Dawanda interview

Just popping in to say there is an interview with me on the Dawanda blog today. Dawanda is seen as the European Etsy but it has become a great success in its own right. For a seller it has some brilliant features, like being able to edit several listings at once, setting up a 'back in stock' email , being able to add Continents to shipping profiles and opting into their weekly promotions at the click of a button.

Anyway, hope you enjoy my interview here.

Inspiring autumn!

Is it me or this this the most beautiful autumn ever? We have had so much sunshine, which equals so much colour. I have a new autumn set on flickr, but I wanted to show you these birch trees that I always pass on the way to Jamboree. And every time I pass them, they remind me of this:

marimekko 'kaiku'

And while googling this marimekko print I found this. How beautifully simple.

It's a list thing

A couple of years ago, Xanna and I had a blog called it's a list thing; one list a month, plus an image. We loved it for a while, then other work (and facebook) took over and it waned. But we miss it, so we have started it up again in flickr form. So If you feel so inclined, join our group and upload a list.

p.s. Here is some other delightful list activity going on in my local blogosphere.

The cheery Italian postman who always says ‘Ciao Francesca’ when he drops off a parcel.

The clarinet I hear being practiced when I’m in the hammock.

Oddly, always leaving the house the same time as the long-haired Italian man walking his Weimaraner.

When the leaves on our tree turn a stunning bright red in the autumn.

The magic shop.

Roger, our charming neighbour on the top floor.

The study being right next to the garden so I can see Isi on the trampoline while I’m working.

Guessing what the score is from the cheering at the Arsenal stadium.

Being 2 minutes walk away from the offie, the chemist, and the pizzeria.

Swinging with my boys in the hammock.

Baubles

My cards are now in my etsy and dawanda shops. (Can't seem to get onto folksy right now.) Free shipping for 2 packs or more. You can mix and match the cards too. Woo-hoo!

Speaking of baubles, I'm in love with these baubles from Niki Jones. I will be ordering them for my tree.

Desk Thursday

Starting to get stock ready for the We Make London Christmas Fair. (Saturday 5th December 11.00am- 5pm, Chelsea Town Hall, Kings Road, London, SW3 5EE!)

If I don't start now I will get too involved in packing the house up, then we will move, I won't be able to find anything, and it'll all go to pot!

Results! / Something funny

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my new prints.

The winner is...



She Draws!

You can visit her lovely blog here and her folksy shop here.

Well done She Draws! Please email me your address, plus which print you would like and I will try to get it off to you before any more postal strikes begin!

*** *** *** *** ***

This animation is doing the rounds on facebook among my graphic designer chums. It made me laugh out loud, it is soooo apt! (Contains plenty, and I mean plenty of swearing, just in case you're offended. Obviously not you Lu Summers.)

Things I Like - Giveaway!

Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my work in progress. Here are the two finished prints which are now in the shops etsy, dawanda, folksy.

As you can see, I kept the text, as I felt it added to the personal flavour of the bits and bobs but I took out the 'mys' to make it feel more universal, and that they didn't have to be your particular favourites, just some fun things. Make sense?

I particularly liked working on the Playmobile pirate, and I'm glad I got the teeny tiny Stegosaurus in because my little boy's best friend, (the aforementioned Belle) loves dinosaurs, knows them all by name and indeed has many teeny tiny ones. Yesterday she came over and let us look in her eeny weeny bag, where she kept her itsy bitsy Polly Pocket and accoutrements.

Anyway, to thank you for your sweet words I am going to give away a print, so please leave a comment - anything you like, and I'll pick a name out of a hat next Wednesday. Then the winner can choose which print they would like.

Bagpuss prints

My Bagpuss prints, as I have come to label them (though not in my shop as 80% of people won't know what I'm on about) are nearly finished, and I'll pop them in the shops in the next couple of days. I might play around with the compositions a bit more and I'm also trying to decide whether to include the text. Personally, I like it. But the space is less crowded without...any thoughts?

I'll post up the finished boy and girl prints when they're in the shops.

Things I Like / Bagpuss

I'm working on a couple of new prints that have been on my list for a while - Things I Like for a boy and a girl. I'm trying not to make them too sexist (!) but I think it's fair to say that boys generally like fire engines more than girls, and girls generally like strawberry hair clips more than boys. I've also noticed from my little boy's best friend Belle, that girls like to keep precious little things in bags like rings and teeny tiny dolls.

On Saturday I escaped for an hour, sat in a cafe and scratched out a few ideas. So far I've got some classic toys, mixed with vintage bits and bobs but not too retro-inspired - I want them to still be realistic, so needless to say tiddlywinks has not made the cut. But there is a definite Bagpuss feel about the 'things' (30+ UK readers will hopefully know what I mean.) I love all those random bits and bobs that end up in Emily's shop window like the ship in the bottle and the ballet shoe.

Anyway, here is some Bagpuss for you, it seems sooooo slow now compared to what our children watch these days but my little boy loves it, amazingly.







I'll keep you posted on how the prints turn out.

Idle blogworld gossip

I did not know that The Sartorialist and Garance Doré were an item.
That's all.

oh p.s. my sis P texted me the other day to say she walked past The Sartorialist at London Fashion Week. She was so excited. She walked back past him a couple of times, and though I'm sure she looked awesomely cool, as she always does, she did not get the snap. Oh well P, maybe next time. x

Desk Thursday

Busy Thursday today. Photographing Christmas cards (had to get all my baubles out of storage - very odd!) and packing up orders. Doing so much in the evenings at the moment, not enough hours in the day.

W. Plumb - Family butcher

Last weekend was Open House weekend, the annual London architecture showcase. Every Year it goes by with us saying we must go to see something, so when I heard about this on the radio, only a 15 minute walk from my house, I jumped at it!

Here is W Plumb Family Butcher, a beautifully preserved Grade II listed shop. I've been past it on the bus so many times, noticed the old sign but never dreamed it would still be so stunning inside.

The wonderful cashier's booth.

The owner, Richard, fell in love with it at first sight and is now looking for ideas as to what to do with the space. If you have any ideas or want any more info I can forward you his email address.

I was in there for ages, didn't want to leave. Flickr set here.

Congratulations Joanna!

Joanna Goddard got married a couple of weeks ago and has posted some honeymoon pics. Her blog is one of my faves, always chock full of brilliant posts and links. Here are two of my favourite recent ones. The Polite Umbrella (link not working, scroll down for the sweet video), and How to get snapped by the Sartorialist (just perfect).

I've enjoyed following Joanna's journey to the aisle from the minute she posted her stunning engagement pics. Funny, as I wasn't at all the wedding planner type. We decided to get married while we were on a round the world trip. Made the decision in Costa Rica, got the papers in Panama, wrote our vows in Chile and said 'I do' in the botanical gardens in Sydney. Pretty wonderful but I could only ever have done it that way; done and dusted within a couple of months, cost about £400. I think Ben's suit cost more.

Thanks for the inspiration Joanna!

p.s. This used to be a very private blog just about my work. Now you know the names of my children and how much my wedding cost. Sheesh! What happened?!

Desk Thursday

Snatching little moments of time as he gets happier on the playmat for longer. Happy Desk Thursday.

Agghh! Christmas!

Oh Lordi, is it that time already? Well, no. But it is for blimmin' card designers. Although as I recall, Mandy was doing hers in February.