Tolka

Sleeping. Sale. Posters.

2009-06-01T08:42:00.009+02:00

Tolka has sadly been hibernating for the last couple of months due to more work and less time for other creative adventures... I'm also preparing for another big move – this time back home to Australia which I'm really excited about! (Only six weeks to go). I say it every time I make a big change in my life but this time I really want to dedicate more time to creating. I'm really going to try. Hard.

So in preparation for my move I'm having a little bit of sale in my etsy shop so I don't have to use up all my carbon credits lugging things half way around the world! Do pop by. Notebooks, cards and tags are 50% off and my bags and baby bibs have also been reduced.

I also wanted to share these amazing screen printed posters with you. If you like music and good design - you going to love everything The Small Stakes have to offer. I bought a few of the posters below – they are really well priced for original screen prints and are printed on really high quality cartridge paper.

crafty friends.

2009-03-22T10:50:00.003+01:00

I was having 'one of those weeks' when I arrived home to find a little package waiting for me on the stairs from my very good friend Tessa. Not only did she make the very elegant wool felt pouch with extremely neat stitching around the edges, she also made the very beautiful sliver loops that are now hanging around my neck on this perfect necklace! What a great way to end an otherwise pear shaped week. And what a great friend.

Amusing article in The Age this weekend – 'Crafty Buggers'.

wednesday night.

2009-03-18T22:01:00.005+01:00

After my post about designer Alexander Girard – I got all inspired to take another look at some of my drawings to see if I could simplify them (a-la Girard style) down to very basic shapes. I have found myself more and more avoiding my computer but alas I've been back on illustrator digitising my little babushka friends. However, I did hand draw the leaves on the belly because I feel you just can get that same personlaity with computer...

Last night I had so many ideas I couldn't sleep... if only I had more time. Perhaps more weekend.

sunday night.

2009-03-15T21:42:00.005+01:00

Last week I attended a design conference here in The Hague and was fortunate enough to hear some great speakers. But, the best part of the conference came for me when Director of House Industries in New York, Rich Roat, spoke about a project they were doing on Alexander Girard. I must have been living under a rock because I had never heard of the this amazing designer who produced textiles for Herman Miller in the 1960's and created a really iconic and beautiful style of illustrations.

House Industries have been creating a series of products (dolls, puzzles, cushions) based on Girard's style. They're ridiculously expensive but very beautiful! I really love the slightly crazy dolls - such great colours.

Anyway, I really found something that I could connect with in his work and just thought I'd share it with you in case you've been under the same rock as me. Have a good week.

spindles.

2009-03-11T20:51:00.003+01:00

So, lately I've been doing lots of drawing and trying not to think so much about why I'm doing it. Sounds strange I know but I've been really enjoying firstly not being on my computer and secondly not being to precious about the final outcomes. I'm hoping something will just spontaneously come together... Anyway, here's some abstract little spindle shapes I've been having fun with.

amsterdam.

2009-03-01T17:28:00.005+01:00

When I was 14 I was desperate to become a photographer and Richard Avedon was my idol. 'Some' years on and I'm still amazed by his work. Lucky for me, last week I got to visit a retrospective exhibition of his work at Foam Gallery in Amsterdam. Although I had seen all the images a hundred times before and there was what seemed to be hundreds of people craning their necks to see the work - I loved it!

While I was wandering around Amsterdam, I also started taking photos, not to resurrect my photography dream but for some illustration inspiration. The wobbly, misshapen buildings are my favourite aspect of the city. It's almost like being in a cartoon where the proportions of the architecture just don't seem right. Slanted door frames, sloping windows and leaning walls. Anyway, here's a little drawing I did from some of the photos. (I won't show you my photos as they really don't cut the mustard next Avedon :)

I'm hoping to do a two colour screen print - this is just a little photoshop mock up of the colours I might use.

Babushka.

2009-02-08T18:24:00.004+01:00

Some new Babushka drawings from the weekend. I seem to be on a bit on an international theme at the moment... I'm hoping to do few more - all with different head scarves. Do you think they need faces?

To anyone whose has been affected by the bushfires in Australia - I've been thinking of you...

what happened to January?

2009-02-01T20:37:00.009+01:00

I don't know about anyone else but does it feel like Christmas was only just last week? I've been very unproductive this month...

However, I did take advantage of the shining sun this weekend and headed to Utrecht for the day. Aside from the frozen canals and windmills, I also saw a crazy fashion exhibition by designers Victor and Rolf. Below are some miniature versions of their designs. I was really inspired by how they used clothes as a form of social commentary... a lot of VERY well dressed women swanning around the space!

But my main reason for going to Utrecht was to visit the Dick Bruna Huis, a museum dedicated to the illustrator who created my favourite Dutch rabbit - Miffy! I LOVED it. I must admit it was mostly for kids but it was brilliant to see the orginal drawings and sketches up so close.

