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!


x

A collection of locally made

Jewellery hanger by Stämpel

Looking at my wall the other day, I realised that my jewellery hanger is an homage to an assortment of melbourne jewellery designers and makers. Which is really nice. I feel so lucky to be a part of this local creative community. At the end of the day that's what makes coming to work so fun - it's the people we get to interact and collaborate with, share advice & wisdom with, and drink tea and eat tim tams with.

If you're curious, clockwise from top:

- Brooches by States of Nature
- Fimo necklace by Emily Green
- Wooden locket by So Little Time
- Ceramic pendant by Goldenink
- Sharpening necklace by Victoria Mason

xx

Ron D Swan

Summer in Melbourne is great for enjoying a blissful, car-free existence. I'm sure when the next bitter, erratic and squally winter comes around I'll be singing a different tune, but right now I'm loving the head space and sense of freedom and connection with my surroundings that I get from jumping on my bicycle to get where I need to go.

It's also handy that my home and work are both located just a stone's throw from the Capital City bike path; a 20 minute ride is all it takes to get to work versus 40 or 50 minutes on tram and bus. That's good motivation!

Anyway naturally since moving house I threw myself with enthusiasm back into riding my beloved (yet somewhat neglected) bicycle and requested a pannier as an xmas present from my family. Not just any pannier mind you, but a locally & ethically made Ron D Swan bike pannier that was made in Castlemaine!

Ron D Swan pannier on my bicycle

The extra cool thing about this pannier is that the hooks are attached to your rack rather than the bag itself, and it comes with a nice wide shoulder strap tucked inside. This means you can carry the pannier around comfortably like a normal bag when off your bike. Clever!

Ron D Swan pannier - as a shoulder bag and attached to the rack

Totally love it and highly recommend getting one ... and as a bonus you're supporting a small local business. Win.

x

Melbourne maker collab

In what turned out to be a bit of an unlikely incidental "collaboration" of sorts, my mum's Christmas present this year consisted of my Leuca print made into a shade by a lovely Melbourne company, sold by Wilkins & Kent, and then put together with a gorgeous turned base from Southwood Home.


Leuca drum shade and base

Hmm, timber and textiles. Just need to find a local furniture maker to officially collab with :)

xx

Hobart!

I am not very good at sitting still. Holidays intimidate me - that long stretch of nothing planned, commitment free time. This is some people's dream, but for me and where I am in my life at the moment, not so much. So for the first week I kept very busy. I built things, rearranged things, gardened, tidied, cleaned out my computer, saw friends. In the second week I kind of got into the swing of slowing down and spent some time on the road, on the beach and in the bush. Nice.

But throughout it all I was very, very glad that Dana and I had planned a little trip to Hobart. It was one of those spur of the moment "OK lets book tickets right now!" kind of things ... after we'd quickly made sure someone was free to look after Dana's kidlets and that we'd have somewhere to stay. And somewhere-to-stay we indeed did have. No less than the awesome, gorgeous, art-deco-granny-mansion that is Beth-Emily & Tom's South Hobart home. Have I told you how lovely these people are? We met Beth and Tom at a market in Adelaide and have been buddies since. Not only did they provide us with a comfy bed and delicious brekkie every morning, but they also spent three days showing us around their hometown and helping us eat Hobart. Because that's what we did. We pretty much just ate our way around town. And it was good.

Here's a little of our trip in pictures!

The home of Beth & Tom and the view from their harbour-side studio rooftop - I do love rooftops!

My gorgeous travelling buddies - Tom, Dana & Beth

MONA! Also known as The Place Where it's Impossible to Take Non-Blurry Photos

More MONA

Relaxing in beanbags on the hill at MONA, Tom my fellow photographer

Views and sights abound!

Food, delicious food! Highly recommend Ethos, Smolt, Garagistes & Piccolo

Yay, thanks Beth & Tom for such a great time :)

xx

I like this place

So, 2011 was a pretty good year, but not without it's ups and downs. I haven't been writing much as I've been busy settling into my new home and routine and headspace. But... I'm very much looking forward to what 2012 has to offer. I'm cautiously optimistic that this year is going to be a good one.

Here's a little snippet of my new Nth Fitzroy home. I do very much like it here.

A happy new year to everyone. Here's to making 2012 a year for fulfilling dreams and finding your place in the world. xx

Last open studio for the year! This Saturday!

