A Stitch in Time

While meandering around cyberspace I found two jewellers who have combined the traditional art of cross stitch with the crispness and shine of silver to create stunning jerwellery.
Netherlands based Corina Rietveld's pieces are both beautiful and unconventional takes on the age old art of needlepoint, combined with contemporary silversmithing.

From Corina Rietveld's website," The traditional technique of embroidery is a source of inspiration for the jewels of this collection. Traditional handwork and modern material meet in these designs. By using the particular combination of silver with embroidery silk, I want to give a different look at the traditional embroidery which you already know."

German born, Australian based Caro Baertling's jewellery is also a combination of stitching and silver. "Needlework for instance is as good as gold to her, because it costs a lot of time and patience. When combined with silver, wearable treasures are created."

On Caro Baertling's website you can decide on the design of your piece by selecting from the embroidery patterns below.
Read an online interview with her here. If you live in Sydney you can see her work at Koskela in Surry Hills.
I wonder if both these jewellers have crossed paths in their creative lives. Their ideas are too similar not to have been influenced by each other somewhere along the track!

Autumn Chill Busters Winners!

The five winners of the great Body Parts/Textile Allsorts products are:
1. Purple Tubeway Armies- Bec from Beccasaurus
2. Grey Tubeway Armies-Ejay
3. Orange tights-Tracy from Boutifully
4. Burgundy Tights- Lynne from Sister Outlaws
5. Woolly Purse-Zofia
Please send me your details so we can get your goodies off in the mail.

This Bower my Prison.

"This Bower my Prison" is the blog name of the multi talented Sydney artist and sculptor Jane Gillings.
I found out about Jane when I received an email from her about 3 years ago. She had some great lino to give me if I wanted it. In an absolutely wonderful stroke of luck and perfect timing, I was up in the Blue Mountains on holiday at the time and was going to be passing right by her house the next day! And I'm still using the excellent primary coloured lino she gave me!
Jane is a classic bower bird, collecting discarded plastics and transforming them into amazing 3 dimensional artwork.

This intricate owl and wren are made from packing tape and other scavenged plastic.
In 2008 Jane had an exhibition titled "Found Feathered Friends" featuring sculptured life size native birds all totally created with recycled plastic from Jane's huge collection. Check out this short film where Jane talks about her inspiration and production processes behind this show.

Jane regularly exhibits in the annual "Sculpture by the Sea", Australia's largest free outdoor exhibition of sculpture located along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk.

In 2008 Jane created dozens of plastic blooms in a installation titled "Wreath". Jane said this about her creation "Hopefully for some, it made them think about the underlying message of waste and loss of precious resources. On the whole though, my aim is primarily to create something of beauty. For me, art is as much about beauty as it is about creating meaning without words."

Her 2009 piece was "Dream Home", a cubby like constuction mosaiced with those rainbow hued plastic toys we all know and love/hate! This piece won the Kids Choice Award .
"What I love about the piece is that it brings out the kid in everyone and I probably had more fun making it than the thousands of kids had playing in the piece during the exhibit. Winning this prize is a great reward for a lot of hard work," said Jane

Look at the brilliant detail in Jane's tribute to famous masterpieces .

According to Jane "As family and friends will attest, I never throw anything out. It's a sickness that runs through my family. So rather than keep things boxed up under the house, I am compelled to turn them into works of art. I am slowly being suffocated by these pieces, my studio is getting smaller and smaller. The funny thing is that the sickness is also the cure."At the moment Jane is madly preparing for another solo show. I 'm hoping one day she will exhibit in Melbourne...gallery owners- hint,hint!
Visit Jane Gilling's website and read a great interview here.Pics. from This Bower my Prison , or click on images for source.

One flew over.......

I'm starting to feel a like I'm living in a cuckoo's nest this week. There's been a lot of Lino Cuckoo Clock crafting at Betty Jo headquarters of late along with the obligatory juggling of far too many balls!
But right now I have a hankering to check out some alternative designs and materials that have been utilized by fellow cuckoo clock creators.
Andrea Williamson who hails from the Shetland Islands designs and makes colourful knitted accesories and interior pieces.

Andrea finds something appealing about the colourful motifs and little house shape of cuckoo clocks and wanted to combine the softness and texture of a knitted textile with the hard mechanical structure of a traditional cuckoo clock.

This clock is based on the game "Whats the Time Mr. Wolf" with knife, fork and wolf pendulums.
Andrea says " I like it when objects can reflect a story or have the potential to become part of a new one."
Check out her website for other gorgeous knitted wearables and homewares.

Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa ,in a collaboration between Japanese department store Isetan developed a cuckoo clock using timber removed from over-planted forests.

