colour burst

This week in the studio I've been gathering all the little orphan pieces of glass laying on my desk. I've had a lot of fun making new necklaces combining four of these little delights. They will be available at the BiDM tomorrow.

Where: Saint Augustine's Church Grounds and Hall. Racecourse Road Hamilton.

Time: 9am - 4pm

collecting feathers

Pretty hearts and flowers garland by collecting feathers

It's time for the brisStyle Indie designers market at Hamilton tomorrow from 9 am - 2 pm. A full list of stall holders can be found here.

Where: St Augustine's Church Hall and grounds, Racecourse Road, Hamilton

rainbows and clouds...

Rainbow: a lovely surprise to see that Jessica Van Den from Epheriell mentioned hot toffee and a few other brisStyle members in a guest post over here. Thanks Jessica x

Jessica not only has her own handmade jewellery business making sweet earrings like the clouds above, she has also written a couple of e-books focusing on craft businesses and is in the process of creating *bespoke* - a handmade/craft/vintage/design zine. On top of all this Jessica runs bazaar - an online market place for handmade loveliness!

Head over to the blog for a recent interview with the author of design blog Calico & Co and lots of other inspiration.

Photo by Jessica Van Den

the sun will set.

I'm planning a mostly quiet weekend, I'll probably visit a couple of garage sales, potter (= do some desperately needed weeding!!) in the garden, walk with pochi, drink wine with Ryo, watch the sun set and eat some yummy food.

Do you want to see some handmade goodness?

The BrisStyle Indie Designers Exhibition and website launch opens at the Brisbane Square Library tonight and runs through August.

Also, the handmade expo is on tomorrow in Ipswich.

Enjoy x

under the stars...

please join me under the stars TONIGHT for the very first brisStyle indie twilight market. King George Square, Brisbane 5 - 9 pm. Live music and fantastic market stalls...what a great way to spend a Friday night...

lucky me...

pin cushion made by moose & bird

drawstring bag by {a creature strange}

(attention to detail)






lamp work bead by happily ever artist

and look at the handmade box it came in xx

At each of the brisStyle Indie Markets we run a raffle to raise money for a chosen charity. Each stall holder donates an item and at the end of the day the raffle is drawn. March saw us raising money for the cancer council. I was one of the lucky winners. There were 2 handmade bags filled to the brim with handmade goodness and I got to take one of them home with me. As I pulled gorgeous handmade things out of the bag I was making oohs and ahhs and little yelps of excitement. The truth is I had already had a great day being part of the market and this was the icing on the cake...

I promised myself I wouldn't enjoy using my winnings until I'd photographed everything..needless to say it's been torture walking past the chair that all these goodies have been resting on. Well today I finally got the chance...yay..When my Mum was last visiting she claimed the gorgeous handbag by Little Mary Moo but everything else..well except the lamp work bead on the key (it's already been worn several times and received many, many compliments) has been sitting, waiting to be admired again.

Besides the obvious creativity what really resonated with me was quality, packaging and great attention to detail. What an amazing group of artists, crafters and small business owners!

see more on flickr

choose & WIN!

Limited edition tote bags will be available at the brisStyle Christmas market. Some of our members have designed totes and now it is time to decide which one will be featured on the bag. All you need to do is head here to view the final four and leave a comment on the brisStyle blog indicating your favourite design for a chance to win one of the totes!

an interesting read and a giveaway...

To read about the work of two creative souls head over to the brisStyle blog. Leave a comment here before September 25th for your chance to win - YES it is that easy!! Good Luck :)

chi designs...

Visit this inspirational blog by Chi Designs to find out more about the talent behind these clutches. Also available are coin purses, bags and hair accessories. To browse head to the chi designs etsy shop or madeit store.

*free shipping to all locations within Australia between August 6 - 15

The EEE sale by the brisStyle members ends tomorrow - head here to see who's participating and what offers are available.

littlechrissy

How sweet is this frangipani tree brooch by littlechrissy ? Head to the littlechrissy etsy shop for more gorgeous creations like the Autumn Leaf Brooch and the Cloudland Eco-Clutch.

Visit the blog to find out more about this self described 'Lover of bright, cheery things. Drinker of tea. Sewer, brooch maker, vintage fetishist. Tree hugger, lounge room dancer, car singer of musical scores. Journo, teacher, sister, daughter, friend'

15% off store wide for the duration of the Brisbane Ekka, plus free postage Australia-wide.*

*offer ends August 15th

Little Mary Moo

Visit Little Mary Moo's Place for a great selection on handmade purses and messenger bags which feature hand screen printed textiles by Australian designers. To read more about the inspiration and behind the scenes at Little Mary Moo's Place visit the blog here.

All stock has been already reduced by 10% and there is FREE shipping Australia wide.

offer ends August 15th.

