15% Off Sale at Udessi online art and craft gallery

If you love Australian art, craft and designers, then you'll love every carefully curated item on Kim's Udessi online gallery. And lucky for us, Kim is having a huge 15% off sale on many items until 8th April 2010.

The sale range includes art prints, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, bags, greeting cards, homewares and ornaments. So if you have been coveting a The Red Thread sushibird tile, some divine Pippijoe fabric, feed the dog textile art panel or chic HeatherKeiko felt necklace, now is your chance to scoop them up!

Image: Udessi

Events: Livingstone's 2nd Birthday Party

lolly bags by Karla

cupcakes by Karla

Vintage Tiki food cover; Liv in dress by Alice Thompson

Vintage thermos (drool...)

Sophie in Eeni Meeni Miini Moh dress and Wild Things Of Noosa hat; cupcakes by Karla

cupcakes by Karla

We had a lovely time on the weekend at Livingstone's 2nd birthday eating cupcakes and playing at the "Fairy Park". I just love the lolly bags that Livingstone's Mum Karla handmade, and am totally coveting the original 60's duo thermos.

Images: Steph Bond

Brown Owls: Paper Bunting and Cards

We had a great time at Brown Owls on the weekend geeking out on stationery cutting tools and pawing over gorgeous paper designs to make these cards and paper bunting. Brown Owl prefect Abbey led the tutorial and we cut, stamped, folded and glued to our hearts' delight. How often do you dedicate two hours of your life to uninterrupted crafting time to make something pretty. Not enough I bet! I think we all deserve a little time once a month to create. And I can't wait to see little Livingstone's face when she opens her card on her birthday this weekend. More pics on the Brown Owls blog.

Images: Steph Bond

Events: Brisbane ABCD Meetup March 10 Photos

Kim and Steph

We had another great Brisbane ABCD Meetup on Thursday night - a more intimate group which meant we nearly all got to chat to each other about deep and meaningful topics like "when can I quit my day job and just create full time?", "should I stay indie or try and get my designs into a major retail chain" and "how can I keep my designs from being copied?". Interesting stuff. Here are some photos from the evening...

Eleni, Julia and Helen

Shannon, Emma and Tegan

Rebecca and Shannon

Samantha and Bel

Kim, Michelle, KT and Benitta

Jade

Julia and Eleni

And some of the goodies from our always-in-demand goodie bag:

Clockwise from top: Screen-printed Udessi shopping bag from Kim, Falling Leaves wallpaper sample from KT Doyle, Enticing Icing sugar art cupcake toppers from Bel, Wedding Ideas Australia tea bag from me, and Jetta's Nest greeting card from Samantha.

As always, a huge thanks to Kim for organising the event (and taking up the slack during my baby-toddler mania), and a huge shout-out to the attendees who made the evening so great:

KT (KT Doyle) * Bel (Enticing Icing/EmBelish) * Samantha (Jetta's Nest) * Eleni (Curlyhead Design) * Julia (A Creature Strange) * Michelle (Velvet Mango) * Emma (Hello Sunday) * Tegan (Hello Sunday) * Shannon (Shannon Garson/Strange Fragments) * Helen (Ruby 2 Go Go) * Rebecca (Rebecca Ward Jewellery/Rebecca The Wrecker) * Heather (HeatherKeiko) * Andrew (HeatherKeiko) * Bec (Beckybean/The Small Stuff) * Jade (Beckybean/Just Needs Salt) * Benitta (Benitta.com) * Kim (Udessi)

All attendees are eligible to vote for their favourite goodie bag item to win 3 months free advertising on Bondville. Send your vote to BrisbaneABCD at gmail dot com. For more about Brisbane ABCD Meetup, check out this page.

Images: Top ABCD image by Emma Simpson. Other images by Steph Bond

ABCD Reminder: FREE Movie Passes!

Don't forget to RSVP for the Brisbane ABCD Meetup tomorrow night at the Brisbane Powerhouse. What is ABCD? All the details are here.

And a lovely surprise - all Brisbane ABCD Autunn 2010 attendees will receive an exclusive preview pass to see the fabulous new film Micmacs from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who you will know from his film Amelie, Delicatessen and A Very Long Engagement. There is one double-pass for each goodie bag, kindly donated by Hopscotch Films.

Micmacs, is a comedy that follows a band of misfits, lead by accidental hero Bazil (Dany Boon), who takes revenge on big business. Check out the Hopscotch Films website for more details.

Image: Hopscotch Films

Caro's Baby Shower

I was lucky to spend Saturday with some beautiful girls to celebrate Caro's Baby Shower, hosted by her sister Anna, sister-in-law Alarna and Mum. That's Caro above in green with her cousin Sue. The hyacinths were gorgeous and the cupcakes from Cupcake Couture were just perfect. I also love the lolly table with milk bottles, bananas and other lovely pink and yellow lollies. Fancy a milk bottle martini? We don't know whether Caro will be having a boy or girl, so it was a nice idea to have a goodie bag option of pink or blue to take home. Or both!

