Home Sweet Home

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be home.  I had a great trip to Melbourne for Life Instyle, but while I'm away, I miss my little one so much.  Most of the week was taken up with the show, but I did get a few lovely Melbourne hours and a chance to meet this fabulous woman before I flew out (more on that to come).

House Tape Measure by Patchwork Pottery

For now I'm getting as much quality time with the little one as I can between working on filling new orders.

Ah yes, home, sweet home.

Booth Design Process - Oliver and S

As I've been busy working on my booth design for Life Instyle, I was really happy to have stumbled across this post by Oliver and S talking about the design process for theirs for the Quilt Market.

The booth looks great (look closely and you can see the chalk drawings on the walls) and I just love that she began by making a tiny mock-up booth to see how it would all look, I may have to steal borrow that idea.

Photo from Oliver and S.

Two

 Two little candles perched on a cake.

Two years since the most amazing person came into our lives.

Two parents who love her to bits.

And two little kisses on each eyelid of each parent that she likes to place before bed every night.

Hoo Hoo

A couple of owl friends to join the Origami family.

Did you know that in Japan the owl is a symbol of good luck?  

"Owl" in Japanese is "fukurou".  The first part of the word "fuku" translates to "good fortune".

"Fu" in Japanese also means "without" and "kurou", hardship, so by a happy linguistic accident, "owl" can also mean "without hardship".  

Just another reason to like those cute little birds.

Kanzashi Workshop

There are still a few places left for my Kanzashi workshop that I'm running at Piece Together on Tuesday night.

Care to join me and make some gorgeous flower brooch/pendants from vintage kimono fabric?

Homemade Wall Decal

I'm having a great time getting ready for Life Instyle in a couple of week's time.  I love what I do and I love the variety that my business offers, all the different hats that I get to wear, it keeps life interesting.

Over the last couple of days, I've been working on my booth design.  I will keep my signature black trees and red blossoms, but have some new additions as well.  This time I've invested in a larger space so to still keep to budget, I'm doing a few things myself.

The first one is to make the trees.  In the past I've had them custom made, but with the size I need, it's quite expensive.  So what you see below, is the one I made myself this morning.  I have to say, I'm really pleased with how it came out.

I've simply cut it out of black contact paper.  Remember the stuff you used to cover your school books with?  And granny used to line her shelves?  That stuff.  It was super easy to use, I just drew out a design, cut, joined branches to give it more width and smoothed it onto the wall.  It's removable and doesn't damage the walls (I believe, but don't quote me on that, unless you're my landlord reading this and in that case - it won't damage the walls).  And the best thing is, rather than that single tree costing me over $100, it cost me $4!

I'll leave this one in the little one's room and I'll get some different colours to add flowers, leaves and a grass trim.  It was so much fun to do, and so cheap that you could even change things around for the season....

If you're coming to Life Instyle, I'll be upstairs in the Gallery Level, booth G30 and you can see the final result in the flesh.

Woman of Few Words

I'm missing my little blog of late.  Focus is elsewhere as I prepare for Life Instyle in three weeks time.  Energies are being used to be a more present mum to the little one.  Things are all good, but yet, I miss this space.

For a while, I'm going to see if I can just pop a photo up to stay in touch.  Photos of my recent travels to Japan, photos of what I'm doing at home and in the studio.

"Hands Up" flea market find in Japan - found arranged just like this.

So please excuse me if I'm a woman of few words for a while.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Joining in Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday today, blogging from bed, knocked down by a bug.

Flickr Faves on a Friday

I just love the colour combination of red with aqua, teal or turquoise.  There is something so pretty about them together.

Make Love by I Love Doodle

Hexagon Pillow by Zakkaart

Colour Crush Aqua by PaulaMills

What colour combinations do you love?

New members of the Origami Family

A few weeks ago I sat down to work on a new jewellery collection.  When I'm designing I love to sit and play with papers and fabrics before I translate them to anything digital.  On that day with origami paper scattered all over the floor I my hands just wanted to get into folding and as a result, I have three new members to join my origami cranes.

May I introduce you to Kitsune the fox.  He's a little on the naughty side, but actually very sweet natured.

A delicate little hummingbird, she's magical to watch as she floats through the flower garden.

And lastly, little Usagi the rabbit, fun to play with, but best to keep away from the vegetable garden.

Playing with new Fabrics

I love playing with new fabric finds just as much as I love shopping for them.  These are pieces of a few of the kimonos I bought recently at the flea markets in Japan.

This stunning black and red pattern came from a woman's haori (a mid-length coat worn over a kimono).  I don't have a lot of the pattern, so I think I'll have to keep a few pieces from it for myself.

