Special gifts

When I caught up with Alessandra in London a couple of weeks ago she gave me a 
lovely gift. I was so thrilled... isn't it beautiful? Simple elegant design... very much the
aesthetic of Alessandra's blog and all that she stocks in her shop :) 





She has amazing vintage finds in her shop too. Here are some lovelies I've found 
there in the past. 







Seriously coveting this coffee set too :)



If you love Alessandra's pot hanger as much as I do, you can order one in her shop.

Recommendation: Trophy Wife

I don't normally do this, but I'm recommending a blog today... Trophy Wife.

It's a hilarious parody of blogging that has me laughing out loud with every post.  

With the slow wind down that seems to be happening with blogs and everyone 

jumping over to the instant gratification of facebook and instagram et al, I have 

a feeling that those of us who continue to blog will love this. 

Profile warning: all names have been changed... see if you can guess which 

Australian blogger this trophy wife really is :)

Crafty Collab

It's an exciting day here in Paravent land... do you remember I posted about 

screenprinting some panels for a crafty collaboration with Pippa from 

Ouchflower? Well, we have a first born! and we are both squealing a bit with 

wonder and delight at how it's turned out.... isn't she a beauty? :)

 

We've taken something we love (for me, screenprinting and for Pippa macramé) 

and put them together. Pippa has hand dyed her twine in a chartreuse ombre for this 

panel. I am just in awe at how Pippa's macramé has transformed my panels. Just 

look at the skill, detail and artistry in these knotty wonders...

There will be about eight in total... all different designs... and they'll be divided 

between our shops in time for Christmas.

Stay tuned for more, and if you haven't visited Pippa's blog yet, pop over and say hi :)

Creative Space: Pippa's Panels

I've been obsessing about screenprint designs, playing with combinations 

and trying to compose patterns that will look good as stand-alone panels.

Pippa from Ouchflower and I are doing a joint project and these panels are 

my part of the job. I'll leave Pippa's contribution as her surprise to share... but just 

for now I can heave a sigh of relief that the patterning planning part is over (for me!).

As always, no matter how much I try for "stand-alone", groupings seem to emerge...

There were mistakes, as per usual too, but I think I've found a solution to some 

randomly misplaced blobs... a bit more stitching detail and it should be solved :)

See more creative spaces here. Hope you've had a lovely week?

p.s. I'm going on an adventure soon and will be away for 2 weeks.

I'll post about it tomorrow...

So exciting...!

What's exciting me this month? The Hey Maker! collective in Murwillumbah :)

These fabulous peeps are fund-raising to set up a creative hub in their town...

I think it's fabulous and have made a pledge to help them along... 

Can you help them too? Find their pledge site here.

The Hey Maker! collective is a group of creatives in the Tweed Valley area 

who are passionate about creating a space where artists, designers, makers

and crafters can gather to create, exhibit and sell their wares.

They are Ellie from Petalplum, Jo Olive from Olive and the Volcano, Belinda 

from Belinda Smith Artist and Kathy from Oiko. They have a joint blogsite here, 

or you can visit their Facebook page to keep up with their progress.

I think it's a wonderful project. Hope you think so too :)

More postal goodies :)

Some more amazing deliveries today (I'm getting really scared about my next 

credit card bill!) but how could I regret buying these lovelies? :) They are all

specials finds from Alessandra's shop Knots. 

The pot holders are by the wonderful Renilde from At-Swin-Two-Birds.

I couldn't resist getting one of Renilde's mobiles while I was there as well...

And this gorgeous plate is from the Stylecraft 'Midwinter' range of Staffordshire 

Potteries. The design is from the 'Nature Study' collection (c.1955) by Terence 

Conran. Isn't it divine? I have it displayed on some postcards by Leah Duncan 

that I've had for a while.

Okay, no more shopping from me for quite a while now... I think I've helped 

the European economy enough at this stage! ;) 

Postal goodies

Some more exciting deliveries arrived today... I was the lucky winner of Kate's 

giveaway. Two fabulous Japanese craft books - they are so gorgeous! 

