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We were delighted to find indie art & design featured in the Web Watch section of The Sydney Morning Herald's "Essential Style" pages last Thursday 2nd July! Thank you so much to writer Michelle Wilding, and to new indie reader Dana Vandyke for letting us know in time to buy a copy. (Dana's photographic work can be seen hanging in selected cafes and restaurants in beautiful Jervis Bay just south of Sydney.)

Feather & Lighthouse Prism by Dana Vandyke

By the way, the SMH featured image is from our "graphic bags" post about the gorgeous Apple & Bee collection.

A big welcome back from us too... If you've been wondering about our whereabouts over the last few weeks, the photos below should answer your queries! We went to Spain & Italy for a couple of weeks, which of course was fantastic. We had a few days in Barcelona, a week in Ravello and a couple of days in Rome before heading home again. (A small selection of our holiday pics are on Flickr).

The villa & view at Ravello, Italy. Photos by Carolyn & Martin

Welcoming two new contributors into the world of indie art & design!

A big HELLO to Jacquie and Melissa. Jacquie lives in Adelaide and is studying French at uni, and Melissa is a graphic designer who has recently returned to Sydney after a few years living overseas. (She is also Carolyn's little sister.)

Thanks to you both for joining our little team & we look forward to discovering all the design + art + fashion you love best!

Object web site screenshot

We're very excited to welcome Laura from Object to the indie art & design team! She'll be keeping you up-to-date with all that's happening at Object - exhibitions, events and of course, the incredible range of Australian contemporary craft & design for sale at Collect!

We're really thrilled to have Laura on board, and she brings with her a wealth of experience - having worked with some of Australia's finest craftspeople and designers. We have a brand new page dedicated to posts about Object, so if you follow the indie art & design feed, make sure to subscribe to the new Object page feed too! A selection of Laura's posts will appear on our home page, but she'll be regularly posting about all sorts of intriguing pieces & people - posts you won't want to miss... You'll also be able to keep up with the headlines that appear under the Object logo (top right).

So I'll pass over to Laura now, to fill you in about Object. A warm welcome from us all! (Cheers resound through the indie art & design studio...)

Did you miss me? I've sure missed indie! I was caught by a whirlwind of travel, which paused briefly for a little holiday at Emerald Beach (near Coffs Harbour), then swept me to Melbourne to show off our new Winter tees for Non-Fiction, and finally took a breather with family at Berry for Easter... It's been busy, but there were many highlights including:

I'm happy to be back home again & have so many wonderful products lined up to share with you all... so stay tuned!

We've been tagged twice for a Make My Day award! Thank you so much to lovelies Michelle from Shelbyville & Liss from Daydream Lily. I was delighted when I discovered both of your nominations :)

The Purpose of this Award is as follows:-
'Give the award to 10 people whose blog brings you happiness and inspiration and makes you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware, you may get this award several times'.

Michelle from Shelbyville loves making things, particularly things made from paper, Sculpey or general art materials ... books, zines, paintings, sculpture, origami, papier mache. Her blog is full of posts about her process & inspiration as well as her adventures & travels.

Daydream Lily is a blog which is close to my heart. I discovered Liss' blog not long after I started indie art & design, and we often stumble across similar designs - especially illustrations - to fall in love with. Liss is also the sister of Bec Winnel, (MyCharlieGirl) who creates beautiful & delicate sketches and portraits.

My nominations are for blogs like mine who feature the work of indie designers from our corner of the world. Of course, Daydream Lily would have been on this list, but Liss got in first! So here goes (in no particular order):

Lost At E Minor provides us with a great selection of posts from all corners of the art world - art, photography, fashion, film, music & events. I love receiving their weekly newsletter by email...

Modamuse began as a blog to showcase original products made by independent designers from Australia & New Zealand. Nancy & Jessica Lim then opened their virtual doors to the Modamuse shop, where lots of these lovely products can now be purchased!

Follow Studio features Jessica Doherty's inspiration & favourite things including design, objects, interiors, retail therapy and must-see places around Sydney and beyond. I love her choices - especially her eye for beautiful package design, homewares & other pretty things.

The MadeIt Blog regularly features a selection of products from designer's MadeIt stores - lots of inspiration & handmade goodness!

The guys at Design Federation keep us up to date with local events & exhibitions, indie fashion & design and post regular feature interviews with talented creatives from all fields.

Studio Home Creative is the new blog on the block. Julia began her blog in January - it's really taken off in that short time & she writes with an enthusiasm which is contagious.

Well, that's six nominations... Hopefully that will give you lots more indie inspiration!

Random Collective is an exhibition which will be held in Wonthaggi in the South Gippsland area this March. In addition to a fierce lineup of talented artists from NSW & Victoria (and even a few from the UK & Germany), Random Collective will be hosting a variety of activities to involve the whole community. On the opening day (Sunday 2nd March, 2008), there will be a Stencil Workshop with artists Floh, Seldom & Fray (AUD $20 per person) as well as a Stencil Opportunity where visitors will be invited to bring along a t-shirt, skateboard, surfboard or other object of soon-to-be-art to be stenciled by one of the exhibiting artists! There will also be a raffle of artworks & other prizes. All profits from the raffle, stencil workshop & sprays will be going towards the South Gippsland Conversation Society. The South Gippsland Conservation Society is "active in preserving our natural resources from environmentally damaging development and protecting what we have, through submissions, activities and education".

Random Collective is currently seeking donations of prizes to include in the raffle. Offers will be much appreciated and in return, Random Collective would be happy to stock your flyers/cards/posters etc as well as give you a special thank you on the day! If you're interested & would like to support the South Gippsland creative communtity as well as the natural environment, please contact us and we'll forward your email to Random Collective.

Stay tuned for more info on the artists & exhibition itself a little closer to the event!

Welcome back Indies! We decided to take a good break this festive season & we return to you refreshed, relaxed & ready to bring you a multitude of indie goodness in 2008. We hope you all enjoyed the celebrations - if you received an Australian indie gift that you just love, drop us a line as we'd love to feature a collection of gifts brought to us by Santa! A post-Christmas celebration of sorts... We'll start the ball rolling tomorrow when we reveal a few favourites from under our tree. Actually, it's more a "Christmas potplant" than a tree, but it works for us!

P.S. Aren't these flowers just stunning?! (They were also a Christmas surprise for yours truly.)

A new commission has been added to the Jobs & Commissions page... Can you help Jody & create her ideal wedding head band? See details here...

We're currently busy putting together the indie art & design Christmas Gift Guide - a wonderful selection of Australian products which will surely delight! We have a limited number of advertising spaces available to be placed between editorial content. If you're interested, please contact us by 16.11.2007 (this Friday!). We are planning to post the Christmas Gift Guide early next week.

Congratulations to Courtney, our October Giveaway winner! The Magic Jelly prize pack will soon begin its postal journey all the way to Italy. Thanks again to Karena who created & donated these sugary delights :)

We'd also like to welcome aboard all those who have recently registered on Indie Art & Design. It's exciting to see our indie family grow, & your comments and suggestions are always welcome.