screen print

Guess what? We're currently visiting Melbourne with new season samples for our own label, Non-Fiction! In addition to printed womens tees & greeting cards, we've released our first range of mens tees, totes & archival prints. I love travelling around to so many of my favourite boutiques - especially since I don't get to see the Melbourne ones all that often, but it's definitely torture resisting temptation at each stop!

We're so excited about the new prints - we'd love to hear what you think & photos should appear on our web site (www.non-fiction.com.au) within a couple of weeks... Pictured above, clockwise from top left are: "Family Portrait II" womens t-shirt, "Bowerbird" tote, "Satellite" mens t-shirt & "Inka" greeting card (from the Family Portrait series). Hope you like them!

P.S. If there are retailers who stock Australian designers reading, we'd love to hear from you, wherever you are!

I know time is tight, but if you're looking for some last minute gift ideas for Mother's Day (Sunday 11th May), here are some beauties!

cushions by publisher textiles

Aren't these prints fabulous?! I found it hard to choose which fabrics to feature... The six pictured here are, at top (L to R): Botanica ochre, Bugsey white & sand, Botanica duckegg, and below (L to R): Snow Pea latte & pigeon, Botanica red, Apollo mist.

These cushions are from the Publisher Textiles homewares range. Each cushion measures 50cm x 50cm and features a quality foam feather insert. Made with natural fabrics including cottons & linens with a contrasting backing fabric, these guys are made to be used, not just looked at! They are machine washable (gentle wash, cold water) and with so many fabric print options, there's sure to be a few that would look fantastic at your Mum's place! Cushions range from AUD $48 - $160 (most are around $88).

Publisher Textiles was established in 2002 by Mark & Rhynie Cawood. & they moved into their studio & showroom in Leichhardt, Sydney. With Mark's background in screen printing & Rhynie's in textile & fashion design, they make the perfect team for producing handmade fabrics & wallpapers. The Publisher Textiles Studio is open to the public on Saturdays from 10am - 3pm or by appointment during the week. Their homewares can also be found at the following stockists:

NSW: Made590 (Newtown), Honeybee (Newcastle)
SA: Monsoon Homewares (Glenelg), Terrace Floors & Furnishings (Eastwood)
TAS: Inside Home & Gifts (Hobart)

pendants by Girls Made This

I spotted these gorgeous pendants in the Glamourpuss email newsletter last week & was really taken by the beautiful bird designs. "Crane Pendant" on the left is AUD $110 and "Swan Pendant" on the right is AUD $95. They are by oneofone, the first label developed by Girls Made This, which is a design cooperative striving to nurture, develop and promote creative endeavours by women in Australia. The collective is headed up by Jane Peacock, who is also the talented designer for the oneofone collection. For the new range, Jane found inspiration in the vintage imagery and objects of desire that were hidden away from reach at her nannas house - pretty ornaments, old buttons, jewels, kitsch paintings etc. Oneofone pendants are available from boutiques around Australia & New Zealand including:

QLD Artisan (Fortitude Valley), MOB Store (Brisbane City), Bessie Head (Brisbane City), Adrenalin (Southport)
NSW: Glamourpuss (Erskineville), Bracewell (Paddington), Tuchuzy (Bondi Beach), Mon Petit Chou (Potts Point), MCA Store (The Rocks), Orson & Blake (Woolahra), Mushu (Surry Hills)
VIC:Husk (Melbourne), Elizabeths (Melbourne), Latrobe Regional Gallery, Melody Nelson (Brunswick), To the Max, Phillips, Belki (Carlton North)
ACT: Cowboys & Angels (Canberra), National Gallery of Australia (Canberra)
SA: Naked
WA: FORM (Perth), Finity, Billy + Rose (Mt Lawley), Harry + Gretal (Leederville), Sana, Eldorado (Perth)
TAS: Inside Home & Gifts (Hobart)

padded scuffs & printed scarf by elk

Ooooh, your mum will love you for these! Keep her toes toasty with these soft padded cotton scuffs by Elk Accessories, available in black or grey for AUD $35. Or perhaps she'd prefer the printed scarf on the right (AUD $85)? Made from 15% cashmere and 85% pure wool, this light winter layer scarf comes in either dark brown or dark ash grey. Elk Accessories is based in Melbourne and designed by partners Adam and Marnie. Their bi annual ranges include so many beautiful things - knits, leather & felt bags, accessories & jewellery, and always in gorgeous, calm hues (with a few dashes of brighter colour featured in necklaces & bracelets etc!).

