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.

Christmas is coming!

If only there was a way of slowing down the days in these next few weeks before Christmas! We have been busy filling orders for Christmas cards, tags and gift pegs over the last couple of weeks and although we can see a light at the end of the tunnel, we still have quite a way to go yet!

I do love this time of year - warmer temperatures, longer sunlight hours, holidays on the horizon and the wonderful moments of a shared family Christmas to look forward to. 

 

These are some of the pegs we have recently made for an order which I think are going to be used for an advent string. Now, it is back to the making table and soon we will have the fun of working out this years wrapping for our presents and decorating the Christmas tree.

Forgotten Tales - New Stories

 Finally, after months of contemplating, we have taken our vintage book works out into the market place to see how they go! In Hobart the book sculptures are in Store and Co (must pop in and take a picture of them) and now they have a new home in Launceston at Ecoco. The following photographs are from the Ecoco face book page. It is wonderful to have them in such beautiful stores. We are hoping the feedback from customers will be positive.

 

  This is a photo of a very old book that has hand cut pages with a slightly torn or deckle edge and an original inscription in beautiful handwriting in the front of the book - quite charming.  We will only have the books in one store in each place as we want them to retain their special quality.

We are soon to fill a new order for our handmade nests to 'Nest' in Penguin so now it is twigs and vines on every flat surface in the house rather than vintage books for a while!