Brisstyle Indie Designer Markets and Ella Mobbs poster

Well did that get your attention? How amazing is this show-stopping poster by Brisbane illustrator and designer Ella Mobbs for the upcoming BrisStyle Indie Markets. It's a beautiful piece of work to represent the beautiful work you will find by Brisbane Etsy store owners in real life at the markets. Head to the BrisStyle website for more information.

Brisbane ABCD Meetup Autumn 2011

Apart from wrapping up her beautiful online store Udessi, Kim is also hard at work organising the next Brisbane ABCD meetup. Join Kim and co-organiser Lou from looseleaf.paper on 15th April 2011 to meet up with like-minded folk who blog about art, craft and design. All the details are over on the Udessi blog.

And for Sydney folk, we'll see you tonight!

Images: ABCD Meetup

Hip Products: Balloon Balls

It's not often that you come across something that's stylish, clever, entertaining, great for kids, practical, improves safety, encourages play and is handmade. And that's exactly what the amazing Balloon Balls are from Brisbane designer, physiotherapist, and Mum-of-three, Gretta (see pic above).

The Balloon Ball is an ingenious product made from pretty fabrics and finished with a button-hole-sized slot to insert a standard 25cm balloon. Blow up the balloon, and the 'ball' inflates. Tie off the balloon and you have one fantastic indoor toy.

Using her physiotherapy training, Gretta realised that the ball would move through the air much slower than a standard ball, making it easier for children to learn skills such as catching, throwing, bouncing and developing hand/eye coordination.

The Balloon Balls range includes the Original Balloon Ball for boys/unisex and girls, Baby Balloon Balls, and Balloon Football. Each Balloon Ball comes with its own list of fun, developmental games to play. How clever is that!

Kim sent me a gorgeous Balloon Ball as part of the latest Brisbane ABCD meetup goodie bag and we have not stopped playing with it since. My 3-year-old loves balloons, but they are not such a great idea to have around our baby. The Balloon Ball has come to the rescue and is providing endless, safe indoors play for us.

You can find Balloon Balls in the online store.

Needless to say, Balloon Balls was a hugely popular part of the Brisbane ABCD meetup goodie bag and won the prize of one month's advertising here on Bondville. Congratulations Gretta! Be sure to pop over and check out the balloon balls. What a great gift for any child.

Images: all images by Steph Bond except red/blue ball by Kim Wallace, pink/purple ball and bottom images by Balloon Balls

Events: Brisbane ABCD Meetup Spring 2010

Fancy getting out from behind the computer and meeting some of Australia's coolest art, design and craft bloggers for real? For all you Brisbane arty/crafty/designer types, the next Spring 2010 Brisbane ABCD meetup is coming your way on Thursday 23rd September, 2010 from 7–9pm.

Join host Kim Wallace from Udessi and fellow creatives at Bar Alto at the Powerhouse in New Farm which has great parking, easy access to the bar, bar food, coffee and tea that you can order throughout the evening.

Details:
Spring 2010 Brisbane ABCD Meet-up
7pm - 9pm, Thursday 23rd, September 2010
Bar Alto
Powerhouse, New Farm, Brisbane

Don't forget to take along something for the much-in-demand ABCD Goodie Bag. It's entirely optional, but if you like, you can take along something to remember you by to pop in to approx. 30-40 bags which will be distributed at the event. And as added incentive, participants will be able to vote for their favourite goodie bag item after the event, and the winner will receive one FREE month of advertising on Bondville, with the 2 runner-ups receiving a special little gift from Udessi!

::::::::::: IMPORTANT :::::::::::

To streamline our mailing lists for both the Brisbane and Sydney ABCD meetups, we will discontinue sending manual email invitations. If you would like to stay up-to-date with upcoming meetups, please re-subscribe through one of the following;

A. Join our new Facebook page
We will post any upcoming meetups here and you will be able to RSVP via Facebook. Photos of the night will also be uploaded here.

B. Join our new mailing list.
For those of you that aren’t on Facebook we have created a new mailing list. You can choose if you would like to receive news about the Brisbane or Sydney meetups.

Due to the great response we’ve had since the last meeting and limited venue capacity, please ensure to RSVP either through Facebook or by emailing Kim at BrisbaneABCD@gmail.com.

This will be the first ABCD meetup that I won't be able to attend as we have moved to Sydney, but here's the good news... keep an eye on Bondville for info on a Sydney ABCD Meetup! Would you be interested in attending and meeting other art, craft and design bloggers in Sydney? If so, please join our Facebook page, or mailing list above.

For more information about ABCD, check out our Facebook page, or the ABCD page here on Bondville.

Have a great time - I look forward to lots of photos!

