November

I have recently sent some work through to the gorgeous store 'Nest', in Penguin, and was thrilled to see a close up of one of my nests as the header on their Facebook page. The shop window is beginning to look like Christmas and has some of my text paper balls hanging in it too.

With Christmas Day rapidly approaching, I am beginning to wish we had a few more weeks up our sleeve. There seems to be so much to do and so little time in which to do it!  So, it is back to the 'making' table to try and beat the clock!

SPRING

We have been watching the resident blackbirds make their nests in our garden over the last six weeks. It has been such a joy to watch them load their beaks with twigs, moss and straw and then disappear into the banksia rose to fashion their incredible nests.

I have been sending quite a few eggs, stones and nests into The Maker in Salamanca lately and these are some of the images they have put on their blog recently.

Collecting

collection 3

This is part of our shell collection and with the hope of warmer weather on the way, I foresee more beach fossicking coming up! 

The last few months have not been good for our 'making' but we are ever hopeful that things will improve and we will be back into the swing of creating new things to share.In the mean time, I thought I would continue to post some pictures of some of our 'collections' or things that gather in groups in our home. I am forever fascinated with what people collect or save, gather or even stash away as a memento - little objects that are the keepers of our memories.

Time to reorganize

                                                               

                                                      Collection  2

Winter is upon us now so it is a good time to crank up the fire, pour a cuppa and sort through some of the materials that have gathered, or should I say rather built up, in my work space. We live in a tiny house and so I do not have the luxury of a designated studio or even a spare room to work in. Thank goodness my family are patient and supportive, as I have taken over our table and the end of our dining area with all my materials for making! Boxes, bags and baskets line the floor filled with vines, twigs, stones, shells, papers, books, cards, half made projects and the usual glues, paints, threads and all manner of other useful bits and bobs. It is hard to be a minimalist when one is a born collector and maker!  However, I am going to use these colder days at home to attempt to bring more order to my work space as it is always so satisfying to sift through and re-organize things. Who knows what I might find!

                                           A small section of our table!

Step by step

                                                       collection 1

Well it is now post Easter but I am still making text covered eggs!  In early April I plucked up the courage to take some of my paper eggs into 'the maker' in Salamanca Place - a store I have always adored but in which I never imagined I would be selling my work. I carried them into the store in one of my handmade, large vine nests and was overjoyed that they were keen to stock them. Now it is May and I am still making them for the store. It is lovely to think that there are other people who love the magic of nests as much as me. The large eggs are also being bought as a christening gift. This is a link to the makers blog where the eggs were featured. 

http://www.themakerhobart.com.au/wordpress/?p=1386

The nests for The Maker are more simple than the ones I make for 'Nest' in Penguin and of course it is through 'Nest' that I have gained the confidence to keep making and approach a couple of different stores over the last year. One step at a time!  

Enjoy the last month of Autumn - Hobart is only 14 degrees today so we are lighting our fire for the first time this year!

Joyeuses Pâques

We have been creating some new Easter treats over the last few weeks and some of these have found a home in the lovely store "Nest" at Penguin.

More pictures of our eggs are on the link to the Nest blog   Nest - Penguin: More Easter Goodies!

Happy Easter and enjoy this wonderful Autumn weather - gentle warm sunshine and glorious golden foliage.

inspiration everywhere

On a recent trip to Melbourne to take my daughter to the Royal Children's Hospital, I was reminded just how inspiring some of the little shops in the lane ways can be. Although we were only there for 24 hours, and mostly at the hospital, the city abounds with beauty -  even from the taxi window!

This is the Reading Room at the State Library of Victoria- a beautiful space with stunning architecture and the library always has a number of excellent exhibitions on show plus a great cafe.

As a maker we often wonder about the voyage some of our pieces take after they leave our hands. Recently, Natalie from Nest in Penguin, was able to tell me that she sold our folded book called  'Long Journey' as a birthday present for a woman turning 70!  It was so special to hear that, as I often imagine who each book will go to during the process of quietly folding them and, of course, who in the past has held and read them before I work on them.

This is a photo from the 'Nest' facebook page showing one of our handmade nests and one of the white framed pieces that we sent up to this beautiful little store last week. We are currently working on some new ideas using book pages and of course a few Easter pieces. Looking forward to this special time of year.

A New Year

The New Year always brings fresh hope and a time to reflect on the past twelve months. The photos below show some of our pieces in two of our favourite stores that stock our work - Nest in Penguin and Ecoco in Launceston. While looking back over the last year we can see that 'two in a teacup' has ever so slowly and gently made a little progress! From making things at home for our family and friends to selling some of our work in three stores in Tasmania, and of course our little stall at the Exeter Market. We are still, very much, a tiny little business but step by step we are gaining some confidence and are hoping that 2012 will bring new ideas and be full of inspiration and making. 

  

 

   One of our vintage books from the Forgotten Tales - New Stories series at Nest.

                         A swallow garland made from old book pages at Ecoco

May this year bring health, happiness, love and special family times together with a dash of creative inspiration for everyone - because really, that is all that matters.