PS: see my round-up of cupcakes in the Australian Cupcake Directory.

Images: Steph Bond

Aussie Indie Artists Ripped Off

{start rant}Every now and then I feel so strongly about something, that I have to speak out. One of them was when big US footwear company Deckers Outdoor Corporation (who bought the Ugg Australia in 1995) allegedly started suing small home businesses making sheepskin boots for using the word "Ugg" for their product. Hello! An Ugg is an Ugg is an Ugg, no matter who owns the trademark for the word. That's like trademarking the word "sandal"!

At the moment, I'm completely furious with the blatant copying of designs of independent artists. Only a few weeks ago I read about the forged versions of Ashley Anna Brown's Fern Animals popping up in retail stores with a "Made in China" sticker on their bellies (read story here). And today I've just read about enormous UK store TopShop stocking copied versions of brooches by our own Made By White.

These are not "inspired" products; these are replicas of original designs by artists who will never see the royalties from the sales of these imposters, and will have their gorgeous designs cheapened by inferior products. And do you know how hard it is to take on these copycats through the legal system? It takes a huge amount of time, costs a lot of money, and may never produce any results.

Here is a link to an article in The Age about the ripping off of indie designs, and more about it on the Made By White blog here and here. If you see something that you know is a copy, please alert the artist, and write to the stockist to let them know. Our designers need our help.{end rant}

Image: Made By White

Events: Brisbane ABCD Meetup Autumn 2010

If you are going to be anywhere near Brisbane on 18th March 2010, you are invited to join us at the first ABCD Meetup for 2010, Thursday March 18 2010, 7–9pm.! Hosted by Kim Wallace from Udessi and I, the ABCD get-togethers are a chance for us to get out from behind our computers and meet the other artist, craft and design bloggers in our community. It's a relaxed, informal night of chatting and getting to know each other. The details:

Autumn 2010 Brisbane ABCD Meetup
7pm – 9pm, Thursday 18th March, 2010
Bar Alto (entrance level)
The Powerhouse, 119 Lamington St, New Farm, Brisbane

If you have never been to an ABCD Meetup before, read all about it here and over on the Udessi blog here.

We will be be continuing the tradition of the goodie bags; it's entirely optional, but feel free to pop a little something into 30-40 goodie bags to help your fellow bloggers remember who you are. The most creative piece (as voted by attendees after the event) will win 3 months of free advertising on Bondville!

Due to the great response we’ve had since the last meeting and limited venue capacity, please ensure to RSVP by either commenting on this post or emailing BrisbaneABCD@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you!

Kim ~ Udessi
Steph ~ Bondville

Image: Kim Wallace

Lara Cameron for The Wall Sticker Company

Every so often I come across a partnership that seems so perfect - Bholu and Porters Paints, paper boat press and Bespoke Letterpress Boutique, Tiny Concept and Udessi.

Today I've got one more to add to the list - the very clever collaboration between much-loved textile designer Lara Cameron and The Wall Sticker Company. You can now find some of Lara's most popular designs on wall decals and wallpaper-like panels. I just know that the 'Birch' design is going to go gangbusters.

This is the first of a series of guest designers for The Wall Sticker Company and I can't wait to find out who else is on the cards. You can find Lara's Designs at The Wall Sticker Company website and at select stockists across Australia.

Read more about Lara Cameron in my previous post on Bondville here.

Images: The Wall Sticker Company

Stylish Kids: Olive's Friend Pop

Oh what a divine line of children's wear. Olive's Friend Pop transports us to yesteryear with its pinafores, bonnets, bloomers, knickerbockers and wool capes for little girls. Inspired by the post-World War II era of our grandmothers, this is "nostalgic playwear" made with durable fabric for play and for special occasions too. These pieces are meant for handing down.

The tailoring is exquisite and the fabric choices sweet as can be. I particularly love the wool-blend herringbone overalls picture above. Pop on a head scarf and some mary janes to complete the look. I'd love one in Mummy size too please.

You can find Sydney-based Olive's Friend Pop at stockists around Australia, online and in South Korea.

For more children's clothes from Australia, check out Bondville Kids. And shop online for kids fashion from great stores in the Australian Online Kids and Baby Store Directory.

Images: Olive's Friend Pop

Featured in Peppermint Magazine

Have you seen the fabulous eco-fashion and lifestyle Peppermint Magazine yet? It's green, gorgeous and good reading. And I was very lucky to be featured in Issue 4, right there on the last page. How cool!

As Brisbane-based publisher Kelley says, Peppermint is "intelligent, style-conscious, cutting-edge, fun and environmentally-aware". Make sure you pick up a copy and support good Australian publishing and eco-friendly fashion and lifestyle choices.

You can find Peppermint Magazine at Australian newsagents and you can subscribe via the Peppermint Magazine website.

Check out my previous post on Peppermint Magazine here.

Image: Peppermint Magazine