Back on Track

While I was packing orders at home on Friday, Rick the Metal Guy was given the studio keys to finish welding the metal frame for the 2nd screen-printing table.

He kindly placed the wooden boards on top although they will need to be drilled into place. It was great to go in to work yesterday to see this progress.

We decided to make the new table 10 metres long, 2 metres shorter than originally planned, as we really needed the extra space both at the back and at the front where our new studio shop will be. I figure that 17 metres of yardage printing capacity is enough for a boutique screen-printing business such as ours.

Oops, Rick did drill the holes for the registration bar on the wrong side of the table. He's not going to be happy when I tell him but as we have discussed that efficiency has to be improved in this new studio, he will understand. At least he had plenty of practice drilling.

This space will be our new shop front. It still needs some work such as repainting the concrete floors and shelving but I am quite excited about it. You will be able to visit and shop directly from us. Wares will include fabrics & homewares, used printing (& stripped clean) screens, samples and misprints (cheap!) and LOTS of fabric remnants, too many for me to ever list in the on-line shop.

Please save the date! The official Studio and Shop Opening will be Saturday, 30th April so I hope you can come as all who commented preferred a weekend opening. We are located at Unit 1, 6 Jones Road Capalaba. More details to follow closer to the date.

I am still looking for a junior assistant to help in the studio and with packing orders. Do spread the word if you know anybody that can work in the Capalaba area.

It's A Jungle Out There

This is the sorry state of my back yard. It's a jungle!

Zoe the dog doesn't seem to mind but I am fearful of snakes. I tolerate the possums, bats, goannas, spiders and bush turkeys that I have seen on the premises but I am one big chicken when it comes to snakes. I will probably want to move the day I see one.

I never did show you the cubby house after it was painted and the swings were replaced. It really was a wreck before. My kids have complained that they wish they had this when they were younger but then so do I.


Among the jungle, I spot this pleasant surprise; Birds of Paradise are my favourite tropical flowers. I can certainly vouch for their 'no-maintenance needed' because they are getting none from me.


The ride on mower needs a ride on operator asap. Hurry up and get well Voyt because you are needed at home! I think you've had enough of a hospital break.

I hope you all have a lovely day. I'm off to the studio to work on my piece for The Reincarnated Kimono Project. And speaking of the studio, please save the date for Saturday, 30th April for the official opening of our studio and studio shop!

Textiles Gift Guide

We all love Indie designed textiles, right? For a fabulous selection, you must check out The Finders Keepers March Gift Guide.

Five textile designers were asked to share their top picks from Australia and around the world for the gift guide. I was delighted to find our Marguerite linen napkins in Elkhorn's selection. Thank's Monique. I love being seen among such good company.

Yesterday, we printed several napkins in other styles too so do keep them in mind for that special lunch or dinner party, hostess or Mother's Day gifts and we are currently waiting for a shipment of white napkins (any day now) so will have more colours for you to choose from soon.

I'm happy to be working from home today as I'm physically exhausted. I still have lots to do but can tag and pack orders while watching trash TV and will have my son helping me so that's nice. To redeem himself (see previous post), he did help in the studio yesterday and we were very productive with Dan screen printing napkins while I was simultaneously printing tea towels.

Tonight I am taking the patient to the Santana concert so I will have to take a nanna's nap. Middle age and long work hours don't mix for a life after hours, I'm afraid.

Get a Pet

We've been printing like mad trying to get orders finished. So many delays and with one man down (he's still in hospital) I ask how many things can go wrong in a small business?

Today I had to laugh when my husband asked me how the day went. Mmm... let me see: the tea-towels were crooked - again, all cut on an angle so I had to sort through those and will be looking for another supplier asap.

The 2nd screen-printing table still hasn't been completed because the Metal Guy is sick this week. My studio telephone/internet connection hasn't happened because it turned out that Telstra has gotten my application wrong and has been sending relevant mail to the Baptist Church across the road.

My son, who was supposed to help us, decided that it was preferable to sleep in and I was advised that the weather is too hot for soap-making so new soaps will be a while coming... not sure if I've forgotten anything?

All is better when I come home to see this smiling face and I can't help but smile back. It's true people, pets do reduce stress! Cuddle a dog or a cat. I love you Zoe!

Oh, and I'm not complaining but I do want readers to know that things do go wrong every day but you soldier on. My biggest tips for business success? Perseverance, problem-solving skills and a sense of humour go a long way.

March Screen Printers

My first official visitors arrived in our new studio on Saturday for a fun day of screen-printing for beginners.

Critters are always popular and I love the imperfection of the hand-cut. This was Kelly Maddock's 2-colour print.

