Frustration part 2

Day 6

I am now very much over Domain Central and would never recommend them to anyone. Today is day 6 that I have been contacting them to tell them I am having trouble uploading my website using Dreamweaver.

All I get back (this is via live chat - to India) is 'Yes, yes, just send an email and someone will be getting back to you within 24 hours'... hmmm... I explain each morning as I log in to have a lovely 'live chat' that I have done all of that and no one has got back to me in DAYS!

This doesn't phase the help person (I wonder if its a real person? It has a different name each time). 'Please send in an email and we will get back to you within 24 hours'. Great, not even listening.

Now my website is completely down. Great for business, isn't it? Very professional. God, I am having a good ole rant here!

I last said to Nimitil, Leena, Rahul and Jamtart or whatever all the names are, "May I please speak to a manager'. 'It is all taken care of I assure you,' was the response. I said, again, "May I please speak to a manager.' This time - silence - I guess my live chat was finished.

Anyway, I had a look at their website and its only via email that you can make contact. How does that work if your internet is down completely? I always thought they were reasonable in price and good in service. This is the first problem I have had in over a year. Thank god I didn't have more problems!

Frustration

Since Tuesday I have been unable to update my website, including updating some exciting new ballerina bags. When I try to access the remote server it doesn't go through, yet I can do anything else online. Of course, the host provider kept telling me it's the internet provider and the internet provider tells me it's the host provider. Grrrrr!

I'm hoping this is going to be sorted out this morning (up at 7am Sunday to fix it). I finally got a helpful person with my host provider that is trying to fix it for me now.

Finger's crossed...

I love madeit!

Yellow teacup brooch - $25 AUD by Vanilla Bug

I have been checking out madeit for fun gift items - and also for fun baby things I can drool over - all Australian made, of course! If you haven't checked out madeit, please do, and support Australian designers, artists and crafters. Here are some more fun ideas...

Olive baby booties - handmade in a range of baby sizes - $25 AUD by Pedrosprout

Once I know the sex of the baby I will go nuts... not that I'm a blue or pink sort of person. But these baby booties by Pedrosprout are fabulous!

How to wear a sari t-shirt - $22 AUD by Interrobang

Sparrow writing set 10 pcs with envelopes - $14 AUD by Lily & Cino

Bison pottery

I have been watching Bison for a while... There are some beautiful pieces at Whisk in Leura - I just love the tiny milk jugs but would want one in every colour!


I have to get a gift for someone in the next couple of weeks and it was suggested to get some Bison pottery, which sent me back to their website to salivate! It is just divine and I wanted to share it with you if you haven't discovered their lovely pottery.

These pieces are handcrafted in Australia and durable. They use recycled packaging materials and renewable energy sources to run their kilns and facilities.

Baba Ghanoush

This is the first photo of my baby!

Today I went for my 12 week ultrasound at Katoomba Hospital. It has been hard keeping the pregnancy quiet until we had this first ultrasound and I thought it would be fun to share on my blog.

The baby, 'Baba Ghanoush" (for now anyway) is 11 weeks 5 days old and due 8 January 2009. The heart beat was really cool to watch and the baby did a little flip for Steven and I.

Festival photos

Three of the Gussy Up Gals (I don't know where Alice was!).

From left: little Zoe, Freedom, April and Kara

Tania was a great help on the day - spruiking and selling our wares.

My end of the double stall with a lady checking out a clutch purse.

Here are some photos taken (thanks Tony!) of the Gussy Up Gals double stall at the Winter Magic Festival last Saturday. We had such a great day though it was so so so cold to be standing from 6am - 6pm on a winter's day in Katoomba. Luckily, there was sunlight but it seemed a tad fleeting!

Our stall had a great response from passersby and the community with a lot of comments, "Oh you should have a shop"... we wish!

Old stomping ground

I have been featured in the July edition of Australian Readers Digest in an environmental article! Quite a while ago I used to work for them (maybe 5 years ago?). No, this was totally unrelated as I don't have any contacts in the magazine department.



Quite an honour...

It's Friday!

Here is a photo I took of Freedom yesterday as we painted 2 banners for the Gussy Up Gals stall tomorrow. It's very very misty and rainy this morning so fingers crossed we get a good day of weather tomorrow!

I spotted this in yesterday's Essential (Sydney Morning Herald) and fell in LOVE! I would die to have this in my home - so kitsch! 

