Catalogue

With 1 day to spare I have finally managed to upload the Notions Autumn Catalogue. Phew! 

Okay, now that it is finally done I'm off to do some housework (been a while), the grocery's (cupboards are very bare) and some washing (hmmm...no clean clothes to wear)...so much to catch up on.

Open publication - Free publishing - More vintage

Switzerland

Today I am feeling very neutral.

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Time

Things always seem take longer than I think they will. For example, I thought I would have the {1957} product catalogue ready for release last week, but I'm still working on it. It's my own fault. I had all the photos ready to go, but I wasn't happy with how it was all coming together. The catalogue looked flat and it lacked that little vintage-y twist that I think the Notions brand has become known for. So, I decided to re-photograph everything and start the catalogue from scratch.  Anyway. I'm really pleased with how it's looking. Just a few more pics to take and some descriptions to write up and it should be ready to hit cyber land over the weekend.

Kids in Berlin

Have you been to Kids in Berlin in North Melbourne? Well, you should. Today I met Zanin, the lovely owner of this gem of a shop. An advocate of independent Australian design, Zanin stocks a fabulous range of independent clothing a jewelery labels, including, of course, Notions. 

Kids in Berlin is the first store to stock the new {1957} Collection. So hurry in and snap them up! There are also plenty of other delightful objects to buy. 

Just some of the labels available at Kids in Berlin. 

Some Notions goodies. 

Aren't these old postal boxes a fabulous way to store products? Rummaging through them is so much fun! You can find Kids in Berlin at 472 Victoria Street North Melbourne.

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Winner

According to the trusty random number generator the winner of the {1957} pendant is commenter no. 3- Willywagtail. Congratulations! Thank sou to everyone who entered and to everyone who has left such lovely feed back about the {1957} collection.

In other news, I'm winging my way to Melbourne today for a few days R&R- catching up and hanging out with friends, food and coffee (maybe a little retail therapy- The North Melbourne Market is on this Sunday). I haven't prepared any posts for the next few days, but if I get a chance (and some internet) I'll pop in and post some pretty pictures that I've been storing up. 

Say Cheese

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I wish I had a little shop

Today I am reopening my Etsy shop. There are a few items already listed and today I'll be photographing more items (once my camera battery has recharged- annoying much) so I'll be adding more items over the next week. 

Dress Ups

Today I made a dress in 2 1/2 hours. I started my dress making classes again last week and I was determined to make something to wear to a wedding in 10 days.  Having forgotten to wash my fabric last week (cardinal sin), I only had today's class to complete all the tricky bits. I'm happy to say that this pattern was so much easier than the last one (a dress I have never worn). This pattern is Burda 7517 and was so easy to sew up. Even the invisible zip went in without a hitch. 

I think I'll pair it with this belt/scarf.

With out belt and unhemmed.

Instamatic

My new (old) Kodak Instamatic 25 camera. There's a piece missing from the top, but I'm pretty happy with my $2.00 purchase.

Giveaway

I designed this pendant on Wednesday last week and picked it up from the laser cutter on Friday morning. I love my laser cutters. They're so awesome and super quick with the turn around. I love how this piece turned out. I worn one on Saturday at the Maker's Market and a lot of people asked why I choose the year 1957. There is no special meaning behind it. I just like the way it sounds. 

The other day I discovered that 1957 was in fact year that more Americans reported that they were happy with their lives than any other year before or since. How cool is that? So, now when someone asks I can spout this little piece of information and look totally, like, educated and stuff.  

To celebrate the acquisition of this little gem of information I am giving away one of these pendants to one lucky reader. To enter simply leave a comment on this blog and a contact email. I will draw the winner on Friday evening using the random number generator. Good luck!

Shall I be Mother?

I had my very first cup of tea in January. Yes, January 2011. You're probably asking yourself how on earth did she get to her mid 30's without tea? I don't know how, I just did. I was late coming to coffee as well. I've only been a coffee drinker for 3 or 4 years now. I'm still figuring out how I like my tea. At the moment I'm drinking it strong with a dash of milk and absolutely no sugar. Yuck. I tried sugar the other day and I was disgusting. I had to tip it down the sink. I've tried black and that's okay, but I prefer just a little milk. How do you drink yours?

Jumping on the Wagon

The web seems to full of Valentine's images at the moment, so I thought to myself, why not jump on board and share some the crafty heart love? So I am.

Renovations

Well, I finally finshed the internal renovations on my Vera's house. It will be travelling north with me today to help out at the Maker's Market tomorrow. The furnishing is a little sparse, but I'm not a huge fan of clutter. Vera lives a minimalist life and that suits me just fine (less cleaning). 

When life gives you lemons

What do you do when life gives you lemons? Use them for inspiration for your 50s inspired collection, of course! That's exactly what I did. When I started putting {1957} together lemon was not no the colour radar. I knew there would be pink. And I knew that I would use black. But lemon? It was only when I started looking at available perspex colours that I began to consider it. 

It works fabulously with the pink and the black (and with the colours that I have picked for Winter). The pink and lemon are frosted perspex and it has been really difficult to capture there true colour on camera. The colour is deeper than it appears in the image above, but no amount of playing with the saturation settings did it justice, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

{all image Notions 2011}