Ruby 2 Go Go

How great is this Vintage blue scooter girl necklace by Helen Berthold of Ruby 2 Go Go & ruby red studios! Visit either of Helen's etsy shops to see more of her handmade goodies and take advantage of the great offers below;

Offer 1: Get 20% off your second item (discount applies to the lesser priced item).
Offer 2: Get any 3 vintage button earrings $20.

To follow the exciting adventures of Ruby visit the blog here.

Shazzabeth Creations..

These gorgeous prehnite earrings are made by Sharon Williams of Shazzabeth Creations. Sharon's work consists of beads, wire work and chainmaille - all processes which involve a good deal of time. To read more about the inspirations visit Sharon's blog here.

During this period all stock in the etsy shop is 10% off marked price

PLUS a free pair of gemstone earrings with all purchases over $100.

Twinkle Star Art..

For the sweetest prints to decorate children's rooms visit Twinkle Star Art, this etsy shop is filled with lovely prints for both boys and girls by graphic designer and illustrator Amanda Francey. Visit the Twinkle Star Art blog to read more about this talented artist.

BUY any 2 art prints and get a 3rd art print FREE!
+ FREE regular postage within Australia!

Offer ends August 15th

Hey Harriet's TtV Photos

I thought I'd feature a brisStyle member each day of the EEE sale I mentioned yesterday. Today is Tracey of Hey Harriet. I've featured Tracey's work before. Tracey takes her photos through the view finder of any camera with another camera. I love the frame this creates along with the specks and inconsistencies.

Offer Option 1: Purchase 2 prints and receive a 3rd print free

Offer Option 2: Purchase 4 or more prints and receive a free original mini art canvas peace magnet.

Visit the brisStyle blog here to find other members participating in this sale.

Head over to Hey Harriet's etsy shop here to view the full range of photos.

short term goals...

A couple of weeks ago I attended a business catch up with some of the brisStyle members. It was really valuable hearing about other people's journeys and talking about some of the issues which come up when you run your own business. The morning was run by Sally Flynn of Flight Industries. At the end of the session we were encouraged to think of 3 short term goals and share them. In 6 months we will check in and make sure we've reached these goals. I set small goals all the time - usually at the beginning of the month I sit down and write what I'd like to achieve by the end of the month. It's a great feeling looking back and ticking off goals which have been reached so I'm looking forward to doing that with the following in the not too distant future:

one. get camera fixed or purchase a new one..

two. photograph new ranges and add to website

three. have my cards printed in limited editions

edward and lilly

This gorgeous little bunny was made by Rebecca Cason of edward and lilly. Rebecca is a member of brisStyle and is taking part in the Etsy Ekka Extravaganza sale which runs until August 15th.

edward and lilly - 10% off store-wide + FREE SHIPPING in Australia.
Take advantage of this and head over to the edward and lilly etsy store which is filled with sweet handmade goodies including embroidered brooches, lavender scented birds and gorgeous little bunnies, puppies and kitties to cuddle.

To see other members taking part in the sale visit the brisStyle blog here.

a quick trip home...

Last Wednesday after a meeting with Michelle from nook (more about that soon) I drove home to Northern New South Wales. The drive down is amazing - there is something about the whole area that tugs at my heart strings...maybe because I spent so much time driving around the area as child with my parents, as a teenager with my friends or as a young adult or maybe because it's just sooooo beautiful!

I arrived home in time for a walk along the beach with Dad, an inspection of an area he's involved in regenerating through Dune Care and then dinner & wine with Mum + Dad while listening to their travel tales (they've just returned from travelling the great ocean road). Up early the next morning to catch-up over coffee and cake with a high school friend who lives in Scotland and is home for a few short weeks. Then it was time to make my journey home which included a surprise drop in on another close friend. Home just in time to cook dinner and mark my students Grammar tests for school on Friday.

It's been quite a busy week full of great things - yesterday was spent with some of the brisStyle girls at a Business catchup organised by sweet Sally from flight INDUSTRIES, it's so good to get together with like minded souls and discuss all the things that come up when running your own business.

Today I will be trying to catch up on emails before marking my students spelling + listening tests for tomorrow. I know I'm in for another busy week but will try to drop in to say hello :)

to market...

BrisStyle Indie Designer's Market

Saturday July 4

9am -2pm

St Augustines Church Hall

Racecourse Rd, Hamilton

deer brooch - RE-read Design

large square hoops - Epheriell

Indie Designer's MARKET....

.....the BrisStyle (an amazing group of Brisbane based etsy sellers) Indie Designer's Market is almost here!! It's this Saturday 4th July at St Augustine's Church Hall, Racecourse Road, Hamilton 9am - 2pm. If you saw Channel 7's The Great South East on Sunday afternoon you would have seen some of our members featured .. .if you missed it you can watch it here.

star print dog collar - Pret a pawte

Scooter Girl Necklet - Ruby 2 Go Go

rosie - Sandrine Marsh

hand screen printed fabric - red seed studio

Kiki Doll - made by Maisie