I discovered the talented Helen Hedding through Facebook and instantly fell in love with her beautiful up-cycled softies made from retro fabrics, second-hand jumpers and clothes.
A bit about Helen
I have been sewing and recycling for as long as I can remember. I had a fabulous Mum who would let me cut up old clothes to make things out of, so I have always eyed off second hand clothing as fabric. I worked in a textile agency in the late '90's and started collecting all the (once abandoned) fabric samples and made them into handbags. When I had my daughter the need for hand bags was superseded and toys took over.
I now use a combination of saved fabric samples and recycled clothes found in thrift shops for a majority of my works. When I start a new project I don't go shopping I just use what I already have stashed in my studio. Re-using and using up old clothes and fabrics gives a certain character to my toys and also ensures that each toy is nearly always a one off original.
I did a search on "retro Christmas" and came across this wonderful collection of scanned vintage Christmas Ephemera on Flickr. I particularly love the pussy cat!
I so appreciate that "Calsidyrose" on Flickr has taken the time to scan each of these retro delights for us all to enjoy. Thank you Calsiyrose!
I had my friend Georgia over this week to do a photo shoot of her gorgeous lino cut prints for some promo material. Many of Georgia's prints feature retro styled interiors so I delved into my wooden trunk full of retro goodness, and pulled out a heap of objects to use as props alongside the prints.
Georgia has a visual merchandising background and inspired me by the way she was arranging everything. I found myself looking at my random belongings through different eyes, and now am determined to find new homes for them around my lounge room. So the wooden trunk is now called the Prop Box! The props complimented Georgia's designs so well. Georgia did say that she had Prop Envy!
Next project...we are going to do a photo shoot just for fun of all my retro collections to add to the Retro Delights Website. Maybe a fun task for the holidays.