Elk Accessories ranges are sold through independent retailers across Australia and New Zealand in city and regional areas. Contact them via www.elkaccessories.com.au to find your nearest stockist...

tie clutch by nancybird

Nancybird makes the most delightful decorative leather bags, and these tie clutches are no exception! This soft, slouchy clutch is a versatile little beast, which can be folded down to reveal fabric, tied in a bow at the back or tied around the body as shown. The wrist strap is removable too. It measures 26cm x 16cm adn is available in desert orange (left), black (right) and fudge for AUD $128.

Nancybird bags are stocked in many boutiques all around Australia & New Zealand. Since there are too many to list here, you'll have to visit www.nancybird.com/forms/stockistlist.html to track down a stockist near you!

mothers day sponsor:

Hip? Young? Feisty? Yes? Then Young Lovers will be the perfect fit. Whether you're hanging out in Newtown or New York, you're sure to stand out from the crowd in one of these spunky screen printed tees. Pictured top left is "Pirate King" (AUD $59) with the "Young Lovers" signature print (AUD $59) right next door.

The Sydney label has recently released its highly anticipated third collection, titled "Midnight Twilight". The bold new prints "celebrate the madness of midnight love and all that surrounds it. It is for the sleepless ones who dare to not follow. It is the Young Lovers who will take over the city by night." A few neon colours should help out there - pictured above are "Guns&Arms" (left AUD $59) and "Murdermouse" (right, AUD $59).

I'm wondering which of these two tees is the scariest? The title of the daytime soap "Young & Restless" (left, AUD $59) or the razor sharp teeth of "Vampire Hounds" (right, AUD $59)? (I must admit now to having purchased the Young & Restless cookbook... and I was rather dissappointed to find that it lacked the drama of both the TV show and the t-shirt.)

This design has to be my favourite from the new range - a highly decorative traditional frame borders an image depicting a black cat eating licorice at midnight... (AUD $59) Below are "Lovers" (left, AUD $50) and "Dancing Shoes" (right, AUD $59). You'll be looking sharp in those!

Young Lovers tees are produced in strictly limited editions of 100. They are available in both guys & girls styles but you'd better be getting a move on as a couple of styles (not shown here) have already sold out. You can purchase tees directly from the Young Lovers web site at www.younglovers.com.au, or seek them out at the following stockists:

NSW: Beautiful on the Inside (Surry Hills), Roof on Fire (Paddington), Mint (Manly).
VIC: Kids in Berlin
QLD: Violent Green

Melbourne designer Shannon Lamden has been hard at work making lots of new goodies to fill her Etsy store. New fabrics, art prints, too-cute softies, and decorative fabric hoops to brighten up your walls... The colourful & light-hearted "Wanna Play" limited edition digital print is pictured above (US $12). Who wouldn't want to venture outside into this garden?

Shannon has introduced linen prints to her crafty fabric lineup. These can be mounted on canvas & hung or framed, or even sewn into a quilt as a decorative panel. "In The Garden" features a sweet & smiling, vegie lovin' couple holding hands in their vegie garden. It is available in red (above, US $22), black, blue & green and measures 22cm x 30cm.

Aunty Cookie Fabric Softies! Look how gorgeous these girls are - each clutching her three pet owls! Shannon has brought her illustrated characters to life (with the help of a little softie stuffing & ribbons). The Cookie character is hand screen printed onto cotton drill, and backed with printed fabric - some spotted, some vintage. At US $18 each and approx. 22cm in height, they are perfect for little hands to hang onto.

Shannon is well known for her limited edition hand screen printed fabrics, and pictured above is one of her new prints, "Home Sweet Home" in teal & olive on birch linen (above, US $18). This print is also available in either mustard or cherry printed onto chocolate brown linen.

