up your space, or we can start from scratch to achieve a totally new look.

We also offer a House Sale Preparation Service, where we focus on making the most of your space and style prior to sale.

As part of our showroom service we are also happy to source furniture and lighting.

Why did you choose to open your store in Moonee Ponds?

We both live in Moonee Ponds and felt that our clients shouldn't always have to travel to be inspired.

Armadillo & Co rugs... I want them all!

What is the 'ethos' of the retail store and the products you sell?

With the intention of inspiring clients to be creative and mix it up a little, our showroom has evolved into a showcase of things we love! Some of which are beautiful in design and style, and others which are offbeat and interesting. We have many sources of inspiration, and don't buy according to any one theme or trend.

Where do you source your furniture (particularly couches, armchairs and tables/dressers)?

We stock special pieces from France, as well as one off pieces from India, but most of our furniture is sourced from the best Australian Wholesale Designers.

Where do you source the quilts you sell instore?

We import our quilts from New Zealand Designer - Bianca Lorenne. The hand crafted quilts are beautiful both in design and comfort, having been made using delicate and natural materials.

Little Pitcher's website is to be launched soon.... but in the meantime, pop in for a look-see! Shop 1/8 Eddy St Moonee Ponds 3039, opposite the Moonee Ponds Central/Coles carpark. Open Monday-Saturday.

Pretty.

2011-02-18T17:32:00.000+11:00

I've had one of those weeks. It started off well, but then work + humidity + ear issues conspired to drive me absolutely mad, resulting in some quiet weeping into my taco at Mamasita on Thursday night. *Sigh*. So now it's Friday, fun weekend plans are ahead, and I'm just looking at pretty things...

Paperless Post

Johnathon Adler (via Pintrest)

Jennifer Sanchez (via DesignWorkLife)

PrettyThingsByMeg necklace (via Oh, Hello Friend)

Uppercase blog

That's better. Hope you're week was a cup of tea... have a good weekend!

Nice to meet you, Mr Kitly

2011-02-15T09:12:00.000+11:00

The other day my companions and I stumbled upon Mr Kitly on Sydney Road. On street level it is just a door, but the typographic signage said 'plants' and 'gallery' and we were intrigued.

What a find!

Located upstairs at 381 Sydney Road, Mr Kitly is a piece of Japanese boutique loveliness in Brunswick. Blonde wood floors, lots of greenery (thriving indoors thanks to a beautiful skylight-lit 'gallery'), gorgeous ceramics, jewellery and linen wares.

My regular teapot broke recently in an early morning sleep-assisted arm-flailing event, so I think one of Mr Kitly's is on my birthday-present-to-myself list.

Mr Kitly sources their ceramics from local makers (including Shelley Panton) as well as new + vintage pieces from Japan. Jewellery, bags, books, and kitchenware are perfectly curated. And my friend Sean, knowledgeable in all things pottery and plant life, tells me their prices are very reasonable!

Stop in for a visit, or buy online.

Images from Mr Kitly: Iwachu Maron Number 5 teapot, Iwachu Maron Cast iron teapot, At-Swim-Two-Birds mobile, Exhibit K Archaic Seeds Chain

What I've been...

2011-02-13T18:30:00.000+11:00

Eating: All sorts of tasty vego things on toast at New Day Rising
Cooking: Home made pumpkin gnocchi; carrot cake.
Enjoying: I'm all for high-brow comedy, but sometimes you've gotta treat yourself to belly-laughs courtesy of Damn You Auto Correct.
Bookmarking: Black*Eiffel
Working on: A whole lotta brands - was it everyone's new years resolution to start a new business this year? Fine by me!
Short circuiting: Well, first my apartment, then half a computer store. My computer power source busted this week (note to self, never press the red button). Thank goodness for circuit breakers, that's all I can say.

Images: Brooches and necklaces by Emily Green. Love!

