Goodnight kids' wall art from Nomuu

Simone Downey from Nomuu is one of my favourite Australian artists for kids' spaces - her work is original and has that magic wow-factor that turns a room into something special. Simone has just released a new print design that I know will become a bedroom classic - the Goodnight little one wall print. Gorgeous for a boy's or girl's room I think! Read more about Nomuu here on Bondville.

Image: Nomuu

White Forest Home art prints and greeting cards

Looking for a splash of colour for your little one's room? (or yours?). White Forest Home is Anastasia and the WFH Team who create gorgeous bright art prints and greeting cards, designed and made in Melbourne.

There are so many gorgeous prints to choose from - the hard part is deciding which one. White Forest Home artworks are printed on a soft and subtle marked and textured Rives Tradition Matt Paper in 250 gsm. Brighten up your world!

You can find White Forest Home art prints and greeting cards in the online store as well as stockists around Australia.

Images: White Forest Home

Laura Blythman art prints - love, lyrics, neon

I follow Laura Blythman on Instagram (oh how I love thee IG creative community!) which is where I drooled over her artwork for her Love, Lyrics, Neon exhibition at The Kaleidescope Gallery in Geelong until 23rd January 2013. And lucky for us - Laura has made beautiful prints of some of her pieces for us to own too!

The Land Of Fig embroidered art and cards

Nicole Figueroa is the incredibly patient artist and crafter behind the The Land Of Fig brand. I spotted her hand-embroidered illustrations and greeting cards at The Finders Keepers market in Sydney this year (you may have noticed her gorgeous vibrant pom pom garland strands on her stall). Nicole's pieces made my heart stop - they are truly the work of an artisan. Here are a few examples of her at work...

Nicole's artwork is so beautifully executed - these are heirloom pieces made with love, enormous amounts of concentration and a steady hand. They are printed and stitched on Arches watercolour paper with DMC & Anchor embroidery floss. What a great gift for someone special. 

You can find The Land Of Fig greeting cards and original art at stockists around New South Wales and online.

Images: The Land Of Fig

Winter Avenue Press wall art for kids

Sally Gross of Winter Avenue Press (formally Little Skipper) in Melbourne creates beautiful illustrations with a magical, fairy-tale quality for children's bedrooms and toy rooms. Sally's work has such personality - the characters are sweet and soulful, and just made for kids' active imaginations. I hope you love them too...

Dawn Tan (Handmadelove) water colour artwork

We've got ice cream on our mind here at Bondville Headquarters as it's my big girl's fifth birthday coming up and she has requested an ice cream party. Fun! We've been making a mood board together and she has been coming up with all sorts of decorating ideas and games to play.

One amazing image that we came across is this beautiful water colour by Dawn Tan that we connected with straight away.

I had to find out more about Dawn's work, and whaddaya know, her other work is just as glorious. Let's have a look:

The vegetable print would look beautiful hung in the kitchen and the eggs would be delightful just about anywhere. I can just magine the ice creams donning the wall of a child's room or teenager's room.

Dawn is available for commissioned work and runs art workshops for kids too. Dawn is based in Melbourne and her online store Handmadelove features her art prints, as well as textiles (scarves and pillows) and dinnerware (a very cool burger and fries melamine set). I can't even wait for these ice cream pillow cases to come off the production line (early August! get your pre-orders in now!).

You can find Dawn Tan's work at Handmadelove. Read more about Dawn and get the scoop on new designs via her blog.

Images: Dawn Tan (Handmadelove)

Wendy June illustrations and artwork

Another fun The Finders Keepers market discovery for me was the artwork of Wendy June. I loved Wendy's acrylic hugging owl brooches so much that I bought one each for my nieces in the US. You'll find illustrations as diverse as beasties, kittens, Chinese dragons, cartoon birds, little folk with shaggy hair and creepy-cool houses inspired by the streets of North Fitzroy in Melbourne.

Based in Melbourne, Wendy creates a range of products based on her illustrations including notepads, tea towels, magnets, cards, art prints, brooches, stuffed toys and amazing laser-cut wooden houses to hang on your walls.

Wendy-June's online store is full of products that would make great gifts for kids and adults. Look out for her work at markets too (see the website for details).

Images: Wendy June

Beth-Emily artwork and scarves

Oh the gorgeousness of Beth-Emily's ethereal artwork. I was lucky to meet Beth-Emily in person at The Finders Keepers market in Sydney and have a chat to her about her beautiful artwork and see some of her pieces in person.

