Camberwell is swell

Had me a morning at Camberwell market yesterday, sans 4 year old, even lost my adult companions for a while which was quite a blessing, I had the opportunity to really look hard at all the stalls. In 2 hours I had only managed to look at the northern side of the market, I really was taking it all in.

I found a lovely stall with so many doilies, tablecloths, pillowcases, vintage buttons and goodies, made a few purchases and enquired about any online presence, lo and behold Little Whippet is out there in blogland, and on etsy and madeit too, oh and every Sunday at Camberwell.

All in all I picked up some more tins, very reasonably priced, a few more doilies here and there, a pink daisy bush, and of course some Richard Scarry books for Leo. I am realising that you need a lot more money to go to Camberwell now than when I first moved to Melbourne 10ish years ago.....

On my bedside table

'Fashion: A history from the 18th to 20th century' by the Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI).

Spectacular.
This is a hefty 736 page bible of glorious images and succinct accompanying text. Every savvy person should own a copy, indeed when I stumbled across it at Readings a few years ago I immediately bought one for my mother-in-law aswell.

'This text shows how our ancestors dressed, considers the amazing accomplishments of contemporary fashion and shows how our descendants may dress in the distant future as clothing design evolves.'

So detailed!
Photos are both full length and close-up, garments are displayed on mannequins with all the relevant accoutrements, and the depth of the collection is truly amazing. The KCI are renowned for their collection of Western garments, if ever you go to Japan put this place on your itinerary!

Among my favourite images are these men's suits: coat, waistcoat and breeches of green velvet, heavily embroidered from the 1790s,

this skating outfit from the 1890s, love the jaunty ribbons!

Gorgeous Madeleine Vionnet jersey evening dress from 1933,

and finally, a smart Pierre Cardin wool tweed suit from 1966.

This book was about $80 a few years ago, and now I have seen it on Amazon for $100 US, it's a pricey tome but well worth it.

Listening to: Cibo Matto - King of Silence

Virtual Shoe Museum

'Varnish' by Merryl Tielman

'Lift-Off' by John Fluevog


'Rattan' by Jan Jansen

I recently became aware of the website Virtual Shoe Museum.
I must say that I spend a lot of time there, how surprising, there are so many ways to search for shoes; style, colour, designer, theme etc.

The examples I've chosen are completely indicative of my colour preference and slightly slick/tailored vibe, but there are so many shoes to look at, even unwearable arty ones.

Maybe I should drop them a line and see if I too can achieve entry into the collection of the Virtual Shoe Museum.....

Listening to: Bob James - Nautilus

On My Desk

'Tis the season folks.There is no denying it, Christmas is not far away now. I must say I'm ready for it, I feel the need for masses of tinsel and family/friends, a big celebration to mark the end of this huge year. I saw some great festive wares at Aldi the other day, I'm hoping that the Sydney Road Aldi will be open soon, they look almost ready!

In the studio I've been a woman possessed, it's my first foray into making decorations out of leather, and what a treat they are. I'm still sampling and tweaking and debating whether to sell them in packs or individually, any thoughts? I'm doing an informal survey into the decorating habits of various people, your ideas would be welcome.

One thing I am noticing is that forest green leather is hard to come by, I need to get to Leffler soon and have a browse.....

Listening to: The Meters - Same Old Thing
Turn it up loud people!

Sunday morning

I'm completely stunned by blood oranges at the moment, can't get over that colour and flavour.
When Sam and I visited Italy years ago we drank so much blood orange juice, I always think of Florence when I cut one open.

Sunday morning after a warm night, I'm slowly getting into the day. I've been a bit over-zealous with capoeira this week, and running (I can manage 6kms now), and trying to get my upper body strength up, but the weariness is well-earned.

Still in my jarms with Lady Grey in Limoges, soaking a few pot-plants in the bucket of shower water, the boy's watching Shaun the Sheep and we are preparing to go to the open day at the Bot Gdns. There's nothing as good as letting the kid off the leash, choosing our own adventure on all the paths, and checking out the greenery. Plus Laurel and co are doing an outside broadcast of Dirty Deeds there, from 12-2 on 102.7 FM, as if you could listen to anything else on a Sunday.

I've managed to do a whole lot of work this week, thanks to Sam's schedule easing. I'll post some pics of my Eureka moments, and I'll try to do an On My Desk this week.

Listening to: Dexter Gordon - Darn that Dream

Crochet rehab

I have overdone it I'm afraid.
I'm making the ubiquitous crocheted rug from odds and ends of wool, square by square, with zeal, fervour and inspiration from my fabulous new-ish book. I daresay it's my last purchase from Amazon for a while, now that the Aussie Dollar is back to being crap.

Anyway, I have been a bit housebound in the evenings, with the beau at work slaving away on sculptures, and so accompanied by Lindt Chilli dark chocolate and a small pot of Lady Grey, I have been crocheting up a storm.

This has become such a ritual for me, and I have managed to consume huge amounts of DVDs; Frasier, Flight of the Conchords, Boston Legal and now back to The West Wing. Yesterday in the heat, my boy and I had a Charlie and Lola marathon, as I half listened to the cricket.

