Baby pretties

I finally got to give away some of the locally made pretties that I have been buying for my friends with, or in this case expecting, children.

What is in this simple package?

Eli the Elephant whose "Enormous Ears Eavesdrop for Entertaining Expose" by Inuk Designs and recycled birdies by Rubbergob.

Stomping dinosaurs!

As well as locally made gifts for the children of my friends, I like to head to my local Oxfam Shop to see what goodies they have on offer. I love these dinosaurs, jigsaws and blocks in one. Or four if you count each dinosaur separately...

Inuk love!

After I wrote about the cool tees from Perth based seller Inuk Designs, she contacted me to say "WOW Thanks!!".

I received these back in March and have been waiting to gift them... A second birthday present for a girl who loves trains, and a gift for a newborn seemed to me to be perfect excuses to order some lovelies from Inuk!


How cute it this steam train? The tshirt is organic cotton and Australian Made.


Oh, and this little snail, what a sweetie. The onesie is also organic cotton, Made in China.

Check out the Inuk Design Etsy store for some more inspiration!

Photos from Inuk Designs

Hobart

After seeing a small part of Tasmania, it was time to hit be a tourist in Hobart! I had a few items on my hitlist and wanted to have a walk around the city centre.

Of particular note was Thumbprint, a jewellery shop that was closing down. They had some gents dress rings that caught my eye, and I asked what the largest size was. C has quite large fingers and my experience here in Perth has been that the largest size they carry is an X... his ring size has been measured as Z+2 (or Z+3) so about four-five sizes up. I was stoked to find out that they had several around the Z+2 size so I snapped these two up.


I was also in search of a book or two to read, as I had finished the two I had brought from home. I wandered into the local Angus & Robertson... then wandered back out again after I found that they were selling the Popular Penguins, with RRP of $9.95 clearly on the back, for $10.99. I was much more impressed with the Hobart Bookshop at Salamanca, and added to my library there and at the ABC Shop.


Absurdistan is by ABC reporter Eric Campbell, and covers his time as a foreign correspondant for the ABC based in Moscow and in Beijing. I recommend this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think about the world.


Saturday mornings in Hobart means the Salamanca Market. I did not realise just how big and how popular it would be! The crowd was claustrophobic and quite slow. There was however an abundance of locally made timber goods, foodstuff, fresh fruit and vegetables, jewellery, clothing and more.


I was very much overwhelmed however I did manage to find a few lovely items. A cube bag by Sashiko Design.

Organic bamboo onesies by Sahara Bloom.

I also bought some locally made silver earrings as well as a biscuit assortment to take to Easter Sunday lunch!

I was all shopped out so took a detour past Arthur's Circus on my way back to the hotel to get dresed up for the wedding!

The (same) road back to Hobart!

I packed up the car and headed to Cataract Gorge for breakfast and to have a look. One thing that seems a little incongruous is the placement of a swimming pool in front of the pool. However it is a pretty awesome view for those learning to swim!


I then headed to Franklin House, built in 1838. It seemed rather grand to me, four rooms downstairs with two bedrooms and an enormous living room upstairs. There were outbuilding as well including the kitchen, stables and a room used as a classroom.

Next (brief) stop was Evandale. I had a look through the lovely Handmark Gallery, where there were many beautiful pieces by local artists. On to Clarendon, also built in 1838 but on a much larger and grander scale! It consists of three floors, on a more tradiational English style. The bottom storey is the servants wing, the middle storey is the living area and upstairs are many bedrooms and nurseries.



My last stop was Oatlands. According to The Rough Guide to Tasmania, Oatlands "boasts Australia's greatest concentration of colonial Georgian buildings: 140 in two square kilometres". How could I not stop? Unfortunately I was there a bit late; shops and attractions start to shut from 4pm. I was lucky enough to walk into Applehouse, where they make and sell delightful children's clothing as well as some adult clothing and homewares. I indulged in some baby gifts!

I did not have time to stop at Casaveen to see their wool products. Next time maybe?

More cool tees!

I really love kids tees and onesies with appliqued cuties on the front! Local Perth seller Inuk Designs makes these beautiful tees from bamboo, organic cotton and upcycled materials. You can purchase locally and know that the fabrics are prepared in a sustainable manner.

Images from Inuk Design's Etsy shop.

Tall Trees Teether

The giraffe "Raffey" by Anak Handmade is so adorable! He is intended as a teething toy and is reportedly lovely and soft.

