Jun 5, 2011

Suitcase Rummage

So Sunday 5th of April was my seventh Suitcase Rummage!  Woo!


This month I was raising money for Peninsula Animal Aid.  I had a lot of people ask me if I am part of the organisation; I'm not, I just like to help out where I can through bake sales.  I managed to raise $46.60 using my amazing powers of vegan baking!

Chocolate cupcakes and carrot cake

The Suitcase Rummage is great.  It's a good opportunity for you to either sell your old stuff or to try out things that you are making yourself.  It's only $10 and to register you just have to check the blog here.


 
It runs from 12-5pm on the first Sunday of each month at the top of Queen Street outside the library (opposite the casino).  I encourage anyone wanting to make things to give this market a go.  If you don't make things, come along and get yourself some locally made wonders to spoil your friends (or yourself ;p).

Jun 3, 2011

Brisbane Valley Cat Rescue

The charity I chose to donate to for the month of May is Brisbane Valley Cat Rescue.

They are a no kill, not for profit centre run by volunteers who take in stray, surrendered and abandoned cats and look after them until they can find them permanent homes.


Unfortunately, this is expensive.  Cats require lots of food, kitty litter, toys, medicine and vet bills, not to mention attention and care.

This month, thanks to the help of some generous buyers who donated extra, a vegan bake sale at the Suitcase Rummage and the 10% I donated from sales, we were able to put together $106.75 worth of donations.


If you'd like to help out and donate more, or take a cat in to love forever, please check out their website.  Otherwise, leave a message of support on their Facebook page.

I will be donating to them every second month as I truly believe that they are making a difference.



*These photos were taken from their Facebook page*

May 23, 2011

Marky Markets

The Marky Markets are held every 3rd Sunday of the month.  This month I got to chill out with a whole bunch of awesome designers and remembered to take some photos!

First off, my little display :).  I got to share a table with the organiser of Marky Markets, which meant I didn't have to lug a table for an hour on the bus!

Kommoner
I got to hang out with my friend Ella at the market as well, which was good.  She makes some awesome stuff, I already have a collection of her brooches!  Check out an interview with her here.

Little Lala's Jewellery
Reclaimed Records was also there selling awesome journals:

ReClaimed Records

As was Amanda from Hungry Designs, who I have previously written about here.

Hungry Designs

May 21, 2011

My New Designer!

So it turns out that my friend Jonny has a talent for designing things that I can turn in to felty goodness!  Have you ever had a friend come out of the blue with something like that?

First off, he drew up a design for a phone slip for me to make:


Little Lala's Jewellery 'bought' it pretty much straight away in exchange for some store credit.  I LOVE her brooches!  I have a bit of a badge obsession (thanks to Sick On Sin, Pannikin and N.G for contributing)...



Then Jonny drew up some more designs for me last time he was over:



And I recently finished one (available here if it doesn't sell at the markets):


Swing by my Facebook page here and let us know what you think of this collaboration :).

May 8, 2011

Creator Profile - Little Lala's Jewellery

Finally I got to interview my new market buddy Ella from Little Lala's Jewellery!  She's a very creative and talented person, not to mention just fun to chat with.  Read on and learn a bit more about the person behind the brand!


Tell us about yourself

Hahoyhoyhoy!  My name is Ella (Ell-a, L-A, LA) and I call my little project Little Lala's Jewellery on account of I'm short, I like to say my name, and I like to make jewellery. I'm a Brisbane girl that was brought up around the Mullumbimby/Byron Bay area. I made my way to Brisbane to study two and a half years ago and between doing that I work a few days a week at an art shop in the city called Eckersley's.

I spent those last two and bit years studying Industrial Design at QUT just to learn how much I dislike mass produced items. I'm on a little bit of a mission now to hand make everything I can, and to share a few things along the way as I go. I’ve started out making rockabilly/psychobilly jewellery, because that’s the style that interests me the most. I like to draw pictures, render them on the computer or with paints, print them, cut them, cook them, coat them, and glue them together in all sorts of arrangements to make necklaces, earrings, brooches, bracelets and hair accessories. 