5 ideas to show your love on Valentine's Day (instead of funding the corporate machine)

2011-02-10T16:20:00.000+11:00

Are you one of those people who are like, 'Valentine's Day? American-Corporate-Hallmark-Holiday! Bah Heart-bug!'? Yes, it's hard to see the fun side of this tradition, when often it seems like just another link in the chain of back-to-back holiday background noise.

But there is a way to say 'You're, like, so special and that!' without buying a 'Whatever it says, I think the same thing' newsagency card, or gorging on individually-wrapped chocolates, or displaying limp Woolworths flowers for a week.

Inspired by my friend Tim's guide to enviro-friendly earth-and-partner-loving Valentines day tips (on his new blog!), here are a few ideas I've seen floating around the blogosphere, to brighten your lover/best friend/special-someone's Valentine's (or indeed any) Day.

1. E-cards are enviro-friendly... These ones from Paperless Post look very nice (via OCD4life)

2. I hear you - cards schmards. What about little notes like these?

3. No need to splurge on a fancy hotel suite, build a fort!

4. Forget flowers, say it with hand-stitched foliage.

5. And it you do buy a gift, how about wrapping it in something reusable, like fabric (or a teatowel?). See this rad video for Japanese gift wrapping techniques using fabric.

Image: 'Love' print by Helen Dardik

Wallpaper-covered tissue boxes

2011-02-08T14:49:00.001+11:00

You may have seen Porters Paints wallpapers collections before (not to mention their collaborations with the likes of Jodie from Bholu and Julie from Cloth!). They're gorgeous, just like their paints. But did you know you can get offcuts of their wallpapers instore, for around $7 a piece? Crafter's delight!

With one of the offcuts I picked up recently, Dragonfly, I covered a pair of tissue-box holders (found at Spotlight) for our bedroom.

One offcut piece would cover one tissue box if you wanted the pattern to wrap around, however I wanted to paper two with a single offcut (I think the choppiness of it only adds character!).

The holder is some kind of wood (not cardboard) so it has a smooth and not-too-absorbant surface, which was good as I adhered the wallpaper using PVA glue watered down with a wet brush. I papered each side with enough overhang to cut with a sharp scalpel for a smooth edge.

Here's the result!

What I've been...

2011-02-06T16:44:00.000+11:00

Watching on eBay...

Eating: Facon. A.k.a 'Bacon Style Rashers', which are almost unrecognisable as not-bacon in pasta dishes. Thanks to Tim for the recommendation!
Seeing: Catfish (yes!), True Grit (meh...)
Bookmarking: Alkeemi - she's a great painter, and blogs about fashion, design and the like. Nice.
Working on: Shoe catalogues, and a not-for-profit collateral refresh
Watching: Portlandia
Enjoying: The afternoon cool change

New Teahouse stockists!

2011-02-04T16:17:00.001+11:00

Teahouse has a new stockist! The last of my summer range brooches are for sale at Brunswick Bound, the excellent-book-slash-generally-awesome-stuff-store at 361 Sydney Road.

And in the pre-Christmas rush I may have forgotten to mention that you can also buy Teahouse brooches in Tasmania, at Love & Clutter (31 Murray St, Hobart). Hooray!

Linden Postcard Show

2011-02-03T09:39:00.000+11:00

Remember this little painting?

Well he is going to be on display at the Linden Gallery this weekend for the opening of the 2011 Linden Postcard Show. The show is an annual fundraiser for the gallery, and all works are smaller than 30cm square. Experienced and amateur artists alike take part, so it should be an intriguing display!

The show runs from this coming Saturday until 26 March, at 26 Acland St, St Kilda.

Elfrun Lach

2011-02-01T15:21:00.000+11:00

Saturday is my new go-out-and-see-some-art day of the week. And so that's what I did this past weekend.

Moseying around Flinders Lane, my favourite exhibition was Elfrun Lach's Corollary at Craft Victoria. Stunning tiny abstract jewellery-esque creations, inspired by red coral, most using found bits and pieces of like-coloured plastic and beads.

The exhibition runs until 5 March and I thoroughly recommend going along! You'll want to build yourself an entire room just to hang all your necklaces from the ceiling with fishing wire.

