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indie art & design blog
mother's day gift guide 2008
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:
wooden heart
As I listen to that haunting Portishead track, I'm admiring a range of brooches & pendants that also possess a wooden heart. These beautifully crafted jewellery pieces are made by Shonah Tomkins, a Melbourne designer who works with fabric, resin & wood. Her designs are stocked in boutiques around Australia, and a few weeks ago, the Shonah Jewellery Design web site was launched!
All of Shonah's designs feature her original screen printed fabrics or vintage & patchwork fabrics which are mounted on Tasmanian Oak. You can choose a rectangular shaped pendant to highlight the fabric patterns (including various prints from "Baroque Wallpaper", "Oriental" and "Arts & Craft Movement"), or go for gorgeous animal/object shapes including "Indigo Bunting Bird", "Giraffe", "Alpaca" & "Lantern". These are availble in the Arts & Craft Movement fabric options. I adore the Lantern design - the shape is so striking, especially when worn over a dark top... Pictured in both of the images above, it is available as a brooch for AUD $45 or pendant for AUD $77.
Shonah has a flare for textiles, and combined her skills with her passion for unique jewellery to launch her label in 2006. Her pieces begin life in the hands of her father, who hand crafts pieces of Tasmanian oak in a quaint country town. For her new range, Shonah then combines pieces with resin & fabric, and has them laser cut into the quirky animal & object shapes such as the "Indigo Bunting Bird" pictured above (brooch AUD $45, pendant AUD $77).
The Rectangle pendants and brooches are simple & stunning. I particularly like the red/cream design from the Baroque Wallpaper series, pictured below (brooch AUD $35, pendant AUD $55). For more info & fabric options, beautiful photos, or to place an order, visit the brand new Shonah Jewellery Design web site, or check out one of the following stockists:
VIC: Love It (Melbourne City), Luft (North Fitzroy), Body (St Kilda East), Dollhouse (St Kilda), Emia (Sorrento), Kundalini Rising (Fitzroy), Prato (Echuca), Lustre (Ballarat), Manque Design (Westgarth), Queen Clothing (Collingwood & Windsor), Souk Lifestyle (Northcote & Armadale), Sentient Being (Eltham), I dream a Highway (Northcote), Nicola (Armadale), Cactus Jam (Melbourne City, Hawthorn, Port Melbourne)
NSW: Morrison (Sydney)
QLD: D’Pinga (Noosa)
WA: Morrison Fremantle & Claremont
TAS: Lustre (Hobart & Launceston), Inside Home and Gifts (Hobart)
ONLINE: Georgie Love
last chance!
Today is the last day to vote & enter the draw to win a $50 GIFT VOUCHER from Georgie Love. The dog people are winning by more than just a nose, so if you want to have your say, have it now!
Log in or register on indie art & design, then vote in the poll top left & tell us if you're a cat person or a dog person. The lucky winner will be announced next week & will then face the most difficult decision - which goodies to choose from www.georgielove.com...
midnight twilight
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
georgie love giveaway!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GEORGIE LOVE!
It's been two years today since Sally & George (her gorgeous mutt) launched www.georgielove.com, the first Australian online store to stock local handmade goodies & promote Australian emerging artists & designers!
"Life Aquatic Earrings" by Trove, AUD $30, and "Double Dove Necklace" by Erana & Daska, AUD $60 from www.georgielove.com
To celebrate this milestone, Georgie Love has kindly given us a $50 gift voucher - to be won by one lucky indie reader! The winner then gets to go shopping & choose whatever takes their fancy from the Georgie Love lineup. (By the way, there are plenty of products for the boys, too!)
"Moths Wall Hangings" by Made by White, AUD $70 from www.georgielove.com
Entering couldn't be easier...
All you need to do is tell us whether you're a CAT PERSON or a DOG PERSON. (There's even a third "non-committal" option for those of you who can't or dare not decide!)
"Robot Notecards" by Dudley Redhead, AUD $8, and "Quilted Wrap" by wife, AUD $150 from www.georgielove.com
Though I don't think I'll be eligible to win, I couldn't help but browse through the Georgie Love treasure trove & think about what I might choose if I were about to spend that voucher... Hope you like my picks! Of course, you can visit www.georgielove.com to make your own choices - if there's something that catches your eye, why not leave us a comment...
I think these are my favourites! I've had my eye on them for quite a while... "Lady Stitch Studs" by Sweet Dreams & Monsters, AUD $20 from www.georgielove.com
Entries will be open until the end of April (30.4.2008), so if you're not already an indie art & design member, register now, and VOTE on that all-important poll! Both the winner and the poll results will be announced in the first week of May. I'm certainly looking forward to it! (Can you guess which way I'll be voting?)
"Grumpy Rabbit Spotty Coin Purse" by Pocket Carnival, AUD $20 from www.georgielove.com