MARKET OF THE (last) WEEK

I was very proud of myself for braving the Melbourne cold to go visit crafty friends at Markit design market.
Can you guess who the above pair are? They are the dynamic duo behind Michi Girl! Yes Daniel and Chloe braved the cold and came out from behind the curtain for the day!

Hi Ramona!

Ceramicist and designer Gregory Bonasera is a seasoned market man - he knows a beanie is in order to brave the fed square wind tunnel. His stand was going crazy bananas when we visited.

The lovely Irene of Iggy and Lou Lou fame had her beloved  Mr P with her to keep her warm (awwww)

I'm thinking of buying my own beloved (who is a bit of a pirate seafaring man) this  Iggy and Lou Lou box for Christmas.

The gorgeous ladies of Harvest Textiles got my vote for the prettiest stall in the whole market - they really know how to show their wares to the best advantage. Totally divine. Helps that they are the nicest people in Melbourne too.

My favourite find was this beautiful stationery company called Write To Me. I had seen their work on madeit.com.au but it was so so much better in real life.

I came away with these gorgeous meal planner/shopping list duo - perfect for the insane list maker in me!RAMONA

SHOW OF THE WEEK

the hand of fate

Have you been to see the Pieces of Fate show at Pieces of Eight Gallery yet? It seems to be getting tonnes of great press and the vibe out there is that this is a pretty outstanding collection of pendants. Apparently Professor Robert Baines of RMIT coined the phrase 'Pieces of Fate ' to describe how jewellery can be imbued with power by the maker and wearer alike.



37 of Pieces of Eight's represented artists have created modern day talismans that we are sure will speak very directly to the 'rightful' owner of each pieces. I'm very keen on this gorgeous Dougal Haslem piece and the Tim Fleming pendant above that is just too cool.



But I have to say it is impossible to resist this extraordinary piece by Pennie Jagiello. Pennie is actually a bit of a genius and we hope that she's back in the full swing of making stuff again - isn't her work just incredible? RAMONA

Pieces of Fate

Pieces of Eight Gallery

28 Russell Place

Melbourne City

show runs til July 2

we nicked these images from the Pieces of Eight blog

MARKIT OF THE WEEK

This Sunday we'll be heading into town for the latest installment of the MarkIT market at Fed Square. Last Markit Ramona and her crew bought up big on a range of most excellent pieces, some of which I'm happy to say ended up in my Christmas presents (thanks Maggie!). This time round there's a long list of super cool and super talented makers with equally awesome goodies - if you don't believe me just check out the list here.

beci orpin bear

I'll be hoping to pick up another Dawn Tan illustration (or two) for the kitchen nook, one of the new Beci Orpin bear mobiles for the maxmonsters room, another kinteic mobile from the lovely Anke Kindle of I Design Things for the soon to be released widget's nursery, a tea-towel or two from the lovely ladies of Harvest as a present for my mum who's in for some serious babysitting over the next month or so and definately some post delivery Boniko organic cotton tabi toe tights for me. And that's just what I KNOW i'm going there to get... God knows what other bits i'll be tempted to fill my bags with given the list of makers and the fact that it's probably going to be my last shopping spree for some time!

here's Dawn hard at work down at Obus

While in the city i'll also be scooting down to the Obus store in Flinders Lane to check out Dawn Tan's plant paintings (which launched last night) starring as the second installment of Obus' Wall Project series. Having avidly watched the progress on Dawn's Blog I really want to get down there and see it all in person.

Of course the lure of hitting to eat a mushroom and tallegio crepe or seven at my favourite creperie while i'm in the vicinity is pure co-incidence. BECK

Ha Ha of the Week

Put a Bird on it

The above poster is available on Etsy and has been selling like crazy. I have a friend, a native New Yorker (her family have been there for over 150 years) who emailed me the response below from illustrator and Manhattanite James Campbell Taylor.

I thought you'd all like it. Change the word Manhattan to Fitzroy and Brooklyn to Northcote and Melbournites will sympathise. Do you think this stuff goes on in every city? RAMONA

GIFTS OF THE WEEK

I don't think I have been busier workwise than I am right now. It's kind of insane the amount of stuff I have on the go. I won't bore you with the details suffice to say there is steam coming out of my ears! To cope with it all I have forced myself some crafting downtime, all little things that can be finished in under an hour (or 2 cups of tea and an episode of the West Wing)


I was so pleased with my Christmas tags last week I went in for another go - this time for Aunt Moira who makes a point of remembering everyone's birthday and anniversary -trust me, she can never have too many tags. I hope that crazy bird on the lid doesn't freak her out too much!



I have a friend in London turning 1 next month and his family are also moving house. He's getting his own room (not so exciting when your 1 I guess but his 3 year old brother is very pleased!) I thought a door plaque was in order.



And I finally got around to learning how to fold an origami box! This was wholly satisfying and remarkably successful. I love packaging and this mad skill is a good one to have. Beck gave me a whole lot of beautiful beads last week and they'll go perfectly in this box for my cousin. I have to make the necklace that's going in it which is just as well because I used an entire glue stick over the weekend and will be focusing on more textile and bead projects: hardcore crafting... RAMONA