This is by Melbourne's Suzie Stanford who covers restored armchairs, sofas and ottomans with 50's and 60's teatowels! Blue Mountains, Australian flora and fauna and boating themes are available on request. www. formatfurniture.com

Tim Walker

If you are lucky enough to be in London, check out the Tim Walker photographic exhibition at the Design Museum. Cutting edge in photography, and the settings are divine! If you can't get there, (unfortunately I can't duck off to London just right now) then you can buy prints here.

The spiral staircase photo is gorgeous!

Ready... set... go...

I have only got 2 days to go before Winter Magic but I feel like this might be the last scarf I can manage! Tomorrow Freedom is coming over to help create the 'Gussy Up Gals' banners for our double stall and Friday needs to be spent preparing everything and making sure nothing is forgotten. At least, for once, we won't be too far from home so can go back for more!

The weather forecast says 11ºC for Saturday but that could also still mean a 'good' day up here in the Mountains.

Hope to see your lovely smiling face at the markets!

Jan Vormann's building blocks

Venti Eventi - Bocchignano/Rom 2007

Every now and again you see something that is so fun, bringing a smile to your face. I found this yesterday after reading the Sunday paper. Artist Jan Vormann plugged up holes in ancient, crumbling walls in four villages in the Sabine region in Italy with Lego!


I don't know how good this is heritage-wise, but what a fun way to show how to preserve old buildings!

All images from Jan Vormann's website.

Yum Yum

There is so much to do before the Winter Magic festival and I just heard entries are open for Youngblood designer market during Design Week!

Today I did some paperwork then decided to tidy up and rearrange the living room. Not exactly working but I felt like doing it. It's been sunny here today (finally) but still cold, cold, cold and got the fire roaring away...

I'm making a red wine beef casserole, but not with a recipe. I'm a bit more of a throw it all together and see how it goes kinda gal. It always seems to work. I do the stir fry 'n' quick meals in the house and Steven does the recipe ones. It smells delicious and I started cooking it at 3pm so it will be fantastic by dinner time!

Dog costumes

Can the world get any crazier? Dog costumes! But they make me laugh. Of course, I would never put one of these crazy items on my dog, so degrading to her, but there is actually an industry out there so someone's buying them.
My dog Nelly is a stumpy tail cattle dog (ie. she has no tail - naturally) and it has been suggested that the bumble bee costume would sit nicely on her, especially if the costume had a stinger on the bottom. Nelly would rip this apart pretty quick thinking it's all good fun.

Isn't this ridiculous! I don't even know why I'm blogging it except that these things are bought by people for their poor little lap dogs. I'm especially worried by Pin Up Girl and the Red Victorian Dress.

Check out Barkenstein...

Vintage Vacations

I love old fashioned holidays and keeping it simple.

Our idea of fun is a driving trip where we go to all the second hand shops in each town, fish 'n' chips on the beach, the dog being able to come with us and cute fibro shacks. We generally cook up great food, play Scrabble and cards and read lots of great books. Ahhh, my idea of bliss!

My girlfriend Jess sent me a great holiday idea from the UK. I wonder if we have anything as cute as this in Oz? (Let me know if we do!). I had sent her the website of the fab vintage house we are going to stay at in August, but will blog about it after the trip to let you know what it was like. She sent back this...


Vintage Vacations are gorgeous old American trailers situated in the south coasts of the Isle of Wight in the UK. These are gorgeous and fully done up in vintage interior design. Fab!


I can't believe all the detail in each of the 10 trailers they have on offer. I'd love to have one of these on a block of land on the south coast, NSW...

Classics

I do love classic stuff rather than the new... (oh, but I did enjoy The Notorious Bettie Page on foxtel the other day, even though its set back in the 50's). 

Last night I finished reading Peyton Place, by Grace Metalious, a classic that I had always wanted to read and found it in the library. 

Such a scandalous book in its time (written 1956) and apparently selling 60,000 copies within the first 10 days of its release! It is pretty racy and covers all kinds of subjects including incest, abortion, adultery, lust and murder - it would make some of today's books seem tame. It's a great read and hard to put down...

I managed to watch Midnight Cowboy (1969) on Saturday on Foxtel. This is another classic I'd always wanted to see - don't you hate it when you miss out on these classics, then every time they come on tv everyone else says, "Oh I've seen that" so you never get to watch it!

This movie really struck me and I keep thinking about it, especially the soundtrack. I hadn't even realised it was about a male prostitute and his sickly friend in the mean streets of NYC. Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman just show again what fantastic actors they are.

So I think I need to continue watching and reading these classics as I get such joy from them. It's been a lovely slow long weekend (no work!).