Jewellery is about as far as I've gotten for sharing handmade things, but here's a few things we make ourselves around the home:
*Dresses, tops and underwear (I'm not good at this, but am getting better with practice and online tutorials)
*Olive oil cold pressed soaps (these moisturize the skin and are good enough to wash your hair with!)
*Mineral eyeshadows (no animal products and not tested on animals)
*Beeswax lip balms (I used to use pawpaw, but since I emptied my container last I re-filled it with strawberry kiwi beeswax lip balm, yum!)
*Laundry powder (we reuse the same container filling it with a combination of grated ingredients to make VERY CHEAP laundry powder. It works fine enough, whites just need to be soaked ever month or so), *Aquaponics (this is fairly new and mostly done by my partner. In less than a year we should be eating some nice big fat fish with freshly picked salad!).
 
What do you create?
 
Hand made plasticy-resined jewellery with my own images.


How long have you been making things?

I've been making things for as long as I can remember. My dad's a painter (William Mobbs) and my mummy was trained as florist (but now works as a seamstress for Wicked Weasel, hehe) so I was always encouraged to be creative and especially to make my own things where it meant I didn't have to buy something instead. This meant that we could use our monies to go on an amazing holiday each year :)

Where do you get your inspiration?

Tattoo magazines, iron fist (love!), alternative clothing, people and every now and then I pick up something awesome from one of these real trashy hollywood magazines. My boss ALLLLLLWAYS buys them!
 
How can people contact you?

www.facebook.com/lalajewellery
lalajewellery@hotmail.com
http://lalajewellery.tumblr.com/ (I'm pretty bad with updating this one!)
http://www.redbubble.com/people/ellamobbs/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LalaJewellery

Or at markets (I post on my facebook page the ones I'll be at) or at Eckersley's :)

Apr 28, 2011

Peninsula Animal Aid

I recently ran an auction to raise money for Peninsula Animal Aid.  Together, with the might of the internet, we managed to raise....

$118.00!

Thank you  to everyone who was involved, this would not have been possible without you sharing the auction.


Peninsula Animal Aid is a non-profit organisation that is run by unpaid volunteers with a passion for helping animals.  They rescue dogs and cats in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.  The animals are strays, from council pounds, some are surrendered or abandoned and yet others are saved from horrible living conditions.  P.A.A. aims to find them 'forever homes' where they can have a loving family and be happy and safe.  These people are doing an amazing thing and I am proud of everyone for helping me to help them.

Do you have room in your home and heart for a pet that needs love?  Check out their website here, there are heaps of different ways that you can help.


*All photos are taken from the P.A.A. website and are of animals requiring homes.  Some of them are by Wet Nose Fotos, found here.

Apr 22, 2011

Creator Profile - BabyButton

I've been a bit slack with my crafter profiles and I am so sorry guys!  Uni just took over my life for a bit there!  This time I got to talk to Janell from BabyButton :).
Tell us about yourself
My name is Janell and I am a mother to my daughter Addison age 15 months. I am originally from California, USA and have been in Australia for almost 4 years now. I came over for school (I now have my degree in Psychology) and met my husband and had our daughter and this last November got married! I spend a lot of my spare time sewing and find that it is my hobby and relax time. My husband is always amazed at the level of patience I have when it comes to sewing!  
What do you create?
I mainly create baby/young kids items. I started the line by making breastfeeding covers and then I decided to continue expanding my line to include tag blankets (which are great quiet blankets that have ribbons around the whole thing for the bubs to suck on and play with) and dummy clips to save dummies from hitting the floor and even shorts and pants for older kids!
 
How long have you been making things?
I have been making things since I was a little kid. I remember being willing to make a small craft and try and sell it to the same sweet neighbours who were always willing to buy! I started seriously sewing in 2010 when my daughter was born and I didn't want to pay so much for all the cool baby items available out there. So I started to sew them  myself.
What was the first thing you made?
I started out making breastfeeding covers because I was not always comfortable feeding in public places. I thought I could help other mums who wanted to go out for a coffee with the girls, be comfortable feeding infront of others or even stop the distracted baby from looking around by making them. I have now made well over 300 breastfeeding covers for numerous women! :)
Where do you get your inspiration?

My daughter is my inspiration. I see so many great products out there that are overpriced and I just think to myself that she can have all the same things that are in the stores only mummy will make them. I enjoy being creative and seeing the end results makes me want to do it all over again.


How can people contact you?
I can be contacted through my website, facebook, in markets (Fairy Floss Bulleen) or a simple email.
Website: www.babybutton.com.au
Facebook: www.fb.me/babybutton.com.au
Email: info@babybutton.com.au

Apr 7, 2011

Creator Profile - Manx Minx

This month's first crafter profile is about the lady behind the wonderful creations of Manx Minx.  Read on to learn more about this talented eco-conscious lady!


