snowy sunday...

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

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?

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.

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.