It's our last Open Studio for the year! That totally spins me out. Please come and say hi and help us bid adieu to 2011!

xx

MARKit at Fed Square

MARKit is on again this Sunday at Fed Square! Teegs and I will be there as usual, spruiking our wares and taking turns to sneak away from the stall so we can catch up with fellow stallholders and friends :)

We're gunna have some new xmas-present-worthy kits and also my new Leuca print will be making it's debut (can I have another word? I don't like that one) which is pretty exciting.

Hope to see you there!

x

Looking up

the ceiling of manysquaremetres, our studio neighbours

So things are looking up, since my post about a month ago. I'm still in the midst of a big transition phase in my life but I'm feeling positive about the future, there's brightness ahead. I'm also about to move house (again, I know) to North Fitzroy, which I'm pretty excited about as I've never lived in the North before. And I'll be able to ride my bike to work again which will be nice.

Here's to making lemonade from lemons.

xx

Newness...

New things that are keeping me smiling...


'Leuca' on screen and ready to print


Gorgeous custom colourway (Large Birch in Olive on Hemp/Yak)
for a local customer's curtains

xx

Colour...

A sneak peek at a couple of new kits we're launching in the next few weeks. Out of my head and into reality, finally. Loving the abundance of colour.

Thanks to Manysquaremetres for the location!

P.S. - thank you all for the new print love! Glad you like it :)

Leuca

It's strange how sometimes when one part of your life starts to crumble you finally find the time and motivation to fix other things that aren't right. Or maybe it just requires the luxury of a long weekend...

Whatever the cause, I am so, so, SO happy to have found some design mojo again and finally conquered my latest print. Sometimes it can be quite a battle, turning an idea from my mind into a reality. I knew I wanted to do another botanical print, I knew I wanted it to be quite detailed, and I knew I wanted the subject matter to be something from the Proteaceae family.

So I did lots of research, bought lots of books, brought home lots of specimens...

Referencing...

I drew a lot, experimented with shading and form, got frustrated, dilly dallied, changed tack a few times....

Experimenting...

And finally decided upon the gorgeous Leucadendron as my subject matter...

Drawing...

So I drew some more, scanned, edited, arranged and rearranged, layered, measured...

And "Leuca" finally came to life.

"Leuca" - textile design for meterage

"Leuca" - textile design for meterage

Sure, that process was probably more drawn out than it needed to be. Sure, once upon a time I had the luxury of time and head space to design new things every week. Sure, I could have busted out 10 new prints over the last year if I'd really wanted to. But that process no longer fits with my ethos. These days I want to design prints that I'm exceptionally proud of, that are versatile and have inherent longevity. It's tricky to do all those things within the constraints of hand printed meterage. But extra rewarding in the end when it comes together :)

Looking forward to printing this just in time for xmas!

xx Lara.

New developments...

New developments

So last time I posted here I wasn't feeling all too good. And things haven't really improved... they've somewhat taken a bad turn. I won't talk about it now, but maybe soon. I'm ok though. And I'm trying to stay positive.

I love this fern because it reminds me a little bit of bracken and hiking trips in the bush. This one is an Kiwi native called a Wheki and it's so rewarding watching the little koru unfurl. Especially when fuelled with some worm tea - my fern is literally going insane with growth right now. Me too, I hope.

x Lara.

Sitting, thinking, should be doing...

Sitting at my laptop. Doing a little freelance work. Watching this very inspiring video. Thinking about creativity, life, meaningfulness, inspiration, the importance of following your gut. Right now I feel at a loss, both creatively and fundamentally. But I don't know where to turn for inspiration or how to pull myself out of this rut. The studio is going great. I have a new design slowly progressing. But I don't feel fulfulled. I don't feel like I'm making the most of my days or doing enough things that are meaningful.

But... I'm sure I'll find my way.

On a lighter note and because it's in my field of vision right now, I thought I'd share a photo of this little porcelain origami bird. A gift from the lovely Gemma. Not sure where he came from but I love him and I love the little corner of my home in which he resides.

Perching ceramic origami parrot friend

x

Birch decals!

Hey remember aaaages ago I did that limited edition collab with the lovely ladies from The Wall Sticker Company? And how I used to have that Birch wall sticker in my bedroom in my flat before I had to vacate and go live on the East side?