Before Miffy, Bruna also designed hundreds of beautiful book covers which were totally inspiring from a graphic design point.

Anyway, I'm hoping for a more productive February! Have a good week.

doodles.

2009-01-24T12:25:00.005+01:00

I bought myself a new fineliner this week (0.5 - superfine!) to do some doodles and then I got a little carried away...

Above drawing is based on the Mehndi patterns painted on the hands of brides from South Asia, Southwest Asia and North Africa. The drawing below is a based on the Dalecarlien horse from Sweden. I love his square shape.

I'm a little bit sick of making cards so I thought perhaps I might make some limited two colour gooco prints to pop in the shop... Any other thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!

house of cards?

2009-01-21T14:02:00.003+01:00

Excuse the cheesy title pun. Here's a pic of some cards I just printed using the drawing of houses I mentioned late last year. It's my first attempt at an albeit simple, two colour gocco print. I wanted two versions: one with the circle looking a little like the moon and the other being a sun... I'm still unsure if I like them or not.

speaking of packaging.

2009-01-20T20:43:00.007+01:00

I don't usually post about graphic design work (because it's work) but since I was on the topic yesterday, I thought I'd show you this fun job I did for my Dad today - he keeps bees as a hobby. His haul of honey has grown to 40kg this year (whoa!) so he wanted a little label for his vegemite jars full of honey that he will give to family and friends. Perhaps I spent too much time on it but it was fun to create something a little bit vintage and simple...

250g.

2009-01-19T12:51:00.005+01:00

I know it's probably not a good way to judge a quality product but sometimes when I'm at the supermarket, faced with a multitude of brands and labels for a single item, I buy the one with the best packaging... is that wrong? Look at this beautiful box of cocoa (or cacao) powder I got today. (It also happened to be the cheapest - bonus.)

360 down.

2009-01-18T12:19:00.005+01:00

Struggling a bit this January to get back into the swing of things: craft, blogging, exercise, work - the usual. Think it may be because of the chilly winds and grey skies. I've also started a new job which takes more energy than you realise...

In any case, I started chopping up those lovely Amy Butler fat quarters I got for Christmas (thanks Zoë!) I'm going to add them to a quilt I started working on last year. Yes, it's taking me a while. Yes, a queen size quilt was a little ambitious!

So far I've sewn about 360 patches together - only another 400 to go! I'm guessing there might be a similar post next January with my progress...

London calling.

2009-01-02T12:01:00.015+01:00

Happy New Year to you all! I've decided to forgo new year's resolutions this year and just enjoy. I was lucky enough to spend my holiday break taking it easy in both Oxford and London, UK with friends and family. Too much food and copious amounts of wine.

I also managed my little craft tour of London. I must admit my list was ambitiously long and perhaps during the boxing day sales was not the best time to attempt shopping around the city, however, thought you might like some highlights!

Stop 1: Cloth House (47 Berwick Street)
So many colours, so many beautiful trims... I took a while here.

Stop 2: Marimekko (16 St Christopher's Place)
Finnish textile and fashion label. Outrageously expensive (scraps were around 28 pounds - eep). Strictly for window shopping. Do you think it would be cheaper in Finland? Gorgeous patterns all the same.

Stop 3: Orla Kiely (31 Monmouth Street)
Wanted to buy everything. Wanted to look like their sales girls. Had no idea how much I really liked her work.

Stop 4 & 5: Borovick Fabrics (16 Berwick Street) and Spitalfields Market
I think I've mentioned it before but I have been itching to try using some leather in various projects. The first place I found was Borovick Fabrics right near Cloth House. I just bought scraps as I figured I would only be needing small amounts. I then went to Spitalfields Market and found out that I had been ripped off and should have bought all of my scrap pieces from there instead! Damn.

Stop 6: Dover Books (18 Earlham Street, Covent Garden)
I've been a little obsessed with old editions of etchings from Dover Books for the past couple of years so felt like I had died and gone to heaven once I found the one and only store that sells a range of their books.

Stop 7: Muji (37 Long Acre Road, Covent Garden)
The obsession continues from Japan. I can't get enough of this store. It's probably a good thing there isn't a shop in The Netherlands or Australia. Such cool stationery, toys, clothes, packaging etc. (No, I didn't buy all of these things - I wish!) Everything is so simple and well designed...

So then I got tired and caught the tube home. Good times.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-21T09:44:00.002+01:00

I have to just say that it's not even the 25th and I have already been spoiled rotten with so many generous presents sent from some of my favourite people in Australia. Thank you, thank you again!
Clockwise from top left: stack of Amy Butler fat quarters (they're going into my new quilt - yea!), all the lovely patterns, lovely felt Christmas decorations from Australia's Mozi, Blue Mountain tea from T2 (delicious), AND some beautiful notebooks and stationery from O-Check Design Graphics. Definitely check them out!