An ideal way to display these funky fabrics is in a fabric hoop. The simple, round shapes look great hung in small groups & the tiny weight of each frame makes them ideal for renters & those who hesitate to put too many holes & hooks in the wall. You can purchase combinations of three fabric hoops for US $36 from www.auntycookie.etsy.com

I know I've told you where to find Aunty Cookie products before, but in case you'd like a reminder, stockists include: Patchwork on Central Park, Arthurs Circus, Cocoon, Meet me at Mikes, Duckcloth, One Small Room and of course Aunty Cookie at Etsy. For snippets of what goes on behind the scenes, & updates which are always entertaining, check out Shannon's blog at www.auntycookie.com.

This will be an exhibition not to be missed (if you're in Sydney, that is)... Not for profit online publication [weAREtheIMAGEmakers] is presenting an all girl exhibition with a crazy talented line up of female Australian artists. Hailing from all corners of the country, participating artists include:

• akina (lang leav) - www.akina.com.au
• andrea innocent - www.otoshimono.org
• brooke bobridge - www.brookebobridge.com
• eugenia tsimiklis - www.emikli.com
• kareena zerefos - www.kareenazerefos.com
• lillian piri - www.littlegalaxie.com
• love ariel - www.loveariel.com
• melissa stringer - www.myspace.com/girliepains
• mini graff - www.minigraff.com
• nanami cowdroy - www.nthread.net
• rebecca wetzler - www.rebeccawetzler.com
• smitten by stephanie - www.smittenbystephanie.com
• team kitten - www.teamkitten.com

I'm sure that list of talent you might wish you possess is motivation enough - but just in case you need some inspiration, I've included a selection of works that I adore from just a few grrrly girls below...

These subtle and moving limited edition art prints are by Kareena Zerefos. Each print is AUD $185 and available from Kareena's "corner store". Above left is "Owl" and right, "Alex from Patras". "Owl" is also available as an A2 poster (printed on 100% recycled paper) for AUD $12. I'm very much looking forward to seeing Kareena's exhibition pieces!

The dreamy coloured pencil work of Lilly Piri is very well known & so beautiful. The artworks pictured above are "Off To See The World" (left) and "Relocation" (right).
A miniature print of "Relocation" (7.5" x 9"), is available from the Thumbtack Press for US $19.99. It is one of 25 different works which are for sale in this format. Gift cards, button sets, original artworks, postcards and the limited edition "silent water zine" (featuring 10 previously unpublished drawings by Lilly Piri and her husband, Heiko) are also all available through Lilly Piri's online store.

The distinctive, graphic & very lovely artworks below are by artist Brooke Bobridge. Having grown up in Perth, she's lived in Singapore, Nairobi, London & Edinburgh and currently calls Melbourne home. Brooke is inspired by big cities and travelling, and draws from Asian influences in her work. She is always exploring new designs and ideas for her hand-screenprinted works. Limited edition prints of her work are available from a number of online stores including one of our local favourites Moose: Art for Living - and her label, nightsidedown is coming soon!

The artwork above is "Lanterns 2007", and below, "Darjeeling 2007". I especially love the colour palettes Brooke has used in these two. The soft grey tones, reds & purples contrast beautifully with the crisp white elements. mmmm....wintery!

The Grrrls exhibition opens at 6pm this Friday evening (8.2.2008) at aMBUSH Gallery in Waterloo. It continues until Sunday 24.2.2008, with gallery opening hours of 12pm - 5pm, Wednesday through to Saturday. Special thanks to Liss for drawing my attention to this exhibition through her beautiful blog, Daydream Lily.

A little while ago, we were lucky enough to win a competition held by fellow Australian design blog & designers' network Design Federation. Among our prizes were two tees from the world's least dangerous t-shirt label, Sweat-Shop Productions. When quizzed about the real origins of the colourful tees with the biting slogans, creator Klaus replied "Unfortunately, there are no real sweatshops in Australia of note, so I had to travel overseas to find one with real child labour to make the tees as authentic as possible."
Of course you did!

