Design Indaba Expo

My Daughters, a friend and I are off to the Design Indaba Expo in Cape Town. I fly out at 6 tomorrow morning, which means getting up at around 3.45 am!I am sure we are going to experience all sorts of Design Loveliness!I'll be back next week!

Random Chocolate Giving

Today is the third session in the Creativity Voyage I am facilitating- Creative Relating! The fun practical homework for this week is that each person will receive an envelope and be told to write a short note on it! Then they must fill it with a chocolate bar, and give it to someone they would not usually give it to! Sort of a Random Act of Chocolate Kindness!
To help everyone I along, I have used some chocolate brown envelopes, left over from my daughter's wedding and pasted a Creative Stationery notelet onto the envelope.
Leading the course does not exclude me from having to do it myself, so I am thinking about who the lucky unsuspecting recipient of my choccie will be.We've had heart warming results before - some of the recipients have been - a tricky, moody colleague at work, a hardly known neighbour, an acquaintance who had had a car accident, a difficult old lady, etc.
Any body like to join me?

Pop Up Shoe Shop!

I just love shoe designer Tracey Neules pop-up shoe shop, recently opened in London!It is so cool for quite a few reasons:
It's in Brompton - I have such good memories of an inspiring time there on a previous visit to London.
It' s a temporary shop. Just there until the 1st of March! All the fun of a shop without the long term drudge!
The presentation is just so cool - Piles of vintage drawers clamped together or stacked up - Very inspirational! Read about the Preview Party here. via Carolina Eclectic via Dezeen

Shopping List!

I regularly visit Capetonian Kat Black's typographically inspirational blog - Anything Goes. A while ago she showed us some of her own typographic creativity...She originally intended this stylish shopping list to be printed onto a bag - but it's been printed onto a new series of Melamine Plates by Naked and Angry instead!How incredibly cool to have a design of yours made into something by someone else - and then all sorts of other people get to enjoy it and eat off it! [Ps - I am feeling so much better and the weather has cooled down to a livable temperature too!]

Cheer Up!

Busy-ness, A rotten cold, oppressive humid heat and a long power outage have lead to me posting late today. I thought the amazing work of stylist Robyn Glaser would be very cheering. I am going to regroup, recoup and hopefully cool down... and will be back on Monday!

Wrapped Urn

I thought I'd try some Furoshiki wrapping with this vintage voile tea shower - before I put in my shop!
I love the hint of what's underneath... And I love that it displays so beautifully what's usually stuck in a drawer!

Paper Pattern Project

I wanted to try out some stuff with vintage dress pattern paper -
This is my first experiment...A covering for the bathroom window. It's a trial run - I will see how I feel about it over the next few days!I folded the pattern paper into long strips, then cut triangles on the folds to imitate the triangular pattern notches on the seam lines.I love the window treatment behind this beautiful Gossamer Cardigan from Selvedge!

Mannequin

Last week I bought a vintage mannequin from Eclectic in Durban. I need it to display some of my products for photographing! It has to be recovered and it needs a stand - I'll show you how it turns out - when it does!
Since acquiring the Mannequin [Should I give her a name?], I've noticed a few mannequins around the place:
For inspiration - Malinki do a wonderful job of upholstering French Mannequins in inspirational fabrics! Zazzle.co.uk have these lovely mannequin tote bags:
How quaint is this Embroidered Mannequin design by Tilda?Have a look here to see how to make your own custom made mannequin from duct tape!
Read some Mannequin Stories here!

Happy Valentines Day - Designer Hearts

This delightful street scene...Comes from one of these hearts: I cut them out of some V&A Print samples which accompanied my latest edition of Selvedge Magazine. V&A have an online shop which stocks high quality prints or canvases of images from the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. I hope this tray full of hearts is going to be an interactive display. This was how I left it - let's see what some one else does!

By the way, this surfer print is one of the many most popular vintage prints available from V&A!
I can see why! Happy Valentine's Day for tomorrow!

Frank Plant

I am fascinated by the work of American Sculptor Frank Plant, living and working in Spain.His seemingly effortless sketches are worked mainly with welded steel bars!Delightful stuff! via Please Sir[We got off to a fun start on the Creativity Voyage yesterday! A lovely, vibrant enthusiastic group!]

