Sweet tooth Tuesday

By Canberra's Amanda Thorson on Etsy

Happy Australia Day!

A little Aussie inspiration...

All available now on Etsy - click on the images to see more.

Hope you are celebrating Australia day the right way... with a meat pie!
And if you're seeking some retail therapy... support Australians!

Love Nina xxx

Etsy Canberran: The Owls Are Hunting

Hot Hot Hot... we all know I adore an unusual, show-stopping lamp, so imagine my delight while browsing the latest Frankie Magazine, I discover a little bit from Canberran lamp stylista, The Owls Are Hunting...

"By combining old and new, vintage and modern, The Owls are Hunting create completely unique lamps and lampshades. Using both recycled and new materials each lamp is carefully revamped and redesigned to create a piece of loveliness for your home - not only that but they're practical too!"

"The aim of the Owls Are Hunting is to combine my love of retro styling, amazing fabric and salvaged items to create beautiful lamps and lampshades."

Gorgeous they are, check out The Owls are Hunting on Etsy and the blog here.

Zseike: haunting beauty

Discovered on Etsy, talented Canberran photographer Zseike. I thought these images possess a haunting beauty and simplicity. Movement and stillness. I could not wait to share my favourites with you.

And the first image captures a beauty in fog which has me in raptures about winter in the capital...

So beautiful. Visit Zseike's etsy shop for more.

Etsy Canberran: Percy Handmade

Oh, mercy... I am just in love with this gorgeous range of handmade clutches by Canberran designer Tania here at her Percy Handmade Etsy store. Love the details, love the colours, love the textures...

And the perfect size for all the little things a girl needs for a fun night (or day) out.

Check it out here {sigh}

Tango and James: Giveaway

WIN WIN WIN

Which one will you choose?

Canberran stylista Eva (featured on Canberra's Got style here), of Pretty Young Thing blog and Tango & James (moi) are doing a little giveaway promotion together right now. All you have to do is check out the full range at Tango & James on Etsy and leave a comment at Pretty Young Thing here telling us what you favourites are, and you'll be in the running to score any piece of sassy jewellery in the Tango & James range! Easy!

**But hurry up, you only have until Sunday morning to leave your comment!!!**

Leg warmers: hot!

I luuurve the cold weather which graces us every year, and as the thermometer readings head south I get busy thinking about how to cozy up. I spotted these (actually quite sexy) leg warmers here on Etsy, fell in love, bought them immediately, and they arrived in my letterbox yesterday.

They look so gorgeous with these killer heels, now how can I work this into the pre-school drop off wardrobe?!

Also on my hot list is a grey long sleeve thermal top with black lace... at Big W! and maybe some felty wool arm warmers from here. Hmmm.

Miniature Masterpieces: Origami Ornaments

Written by Emma Davidson for Canberra's Got Style

In my first ever assignment for Canberra's Got Style, I interviewed Liz Knox from Origami Ornaments about her passion for the little things in life.
Liz's etsy profile describes her as an IT worker with a Commerce degree in marketing and IT. But this daytime office worker has a secret life: she's been making origami since Grade Four, and now turns her miniature masterpieces into unique earrings and pendants. “I'm typically very impatient, but I actually find it kind of calming,” she says.

When she was at uni, Liz says she “used to get all these flyers and would cut them into squares. There was always a piece leftover to make a smaller square, and then an even smaller square... I used to make origami from gum wrappers and other little pieces of paper.” All her origami are hand-folded, making the tiny cranes all the more impressive.

After her mum suggested she do “something useful” with the delicate cranes, Liz began creating unique lacquered jewellery from them. You can find her work at her etsy store, and on Saturdays at Gorman House Markets.
Her inspiration to turn her origami into jewellery was a response to how amazed people were. “If people like them, they would really like wearing them,” Liz says. She started out selling her pieces at a Gorman House Markets stall with a couple of friends, around two years ago.

Branching out into resin lacquered puzzle pieces was something she tried in the hope for an easier option. While the puzzle pieces are not as easy as Liz had hoped, they are not as fragile as origami, and have a slightly different appeal. With both the origami and puzzle pieces, Liz enjoys the colour, pattern, and intricacy: “kind of like a tub of rainbow confetti”.

One of her highlights in creating origami jewellery was having her work appreciated by a Japanese person she met during a work trip to Malaysia. Another highlight was a custom order for an older lady who wanted a bold colour combination including pink, green, and purple.