Tell us a little about yourself
 
Manx Minx is art & craft created from salvaged textiles.  I first started the Manx Minx workshop in 2002 with the creation of the ‘Prehistoric Fish’ toy, quickly followed by the ‘Auntie’ handbag range.  Over the years I’ve created a kaleidoscopic range of toys & handbags that are eco-designed as much of the fabric used has been salvaged from showroom upholstery sample books, remnants, & discontinued end-of-line fabrics.  I’m not just interested in the shape, colour & texture of producing a unique product, but also the environment after generations of a throwaway mass-production based culture.  As I’ve always worked full or part-time, it meant working part time on my craft but now I’m a WAHP I’m trying to dedicate more time to creating.  However my 1yr old Heath keeps me busy!


What do you create?
 
There’s a few things I dabble in:

Handmade Toys:  individually crafted toys made from salvaged upholstery samples. 

Bags & accessories:  inspired by naive romanticism early 20th century style, with a bohemian twist.  Sewn from salvaged upholstery material & new trims, each one is different from the next. 

Jewellery:  designs incorporate stones & crystals, salvaged Perspex, & found objects.

Previous stock lines have included boutique cushions and clothing.  These items were sold on consignment at various shops and also market stalls at 4ZZZ Market Days, Adventjah festivals, and market locations around Brisbane .


How long have you been making things?
 
I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember.  

Originally I started as an exhibiting artist, having studied Visual Arts at QUT.  I worked mainly with stocking material, wire & hard plastic,  & exhibited at places like Soapbox, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Source 22, & various nightclub events in the Valley.  

My work took a turn when I was employed at Reverse Garbage as part of the CJP initiative.  I was one a few artists employed to make items from salvaged materials to sell in the (then new) gift shop.  Previously I hadn’t experimented with upholstery material having worked predominantly in weaving, dying fabrics, welding, ceramics, the usual dressmaker fabrics, & even leather/sheepskin off cuts.

One of the strangest things I’ve made was for one of my chickens:  Szechuan Chicken was her name & she always used to lose all her feathers in the middle of winter, so we’d have this scrawny, poor little shivering chicken running around our yard.  So I got some polar fleece & fashioned a chicken poncho for her to wear.  She lived til about 8 yrs old (that’s ancient for a chicken) so it must’ve helped!


Where do you get your inspiration? 
From the fabric textures and colours.  The impetus is consistent: a love of pattern, colour and texture to form quirky characters that talk through shape and form.   I try to utilise as much reclaimed and salvaged material in my products, as one thing we don’t need is more land fill!  I’m very environmentally conscious & try to do what little I can: whether it be the materials I use; supporting local businesses and artists; utilising eco-friendly products in the renovations of my house; the choices of my diet (I’ve been vegetarian since ’93); and the native plants in my yard grown to attract and feed birds.



How can people contact you?

People can find Manx Minx online at etsy and made it.  Every now and then I’m at various markets around Brisbane, stay updated via my facebook page and blog.


Apr 5, 2011

ARK Auction

The ARK Auction managed to raise $588.00!  All of this money will be going to help animals in Japan through the Animal Refuge Kansai.
Brooch donated by Hungry Designs.
I'm still going through all of the invoices but wow!  The generosity of people is truly moving!  Thank you all so much for being involved in this and spreading the word.  It could not have been done without you!

Bat donated by Carol.
 Please check out the pages of those who donated and tell them how brilliant they are :).

Swallow pendant donated by Jubly-Umph.

Apr 2, 2011

Kommon People Zine

I made a zine!  I've been wanting to make a Brisbane-focussed zine for quite some time now and I finally have!


Unfortunately I didn't have the time to get it printed out, so I have decided to make the first ever issue of Kommon People FREEEE!

To grab a copy, there are three options: click here to download the pdf, leave me your email address or shoot me an email at kommonerkraft@yahoo.com.au.

It is 12 pages of recipes, upcoming events, local crafter profiles and more!

Once you have a copy, let me know what you think and don't be afraid to share it with friends!

Mar 15, 2011

Animal Refuge Kansai

I saw a tweet by oh, danger! (@ohdangershop on twitter) about postcards for sale to raise money for animals in Japan.  So of course I bought some, and you can too, by clicking here.

Image of the postcards from the sale page.

After buying four sets of these adorable postcards, I proceeded to do some more research into the organisation the money was going to.