I'm off to London today for Christmas armed with list of crafty places to visit which I snaffled from an old post on Kirin notebook. Hope you all have a wonderful and safe holidays and I will hopefully have some inspiration to show you from the UK when I return!

bibs & tags.

2008-12-10T15:18:00.004+01:00

After making a couple of baby bibs for a friend, I thought I would cut out a few extra and post them up in the shop as the combination of gingham and the Japanese prints were so cute. I'm selling them as a set of two - I think they look so nice together it would be a shame to separate them...

I've also updated the shop with some gift tag sets!

amazing.

2008-12-09T14:07:00.009+01:00

Amazing. Beautiful. Paper typography by Yula Brodskaya. So talented...

picture books.

2008-12-08T15:03:00.012+01:00

I spied a few new books today that I might just accidentally order. Potentially also great Christmas presents...

This one: Over & Over - A catalog of hand drawn patterns

And this one: An Awesome Book. (Probably more directed at kids but I really love the illustrations.)

the weekend.

2008-12-07T17:13:00.005+01:00

This weekend was a bit of this and a bit of that. More pencil cases were made - going off to a nice home. (I think I'll be a little sad once I run out of this fabric!)

More gocco trials. I tried printing the houses onto a baby t-shirt but it really looks too heavy and was a little bit patchy... (I also printed it a little too high on the t-shirt. Whoops!) I think a plain cotton t-shirt would have worked better with the gocco - something not so soft. That's my theory anyway.

I also finally got around to creating a bit of an online portfolio/website for my other 'less crafty but still creative' side. It's terribly basic but I think does the job.

Lastly I saw a great film called Boy A. It was little confronting and I did get a little teary but it was worth it!

tags. various.

2008-12-06T17:47:00.005+01:00

Some little gocco, gift tags...

The houses from my sketch book.

My little Dutch girl from the Christmas cards. (Note to self: DO NOT use sticky tape to mask out areas of my gocco screen - it ruins it!) I saw blue and white twine last week, the same style as the red and white seen here, which I really wanted to use on these tags but now I can't for the life of me remember in which shop I saw it. I feel like I've looked everywhere...

I'm going to make little packs of 8 or 10 (I can't decide) and pop them up in the shop this week!

sketches.

2008-12-02T12:27:00.004+01:00

Some little drawings I've been working on... not sure where these will end up. They're probably more suited to kids, yes? I just saw a great create tutorial on creating ceramic transfers over at Skinny Laminx - maybe i'll give that a go... gee, I'm so decisive today!

snowy sunday...

2008-11-30T15:54:00.004+01:00

A snowy Sunday - what a good day to stay indoors and write some Christmas cards and drink tea. I printed quite a few extra cards so I've now got a couple of packs up in my shop. I know they're not particularly 'Christmassy' but I'm a little over Christmas in general this year so thought just a pretty blank card would be just as nice!

On a very happy note - this week I also made my first sales on etsy - woo. Very good for motivation. Thank you for your support!

Throwawayism.

2008-11-28T15:50:00.004+01:00

Okay I'm caught out. I was in Iittala yesterday drooling over their beautiful Christmas dinnerware (see above) when I passed by the counter and saw this massive sign...

I don't like to get on my soap box too often but all I can say is "right on"! You can read more about Iittala's 'Throwawayism' theory and the designers involved right here. Now, I'm not suggesting we all go out and by Iittala products (god knows I can't afford it) but I really believe that investing in a quality product is worthwhile both for you and environment. An issue I struggle with daily as I create more bags and cards etc... Interestingly, after I saw this, I then read a similar post over at Meet Me at Mikes called Christmas Craftism. Also a worthwhile read.

Dutch style.

2008-11-25T15:02:00.007+01:00

Since it's my first Christmas in Holland, I thought I would make some Christmas cards to send home with a slightly Dutch theme. I did a little line drawing based on traditional Dutch costumes - the original idea came from some tea cups I bought at a flea market in Delft.

After a few false starts with the gocco, I managed some successful prints!

I guess the card won't really be a surprise in the mail now....

Hopefully it will keep snowing so I can have my first white Christmas!

Leaf House

2008-11-24T09:07:00.003+01:00

Have been meaning to post about this for ages. Rop van Mierlo, a design graduate from Eindhoven, made this beautiful animation to the Animal Collective's 'Leaf House'. Not only are the Animal Collective one of my favourite bands but I was so blown away by Mierlo's simple and elegant illustrations.

Amsterdam inspires.

2008-11-19T20:19:00.008+01:00

I went to Amsterdam today for a little inspiration – so many beautiful colours. The above image was taken at Nic Nic, a shop selling loads of 1950's Villeroy & Boch dinnerware. I could just imagine an entire table laid out in a mix of these pastel colours... I kept my hands deep in my pockets. Shame.

