Trimmings competition - What can you make?

It's no secret that I love fabrics, I love textile design and I adore creative people.
Take those three, combine them together and you get Umbrella Prints.

Amy and Carly, the energetic and lovely ladies who run Umbrella Prints, came up with a great idea for a creative competition based on their Trimmings packets, which run this year for the second time.
The competition is simple and fun - get one of the trimmings packets (you can choose between 6 different color groups) and create something pretty out of it!  It is super easy as the colours and patterns of the fabrics are so delicious and inspiring!
It's a wonderful idea and a great way to challeng your creativity and not to mention - to win great prizes.

Head over to the competition page for more details and check out the flickr group to see others creations. Good luck everyone! I would love hearing (and seeing!) what you're making!!

I'm Loving:: Art4Heart

An absolutely awesome initiative by Beth-Emily and Kelly Smith is Art4Heart: a collaborative art auction to help raise funds for the Premiers Flood Relief Appeal.
Every item has been kindly donated by its creator and there is a wonderful assortment of illustrations, prints, jewelery and much more to auction away, all made by an impressive line up of some of the brightest young Australian artists.
The auctions are being run until January 27th. Check up here for the exact schedule.


Some more:
** For lots and lots of art related efforts and other great things that are happening now around Australia, check out Daydream Lily.
** If you are located in South Australia, check out Adelaide Now's list of events and ways to help.
** Last but not least: This absolutely made my day: Foxes Lane Flood relief auction (would you?...)

Queensland Floods: Etsy Love

Sometimes, in a big crisis, a little ray of light brings new hope.
For the last couple of days we see so many people, communities, and organizations, who come together to lend a helping hand with the flood crisis in Queensland and now also in NSW and Victoria.
It is heartwarming to witness the great work the so many volunteers are doing - cleaning, preparing and delivering food, and donating goods and money.

As in many times before, the warm Etsian community have stepped up to do their bit for the people affected by the destruction; The DUST Team (Down Under street team) have set up a new collective shop - 'Etsian Australian Flood Appeal' with so many wonderful items that have been donated by different Etsy sellers. The BrisStyle Etsy team also has an appeal to help raise donations for flood victims.
All proceeds from the Flood Appeal shop and The BrisStyle appeal go to the Queensland Premier's Relief fund. It is a wonderful way to contribute in an easy, simple way.


** So many other great things and efforts are happening at the moment, Pip of Meet me at Mikes had compiled a great list of other ways to help. Check it out as well.



Some of the great items that had been donated to the Flood Appeal shop and The BrisStyle appeal: /// Chocolate Moose Kisses 5 Gift Tags by 3GIRLS and a goat /// Titanium Ring Two Curls by Marjon Scheffer, /// Storybook Orange Paper Garland by 3GIRLS and a goat /// Screen Print (Gocco) - Stuff No. 1 by Magic Jelly for the Etsian Australian Flood Appeal /// Polaroid Camera Brooch by Hungry Designs /// Swimming staple blank notebook by Geritom71 for the Etsian Australian Flood Appeal /// Rock n Roll Retro Ladies Note Paper Set by Jellygnite

What Made You Happy Today?

It wasn't very easy to make me happy today.
I'm a bit under the weather and just woke up to another gray and rainy day. Something is very weird with our weather this year...
But no matter how gray it is outside, Mandy's new project What Made You Happy Today is sure to put a smile on your face.
Mandy photographs people from all different walks of life answering one easy question "What made you happy today?" and create in her new blog a gallery of happiness.
It is such a charming little idea and I just love looking at those smiling people with their simple reasons to be happy. A nice bonus is having a glimpse of Sydney's streets as the photographs background.

Visit What Made You Happy Today for your daily doze of sunshine!

What Katie Ate

My dear friend Hadar just reminded me how much I love the adorable foodie blog What Katie Ate. I thought it would be only fair to remind you too!

The perfectly photographed and beautifully written blog features what's hot and tasty within the Sydney and Australian food scene and also offers tips and links to Aussie and world-wide food publications, food packaging, markets, wineries, gourmet stores, restaurants, bars and cafés which makes it not just a feast for the eyes but also a wonderful foodies travel guide.