ARK, or Animal Refuge Kansai, is a Japanese based animal refuge.  They try to find homes for unwanted and homeless animals.  At the moment, with all the disasters happening in Japan, they are experiencing an influx of homeless animals.  So I, too, have decided to help!

I will be running an auction on my Facebook page and I am opening it up to anyone who wants to contribute.  Photographers, crafters, illustrators, ANYONE.  This is going to rely a lot on people such as yourselves spreading the word.  I'm doing as much as I can but I do need your help!

The auction album can be found here.

I've currently got four of my own soft toys up for auction worth $100.  It'd be great if I can get people bidding that high and it would be great to get other people contributing, so off you go, spread the word! ;)

Mar 1, 2011

Creator Profile - Hungry Designs

I recently got to interview the brains behind the beautiful creations at Hungry Designs.  I somehow found her on Facebook a few months ago and I've been envying her talent.  After seeing her items for sale at the Bleeding Heart Gallery Gift Shop, I just had to get in contact with her.  Read ahead to learn more about this talented artist and don't forget to check out her Facebook page :).


 Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Amanda Whitelaw and I own and run Hungry Designs, a small business that specialises in drawing, designing and creating wearable art.  I have a full time job working in Brisbane but actually live on the Gold Coast.  I'm 25 (soon to be 26) and live in a lovely home with my partner, Colin, and our 2 guinea pigs, Bud Lucky and Champ Kind.  I'm a BIG comic book collector and have a huge collection.  I'm a self confessed geek and a gamer and I LOVE to bake!

Button Shortbread

What do you create?

I make and sell wearable art.  I hand draw illustrations that I then digitally colour.  From there I then laser cut them from wood or cut them from plastic.

Derby Necklace

How long have you been making things?

I recently moved back to Australia after studying Illustration & Printmaking at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Scotland.  Originally I started Hungry Designs in Scotland but since moving back here it was really like starting again and it's a completely different beast.  Making wearable art and accessories is completely new since moving back to Australia.  
s
Day of the Dead Interchangeable Lockets
What was the first thing you made?

The first design that I ever had from the wearable art range was my Zombie Girl.  Although she's not for everyone and is a little grim, the response to her was wonderful and that sparked the new look for Hungry Designs.  The biggest seller for Hungry Designs was the A Little Rain - Red brooch.  She was drawn on a whim and I didn't particularly like her.  She's still a favourite with my customers. 

A Little Rain - Green

Where do you get your inspiration?

Because I'm such a massive comic book collector, a lot of my inspiration comes from the comic books I read.  I am also hugely inspired by fairy tales, whimsy and romantic sentiments and my family and friends.  
Pirate Illustration
How can people contact you? 

I attend a lot of markets every month.  The regular events I attend are:
The Village Markets - 1st Sunday of the Month
The Marky Markets - 3rd Sunday of the Month
The Sun State Roller Girls Bouts - Seasonal (roughly every 6 weeks)
The BrisStyle Twilight Markets - Seasonally on a Friday evening.
The BrisStyle Indie Designers Markets - Seasonally on a Saturday 

Website:  www.hungrydesigns.com
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/hungrydesigns
Blog:  blog.hungrydesigns.com
Email:  amanda.whitelaw@me.com

Feb 28, 2011

February Donation - UPROAR

This month, I decided to donate 10% of my sales to UPROAR.

Picture from their website


UPROAR stands for United Protection and Rescue Organisation for Animal Rights.  They use the money raised to promote awareness about animal rights issues.  They also perform rescues and investigations.  I'm glad to say that I have helped them out a little bit this month.

Check out their Facebook page here.

This month a total of $39.80 was raised to help them out :).

Feb 27, 2011

Stylish Blogger Award



Stuff About Stuff was nice enough to tag me for a Stylish Blogger Award (thank you!).  Now I have to figure out 7 facts about myself to share with you.  Luckily no one said they had to be interesting ;).

Also check out the list of 7 people I have chosen for a Stylish Blogger Award :).

1.  I'm a vegan.  This means I don't eat/wear/use any animal products.

2.  I love baking.  Chocolate cake, brownies, cupcakes, jam donuts, rainbow cake, jam drops, gingerbread cookies, rum balls...  Yummy!

3.  I have done three 1st years of different university degrees; Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science.