The beautiful blue and red came from a woman's wool kimono.  I can imagine it having been worn on those colder autumn mornings.

These all came from the same kimono, a gorgeous girl's kimono with stunning gold highlights.  It's the type of kimono that would have been worn to the shrine for a festival and prayers would have been made for the girl's future.  

These are all from another haori, a lovely fine silk one.  Does anyone know what this flower is?  It's done in a lovely dark pink, blue and also white, so striking on the black background.

And some yummy purple.  The Japanese do purple well, especially in older kimonos like this one.  It's a very fine silk and scattered over it there are a few red and blue flowers.

All of the kimonos I buy are flawed in a way, be it a tear or marks of age, so they can no longer be worn.  I love imagining what life they have seen before, where they've been worn to and then to what new life I can give to them.

These brooches are all about to packed to be sent to Hanasho and the new Piece Together store opening on the 11th, as well as to go with me to Young Designer Markets tomorrow and the BrisStyle Indie Markets next Saturday.  I do have to say, lately I really haven't been my online store enough, but please feel free to drop me a line if ever you see anything on the blog you like.

My Creative Space

I'm working on the fabric inlays for brooches today.  It's a fiddly job and I end up with fingernails that have been filed down with a dremel and bruised thumbs, but somehow I still find it enjoyable.  

It's one of those tasks that I can work with something on in the background (unlike when I'm creating something new and need quiet).  Last night it was Little Dorrit, I think I might put Tess of the D'Urbervilles on for this afternoon's shift.

And over the last couple of days I've finally had a chance to start playing with some of the kimono fabrics I bought on my Japan trip.  I'll show you more soon.

For more creative spaces, drop by Our Creative Spaces.

Are you doing anything creative today?

The Creative Link

I just love this artwork found on Pinterest this morning. (I'm afraid I couldn't find the original artist, if anyone knows, please drop me a line so that I can add their link.)

Things have been a bit quiet on the blog front lately, I've been in "lockdown" working on a new collection.  

I've been loving the process and I've found it interesting watching how my creative mind works, it's almost as if it's outside of myself.  I have an idea in mind, but that then takes on a life of its own.  I seem to work best if I just allow myself to play, if my designs are quite fanciful (and not necessarily commercially viable), and are simplified from there.  I can only sketch to a certain point and then need to be hands on, to experiment with materials and then get back to the sketchpad/illustrator.  I certainly work best in a quiet environment so The Man has been good at taking the little one out often to give me that.  I find that I need to go into "lockdown", cut out other distractions, turn off the music, forget about email, turn off my phone and just get in the zone.  Ideas don't come in the morning, that time for me is best spent sleeping in, tidying up, flicking through books, refining work on illustrator, the ideas visit me after lunch and well into the night.  I go through many, many cups of tea while I'm working.  I can forget to eat so The Man brings me treats through the day and cooks good meals for me to eat with the family.  I can't think about other things, I can't blog while I'm designing.  When I do take breaks, I like it to be an escape, preferable some creative play with the little one, or a fantasy film at night.

How about you, do you create?  How does the process work for you?  Do you control it, or does it control you?

Flickr Faves on a Friday

I locked myself into my room today to finally get down on paper and screen some designs that have been floating around in my head for a while.  Funnily enough they took on a life of their own and travelled to places I had never imagined before.  Hopefully, I'll be able to show you some sneak peeks in a few weeks.

Until then... a ring that has been inspiring me.  Elisita's papercuts and all her artwork for that matter are just breathtaking.  You can see a lot more of it here.

Paper Ring by Elsita

Store Display

Seen in Harajuku, Tokyo.

Shadow Shot Sunday

It's been a long time since I've participated in Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday, but this morning as I opened the blinds in my workroom I couldn't not take this shot.  The sun streaming through the window was so inviting, the perfect start to a working winter Sunday.

Hope it's lovely wherever in the world you are today.

Origami

After a couple of sleepless nights with a sick bub, she's now sleeping like a log and I'm wide awake, can't sleep because I'm thinking of origami.

So here's an a beautiful video of some amazing origami set to one of my favourite pieces of music.

INVISIBLE FOES from MABONA ORIGAMI on Vimeo.

Origami Treasury

My bamboo crane brooches finally made it into both my store and Etsy store yesterday.

So I was really chuffed to see it featured in this lovely origami treasury last night.

Today, I'm going to try to lock myself away in my workroom to work on a new range that has been floating about my head for a while.... stay tuned!

