Sun hats in winter

This week was more birthdays, and so I made a couple of sunhats for kids as gifts. They are reversible, plain one side, printed the other. The two prints I sourced online were very sweet, a snakes and ladders design with dogs and monkeys performing tricks, and a little Holly Hobby design.

A

Emerging Artists of the Blue Mountains

Hello There,

L Bird was introduced to a fantastic array of talent last week. There were 10 kiddies aged between 3 months to 3 years old here painting up tea towels for their grandmothers for mothers day.A fair bit of body art too!It was a great preview about what we can expect in term of art and design in the mountains 20 years from now,...the enthusiasm is certainly huge! Well done to Emmagen, Liam, Jackson, Hugo, Bryn, Pip, Zoe, Leanna, Ainsley, Willhamena (pic), and Theo for a fun morning...and no paint in the house!

Hope Street Markets

Next weekend is the Hope Street Markets at Paddington Town Hall, Sydney. This market will be showcasing 60 new Australian independent designers and is a lot of fun.

The designers bring together work varying from art, jewellery, clothing, accessories and a great mix of product design. This is a mixed collaboration of the quirky, kitsch, clever and the crafty - all under one roof!

There will be a great line-up of local music hosted by Pop Frenzy over the weekend. There is also a great cafe there too!

About:
The Hope Street Markets were created from a love of independent, unique and different and the genuine love of finding new treasures at the markets. These days it is hard to find good local made and designed product, our aim is simply to introduce fresh, creative and original designs each season. We are proud to be supporting and exposing the work of designers both local and around Australia.

The markets are a fusion of art, design, music and a community of people connecting in one space.

Hope Street is a not an actual street address, it quite simply means “bringing hope to the street” the name was adopted from the cause we support... HopeStreet.

Hope Street Markets in a non-profit organisation. We raise funds from the markets to help support HopeStreet projects helping bring hope to Sydney’s homeless. The name was also given to the markets because we feel in essence we are also creating hope for new talent and inspiring others.

Autumn Markets:
Saturday 17th May 11am – 6pm
Sunday 18th May 11am – 5pm

Reckless with Jersey

This week I turned to old jersey for my experimenting. I tried pairing viscose with cotton for a draping cowl-like neckline.

I also tried remaking an existing pattern in a cotton jersey. The original pattern was developed for a vest in a silk suiting...now its a bit sportier! If I can perfect my shapes and finishes, the next stage will be experimenting with colour and free-embroidery...

A

Sunny studio

It has been a busy week for printing at laughing bird, luckily the wether has been kind and I have been able to weather dry the fabrics without using heaters!! It was snowing the week before in Katoomba...I always try to keep electricity usage to a minimum but I couldn't help myself...especially printing at night.

Just finishing off a few color combinations before presenting the new range next week. Very excited about having some new work to show. Adios!

10 totes released next week

I'm blogging early as I'm heading 'off the mountain' today for a couple of days... I have created a series of 10 exclusive totes that will be released on my site next week. These are beautiful big totes created out of serious luxury salvaged materials. I'd quite like to keep one for myself but gotta pay the bills!

Today I am heading to Handcut's last fashion show. These guys do fabulous recycled/reclaimed clothing and carry my handbags. I am just a fashion junkie as I love seeing models carrying the bags (how sad!). 

Locally, on Tuesday, I am beginning the Stepping Up: Young entrepreneurs Training & Mentoirng Programme as part of NSW State & Regional Development. I have already met lots of go-gettin' young business people who are like-minded and hope to forge some great bonds and networking opportunities - for the future of Blue Mountains businesses!

Kara

Toiling Away

I have been working on the patterns and toile for a quilted vest and hood, with mixed results...

It all looked so good in my head, yet the toiles still need a lot of work. The vest sits funny, needs to be longer and the finishing idea on the hood looks dodgy!

Although a simple design, going through the patternmaking, cutting, quilting, stitching stages and then having to do it all again is rather tiring... I may come back to it in a week or two with a fresh outlook.

A