The Homegrown Fair 2013

Durban Talent on Display

A Saturday morning post is a rare occurrence around here, but I couldn't wait to share my visit to the House and Garden Homegrown Fair! The fair is part of the main show, but it differs as it has a strong focus on local talent and creative business. Terry Angelos curates the fair and this year added the Design on the Move feature, in collaboration with Mr Price Home! Imagine the most beautiful caravans kitted out by Terry herself, as well as Wendy from ilovebokkie and Sketchbok/dbn, as well as Jess from Hector and Bailey! The caravans are wonderful and I would love to own one! My favourite gals from Washi Bug are also at the fair and have enough tape to keep me very, very happy! There are a range of creatives taking part including, Rollin Vintage that you might have spotted at I heart Market as well as Alles, the new shop on the block that I mentioned recently! Great things to look at and buy so don't miss out, even if the main show isn't your thing! The fair is on until the 7th July - click here for more details.

Mini-Tour: Office

A Few Snaps of my Office

I recently did a shoot with Tyrone Bradley for Fair Lady and while he was here, he did me a favour and snapped a few shots of my office. It's just a glimpse of where I spend my days (and very often nights too). What you won't see is my main desk with my computer on it, but either than that it gives you a bit of an overview.

I always feel as if it's a work in progress, but at the same time I'm enjoying the space. My lovely Cambridge Satchel is a prominent feature that you might have spotted on Instagram. It's really great to see it everyday and acts as a symbol of hard work!

There are some louver windows, that separate my office from Daniel's office, I use them as mini shelves for my collected knick-knacks.

These goodies are on top of a retro style wardrobe. Lots of pink! I also love my Yankee Candle wax burner which keeps my office smelling lovely! I recently added some paper bunting to this window space, which I got in Flow magazine, it adds the finishing touch, as the window looked a bit bare!

The prints on the wall are from Chronicle Books - created by Suzy Ultman. I used hangers from Boardmans to hang them without having to drill or damage the wall, plus I can move them around if I like.

This is the shot Fair Lady used for their Entrepreneur feature in their July issue, it includes other creatives who started their business either through a market or created a market themselves. The lacy peplum top came from Woolworths. P.S - I don't dress like this everyday, in fact I'm writing this post in my PJ's, sans make-up...ha ha.

Happy weekend everyone!

Durban Etsy Craft Party - The Official Photos

Wonderful Snaps that Captured the Night

What an amazing, amazing, amazing night! The Durban Etsy Craft Party was part of the global celebrations, held around the world on the 20th June. The Durban party was the only one held in South Africa, which I think is pretty damn cool! I had lots of help, for which I am so grateful,  including an amazing supply box direct from Etsy HQ in Brooklyn, New York!

My biggest source of help was the committee members who volunteered their assistance and they were absolute stars! Thank you Cathy, Ellen, Simone, Kimi, Christy, Kirsty and Tarryn! They decorated, created decor items and helped me to host the evening. Another huge thank you has to go out to The Upstairs and their team. The venue was ideal and their assistance was invaluable!

To add to the fun and to show a range of styles to inspire everyone, I asked some Durban bloggers to decorate tags ahead of the event, which you can see featured in the photo above. Ask Ashe, Fathima from Happiness Is, Kelly Lubbee from Sunflowers and Spears and Caley from Ellie Love, all created the most beautiful tags!

These lovely photos are also the kind and loving work of Kathy and Charity, who snapped the party in full-swing! They captured it to perfection.

Even more amazing help came via Gabi of Vanilla House who arranged and sponsored all the flowers for the night, her work was perfect! Consol Glass were also particularly kind and sponsored water bottles and jars.

The paper bags used for the goodie bags and the giant balloons all came from My Cherry Blossom! The huge yellow balloons were such a hit!

The beautiful Etsy letters were provided by Buggaluggs and seemed to be the stars of Instagram!

Inside the goodie bags were the most perfectly created button biscuits from Bon Moment, Washi Tape from Washi Bug and a decorated peg and tag from Little Mud Hut Designs. The freebies didn't end there, each guest also got a huge and colourful lollipop from In Good Company and a glass water bottle from Consol. Treats galore!