Tokyo Streets

Japan isn't somewhere that I really think of having a lot of graffiti.  Wandering through the streets of Harajuku I did notice a bit of tagging but also a lot of old posters and stickers plastered over vertical planes.

Little Pieces of Japan - Japanese Masking Tape

I went a little mad on shopping for Japanese masking tape on this trip.  I'm not sure if it wasn't around when I lived there last, or if I hadn't seen it, but the first time I saw this gorgeous product was on this post over at a Spoonful of Sugar.  I quickly hunted some down and have been quite addicted ever since.

I love the pretty colours and designs it comes in.  I love how easy it is to use on so many surfaces.  I love how I can reuse little pieces over and over again.  Little strips hold notes to myself next to my desk.  I've used it to decorate old jars that hold paint brushes and pens.  I've used it in my journal, but there are oh so many more things I can do with it.

I also came home with a book for inspiration, the same book that Lisa showed us in that original post.

More masking tape inspiration here, here, here, here and here.

You can buy the masking tape (also known as "washi tape") from a number of places online including (insert shameless plug) my good friend's store on Etsy.

I'm now off to play with some more.  I'm trying to organise all the tasks involved in running a small business and think the tape will be a fun and pretty way to colour code my new schedule.

Danshari

clutter - illustration friday by Maandag

I was chatting on Facebook with a dear friend of mine tonight, talking about how I've given myself a year to de-clutter our home.  We're planning to make our treechange dreams a reality then and I don't want to take a huge amount of "stuff" with us.

My wise friend mentioned the Japanese word "danshari".  Danshari is all about throwing away things you no longer need and learning to live with less.  It believes that the clearing not only creates physical space, but also emotional.  "Stuff" weighs you down, keeps you looking at the past rather than enjoying the present and making plans for the future.  Without too much around you, you'll have more room, time and energy for the life you want.

This site also talks about the related theory of "Mottainai" - to not be wasteful.  This was a real buzz word when I lived in Japan especially with the release of the "Mottainai Furoshiki".  As a bit of a hoarder, a person who always finds myself saying "But I could use this for...." I found these words enlightening...

"... when you keep things because they might ‘come in handy’ and because throwing them away would be ‘such a waste’, do they actually retain their original meaning by being shut away in a cupboard somewhere? Things don’t actually have a meaning until they are put to use, so isn’t not putting them to use actually more wasteful than keeping them just in case?"

Or more simply put on this site "Does this item help me thrive in my present life?  Do I need this to reach my current goals?"

It will be these words that I try to keep in mind as I begin to clear out the bookshelves, the office, the wardrobe... and wouldn't it be a real bonus if with the space came some new energy to work towards that little house in the bush we dream of?

Little Pieces of Japan - Things I Brought Back with Me

Sorry for my recent absence from the blog of late.  I've had so many things that I wanted to blog about, show you from Japan that I found it all overwhelming and just didn't know where to start.

So here I begin, with a little series, a little show and tell of my treasures from Japan.

The Design Festa was huge and filled to the brim with so many talented artists and crafters, I believe there were 3000 artists exhibiting/performing.  With only a few days in Tokyo, I was determined to see as much of it as I could in one day (it's a two day event).  This meant that often I would cruise past many booths, stopping for a little while if something caught my eye.

There were a special few that I found it very hard to drag myself away from.  Happa Do's stall was one of them.  She makes the most magical little creatures, many of whom adorn fairytale-like mobiles.  I could just imagine her paper balloons carrying birds over fields of golden corn.

I really wanted to bring a mobile home, but knew that the quarantine officials wouldn't like the cute twigs, that the sweet wire constructions would get squashed in my luggage...

But one of her little birdies did fly home with me, and helped me carry some artwork of her other family members...

I did only bring the one bird, but she's different colours on each side....

Her catalogue that I also bought reminds me to dream of those paper balloons and fields....

She makes so many other creatures as well...

You can see more of her delightful work in the gallery on her website. 

Now lovely reader, I would love to ask a favour of you, a way to help me to decide what to write next... is there anything you'd like to know/see from my trip to Japan?

Life Flashing....

A bit of fun.  Created using Pummelvision.  Found via A Very Purple Person via Meet Me at Mikes.

Market Kokeshi

Wow, well there is much to show and tell about my trip to Japan.

So for today, some market shots.  I was there to buy kimonos but also found myself drawn to the old kokeshi dolls.

I added ten to my collection, all different shapes, sizes and styles, three of which you can see here.  I'm thinking about making some little shadow boxes for them, inspired by this image, or maybe some little house shaped boxes like these.  I think they would look so pretty on the wall.