Rowantree at Mathilda's Market

I love doing a market day especially Mathilda's Market where I get to catch up with some lovely gals who are devoted to designing and making unique and gorgeous things for children and the home.  Last Saturday was no exception, Paddington Town Hall was a buzz with very happy shoppers who braved the rain and the election traffic to snap up some beautiful treasures.


And here is Rowantree.....

My collection of lovely vintage inspired baby girl dresses, boy rompers and cutesy gadabout shorts.

The new Gadabout boy short .... take me anywhere!

The Phoebe smock is a favourite of mine.  I love the little tie at the neck and the lower half of the sleeve as a puff.  Little pearl buttons through the back and on sleeve.  


Take the boy anywhere in these little gadabout shorts.  I have chosen some quirky little soft check prints just for your little man.


I am hoping to have these new styles available on the website soon.....

Big Style in Children's Bedrooms

I seem to have a bee in my bonnet lately, not only do I obsess over my designs for children's clothing, fabrics, trims and buttons.   I am foraging the globe for  beautiful furniture, soft furnishings and of course works of art with artistic merit for 'Baby Rowan'. 
I had to look no further for beautiful and timeless children's furniture than here in my studio, at my desk.    Drumroll....Please
 Kirsty Withers has recently launched a designer baby and children's furniture company Incy Interiors and I love it.  Just the furniture I have drooled over when on my travels through Europe and the States.  What a Gal!  Not only has Kirsty closen stylish furnishing designs, Incy products are functional and affordable and meet the Australian and New Zealand standards.

cots.....

reece.... timeless and nostalgic

rupert.... french inspired

beds....

Mia..... reminiscent

james.... classical

Choosing a cot or bed for your child is a huge milestone in any parents life but with beautiful quality children's furniture like this it's just made it a whole lot easier....


to see the complete range of cots, beds, groovy chairs and wall art visit  Incy interiors  online store

Wall Decor - Something Different and a new online store find

Decorating Rowan's room  is becoming quite a talking point amongst my friends. We enjoy musing over creative ideas such as colour (too much, too less), book and toy storage and wall decor. Thank you to some very talented Australian artists the walls are almost complete.   
So what do do with the wall behind his cot?    Or for that matter, walls in general.  Yesterday over a coffee we shared some funny memories of our creative faux pas when decorating our own children's rooms.

It was the feature wall back in the 80's, the beach house stripes, the new look French wash and all those gorgeous Porters Paint's finishes, that looked absolutely great in the shop and in the magazines,  took months to get it right (I thought)  only to see first hand how bad the colour choice was, the strips bled, and the French wash look, looked like a big splosh of colour!  Right enlist hubby to help with the clean up, two coats of the original colour and pretend it never happened.  

Another idea..

Let's go for the collage of many uninspiring framed prints, throw in a few embroided teddy bear  tapestries (from Nana)  and it might just work .  We need to bang in some unsightly hooks, nails etc.  or adhere multiple sticky hooks and later watch them slide ever so slowly and take on a direction completely of their own, picture in toe.  


I don't know which was worse?


Thanks to having some young and inspiring creative people around me I was introduced to the wonderful world of wall stickers......


"Create your ultimate Space"


"These beautiful removable wall borders and wall stickers make quick work of transforming your baby's or child's room"


Imagine the power of these quotes back in the 80's

These happy little jungle animals are from the Wall Sticker Company and live lovingly on the wall of Rowan's Nursery at his house.

Now for  Rowan's room at his big house I wanted something a little different.  I came across a online store 

Gallop Lifestyle with some very lovely products for baby as well as a treat for yourself.  

These are my picks.....

Very cute and oh so French!

Whimiscal

Starry night 

Kitty soft toys by Malike

Love these storage boxes...I'm thinking children. laundry, picnics, magazines......

I hope you enjoy!

Creativity Catch Up

A wet and rainy weekend ahead and I am almost excited.  this is a time when I get to catch up on a bit of everything creative.  Firstly a trip to my local growers market at the Orange Grove School at Rozelle,  with over 100 stalls bursting with fresh farm produce, breads, cakes and pastries, preserves, flowers and more. Oh my goodness, I am in heaven and with a freshly roasted coffee in hand I am in inspirational paradise!