But one of her favourite pieces of work isn't a custom order. The green leaf fan set – earrings and a pendant – were something new for Liz. Created from a triangle, not a square, it shows the pattern of the paper in a different way to the cranes. And being her favourite colour helps!

Liz sees that online exposure is what will help new Australian jewellery designers break into the international scene, but getting people to physically see the pieces is important. She says that for new designers, it's very costly to get into the US, but “we do have good support from Australian buyers”.
When asked about her dream, Liz says she would love to work on her origami jewellery full time, “to work creating and making people smile”. She's also thinking about experiments with fabric origami, and larger scale sculpture origami.

Meet Liz in person, and see her unique range, at the Gorman House Markets every Saturday; join the Origami Ornaments fans on Facebook; or buy online at the Origami Ornaments Etsy store
Origami Ornaments will also be at Canberra's Handmade Market on February 7th at Albert Hall.

ADORABLE: Schmooks illustrated

She's just opened a brand new Etsy store, I spoke with Claire Cimbora, talented Canberran designer and busy mum about her ADORABLE illustrations. Have you seen Schmooks? I'm sooo in love {sigh}...

Claire, how would you describe your personal style? Textured, layered, on the simple side, awkward, design driven, bright, and a little quirky.

Above: "In the Woods"

Where does the name Schmooks come from? A little embarrassing really… It’s a name I called my husband when we were dating, it just kind of stuck around after that!

Who or what influences inspires your work? I find inspiration from the world around me. My influences mainly come from looking at other designers and artists. I do a lot of collecting of magazines, photographs, images etc, anything I like the look of, or gives me an idea.

I never really plan what I am going to illustrate. I usually, find an idea, play with it and see where it takes me. Sometimes its a success and sometimes not.

Above left: "To The Moon", right: "Zoo"

Tell us about the techniques you use in your work? My computer is my best friend, well sometimes! I illustrate using Photoshop.

I do a lot of scanning of fabrics, textures, images and anything that I find interesting. I try to keep my designs simple. If I start fiddling I always end up going back to the original. I’m too much of a perfectionist, which is bad news!

Above: "Emily And Her Owls"

Have you studied design? Yes. I've loved art since I can remember and always wanted to be a artist when I was little. I used to spend endless hours drawing and crafting. It was in high school that Graphic Design grabbed my attention. I studied design in college and then spent the next few years in uni finishing my degree.

What other creative talents do you have? Well I work as graphic designer, which I love to bits! I then spend my spare time illustrating, mainly late into the night as I have a little 19 month old who takes up my day. He’s very cute, by the way!

I have recently finished illustrating an older children’s book, which looks at addressing homelessness and mental illness. The book is being distributed throughout schools and proceeds are going towards a new homeless housing project in Queanbeyan called HOME.

I am also trying to work on cooking as a talent, however I’m a long way off. I would call it a love/hate relationship at the moment!

Above "Her Red Shoes"

Where can we see more of your work? You can view and purchase my work on Etsy. I am also looking at getting a website up and running in the very near future.
* And Claire has just secure a spot exhibiting as part of the Art:House art and design festival on now at Benedict House in Queanbeyan.

And what do you hope for the future in terms of your work? To be able to create, create, create!

Above left: "May", right:"Neville's Friends"
"As long as I’m illustrating and designing I’ll be happy"

I strongly believe that if you love what your doing, it doesn’t matter if you are successful or not, as long as you feel good doing it!

Design for yourself and everything will fall into place– and if it doesn’t who cares, as long as you’re having a great time!

You really must see the rest of Claire's collection of work, it's absolutely guaranteed to make you smile. Schmooks on Etsy is right here {sigh}.

Papercuts never looked so good

I've been spending far too long these last few days cruising around on Etsy and checking out the clever Canberrans we have on there. Tamara showed us her extremely cool Florence Broadhurst Gnome back in January, but just have a look at what she's up to now...

"I've been creative for as long as I can remember, trying my hand at many different arts and crafts. However, it was a year spent in Denmark that opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of papercutting, which the Danes call papirklipning. This is a craft that takes great concentration, precision and a steady hand because a simple slip can ruin hours of work.

My favourite time of the year is Christmas. I guess it has something to do with the special food and making an effort to catch up with friends and family. And the decorations, of course! (handmade only!!) So it's only appropriate that the first items I've listed in my store are Christmas ornaments. I hope you enjoy looking at them (and maybe purchasing a couple!) as much as I've enjoyed making them."

These amazing papercut ornaments are so perfect to pop inside a Christmas card for someone special... check them out now at Tamara Designs on Etsy... just beautiful.