Well finally after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing the Birch decals are available for sale again! They've been simplified slightly so instead of having the trunk markings cut out to show the wall behind, they are now printed with a second colour that you can choose to either match your wall or printed darker as an accent! It was a change borne from practicality but I quite like how it looks with darker markings like a real birch tree.

Birch Decal in my bedroom from The Wall Sticker Company

Birch Decal with darker markings, available from The Wall Sticker Company

Hope you like!! x

I am 30

On Saturday 1st of October I turned 30.

Turning 30 is a bit like the first time you're riding on a tram that you hear a mother tell her child to "mind the lady" and you realize she's talking about you. But I'm just a girl! When did it become fitting to address me as a "lady"? And now, since when did I become a fully grown woman, student days far behind her, a full gamut of grown up responsibilities on her plate?

How I feel about turning 30 changes from day to day. Some days I feel completely fine about it, other times I struggle with the concept.

There are days when I feel immensely proud of all I have seen, done and achieved in my 30 years. But there are other days when those things seem meaningless and insignificant. How does one more organic cushion in the world help anyone? How can I make more of an impact, do something even more meaningful and significant with my life? What's next?

That all said, I do feel very lucky. Lucky to be surrounded by so many wonderful, supportive people, and lucky to call Melbourne my home.

x

Introducing... 'The Formula'

This morning on the train I decided it was time to write that post I've been meaning to write for a long time. Spurred by a increasing frustration with people's general lack of understanding of cost and 'real cost' (be it an 'expensive' handmade item or a cheap $15 tshirt) I want to share with you how we price our goods, and why pricing correctly is extremely important.



Read the full blog post over here at the Ink & Spindle blog. Enjoy!

x

This morning...

I seem to be getting very good at bringing home bits of blue vinyl furniture from trash and treasure markets. Here is this morning's haul from the Camby market:

Camby market haul

That chair has so much potential for awesomeness. I quite like the pretty detail of the tacking too, adds a bit of a feminine, lacy touch.

I also bought a couple of bunches of leucadendrons for a project I'm slowly working on...

Leucadendron, my favorite species of Proteaceae

Spring...

Spring time for me so far has been about...

- Contemplating turning 30 at the end of this month and all the typical, difficult thoughts that go with that
- Enjoying the sun on my face & time with good friends
- Feeling pretty much on top of things at work for the first time in a long time
- Feeling super proud of building a new gallery section of our website (upholstery! curtains!)
- Planning & preparing a new kitchen garden

The last item excites me a lot because I've never had a garden of my own before, having only lived in apartments since moving out of home. Plus I love the idea of being just a little more self sufficient. One day I will have chooks. One day.

Tumbleweed worm cafe and some inspiring reading

I am also now responsible for 1000 little wormy friends who reside in the laundry and eat our kitchen scraps. The laundry locale will protect them from the extremes of Melbourne weather and my laziness in the evenings. No mass wormicide will be happening here, folks.

Living Fundraisers Organic Veggie Growing Kits

I love, love, love this fundraising idea by Living Fundraisers. Dana brought these in to work courtesy of her little ones' kinder/playgroup (I forget which). I grabbed the lettuce and tomatoes. Yay! Sooooo much better than chocolate fundraisers!

Hope your springtime is off to a good start :)

xx

Chalkboard

I know it's a little bit lame and all been done before, but every kitchen needs a good chalk board. Especially a renter-friendly one. It's amazing what you can achieve with a chisel and some angle brackets if you want to attach something without doing any damage to precious surfaces.

Making the chalkboard - chiseling, attaching brackets, priming, blackboard painting

The chalkboard hangs nice and flush with the wall, and to secure it at the bottom we just used a couple of 3M strips to hold it in place. Easy stuff.

Chalkboard calendar - renter friendly :)

I'd love to paint an entire wall in blackboard paint, but this will have to do :)

xx

NZ part 2 - Wellington shopping (& a bit of south island gorgeousness)

Hello! I'm back to prattle on more about NZ. First stop, Wellington!

Wellington is a gorgeous city, and is indeed just like a smaller version of Melbourne in many ways. I definitely felt at home there, which is saying a lot because I find it hard to feel at home anywhere other than my beloved Melbourne! Although coming from Melbourne where everything is generally quite flat, I was also enamored by the landscape and all the gorgeous houses dotting the surrounding hillsides.

