Footage from DMT

Thanks to Tom at Bandit Films.

Craft Victoria at Design Made Trade Melbourne 2011 from Craft Victoria on Vimeo.

On my bedside table

NYC = my favourite place in the whole world.
Sibella Court = fabulous Aussie stylist who lived in NYC for 10ish years.
'The Stylist's Guide to NYC'= her address book of amazing shops, places to eat/drink, museums, suppliers and inspirations.

From the super-embossed cover, the Moleskine-esque pockets, the elastic bookmark, the divine earthy paper and that quintessential good book smell, not to mention all of the gobsmacking places to visit, it's official, I'm in love.

Listed in sections such as Scents and Flower Merchants, Haberdashery and Handmade, Art and Objets, Sibella has a map and an itinerary which includes coffee and sustenance along the way. She includes handy tips for visiting NYC, (carry flats and heels), phone numbers and zip codes, a big pull-out map, and great photos and descriptions.

I'm planning my next holiday there based around this book.
Hurrah for the current exchange rate!

DMT DONE!

OK, I have blatantly thieved Lucy's photos from The Design Files, but it is hard to get around and take photos when you are tied to your stand, and especially hard to take photos of yourself making shoes.

So here we all are, after 4 days I am exhausted but exhilarated after meeting so many people, having some great conversations and managing to do a bit of work.

Milly Flemming, the multitasker extraordinaire.

Beloved Maryann, I missed her on Sunday as she was running a workshop at Harvest.

Leah Jackson and Andrea Shaw.


Oh it's me!

Emily Green in all her colourful glory. Her beads remind me of Makka Pakka from The Night Garden.

The glossy-haired Elizabeth Yong of Primoeza.

And lastly, Lucy got it right when she proclaimed the Notemaker stand the best. I concur.

From our desks

Wowee!

We met so many people today, had some fabulous conversations and even managed to get some work done.

At one point there was a crowd gathered, watching me in the middle of some serious shoemaking, plus Lucy Design Files being a papparazzo.

Maryanne and I are loving this installation, as are many visitors and fellow exhibitors, tomorrow we are planning more work on our up-coming collaboration.

Plus a bit hurrah to my Mum, who is the kid wrangler at present, doing a mighty fine job. Best part of my day is getting home to a big slobbery embrace from Hazie Dazie :)

Sneak peek

'Scuse the dodgy pics.

Installed and ready to go!

Gatsby

Brogueing by hand. I have used machines to do this, but they are absolute beasts - fast, furious, hungry and sounding like a machine gun. As long as I'm doing a pair at a time I think I'll do it by hand!

Red underlays for the holes. Each piece has to be shaved to be paper thin, so as not to add bulk. Again you can do that by machine, but my knife and I have such an affinity, we are a good team.

Upper assembled and ready for stitching. I was agonising over white or navy stitching - white would be less obvious and therefore could hide possible mistakes, navy would be gorgeous but would show any mistakes immediately.
I decided on navy, and crossed my fingers that my machine would behave. As fate would have it, right when I was being filmed at the sewing machine, the tension went all crazy and pulled up giant loops from the bobbin thread. So much for crossing my fingers....

Trial lasting for Bandit Films, who came to the studio last week. I love the look of these, the idea began with the padded, fringed flap over the laces, a la golf shoes. From there I designed the rest like a traditional oxford, decided on sewing the lining like a sneaker, with a rolled top edge and ankle padding.

It was freezing on the morning that Tom and Dan were filming, I was so worried that my fingers wouldn't work, indeed they were rather stiff and I whacked my fingernail while hammering, so professional.

So I will be lasting these properly at DMT this week, I'll be there 11 - 4 Thursday to Sunday, tinkering and enjoying my time with all the other makers and creative folk. Come and visit, ask questions, hang out with us, I'll be sharing a space with Maryanne Talia Pau.

In the studio

Today Hazel had the most marvellous long sleep, so I got out into the sunny studio and finished a pattern.

At my desk.


Tricky mind-bending pattern cutting, I have been putting it off for far too long.


Gorgeous floral leathers, recent acquisitions. I fancy making Hazel some baby Doc Martens in the middle sample.

When she woke we ate lunch in the sunshine, and then went to pick up Leo from school, he's on two weeks' holidays now, yay no lunchboxes!