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My partner knows I love the Polli jewellery range, and has planned to surprise me with Polli earrings a couple of times now. Last Christmas, he was foiled by their popularity as they'd all sold out... This time he made it to Made 590 a little earlier and chose these stunning stainless steel Gulls earrings - a brand new addition to the range. Modeled here by our black bamboo, you can see the delicate effect of the etched surface on the front, bringing the birds further foward & adding to the sense of weightless movement.

Pocket is another favourite in this household, and here my partner is showing off the latest edition to his wardrobe. We both love this cool new design - the superfine detail is amazing & we love the colour combination of aqua & white on a chocolate brown tee. I wouldn't mind piloting one of these babies... (I do love a bit of sci-fi!)

This beautiful leather wallet was such a thoughtful gift from my partner's parents. It was handmade by Melbourne artist & printmaker Emily Wright for her label Nancybird and is called the "Pearl Wallet". It takes its inspiration from old cameo brooches, with their decorated border and inlays depicting portraits and landscape scenes. The bird image screen printed by Nancybird onto the front panel comes from the carved wooden inlay on a 17th century German handbag. The detailing is exceptional from the hand stitched border around the front panel, to the patterned fabric lining, curved zipper pouch & photo window, to the gorgeous red beads on the zip - oh, and the Italian leather is SO soft! (Emily even develops the colours for the leather with an Italian tannery!)

Make sure to email me if you were surprised with something really special for Christmas! We'd love to feature it on indie art & design.

I love shopping at Yoshi Jones in Newtown. The light-filled store is colourful & vibrant, bursting with great gifts to suit all occasions, and I know I'll always find gorgeous clothes that I love to wear... but apart from all those girlie things, I'm always impressed at the large selection of interesting menswear on the shelves. Yoshi Jones carries t-shirts aplenty, with screen prints guaranteed to please the boys. They also stock a unique collection of cotton shirts that are something else! They are designed & made in Australia by Yoshi Jones, using contemporary cotton fabrics sourced in Japan.

The striking patterns feature geometric shapes and colour palettes that work brilliantly. A couple of my favourite colour combinations include peach partnered with both warm & cool blue variants (as pictured at top) and orange, brown & aqua (as pictured below) both on a crisp white background. The various designs suit all tastes but mostly they are unique in a bland environment where the male shirt seems to be reserved for the conservative workplace.

The mens shirts are available in two different styles - fitted and a side vent style that can be worn with jeans, shorts or a skinny pant. (Perfect for all those summer celebrations!) There are both short sleeve & long sleeve options, and prices range from AUD $99 - $125. Pictured below is a detail from one of the shirts showing a more delicate design - both in its hand-drawn style and the mauve & eggplant colours - again on a crisp white background, punctuated by orange & blue highlights.

The fabric range is so eycatching it has appealed to men and women alike leading Yoshi to design a range of colourful shirts for us girls as well as the boys. This new range will be appearing instore throughout this month, so if you are in Sydney, be sure to check them out! The Yoshi Jones store is at 134 King St, Newtown (near the intersection of King St & Missendon Rd).

P.S. If you're a coffee lover, stop by Campos Coffee (a block down Missenden Rd) for the best coffee & beans ever!

These sumptuous, predominantly leather handbags have been hand-crafted by Chenny K, who is based in Adelaide, South Australia. Everything here is a limited edition and each design has its own name and personality. Pictured above is the Flippod leather shoulder bag which is available for AUD $169.
It fastens with a magnetic clasp, and has been designed to stay comfortably around your arm.

Leather was chosen as the main focus for the label due to its strength and textures, as well as being a long lasting material. Chenny K uses a classical approach to design - using simple forms and adding a twist of something new and surprising to make each bag truly unique. They have created an impressively large collection of original designs, all of which reflect the essence of the brand - playful, chic & functional products that make a difference to the way in which a woman feels when purchasing or receiving a Chenny K gift. Pictured above are the Kou (left, AUD $129) and the Future Biscuit leather handbags (right, AUD $139). I particularly love the bold style of the Kou bag with its use of negative space to create handles.

While leather is the signature material of the Chenny K collection, other fabrics such as silk or denim are used to compliment the range. Pictured above are two fabric handbag designs - the Incu .03 (left, AUD $59) and the Scroll .01 (right, AUD $79) which features a wonderfully-shaped wooden handle.

The leather theme is continued above in the Ripe leather bag with its narrow straps and folded edge (left, AUD $99) and the Forever shoulder bag (right, AUD $139). The traditional shape for a handle has been rotated 90 degrees for the Window Wrist .01 (below left, AUD $49), creating both a striking visual shape, and a bag that fits comfortably around your wrist without ever getting in the way. The feature silk panel adds a finishing touch to this creative design. Finally, the gorgeous Camera Bag pictured below (right, AUD $39) may not fit my 30yo SLR, but it would be perfect for your slimline digital camera :) Once again, the detailing is simple, functional, and compliments the design perfectly! The entire range is designed & made in Australia and full descriptions of each bag are available at Chenny K's online store at www.chennyk.com. Delivery is free, no matter where in the world you live and the quality of craftsmanship ensures you will love your purchase for many years to come!