Whilst in Wellington I was fortunate enough to have three things on my side. 1) A very patient man-friend who didn't mind being dragged all over town, 2) a very lovely local client (Celestina of Vida Textiles) who showed us around some fantastic local design stores, and 3) the Design*Sponge Wellington City Guide at hand (I used screen-shots on my phone when lacking internets).

One of the stores that Celestina took me to was Madder and Rouge, a customer who had recently placed an order for some custom printed colourways of our Large Scale Birch. It was so exciting to see what they had done with the fabric and how their vision for it tied so well with the rest of the store:

Madder & Rouge, Wellington

Madder & Rouge, Wellington - Birch in Black & white!

The next day, following the advice of the D*S city guide we ventured to a bunch of cute little designy/homewares/cute objects stores scattered around the city:

Vessel and Swonderful, Wellington

Here's a list of some of the fantastic little design/craft/indie stores we visited whilst in Wellington:

- Vessel
- Swonderful
- Made it (owned by the very talented Melina Martin)
- Pixel Ink
- Madder & Rouge
- ES Design (amazing mid-century furniture awesomeness here too)
- Small Acorns

On our last day (thanks to Janette from Verdant Design) we discovered the Frank Kitts Market full of indie crafty/design goodness. I had to giggle though, not only was this design market in an undercover carpark (sound familiar?), I also found three stalls featuring our fabrics, including the very first stall I encountered when I came through the entrance! That was trippy, I tell you what.

Frank Kitts Market (including the very lovely Craft Me Up stall)

Verdant Design at the Frank Kitts Market (Acacia lamp!)

After Wellington we headed down to the South Island via ferry to Blenheim, where Jon grew up. We stayed with his folks for most of the time but also borrowed a car and drove down to Hanmer Springs for a night (hot springs and mineral pools half way up a snow-capped mountain!)

Let me just say, the drive down to Hanmer was A-MAZ-ING. Such spectacular scenery. Imagine rolling hills, winding roads, deciduous trees with new spring growth, cherry blossoms in bloom, cute little spring lambs everywhere with their crazy tails, single lane bridges over little creeks, black pebble beaches, seals sunning themselves on rocks... and all the while these huge dramatic snow capped Mountains in the distance.

The drive to Hanmer and Cheltenham House

We picked a winner again with the accommodation too - a beautiful sprawling, refurbished 1930's house turned into a B&B - still with it's original billiard room and full sized pool table. We stayed in one of the rooms off the garden and awoke to this view - more snow-capped mountains in the background of course!

It was a bit of a whirlwind trip and now that I'm back into the swing of things at work it feels a world away. But I still love my Melbourne ;)

xx

NZ part 1 - Wellington!

The classic Wellington shot

If you happened to catch Teegs lamenting my absence all over Facebook last week, you might already know that the man-friend and I recently skipped town and went to NZ!

Let me just say, every time I go to that country it puts on quite the show. Last week was no exception - gorgeous sunny weather, spectacular scenery, amazing designer goodness, great food... and as I sit here trying to process all my photos I quickly realized that I need at least two blog posts to cover it all!

I also realized that I definitely need to dedicate an entire post to the amazing accommodation that we treated ourselves to for a couple of nights in Wellington. I'm talking about the Ohtel. Recommended in Design*Sponge's Wellington city guide, and definitely, definitely living up to the hype, Ohtel is a boutique, 10 room hotel on the waterfront which is entirely fitted out in gorgeous Mid-century furniture and collectables.

Ohtel boutique hotel - Wellington. Mid-century designer furniture heaven

I mean just look at it! The photos speak volumes. I'm not usually excited at all about hotels when traveling but it was so nice to come back to this room in the evenings and be surrounded by so much gorgeousness. Not to mention the spectacular view over the bay, a great music selection, free wifi and a gorgeous, deep, non-guilt inducing bath. (NZ is definitely not a country in drought!)

Ohtel boutique hotel - Wellington.

Ohtel boutique hotel - Wellington. That bath!

Of course Ohtel isn't cheap, but definitely worth the splurge. We justified the expense by staying our first night at a dodgy backpackers in town and then staying with Jon's folks down south for most of the rest of our trip (quite the contrast, I assure you).

More Wellington awesomeness to follow soon!

xx Lara.