Monday 29 November 2010

New Coloured Peacocks

At last, we have new colourways available for the Peacock Party fabric in Teal and Red! I hope you like them. They are hand-printed on hemp/organic cotton fabric, are machine-washable and so easy to cut and sew. You can buy as little as a 1/4 (fat) metre.

Of course, you can still order either the Burnt Orange and Lilac prints and to make choosing easier, you are able to buy a swatch set of the 4 colours as well as swatches of any of our other fabrics (see drop down menu on each web page).

All week, I will be updating my website and will be adding more items to our Sales page so please keep checking for Christmas bargains.

We have a lot happening this week but today, the Thea & Sami team (all 3 of us) is going on an excursion and we are very excited about this. We are visiting another textile designer's studio in Northern NSW to see her work and her studio set-up. I can't wait to share with you!

The Handmade Living Book Blog Tour continues today over at Tiny Concept. You can learn how the book was produced in my previous post.

Sunday 28 November 2010

Handmade Living - Producing the Book

Grace Designs

OMG! I have received my review copy of the handmade living book, which I knew would be fabulous but it has seriously exceeded my high expectations. It is the most beautiful craft book that I have ever seen. Photos, projects and content are of the highest quality.

I feel honoured to be writing this post as part of handmade living's Book Launch Blog Tour and wish to congratulate author/editor/publisher Tania McCartney and her team on their excellent accomplishment. I love that this gorgeous book highlights Australian talent and you have made us all proud!

So many of us dream of being published but where does one begin? Tania was kind enough to satisfy my curiousity (because I'm ever so nosey) and to allow me to show you some sneak pics before the official book release next week. Do read on!

How did the idea come about for the book?
The idea for handmade living came from a desire to do more for handmade designers – Handmade Canberra already supports talent via the quarterly Market and Shop in Canberra City, but we wanted to expand in other areas… and after a casual dinner meeting when I mentioned to Handmade Founder Julie Nichols “let’s write a book” – well, things just spiraled instantly.


This was February 2010 and by April we were already accepting designer applications – the response was truly overwhelming and we had to turn a lot of people down, alas. At this stage, there was just three of us – Julie as producer, me as author, editor and photographer, Tina Snerling as illustrator and graphic designer – but more Handmade girls helped as things heated up – Louise Hall, Rachel Evagelou, Jennie McClellland and Rosalind Grace, just to name a few.


Kidson Jewellery

Once you had the idea, how did you find a publisher? Did you use a agent?
I’m already a published and self-published author, so I knew we could do this on our own – not only due to my publishing experience – but also because Handmade Canberra is already a well-known, established and respected brand. Plus, we had a pretty stunning line-up of talent to share! and some really fabulous and dedicated people right here at Handmade to help make this vision a reality.

We published the book under Handmade Press – another ‘department’ in the Handmade Empire! (lol) and we have big plans to put out at least one book a year… 2011 will be
A Handmade Christmas. Can you believe how beautiful it will be? We’re very excited.

Yardage Design

Did you do it all yourselves or were professionals used, eg. photographers, editors? How was the book collated with so many designers involved?
We did it all ourselves. We set up a designer info pack which outlined everything involved and what designers would need to do/provide. Designers sent in applications and we processed those - taking on talent we thought was perfect for the book.

We collated the accepted designers (thank you Google docs!) and then set about accepting and collating their editorial requirements, products and/or photos. My office was piled high with product at one stage! It was overwhelming and amazing.


As the book is a combination of projects and also a showcase, some designers who had smaller 'roles' to play organized their own photos, some took their own and some had professional shots done. All photos had to be approved by our team, which ensured a high level of gorgeousness and professionalism in the book. For the designers who were featured with projects, most of the photos were styled and taken by myself (I am an experienced 'amateur' photographer) or Hilary Wardaugh, our contributing photographer. Tina Snerling also took some photos as did some of the multi-talented designers
.

I have decades of editorial experience - in magazines and with books, so I edited the book and we had Handmade team members proofread it over and over - I'm proud to say I haven't found a single fault in the advance copies of the book! But it is a nerve-wracking experience making sure everything is perfect. It was a thrill to have a team so organized, professional and talented work on this book. It was a perfect set up and next year's set up will be even bigger.

Tiny Concept

With invited submissions, were there any that you had to refuse and how to do you handle that?

We did invite submissions and yes, there were many we had to turn down - some because they were not of a high enough standard, many because we just couldn't fit them and mostly because their application was too late for the deadline.