What I've been...

2011-01-30T15:37:00.000+11:00

I'll be the first to admit that as much as I enjoy routine, I do get restless easily. So I'm going to tweak my regular "This week in's" in 2011 to "What I've been's". Shorter and sweeter.

Enjoying: Our on-a-whole not-so-hot summer (despite the fact that today is 40 degrees...)
Eating: Dinner at Barbagallo, one of my favourite CBD restaurants. This time it was an almost exclusive dining experience thanks to the Australian Open finals this weekend.
Reading: David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim; Simon Garfield's Just My Type; Spaces by Frankie Magazine
Bookmarking: Jessica Hische's new blog
Watching: Mad Men (still!)
Working on: Health-related projects! An identity for a counsellor, a website for a personal trainer, a recipe book for diabetics...
Investigating: Enviro-friendly laundry & dishwashing liquids that I can make myself (suggestions welcome!)
Coveting: This Love & Adorn necklace (pictured), via Ming-Zhu's Svpply site

Newmarket Sale Yards 150th Anniversary market - call for stallholders!

2011-01-26T11:48:00.000+11:00

Fiona from Onabee passed on some information about a one-off market at the Family Day to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Newmarket Saleyards (in Flemington, Vic), on Sunday 20th February.

All the regular fees are going to be waived, plus chairs, tables and marquees are provided... just bring your wares and you're set! What a great opportunity for stallholders with family-focused products like kids clothes and accessories.

For more information, contact Jennifer Torrance, Community Development Officer at City of Melbourne on jennifer.torrance@melbourne.vic.gov.au or phone 03 9658 8020.

New cushions

2011-01-26T09:39:00.001+11:00

Another holiday project to share, this time finally using some of my Japan-trip fabric for new couch cushions!

Actually the magenta fabric is a piece I bought a few months ago at the North Melbourne Market, from A Piece of Cloth - they have a great range of vintage textiles! Catch them at North Melbourne next time if you can. It goes so well with this lovely linen from Fabric Town in Tokyo, which has been screaming at me to make something with it for ages...

Tiger vs Owl...

Holiday project results

2011-01-24T13:35:00.000+11:00

Yay, our internet is back from it's holiday. And boy did I get a lot done without it!

Before Christmas I posted about a few home projects I had in mind to start, finish, or something in between. Let's review...

Ladder!

We found just what we wanted within a minute of visiting The Junk Company in North Melbourne. They had lots of ladders and all reasonably priced (ours was $65). It was a little wobbly, but thanks to Patrick it now has a few braces here and there, so it can safely be used as an actual ladder. How novel!

Rug!

We went with the rope weave from Armadillo & Co in natural. It definitely lightens up the space, and in true interior-designy-speak, 'pulls the room together'. The rug was purchased from one of their stockists in Eddy St, Moonee Ponds - the brand-new Little Pitcher, who don't yet have a website from what I can gather.

More holiday project posts to come!

Before and after: Recovered footstool

2011-01-12T17:56:00.000+11:00

With the devastating images from my flooded hometown of Brisbane in the background, I think it's time to balance that out with some images of recovery (or recoverING).

Remember this little guy that I bought a few months back?

He was one of my holiday projects!

The fabric is a limited edition collaborative design from Lara Cameron and Lara Davies, of Ink & Spindle and Harvest Textiles respectively.

Top 10 of '10: Work!

2011-01-07T17:16:00.000+11:00

What a year 2010 was in terms of my graphic design work. I was very happy to maintain my current clients while also bring on some new ones. The number of not-for-profits I helped this year increased, and I got back to my roots with some book design projects. A major two-year long project comprising multiple printed items (including a board game!) came to completion, and I designed website interfaces for businesses as varied as picture framers, motorsport enthusiasts, shoe designers, photographers, doctors, car dealerships and fitness instructors. A few reports I designed also ended up on the nightly news - but at least they weren't unhappy with the design.

So family and friends, here is a taste of what I was up to when I said work was 'soooooo busy'.

