More lovely things I’ve collected on Pinterest recently.
Click on the images to view the details on Pinterest.
Archive for the ‘Indie design & things I like’ category
An interview
13 June 2011
Recently I was interviewed by the lovely Jess Van Den for a Creative Biz Success story on Scoutie Girl.
I enjoyed answering the questions and it was good to think back along the path I’ve taken to get to where I am today – and wondering where I might be in a few years time too!
You can read the interview right here.
As seen on Pinterest
13 May 2011
I keep seeing so many wonderful things on Pinterest so I thought I’d start sharing some of them on my blog!
Click on the images to view the details on Pinterest.
I like: Dalhaus
28 March 2011
I keep spotting these gorgeous vases by Dahlhaus around the place – and have been pondering how to choose a colour. Except really I’d love to own them all!
Now I’ve checked out the Dahlhaus shop and have found many more delicious pieces which I’d love to own.
All of these pieces and more are handmade by ceramic artist and painter, Heather Braun-Dahl in her studio in Vancouver. And I’d be happy to receive any of them as a gift, if anyone feels so inclined!
I like: wooden watches
3 March 2011
Thanks to my lovely friend Jodie Nicholson, this week I discovered We Wood watches.
These very nifty watches really are made from wood!
I think the Crono beige watch on the left is probably my favourite from the collection.
And the nice thing is if you purchase a wooden watch, We Wood will have a tree planted on your behalf!
Find of the week
19 February 2011
Thanks to Regretsy I encountered Crafts are the new Crafts – a simple but lovely site celebrating (aka lampooning!) the rather bizarre trend items which keep cropping up on Etsy and in other indie venues.
I’ve been enjoying refreshing the page and snickering at the combinations! And I suspect you might enjoy it too.
So if you haven’t been there yet, go there now! You can even make suggestions of new trends you’ve spotted.
Buy handmade: support indie artists, designers and crafters!
3 December 2010
I’ve decided to put together a little gift guide of just a few of my indie favourites to encourage you to buy handmade from indie artists, designers and crafters this festive season (and in general!).
By shopping handmade you will be supporting a healthy indie design community – and help we struggling designer types to pay our bills, of course! And you’ll be purchasing products which are lovingly made in generally very small production runs (or even one-offs) – something special in a mass-produced world.
So below is just a small selection of indie shops to get you started.
My indie gift guide:
Kate Banazi
One of my favourite print artists, Kate does: stuff with silkscreens, pencils, cake and very often sharp scalpels. Sometimes, even, at the same time. I am occasionally peering up at a Kate Banazi print as I write this very blog post!
Sweet Olive Press
The Sweet Olive Press studio is located in seaside Mississippi, where the lovely Helen designs every card, invitation and announcement and prints them one by one on a 106-year-old platen press – a return to hand-crafted beauty in a mass-produced world.
Peta Pledger
Drawing inspiration from vintage patterns, Australian ’50s housewives, pin-up glamour, rock’n'roll and tattoo culture, Melbourne designer and dressmaker Peta Pledger creates lovely one-off and small run garments and accessories.
Inaluxe
Inaluxe is Kristina Sostarko and Jason Odd, who make delicious prints and cards. Inaluxe aims to: make it beautiful, use the best materials possible and be responsible and sustainable in production practice.
Able & Game
Quirky, cute and funny cards and other stationery featuring hand drawn designs of weird and wonderful people.
Jubly-Umph Originals
Stunning jewellery inspired by old school tattoo, rockabilly and pin up designs. Each Jubly-Umph piece is unique.
Kara Smith
Unique, individual and one-off handbags and more. All handmade by Kara Smith using vintage, recycled and salvaged fabrics, buttons and buckles.
Skinny Laminx
Gorgeous contemporary textiles from illustrator and designer Heather Moore. This lovely range includes tea towels and cushion covers – I plan on getting some tea towels for myself very soon!
Swirlyarts
Home of the original cheeky chicken doorstops, but all sorts of other things mostly made from recycled products. Fun and eco-friendly!
Whitney Smith Pottery
One of my favourite potters, Whitney Smith is inspired by flowers and other forms found in nature. Most of her work is hand thrown before being carved and textured.
Gretchenmist
Seriously beautiful and original artworks on paper and more by Melbourne artist Gretchen Mist. I have my eye on a number of these lovely pieces!
Handmade jewellery by Simone Walsh
I figured I may as well give my own indie shop an little plug in this gift guide! I create and sell contemporary handmade jewellery with high quality materials and using an array of metalwork techniques. My work is sold all over the world from my studio in the Blue Mountains outside of Sydney.
