the plus part

Nest Studio and Umbrella Prints are moving to 147 Magill Road, Stepney.

After the best part of 5 years in Croydon a new space beckoned with a little more space and its own bathroom (!). The next month before the opening (6th August, 6pm) is rolling close fast; there is so much work to be done but its very exciting.

Please forgive the short (but hopefully sweet) posts in the meantime x

Excitement PLUS

Carly and I spent the day at work grouping our new colours 'turtledove' (a melty middle grey) and 'persimmon' (beautiful burnt orange) with our other colours.

We spend a lot of time on our colours; their names are really significant to us. The above prints are Love List, Daisies and Hearts and arrive in our shops in this colourful array as soon as humanly possible; must feed and water my family FIRST.

RIP Michael Jackson

Lets face it he was amazing.
Don't Stop til you get Enough

G-daub

G learnt from very early on not to touch Mummy's artwork; which is quite a feat considering my drawings, stencils, and sketches are often strewn throughout our small house. Thinking back, in 4 years, she has never ripped or ruined any of my work and is always gentle about weaving her way around it. I once (brazenly/stupidly) left a 3 metre long papercut on the living room floor and came back to the room pretty much expecting it to have been at least a bit chewed, but it was fine!

But whilst sorting through a heap of paperwork this week I flicked through my sketchbook only to discover G had been there and left her mark......on every page!

Every doodle, sketch and note of mine has been carefully 'added to' with the most delicate of whispery G-lines.

I love these so much it aches xo

bead making Nest Studio

by Olga

by Sandra

by Carmella

Whilst the 9-12 year old students all wait for their clay sculptures to dry (and then get fired in preparation for glazing) we have been spending a lesson or two designing and making beads for stringing onto thread.
A few students liked mixing in wooden beads and buttons which produced interesting results. Awesome work girls!

random 8

I received a blog award from chunkychooky
that was very nice thankyou!
which means I tell 8 things about myself you might not know (or care about ha ha!)
you can join in too x

1. the next 6 weeks are going to be intense//;˘ and Im scared, excited, mainly scared

2. I am obsessional about baby's names I could tell you the origin and meaning of any name with reasonable accuracy dont worry most of the time I just do it in my head so as not to appear stalkerish or creepy. I read my baby name book before I go to bed its meditative.

3. Daryl Braithwaite's 'Horse's' made me cry today in the supermarket ooooooh ggooooooood NNNoooooooo

4. I met my husband when I was 18 in an indie/gothic nightclub I had just read a Cleo magazine which claimed if you make eye contact with a man and count (silently) for 7 seconds and then smile he will fall for in love with you; my girlfriend and I were giggling about it and I decided to see if it worked. Lets just say 7 seconds doing that feels like an ion and yes it works :-)

5. Apparently if I was an animal I would be a cross between a wombat and a rock wallaby I hope its the good bits.

6. I was addicted to the smell of the cleaner Mr Sheen when I was 13

7. ummmm; I always chose the boot as my piece in Monopoly; my sister was the top hat

8. sometimes I repeat myself

Umbrella Prints Giveaway

We (Umbrella Prints) introduced our Trimmings packs to our lineup in January and since then I have been wondering what people actually doooo with them so now its time to find out! So we are doing a wee give away in order to coax you into showing off your skills xxxxx:

How to score a cool parcel of goodies from Umbrella Prints

Those of you who have purchased (or do purchase) a trimmings pack are automatically registered for the giveaway.

All you need to do is take a photo of your pile of pieces then see how many beautiful things you can make from just one pack....

upload the before and after photos to flickr (tagged : umbrellaprints, trimmings)

and we will choose the most creative and abundant entry....

That very clever crafter will receive a parcel filled with goodies :: including a Sterling Silver Baby Elephant Charm Necklace + one whole metre of the fabric of your choice (providing it is in stock) and a few extras.... a brooch ..maybe a new kit....to make it worth your while.

So get your photos in by September 1st (midnight AEST) and we will post up the winner the next day. You can of course still buy Trimmings packs in the mean time and not be in the giveaway.

Good luck x

hello Annika

Could you be the most beautiful girl in the world? Massive love and congratulations to Kate and James, Jonah and Eva xxxxxxxxxxxxx

pointing UP

Front room of Nest Studio this week Umbrella Print's fabric gone vertical for a change.

tah

I don't much like asking for help and it takes a lot for me to ask.....though a while ago I read a self-help (!) book called "Just Ask" or similar and have gotten better at it...... but its not something that comes that naturally. On the flip side I don't think I am viewed as someone who particularly needs help; like I can deal with stuff and im solid like a rock (funny thing perception is hey!).

Anyway, I keep going back to a moment, which was also a while ago now, an impacting moment in my current life it was when I said to my Dad...."er....Dad....I need to ask you something.....?" and my Dad said straight out and straight away "the answer is yes", "whatever it is the answer is yes".
And it still makes me teary just thinking about it- later he admitted immediately thinking o oh what are you going to ask me!

Anyway its got me thinking about giving and it got me thinking about luck and its got me thinking about how things have gone in the last couple of years. Anyhoo Im stuck for the exact words so I will just say semi-cryptically The door to opportunity is always labeled 'push' and .......thankyou........ Dad and my freakishly supportive family and friends xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

minty fresh

Thankyou to Mint Design for letting Carly and I know we were featured on her blog this week. This is a new photo for our trimmings which was taken again on the Nest window sill the diffused light of the window helps a lot for a nice photo.

winter fire

G, C & O were delighted with Clare and Mark's huge bonfire in the hills; and the geese and the goat and the pond. I really it enjoyed it too and felt rejuvenated and inspired once again to move to the hills, grow our own veggies, spin wool and knit jumpers.....