Thanks Kate :)

The patterns are so easy to follow with great diagrams... I actually find them

much easier to follow than their wordy English counterparts.

AND my fluorescent wool arrived... (it's very bright!)

I ended up getting it from here and it was rather reasonable in cost but the 

postage was prohibitive! Not sure I would have bought it if I'd known the 

postage cost beforehand (there was no viewing of it until it had all gone 

through... don't you hate it when sites do that?)

Also, I was in the city today and saw this at Gorman... I couldn't believe my eyes! 

Funny how designs are nowhere and then suddenly they are everywhere! 

Weird actually... ;) Maybe it's simply a case that it's always there but you only 

notice it after you have something the same, like with cars or prams etc?

Hope you've had a great week!

Faces behind blogs

I'm a bit late but still joining in Elisabeth's 'intrusive face' fun... 

the up close and unadorned faces behind blogs (well, in my case anyway!)

Are you playing along? Do you like knowing what the people behind 

your favourite blogs look like? and why is that?

Deliverance: Fine Little Porcelain, Necklace + Print

Some happy postal treats have been arriving on my lucky doorstep...

Porcelain from Elisabeth at Fine Little Day (my saucers with the cups).

A Tin Tin thank you necklace from Katherine (the printer ink recipient).

A gorgeous Superb Blue Wren print from Kristina and Jason of Inaluxe 

(lucky giveaway).

I've also been working away at new blankets and cushions... in fact I've 

become a woman obsessed. I have a picture in my mind of my shop filled

with strong graphic crochet designs happily waiting for the right person/buyer

to come along :) Ha! Yes, dreams and fantasies. Anyway, this is an update 

photo for the harlequin blanket...

Thank you to Elisabeth, Katherine, Kristina and Jason for my lucky goodies!

Inspiration: Guy de Cointet

I've been thinking a lot about patterning lately and continue to be fascinated 

by abstract forms. So, no surprises that the work of Frenchman, Guy de Cointet, 

has piqued my interest and had me turning my head from side to side in an 

effort to decipher his amazing work.

Recognised as one of the leading figures of Conceptual Art, De Cointet is said to 

compose his pieces as visual codes, which I think you can see in the pieces below.

To me, there's a sense of communication just beyond my comprehension in his 

works, like some elusive word game, so I wasn't surprised to read that Surrealist 

novelist Raymond Roussel is one of De Cointet's formative influences.

Anyway, it's their abstract patterning that really interests me. Does this make your 

eyes *pop* too and have you noticed how often it is the simple abstract forms that 

really pack a punch? 

And while I'm at it I just want to show you a hand-printed piece that I keep above my 

desk... I love it so much. Steffen from 3 Girls and a Goat created it as wrapping paper 

for her products. Isn't it wonderful? Also, you can just see one of Elisabeth's fabulous
abstract cutting boards. And even though he's not abstract I do love darling little
Arthur there too, created by Jess :)

Favourite feelings

We had a wonderful parcel arrive in the mail yesterday... it was full of feelings :)

Have you seen Mitsy's collection of 99 Feelings? My girls and I love them.

We love them so much we have a 'Feelings Fund' and when we have enough 

pennies in the pot we buy a new one :) This is our collection so far.

This time I chose Adventurous (the one that looks like Tin Tin!) because 

I've been charting new territory (for me) in setting up a new identity with 

Paravent... My Big Girl chose Confused because, well you have to know 

her to get that joke ;) ... and my Little One chose Super because she's

totally into the comic book subculture and that's just her 'thing' :)

Mitsy is so lovely she also included two pendant necklaces for my girls

and she picked their personalities so well!

She also included so many ceramic goodies we were totally overwhelmed.

(There was chocolate too but that disappeared very quickly...!)

There are so many fabulous feelings it really is so hard to choose.

This one is my absolute favourite, but I'm waiting until I feel that way ;)

You can see the whole collection at the Art Mind Etsy Store.

Thank you so much Mitsy! We love them :)


p.s. we're off to the mountains for the long weekend... see you Tuesday!