The original motivation behind the label was, naturally, to change the world with a t-shirt. Since then, Klaus has discovered that it's not really possible... but does find the tees make an easy option for birthdays & Christmas gifts.
He says, "Some people drink or do drugs, this is my vice. I have enormous chips on my shoulders and am also a very bitter person - I generally spit in disgust when simply looking in the mirror. This is all the impetus I need to come up with cheesy slogan-based designs."

The designs pictured above are "Samurai" (left) and "Mum's Alert, Dad's Alarmed, I'm Afraid" (right, AUD $30). These are two of many witty "Politricks" slogans and artworks featured on Sweat-Shop Productions t-shirts & posters. A selection of the t-shirt range is available from the Sweat-Shop Productions MadeIt store. Thanks again for the prizes, guys!

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the friendly face of Aunty Cookie (as seen on her blog, www.auntycookie.com). Aunty Cookie is in fact Melbourne designer Shannon Lamden, who specialises in fabric design and illustration. Her product range includes hand-printed fabrics, bags, softies, original drawings, one of a kind fabric bunting and limited edition fabric craft panels.

The versatile fabric Craft Panels measure 75cm x 75cm and feature various character poses and squares of patterns - perfect for quilting, appliques and a multitude of crafty projects just waiting to leap out of your imagination. The fabric is a 200gsm cotton drill and has been hand screen printed using environmentally friendly inks. I love Shannon's distinctive drawing style & the expression on her characters' faces. The simplified lines work so well with the patterned areas (which are also picked up in the funky outfits worn by the cookie people).

Originally available in black on white or cherry on white, the Craft Panels are also now available in a blue colourway. Each panel is US $28, and as Shannon says, "This Crafters Panel is limited edition so what are you waiting for?".

If you're looking to make a larger piece, there are another two eye-catching prints currently available for purchase by the metre. (These are sold per 50cm/20" length for US $15. Fabric measures approx. 750mm wide, with the printed area measuring 700mm wide.) Pictured above is "Trinkets" which is available in fire engine red on white or light grey on white. "Butterflies" is pictured below, and is available in black on white or light grey on white. I love the subtlety of the grey prints, but I also love the contrast in the black & red... I just can't decide which is my favourite! Once again, these prints are limited edition & really something special.

As well as being stocked at Patchwork on Central Park, Arthurs Circus, Cocoon, Meet me at Mikes, Duckcloth and One Small Room, Aunty Cookie has clocked up over 500 sales through her Etsy store! No doubt, many of you have you have taken to the sewing machine with your own length of Aunty Cookie fabric - let us know if you've made something you'd like to show off!

P.S. I'm also looking forward to seeing Shannon's new designs which will be released in March - stay tuned for more!

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.

The festive season is upon us and with the "big day" just around the corner, we'd like to help out with some gorgeous gift ideas! We've selected a wide range of different goodies to suit Christmas stockings of all shapes & sizes.

love jewellery by geneine honey

love is a Melbourne based fashion label begun by Geneine Honey in 2002. Geneine uses her whimsical and intricate drawings as a source of inspiration for her designs, which include jewellery pieces and accessories in shapes that hark back to the innocence and romance of childhood's imaginary worlds. Pictured above is the "Girl and Bunny Brooch Set", a gorgeous duo available in a mirror finish or black acrylic. (AUD $45).

I fell in love with these wooden birdhouses when I first saw them at Made590. One lucky friend may just receive the wooden finish Birdhouse Necklace (above left) for Christmas. That's if I don't give into temptation & keep it for myself! The Birdhouse Brooch on the right has an ivory acrylic bottom layer. The contrast between the cream-coloured background and the darker delicate wooden pattern is very pretty. Both are available as necklaces or brooches for AUD $35 each.

Aren't these clever? They have hinged joints just like a real wooden doll! Titled "I wish I was a real boy/girl", they are just adorable and you can choose between a wooden (below) or handpainted finish (above). Once again, they are available as necklaces or brooches, for AUD $55 each.