Bon appétit my friends! (as I'm sure you're about to make yourself a nice dinner soon after you'll visit this site... These photos are mouthwatering!)

Translucence

I've spotted Billy Bride's rings on a local magazine some time ago but unfortunately lost it and since then I was unsuccesfully looking all over the interent, trying to find some information about these amazing creations.
Luckily enough, last week, 2 of my favorite blogs, had featured those rings again and so I have the chance to share it with you!

Renee Warne is the designer behind the label Billy Bride. Each of her rings is individually handcrafted assuring no two stones are alike. Renee creates her rings using indigene Australian materials and keeping
her crystals the same as they are naturally occur, retaining their raw appearance.

Her rings reminded me a photo I took a couple of months ago at the South Australia Museum. In the photo, the little miss is awe-inspired by a huge display of crystals from all around the globe (you can view it here).
There is something so beautiful and unique with working with crystals, especially when keeping them as unrefined, that is invigorating.

Bring back the sparkle.

Via Pacha Design and The Fashion Doodles

Books and Diamonds

New prints from the talented Kate Banazi.

More on her Etsy shop - alyoisius (I'm also loving her shop's tag - SCREENPRINTED MATTERS. Great).

The Bridge

Yesterday I've read a request on a local Adelaidian website, asking people to come up with the city's icon. At the time I read the post there were 123 comments. Quick look at the list of ideas had clearly showed that not even one 'icon' gained more than 4 voices.... Readers came up with the most bizarre ideas such as the logo of the local Entertainment Center and Wang Wang and Funy - the giant Pandas from the Adelaide Zoo... I guess what it actually shows is that there is no real icon for Adelaide. True story.

When it comes to Sydney though, it seems almost unfair. The city got so many wonderful icons: Sydney's Opera House, Bondi Beach, and the icon I'm fond of the most - Sydney Harbour Bridge.
I guess, because the Opera House is considered such a masterpiece and won so many prizes and titles over the years, people forget about the accomplishment of opening the Harbour Bridge in 1932. Aside of it being such an admirable structure, the bridge is the world's widest long-span bridge and is the tallest steel arch bridge, but above all, it has a magnificent composition.

There are endless photographs of the bridge, of every little corner and from any point of view, but these photos of Turkish photographer Zsar Chankian show some really interesting angles of the bridge I haven't seen before.

Via Behance

Harmony with Nature - The home of Harriet Goodall

Harriet Goodall's share my dream of living on the land with kids, chooks and veggies and set high priorities for traveling and spending happy times with friends and family.
She also share my dream of finding creativity and doing art with nature in mind.

I found Harriet's story about how she came to be weaving baskets on the latest issue of country style and immediately fell in love with her home and work.





Harriet and her partner Mat Campbell enjoy traveling, and were exploring Europe, South East Asia and India before arriving to South America where they had founded their fair trade company, Wrap & Weft which supports the work of weavers in a remote Peruvian Valley.

It was when they got back to Australia and moved to their cottage on the skirts of Robertson, few hours south of Sydney, that Harriet has found the creative idea that fitted perfectly with her love of art made from nature.
A basketry course in nearby town and than another course and she was hooked on the craft.





I have found Harriet's natural style of art and living so inspiring and adore her harmony with nature.
It is also so great to know that ancient crafts and art such as weaving are still being learnt and practiced and even being formed and appreciated in the modern world.  


Country Style via Pia Jane Bijkerk

The old, the new & the in between

Can't get enough of this photo. The contradictions between old and new, traditional and modern, bright colors and dark browns are stunning.

The amazing colorful alley is on Albion Place in the southern heart of Sydney's CBD. It has been transformed into an open air art gallery as part of the City of Sydney's sixth annual Art & About festival back in 2007.

The grey concrete walls have been painted to reflect the vibrancy of the area and turned it into a  juxtaposition of Architecture.

I would love to see such as initiative in Adelaide! So cheerful!
People of the SALA Festival - please give us some street art!



Photograph and post title by loveroni

Glamping

I love camping. In Australia camping is a form of art. Every holiday the camping sites are full with families, children, couples and... kangaroos and emus. This is wonderful and I can't get enough of this simple way of traveling and experiencing nature to its fullest.

