Clothing Exchange comes to Sydney

'My Sister's Wardrobe' is a regular event in Melbourne, a way to reinvigorate one's wardrobe through swapping clothes with others. The idea is everyone brings along a few of their garments they no longer wear, but think that other people may value. Then, using buttons as currency, it's possible to 'purchase' a few delights that were hiding in other people's wardrobes.

To me this clothes swap idea has it all - a way to share your once-treasured garments with others, tell the story behind the garment, find a vintage treasure perhaps... and 'shop' in a sustainable way.

Now it is arriving in Sydney: 7pm Tuesday July 8th, 10a Fitzroy Pl, Surry Hills (upstairs, off Crown St).

www.clothingexchange.com.au

Carrington movie nights

On Tuesday night I saw 'An Affair To Remember' at the Carrington Hotel. It's only $10 for a classic movie and you get a plate of popcorn and get to snuggle down into the big sofas near the fire in the lounge.

Or you can get a cheese or dessert platter with coffee or tea plus the movie for $25 which is delicious and way too much! Yum!

Upcoming movies are:

Tues 29 July - To Catch a Thief - 8pm

Tues 26 Aug - The Old Man and The Sea - 8pm

Tues 30 Sept - How To Marry A Millionaire - 8pm

Tues 28 Oct - Singing In The Rain - 8pm

Tues 25 Nov - West Side Story - 8pm

Tues 16 Dec - Miracle on 34th Street - 8pm

We have booked into most of them and noticed on Tuesday that some are now booked out. It's a great night out and hope to see you there!

Kara

Winter Magic Festival

Thank you to everyone who came and visited the Gussy up Gals stall at our Eco themed Winter Magic festival.

It was a very exciting day, and my  adrenaline was  on full speed. It was very satisfying to see all the vibrant Katoomba made products side by side, so beautifully highlighted in the winter sunlight, and to hear such lovely and encouraging comments from the crowd. The Lil Bean kiddies T-shirts, Alice Payne recycled T-shirt hoddies with mouse ears, Kara Smith vintage bags and Screen printed tea towels together made for an original and  fun display. 

The Gussy up tent was the perfect place to watch the parade and congrats to the belly dancers who braved the cold bare bellied. Thanks Maryanne for your support of local arts.

 Only 363 days untill the next one!

 

Banners

Today Freedom and I did the banners for our Winter Magic double stall on Saturday. April scored some great plastic card and we used some old house paint to get our names up in lights!

All looking forward to our debut this weekend!

Kara

Madeit t-shirt competition : vote now!

The guys at madeit have come up with a fab t-shirt design competition. Take the time to check them out and vote (on the right hand side)!

Click here to vote

Where to find us

With only a week to go until Winter Magic, everyone is busy working away at their handmade delights.

Our stall will be outside the Uniting Church on Katoomba St, about half-way down. Here's a rather ancient photo of the location...



Hope to see you there!

Li'l Bean Organic Kids Clothing

Today was a great day for me because I've almost finish the first run of prints bound for our launch at this years Winter Magic Festival. Modesty aside, I think the prints are looking unreal and its awesome to see some final prints after lots of hours spent in the design process.

Hope you enjoy these pics of 3 designs from the new range. Thanks heaps to our lovely models, and also to Freedom at Laughing Bird, who has been a huge support in making these a reality.

More Photos at www.lilbean.com.au as they come to hand.

April x

Unbleached Fabrics

L Bird has just finished printing on a new range of unbleached fabrics. This includes linens for Tea Towels and Hemp/Yak hair for aprons. Not only are these fabrics better for our planet, they are more practical for utility kitchen fabrics, and they look really beautiful printed up.We will be displaying them at the "Gussy Up Gals" Tent for the   "Winter Magic" festival in Katoomba come June 21st, and are avaliable through the Laughing Bird website.

Brrrr... it's cold!

It's cold up here in the Mountains and I have begun the scarf creating frenzy in time for the Winter Magic Festival in 2 weeks... arghhh! Above is 'Bettina', made from recycled fine fabrics, weaves and silks.

We will post where we will be situated along the main street and would love everyone to come and say hi.

Kara

A Good Yarn

Friday night is knitting night, or stitch n bitch, as it's been called. It's a little bit daggy, a little bit grandma, but perfect for bleak Mountains evenings.

Above is a sample of last night's efforts.

For the style-conscious there is the Jo Sharp and Rowan patterns and wool to drool over. With moody fashion shoots and gorgous models pouting in charcoal cashmere, you suddenly realise that a pair of elegant legwarmers with eyelets is what's been missing in your life all this time.

And coming soon... a good friend of mine and demon-knitter Leanne is designer of a new range of yarns and patterns, Morris Yarns, to be launched in 2009. Watch this space: http://www.morrisyarns.com/

Locally, Katoomba-ites may know the knitting shop under the library - a beautiful range of Jo Sharp and other specialty yarns, as well as bamboo knitting needles and other delights!

A

New Printed Aprons

Hello There,

 Laughing Bird is currently launching a new range of aprons, handprinted on a beautiful light weight, heavy duty, canvas like, woven hemp & yak hair.

 They are to be custom made, so the customer chooses the print and print color. I have a few recommendations & will be displaying them at the Winter Magic festival in Katoomba on June the 21st. More designs are displayed on the laughing bird website.

Handmade handbags

Yesterday I got my first delivery of handbags made by a local lady, Pat, in Leura. This is an exciting step for me to have some help producing my delicious handmade handbags and she has done a great job. Above is two that she has done, aren't they great?!

It's very hard to know how to expand your business and still have control over things. By having Pat sew locally it means my hard earned money stays within our Blue Mountains Community, which makes me really happy.

Kara

Hoodies

I am fond of hoodies, whether hanging out the back of a jacket or slung low over the eyes for slinking down alleyways.

So I have designed a go-anywhere jersey hoodie that doubles as a scarf. Being a thrifty soul, I've made the hoods from old tshirts and jersey remnants.

A