We also had to turn people down because publishing a book is a fine balancing act... between printing costs, page count, book size, page layout, shipping costs - it's a real feat in coordination. For this first book, we had to start relatively low in page count... at 176 pages.
handmade living has cost us many tens of thousands of dollars to create, and that's not even taking into account a 'wage' for Julie and I - we are yet to earn a cent!

Depending on how well
handmade living sells, A Handmade Christmas (2011) should allow us to go even bigger and accept more designers, which will be fantastic. The call out starts in January, so watch the website!

How long did it take to put the book together?
We started in February and sent the files to print in August – so six months of solid work – and I mean solid – there was around three months of 18-hour-days, seven days a week so it was an enormous relief to send files to print. But our work is not over yet. Putting the book together was one thing, but marketing and promoting is ongoing, never-ending and all-encompassing.

This blog tour is just part of it – we have huge book launches, signings, stalls and other events… and we won’t stop on the campaign trail to make our lesser known designers more well known. This dedicated promoting will not have an end point. In fact, there’s no end point for Handmade Canberra!


Thanks Tania, it seems that anything worthwhile takes a lot of work! I will certainly be watching out for the next book call-out. Do yourselves a favour and order handmade living. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Images are courtesy of Handmade Living.

Friday 26 November 2010

Cool Shop - Perth

Thea & Sami now has a new stockist in Perth. Yay for Mr Sparrow! A cool name for a VERY cool shop. Savvy owner Anna Macoboy was kind enough to email me these wonderful images and to share the story of her lovely space.

If you are thinking that the building resembles a church then you would be right as it was the Subiaco Methodist Church until about 13 years ago but has now been converted into apartments and shops.

So what will we find at Mr Sparrow? In Anna's words:

I sell a mix of secondhand and new homewares, gifts and accessories and also plants and gardening tools. I try to display the products in a way that adds to their meaning and inspires my customers.

I picked up almost all of the furniture in the shop from peoples' verges during bulk collection, including the bath tub, an old Early Kooka oven and several birdcages, and then fixed it up and repainted it.

I also have little postcards that I display alongside the products that tell a little about the designer, as I think it really adds meaning to know where something has come from and how it came about.


From the beginning, I really wanted to create a space that was as exciting and enjoyable as the products themselves, so that people would come here as much for the experience as the products. At first I thought that would be a challenge in such a small space, but now I think the shop's size actually adds to the atmosphere.

I hope that visitors to my shop feel like they've stepped into another world for a few moments, and leave feeling inspired and excited by what they've seen.


The bathtub (top image) is a fish pond - I saw something similar in Japan years ago and when I started imagining my shop I was determined that I would incorporate this...even when I ended up with a space that's only 28 square metres! It creates a really nice atmosphere though and the fish keep kids entertained.

Thanks Anna! If you're in Perth, please visit Mr Sparrow to find our range of lovely hand-made natural soaps with more products to follow in the future. Visit the Mr Sparrow website here and read Anna's blog here.

Don't forget the Handmade Living Blog Tour that has now started over at Posie Patchwork and will continue right here on Sunday. The full schedule is available here.

Images courtesy of Mr Sparrow.

Friday Follower - Elisa

This week's Friday Follower is Elisa Nadzieja who lives in St. Augustine, Florida. Elisa makes beautiful hand-bags that she sells on Etsy and is one of my earliest and most loyal blog followers. It's my pleasure to share her work so please read on.

What is the name of your business and where did it come from?

The name of my business is Pesky Cat Designs. When I first started sewing on a regular basis my kitty Anni (seen modelling above) would constantly pull on loose threads while I worked and would often be so bothersome that I would have to stop. When it came time to name my shop I could not think of anything more appropriate than Pesky Cat Designs.


Elisa - designer, maker and model.


What do you sell?

I create handmade bags inspired by nature. I use a variety of textiles ranging from corduroy to Harris Tweed wool. Many of the bags are adorned with appliqués that are designed by me, hand cut and machine sewn onto the bag. I purchase all my fabrics in small quantities to keep the work fresh and unique.


How did you start your craft business?

My business began shortly after I made a few bags for myself and got positive feedback from family and friends. At that point in my life I had painted for many years and was looking for a new creative outlet. You can view my works on paper at www.elisanadzieja.com



Is it your full-time occupation?

Since moving from New York City, Pesky Cat Designs is my full time occupation. One of the motivating factors for my recent move was to find a less expensive place to live so I could concentrate on my business full time.



