New Friends studio

I loved this peek into the studio of design duo New Friends. Now the weather is turning slightly cooler I might have to start some woolly craft projects.

Grumpy mug

This combines three of my favourite things: Grumpy Cat, ceramics, and mugs - win win win! Melbourne artist Kirsten Perry created these for the Mr Kitly x Dagmar popup shop coming to Sydney in August.

My Weave!

I finally finished my weaving! It took a lot longer than I expected, which is what happens when you have a baby in the house. Not a lot of crafting time! I have managed to start my second weaving project however, so watch this space!

Dreamweaver

I attended a little weaving craft-a-night with the super talented and lovely Maryanne, who you may have read about a few weeks ago on the Design Files. This is a work in progress shot of my first little piece, I was too excited about these new skillz to wait any longer to share it. Weaving is so fun, and rewarding! After struggling with learning to crochet earlier this year, and pottery classes all last year, I have to say, weaving is something that you can get amazing results from right away. Though, if you've seen Maryanne's awesome weaving on instagram, you'll see that I still have heaps of room for improvement!

I'll share the finished results as soon as I'm done with this little guy. In the meantime, here are some inspiring shots of the lady herself, working her dreamweaving magic.

Photos from the Design Files

And some pieces from one of Maryanne's influences, New Friends. The colours and textures used in these are amazing.

All photos from New Friends

Going Potty

{tw pottery}

{Leah Jackson, from Mr Kitly}

{Simon Reece, from Mr Kitly}

{Shino Takeda, from Mr Kitly}

{Peter Shire splatter mugs}

{Ceramic tumblers from Wiksten}

{faceted boulder cup set from LEIF}

{Little Wren pottery bowls}

{small painted bowls by Jaime Rugh}

{Cécile Daladier} 

{Camilla Engman collaboration with Karin Eriksson}

 {2 Wee happy tea Cup Set by Mr Jongo}

 {Dawn Vachon}

{Kirste van Noort}

I've been taking a pottery class for the last few months and learning to use the wheel. It's the second time I've taken pottery lessons, and boy does it take a while to get the hang of it. Learning the wheel, finally producing something, waiting for it to dry, trimming it into shape, getting it fired, glazing, firing again… It's such a slow process, which I think has been really good for me. I've become so impatient in this age of instant information, this old brain of mine isn't used to learning new tricks! Now, however, the class has become one of the highlights of my weeks, though I still have a long way to go, and a lot to learn. In the meantime I'll be soaking up inspiration from all these potters above.

Crafty New Year

Something about this new year has made me want to start getting a bit crafty. I'm even thinking of buying a new sewing machine, to replace the one I sold before I moved to Australia. Or perhaps I'll take up needlepoint, with a super awesome project such as this Rob Ryan for Emily Peacock Tapestry Kit.

Christmas Craftanoon

After being inspired by this cute blog I spent the other afternoon making homemade stamps for Christmas giftwrapping. Super easy and super effective = my kind of craft project!