Image: ABCD Meetup

Brisbane ABCD Meetup Ad Winners

We couldn't decide, and awarded the Autumn 2010 Brisbane ABCD Meetup goodie bag prize to Samantha from Jetta's Nest for her gorgeous art cards, and Bel from Enticing Icing for her handmade sugar art for cupcakes and other baked goodies.

I've written about Samantha's fabulous artwork and craft before, and my Sophie owns two of her gorgeous handmade tops - one made from a vintage Holly Hobby pillow case and the other a mushroom applique featuring one of Samantha's signature sassy girl faces (check them out here). Both are adorable and one-of-a-kind, like all of Samantha's work.

You might know Bel as one half of girls' hair accessories label EmBelish, but did you know that she has just started her own company Enticing Icing? She makes, rolls, and hand-cuts gorgeous sugar art for use as cupcake toppers and a myriad of other pretty things. Here are some of her butterflies in flight on top of cupcakes that I made for Livingstone's birthday party. Bit more fab than my usual cachous!


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

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

Brisbane ABCD Meetup Nov 09 Goodie Bag Winners

Well, the Brisbane ABCD Meetup Nov 09 attendees have voted, and the race was very, very close. But we have a winner! The favourite item in the Goodie Bag was:

The Pear Lavendar Sachet by Ellie and Danielle from textiles, patterns and craft kits store Selvedge House!

The very close runners-up are:
The beautiful letterpress Christmas cards from Alischa at Bespoke Letterpress Boutique;

and
The clever upcycled luggage tags from Bec of Little Brown Dog.

Congratulations ladies! Selvedge House has won 3 months of free advertising here on Bondville and Alischa and Bec have won the gorgeous ceramic magnets from Kim Wallace below.


Thank you everyone for the fantastic goodie bag entries; all were much appreciated and will serve as a great reminder of the friends we made on the night.

Until the next ABCD Meetup in February '10....

Images: Kim Wallace

Events: Brisbane ABCD Meetup November 09 Photos

Wow - what a great night we had at the Powerhouse on Thursday for the last Brisbane ABCD Meetup for 2009. Twenty-four of us (plus one gorgeous 4 month old), chatted at Bar Alto about all things art, craft and design (Brisbane ABCD stands for Artists, Bloggers, Crafters and Designers). Here are some photos from the evening:

Rebecca (Edward & Lily) and Sam (Jetta's Nest)

Teneale and Tim (Wicked Child Designs)

Tim (Wicked Child Designs) and Natalie (Tiny Concept)

Steph (Bondville) and Kim (Udessi)

Melissa (Taybian), Sandy (Thea & Sami) and Karla (Leonhard Pfeifer.com)

Julia (A Creature Strange), Patricia (PByers Design) and Daneve (Chicuff by Daneve)

Jenna (Oblong + Sons) and Karla (Leonhard Pfeifer.com)

Gavin, Bec and Isabella (Little Brown Dog) and Thea (Thea & Sami)

Chi (Chi Designs) and Danielle and Ellie (Selvedge House)

Alischa (Bespoke Letterpress Boutique) and Nina (Kindling)

It was great to have spend time with old friends and meet some new ones as well. And the ABCD Goodie bag was KILLER! Check out some of the great items we scored from each other:

Organic cotton headbands (leggings in a former life) from Thea (Thea & Sami)

Image: Kim Wallace

Gorgeous sachets of lavendar from Danielle and Ellie (Selvedge House)
Image: Kim Wallace

Uber-cool screenprinted upcycled hankies from clever Teneale (Wicked Child Designs)
Image: Kim Wallace

Sweet butterfly clips from Karla (Leonhard Pfeifer.com)
Image: Kim Wallace

Divine cards from Kristina (Tiny Concept)

Letterpressed Christmas cards from Alischa (Bespoke Letterpress Boutique)

Image: Kim Wallace

Printed upcycled luggage tags from Bec (Little Brown Dog)

Image: Kim Wallace

Recycled "green bag" brooch from Daneve (Chicuff by Daneve)
Image: Kim Wallace

And so for our competition! Attendees can vote for their favourite goodie bag item and the winner will receive 3 months of free advertising on Bondville and 2 lucky runners-up will receive a pack of 3 limited edition ceramic magnets by Kim Wallace (see image below). So if you received a goodie bag, please email BrisbaneABCD with your favourite item by Thursday 26th November, 2009, and we will let the winner know by the end of the week. Thank you everyone for such creative and generous goodies!

