This stuff is amazing. Its all made from old PET bottles by Gilnur Ozdaglar in Turkey. Using scissors, a knifer, soldering iron and an open flame she recycles unwanted bottles into these beautiful jellyfish bowls and jewelry. Check out her etsy shop here.
I've so got to learn how to crochet! This blanket by Swedish illustrator and artists Sandra is just beautiful.
"Half Moon River"
By far my favourite work was 'Motherland' by Joshua Yeldham. It reminded me in some ways of a combination of Japanese silk painting and an Aboriginal artwork. Lines and marks were carved into it, and in places it has little piece of wood poking out which in certain light cast shadows that look like trees seen from the air.
The Archibald is on at the Art Gallery of NSW until 24 May.
Something that I really wasn't expecting to find in the Australian desert was dragonflies. There were masses of them. Wherever there was a patch of water, there were loads dragonflies fluttering about in all sorts of beautiful bright colours.
- How to look cool while wondering the desert? These canvas field bags from Rainbow Swirlz are a steal at US$20 and come in plenty of fab colours.
- Celebrate Spring! With this lovely handmade dragonfly pendant. Only US$18 from creative monsoons etsy store.
- These easy to apply vinyl stickers add a unique touch to any room. 15 dragonflies for US$15 from Size Under a Tree.
- This beautiful three piece set by D Gordon would make the perfect gift. I love the rough unfinished edges, and the bottom is even decorated! US$31
- Or try this cobalt blue dish at only US$14
Being away for so long there was a lot out there to catch up on this week. I was totally inspired by these amazing journal pages from Patty Van Dorin. Hope you are too!
Back in our new place only one day and we've already made a trip to the DIY store. I've been looking at colour swatches for the rooms and thinking about what to do with the newly constructed day bed... then I came across these two great shots. The first from Marie Claire Maison, I can see these gorgeous cushions really standing out in an all white room.
And secondly as Ive spent the day looking at colour swatches, I guess if you cant decide what colour to pick... why not pick them all like Scott Prendergast did!? Pic from design sponge.
We checked out the Art Gallery of South Australia while we were in Adelaide. It's a good sized little gallery, enough to keep you busy for a couple of hours or so. But, warning... the gallery attendants are more than a little overzealous. Grumpy uniformed grouches that would seem more at home in some Eastern European dictatorship. But I digress...
My favourite work in the gallery I think has to be 'Rhinoceros' by James Angus, just for its total randomness. You turn the corner and there it is - a life sized fluorescent yellow rhinoceros. What makes it even more weird and wonderful is the fact that its attached sideways to the wall.
We're back from the Outback. Its been a very busy but relaxing couple of weeks. Where to start? There are so many photos!
Well first off we spent some time in Adelaide with friends, their new baby Jacob and his big brother Josh. So Aaron got to work testing out his new camera. Awww.... aren't they cute :) You can see some more pics on Aarons blog.
Happy Easter everyone! We'll be away for a while exploring central Australia...back soon with lots more lovely things.
This gorgeous photos is by the very clever Sharon Montrose. How cute is it!? Prints are available on her etsy site.
Its a shame you can't see more detail in these amazing cushions by designer Catherine Hammerton. She also has a very cool website and produces some stunning wallpaper.
Butterflies are so popular still. I love this work by artist Mami Yamanaka called Continous Dream I. Its a very similar idea to the illustrations by London designers Kapitza that I mentioned a few months ago where the image is seen through a cutout. But I like in this instance the way the image doesn't fill the whole cutout.
Yeay! Not only is the latest issue of Inside Out... out, but they have launched a blog. It's full of lovely finds like these amazing butterflies made from old saucers from Lightly.
I came across this beautiful paper mache vase by Danish mixed media artist Tracy Lorna Nors this week (via sfgirlbybay who did an interview with her). I haven't done paper mache since school - its inspiring me to have a go again.
Sewing is back in fashion. Sewing machine sales are up as more people turn to making or customising their own clothes. So here are a few fabric finds:
1 and 5 from Of Paper and Thread, in Western Australia
2, 4 and 6 from Fresh Fabrics in NSW
3, 7, 8 and 9 from Spice Berry Cottage in California
I caught the end of this piece on a program called Collectors this evening and was immediately struck by the beauty of these artworks. Lucia Usmiani uses recycled drink cans and bottles collected from household bins and transforms them into amazing works of art. Above the work is created by cutting up small pieces of aluminium drink cans, while below titled 'Wallflowers' is made from the bottom of PET plastic bottles pinned to the wall.
I've be rediscovering the joys of Ikea this weekend. Our place in London was full of it so I've been a bit turned off for a while. But our friends have this lovely white day bed in their place and it would be just perfect for our new sunroom. This pic is from Harmonie Interieure.
Celebrate Earth Hour AND Earth Month. Switch off the light Saturday night from 8.30pm for Earth Hour to join 80 countries around the world in highlighting the importance of taking action on climate change. And next weekend you can do it again, but this time light your Aveda Lavender Candle. Each candle sold in April raises funds for Avedas Earth Month projects.
Here are some good looking gift ideas that score 20/20 for originality and fun:
- This pendant light was made by covering an old shade with an eyechart, add a little trim and you're done, instant Drs office chic. Pic from Real Simple.