4.  I never thought I could sew well enough to sell anything.  Kommoner was just a Facebook experiment.

5.  I've owned a guitar, keyboard and violin but can't play any of them.

6.  My favourite comic is Transmetropolitan.  I don't own/know of very many though.

7.  I donate to/loan through Kiva, Uproar!, Buy This Satellite, Oxfam, RSPCA and The Wilderness Society sporadically.  I also try to donate items to any auctions that are around to raise money for a good cause.

Well, that's me!  Now the following 7 people have been chosen - go check them out :).

Pannikin
Kyla Does Stuff
Manx Minx
Sienna May
Cupcake Kitteh
Esberts Collection
Hungry Designs

Feb 25, 2011

Creeper Tutorial

Completed Creeper
The Creeper is a 'character' from the game Minecraft, which is a game that a lot of my friends play.  Basically you run around building things then whamo!  A creeper appears "Sssssssss" and explodes behind you, destroying everything you've built.

Below is one of the images I was given to work from.  It's a lot more detailed than the one from the game (everything is square and pixelated) but it gave me something to work from.

I then got to deconstructing it.  How many pieces would I need to do the head?  What size were the leg pieces, underneath piece, side bits...  I think I ended up forgetting underneath the head until I was actually constructing it, not to mention underneath the body haha.

Deconstructing the Creeper
I'll list the pieces here for you so that you can try it at home if you'd like, or just so you can tremble in awe at the sheer number of pieces.  Although, it didn't have as many pieces as the police box (tutorial).

Creeper Pieces

Green felt
  • 4 head pieces - 8cm x 8cm
  • 8 top and bottom of leg pieces - 2.5cm x 3cm
  • 1 under head piece - 8cm x 8cm with 5.5cm x 4.5cm hole cut in it
  • 4 fronts of leg pieces - 2.5cm x 5.5cm
  • 4 inside of leg pieces - 3cm x 5.5cm
  • 4 under body leg pieces - 3.5cm x 2.5cm
  • 1 under body piece - 4.5cm x 5.5cm
  • 2 side body + leg pieces (see picture above - second piece down shaped like a spanner-ish)
  • 2 body pieces, front and back (see above pic - shaped like a rectangle with a tiny piece sticking out)
Black felt
  • 2 eye pieces
  • 1 mouth piece

After cutting out the 30 body pieces...


...I set about sewing them together.  As I wanted it to look 'boxy' I sewed it up on the outside.  Normally I sew it up in reverse, then flip it inside out and stuff it.  Although, for the edges that weren't poking out (under the head, inbetween the legs, etc), I sewed them on the inside.  It's all quite fiddly but totally worth it for the end result.  In the below pictures you can just see that hte top of the legs, where they join to the body, are sewn up on the inside.


It took a while to get it all sewn up, as there were a lot of pieces.  I left one of the body sides at the back slightly open to stuff him.

Ssssssssss

Feb 17, 2011

Bleeding Heart Gallery



I have a lot of respect for the Bleeding Heart Cafe & Art Gallery.  They are the sort of business that I could be happy working for (as opposed to horrible things like Myer *shudder*).  The Bleeding Heart Gallery puts the money that you give them into " funding charitable and community enterprise".  Isn't that great?

I've only been there a couple of times myself; for a friend's exhibition, for fun and to check out their gift shop.  It is a really nice place and the people there are really friendly.  Hopefully I get the time to hang out there more often (and maybe meet some more awesome people *hint hint*).

Which brings me to my point.  The gift shop.  They have various little boxes for $60 per month (if I remember correctly) where you can find things that have been made by local crafters.  While I was checking it out for myself, I found things by Hungry Designs, ReClaimed Records and other crafty folk I've seen on Facebook and at the Suitcase Rummage.

If you have a chance, go check them out and have a beer knowing that your money is going to a far better cause than if you were drinking at the local pub.

Feb 12, 2011

University is Coming!

So there are now only about two weeks until I am back at Uni.  I'm on probation due to failing and not attending last semester.  Let's just say I wasn't in a good place mentally haha.  Science is just so boring!

Anywho, this year I will be doing a second year (finally; I've done three first years!) in a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Sociology.  I get to do subjects like Moral Philosophy and Thinking Ethically and Culture & Lifestyles.  They all sound really interesting and I cannot wait!

How does this relate to Kommoner?  Well Kommoner will have to take a back seat as I need to try and get HDs and As again (I remember the good old days of being a straight A student lol) so sewing will not be my first priority.

Although I am addicted to it all now, so I will definitely still be doing it as a sort of stress relief haha.
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