Other treats from Adelaide

The power poles in Adelaide are called Stobie Poles, in reference to Mr Stobie who invented them. I had forgotten that in addition to regular street signs, in older neighbourhoods the street name is also painted on the bottom of the stobie pole, as in the above pic. I was thrilled to see that again, such a cool signage era feature, like Bushells or Uncle Toby's on the side of terraces that were once shops.


The op-shop near my Mum's place was so well stocked, and organised. I'm not a real zips fan, but I appreciated the display! I always raid the napery; doilies, tea towels, crocheted pot holders, pillowcases, and lately I'm into souvenir spoons and kitchen ware. I do also look at the craft books/mags circa 1970's, but my bookshelves will attest to the fact that I have a few too many.


Adelaide's Central Market really can't be beat. In my opinion it still kicks the Vic Market's ass. There is no segregation of stalls, it's all in there together; greengrocers, cheese purveyors (above), health food, Russion piroshki's, flowers, meaty items, books, tea, cakes, vietnamese green veg/asian supermarkets. Loved it!


Mon Oncle, Robbie, has had this BBQ since the 1960's, and it has been used once a month ever since. That's a lot of kindling. I love that it's still in it's original box, he screws the legs on, fills the dish with sticks etc (my boy helped with this), and then cooks away. It's a huge family tradition.


This was a new discovery, of course 10 years ago, when I lived in Adelaide, I had no need for things-that-your-3-year-old-boy-will-love. But now I am in the know, the SASMEE train park had us all in raptures. It's all about model/miniature trains and men folk who love them, and there were also some remote control enthusiasts guiding their boats around a large pond. Hidden away in Millswood, this park was between two real deal train lines, so in addition to riding on small trains, the kids (and adults who are of the train loving persuasion) can ooh and aah over suburban and freight trains going past.

They have counterparts all over Australia, and apparently the Eltham/Diamond Valley group is the biggest and best. Get your kids to the train parks, they are awesome!

Adelaide Days Part 2: My afternoon in Croydon

When I still lived in Adelaide Croydon was an average suburb not far from the city, on the flatlands, with a lot of great big, cheap, old houses. I wouldn't have considered it a shopping destination at all.

All that has changed, and I found myself in heaven as I strolled along two modest blocks lining either side of Elizabeth St. My shoemaking connections had let me know of another apron-wearer and hammer-wielder, Kelly, who has set up shop in Croydon. Her place is called Clubhouse Lane Boutique, and stocks a mix of vintage and new, clothing, accessories and, of course, shoes.

Had a great time playing show and tell with Kelly, and now Emerge wares are residing in her shop! Great stuff indeed.


I was also told to visit Hype and Seek, across the street, and spent a long time browsing all their amazing finds. Genevieve and Dexter call their place a vintage/retro store, with all the requisite furniture, lamps, objects, clothing, bags ( a selection pictured below), home wares - you name it, these guys have found it, collected it, and are now sharing the goodies!
I had a chat to Genevieve about my 'thing' for old-school tracksuits and parkas, sadly my collection has now dwindled to a few trusty faves.




There are more great establishments along Elizabeth St; One Small Room, Nest Studio, a fine looking florist sporting a bit of Kale, a great cafe, and the boy loved the playground near the train line!

(Muchos gracias to Leah for recommending this adventure to Croydon.)

Adelaide Days Part 1: Irving Baby

The boy and I went to visit my hometown of Adelaide, and after being away for 10 years now it felt like a parallel universe.

While we were there, our list of things-to-do included finding lovely homes for my recent range of Key Rings pictured a few posts back. The first of these lovely homes is Irving Baby, a shop that has been around for quite a while now. It's a visual and tactile feast of vintage and new; clothes, accessories and objects, custom wallpaper, fabulous natural light and music. Trenna and Briar, proprietors extrordinaire, have a second city store, so the more the merrier!
(They were also featured in Frankie issue 23, which is where the above photo is from.)