I then stopped into Laura Dols and found a whole wall of different coloured vintage bed linen. I want it all!

I also found this really quirky shop, Het Grote Avontuur, that sells a mixture of Dutch and Russian folk products. Random. Everything from glassware, quilts, notebook and the beautiful calandar above which illustrates traditional Dutch costumes. It's printed beautifully and each month has quite a unique design. You can buy them online here.

Lastly, but probably most importantly, was a little store called Restored. All handmade design products; bags, slippers, cushions, notebooks, ceramics.

Good day. New ideas.

yellow. not so happy.

2008-11-17T09:37:00.006+01:00

Had a crappy gocco day today. Was just doing some testing for new prints but everything seemed to go wrong. Inks to runny, inks to sticky, smoodgy prints, mixing up a purple colour (I hate purple) when I was trying to get a pinky-orange... I was trying to do some two colour prints but as you can see by the flop above, it just wasn't my day.

However, the day wasn't a total loss as we went to the 80th birthday exhibition for Dutch graphic/type designer Wim Crouwel in Rotterdam. Thinking of becoming a modernist...

yellow. happy.

2008-11-15T14:35:00.005+01:00

One of the things I love most about Holland (apart from stroop waffles) is the flowers – especially the tulips. They're so cheap and so bright. I got these from the market this morning...

Random, but I also loved the wrapping the flowers came in.

more ...

2008-11-14T11:42:00.002+01:00

Have made a few more bags to go up in my esty shop this week! I wanted to keep them all in very subtle colours and focus more on having variation in texture. For the bag on the left I used the really beautiful bobbly (that's a technical textile word) linen/cotton blend I bought in Japan and for the lining I used black linen. (I'm secretly thinking of keeping this one.) The material from Japan was so delicate - almost like tissue paper - I had to use some quite thick interfacing to strengthen it. The bag on the right uses a more sturdy cotton/denim material with a blue check gingham lining.

I really need a better way to photograph the inside of the bags... emm.

happy with this one.

2008-11-10T12:19:00.007+01:00

So, I adjusted the pattern slightly from the bag I posted last week and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. This bag I made in black linen (so nice) with a cream cotton lining (quite rough/natural in texture). Also, some wooden button details on the handle. This one's ready for the shop. Hope to make more this week!

Inside of the bag with little pocket for mobile phone/keys. Do you think I've done enough screen printing with this tree!? I think so.

Some Tolka branding - it's got to be done...

who needs tonsils anyway?

2008-11-10T11:50:00.005+01:00

I thought tonsillitis was something you only got when you were 12. Not so. Having been moping about for the last week, I awoke from the fog yesterday to finish off a few projects. The hankies seemed like an appropriate place to start as I was feeling guilty about the 3 rolls of toilet paper I had chewed through blowing my nose these past days...

The hankies are 100% cotton (creamish in colour) with 3 pleats sewn on the left. I used the gocco to screen print the tree in the bottom corner. I made quite a few and will put them on etsy in sets of two.

I also stitched up some little trace paper envelopes to package up the tree cards I printed last week. Also got around to making a little screen to stamp Tolka onto the back of the cards. Hopefully these too will be on etsy by the end of the week.

stone carvers girlfriend.

2008-11-01T12:53:00.005+01:00

Stone carving lessons - who would have thought. Dan started classes this week as part of his masters in type design and requested an apron. It's pretty functional apart from the slightly unnecessary (but good looking) embroidery I did just to the left of the skinny pocket for his paint brushes. I also lined the pocket with striped blue cotton (again, probably unnecessary) but it got a little lost... at least I know it's there!

The practice stone.

...

2008-10-31T19:02:00.003+01:00

This bag just about sums up my week. Not very productive. A little bit blank. Lots of things ending up on the scrap heap. This is a mock-up (boring white cotton=cheap) of new bag shape I am working on. The top band could be a bit narrower and the corners a little rounder... I've been thinking about experimenting with leather for this one but haven't as yet found a good local supplier. Have a good weekend!

dipped.

2008-10-27T14:23:00.005+01:00

It would never happen in Australia but I really like getting the mail delivered on a Saturday – especially when something lovely like this arrives. My new 'dipped' tea towel sent over from Lorraine at grijs. I think it's too beautiful to wipe the dishes with...

(Image above taken from grijs.blogspot.com)

black + white + grey all over

2008-10-26T08:31:00.008+01:00

After walking many miles, covering a good deal of Eindhoven - I made it to the Designers Market yesterday which was held as part of Dutch Design Week. I did quite well and bought one of these gorgeous little ceramic pieces by dutch artists Rens. (I got the the little guy at the front with the bonnet.)