Skye Little was concentrating on children's designs with this Farmyard print being one of them. I'm in love with the cow.

Is this a rabbit with attitude or what? A simple design can convey so much.

The birdcage is too sweet. Both this and the rabbit are the creations of Lisa Peterson who travelled all the way from Townsville via Christchurch for the workshop.

Helen Avenell travelled from even further afar, hailing from Scotland. In all fairness, she is staying with family in Brisbane for a few months but it's awesome to have international students. Helen printed the bee which will be the logo for her own crafty business.

Helen's floral print is inspired by the designs of St. Judes.

Now, I don't normally like rodents but this mouse is an exception. Joan Culverhouse has wonderfully captured the furry lines, don't you think?

Here are the happy printers from L to R; Skye Little, Helen Avenell and Lisa Peterson.

Kelly Maddock is taking it easy after a busy day of screen-printing. Joan was camera-shy so I don't have a picture of her but thank you all for coming.

This is why I love teaching adults; they clean up at the end of the class. Thanks Lisa!

If you are inspired and would like to spend a day learning to screen-print in our studio, you can book a class here. One place is currently available for April 16th or there is a new class scheduled for June 4th.

Time Not Wasted?

There are definitely better ways to spend a Sunday morning but this is what I did today.

Tying hang tags is pretty boring, right? However, when the alternative is to sit in a chair in a hospital doing nothing, it seemed like a good way to manage my time while visiting.

Yep, the man is back in hospital. This leg infection is pretty stubborn and keeps returning to the scene of the crime. Friday night was a terrible time and I had to call the ambulance for help and poor Voyt was rushed to the emergency department.

I felt pretty helpless as I did have to teach a screen-printing class yesterday. As I had already postponed once before, I did not want to disappoint my lovely ladies again.

Let's just hope that the man behaves and stays put this time. He is harassing the doctor for a "pass out" for Thursday night to attend the Santana concert which is why I was under strict instructions to bring these crutches to him. The doctor is not making any promises. C'est la vie.

I promise that my next post will be a more positive one with images from yesterday's screen-printing workshop.

Reincarnated Kimono Project

Melanie of Kimono Reincarnate has been busy organising an exhibition where various Brisbane artists each get to rework a piece of vintage kimono using the art or craft of their choice.

I thought this would be an opportunity for me to participate in a little creative fun. I will be using a piece of this beautiful kimono. Right now, the idea is all in my head but I will get it done (don't worry Mel).

Two kimonos, fifteen artists are involved in the Exhibition which will be on display at Hanasho from April 2 - 30th. See details over at Kimono Reincarnate.

We hope to see you there!

Images courtesy of Kimono Reincarnate.

Dan Can Screen-Print

We've been so busy setting up the new studio that I hadn't actually seen Dan screen-print until yesterday. I had faith though when we printed directly onto our European linen; something I would never normally do with new staff.

Yay! Dan can screen-print. This is his first print - our beautiful Marguerite design in Cottage Blue. Perfection.

How wonderful that Dan can wash the screens while I take that time to catch up with phone calls. He really is this cheery every day.

This is our new ink trolley. It's very special. You don't see it, do you?

What if I told you that it had a previous life as a TV stand? Dan found it at our local Vinnies op shop for a whopping $5!

It was too low for our intended purpose so I suggested that we flip it and Dan relocated the castors so that it stands upright. It's exactly what we needed. You've got to love upcycling.

Upholstery Class

I dream of having our home furnished with fabrics screen-printed by our own hands and it will happen this year!

I am slowly acquiring unique pieces and upcycling is the word. Recently I purchased this wonderful Slipper Chair from Katherine of The Old Boathouse. The fabric has seen better days and is old and discoloured so I have been waiting to have it recovered with Thea & Sami linens.

I will have to wait a little longer but I will be doing it myself. I've just enrolled in an Upholstery Class that will be held as part of the McGregor Winter School at USQ in Toowoomba.

Do you want to join me? The course will be held during the first week of July. You can see details of the school here. There are other classes too such as felting, jewellery making and drawing.

We will make time to visit the loveliest shop in town and perhaps catch up with our talented friend Anna for cupcakes. Yum!

New Studio Update

Today was the first day we screen-printed in our new studio and I couldn't be happier.

This is our Iron Flowers print on Duck Egg Blue linen. It will be magically transformed into tablecloths, table runners and cushions and once we catch up with orders, curtains for my lounge room.

Only one printing table is currently set up as we are still waiting for the top of the 2nd table to be completed but that's okay. At least we are back in business and ready for the lovely ladies participating in my screen-printing class this weekend. And no more leaks!