The living exhibition consisted of 50 customized interpretations of the clock, by 50 artists and designers from Japan. 5% of all sales were donated to forest preservation.

The show was part of the designtide program at Tokyo design week 2009.


I can really see something like this happening here. If any department stores are reading and would like to sponser a similar project, just give me a call!

Love this image from Lorbus. A nice twist on the cuckoo idea!

*Don't forget to enter the Autumn Chill Giveaway : lovely chill busting accessories from the ladies at Body Parts.Winners drawn on Monday night 3rd May!

Autumn Chill GIVEAWAY!!

I recently posted a feature on the Melbourne accessories label Body Parts.
Well now the fabulous Gaye and Melanie, the talented craftswomen behind this label ,have generously provided some wonderful Chilly Autumn products for another Find, Make Do Giveaway!
Just leave a comment telling us which product you would like to win (although we can't guarantee it will be the one you get, but we will try hard).
First up are two pairs of children's Tubeway Armies.Made from up-cycled jumpers with cute flower and buckle detailing . Just the right size for smallish/medium bodies to keep their hands warm on the way to school or at the park walking the dog!

Next we have two pairs of amazing Textile Allsorts hand printed tights in burnt orange roses and burgundy paisley.In extra tall so they will be comfy and snug. (no wonky crotches on these babies!) I own a pair of Melanie's tights and they are fantastic quality.

And finally we have a cute Woolly Pocket Purse by Gaye Abandon.A totally one-off coin purse made from an up- cycled, thickly felted, wool jumper.
So go on , enter this great giveaway and win yourself or your kids a warm and very Autumny prize!

MüCKE

MüCKE is a local clothing and accessories label established in 2006 by Ellie Mücke.
What makes MüCKE designs so appealing is that all the clothing and adornments are made from recycled garments such as men's shirts ,trousers, jumpers and t-shirts.
These pre-loved clothes are rescued and transformed into new, innovative and edgy garments. Ellie often has to tell her customers that her materials once had another life. “It is actually what I strive for - I want them to buy it for design, not just because it is recycled.”

Ellie's strong focus on sustainability and the maintaining of ethical production methods represents her holistic approach to the fashion business .

MüCKE's mission is simple "Inspire creativity and positive action in people, have a beneficial ecological impact and keep the integrity of design by engaging holistically in the process."

A while ago , while clearing out our wardrobes for a garage sale, I invited Ellie to come round and get first dibs on the huge pile of my partners shirts. It was cool to spot them transformed into MüCKE's signature shirt dresses, hanging on racks ready to be snapped up by eco savvy fashionistas! And lucky me was the recipient of one of my partners old western shirts given a crafty new twist.

I love this three-sleeve top made from recycled cotton/elastane tops. The pants are made from recycled men's woolen trousers.
Ladies vest made from a recycled pair of men's pants.

The T-lace is made from recycled T-shirt scraps.T-lace's are individually hand cut and knotted and arranged. They come with a small illustrated list of ways to wear them. But you can always come up with your own unique way to wear it- twist it, knot it, wrap it, drape it- they're STRETCHY! Look for these on EtsyOther MüCKE stockists include Milly Sleeping, Pussycat Black, Craft Victoria and InspirASIA.

Anodised and Energised.

I love me a bit of anodised metal. I have a few sets of canisters, an ice bucket or two,teapots, soda syphons and an ever evolving selection of anodised picnic cups that I diligently keep out of the dishwasher.
Dishwasher = Death to anodised goodies.
For my last birthday I received a red anodised 50's TV lamp. Definitely a thing of beauty!
Yesterday I saw the amazing installation titled Re-Entry by Donna Marcus in the Federation Square Atrium.
Thanks to Lucy from the Design Files for the heads up on this!

Dozens of recycled anodised kitchenware items like saucepan lids, colanders and ice buckets connected into spacey, alien craft type sculpture.It runs till the 29th of May.
I first saw Donna Marcus' work at the Dianne Tanzer Gallery in Fitzroy in 2001.I was absolutely taken with her fantastic use of those three corner saucepan lids. Ever since that first show I always think of her when I see them in op shops.
Same with teapots......
and planters!
As we can't realistically all have a Donna Marcus original in our homes, I figured the next best thing is to own some anodised metal jewellery.

Lisa Kearns aka Kearnsie, makes rings, bracelets and ear hoops from anodised knitting needles. Find them at Moose, Craft Victoria,and Little Shop of Handmade.

Or these rainbow hued sliced up needle creations by Sassafrass Creations would be fun to wear.

Now I want to go and balance all my anodised stuff in a sculptural formation ala Donna Marcus......thanks for indulging me!