We were chatting about the preserved birds at the museum and how amazing it is that the staff let you sit down with a piece to examine and draw from. Having a real-life model suits Beth-Emily's super-realistic style, which is hard to capture when drawing from photos. Can you imagine being an artist and spending your days drawing birds in a museum?!? Such a romantic notion.

Hobart-based Beth-Emily's ornithology, flora and fauna artwork is also gorgeous in real-life and was being snapped up left, right and centre at The Finders Keepers. They would make a beautiful gift for a young girl or teenager, and I bet Mum would like one too.

Beth-Emily has also recently expanded the application of her artwork onto these divine silk scarves. Keep an eye out for them at markets (check Beth-Emily's blog for details).

You can find Beth-Emily's artwork in her online store on Etsy.

Images: Beth-Emily

Australian Artist Spotlight: Miranda Skoczek

One of the artists that is always coming up in my Pinterest feed is Melbourne-based Miranda Skoczek. You can see immediately why - gorgeous colour palettes, animals, geometric shapes, pastels and neon - this lady ticks all the boxes. These pieces would work equally well in a child's space, teenager's rom or a grown up's room too.

Of course I love the cockatoo framed in neon yellow (there's that cockatoo obsession again), but I would love any piece from Miranda's collection for our house - the bigger, the better. 

Miranda's work is very popular and you can read about her on nearly every Australian design blog.
If you'd like to learn more about Miranda in more detail, head over to Natalie's lovely blog Daily Imprint for a full interview from 2009 and a recent Q&A here on the Yellowtrace blog.

You can find Miranda's work in the Iain Dawson gallery in NSW and Edwina Corlette gallery in QLD.

Images: Miranda Skoczek

Australian Artist: Claire Cimbora (Schmooks)

Canberra-based artist Claire Cimbora (Schmooks) caught my eye today on the great kids' online store Baby's Got Style.There is no end of gorgeous wall art and wall decals to choose from. Take a look...

 

Claire's child-friendly artworks and wall decals (and jewellery too) are inspired by collage, and put a huge smile on my face. Kitties with carousel hats... whales tethered to hot air balloons... llamas in pyjamas - this is my kind of art; sweet, whimsical and perfect for stimulating imaginations big and small.

It's truly hard to narrow the selection down to just a few to share with you. I'd love a whole series of Claire's beautiful work (first up, that magic bunny wall decal!).

You can find Schmooks in the Etsy store.

Images: Schmooks

Australian Artist Spotlight: Andrea Smith

Andrea Smith is a Sydney-based illustrator who you might remember from my article about Candy Stripe Cloud who she collaborated with to create the gorgeous Christmas decorations and wreaths. Andrea also has her own store on Etsy where she turns her original collages and paper cuts into stunning wall art, cards and jewellery.

Aren't these prints great?! There's a Scandinavian influence, for sure, with the bold graphic styling, flower and bird motifs. They would suit both adult and child-friendly spaces looking for some folk-y charm. I would adore the square-maned lion with his little village and bird (of course) for one of my girls, and the black and white partridge in a tree is so sophisticated. Head over to Andrea's website to see more of her inspiring illustrations and artwork.

You can find Andrea's art in her online store on Etsy. 

Images: Andrea Smith

Australian Artist Spotlight: Meredith Gaston

My friend Renay is one of the most stylish people that I know so when she mentioned some new artwork that she had just had framed for her daughters, I raced over to her car to check it out. There peeking out behind bubble wrap were the gorgeous wide-eyed characters of Sydney/Berlin-based artist Meredith Gaston.

Meredith creates paintings, watercolours and illustrations where rosy-cheeked nymphettes play with swans and love birds amongst a patchwork of colourful dreamworlds. Her artworks are brilliant for little ones with their active imaginations (and big ones too). The hardest part will be choosing just one (I'm sure I couldn't).

Oh - and Meredith has also published a beautifully illustrated book Tucked In: For Everyone Having a Doona Day which aims to help us "discover that our tucked-in time can be as creative as it is restorative, enriching our days and bringing joy to our lives". Sounds lovely to a snoozer like me.

You can find Meredith Gaston artwork on the website (contact Meredith directly) as well as galleries around Australia. Find more amazing Australian artists in the Australian Artist Spotlight category here on Bondville.

Images: Meredith Gaston