I also managed to finally visit the M.C. Escher museum here in The Hague today (as it was teeming with rain outside and not a great day for riding around town) and was totally blown away by all of his early work that I had never seen before. What a master! I loved this particular print - 'Phosphorescent Sea' (1933).

Change of season.

2008-10-24T20:33:00.004+02:00

The leaves are falling here in The Hague and it's getting chilly around the ears. Some inspiration...

Some new notebooks and also some new blank greeting cards printed using the gocco. I was really happy with these cards. This time I printed them on a smoother stock which gave a better print than the previous trial I did on a textured paper.

I was a bit annoyed with the notebooks as on both prints I had a little bit of ink on the underside of the screen which made a smudge on each book. Arghh - very frustrating. But I the overall detail and the nice grey/brown colour I mixed came up well.

I was planning on printing a second tree over the first in a different colour but liked the single tree so much I ditched it.

for Tessa.

2008-10-20T15:19:00.004+02:00

Skype is an amazing thing. I'm still getting used to it. This morning I was chatting to my friend Tessa across the other side of the world. By coincidence, she was telling me about this really nice denim tote bag she saw in a Melbourne shop but was super expensive while at the same time, I had started making this variation on the linen 'bucket bags' (still need to get a better name) I had previously been working on. I used the same spreading paint effect on the white linen lining. This one is for you Tessa!

Gocco - I missed you.

2008-10-17T15:17:00.008+02:00

Ahh, my gocco. It seems totally wrong to waste all those carbon credits by having my Mum post my gocco printer all the way to the Netherlands but it's so much fun having it here. Thanks Mum!

Once I got going it was hard to stop so I just kept experimenting on different surfaces. This notebook is probably my favourite! I found a shop that sells plain books with no logos on them for quite a good price so I'm thinking of buying a couple to print on and popping them up in my etsy shop. I was really happy with the quality of the print.

I also got quite excited about how well the prints worked out on this white linen fabric.

And while I had the screen all inked-up I thought I would print some simple greeting cards on some nice textured cream stock. The prints were a little patchy but I think that's part of the hand-printed charm. I hope to put these in my etsy shop as well.

The gocco hard at work.

Phew! Had a productive day.

Memories...

2008-10-16T12:16:00.003+02:00

Firstly, no, I didn't make this. But I love it. I got a bit carried away in online shopping/blog land this morning and found this awesome laptop bag on rare device by snap design. So cool.

Also decided to put some of that cloth testing I did the other day to use and made this little zipped pouch. I think it was a bit of a flop... linen is just not sturdy enough for this sort of thing. I think it would be better as some sort of lining for a bag or pouch. However, I do like how the spreading paint reminded me of my childhood and having my textas leak in my pencil case....

Making a mess.

2008-10-14T10:14:00.009+02:00

Something new for me. I have been really inspired by Loraine's beautiful dipped tea towels seen on her blog grijs and so frustrated at the lack on interesting fabric available -- I decided to get out my old silk painting supplies and experiment a little. I ended up making quite a mess but I got really excited by the results and the amazing abstract shapes you can create by mixing the paint with lots of water.

I had this idea of creating moon-like/eclips shapes so started off by painting circular shapes with water directly on the fabric and then used the silk paint to paint around the edges. By adding even more water I could create interesting spreading effects.

What started all this was, in a moment of desperation a couple of days before my brother came to stay, we bought this disgusting old futon (below) from the second hand shop for him to sleep on. In order not to frighten him away from staying at our house, I made a new cover for it. It looked a little plain so I got carried away and made some extra cushions as well! Hence the need for some interesting fabric.

before

after

final cushion

Etsy

2008-10-10T16:19:00.003+02:00

I set the Tolka etsy shop up in February this year but it has taken me all this time to finally upload something to sell! I was umm-ing and arghh-ing about whether to put these pencil cases in the shop as they are not quite what I had in mind in terms of products I wanted to produce for Tolka but I guess you've got to start somewhere...

In any case, I've been working on a few other projects which hopefully I will be able to put in the shop (and post about) in the next week. Yea! Check out the shop here.

p.s. do you think $15 is an okay price for a handmade pencil case ? I'm open to suggestions.

Come home!

2008-10-09T11:59:00.003+02:00

I picked up this magazine, Come Home! while traveling in Japan and have fallen in love. As I can’t read a word it’s really all about the eye candy. Lots of odd and beautiful collectibles jumbled together to create a warm space with great photography. I also love the way the Japanese read magazines from back to front, so the cover actually opens out from left to right – crazy! Does that happen anywhere in the world? Unfortunately I can't find any links to their website... the pics will just have to do.

Thoughts for the day.

2008-10-01T11:56:00.003+02:00

I love these woodblock letterpress printed posters from designer Anthony Burrill - these are from his Popular Aphorisms series.

A case of obsession.