Onabee
Fiona realised her dream of opening her own shop full of beautiful hand crafted things in Kensington this year, and I was more than happy to help with her logo, stationery and blog design.

Fairtrade Australia & New Zealand
Fairtrade are always coming out with great campaigns to encourage us all to eat and buy more fair trade products. No, they don't pay me in chocolate (darn).

Posters and booklets... print is not dead!

Being Australian
I have and still use a lot of stationery from my school days... hopefully these rulers will be used by their little owners for years to come!

Various book covers
It is still fun to see things I designed out there in the real world.

Logos that are serious, logos that are fun

Feeling like I know what I am talking about most of the time

This year I had a year-10 work experience student with me for a week in July, and continued with my AGDA mentoring.

One of the aforementioned website designs

Helping friends help Cambodians

Beating Blogger

Despite what I was saying in my earlier post, I did managed to wrangle a few Blogger templates this year (with thanks mostly to Michelle, and the power of googling for the answers). I was particularly happy with figuring out how to make a random image appear with each new page load on the Reunited site. Go there now! See my trickery!

Top 10 of '10: Books!

2011-01-04T22:27:00.002+11:00

OK, next in my little Top 10 of '10 series: books! I don't know how I found time to read over 20 books this year. Perhaps it is the upside of a consistently late-running public transport system.

Dave Eggers Zeitoun
One word: Powerful! And some more words: Holy crap how does this kind of thing happen in a first-world country? Featured here.

Sloane Crosley How Did You Get This Number?
~~*Girl crush*~~ UPDATE: It has come to my attention that Sloane Crosley isn't too fond of the term 'girl crush'. So, what I really mean by that is I admire Ms Crosley's talent as a writer of my generation, and as a person of wit and humour, and put her (and people like her) on a mental pedestal of sorts, and hey, she is easy on the eye and I probably would blush and get giggly if she walked by. But, I respect her right to dislike that term. Anyway. Yay Sloane. I shake your hand across the internet if you by chance read this.

Colin Beavan No Impact Man
Featured here.

Alain de Botton The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
Ok, the title may have been better that the entire book actually was, but by the end I really got into it... and I haven't looked at the inside of an aeroplane the same way since.

Ellen Ruppel-Shell Cheap
This book had a profound effect on my shopping habits this year (and op shops in Melbourne have never seen so much of me!)

Chloe Hooper The Tall Man
One word: Powerful! And some more words: Holy crap how does this kind of thing happen in OUR country? Featured here.

Dave Eggers A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Featured here.

Tim Ferriss The 4-hour Work Week
I think this will be a regular re-read at various points throughout my career. Featured here.

Benjamin Law The Family Law
Featured here.

Susan Maushart The Winter of Our Disconnect
A good motivator to switch off the computer and read more books...

Top 10 of '10: Movies!

2011-01-03T09:27:00.002+11:00

When I worked at a record store some years ago, my colleagues and I would get through the long Christmas-in-retail season by making Top 10 lists of our favourite music throughout the year. It was a pretty big deal, there may have even been laminating.

So as a long-time lover of lists, I feel it's time to look back on the best of '10.

Let's start with movies. Movies are obviously a big part of my life thanks to my in-house IMDB professional member. Means I get the top quality stuff (and through this blog, so do you!). Note while I did see all of these for the first time in 2010, some weren't actually released this year - but they are still pretty recent.

A Single Man
I am not one of those Mr Darcy/ye-olde british romantic fans by a long shot, which is probably why I hadn't seen a Colin Firth film ever. But this year he's piqued my interest, mainly for The Single Man and Genova. Yay Colin! Way to un-typecast yourself. Full 'review' here.

The Social Network
Featured here.

Please Give
Featured here.

Father of My Children
No indie hipster's top 10 list would be complete without a foreign film... featured here.

Passenger Side

It meandered at first, then I thought it was going to be an on-the-road buddy movie... then it got better, then there was the ending (!) and then there was the Evan Dando song. Simple idea, really well executed.