- Never forget where you left your glasses again. When glasses are in the tray the eye chart is in focus, when they aren't the text appears blurred. Unfortunatly only a concept at the moment from Fiona Carswell. Keep your eye out for it though.
- Test your friends vision on their birthday with the happy birthday eyechart card from creative monsoon. $40 for a mixed pack of six - so you can insult people all year round :)
- Multifunctional cushions. Add comfort to your home and keep a check on who might need glasses. $35 from Melbourne designer Aunty Cookie.
- Heather Lins Home even throws in a pair of 3D glasses with their pillows!
- Not quite an eye chart, but eye catching all the same. This cute $15 poster is from Melbourne based The Love Shop.
Last week I mentioned the popularity of Babushka dolls at the moment. Well this just tops it all. If you have a spare $8000 plus dollars lying around you could pick yourself up this new Chanel Matrioshka handbag made from black resin and gold. You'll have to wait until mid May though - damn, would have gone so well with the outfit I was planning on wearing down the pub this evening. Read more on handbag.com
It's been a VERY busy week here. A total redesign of a beauty magazine has taken up most of my time, but we still managed to make some more progress on the rock pool photography project. I'll let you know when the results are available for sale on creative monsoon.
This is definitely my favourite find for this week. This gorgeous photo was taken by Aussie photographer Jason Loucas and comes via the city sage blog. Two weeks to go until we move into our new home and Ive been thinking a lot about decorating. This is a must - a china hutch painted all white.
These cute little guys are everywhere at the moment. Babushka dolls, (also know as matryoshka) originated in Russia and are most commonly know for the nesting dolls in decreasing sizes. But there are so many variations around:
- I love this take on the Babushka doll by Ferragamo Studio in Florida. She is hand embroidered and decorated with lots of different fabrics and ribbon. A very pretty gift, US$36.
- If you feel like making your own Babushka set, Matryoshka Dolls sells blank nesting dolls in a variety of shapes and sizes from as little as AU$6.75 - bargin!
- These Bandai Unazukin are tricky little things to track down. But worth the hunt I think - it's voice activated, nodding or shaking it's head in response. How cute?! Try looking for them on ebay. Around US$15.
- For the techno geek there is this slick black option featuring the various storage capacities in sequence.
- I couldn't contain myself when these arrived the other day - how gorgeous! They are part of a limited edition by Kenzo perfume to be released soon.
- Ravenhill in Norway have some beautiful hand-made dolls in a lovely selection fabrics. They're sure to bring a smile to your face. US$34
UPDATE: Even more Babushka. Check out these fantastic Babushka inspired lights by Russian designer Dima Loginoff.
When are they going to open a store in Australia??? Until they do apparently you can use this site: www.shopanyamericanstore.com. I guess its like having a friend there that you can send your order to and they'll post it on, but the postage is a bit steep. A friend might be better. Anyone in the US want to be my friend? :)
I have to say one of the nicest things about my work is I do come across some really lovely products. At the moment I'm loving Blooms thirst quencher vitamin e body cream, $24.
Not only does it smell great but the packaging has been beautifully illustrated by Kat Macleod.
Kat has a fantastic portfolio full of colourful combinations of watercolour, pencil and collage.
Well I just bought one of these, so I'll let you know how it goes, but they look great. They are the work of UK based artist Thomas Forsyth. Bascially you just pop your pen or pencil in them and give it a twirl. Instant cool squiggly artwork.
We've been out early this weekend taking some photos of the local rock pools. The light was great and its made for some lovely images. Keep an eye on the creative monsoon site when the prints go for sale.
Perfect to help unwind after a stressful week - have a nice cup of tea:
- Full of vintage charm these cheerful tea pot tea-towels will have you putting the dishwasher to one side. Available through SITE.
- A little birdie once told me someone very senior at the BBC kept a piece of wood on his desk to be used for colour matching his cups of tea - I hope someone's got him one of these since. How do you take yours?
- I'm not so sure about the ants, I think they might get mixed up with the real ones around here. But Bailey Doesn't Bark has some beautiful hand decorated cups and saucers to choose from.
- On our recent visit to the Canberra markets we came across Glenbog Fine Teas. They have an amazing selection all very reasonably priced. Try the little tiny sample packs to start with - we loved the 'Daintree' and 'Aussie Bush Blend' teas. Or for something really different try 'Camp Fire' with its lovely smokey flavour. (ps. they post to Sydney)
- and 6. You can't beat a cup of tea made in a good old fashioned teapot served in a good old fashioned cup and saucer. Well, Nina In Vorm and Esther Coombs thought you could. So they took the old fashioned teapot and cup and saucer, and made new ones out of them! Fabulous!
Have you ever googled your name, see who comes up, what they do? Funnily with my name they're mostly artists, designers and illustrators. And look what I found today! A whole Jen-eration of artists. Maybe next time they'll make it Jen 12 (although I prefer Jenn)
I decided because I seem to spend so much time hunting for interesting things on the net I'd pick out my favourite find each week. Might be a photo, a place, an idea... anything.
So to kick it off what really caught my attention the past week was this fabulous Nautilus Light by New Zealand designer Rebecca Asquith. Prices start from NZ$460.00 and they ship worldwide.