"Raffey" is the only toy in the shop for this seller, and again the only information is that they are in the ACT!

Handmade Baby

I feel somewhat in the midst of a baby boom, my cousin has just had her second child and I have at least five friends who are expecting this year. Not to mention the babies and toddlers who are already out there!

I really like the range of handmade baby clothes currently available. I accept that these are not necessarily the best clothes for a parent to buy on a budget, however they can make lovely gifts, and will hopefully make it through a few families!

These funky and sweet clothes are by MadeIt seller Impish. The elephant is so cute!

There is nothing that I can see on the profile page to give insight into the person behind Impish, just a location of New South Wales.

Teddy

This little fellow is super cute! Snuggle's fur is alpaca and sure to be extra soft. Snuggle and his den mates are made by Bare Cub Designs here in Perth. You can purchase bears as well as patterns to make your own!

Sweet felt

These tasty treats are handmade by Little Fluff Stuff. The felt is all made of 100% recycled post-consumer water bottles, so you can enjoy the cuteness and feel that you are helping the earth by reusing waste.

Retrobub love

The onesie that I bought from Retrobub arrived today, shoved into my mailbox! Luckily it is cloth and could handling being squashed. It is so adorable. I love the bright fabrics and cute animals that are the signature of the retrobub style.

I first spied Retrobub at the Sunday Arts Market at the Arts Centre in Melbourne when I visited in November. Thankfully you can also purchase the clothes through Etsy!

The Savannah Room

I saw the lovely canvases from The Savannah Room at the Junior Upmarket last year. I think they're very sweet!

A flying Melbourne trip - November 2009 - Day Three

It was pretty wet in Melbourne. I am not entirely sure what the weather was doing. It had been cold and wet in Perth before I flew out, and I had been holed up at home in bed or on the couch so I was in prime position to watch the weather outside. It seemed that it had followed me to Melbourne, and N and I wandered around tramping through puddles.

We met my cousin KF for breakfast in Lygon Street, Carlton. Lygon Street is known for the many Italian restaurants that line it, and N had taken C and I there for dinner when we were over in September. KF had arranged to meet us at Trotters where I had very tasty home made baked beans and toast. They were vegetarian too! I have still to try to make my own.

After lunch we wandered down Lygon Street and browsed the shops. There was a great toy store where N found some lovely wooden Christmas decorations, and a gourmet store selling a great range of organic foods. I was very jealous that we do not have similar at home.

Once we had exhausted the shopping on Lygon Street N and I headed to the Sunday Arts Market at the Arts Centre, just south of the CBD. N and I approached it from a different direction than C and I had, and I discovered a whole new section of the market that we had completely missed last time! I bought myself a a reversible bag from Minx Design, and a gorgeous t-shirt for a newborn from Retrobub.

The Retrobub t-shirt had this giraffe pattern on it. The t-shirt was red with funky fabric for the giraffe. One of the shoulders of the t-shirt had press studs, which I thought was a great idea to make it easier to put on!


We were just about shopped out now so it was back to N's apartment via the London & American Supply Stores and the Queen Victoria Markets. There I packed my case and we drank tea until it was time to head to the airport.

Christmas

We celebrated Christmas within the immediate family yesterday evening, once E had finished work and made it to Mum and Dad's. E arrived with her Christmas sack (that is, a green shopping bag!), and started pulling gifts out. There were a large number with my name on them. This is very exciting however I only had one with her name on it and was starting to get a bit concerned. Her presents for me were lots of smaller, useful items, and it was lovely to open them one at a time.


I received lots of nice useful items from E. The apple you see is made by Craftapalooza, a local Perth producer. I see them regularly at markets, and I love their apple pincushions. I kept telling E that I would buy one once we had more room for a sewing machine, craft etc. Obviously she decided to take matters into her own hands and I now have a lovely apple of my own!

To complement the apple, E also gave me a book, called The Crafty Minx. For once, it is Australian so directions and materials should be self explanatory. I hope. The projects in the book seem fairly straightforward, so I will hopefully find it full of inspirational ideas and a good start to making my own items. You can buy such lovely fabrics from local screen printers, and it would be nice to be able to turn them into beautiful items. There are also some lovely ideas for blankets and scarves using old woollen jumpers!


Making items out of wool reminds me of a Victorian label Maiike. They make lovely toys, blankets, scarves and other goodies out of recycled wool! Such beautiful products! I have seen them at Remedy in Fremantle and Leederville. Such lovely produts, they are also very inspiring.