A bit of light experimentation

Lasercut lamp holder

Sometimes you need to make something different just for the sake of it. I feel like I've been boxing myself in, telling myself that I should be designing textiles and textiles only. But I think back to some of the most inspired times of my life and they were when I felt like I could design anything. Not for commercial gain, just for fun.

...hanging in the studio

We redesigned the shop section of our studio at the start of the year and this was the last piece of the puzzle, finally done. My good friend Sass from next door planted the seed of this idea and I ran with it. It was the technical design process that I enjoyed the most; I lost myself in it. I've missed that feeling!

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Birdwood

Birdwood Sandal by Wootten

I should really make more of an effort on this here blog to write about awesome creative things made by people I know. Like these gorgeous sandals. The nicest bit of footwear I've ever owned and made by my friend Jess (who, as it must often be stated, is a boy).

Birdwood Sandal by Wootten

It probably would have made more sense to buy these at the start of summer than the end, but hey, life sometimes gets in the way. And now that you've seen them (and doubtless want a pair) you can spend the next 6 months saving up and looking forward to getting some made for next spring. Because lovingly & locally made wares are where it's at, folks.


Birdwood Sandal by Wootten

The Birdwood Sandal comes in black, brown or tan (or if you're special, maybe even yellow!). Head into Wootten bespoke shoes to try on a fitting pair and Jess will stitch a pair up for you! How awesome is that.

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Being mindful

 

Ginkgo. Sunlight. 

Living in the moment is something most of us find nigh impossible. We know it's good for us to do so, but generally we suck at it. It's like we're programmed (or society has programmed us) to always want more. Always be pursuing. Always be focussing on the next step. The next challenge. The next life goal. Career. Partner. House. Kids. Better house. More kids. More money. More stuff.

I do love that Dalai Lama quote that's been floating around the Internet of late:

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:

“Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

It's so apt isn't it?

Currently, I find myself in a particular place in my life where I very much need to be able to live in the moment and practice mindfulness. The future right now feels like an ambiguous one, I feel suspended, in limbo. For someone who has spent much of their adult life in relationships, always either trying to fix things or focussing on that "next step", it feels insanely impossible to shift my thinking and just focus on the here and now.

But slowly, slowly I'm getting there. I think. I hope. I have moments that are just good. Good for how they are right in that moment. Nothing more. Not as part of some grand plan. I'm going to hold on to those moments and cross my fingers I can master this art.

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Flowering Gum duvet cover

It's kind of crazy to think that in one week (on March 20th to be precise) it will be the 5 year anniversary of my very first print run of fabric. 5 years! I still remember that feeling of terror I had that I wouldn't be able to sell a metre.

I think it's also kind of crazy that it has taken me a full 5 years to get around to making myself a duvet cover from my own fabric. It's quite nice to finally replace those faded, threadbare sets that have been gracing my bedroom for the good part of a decade.

Flowering Gum Duvet cover

 

Flowering Gum Duvet cover

Of course in true Ink & Spindle style the fabric I used to make this set isn't available anymore. But we have a very similar Flowering Gum in Black & Greylead (grey instead of white branches) which would look equally great, and the Dashes in Snow is still available for the edging.  The pale blue fabric is a GOTS certified organic cotton sheeting from Organature. You can buy it by the metre to back the duvet cover and if you're slightly-more-sane-than-me you can buy a flat sheet and fitted sheet from Organature pre-made. There's a time saving idea ;)

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Hello Autumn

It's Autumn! How did that happen? Hmm it's been almost a month since I've posted here! It's been a weird and exhausting kind of month, there's been good stuff and not so good stuff. I have moments where I feel really grateful for all the good things in my life (friends, family, living in a nice home & neighbourhood... and work of course), but other moments where I feel like I'm constantly just trying to make lemonade from lemons and it'd be nice to just have a break and be given some mangoes or something.

But on a more positive note, one thing that's definitely making me smile is the new collection of textiles we've just released over at Ink & Spindle. I'm actually hesitant to use the word "collection" because that's not how we do things, we don't do collections or seasons (you might have noticed), but I can't think of a better word. Anyway, here's some pics from the photoshoot we did earlier this week, more pics over at I&S :)


New textiles in the shop

Photography: Eric Ronald
Model: Camilla Mckewen
Studio: Manysquaremetres

It's been so nice to produce something we're both really proud of. After taking a step back over the Christmas break and having some head space to think about what direction we want to take the business, we've ended up changing things quite a bit. We've discontinued a whole chunk of our stock range and products. And it feel really good - now we'll have the time and (hopefully) finances to pursue new things. Yay!


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