Do you have any formal training?
I do not have any formal training in sewing but my mother was an incredible seamstress and I learned a lot from her. She would sew clothing for us and even for my dolls. I was the only kid in town that had Barbie dolls with one-of-a-kind dresses. My mother was also an amazing painter.


Would you share something interesting about you that isn't common knowledge?

Although I started out in art school, I have a Bachelors degree in Science. I worked for many years in the field of Microbiology. Instead of a microscope, I now spend many hours sitting in front of a sewing machine and could not be happier.


Thanks Elisa! It's amazing how many creative types have scientific backgrounds. We're glad you gave up the microscope.


To see Elisa and her creations on YouTube with a gorgeous Florida beach as a backdrop click here. You can see and buy Elisa's bags through her Etsy Shop.


All images are courtesy of Pesky Cat Designs.

Thursday 25 November 2010

Making Lemonade

It's official. We will never be permitted to build a screen-printing studio on our home property. The application has been rejected by the Mains Road Department because traffic to and from the studio may cause major traffic jams - just one of the reasons cited. Whatever.

But you know what? I'm okay with it because I was already worried about the 100 square metre building restriction that we would have had to adhere to. It really isn't big enough for a second yardage-printing table and everything else that I want to include. Thus, we are now looking for a much bigger studio to rent in the Capalaba neighbourhood since our current lease has expired. It will probably be better to keep work and home separate.

As for the old shed, neither the Mr nor I want to keep looking at it so we simultaneously came up with the idea of installing a lap pool in its place. If that's not making lemonade out of the lemons that have been thrown at us, I don't know what is. We have a large property but can't dig in our front yard because of the septic tank that is buried there so this is the ideal location.

We're researching pools now so I will keep you updated on our progress. Councils don't reject pool applications, do they?

Tuesday 23 November 2010

Free Foamcore for You and Me

If you read my blog, you will know how excited I get about recycling. It's economical and helps save the environment. My latest thrill involves the arrival of several foamcore sheets last week, all offcuts that Voyt sourced from a Brisbane signwriter.

I can't believe how large these offcuts are at 120 x 60 cm each. It's the perfect material for forming our bolts of printed fabrics and so easy to cut!

This is Jess who did most of the cutting yesterday including for fabric orders and the formcore boards. She is a grade 10 student and will be with us all week for work experience.

Back to the foamcore, it is stronger than cardboard but still lightweight so will be excellent for shipping with our orders.


Rolling, rolling...

Ta-Da!

Our printed hemp/organic cottons are now perfectly stacked. I am slowly getting organised. Joy.

Now for the good news, if you would like some foamcore for art projects, etc; we have plenty of it. It's quite expensive to buy in art stores but we are happy to give it away in the interest of saving it from going to landfill.

You will have to arrange to pick it up from our Capalaba studio. Please contact me if you are interested.

Monday 22 November 2010

November Printers

I know how much you love seeing images from my screen-printing workshops so feel free to be inspired by last Saturday's class.

This pretty 2 colour floral print is the work of Rosemary Ballantyne. Rosemary loves quilting and sewing so this may end up being part of a patchwork.

Here's Rosemary printing up a storm.

Emily Banks experimented with geometric prints. She is quickly drying her prints here.

Emily's strong one colour print

and a 2-colour print.

Rebeca Crespin is proudly displaying (and rightfully so) her beautiful tea-towel design.

Mother and daughter team, Lisa Mattas and Kate Stacey, proved that they weren't just pretty faces.

How clever is Kate's bird design? This would look fantastic as a repeat. I enjoy designs that look great as a pattern from afar but then reveal a delightful "surprise" when you look closer.

Kate's randomly printed floral motifs on cotton create a lovely pattern, easily done with a small screen.


Organic print by Lisa based on sea anemones.

Lisa's ocean theme continues with these fish prints. It is a bit hard to see as they are white printed on white but they really look beautiful in reality.

Just one more workshop for this year (fully booked) and then I will need to focus on getting new work ready for our next trade show in February. A new class date has been listed on the website for March 2011. Please book directly on-line.

To view images from other classes, visit our Screen-Printing Class Designs page.

Saturday 20 November 2010

The Patient

Poor Zoe had surgery yesterday to have a sizeable tumour removed, which luckily was nothing more than a great lump of fat (lipoma). She also had her teeth professionally cleaned while she was under. This will help prevent future gum disease.