2008-09-29T14:56:00.004+02:00

I got a little over excited about making these new pencil cases and made a few more over the weekend. I think these might be the first item that will go into my Etsy shop because really, how many pencil cases does a girl need! The top one is my favourite, using the beautiful linen fabric from Australian textile designer Lara Cameron. The bottom case used more of the cute fabric I bought in Japan.

A case of tension.

2008-09-27T10:08:00.004+02:00

So the 'Huma' wasn't quite as smooth as expected – I can't quite figure out how the tension works... Anyone? A bit of a false start trying to remember how to put a zip in but I was pretty happy with the outcome. I'm off to make a few more pencil cases now I'm on a roll!

The Huma?

2008-09-25T11:55:00.005+02:00

Here it is. It's old, it's heavy and it may just pre-date my Grandma but it seems to go okay taking into account the weird clacking noise it makes every time the needle goes up and down. It's my new-ish 'Huma' (is that even a real brand?) sewing machine I bought from the second hand shop for just 20 euro which I 'think' was a bargain. The knobs and the instructions are all a little foreign but the 'Huma' seems to sew a treat. The best part is the retro suitcase it comes in!

Some cute fabric I bought in Japan. I'm thinking my first project will be some pencil cases made with the little flower pot fabric.

Dutch reflections

2008-09-24T12:48:00.005+02:00

Images I recently took around my new home. Left is the view from the window of my apartment (on an unusually sunny day) and right is looking through a window of an antique bookstore in Amsterdam. I love the little broken letters and also how you can only just see the shelves of books through the window...

Tea for one.

2008-09-22T17:40:00.005+02:00

So when I was traveling I became a little obsessed by finding the perfect tea cup as drinking cups of tea is one of my favourite things to do. The top two I found at a flea market in Delft - the little figures on the cups all wear traditional outfits depending on which region they come from. (I started a great debate at the market between two old dutch ladies arguing about which region my cups were from.) The middle two I found at Toji Market in Kyoto - so lovely to hold. Lastly, the bottom mug is from my favourite store in Japan, Muji. The whole thing comes apart with a built in tea strainer and lid to catch the drips. Their stationary department is also amazing!

Now I just need to find someone to share a cup with...

Softies

2008-09-21T14:27:00.007+02:00

She came up with the idea for the books, she designed the them, and now there's a website! My very talented friend Claire (from Penguin books) has been working on these Softies books for the past couple of years and has now launched a great new website. You can download pictures, check out links to the softies creators and even download patterns. Check out the website here!

Below is my first attempt at a Softie. This is Polly from the first book. I donated her to the Meet Me at Mikes Mirabel Christmas Appeal last year - so hopefully someone is giving her some love (wonky arms and all)!

Holland

2008-09-19T16:59:00.004+02:00

Hallo from The Netherlands. I know it's been a 'long' while since my last post however I have an excuse. For the past few months I have been working, saving, traveling and shifting my life to the other side of the world. But I'm back. And now that I have finally settled into some sort of normality, I'm really ready to get my hands moving again!

I've got lots of new ideas - just got to get started now.

I spent two weeks in amazing Japan so thought I'd post this very serene image from my favourite Japanese artist, Yoshimoto Nara.

Bibs & Bobs.

2008-04-21T01:06:00.006+02:00

As scary as it is, it seems I'm getting to an age where many of my friends are starting their own little families. Each time there's a new arrival, I've tried to make something personal as a present to give. I'll be honest, my baby beanies were a bit of a disaster and my cross stitch efforts were, well, let's just say you could hardly tell the difference between my owl and my lady bug...

Anyway, this weekend I started making bibs which are super easy and really cute, if I do say so myself. They also make nice, simple presents. I made each bib with a combination of cotton and linen with a little press stud to hold the bib on.

I got a little carried away with the sewing, so I'm hoping to put some in my new etsy shop which I will hopefully have up and running by the end of this week. If anyone has any ideas about a reasonable price for bib I would love to hear it!

Flower and green polka dot bibs with linen backing.

Close up of the patterns.

How cool is this colour by number fabric with the little bird!

More unfinished bibs waiting to be sewn.

Have a great Monday!

'snot just about the hanky

2008-04-06T08:44:00.011+02:00

I had this sudden thought last week... actually maybe it wasn't that sudden... but I had a realisation that being a graphic designer isn't really doing much to help the world out. (Or at least not in the ways I would like.)

I have a friend who recently left to be a doctor in Cambodia for year (that's you Chris) and another who has just spent a couple of months in Sri Lanka planning ways to build communities (and you, Jacqui)... In the last couple of weeks I've done two logos, a style guide and thrown in a couple of brochures and a newsletter for good measure. Sure it's made someone happy to have a good looking business card but it's just not the same thing.

One of the things that concerns me most at the moment about the environment is excessive packaging and the way we are so dependent on consumable items. Check out The Story of Stuff below if you want to know a bit more about the life cycle of products (scary stuff!).

