Paddington here I come!

I just got a letter in the post that I have been accepted as a stallholder in the fabulous Paddington Markets for next 12 months! This is incredibly exciting for me and have to work out which dates I will aim for in the next 1-2 months.

Also, I have just got back from Blackheath where I visited Charlotte and bought more of her fabulous fabrics from her collection to make lovely clutches and bags. Her collection is such an eye-opener and very inspiring.


This morning I made these two cute little mini purses - 'Nancy' - they come as a set and are just for carrying lipsticks and bits 'n' bobs. They are on my website.

Another xmas fair...

Yesterday I found out that I got into the Christmas Market for the Mosman Village Art & Craft Fair. So if you live over the northside of Sydney, come down Thursday 13th December from 4:30pm to 9:30pm! This is a fantastic market, and a great opportunity to buy gifts with a difference.

My living room

I took this photo yesterday after picking the flowers from our rambling garden. They are just so pretty. We moved here in winter so you couldn't really tell what was going to pop up in Spring. It has been just beautiful seeing different flowers come up.

Well... better get out into that rain and do the shopping. Oh... and I get to check out all the second hand shops as I scour for vintage fabric, buttons and buckles... mmmm!

Rain rain go away...

Should be at the gym but its such a dreary day and so nice to be pottering at home. Tonight my aunt is coming to stay so I think a lamb roast would suit the weather. I always find that I'm no good for 1-2 days after a market - well thats my excuse. Or maybe its my weekend behind the market?

I have just read the Powerhouse Museum's media release and so happy to see that I am a 'Christmas hot buy' - how exciting!

Bondi Markets

Monday morning and I'm cleaning the house - stuff everywhere after a very big day at Bondi Markets. It was a great day and we met some fabulous people, got lovely feedback and best of all, sales!

I took some photos before it all got going. It was such a hot day, post election so everyone (including us) was sleepy and a bit of a late start. We will definately be going back there soon...

I made a 'kara smith' tablecloth from an old cloth that couldn't be recycled into bags because of its condition. Spent most of Saturday fixing it up, carefully ironing it, etc - to find it scrunched up Sunday morning... arghhh! It looked great though on my vintage ironing board!

Ready for markets this weekend

I hope it stops raining soon as much has been created for Bondi Markets this Sunday! Here are some bags getting ready to get packed including my new ballerina bags in the front. They just need big vintage buttons on the front pocket then ready to go. I have created a tote and ballerina bags in a plain solid colour - wow, different for me! Rosalee is beautiful thai silk in fuscia pink so the pattern went to the inside instead.

So, if you are quiet on Sunday and in Sydney - head down to Bondi Markets (just across from the beach). This market is fantastic and a great place to buy Christmas presents.

K

New pattern & design!

This is my new design that will be available from now on - just have to make lots of them. Its called a 'ballerina bag' (from the skirt shape on the bag) and has a cute front pocket on the bag. I had made these a while ago but have finalised the pattern and refined it. The bag above is 'Antonia' and available from my site.

I have been slowly going through a lot of buttons given to me by my mother. She is selling her house so all sorts of goodies have come out. I just love some of these buttons. They are their own works of art and hard to part with or put on a bag!!!


I've just gotten a text from my sister... my nephew Eli has just taken his first steps! Cute!

All I want for christmas...

This year Steven and I have a $50 limit on presents for each other. So hard to then decide what to get one another but we both love books, cute diaries, calendars, etc and want to spend our hard earned money in the Blue Mountains to support local business. So I have got him a gorgeous photography book on Australian circa 1900's - which he picked out.

But if anyone is feeling extravagant, I do like this house in Blackheath (sigh!). We love it there... though I expect the reason Steven really loves it is that Gleebooks has moved there.

Christmas gift ideas...

There are so many lovely hand-made gifts out there and I wanted to promote some of the work other designers in Australia are doing.

Perhaps you will see something here rather than your average store W-fields boring mart.

These great little Scrabble brooches are by Sydney designer Shelbyville and available for $10 (AUD).

Or this fun wishbone necklace - only $30 (AUD) for a gorgeous sterling silver wishbone threaded and stitched onto twisted silk thread. This piece is by Marisalouise.

This year I am determined to get my Christmas shopping this way. Of course, its not always practical to get everyone's present this way. But I like the feeling that my money is going to a creative mind that will be able to explore further with my extra dollars!

There are so many great designers offering gorgeous ideas for Christmas: try madeit.com.au, etsy.com and modamuse.com.

Or check this out...


This fun find is on etsy.com - it is a Kangaroo Salter for $26 (USD). The designer, Papafork, is in London. Check out his work... there are some very funny cutlery combos.

Photo magic

Over the weekend I took some photos of the bags in a lovely home in Katoomba (thank you Angela!). I want to get some postcards and more promotional paraphernalia happening. The photos I have shown here didn't quite make the cut, but are still lovely...


I have just found out today that I'm in at the Powerhouse Museum's Youngblood: Designer Market this Christmas. For all you Sydney-siders, come down to the Powerhouse 7-8th December to pick up some great pressies (for yourself perhaps!).

Wet welly weather!

At last I have purchase wellington boots for our new wet mountain life! These are not quite pink with horses a'prancin' but they are sooo cute! (And they were purchased from Katoomba Workwear - just to give them a little plug). They are purple with pink soles and the rubber has a sparkle through it!! Very snazzy...

Other than that, it has been a very quiet week. Thinking up new ideas for bags (which will happen next year), which markets to focus on and preparing orders of lovely bags to get sent out.

Nelly, the dog, hasn't been walked in a couple of days with this weather. But I really don't have any excuse now, do I?

Markets yesterday

Yesterday we did a market in the north shore of Sydney, which was a very long day for us mountain folk, starting at 4:30am! Sadly, it was a bad market day for us, with only enough sales to pay the stallholder fee back (just)... of course this excluded all the delicious food we ate, especially the japanese pancakes!

Its very hard to find the right fit for your product in markets but I am determined to find out the place to be. I had the impression that this market was high-end but was getting rather annoyed at people reacting to $50 - $100 price tags. One lady was very dramatic and dropped the bag and threw her hands out to the sides while gasping rather loudly. I was ready to ask her to leave... in a not very nice way!

Anyway, this blog is not to bitch about it, but that I feel sad that people do not understand that markets do not equal bargain. All stallholders are there to earn money and we have all been busy working 7 days a week to get it there to the public!

I also had some lovely comments from people on the work in my bags and the lovely finishing. This is very much appreciated when you have not had much interest all morning, your eyes are hanging out of your head from driving 1.5 hours to the market, and you are ready to go!

Thank you to everyone that came especially to say hi. Friends and family showed up but also lovely people that had seen from my website that I was going to be there.

Here are some photos...

Retro houses...

(Something I seem to forget to do each and every day when my man comes home!... don't know if you can read this?)

You get so lazy when you are working from home. Your partner leaves at 8am and you are always meaning to get showered and clean up, but then look up and its lunchtime and still in jim jams! But, rather than working, I have gotten caught up in looking for a website sent to me ages ago of this fab 1950's house with every room done up immaculately. Of course I can't find it...



Instead I'm finding other great photos which I just have to post cos they are so cute!



I dream of having a lovely 1950's home - and hopefully one day it will happen as there are so many of them up here in the Blue Mountains!



I still have these weird vivid dreams that I have discovered a warehouse thats been forgotten since the early 1960's, and I'm the first to open and discover fabulous furniture in perfect condition. (I guess the warehouse would have been for a department store in that case!). I call this my 'wet dream' (sorry if thats a bit yuck!).

Maybe it will happen one day...