The new fans are amazing. Fabric was dried in no time. I don't think we have ever printed yardage so quickly. Things will speed up even more once we can continue screen printing onto Table No. 2.

God bless the Queensland sunshine. Honestly, it only took a couple of minutes for this large screen to dry on each side. I do towel-dry it after washing but still - it was fast!

Once we finish setting up, I really want to have an official Studio Opening. Would you like to come along? Let me know if you think a week day is preferable or a weekend?

Handmade Home in the Press

The Courier Mail featured a great article in Saturday's paper about the booming trade in handmade homewares.

Blink and you would have missed our Hydrangea print linen cushions in the top right corner of the page. I nearly did.

The cushions were photographed at Urban Dweller in Samford, one of our lovely stockists. Thanks to Amanda for letting me know.

If you have the paper, the article is on page 63 of the Property section but you can read it in full here.

Other bloggy friends with featured items include Emma of Red Revival, Rebecca of Edward and Lilly and Brenda of Red Stitch Designs. Yay for handmade!

Little Forks at Mt. Tamborine

My heart has been breaking for Japan. My thoughts are with you all.

With all the disasters that have been happening of late, I think it's a reminder to live each each day to the fullest and to make time for those you love because you never know, right? With that thought, Voyt and I spent the day at Mt. Tamborine today.

Between rain showers, we strolled along The Gallery Walk in the morning. The first shop we found was an interesting vintage shop and I couldn't resist these little forks. I think the appeal was that my mother had similar ones (in blue, I think) when I was a kid. Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

I love the original packaging. It reads "High Class - Stainless Steel" and "1 doz" as opposed to 12.

Dozens were so popular back then, weren't they? I do like the colours although not a combination that you see too often.

We lunched at the Polish Place mainly because my husband was nostalgic for Pierogi (Polish dumplings). I thought they were a little overpriced but we were probably paying a surcharge for the magnificent valley views.


Or perhaps for the company of these Lorikeets?

My other vintage find was this knitted turquoise cotton top from Vinnies at Paddington last week. An absolute bargain at $4, I couldn't go wrong. It was perfect for a Queensland Autumn's day on the mountain.

For more vintage discoveries, peek at the Flea Market Finds over at Her Library's Adventures.

Linen Fabric Packs

Today was my first day of official studio duties in our new space and I loved it. I was cutting fabrics for table runners and cushions and managed to throw together some gorgeous fabric packs.

If you love sewing with hand-printed and natural linens then have a looky here and here.

Scrap Packs are always popular so keep checking these pages too. More will be added as time permits.

I'm looking forward to catching up with things around the house this weekend and a couple of little projects. How about you?

One Down and One To Go

We're physically exhausted and only one table has been set up! The truth is that we have had to move things around (several times) to best fit the space and to avoid the leaks. It's worth it though as I'm finally beginning to like this studio.

Here is the 7 metre table (our baby). Solid wood panels have been screwed into the top of the steel frame.

Next came the 8 mm thick industrial felt on top of the wooden base. Felt underlay allows for consistently better fabric printing than screen printing onto a hard surface, especially when using large screens which may be slightly warped.

Voyt's looking quite pleased with our efforts. Poor dear has been working hard with a support stocking on his healing leg.

Dan continues to impress us with his skills. He even brought his own air compressor to work!

The air-propelled staple gun was so easy to use for stapling the felt and then the canvas drop cloth into place over that. I even had a turn with it and didn't want to give it back.

Table 1 is now ready for a new era of screen-printing. I forgot to take a photo of the registration bar that went on last. That was the hardest part. My son helped us today too so the four of us had to lift it into place.

Finally, Dan went around the whole table with a spirit level to make sure that is was all perfectly flat ready for yardage printing! This is where adjustable feet come in handy.

Anybody that reads this blog will know how I hate throwing out anything that can be repurposed so I will be cutting up the old printed drop cloth to hang some unique artwork in the house and office. I'm not sure which bits I will be using yet as there are 7 metres to choose from!

I will show you once it's done and if you like it, I will sell off the rest. If you have done a screen-printing workshop in the past, we may be able to find your little bit of history here.

We are all having a wee break from studio set up tomorrow before taking delivery of the remainder of the 12 metre yardage-printing table on Friday. I'm not looking forward to assembling that but it will be great when we can print several metres at a time!

There's still much unpacking and cleaning involved so I've decided to postpone this weekend's workshop until next Saturday the 19th.

Since a couple of the participants have moved over to the April class, there are now places available in both classes. If you would like to join us, please book directly on-line. You may view previous screen printing class images here.