Update phase two: Wood Necklaces

Wood is really one of my favourite mediums to work in, and I am so proud of how our first range of necklaces have turned out. They're made from mahogany that was discarded boat building material and this stunning cocobolo piece that Richard had left over from studying cabinet making. They're all strung on a fine, platinum coated chain and I'm really loving the way the grain has shown itself off, especially in the cocobolo prism. You can find them all in the shop, here. Hope you like them!

I plan to take a bit of a break now that this shop update is done, although I secretly do have a few new things I've slowly started working on. Back to more regular blogging from now on though, promise. Oh, we also have a Facebook page now so you can pop over here and 'like' it (so weird to say that) if you like! I'll try keeping it updated as much as possible. 

Update: Phase One

Phase one of our update, done! We now have these beautiful new pinboards in a range of sizes and vintage floral upholstery fabrics. I secretly want to keep that black one to hang my jewellery on! You can also find our range of limited edition teak bookmarks here, complete with hand drawn Scandinavian inspired illustrations. The king and queen are my favourites, especially the king with his tiny city for a crown. There's only a few of each illustration, and once they're gone they're gone!

We also now have a large 14" hoop chalkboard, a plain (or customized) writing slate and all our old chalkboard illustrations have been combined into one listing. Necklaces to come tomorrow!

Balance

I'm really excited to announce that not only do we have a new DIY in the latest Blanket Magazine issue, but that we're going to be continuing on as regular contributors to the magazine! Bec puts together such a great magazine and we're really honoured to be joining the team. This month is the Landscape issue and it is just as beautiful as ever, I really recommend checking it out. Amazing cover art by Jo Cheung, photography from one of my favourites Erin Tyner and some other fun tutorials in diorama and tilt shift photography (miniature landscapes!). Our tutorial is teaching you how to make a simple landscape inspired mobile. The trick is all in finding the balance points, which is surprisingly easy so maybe you'd like to give this a go! 

Balance, definitely something I'm still trying and learning to achieve in my life. I've pretty much come to terms with the fact that I am a total last minute person. I need that pressure to get things done, and as much as I hate it when I'm actually pulling the all nighter (or, attempting to as I most definitely can't to it anymore. I'm too old and sleep is too good!) it's always seemed to work well for me. Only, the aftermath of said late nights is starting to get to me and it's this; the messy house, candy wrappers and mugs of tea all over the place, my sleep schedule all out of whack, that I'm thinking really needs to change. 

Like I mentioned in my last post, the shop update I had planned for Tuesday had to be postponed. And then postponed again. Both reasons were totally unforeseen and there wasn't much I could do about them, but had I been a little more on top of things I might have been able to work around them. I wonder if I can trick myself into being more organised? Anyway, in an attempt at being realistic about how I work I've postponed the shop update until next Monday (13th Oct.) despite having done most of the work for it. I'm really hoping that my brain takes the cue that this means I should work on it a bit each day, thus leaving me the time to do other things rather than sit at my computer surrounded by post-its and scraps of veneer all day. As a sign that things might be on the up and up, I've already purchased a Christmas present for this year! I'm hoping to have everything ready to be able to ship to NZ/Australia at the cheaper than 5 days before Christmas rate. Let's just not talk about the fact that some of the gifts I'll be sending are ones that never made it out in time last year. Sigh.

A sneak peek at the mobiles we've been working on, that will hopefully make their way into the shop update. Think falling leaves, the milky way and tiny landscapes!

Update a comin'

Oh new work. Exciting and nerve wracking! It's always a little scary putting yourself out there and getting an insight into how people outside your own head respond. With that said, we're going to be doing a big shop update next Monday along with a bit of a shop overhaul, too (yes, the one I said would be happening in early September). There will be our new range of necklaces, some embroidery hoop pin boards with beautiful vintage upholstery fabric and these limited edition teak bookmarks. We came across this teak veneer awhile back and wanted to do something special with it, so Richard drew some beautiful illustrations based on the work of Turi Gramstad Oliver and we made a small range of bookmarks.

There is one other product I'm hoping to have ready, but we've been having trouble getting it to work the way I want it to, but hopefully I'll have something to show you by the end of the week. Or maybe a post about what I've learned through the frustration of not being able to make what is in your head become reality, ha.

In preparation for our update we'll be having a big sale at the end of this week, which I'll be sure to remind you of. Or you might like to sign up to our newsletter in the sidebar there to get update on this one and future sales, updates and sneak peeks!

New

New shoes :: New hair-do :: New project :: New schedule makes for a sleepy husband :: New Blanket tutorial in the works :: New Bliss in a Teacup necklace (to be released in October, detail here). 

Happy Monday, folks. 

River rocks and woodsmoke

I picked up those little river rocks when we went swimming at Lynn Canyon on the weekend and I'm totally captivated by the peachy tones, especially in that little one. I wish the photos did them a little more justice, they're just the colours that have been on my mind lately, warm neutrals, nudes, light apricot-y type colours with some dusty greys and flecks of charcoal thrown in. So pretty.

I'm hoping to include them into some new stuff we're working on for the store, a kind of Fall/Winter collection type deal that should be ready in early September. We've been lucky to have been gifted some really beautiful wood scraps that we had no idea what to do with for awhile but have now started fashioning into some simple necklaces and maybe even rings. I never thought I'd make jewellery, but I've been really enjoying thinking of what shapes to use and working with the wood. I really never get sick of working with wood, it's a medium that I always seem drawn to, and the wood burning smells from when I get to use the big sanding machine are so smoky and lovely! The two woods are mahogany and cocobolo, which is this beautiful, dense, oily wood that smells amazing and is so nice to work with. It becomes so smooth that it feels like a rock or glass once you've sanded it. Such a lucky find!

We've actually decided to retire a few of the older products in the store to make way for fresh stuff, which has been strangely really hard for me! There are just some things that I feel like I've moved on from, or am just no longer that excited about but there is a definite temptation to stick with what you know will bring in some money every now and then and also the fear that new stuff isn't going to work and that we should have stuck with the old. Worry, worry, worry. But putting the worry aside I'm really excited about the new products we're working on and the direction we're taking. Classic me, I'm always turn with the need to move forward and finding so much comfort in the already known. I promise to keep you up to date with what we're working on, I always value everyone's feedback!

So, how about you guys. Working on anything fun at the moment? Are you someone who loves change and trying out new things or do you prefer the comfort of routine and what you already know?