Creativity Voyage

I am fascinated by Creativity and it's role in our lives. Today I start a Creativity Voyage with a group who will be getting together once a week for the next 5 weeks! The first session deals with God, the Creator and His Creation and the fact that he made us to be Creative. Then we talk about the Creative Process and the many creative tools at our disposal. Next we cover Creativity in Relationships.
The Fourth session is all about Living Creatively. Sometimes I bare my soul and host this at my own home. It helps to set the tone for the final session, when I encourage each of the participants to share with us some of their own Creativity!
That final session is often sacred. I know many of us live, eat, sleep, drink and breathe creatively, but it is often a scary and vulnerable time for those who feel they have no creativity at all! It offers a safe environment for people to read out loud the poem that has never been shared, or to show us the cookery books they covered in beautiful wrapping paper or the wood carving they do, or whatever their level and gifting is. I remember one lady who recreated a dinner scene for the rest of us. She said it was her and her husband's second marriage and they were both determined to make it work - and so every night they ate with flowers and lights dimmed and music. It was her way of expressing her creativity and enriching a relationship at the same time! I know we are in for a lot of fun!
I have led this course on a number of occasions, but this time I am giving the hand-out notes a new-look! I am making them long and thin and giving them bright red cover pages! I hope the attendees find them suitably stimulating!Top pic by my daughter Christy who always has such fresh eyes to see Creation!

My Own Heart Project!

I cut a whole host of hearts out from the cardboard of some old LP covers. I was going to do something with them and the frame I showed you yesterday - but I ditched the frame and instead I sewed together sheets of tissue paper. I inserted the hearts into the pockets formed.It softens the hearts and I love the pattern they produce. Each heart has a square stitched boundary but freedom in the space to rotate!I placed the panels on a window frame close to my front door. Didn't it look good last night?Even the back is pretty. The front of the panel has all the coloured hearts, but the back has an appeal too - all the hearts are different shades of greyish beigeish brown, depending on the age of the LP cover!

Notes on WIPs!

Just thought I'd fill you in on what's happening...
Last year I mentioned photo shoots and new stuff happening to Freshly Found. Well it's still happening - I have another meeting this morning. The new look Freshly Found should be up and running in March. In the mean time here's a sneak preview of part of the new logo:I cant tell you too much yet - but watch this space...

Watch this space too, to see what I finally do with my own Handmade Heart Project which has started out something like this...An old frame and hearts cut out from Vintage LP covers!

And an update on the Granny Hexagon blanket. It is now 17 hexagons wide and 5 rows long! - Big enough to be a very wide scarf or a narrow shawl! I managed to crochet 51 hexagons in the car on our trip to Gauteng [and even have an hour power-nap as well!]
The completed strip hangs next to my desk and inspires me to keep going!

Hearts

I've been seeing hearts all over the place! With the 14th of Feb fast approaching, it's not surprising.
This heart came from a vintage French 'Crochet Monthly' Magazine...Along with it's appealing 'hearty' instructions! I love the paper hearts I saw yesterday in a Woolworths window [We still have Woolworths in South Africa - because it's not the same as the Woolworths in the UK - Here it's linked to Marks & Spencer] And then Dizzy Design crocheted the cutest hearts, filled them with lavender and is adding them as a surprise to her orders! I recommend you visit Fra[a]iing for lots of valentine inspiration and entertainment - here, here and an invitation to a virtual valentine party here!How About Orange has a tut on how to make these...

Stephen Falcke

I was reminded of a great South African design icon, Stephen Falcke, by Desire to Inspire I have admired his work for years. Who can forget this incredible combination of neutral ethnic colours and patterns! I remember going all weak at the knees when I forst saw this magnificent room! Open plan living and dining in a sort of a farm style loft! The white furniture - Aaaahhh!

Round and Round

We have lived in Durban for around 15 years now, and it has taken us this long to visit the Roma Revolving Restaurant. We had a few family milestones to celebrate - so we thought we would give it a try. I have never been to a revolving restaurant before. We really enjoyed ourselves. The secret was to arrive just before the sun set - that way we could see Durban in the cloudy fading light on our first revolution and then the night lights of Durban on the second!