Made on the Left - Sunday 18th July

I had intended going to Made on the Left yesterday, but in the end I had too many other things to do. Today however I had no excuses not to and E and I went to see the Sunday Vendors.

The market has moved from the Hyde Park Hotel to The Saint in Innaloo. Hint for parking for next time, there is a small shopping centre around the corner if the pub carpark is full!

The Made on the Left market is much smaller than the Perth Upmarket. I think it is a much nicer atmosphere. There were not as many people there but the numbers were steady and whenever I looked each stall had several people there looking interested.

I picked up some more Inuk Design pieces for my ever expanding group of friends! I love the simple shapes and fabrics and my favourite was a tip truck design.

Some gorgeous tags from Little Mo & Friends for using when I wrap up gifts for little people.

Beautiful and vibrant soaps by Soap Opera>.

Lovely children's tshirts and sets by Hem'd. Unfortunately the largest tshirt they had was 000 and I was in the market for something larger!

Hem'd images

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

Made on the Left

I am actually looking forward to attending the next handmade market on the Perth horizon. Made on the Left is on in a couple of weeks, and it is always great to see what is new on offer.

I have done an indifferent search and cannot seem to find a list of who will be there selling their wares, so I guess it will be a mystery and hopefully I can make it to both days!

If you are in Perth, head on down and have a look and support local handmade products.

Adding to my DVD Collection...

Last night I visited the ABC Shop and added to my growing DVD collection. I have both old and new Doctor Who DVDs. I am enjoying watching the William Hartnell stories! The low budget sets and dodgy special effects are such a contrast to the slick and polished stories of the relaunched series.

Images here

Monster Alphabets on Etsy!

Mum and I admired the Monster Alphabets clothing at the Upmarket on Sunday, especially their capes! They were just a little bit different and I tried to think of excuses to wear one. It was just a little crowded at the market though and we moved on as they had many admirers.

Monster Alphabets now have an Etsy store where you can buy yourself a gorgeous cape. The fabric looks nice and heavy and they would be a lovely addition to the wardrobe. Monster Alphabets have only a few items up as yet and I am keen to see what the future holds.

The Monster Alphabet flower that I purchased was the only crafted item that I bought from the Upmarket this time. I thought it was so pretty that I had to buy it!

Image 1

Latest tea addition!

A few months ago E and I went for a wander through the Antique Stores in Guildford. E also bought a pair of trios in this lovely pattern - one for her and one for me! I feel special. I actually thought that she had meant to keep them at her place and my set was for me to use when I visited her... but she brought it around and it is sitting in my collection of things until I find a dedicated spot for my tea trios.
Thank you wonderful sister!

(I also bought a set of six teacups and saucers in six different colours but still no photos.)

Perth Upmarket - beautiful items

There were many beautiful and varied items for sale at the Perth Upmarket today. Here are some of my highlights from today.

Gorgeous clothing and this beautiful flower from Monster Alphabets

Awesome cards and tags from Huckleberry Hill. There's my friend MC manning the stall, and a sample of one of my favourite things, cupcakes!


I just had to try a Spirals Cinnamon cinnamon spiral. (?) My afternoon tea today.

Funky canvases from Splash Canvas. The canvases were abstract, contemporary, and could be made to order for your colour scheme.

Stylish and practical aprons for your children to wear to protect their clothes by Berry Cosy.

Cool and interesting removable wall decals by Wall Allure. These are actually made in Queensland!

Patterns and yarn for beautiful knitwear by Jo Sharp. I was eyeing off this particular garment at the market however I did not manage to convince my Mum that it could be her next project to make me one! I do love my woollen clothing so I might just have to learn, now that I know there are some non-granny styles out there...


Images 5, 6, 7, 8

Perth Upmarket - the experience

Well, I managed to organise myself, my mother and two friends for my day today however I neglected to organise a pickup time for my sister for the Perth Upmarket. Mum and I got to her apartment and she was still in bed! Sorry E.

The market today was at UWA, spread out across Winthrop Hall, the Undercroft, the Old Ref and the walkways in between.

The Junior Upmarket was held in the Old Ref, and there were many different selections to choose from! The room was quite crowded and I kept feeling that we were going against the flow of traffic. Mum commented on the number of prams that were in evidence and helping to clog up the aisles.

It was a little roomier in the Undercroft, where there were more children's items and things for the grown ups too!

There was more room to move still again in Winthrop Hall. It was sad to see the stained glass windows that had broken during the storm. The pieces were still sitting in the windows, it looked like they had made them safe. The windows on the other side of the Hall were still intact so you could compare the two.

It is obviously a popular market. We were there at 10.30am and it was already very busy. I think it would be great if the Upmarket could happen more frequently. There are quite a few arts markets in Melbourne that occur regularly (The Esplanade Market, St Kilda, Sunday Arts Market, Rose Street Market) and it would be fantastic to have the opportunity to browse local WA talent more than four times a year!

Melbourne expedition

Last weekend we went to Melbourne to watch the Dockers beat Carlton. Thankfully they did, although I was on the edge of my seat in the last quarter as they let Carlton back into the game. For the boys, it was a football trip. For me, there is no way I could go to Melbourne without doing at least a little bit of shopping...

Saturday morning C and I had breakfast in Fitzroy and I realised that Queen Clothing was just around the corner. Perfect! Early on in the shopping experience they pointed C to a chair and even gave him a box as a footrest when he got cheeky with them.