Can we tempt you with a shiny red apple or a forest mushroom? I have no doubt that these red mushrooms (toadstools!) are laced with trickery, but I reckon those apples look trustworthy! You can try these fruits of the forest as necklaces or brooches, all are AUD $35 each. (They are available in a number of different finishes.)

Pictured below is the "Printed Tote Bag" featuring the beautiful illustration upon which the "Girl and Bunny Brooch Set" is based. The silhouettes of the Girl & Bunny are surrounded by their forest friends, drawn with such delicacy! The tote bag is fully lined with pocket and magnetic clasp. It has been digitally printed and is machine washable. For more love & hate, you can view their comprehensive catalogue at www.lovehate.com.au, or visit one of their retail stockists:

NSW: Bulb (Double Bay), Bang Art and Gift Shop (Potts Point), Made590 (Newtown)
VIC: Little Salon (Fitzroy & Melbourne City)
WA: Remedy (Fremantle), More (Subiaco, T. 08 9381 8085)
QLD: Queensland Art Gallery (Brisbane), Maiocchi (Fortitude Valley)
SA: Flourish (Hyde Park), Storison (Hahndorf, T. 08 8388 7331)
TAS: Cocoon (Launceston), Small Rhino (Hobart)
ACT: The Hive (Braddon)

mens tees by pocket

Pocket Designs is one of my favourite new discoveries. Based in Perth, this graphic designer has created a number of t-shirt ranges which make perfect gifts for our better halves! In fact, the above picture features my partner showing off his brand new birthday present... He's wearing the "Seventh Armoury" design in black with a yellow print - a special glow-in-the-dark edition! The t-shirts fit well & are a lovely quality. Also in his personal wardrobe are the "Tokyo Puppeteers" and "Soldiers V2" designs pictured below. The prints are inspired by Japanese anime and come in a variety of colour options. I particularly like "Soldiers V2" printed in aqua on a navy tee. The styling of the designs themselves is great - sleek & cool. The expression on the puppet's face in "Tokyo Puppeteers" is so twisted!

Pictured below are details of the "Metalight" and "Wasp" designs. The "Wasp" print comes in yellow on a coal coloured tee which I just love. The larger part of the design (featuring the wasp) is printed on the back with a selection of honeycomb shapes & vector lines on the front. Fantastic! The Pocket tees range from AUD $60-$70. Visit www.pocketdesigns.com.au to see more of the range, or stop by one of their retail stockists:

ONLINE: Teknoscape
NSW: Crazy Horse (Newtown, T. 02 9519 2199, Darlinghurst, T. 02 9326 0800), Haku (Potts Point, T. 02 9380 8768), Oxi Clothing (Newtown)
VIC: Kids in Berlin (North Melbourne), Tomorrow Never Knows (Fitzroy, T. 03 9495 6645), Robio (Fitzroy), Moji (South Yarra, T. 03 9824 1104), Villain Store (Brunswick)
WA: The Pulse (Perth, T. 08 9322 7210), Atlas Divine (Leederville, T. 08 9444 4663), Ginza (Subiaco, T. 08 9381 6067), Lucky Stripe (Fremantle, T. 08 9336 6299), Locale Clothing (Floreat), Method Clothing (Mt Lawley), Tade' (Applecross, T. 08 9364 7891)
QLD: Ginza Swim (Paddington, T. 07 3369 1131)

christmas sponsor:

christmas cards by dudley redhead

Hunting for unique Christmas cards & gift tags? These adorable designs are made by Dudley Redhead, otherwise known as Sydney-based designer Tara Axford.

Each Note & Tag set (pictured above, AUD $15.00) includes:
3 x Christmas Bunny & Wren Postcards measuring 110mm x 135mm. They have been professionally printed on 215gsm gloss card, have rounded corners and are blank on the reverse. Post to a friend or attach to a gift!
3 x Christmas Wren Button Badge Gift Tags measuring 70mm x 110mm. The button badges have a pin back & are a lovely little bonus to your gift!

The Christmas Wren Gift Tags are also available individually for AUD $3.00 each.