A Serious Man

The biennial Coen brothers film. Not as good as Burn After Reading, but pretty good!

Genova
Catherine Keener and Colin Firth pick great roles.

Teenage Paparazzo
Actually, any and all documentaries make the list! Food Inc / Gasland / If God Is Willing and the Creek Don't Rise / Strange Powers / Making it Handmade

Greenberg
Ben Stiller remains awesome.

Blue Valentine
Okay I only just saw this before Christmas, but Michelle Williams is amazing (as usual). I like an actor who consistently picks good roles, and she is incapable of looking unphotogenic despite the emotional trauma her characters seem to endure! If you liked Blue Valentine, try Wendy and Lucy.

Another Top 10 tomorrow...

Images: A Single Man poster by ch/ck, other posters from IMDB

This year in...

2010-12-27T10:49:00.196+11:00

2010 is rapidly coming to a close (but not without adding one more crazy-high temperature to the records - good on you Melbourne). I re-started this blog 12 months ago, and inspired by Jenny I thought I'd also look back at the year that was.

Resolutions! Earlier this year I blogged about some resolutions I had planned for 2010 (mainly environmentally-based ones after reading No Impact Man in January). I'm happy to say I did ride home from my office 2-3 times a week. We ate at least one meat-free meal a week, and when not sharing a meal I mostly chose the vego option. Turning stand-by appliances off at the wall didn't really pan out at home, but we did just install a few of these, so that should help us out in 2011. Less TV/computer time was also a hard habit to break, but to even it out (?) we switched to using water-based microfibre cleaning cloths around the house (Norwex - love them).

In addition, we recovered our existing couch (in eco-friendly fabric!) instead of buying a new one, saved a chair from landfill and recovered it using an old cushion cover, and bought almost all furniture items second hand. We also tried to introduce more organic products into our grocery purchases - mainly milk and some cheese. The organic thing is not easy (cost + availability/time being the main factors), but we need to try harder next year, since we (gulp) bought a (small!) car last month. The enviro-yin-yang quest continues...

Goals! I had a few personal goals this year, and either they weren't as challenging as I initially thought they would be, or I just had a lucky year - one was to launch Teahouse and have my products stocked at Craft Victoria (bonus: they are selling!) My second goal was to curate my own market stall, which I did - twice! Third - read two books a month. Well, I read 21 books in total, which is probably more than the last 15 years combined. Previously my highest record was about 116 books in 2 years (and yes, they were all by Ann M Martin).

It wasn't all gold stars though - learning HTML did not really happen. Just as I was getting used to tinkering with good ol' Minima, Blogger went and changed their templates. Nor did I do something resembling fitness every day. I did think about it though. It's a process...

So: Twenty Eleven. Some big goals, and minor yet important resolutions (stop tearing off own freakin' nails already)...

Stay tuned next week for a few Top 10 of '10 lists... because what is a new year without some Top 10s?

Happy Christmas bloggy friends!

2010-12-24T14:16:00.000+11:00

Well it's Christmas Eve, and unlike some years past, today I feel incredibly organised - I've done loads of washing, tidied the house, set up the spare bedroom for impending guests, presents are wrapped, camera is charged - and Christmas isn't even at our house this year! Tomorrow we'll be up a mountain, probably with gumboots on account of all the rain there.

Over the Xmas break we're upgrading our internet plan so (annoyingly, as it's with the same ISP) I won't have internet for a few weeks. Hence my stops here in blog land will be iPhone-tethered and brief. But I do want to wish everyone reading this a very merry Christmas, wherever you are. Thanks to those readers who found my blog through a Teahouse purchase or the Finders Keepers market, thanks to those lovely ladies who I've met through the Creative Women's Circle or Melbourne market stalls, thanks to those friends and family who pop by to see what's up with me because of my lack of Facebook presence.

xo!
tess

Holiday list

2010-12-22T13:14:00.000+11:00

I'm on holidays from tomorrow, and I have an ever-growing list of things I want to do. I'll be careful not to put pressure on myself to do everything, but a few would be nice. Here are some items off my holiday (wish)list...