So, I thought I'd start small and give myself a little project...

The humble tissue. There's millions of the buggers out there that get one use and then tossed. (Not to mention the shear annoyance when one manages to turn a load of washing into a snow storm). So I thought I would design a set of hankies, complete with days of the week, to combat (or help a little) with this problem.

I wanted to keep them pretty graphic and simple, using typefaces that relate to how one might feel on a particular day of the week. Below are the typefaces I have chosen so far.

My eventual plan is to screen print these on to hankies that I would sew up. Potentially on an organic cotton... I was thinking maybe some subtle colours as well.

I'd love to hear if you think the days suit their typeface or if there's something else you might suggest. (I'm trying to avoid Comic Sans so don't even go there :)

A pinny and a pleat.

2008-03-30T09:55:00.006+02:00

Aprons, pinnies, smocks – whatever. You can never have enough. Especially when they're 50's style, linen, with a cute pocket and tea towel loop. I made this one last weekend with my ever dwindling supply of linen. I think I need to stock up again! (fabric-store.com here I come).

I got the pattern from Amy Butler's 'Stitches ' book. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of the fabrics used and some of the excessive frills, but if you can see past all that, the basic patterns are really simple and easy! Some of the projects even come with paper pattern pieces in the front of the book (unfortunately not the apron.)

The other book in this series that is REALLY great is 'Simple Sewing' by Lotta Jansdotta - the Scandinavian textile designer. The colours and fabric used are beautiful... Lotta's website is also quite inspiring.

On a totally unrelated note - I just started listening to 'The Cave Singers' new album. Amazing!

It's all Japanese to me...

2008-03-22T00:45:00.013+01:00

Easter this year means Lindt chocolate bunnies (with the cute bell) and gocco printing! I finally opened my predictably neat little package from Japan to find an assort of supplies... Now, as I haven't actually used a gocco before, I had to do some research... (clearly all instructions being in Japanese was going to be of absolutely no help.) After a combination of Google and You tube I made my first print.

As it was all a bit of an experiment I wasn't too precious about the final product.

Gocco supplies: ink, cleaner, print lamps & screens.

My original drawing which I scanned and then printed on a laser printer. To expose a screen your artwork needs to be carbon based. Hence, photocopies and lasers prints work really well.

Gocco with inked screen in place and final print on the foam pad below.

I did a couple of experiments printing on to thick brown card and also red paper. In traditional offset printing white ink is never used so I was pretty excited about printing onto some different paper stocks.

The awesome thing about the gocco is that once it is all inked up and ready to go, you can do about 50 prints in a row without losing quality and without having to add ink! I really need to get one of those nifty print holders to stack my prints when they are wet – for the moment my toast holder will have do.

For anyone interested in all the details of the gocco printing process from exposing screens to printing, below it a funny little film put together by the team at etsy as a demonstration.

Balloons. Tomatoes. Ice cream.

2008-03-18T23:35:00.007+01:00

It's been a while. I know. But I'm back and better than ever before (maybe). Although I haven't had much time for craft in the past couple of weeks - I have been enjoying having my digital camera with me and at the ready. Here's a snapshot of the past couple of weeks.

Balloons flying over the top of my house. They made this great 'whooshing' noise that makes all the dogs go crazy.

The last harvest of our tomatoes for the season.

I had a bit of a bad week last week and my lovely friend Zoe brought me over a tub of chocolate gelati to cheer me up. Read into my melted leftovers what you will.

Since Easter is coming up and I'm staying in Melbourne I am planning on cranking out the gocco printer and doing something creative. It's been sitting in a box for the last two weeks since it arrived just willing me to print. Hopefully I'll have something to show over the weekend!

760 something patches.

2008-02-28T09:39:00.009+01:00

It's been a very busy week. Lots of new work coming in. Started back teaching. But amid the chaos, I've had quilting on my mind.

I know quilting sounds really nanna but around this time last year a friend got me into it and I became quite obsessed. I dreamt of quilts for months and had rather grand plans. However, after many hours of sewing to complete my first quilt, my back was so sore I had to give it a rest (and that was only a baby quilt!).

So, a year later, I'm finally attempting another quilt. It may be suicidal but it's a queen size. I've calculated that I need to sew together over 760 of these small squares. So far I've cut out about 200 which alone took most of an afternoon... I don't expect this to be a short term project so stay tuned for progress reports. These are some shots of my first patches and colours.

Since I took these photos I've been thinking about incorporating some solid colours - maybe some linen to continue my theme...not sure. It might be nice to have some different textures among the patches - or maybe that will be too scratchy. I'll let you know!

Gocco love.

2008-02-24T22:17:00.005+01:00

I'm always sorry to see Monday morning roll around once again...