2 Runners-up receive limited edition ceramic magnets by Kim Wallace
Image: Kim Wallace

Thank you also to everyone who made it along to the November 09 Brisbane ABCD Meetup - it wouldn't have been the same without:

Kim (Udessi)
Rebecca (Edward & Lily)
Ellie (Red Seed Studio and Selvedge House)
Danielle (Craft Laboratory and Selvedge House)
Thea (Thea & Sami)
Sandy (Thea & Sami)
Sam (Jetta's Nest)
Kristina (Tiny Concept)
Natalie (Tiny Concept)
Alischa (Bespoke Letterpress Boutique)
Julia (A Creature Strange)
Patricia (PByers Design)
Daneve (Chicuff by Daneve)
Chi (Chi Designs)
Nina (Kindling)
Bec, Gavin and beautiful baby Isabella (Little Brown Dog)
Tina (Little Mimoo)
Karla (Leonhard Pfeifer.com)
Teneale and Tim (Wicked Child Designs)
Jenna (Oblong + Sons)
Melissa (Taybian)

Thanks as always go to Kim, co-organiser extraordinaire. We're looking forward to seeing you all again in around 3 months' time (Feb 2010). More details to come. For more about Brisbane ABCD, check out these previous posts.

Events: Brisbane Artists + Bloggers + Crafters + Designers Meet-up Nov 2009

Kim from Udessi and I are pleased to announce the date for the Spring 2009 Brisbane ABCD meetup: Thursday November 19th 2009 7-9pm.

We'll be returning to Bar Alto at the Powerhouse in New Farm which has great parking, easy access to the bar, bar food, coffee and tea that you can order throughout the evening.

Details:
Spring 2009 Brisbane ABCD Meet-up
7pm - 9pm, Thursday 19th November 2009
Bar Alto (entrance level)
The Powerhouse, 119 Lamington St, New Farm, Brisbane

For those that have not been before, Brisbane ABCD (Artists + Bloggers + Crafters + Designers) is a very informal get-together for creative folks in Brisbane to get out from behind computers and meet each other over a few drinks. Here are some photos and overview of previous events on Bondville and Udessi.

Don't forget to bring along something for the much-in-demand ABCD Goodie Bag. It's entirely optional, but if you like, you can bring along something to remember you by to pop in to approx. 30-40 bags which we will distribute at the event. And as added incentive, participants will be able to vote for their favourite goodie bag item on Bondville after the event, and the winner will receive 3 free months of 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 there!

Image: Kim Wallace

Events: Brisbane ABCD Meetup Winter 09 Photos

I keep getting these delightful wafts of lavender from the lovely keepsake that Thea Samios popped into the Brisbane ABCD Meetup goodie bags last night - and what a night it was. 33 talented creative Brisbanites met up at Lock 'n' Load for a night of mingling. Here are some photos:

Eleni, Jennine, Kate and Ashley

Liz, Thea and Jade

Lock 'n' Load, West End

Ellen and Jessica

Rebecca, Kim, Jade and Helen

Kelley, Ellie, Benitta, Jules, and Michelle

Edwina, Kate

Renee and Kerry

Jules and Michelle

Winter Brisbane ABCD Meetup at Lock 'n' Load

It was really exciting to have our first interstate ABCD guest - Kate from Katiecrackernuts! I didn't get a chance to have a proper chat to everyone, but I did find out some very exciting news. Pedrosprout's Michelle is opening a store in West End called Nook full of fabulous indie handmade, vintage and eco-goods. I can't even wait! Michelle is such a lovely person and talented designer herself, and it's wonderful to welcome a new home for local design.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the goodie bag which included gift cards from Alarna and some goodies from Tiel, Jane, Kylie, Alischa, Erin and Sarah from the last meet-up who weren't able to make it this time (but were there in spirit). Here's a pic of the delightful origami birds from Nook and Akiko in the goodie bag, and aforementioned lavender pillow from Thea.

Thank you so much to everyone who made it along to the Winter Brisbane ABCD Meetup - it wouldn't have been the same without:

Kim (Udessi)
Rebecca (Edward & Lily)
Kerry (Boutique Markets)
Rachael (Boutique Markets)
Edwina (HouseAHolic)
Kate (Katiecrackernuts)
Ellie (Red Seed Studio)
Kelley (Peppermint Magazine)
Michelle (Pedrosprout and Nook)
Helen (Ruby 2 Go Go)
Thea (Thea & Sami)
Anna (Toxteth)
Sam (Jetta's Nest)
Alarna (Little Jane St)
Ashley (One Blue Wren)
Georgi (Georgi No E Please)
Natasha (Original Foe)
Karen (Dragonfly Interiors)
Renee (Renee Treml)
Jade (Beckybean)
Sophie (Sophie Munns)
Eleni (Curlyhead)
Emily (Urbanique Creative)
Jenna
Liz (Neon Elastic)
Benitta (Benitta)
Michelle
Jules
Georgina
Akiko (Nook)
Jennine (Ladybug Markets)
Emma (The 365 Photography Project)

Kim did a sensational job securing the venue and designing the goodie bags and badges (thank you Kim!). We're looking forward to seeing you all again in Spring - around 3 months' time (late Oct/early Nov 09). For more about Brisbane ABCD, check out these previous posts.

Images: Steph Bond