Birth of a Label

April Bernard was in the studio printing up the samples for her kids range "Lil Bean" yesterday.

It was very exciting to watch the fresh new designs appear on each T-shirt, in such vibrant colors. There is something magic about seeing the very first print from a screen emerge.

Lil Bean uses organic cotton and solvent free inks to make funky & hard wearing clothing for babies through 5 year olds.

The very first range will be launched at the "Gussy Up Gals" tent for the Winter Magic festival on June the 21st.

All the best Lil Bean!!

 

  

Norman Lindsay

Photo of Norman Lindsay from Middlemiss.org

Norman Lindsay (1879-1969) is one of my most favourite artists, Australian and International, and was one of the most controversial and prolific artists, even today!

Benediction, Norman Lindsay

Those who have been to Norman Lindsay's house in Faulconbridge know what a treasure this fantastic place is. His beautiful old house is set on extensive grounds with an external painting and etching studios. It was on this beautiful property that he created etchings, oils, watercolours, sculptures, ship models that he created as a pastime. He also wrote the wonderful childrens classic, "The Magic Pudding" there. His garden is stunning, scattered with nymphs, satyrs and fountains that he created.

One of the beautiful sculptures on the grounds as you head down to the pool in the bush.

The property is run by National Trust as a gallery and it is filled with his beautiful works of art. For anyone that likes nudes - this is the place to be! The etching studio (1913) and main painting studio (1918) contains his brushes, canvases and printing press.

Oh... and there is a fantastic cafe there too!

Eco-fashion Collections

Last night I went to an exhibition 'Stitch Made Hands' in Surry Hills, of photography, fashion and illustration. Fellow ex-UTS-ite Rachael was showing her latest collection of couture garments, so I went along.

Rachael Cassar creates couture garments from luxury salvaged fabrics - leather, silk, lace... Her pieces are hand-embellished with thousands of Swarovski crystal beads, feathers and embroidery. They have an extraordinary sense of drama about them.

She recently won the grand prize at the prestigious Mittelmoda Fashion Awards in Italy. All her past collections will be exhibited at 'Eco-fashion Collections', DAB Gallery, Level 4, Building 1, UTS, Harris St, Ultimo. The exhibition opens this Friday 30 May, and is well worth a look.

http://www.rachaelcassar.com/

T-Shirt Print Up

Danielle Penn saw some "Laughing bird" tea towels on www.madeit.com.au and wanted to apply the prints to shirts. She sent me 5 t-shirts express post with instructions of her most loved prints & colors (red)....and a sprinkle of creative license. This is what L Bird came up with. Hope Danielle was stocked when she received her express package back, and that she is out on the town happily wearing a brand new custom print T-shirt and some dancing shoes. Thanks for the fun!

Xxx L Bird 

Wife

These two beautiful cushions are made by Wife, and I swapped them for one of my vintage clutches over the weekend at Hope Street Markets. Nicole (the maker) uses fabulous recycled materials (including the interior of these cushions!). It was lovely to meet someone with the same ethos.

I've picked up the following from Georgielove's site:

Wife. wearables for you + your home

A bold and adventurous collection of one-of-a-kind home ware and accessories individually designed and made by Sydney-based visual & performing artist, Nicole Barakat. Wife. offers a contemporary twist on traditional textiles, craft and the domestic. Wife. products are sustainable and designed with a sensitivity towards their distinctive materials, which are almost always 100% reused. All products are hand made and carefully crafted using the finest of fabrics including lush natural fibres like wool, silk, cotton and linen.

About the maker. Nicole Barakat

I’ve been ‘making’ in some way for as long as I can remember and feel as though I entered this world with a needle and (red) thread in my hand. Cloth and textiles have always been part of my creative process. My products give me a space to play with colour, texture and the exciting elements of traditional textile and craft processes. My practice focuses on finding the unexpected by drawing on that which is familiar. I am fascinated with the languages we are able to create through the manipulation of materials and processes. I currently lecture in the Textiles department at the UNSW College of Fine Arts.

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