Inspiring Australian design

I have decided to share some of the inspiring designers that were a part of the mentoring in the Springboard business mentorship programme I have been involved with. This part of the programme, being able to ask questions and hear the story of some of these amazing Australian designers has given me such inspiration in my own business as it grows...


Schamburg & Alvisse:
These beautiful furniture designers came to one of the first workshops we had. They started in 1994 (Marc Schamburg, interior designer + Michael Alvisse, architect) with a little cash, beautiful ideas and no real understanding of business... ie. that you had to make money back from what you make! They just wanted to make something beautiful.

So it started on the floor of an apartment and grew from there. They are commited to being environmentally with their products and have a great recycling policy with older items. Their pieces are highly collectable and sought after.

1984 Fishbowl - Danny Cheung. Photo from workshopped.com.au website.

Workshopped:
These guys have a beautiful national exhibition showcasing Australia's best designers but also take these exhilarating designs to the next level but actually getting things produced... The example they showed of Danny Cheung's 1984 Fishbowl was fantastic. Here was a beautifully designed item that Danny just couldn't get produced (it is ceramic) and he almost went plastic!

Thankfully, Workshopped took it under their wings and, after a problematic start, have got a beautifully created item that is now for sale (either on theirs or Danny Cheung's website).

Cheung describes his inspiration for the 1984 Fishbowl as:

"Life inside a goldfish bowl ain't a lot of fun without a little privacy! The intention with 1984 was to create a true sense of abode for our beloved little friends; solid white walls and three generous (domed) portholes with views from the hallway to the living room"

The fishbowl was inspired by and takes its name from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. The design is innovative in meeting the needs of a non-human species, a design which ironically engages our own instinctive curiosity. The domed portholes effectively create an ethereal magnifying lens for compelling entertainment. The fish use the opaque walls for refuge and peer out the windows when curiosity strikes."

Dinosaur Designs collection. Photo from dinosaurdesigns.com.au

Dinosaur Designs:
Liane Rossler came to talk at our last session and I was spellbound!

Three funky arts students hit Paddington Markets with handmade jewellery made from fimo and painted up. These guys needed to make money and said it would take a while with art, so we better think of something quick! They are still going (started in 1984) strong and now have stores in Sydney, Melbourne and New York.

They still get down and into it all, creating each range, have all had kids, and have creative staff to keep it all happening!

Catonese?

Tanya at Handcut sent this newspaper article through to me (I have pieced it all back together as it came as 4 x A4's). It is a Hong Kong newspaper article about her boutique but features my bags! I have asked a friend to translate some of it as its in cantonese, all terribly exciting!

Biznet Stepping Up graduation

Last night's Biznet Stepping Up Programme Mini Expo and graduation was fantastic. What a wonderful bunch of local people!

I rushed up there at 5pm with my mannequin, bags, cute plate of petit four style cakes and musk sticks (mmm). It was crashing down with rain 'n mist and hard work to get it all happening, keep my dress and make-up in place and not look like a drowned rat. I specially wore my red & pink polkadot dress with my Liana Kabel red & pink knitting needle bangles and same coloured button necklace - all contrasted of course with black cardigan and shoes so I didn't look like a complete fruitloop.

The displays put on by all the young business entrepreneurs were outstanding. I loved the cute giveaway ideas, like Red Lily florist giving away a container of seeds with the message, "Let me help your business grow", Mountain Eagle Security Service had ginger bread security men which were a hit and Devine photography had a competition for $1000 photography work!

We had to each get up and say a few words which makes me ill - I hate public speaking - but it was great to get up and talk about how the programme worked for each of us. I am lucky that my mentor, Naomi Newton and I are going to continue with it all!

I even won a prize for best display! Andrea from The Complete Basketcase and Debbie from White River Design decided to hand out their own present for best display so I felt very special.

Daily Imprint

I have been lucky enough to be featured in Daily Imprint's blogspot. Creator Natalie has been a great guide in letting me know just how to deal with the media as she works for Real Living magazine (where I hope to have my bags featured someday!).

GOOD NEWS! The Gussy Up Gals have been accepted for a double-stall at the Winter Magic festival in the Blue Mountains Saturday 20th June. We hope you will come and visit us!

I'm blindly running around to get ready for tonight's mini expo for the Biznet Stepping Up Programme. I have some great ideas for my table display so will remember to take my camera to show what I did and what the other mentorees got up to!

Hopefully the rest of the week will slow down...