I tried on a few different items and in the end settled on a couple of Strange & Strange 100% merino cowl necked tops. I am always on the looking for layers of wool to wear and these are a little more stylish than my Icebreaker outer layers. I purchased one in black and one in charcoal. I forgot to check where they were made before I purchased, I was relieved to find that they were Made in Melbourne.

We went for a wander up Smith Street and did not find much to tempt us until I saw in.cube8r. I had read about this store so was curious to see what was in there. C was not particularly impressed (no power tools!) but they had some lovely wall decals and I found a gorgeous organic cotton jumper I had thought to buy for a friend’s new baby. That is, until I asked and found out that the jumper was made overseas and the local content was the screen printed car on the front. I was happy to pay the price they were asking if it had been locally made but was not so keen given its unknown origins and misleading labelling – it said “Designed in Australia”. To be fair, the philosophy of the shop is to showcase local designers so most of it is made in Australia. I just have a talent for picking up the outliers!

We headed back into the city to catch up with C’s mates in anticipation of an afternoon of drinking before we went to the game. A couple of text messages from NM (she spent last year in Melbourne and ferreted out lots of great clothing stores!) and I was under Flinders Street to find The Cats Meow. They had some great clothes, but I was focussed on wool and bought myself a Wool/Cashmere/Linen/Cotton skirt by Kylie Jane. They also had more great wool and wool blend skirts but the fabric was not as heavy and the cute owl and flower details would make them more for casual wear rather than work clothes.

Sunday morning and we headed to the Sunday Arts Market. I had decided that I wanted a new bag and was keen to check out the Mattt bags if I got the chance. They had a stall at the market and I spent some time deciding on style and fabric. In the end I bought an A4 shoulderbag with Ink & Spindle Gingko fabric. There were many beautiful prints to choose from and a particularly gorgeous green suiting fabric. Yay! The bag looks sturdy and well made. The main fabric is backpack material and the zippers are YKK so hopefully it will take whatever I throw at it! There is a zip pocket for my purse inside and also a pocket for my mobile phone. The gingko panel hides an outer pocket. Other than that the inside of the bag is a cavernous pit for whatever I wish to carry. It will be great for serious shopping expeditions and I may even be able to fit my lunch in it to carry to work.

That was it for my spending on locally made and designed items. Not a bad effort for a quick weekend trip!

Next Upmarket

I am excited, the Perth Upmarket is on this Sunday! I missed the last one due to being in Sydney (a tough life I know) and I am looking forward to seeing what is out there.

My good friend (and bridesmaid!) Michelle has let me know that she and her friend Cyndee are launching their card business Huckleberry Hill. I am definitely curious to see what goodies they have to offer!

Image here

This book belongs to...

My sister E alerted me to the sale currently being held by Poppies for Grace. They have some lovely stationery on offer, including wedding invitations, writing sets, cards and bookplates. They use recycled paper and card that is FSC certified.

There were so many beautiful products but I restrained myself and restricted my spending to these lovely bookplates.

I had been recently thinking that it would be nice to buy some lovely bookpages for giving to the children of my friends as books. Books are very precious to me, and I like the idea of having a beautiful label to show ownership.

There is very limited information on the Poppies for Grace website about the company and the philosphy behind their product, just that they are located in Victoria.

The sale is on until 30th June 2010.

Addressing the issues

I ordered some address labels for my Christmas cards a few years ago. I thought that they would look nice and more importantly would save me from writing my return address on every single envelope! I ended up with a pack of a thousand so enough to last for many years.

These will do until we move house, but once C and I are married and have moved into our new house we will need to update. I could either order some more labels or find something more stylish.

There are many designs out there, here are a few to excite the interest.

Primele were featured on Craft Lovely, whose article reminded me of my search last Christmas.

My sister E has a lovely stamp from Paper Pastries.

Some sweet designs by Lettergirl.

Gorgeous ideas from Note Trunk.

A more sober design from Rubber Stamp Press


Images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Simple decisions...

More beautiful fabrics, these from Thea and Sami, as potentials for my footstool.

I need to make a decision about the fabric. Other options are here and here. I may end up repainting the stool white to match the trim in the master bedroom, with silver detail. That might help me to narrow down to a fabric with white in it...

My sister E is always on the lookout and sent me this DIY to further inspire me and hopefully set me on the right path!

Milk and sugar

I revisited my blue teaset this weekend, and was thinking that I still have to choose a milk jug and sugar bowl to match.

I love the quirky style of the bison range. The sugar bowls are short and squat and the milk jugs are so sweet and definitely an unusual shape! They look like that will pour well, the only issue that I can see is how easy it would be to get the milk inside without using a funnel.


If we wander past the bison store in Melbourne then I just might be tempted... otherwise I can head to Distracted in Leederville and perhaps add another Dibbern trio as well!

Tea trios

The most recent addition to my collection of tea trios is thanks to my sister E! It is Royal Albert Moonlight and Rose pattern (back row, middle). She also sprung for a serving plate to match. The two trios on the right are also Royal Albert, the back left is Monique Lhuillier for Royal Doulton and the front left is Noritake.

I invited some girlfriends around and used some of my pretty china to serve up afternoon tea.

The cake plates that I have are of varying sizes and I was conscious of using sets with plates of a similar size so that my friends did not feel I was shortchanging them (or making comment that they needed to diet!).



I counted up and from memory I have 19 trios so far! Most are fine china except the two Dibbern trios.