May all your parcels be prettied by Dudley Redhead's illustrations! Christmas Cards & Tags are available from Georgie Love's treasure of hand made pleasures at www.georgielove.com, and you can find the Dudley Redhead blog at http://dudleyredhead.blogspot.com.

prints by eveline tarunadjaja

Eveline Tarunadjaja is an exciting young artist who was born and raised in Indonesia. At age 15, she moved to Melbourne where she has lived for almost 10 years. Her work has been exhibited over the last couple of weeks as part of the "Cups and Cuddles" group show at Per Square Metre Gallery in Collingwood, along with fellow artists Andrea Innocent, Catherine Campbell, Crystal Hartley, Lilly Piri, maricormaricar & Nobuko Washiyama.

Many of her artworks are available as stunning & very reasonably priced prints through her web site at www.lovexevol.com. Pictured above are the prints "Wait" (AUD $40, 15 x 20cm, pen, coloured pencils & markers) and "The Blue Dress" (AUD $40, 15 x 20cm, pen & markers). I love the effect of limited areas of bright colour, especially where the background colour of the paper is peeking through. Both are simple, graphic works where the detail lies within the careful linework. "The Blue Dress" was actually featured as the free poster in Frankie Magazine issue #15. Both of these works were created in a little drawing journal Eveline filled with imagined characters and words that got stuck in her head.

Eveline finds inspiration in the feelings evoked by little random experiences... doings, sayings, conversations, people, stories, artist, movies, films & music. The next four images are good examples of the artistic results! I love the colour & humour embraced by "Tomato Head" (above left, AUD $45, 18 x 26cm, pen, acrylic & digital artwork). Eveline says she often produces "something that's really dumb" - "Tomato Head" was drawn when she was thinking just too much & her head started to feel like a big heavy vegetable!
In contrast, "Airfish" (above right, AUD $40, 18 x 26cm, pens & markers) is something really personal. It is about a dreamer... "unreal thoughts float like fishes fly..." The original artwork is also available framed for AUD $250.

In prints such as "Animal Hoodie (Octopus)" (above left, AUD $40, 16 x 26cm, pen, markers & coloured pencil), Eveline has depicted imaginative items of clothing that whe would love to have or make. She also plays with the idea of "semi-porn, because it's fun and funny!" "Familia Octopie" (above right, AUD $30, 16 x 26cm, pen) is about "a royal family of octopus that capture two humans and force them to have sex with each other". Enough said! The prints are printed on to 240gsm fine art paper, and are unframed. To view these works, and many more, visit http://www.lovexevol.com. You can order online through the site, making them ideal Christmas presents.

The two works pictured below were exhibited in "Cups and Cuddles" and the originals will be availble for purchase very soon. They are so beautifully drawn & the fine lines curl & twist in rhythm with the natural grain of the wood.

linen by out to lunch

Out To Lunch's Lucy Bromell has created an elegant range of hand-printed and uniquely Australian tableware. The collection is inspired by native flora, and features four different designs - Banksia, Stem, Casuarina and Eucalypt, each of which come in a range of natural colours all organically printed on linen, cotton and silk. Pictured above are the "Casuarina" and "Banksia" linen napkins. Both are available as a set of four napkins for AUD $64.

Two of the "Stem" designs are pictured above. The table mats have a matching coloured trim which frames the delicate print beautifully. They retail for AUD $88 for a set of four. Once again, the set of four napkins is AUD $64. The earthy colours of the prints & natural texture of the fabric would surely look gorgeous atop a wooden dining table!

The contrast is striking in these black on natural linen "Eucalypt" designs. The table runner is AUD $70, and the matching table mats are AUD $64 for a set of four. Depending on who is cooking on Christmas Day, the full size cotton aprons below (AUD $55 each) could also make lovely gifts. (Perhaps not the best idea though for someone who has been slaving over a baking turkey with all the trimmings!) Either way, there are plenty of gorgeous Out To Lunch products to choose from & you'll find them online at Moose: Art for Living.

t-shirts for all by wildgarden

Wildgarden is a gorgeous Australian label born out of a desire to create products featuring simple, yet sophisticated designs produced by hand. The talented designers are Sydney-based sisters Nancy & Jessica Lim. They are inspired by the environment which surrounds them - both natural and urban. You may also know of these two from the Modamuse online store & blog - another wonderful site featuring the work of independent designers from Australian & New Zealand.