Keep hunting!
This is a teeny tiny handful of wonderful indie designers who sell online. There are lots of artists, designers and craftspeople with online shops.
Below are some sites to help you look further, including online venues and directories for buying and selling handmade online. You can also check my blogrolls in the sidebar to find plenty of indie design blogs where you’ll make lots of handmade finds!
Handmade is not just Etsy!
Obviously there is a big name missing from my list of places to hunt for handmade items.
But it gets mentioned so often that I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage you to look further afield for handmade goodies!
There are a number of other excellent indie venues and an awful lot of designers who run their own independent shops – such as myself.
So if you’re passionate about a thriving indie community, then I’d encourage you to look around much more widely than just on Etsy.
Ceramics by Shoshona Snow
16 October 2007
Today I collected from the post office a little present I’d purchased for myself – a lovely tripod bowl made by the very talented Shoshona Snow.
This is my third piece by Shoshona and I’m very happy with my little collection, as seen above – and I’m sure it will continue to grow! My new bowl is the one with the yellow interior.
I seem to be increasingly into collecting ceramics – which is odd because in the past I really wasn’t into this form of object making at all. But now I have a long list of very diverse favourite ceramicists and and many pieces which I covet. I now hope I’ll end up with a home full of them!
Christmas is coming …
15 August 2007
To most people August probably seems quite a long way from Christmas (and I’m sure many are are only concerned about what to get me for my birthday!), but for those who make things to sell the festive season may as well be a week or two away.
And I confess that I’m starting to feel every so slightly panicked about it.
So today I typed up my roughly scribbled out list of festive season jewelry making, which is intended to make sure I have plenty of components and finished pieces of handmade jewelry on hand to help me survive the season in one piece. Once printed out I pinned the list to my gorgeous brand new pinboard and whiteboard (as discovered on Mintd.com).
Ouch.
There are currently 1180 components and pieces on my list – not including quantities of new jewelry items which are in the pipeline. Of course many of the components particularly are relatively quick and easy for me to make, but quite a number of pieces will require a fair degree of effort.
So right now I’m wishing I could make like Cher and turn August back into June. But instead I will need to spend many hours at my bench doing nothing but holiday season making for the next few months. If anyone fancies applying to be my slave to help keep the rest of my life running, do let me know!
And, yes, apart from that I will be completing some new pieces as well, which I’m very much looking forward to, having been inspired by my recent travels. I’ll be sure to tell you about them here.
Don’t forget to check out this great pinboard and whiteboard (or blackboard) from Giggle Design – and the Mintd Lookbook I made for it. It’s so much better than the one I was about to order from a very boring office supplies outlet!
Mine … a new Treasury
4 August 2007
Trixie’s delicious!
3 April 2007
A while back I came across the most delicious vintage cup and saucer on Etsy which had been vandalised by one of my favourite Etsy sellers, Trixie Delicious – an artist from New Zealand.
I honestly felt that I had absolutely no option but to purchase it! And as I write this blog post I am sipping tea from this very cup.
Trixie Delicious sells an array of vintage crockery from various periods which have all been uniquely and beautifully vandalised with heat fused ceramic paint. Usually this involves beautifully scripted text, but sometimes images are used.
Given that I’ve already purchased one of my favourite pieces, I’ll show off a couple of others which are currently in the Trixie Delicious shop.
For instance, there are these wonderful ‘Ugly’ and ‘Stupid’ dessert bowls – the perfect way to let your in-laws know how you really feel about them. Or not.
And there are these perfect side plates, each one of the unmatched set of seven featuring a deadly sin. Be warned that I definitely have my eye on this set!
Trixie Delicious is good – go there now!
I’ve got John Clark in my bedroom …
11 February 2007
Well, not John Clark in person, but one of his wonderful illustrations!
In case you’ve not spotted John’s delicious work on Etsy, he creates film noir inspired illustrations which have been drawn onto pages torn out of mystery novels. Most of the illustratons are of dramatic-looking women and there is always a line of attention-grabbing text left exposed in one the mostly black areas of the drawings.
The first time I saw these I fell in love with the idea and I kept a careful eye on John’s shop for just the right one for my bedroom. And here it is, finally back from the framers, who have done a great job with it – note that the red border is deeper and less bright than it looks here.
You can see more of John’s great illustrations at johnclark.etsy.com – go there now!