Irving Baby
33 Twin St Ph: 08 8232 5454
& 83 Hindley St Ph: 08 8410 0519
Adelaide

Dusting things off

Well it's about time I did some shoe making. It can be very demoralising to tell someone that's your profession, and then when they look down and inevitably ask, 'did you make those?' , you end up saying, ' not these ones, but I have so many plans to make more shoes' .

It just doesn't cut it.

So I've pulled out a bunch of lasts to finally make these patent floral sneeks on, hence the comfortable round toe. I have had these uppers sewn up for a while now, and embarrassingly there is dust a-gathering in the pinking.

I tell you, last storage is a pain in the proverbial posterior. They are heavy, dusty, hurt if you drop them on toes, and you need so darn many of them - a pair for each size! Lord have mercy.

Quite often, no matter how much you've measured feet, no matter how many times you've lasted pairs of shoes, you can still get it wrong somehow and the damn things don't fit. Better to be too big than too small though.

How are you enjoying the colour changes? Do let me know if it's too hard to read, I'm loving the red titles though!

Queenie

It's not technically the Queen's birthday today, but nonetheless we get the day off. Supposedly - it feels like another week day to me.
I am no staunch monarchist or republican, but I do love the Queen's image, and all the regalia and insignia that goes along with it. Plus she was an undisputed beauty in her youth. Imagine having that many tiaras and rooms full of bling!
I have made countless Postage Belts with her stamps, in all sorts of colours, as you can see. They don't use them in England anymore, they are mostly from the 60's and 70's. I am well stocked for now, but if anyone can donate some I would be a happy recipient!

A few of my favourite things

Today's sunshine is floating my boat, and drying my washing.

The above two items have really got me hooked; the chocolate is very dark with a marmalade-ish center, minus the peel, and is so rich that even I, a chocaholic, cannot eat more than two squares in one sitting. Generous squares they are though.

My sister got me some of this hand cream for Xmas, and I have just nipped in to Kleins to restock. It is divine stuff, non greasy, smells amazing and I do love the braille on the side of the box. It's a bit hard to see in this impromptu scan, but is a tactile treat.

Golden Hands Indeed

The above photo is not my head, it's a slinky '70's mama from my Golden Hands book, issue 1. I do wish I had sleek hair and gamine features like her, instead I have a rather unruly bouffant mop, which is in between short and long - the danger zone where bobby pins are called upon in great number.

The reason for this pic is that on the previously mentioned holiday, I crocheted myself this hat in cherry red wool. Such an instant gratification project. And, may I say, so refreshing to make something just because, just for me - no worrying about costing, markup, swing tags, schlepping it about to shops etc.

I hereby resolve to go through my complete set of Golden Hands (yes I am lording it about a bit), issue by issue, and make whatever I like. How liberating!

Apollo Bay

Our get-away was just what the doctor ordered, as my Dad would say. Amazing weather, warmer than Melbourne, and we had none of the spooky fog that lingered in the city.




Banksias planted all over the place. Windswept conifers, nasturtiums on the beach, giant Pampas grasses (pretty, but not so native), ericas, black cockatoos, blue wrens, big noisy rosellas, and the ubiquitous pink/grey galahs.



Mushrooms growing from the side of a giant stringy bark gum, in the rain forest. The boy was pointing out every single mushroom, our forest walks were rather long as a result! That cool, nutritious air was such a tonic, everything was covered in green, I think the word is 'fecund'. Verdant would also be a suitable adjective.




My beau astounded me with his knowledge of rock pools. Being a Bendigo lad, he hasn't got the beach-going childhood history that I do, but he sure knows what's happening in the world of rock pools. We saw heaps of starfish, mussels, un-named mysterious creatures/plants such as in the above photo, and lots of tiny green crabs. Collected some great shells too.




Waterfalls aplenty, there is a lot of moisture in general down at Apollo Bay. I have never seen so many lawnmowers out; all day every day, grass footpaths, everyone walks on the road. Must be time to mow again now!