I got NO work done yesterday as I was worried sick until she arrived home safe and sound. She is in good spirits today. I'm pretty sure that she doesn't blame us in any way for her ordeal but greeted the vet with a bite yesterday. I forgot to give Voyt the vet-protecting muzzle when he left with the patient.

Today, she needs to be watched, quietly contained indoors and kept from running and jumping (she already ran outside this morning).

Unfortunately, I have to leave Voyt in charge of dog-sitting as I am teaching a class of lovely ladies how to screen-print today. You ask why this is a concern? Probably because he already caused the poor dog to crash into the back door with her Elizabethan-type collar having barely opened it wide enough for her to pass. I am worried. Do you trust your partner?

But I do need to focus on teaching today so stay tuned for screen-printed designs from our class.

Friday 19 November 2010

Friday Follower - Kate

Kate Ulman of Daylesford Organics is my featured Friday Follower this week. Kate writes an interesting blog that I have found an inspiring joy to read, following her family's journey from humble beginnings to running a successful farming business that produces award-winning products. I will allow Kate to tell us more:


What is Daylesford Organics?
We are a Certified Organic mixed family farm in Daylesford, Victoria. We focus on sustainability and biodiversity. We have orchards, market gardens and chickens. We work with the seasons and in any given year will produce up to 40 varieties of apples, hazelnuts, berries, free range eggs and up to 30 different vegetables often with several varieties of each. We specialise in growing heirloom varieties with lots of different flavours and colours.


How did it all start?
Almost ten years ago, we left Melbourne to live a simpler, slower life that was closer to nature and further from the bright city lights. We dreamed of growing enough to be as self sufficient as we possibly could. I guess things just evolved from there.

Have you had to undertake training for complying to the organic farming methods?
No, it's just been an incredibly steep on the job learning curve. Bren (spouse) is constantly reading, surfing the net and calling people to ask how things are done. We've had many failures to learn lessons from and many successes to celebrate (and eat!)

You have some lovely types of produce that aren't known to most of us. How did you discover and decide to grow these?
Biodiversity is probably one of our most important ideologies. It is good for the planet, great for the farm and so much exciting for us. Why grow one type of vegetable when you can grow 30? Why grow one colour/variety of carrot when you can grow five? It's so hard to imagine a farmer dealing with one crop all year round every year. With us, it is constantly exciting as we discover some of the different /heritage varieties.

Where will we find your products?
We sell to lots of cafe, restaurants, shops in Daylesford, we sell at farmers' markets around Melbourne and our produce is served at many of the best restaurants in Melbourne. I really should pop a list up on my blog. Yep, I think I will.

Would you share something interesting about you that isn't common knowledge?
This is so against everything I stand for and I am ashamed to admit it but I prefer supermarket tomatoes to the ones we grow here. I like a flavourless tomato that can bounce.

Ooh, I feel like we've just discovered a dirty, little secret. That is funny. Thanks Kate for a great interview.

Visit Kate and say hello over at Daylesford Organics and at her personal, crafty blog: Foxs Lane.

Images are courtesy of Daylesford Organics.

Thursday 18 November 2010

A Special Project

I have some talented friends and Jay Dee Dearness is no exception.

Now freshly refurbished, these vintage armchairs originally belonged to her late great-grandmother.

At the time of her passing, the chairs were in
desperate need of TLC and Jay Dee, being the artistic soul that she is, decided to design a fabric especially to recover the chairs.

To help keep her grandmother's memory alive, the pattern was developed from a motif taken from the stain-glass windows of the grandmother's Queenslander home. The colour we printed was quite subtle but overall created a lovely effect and texture.

Jay Dee (on right) arrived at the Thea & Sami studio prepared with large screen, inks and fabric and with a knowledge of screen-printing because skilled labour is short around these parts.

Ready-set-go! I'm certain that Jay Dee must be proud to be the screen-printer as well as the designer of the fabric. You can read more about the project over at Jay Dee's blog.

We also printed the design on tea-towels. The white on natural linen looks so different, doesn't it?

Now, before you all start asking if we screen-print for other people, the answer is regrettably N-O because printing for Thea & Sami is keeping us busy enough!
However, I can recommend other fabric printers or teach you how to screen-print. Check out my website for available class dates.

Why print for Jay Dee? Well, if you must know, she has helped me out in my hour of (screen-printing) need in the past so called in the favour. Oh dear, I don't mean to make her sound like "the Godmother" as I am grateful for my sweet friends.

Jay Dee is an artist, printmaker and Brisbane gallery owner so you may like to visit her other blog too: Myrtle Street Gallery.
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