Paint the bathroom! I'm thinking a nice light blue-ish grey from Porters Paints. The shower tiles could also use a spruce up, though I haven't tried painting tiles before. Have you? Any tips?

Start the quilt! I've been stashing fabrics for a bedroom quilt for months, and I want to at least piece my quilt together over the break. Images: Maiike quilt from Southwood Home, Kristen Doran fabric, Katie Did quilt

Buy more plants! In particular cacti and/or hardy succulents for our balcony. Image: Mondomuse

Find a rug! We are considering options for a lounge room rug from Cloth or Armadillo & Co. Though it is proving difficult to 'see' a rug in the living room without it physically being there... more photoshop mockups required...

Buy a ladder! Not just for looks - we actually need a ladder. But a nice one that we could have out on display would be good. Images: Peace Love Sweater and Apartment Therapy.

The first client...

2010-12-17T11:35:00.000+11:00

My first real freelance graphic design client (that I wasn't related to by blood) after I finished uni was a Brisbane band called Screamfeeder. In early 2003 they made a call via street press for their Take You Apart album cover ideas, and I'd had some stuff I was working on at the time that I submitted. They loved it, and it was probably the thrill of my then-life to design an entire album cover for a band that people had actually heard of. Not to overly condone free-pitching, but that one non-paid but published work led to more paid album covers for the band, new clients who were friends of the band, and even in a degrees-of-separation way, my now-husband.

Screamfeeder still play occasionally, and Tim is very good at keeping their website up to date with past and current projects. There's an art page on the site, and some of my art is featured at the bottom. What a trip down memory lane!

Project four, and exhibition!

2010-12-15T19:15:00.000+11:00

For the past few months I've detailed the projects I've been working on at the weekly art class I'm taking, Studio Art at Latrobe College of Art and Design. The time has flown by, and it's been a lot of fun! Details of the first three projects are here, here and here.

And now the final instalment for 2010, project four, the work for our group show which opens on Friday (details at the end of this post).

First, some visual candy - pages from my visual diary (keeping one was a requirement of the course).

I was interesting in working some kind of map theme into my work during the course, such is my love of maps... but the timing was never right.

A stay at The Cullen was good fodder for the diary! We were also encouraged to keep records of the exhibitions we went to (e.g. Hannah Bertram)

Colour palettes! I had a bit of a thing for them. Even in visual diary-land, my blog-land peeps are never far away (ceramics postcard by Shelley Panton, fabric swatches by Cloth from the State of Design fest).

The brief for our final project was quite open - the only direction was really 'do what you want, based on what you've done so far'.

I decided to continue with the building/architecture theme of projects one & two, and also keep to the small board size of project two. I also wanted to create two paintings that related, but could stand alone. I deliberated for ages... though all along I was interested in landscapes, or city scapes, but with a look of my own. Realistic, but abstract.

So a few Sunday's ago I went out and about in the city taking photos. Project two was originally photographed from a low angle, and I thought the opposite might be nice for this project. The first place I thought of that looked down on the CBD was the rooftop bar at Curtin House, Swanston St. Stealthily (or not, no-one seemed to notice me though) I took photos (through the high fencing, mind!) down to the city below. Here are the ones that I liked the most:

Not the most attractive vista, but look at all that pink! I never would have noticed it from street level.

I didn't do anything to the photos before I started painting my landscape, except crop in the second photo (this whole painting thing of mine is about staying away from the computer, remember!).

Back home with a photo printout, I outlined the basic shapes of the cityscape from sight, and used some painters tape here and there to paint my landscapes. With only 3-ish weeks between the end of project three, and the due date of project four, at times I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew! But in the end, I'm quite happy with how they turned out...

You can see these little guys, and artworks from all the other LCAD students at our end of year show opening this Friday 17th December, 6-8pm. From there it only runs Monday 21st -Wednesday 23rd, 9-5pm at 303 LaTrobe St, Melbourne.

Before & after: Fabric-covered desk!