Today my right hand doth protest, and all up my forearm, I have pushed it a little too far! Most of my squares are lacy flowers with a border of some sort, but over the last few sessions I've been making squares of solid double crochet - heavy duty!

Tonight I'll have to find something else to do, maybe some real work? My addiction to crochet has seen me neglecting the work which may actually earn me some $, I need crochet rehab.

Fast food

I do love broad beans. Especially now that I have discovered an easy method to get their second skin off (soak in boiling water till the second skin is wrinkly).

Bless them snuggled in their furry pods, they look so comfortable.

It's so gratifying to get things out of the garden and into my belly in half an hour. Plus the boy loved de-podding them, and then squeezing the bright green beans out of their skins.

I have been cheered to see my oft-neglected foxgloves showing off their flowers. At first I thought they were just a pale yellow, but as they mature a beautiful pink has graced their edges and throats. You may even be able to see an earwig asleep in one, that's him there, that dark shape. A great place to hide.

Listening to: Wes Montgomery - 'Round Midnight

Picnic ware

I think I may just be sneaking in on the end of a Week of Picnics, as hosted by Pip.
This item is tres tres special, my old lunchbox from when we lived in London, when I was a 4 year old with a cockney accent.

The thermos is missing its lid, but it's all in good working order, and has a label in the lid underneath the thermos, which has my name, handwritten by my Dad. Most of the labelling of my childhood items seems to be by my Mum, so this one's a rarity.

Listening to: The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset

If I was a rich girl.....

As I mentioned a few posts back, Craft Vic have a great show on at the mo. What I didn't know, until attending during the week , is that it's my favourite CV show ever!

When I walked into Gallery 2 and saw Stephen Gallagher's work I involuntarily said 'word!' which in my vernacular is reserved for impulsive old-school utterances of sheer pleasure. Everything about it is my favourite: the boombastic brooches, (seriously they are HUGE), the Elizabethan courtiers wearing the jewels are right up my alley, check them out in the images below. Apparently upon purchase of any of these jewels you also get to take home the languid courtier - bonus!


The ever-so-clever Anna Davern has raided the op-shops for old tins and trays, and produced a number of pieces which use silhouettes and overlays, and make reference to cultural and national identity. There were quite a few red dots present, so get in quick.
To top it all off, in Gallery 1 Irene of Iggy and Lou Lou has 12 skulls lined up as lovely objects, all with different surface decoration and cut-outs. She has used decals/transfers to cover the exterior and sometimes the interior of each piece, also automotive paints, and lush metallic glazes.

On the wall separating the spaces is an installation of tiny ceramic bears, oozing gold glaze from their bodies like melted chocolate. There are possibly 40 or 50 bears, all for individual sale, and too cute to resist.

I left CV that day feeling like life is so amazing, the opportunity to see these works is a real shot in the arm of creativity for me. The show is on till the 25th October.

Listening to: Cricket-India vs Australia in Bangalore on 774 ABC
Yes I am a bit of a cricket tragic, it has snuck (sp?) up on me over the years. I used to be madly into it as a kid, my Dad had all the Wisdens on the bookshelf and he still produces amazing and somewhat irrelevant factoids about the game. I just love listening to it on the radio, it's like being near the ocean, somehow rhythmic and soothing.

For Ms Jobson

It is a whopper! The price tag is $175, at an op-shop in Adelaide.

On My Desk

Teeny tiny pleats on the reverse side of a Queenie Brooch. They are about 2-3 mls long, and are so cute! I then hammer them flat and slice them off, such a shame, maybe I'll make some work where the pleats are a feature.
These are off to Artisan, I completely ran out of Queenies when the girls at Irving Baby in Adelaide snaffled up my last ones.

Sam Jinks

Sam's show opens next week, dates are officially from October 15th to November 1st.
We are a bit talked out about the work right now, it's been all-consuming for so long, I can just see the light at the end of the tunnel!
Karen Woodbury Gallery is at 4 Albert St Richmond.

Listening to: Cornelius - Smoke

CAKE!

This is Leo's robot cake, lovingly baked my me, painstakingly assembled and iced by the sculptor father. It took hours, and was given the exacting attention that all of Sam's work receives.
NB - There will be no cakes in Sam's show next week, although he does have a new-found respect for the art of cake decorating!

Listening to: Chaka Khan & Rufus - Tell me something good
Check out the 1974 style in Central Park, love those outfits! And the heavy breathing too.....

Action aplenty

A selection of goodies from our op-shopping mission, well really these are my goodies. Leo's are more of the steam-roller, digger, helicopter variety. I also picked up a beautiful red parasol which only just fit into my suitcase, phew!

All of you have been so busy, I am having trouble keeping up with all the antics.
Pip has been in the Age,
Ms Design Files has been in Sydney,
Pene is not keen on lists (my world would fall apart without lists, I am such a fan),
Craft Vic have a great show on with Irene from Iggy and LouLou, Stephen Gallagher and Anna Davern,
my beau Sam is featured in the latest Art Collector mag,
my boy is 4 today,
the wisteria is all a-trembling,
tragically dressed teenagers are milling about,
I am saving shower water again for my vegies,
I have a long list of things to do.

Listening to: Erykah Badu - The Cell