There are always so many little projects waiting patiently in my workroom, either a pattern to finish, a sample to sew or a little crafty idea I am working on.  So much choice, never enough time and which one do I choose.

I have the inspiration for dinner, so now it's me a little craft project and my camera for the remainder of the day.

Pots of fresh herbs a hessian bag and a sprig of white flora

Farm fresh eggs and an Italian cookbook...Pasta anyone!

Pretty in Pink

From the garden to the craft room....A framed crochet and embroided collage for Matilda, fresh roses from the market and a pair of Rowantree Irish Bloomers from the Baby Rowantree collection.

A Room in Progress - The Cuckoo Clock Arrives

Amidst all the hype putting together the last to do list for Rowan's Christening my friendly postman popped his head over the fence and called out to me that he had a parcel.  Yeah! I love receiving parcels, even the ones I know about.  It's all about the unwrapping, the first visual impression, and the finally, to have and to hold. 


How excited I was to receive my Cuckoo inspired clock from the very talented Jo Melrose.  I am working on creating a room for Rowan that will be inspiring, fun and a little quirky, and this beautiful clock will sit so proudly on the wall next to a vivid Vietnamese watercolor I bought on my last visit to Vietnam.   

Of course it is Turquoise

What fun!

Thinking wall decor...I was recently in Brisbane visiting my daughter and together we visited the Portside Markets.  Wow if you are a devotee of Mathildas Market you will love this crafty Aladdin's Cave of Artisan surprises.  One of my favourites on the day was Mondo Cherry a very happy and talented threesome made up of mum and her two daughters who together share a passion and love of creating handmade unique paper and fabric artworks.  I am in love with their vibrant and quirky illustrations and the individuality of each piece.  I could not pick any one on the day, so many to chose from. After hanging the very brilliant turquoise Cuckoo clock I knew exactly where to go to find a complimentary artwork.  And here it is...Can't wait to post how handsomely it will adorn Rowan's wall.

Vintage Circle Maps

How adventurous!

There are many beautiful decorations and artworks on the Mondo Cherry website, one for each wall in the house!

An Easter Dress to Cherish

Growing up my mother always made me a new Sunday dress for Easter, a very special  dress to wear to mass and then to our family Easter feast, which was one of those occasions where the silver got polished the crystal came out and us kids got to seat at a special table of our own.  Of course I continued the tradition for my three daughters but instead of the dresses being of the very special Sunday dress nature, I would make holiday style little shifts as we always headed north to our beach house for the Easter Holidays and our feast was a wonderful barby after a big swim at the beach.  


Earlier this year when sorting my fabrics I came across some beautiful Irish Linen that I have been keeping for something very special...What I love most about this fabric are the vintage colours, a dusty pink and a buttercup yellow.  It wasn't hard for me to come up with a design I just had to flick through some old photograph albums and look pictures of myself as a baby and toddler.  Next I open my Pandora's box of vintage buttons, laces, and cottons and Cherish... a very special Easter Dress in the Sunday best nature.

Cherish

Cozy little Head Warmers

Browsing through madeit over the weekend, looking for cozy little head warmers for Rowan I found this adorable little men's beanie designed and made by Dover and Madden in Victoria, Australia.  The retro feel and those cute little buttons, I was sold.  These vintage inspired baby hats are a must have, not only because they are a practical piece to have in your baby wardrobe for autumn and winter but because they are beautiful and made in Australia.  Take me to the park this minute, I am thinking oak leaves slowly turning shades of burnt orange, deep red and bronze.

Vintage inspired baby hats by Dover and Madden

Whilst admiring these beauties I came across some amazing photography featuring gorgeous children wearing the Dover and Madden baby hats.  Photographer Peta Mazey (to my huge surprise, a kiwi) has featured them on her blog.  Peta describes herself as a kid/baby/family photographer.  Wow Peta, I will be contacting you soon your images are extremely beautiful and natural.

Peta Mazey Photography

Feeling inspired to try to create something as beautiful as this I head out to purchase a selection of yarns,  needles, and pattern book.  I have also enjoyed reading knitting blogs and have found many sites with free download knitting patterns.  

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