2010-12-13T21:04:00.000+11:00

This is the year of upholstery, it seems. I've tried upholstery by hand, by sewing machine, and now - by gaffer tape.

After 4 years my cheap Officeworks desk was looking kind of crappy (any time I pulled a piece of sticky tape off it, it took the surface with it... ugh). Inspired by a project from Kim from Desire to Inspire that I archived long ago , I tried revamping my desk with fabric!

Plain white desk (sans legs at this point)...

I affixed the fabric (cotton, from Spotlight) using gaffer tape, which to my delight was available in white! Unfortunately one roll was not quite enough... so I use regular masking tape for the remaining areas. Seems to be holding well so far...

The result!

This week in...

2010-12-11T16:54:00.000+11:00

Markets! My first and last market of the Christmas Season was held on Sunday at North Melbourne. I had a 'mini stall', and it was probably the best table setup I've ever designed. 10 minutes to bump-in, less than 5 to bump out. My stall was next to Simply Phoebe (remember how I blogged about her here?) and I am now the proud owner of one of her necklaces. Sunday also reinforced the fact that for me, most Melbourne markets are about the people I meet/chat to rather than the sales I make... must continue to keep that in mind...

Food! A few of our friends are working in Cambodia at the moment, and while I don't think there is a plan for us to visit in the near future, I sure am tempted if the food is as good there as it is at Bopha Devi in Yarraville. It's a tiny place but the flavours are big!

Events! The final Creative Women's Circle for 2010 was held this week at Farmgate Cheese, where Laura (Farmgate's co-founder and creative director!) engaged us with her fabulous business insights and then filled us with delicious locally sourced cheeses and accompaniments! It was fun, informative and oh so tasty, so thanks to Laura and everyone who came along.

Art! My course is almost over (well, for this semester...), and this week was all about preparation for our end-of-year show opening on Dec 17 (next Friday!). More details later this week...

Image: I'm always quite taken with Jennifer from A Merry Mishap's home... so I love her classy Christmas tree!

Fair Trade Christmas Guide: highlights

2010-12-09T15:58:00.000+11:00

Recently I designed a booklet for one of my favourite clients, Fair Trade Australia & New Zealand, called the Fair Trade Christmas Guide. It's a guide to fair trade retailers around Australia. Hard copies are available at various outlets around the country but you can view the online version right here.

There are so many retailers (online and in store) selling fair trade, ethical and eco-friendly goods out there, there is really no excuse to not try to buy fair trade! Below are some of the nice things I discovered via the guide. Perhaps your Christmas list needs another look?

Click to view larger version

1. Hi-tops (fair trade and organic!) - Etiko
2. Alpargatas slip-on shoes - Etiko
3. Ceramic vases - Oxfam Shop
4. Cocolo chocolate (SO yummy) - First Ray, also available at Tribes and Nations (and most Coles'!)
5. Chopping board - Oxfam Shop
6. Plaid tote bag - The Dharma Door

7. Capiz lanterns - Oxfam Shop

8. Shopper baskets - Oxfam Shop (I bought one, they're great!)

9. Journal - One Colour
10. Storage basket - The Dharma Door
11. Photo frame - Oxfam Shop

Operation desert design update: Chairs!

2010-12-03T18:03:00.000+11:00

After weeks of eBay defeats, I was almost about to give up on my desire for secondhand chairs for the balcony revamp. I was lost... wondering if I could live with something Jamie Durie "designed" or wait long enough for these to go on sale (good luck!).

Luckily, a timely search on Gumtree (and a foolish person who didn't come and claim their first dibs), meant they were all ours. The damage? Just $90. For three!

There's still a bit of work to be done out there, but it's a start!

You only need 4 hours to do all your Christmas shopping!

2010-12-01T16:56:00.000+11:00

... If you do it all at the North Melbourne Market this Sunday, that is!

I'll be there, and I have more than enough brooches, earrings, cards and cute felt hair clips for all your family and friends. You'll be the most popular person amongst your kin on Christmas day, and no-one will blink an eye when you eat your 27th rum ball.