The craft activity was decorating tags and there was a bunch of fun supplies to get crafty with. I picked something easy that everyone could enjoy and add a personal spin to. The styles were so varied and mixed, from pretty to super creative and even avant garde to mini works of art. In Good Company and Washi Bug also provided lots and loooots of Washi Tape to get us on our merry crafting way! The In Good Co gals really were quite amazing in the items that they sponsored and also send over some paper bags which everyone decorated and used for their craft haul.

Pudding was courtesy of Daniela's and was a delicious macaroon of course! These were served after a hearty helping of pizza, carbs to help with the crafting! To add to the fun there were also giveaways and the range of pretty, crafty and lovely items came from Happiness Is, The Ballet Lady, Pencil and Peg, Hello Pretty, Consol, Urban Grace, Malva, The Deco Collection, Fred Felton, Britt Aboud, Little Mud Hut Designs and Leanne Erasmus who provided a prize despite not even living in Durban!

There was lots of sharing on social media too, using the hash tag #craftparty and Etsy sure noticed all our snaps!

I want to say the hugest, BIGGEST thank you to everyone who helped me to make this event such a success and of course thank you to everyone who came and joined in the fun!

What a Week: Etsy Party & Workshop

An Amazing, Busy Seven Days

Last week was wonderful, but crazy busy! The Durban Etsy Craft Party was so well received and was a huge success. I am so grateful for all the positive feedback, help and sponsorships! I will share the professional photos and many more thanks soon. In the meantime, I thought I would share a few of the Instagram snaps from the night, including those from Hello Pretty, who so kindly attended! The party also got a mention in the Mercury - thanks to Lauren Rawlins for the feature! 

To top the week off, I had an Intermediate Creative Business workshop on Saturday as well as a mention in Your Family magazine, who featured my opinion and photos! All in all the most jam-packed, but awesome week!

Durban Etsy Craft Party

Two Sleeps to Go

Can you believe it?! Two sleeps to go - how exciting and scary all at once! I wanted to share a few snippets of inspiration with you, as well as remind everyone attending, about a few things.

I don't want to give away too much, but the above images are just a few of the pictures that were included in the mood board for the committee members. Inspiration via Ban.do, Glitter & Grain, Debbie Campos, Knot & Bow.

Secondly, if you are attending - please respond to the RSVP email I sent. The event is sold out, but I know a few of you who signed up are not able to attend. Please let me know, so that your spot can go to someone who desperately wants to attend.

Don't forget your R100 cash to get in. This includes a snack, a small gift (first come first serve) and all the supplies for the craft. 

The event starts at 6:30, but the official crafting begins just after 7pm. Don't be late to avoid missing out on your free gift!

Please email me if you have any questions! Very excited to have you there!

P.S: Dear Readers, please remember that comments make bloggers happy, it means we know you are out there reading. It can be very, very discouraging if we never hear from you. Much love...this hard working blogger x

The Little List

A Quest for Balance

I realised that as a result of being quite busy, I had stopped doing a whole bunch of things that I really enjoyed. I also felt very rushed and slightly down at the thought of the amount of work I was faced with. I am very grateful to be busy, so don't get me wrong, but I am consistently aware that I need to find balance in all I do which needs to include exercise, rest, fun and quality time with the people I love.

Last week, I decided to write a short list of a few things that I really wanted to do and stuck it up in my office. Now, please don't laugh at the 'silly' things on my little list. 

The list was made up of four things:

Drink tea and read: 

I have a vision of sitting in a sunny spot at home and spending hours reading. Didn't get round to this last week.

Thrift: 

I am happy to say I did manage to do this and one of the outings was even work related as I went to the Midlands with a client to select vintage items to style her stand at the House and Garden Show. I didn't buy much - just some really lovely old keys and a cool toast stand with a little dish attached, which will soon be re-purposed for stationery storage. I also visited a lovely new store called Alles at 64 Davenport Road, well-worth a browse.

Wrap packages: 

I definitely did this and had a really lovely time, preparing packages for new friends.

