Marketeering

Had a mighty fine day on Saturday, at the beautiful Experimedia space at the Sate Library. Oh boy was it a great vibe, really gorgeous serene vast-ceilinged room, with many patrons oohing and aahing over the collective genius of so many talented makers.

I was lucky enough to share tables with Victoria Mason and Dearne of Mainichi, we had many a laugh and much lively banter. I hardly sat down all day, talking to customers and hearing them exclaim, 'Hey look at those postage stamps in belts! ' Many older gentlemen thought that my stamps should be in albums, but their wives all agreed with me that it was good to get them out and show them off, they are so pretty and interesting. Vive la Postage Belt!

Anyway lets have loads more markets like this, lively and lucrative, and with such a huge amount of amazing practitioners. Truth be told we were so busy it was hard to get away and perve at other stallholders' wares, but we did manage to get a glimpse here and there.

Check the Craft Vic blog for more images and reports in coming days. Yay Kim Brockett - she's a gem!

One last look

A bit of a double image, Craft Vic's Xmas window, including handmade cardboard trees. I wonder if they had tantrums similar to mine when they cut them all out? You can also see Leo in the reflection.

Flora neck piece, looking so lovely in the shop. I hope that people tip their hat at her as they pass, she is such a lady you know.

Listening to: The B-52s - Dance This Mess Around Live from 1982!!!

On my bedside table

A cute book I picked up at an Adelaide op-shop, apparently for 'older children'. Love the simple illustrations, the reference to traditional crafts being used to make the garments, the embroidery, fabric treatments and cultural variations. On the front cover is Norway, featuring Hardanger embroidery.

Sweden - what a sassy Miss she is with her hand on her hip!

Japan - the demure downcast gaze of the polite lass


Austria - loads of great embroidery displayed by these jaunty folk.

My cherie amour

We recently found out that my tummy is home to a baby girl. Sam was so impressed, beaming and squeezing my shoulder as I lay there on the ultrasound lounge with goo on my guts, Leo was non-plussed, he has been calling her a she since the very beginning, meanwhile I was shocked, stunned, and to be honest rather daunted.

For some reason I convinced myself that we were having another boy, and this was a relief to me, knowing what to do with little blokes, having all the clothes packed away, all the toys etc. No drama, more of the same, the only hard part would be the name, as we really don't have many boy's names that we fancy.

But holy crap, we're having a girl, and now I feel like I have to pull my socks up somehow to be a good role model for her. And the poor lamb will one day get her period and maybe have babies. Ow!

And what if she's a girly girl, loves pink and fairy wings and tutus? I have no experience of that, I've always been in navy blue, with leather patches on the knees of my overalls, but I guess she is who she is, and the day to day getting to know her will ease me into it. Please tell me that's how it goes!



So here are our recent ultrasound photos, her profile in the first one, and then the soles of her feet and her little toes. I am really looking forward to meeting her, seeing if/how she looks like her brother, and of course, making her some special shoes, and putting hairclips in her tresses, and maybe she will like all the teddy bears I still have from my childhood........and we have some great girl's names!

Listening to: Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely?

Commerce

Now that Leo and I have returned from our SA sojourn, I have to get some housekeeping done.

So here is your formal notification that I will be at this Saturday's Craft Hatch fancy pants market at the State Library. Woohoo, apparently the Experimedia venue is a stone-walled courtyard within the library complex, ground floor to the right, click on Experimedia up there to get a floor plan of the grand library.

You can also click on the fine print above, to render the details appropriate size for human eyes.

The market is cash only, opposite Melb Central, so no excuse for not being near an ATM, there will be a whole bunch of amazing makers and doers there, and if you have been coveting a Postage Belt, and I know that you have, they will be available on the day at a tasty price.

Enough of the embarrassing talk of $$, come and say hello, I'm the one peddling colourful leather goods, with a half sleeve tattoo and a big round belly.

Sorry, no pics

Love youse all, we're off to Adelaide for a week with the folks!
See you later next week xxx

An observation

So, this year, when I started running again in earnest, ie 10km, I got hip to the world of the ipod. (I am always late to technology, my mobile phone is about 4 years old, but it still works so why would I get rid of it? )

Anyhoo, the concept of downloading music was at first liberating, but now I am not so sure. Liberating because I didn't have to amass physical CDs, cluttering up my shelves with their fragile cases, because I could just grab that one Gwen Stefani track instead of the whole album, because I can shop from my comfy home, and not venture forth into loud crass music shop land.

However during recent weeks I have been reminiscing over some of my most beloved CDs; Funkadelic, Triosk, Weather Report to name a few, and my observation is this -

I LOVE LINER NOTES

When ever I buy a CD I pore over the liner notes, I want to know who wrote the song, in what year, who is getting shout outs, where was it recorded, how many outfits are they wearing in the photos of said notes, are the lyrics included, does it fold out this way or that way???? So many delicious facts to be gleaned from those oft overlooked liner notes. And if they are crappy and only one pathetic flimsy paper insert well that sucks. But if they fold out with stickers and stories and drawings and photos and lyrics and the whole thing is so well considered and detailed, well I'm a happy purchaser. They don't call it value adding for no reason.

So with itunes I am sans notes, and I feel like I'm only getting half the experience, and thus my downloading has decreased somewhat in favour of the actual fragile cased, shiny disc object. Sigh, my shelves are destined to be cluttered. Sorry Sam!

Listening to: Del the Funkee Homosapien - No Need For Alarm