But sometimes, at the end of the day, when we are in a more remote place and after a long day of traveling, I dream of having a warm bath, of relaxing on a fluffy couch or even just have a clean toilet within 100 meters... And so I was delighted to find the amazing option of Glamping!
Glamping stands for Glamorous Camping. and well, I think it is exactly what I was dreaming about.




Irena & Jeremy Hutchings had traveled to Africa a couple of times and stayed at a friend's private safari camp. They loved the tented style of accommodation they experienced there and thought that the same concept would be ideal for Australia.

"After a few years we found what we were looking for, a 100 acre site of untouched bushland with creek frontage and close to the bay. We left our jobs in engineering and publishing, rented out our home in Sydney and began the long process of satisfying council and government requirements to build on a protected wetland."

After ten years of dreaming, discussing ideas and planning, The Jervis Bay's Paperbark Camp
came to live with the practical thinking of architect Trevor Hamilton of Sydney firm Nettleton Tribe.
The Paperbark Camp offers now an eco-friendly option of camping without the the trouble of making up your own tent and with the luxury of fine dining and having possums stare at you while you soak in your bath.




As part of their philosophy to be a part of the environment but with minimum impact on it, the Paperbark Camp offer tents with solar powered electricity, no air conditioning - only natural ventilation, biodegradable cleaning agents are used and many other measures taken to reduce the environmental impact so you can really relax and enjoy yourself, 100% guilt free.

Live more, Fret Less or Slowing down in Sydney

My folks are visiting Sydney at the moment (needed a break from us...).
Before they left I was looking for a travel guidebook to help them plan their stay.
I was delighted to find a guide that was very different from any other guides I have seen before.

The Slow Guides series are for anyone who seeks traveling in a different phase and who loves to settle in and feel the place they visit, its rhythm, people, culture and heritage rather than run and try to catch all that is new and trendy.

In the publisher's words: "The Slow Guides are for anyone who wants to slow down and live it up, seachange without changing their postcode. They celebrate everything, as long as it is local, natural, traditional, sensory and most of all gratifying about living in Sydney".

I love the chapters of the Be category that are titled according to the five senses; See, Hear, Smell, Taste and my favorite - Touch.
When was the last time you'd opened a travel guidebook and it suggested you to smell your destination?

"Give me spots on the apples but leave me the birds and the bees" (Joni Mitchell)

Well, The Sydney Slow Travel guide has got a whole chapter titled: "SMELL - Scents and Local Sensibility". Here you'll find Sydney's seasonal scents such as the dusty smell of smoke on January's hot summer, the blooming flowers at the Blue Mountains' gardens in September and the smell of wet earth and clean air after a downpour in November.

The Taste chapter starts with some interesting notes on the Slow Food movement and than provides many many good advices for the wonderful seasonal foods you can find in the local markets along with traditional 'slow' places to enjoy a relaxing dine out.

The book's design is another great success. It is so simple yet charming.
The beautiful photographs by Oliver Strewe are all black and white and are heart-warming and graceful. The blue color addition on the cover and some of the pages make it relaxing and pleasant to look at. Unlike most of the other travel guides which are glossy and make you dizzy with so much information and photos, this small one is clean and clear and above all, has something in it which feels authentic and natural.
This guidebook is much more than a travel bookguide - it is a photographic journey, an inspirational companion and a book you'll love to have whether this is your first or tenth time in Sydney.


More about the Slow Guide in the great interview with Martin Hughes - the 'father' of the Slow Guides, at the article "Stop ... and smell the roses" on Sydney Morning Herald.




*** All photos from The Slow Guide: Sydney, copyright © 2007 by Affirm Press.
Written by Helen Hawkes, Leta Keens, Photographed by Oliver Strewe.

Sydney International Food Festival

October is the going to be packed with festivals and so the Festival State is going to be a very happy place to be in!
So before I dive in our very own events, here is one I wish we could have visit and attend - Sydney International Food Festival.

One of the highlights of this year's festival is Carlo Petrini's presentation at the Opera House.
So while we will have to wait for the online reports, enjoy some of the festival's art work.
These "real food” flags were made by a creative band of Sydney chefs (think about finding some blue food for example...).
Brilliant idea and beautiful execution!

Photographs: Natalie Boog. Via fubiz