Tidy and enjoy  my office: 

I enjoyed being in my office, but I think I made more of a mess this week than tidying!

Okay, so I know these are really simple things, but I found that by reminding myself to take time out to do things that make me happy, I felt less burdened by my workload. 

Are there things you just don't get round to? Would you enjoy more posts like this where I share my list? Please leave me a comment and let me know.

Kit & Nancy

Beautiful Inspiration from Afar

I featured the lovely work of Laura before, but that was absolute ages ago! She has since moved from Brisbane to Rotterdam and along with some lovely travels, she has discovered some gems along the way. Her Instagram is one of my favourites and it keeps me visually inspired. Laura also has a wonderful knack for finding the best thrifted items from fabric to amazing vintage tins and kitchen items! She has a lovely shop where she sells her prints which are a pastel wonders, inspired by some of her collection of beautiful things. Happy browsing!

18th May Intermediate Workshop

Part Two: The Details

I hope you enjoyed seeing the sponsors from May's Creative Business Workshop. Today, I am sharing the pretty details. All photos by the wonderful Christy of Pickle Photography.

The Name Badges:

Treats:

Gift boxes with Knot and Bow tags

Welcome Table:

Craft Area:

Like what you see? Then why not sign up for the next Intermediate Workshop on the 22nd of June or get added to the waiting list for Jhb and Cape Town. Just pop me a quick email.

18th May Intermediate Workshop

Part One: The WONDERFUL Sponsors

The Intermediate Workshop, which I held on the 18th of May was rather lovely! It was amazing to meet different creatives, with different challenges, questions and insights! We even had two guys join us, as well as a special attendee who came from Joburg, especially for the workshop! I was honoured! Thank you to all of the wonderful, AMAZING and super talented creative minds who joined me!

With each workshop, my aim is to feature creative business owners and their products, so once again thank you to all of the awesome sponsors who contributed! Your help made the day unique and special! A particularly special thank you needs to go to Christy from Pickle Photography who captured the day!

Past Present Handcrafted Goods, so kindly provided the notebooks for the day! Many a page was filled! Take a look at their interesting and fun products in their Hello Pretty Shop!

Token Ceramics: The talented Carla, sponsored one of her geometric bowls for the giveaways. The colours, shape and detail are beautiful! Thank you Carla!

Washi Bug:  No workshop is complete without some washi tape and what an array I had, to add to the goodie boxes! So generous are they, that they also provided tape, tags and wooden heart ornaments for the giveaways! Thanks Jaime and team!

Postick: These clever stickers have changed my life! They turn almost anything into a postcard and the packaging is sweet and just perfect! Thank you Tatjana!

a.scribe:  Coloured chalkboard paint...amazing! In each goodie box was a tub of the paint in an array of bright shades, plus a big tub to giveaway. Thank you Tessa!

Typo:  My favourite stationery shop, provided an array of goodies for the giveaways. Typo - I heart you BIG time! Picture below... shows a Typo bag paired with one of my brooches.

Your eyes do not deceive you! Lana of Cupcake Couture and I met, when we shared the same business name and instead of being enemies, we became friends! She put an exceptional amount of love and care into these crafty cupcakes and they tasted rather delicious too! Thank you Lana, you 

are an absolute gem!

Lion Heart: This lovely and talented creative, provided one of her quirky and original tote bags for the giveaways! Thank you - Alice!

A few more delights that were part of the giveaways - Smith Journal, Molly Makes and a Pip Lincolne Notebook.

The flowers were provided by Fresh Flowers International (next to Vanilla House) and were beautiful. My talented and very kind mom...Ellen did the arranging! She missed her calling! The jars or in this case 'vases' were sponsored by Consol!

The bright and happy pencils are from Love Letter Stationery! Each pencil reads... Learn, Create, Prosper! My motto for the the workshops!

Another big thank you to everyone!

If you would like to find out how to contribute or become a sponsor - just pop me a quick email.

There are still a few spaces left for the Intermediate Creative Business Workshop on the 22nd June, don't miss out. Email me to book you spot!

I will be sharing more photos from the workshop next week and the Creative Business Tips Series will also be back. Happy weekend!