Wildgarden is currently offering 25% off everything in the lead up to Christmas! They have a colourful range of screen printed t-shirts for all of the family. Here we've included our favourite summer styles for women & a few for the little ones too! Pictured above are "Radiate" which features a striking metallic silver print (above left, AUD $34.50) and "Floss" with a white branch motif across the front (above right, AUD $33).

These singlet designs show off Wildgarden's love of colour & form. The graphic layering of black & grey in "Twiggy" (above left, AUD $31.50) look fantastic & I also really like the placement of the stylised, floral-patterned bird in "Fly Away" (above right, AUD $31.50)

The "Winter Blossom" tee (above left, AUD $34.50) would be really versatile. With an assymetrical lavender blossom branch motif placed high on the shoulder front and back, it would look equally striking worn casually with jeans, or dressed up with a pretty skirt for day or night. The fitted styles of these tees lend themselves to such situations! The Spiro print (right, AUD $34.50) looks great in yellow & white on an ashphalt-coloured tee. This retro design is also available in pale blue & green on olive.

Aren't these children's designs gorgeous? Pictured above are "Birdy Jazz Trio" (left) and "Elephant Walk" (right), while "Ducky" appears below right. All are AUD $25.50 each. I think I'd quite like "Birdy Jazz Trio" in a grown-up version! We couldn't resist including the "Bossanova Shopper" black cotton tote - at AUD $9.75, it's a steal! To see more Wildgarden designs & place your order online, visit www.wildgardendesign.com.

christmas sponsor:

Hope Street Markets was certainly a popular desination on Saturday 6th!
I braved the hayfeverish winds sweeping Sydney that afternoon, and made my way to 182 Campbell St - a frosty white building which was positively glowing on the inside with a dizzying mix of colours, stalls & design enthusiasts.
A wonderful mix of indie products were on offer. Downstairs were labels such as People Like Us (who gave me a plastic wind-up walking owl), Kara Smith with her delicious handmade handbags, Made by White with their chirpy perspex jewellery friends, Ellenade with her assortment of handmade hats, 0049 Design, Dark Cloud Silver and many others...

0049 Design (whose stall is pictured above) uses 100% wool-felt to produce
a multitude of "living accessories" featuring screen printed graphics and/or German typography. The crisp designs look really striking against the soft textured felt. The diary & book covers were perhaps my favourites - all designed to be reusable, so when you fill your latest sketchbook with doodles & ramblings you can transfer the cover straight onto a new one. Among their other products are bookmarks, sunglass cases, felt storage boxes and keyrings - one of which features the outline of a very cute sausage dog! These gorgeous felt goodies would make lovely original gifts.

The Dark Cloud Silver stall looked very luxurious with their shiny silver pendants & rings displayed against a slinky black background. The microphone, headphones, spraycan & turntable designs pictured are beautifully crafted and offer something completely different from the usual fare. They've combined the "urban" with the "precious" to create an intriguing range of jewellery pieces which are truly unique.

Here is the Imok artwork I wrote about in last week's post! The Imok girls had an upstairs stall where their characters came to life under the natural afternoon sunlight. The stall was busy with colour, and the canvasses were surrounded by t-shirts, hats & accessories - all sharing the Imok philosophy "I’m ok…if you are?".

The indie flavours continued upstairs with labels such as Fine Cloth, Little Angry Fang and Meet Tyrone (whose stall is pictured above). Designer Bill Chen has recently released his Spring Summer 07|08 collection titled "Animals in 3D". Featuring four different prints, 'Diamond Horse', 'Anubis', 'Reindeer' and 'Swallows 'n' Feathers' - each design is an experiment with popular geometric art, lines, shapes and patterns.

The Diamond Horse design from Meet Tyrone was my favourite, and is pictured in detail above (printed in silver on a white tee). Bill also creates some amazing artworks - just look at the surface texture pattern on the piece below! He's having an exhibition starting later this week - so stay tuned for my next post for details...