Fortunately, I did manage to cross off one thing that has been on my list for ages – I bought a gocco printer!! I've wanted one for ages but couldn't decide which one would be the best to buy. Really I just procrastinated for far to long and wasted lots of gocco time. I ended up buying the PG-11 which is apparently great for registration when printing with multiple colours. I had been looking around on ebay but when I finally came to buy I couldn't find the one I wanted. (Isn't that always the way!) Eventually I found the same model on etsy. Woo hoo.

For those that don't know, a gocco is like a mini screen printer where you can expose your own screen with a little lamp. You can use it to print on paper, fabric (which is my eventual plan), and other random surfaces . I also bought a stamp kit which means you can do multiple prints at a time like the very creative Lara Cameron has been doing over at Kirin Notebook. See below for her lovely wrapping paper design. (photo by Lara)

I was lying in bed this morning wondering how long it will take to arrive as I can't remember checking any boxes that indicated method of delivery... probably snail mail. I'll keep you posted.

Friday.

2008-02-22T07:40:00.004+01:00

Beautiful. Inspiring. Amazing colours. Lo Fi. Love it.

Friday is my new inspiration day. I found this image while noodling around on the web, as you do, but unfortunately couldn't find the artist's name. Have a nice weekend.

'Bucket' bag?

2008-02-18T11:38:00.007+01:00

So, I've got this little problem where I buy lots of fabric without a goal in mind of what to make...

In any case, my next project for Tolka is a range of really simple bags made from quality materials. I've started off by combining that beautiful linen I bought the other week with cotton lining.

I've designed one 'bucket' shaped bag in both small and large...

Above is my favourite so far (shame I already gave it away).

I did found when sewing these bags that the linen tended to stretch and slip around, so I put an extra layer of interfacing in between to help it hold its shape a bit better. There is also a little detail pic of the lining as I LOVE this pattern – very Japanese.

This bag used a more natural linen which was quite coarse and as you can tell from the photo it really likes to wrinkle. (Believe it or not I did iron this bag before I took the photo!) I think I like the linen with a bit more colour and variation in texture... not sure.

Oh yeh, can anyone think of a better name than 'the bucket bag' for this shape of bag...

Camping & Calico

2008-02-17T21:18:00.005+01:00

Here's a little pic of my recent camping trip to NSW. It was a little soggy and windy but we did get one amazing day at Wonboyn National Park – see below. One of the most beautiful places in the world... ahh.

While in the rush leaving for our trip, I managed to drag one of my fellow campers along to the closing down sale of Calico & Chintz in Auburn Rd, Hawthorn VIC. Although I got some some great bargains (see below) is was a sad day to see such a beautiful shop close. The shop mainly sold quilting fabrics but they also ran quilting classes. I'll definitely miss it... (I think the shop is still open till the 23rd of Feb with 50% of all printed fabric in case anyone is interested.)

How great is that fabric with the little green dots!!

Anyway, I did spend my weekend sewing up some bags – combining both my stash of linen and quilting fabric. I should have some pics up to show by tomorrow!

2008-02-04T22:02:00.001+01:00

Finally, the pot holder. It looks okay from afar but the top stitching went a stray due to the bulk of the 3 layers of wadding I used on the inside plus the two outer layers of material... I used the same linen and red striped cotton material as the oven mitt so I now have a little set. I'm slightly regretting the little strip of yellow. Hmmm – thoughts?

I sewed the pot holder with all of the layers wrong way facing and then turned it out to top stitch around the edge. However, I think sewing everything together right sides facing out and then using some bias binding around the edge would help finish it off. This will hopefully also avoid the big gaping whole you are left with when sewing inside out...

Hopefully with the next version I can post some step by step instructions instead of my vague descriptions!

Here's a little pic of the mitt and pot holder set together. (I really need some posh product photography.)

New Linen. New Camera.

2008-02-03T03:46:00.001+01:00

Last week was a big week. New blog, new camera and a stack of new linen. The shot above is taken with my great new camera (I'm a little obsessed by it at the moment) and shows a pile of beautiful linen that I recently ordered from www.fabrics-store.com. I was really having trouble trying to find quality linen that wasn't too expensive around Melbourne so had to resort to ordering online. This website has some great products at good prices but watch out for the shipping costs - ouch!

Close up of the linen - love that macro lens! How beautiful is the red colour. I'll have to think of something great for that piece....

Hello.

2008-01-29T06:02:00.000+01:00

Hello. So, this is it. My own little piece of self indulgent cyber space to call my own. Tolka is a new idea where i'm starting to put some of my 'non-graphic design' designs and interests to some use.

Above is one of Tolka's first projects, starting small, the humble oven mitt. 100% linen combined with 100% cotton. I'm in the process of creating a square pot holder to make a little set... harder than one thinks! Stayed tuned for developments.

Anyway, any advice, feedback or comments along the way would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.