New brooch designs & colours!

Only a handful of earrings... and I won't be making these again for a while!

Papoose felt hair clips! Very popular at Finders Keepers this year.

... And especially for this market, super cute gift wrapping with every purchase!

So, come visit me in at the North Melbourne Market, 10am-2pm Sunday December 5 (location details here). I'll even have some sale stock, so if you're wallet is tight, it'll be alright :)

This week in...

2010-11-27T19:25:00.000+11:00

Christmas shopping: At the moment I feel like I'm a person who spends their time making things for other people shopping for Christmas presents at markets, rather than a person who spends their time at shopping at markets for other people's Christmas presents. I only have one market this season (North Melbourne! December 5!) but my stockists are stocked up. Throw into the mix my final art piece(s) for the semester (due for our art show on December 17), some family/friend visits, a CWC, an office relocation AND my all important client work in the next month... and raise your hand if you're OK with getting your Christmas gift in January?

Food: We often eat in North Melbourne on a Saturday, frequenting Auction Rooms or Fandango. Today was my first trip to DiBella... and I'll definitely be back - the tasty mushroom, tomato + avo sourdough (with asian spices and a hit of chilli) really started my day with a bang! We also enjoyed a trip to an old fave, D.O.C in Carlton.

Film! If you want to be even more scared of how corporations will poison it's consumers through negligence (and don't you?), see Gasland. Between this film and Food, Inc which I saw a few months ago, I'm beginning to wonder if problems of this magnitude are present in Australia... there haven't been any recent 'expose' doco's that I can think of, but maybe there should be. This site for Gasland's Australian release looks like it is doing something to 'bring the message home'. We also saw Winter's Bone this week, which was good - it was not as violent as I thought it would be, but also not as thrilling either... Here is a better review than I can give it!

TV! A bit late to the game on this one, but we've started watching Mad Men from the beginning. It has a similar feel to The Sopranos, but you replace the killing-scene squeamishness with laughing about what things were like 'in those days'. Favourite line so far: "Ah, kids. One day you're at a bar and they tell you your son's been born, the next day they're heading off to College".

Image: Present & Correct christmas crackers, via Swiss Miss and Kris!

'Twas a month before Christmas...

2010-11-25T09:35:00.001+11:00

... And all through blog-land, there were some very nice Christmas things to buy and make!

A few of my favourite blogs have been getting into the festive spirit of late, blogging their products and festive finds. And it's got me in the mood... this year we'll be up North for Christmas time, so even if my home won't see a Christmas decoration (aside from our Buro North mini-tree!), my blog will.

Coasters from Great Dane

Fair trade angel tree ornaments from Onabee

Muji tree ornaments (via A Merry Mishap)

Red & white present-wrapping twine from Est Australia

Bird tree accessories from Est Australia

Emily Thomson wreath (via Design*Sponge)

Greg Hatton christmas tree (at Shelley Panton)

Hand screen printed cards from We Are Messengers

Tins (or reusable gift wrap?) from IKEA

IKEA Family Live

2010-11-22T09:57:00.004+11:00

A year or two ago I designed a client's advertisement in a magazine called Ikea Family Live, a regular publication available in Europe and the UK, published by Ikea of course. At the time I was intrigued. A regular shelter mag delivered to your house, free of charge? Full of Ikea product ideas, home tours, etc? I'd like to go to there. So a few months ago when I saw that Ikea Family Live was starting in Australia, I promptly signed up!

Apparently members get you all sorts of in-store perks & discounts, but that's not why you would want to join (unless you really need bottomless coffee from the Ikea cafe?). For me it's about the magazine. My first issue arrived this week and it featured house tours, Ikea hacks and the obligatory product spreads. The designer in me questions why they made their corporate font Verdana (if memory serves, they made me change the advertisement's font to Verdana as well), because it is kinda blargh... but whatever.

I know it's just a store product catalogue, but it's at least a good one.

All images from Ikea Family Live... sign up online (you know the address).