Enjoy!
I had so much fun exploring Brunswick when visiting Melbourne a few weeks back. We spent most of the day walking up one side of Brunswick Street then back down the other side so we didn't miss anything. So many quirky retro shops and heaps of cool cafes drawing you in with the aroma of delicious coffee.
We stumbled across Meet me at Mike's little shop. What a delightful space. Of course Denis and I couldn't leave without each buying something. For those who don't know, Meet me at Mike's are the creative folk (Pip Lincolne) behind the crafty book titled Sew La Tea Do and a newby to be released in October this year called Make Hey While the Sun Shines.
Me, I bought a vintage board game called Park and Shop. To my surprise I found 2 more retro games hidden away under the cardboard insert inside! One called "Money" and the other "Careers".
Denis took this photo of me walking proudly with my game through the Melbourne streets as we made our way back to the hotel. Yeah I did get a few looks...
Denis spotted this retro cool Zeiss Ikon Camera complete with flash and leather case. Denis's camera collection is rapidly growing, but I have to admit I particularly like this one.
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 When I had my daughter the need for hand bags was superseded and toys took over.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.
The Nov/Dec issue of Frankie Magazine features a gorgeous dolls house collection by Georgia Smith. This caught my eye being a lover of all things miniature and retro. Georgia has furnished her dolls house with a collection of furniture sourced offshore on eBay - unfortunately this kind of thing just isn't available in Australia. Maybe there is a market there...Mmmmm!
Please shrink me so I can play in this house!
My new "Nonite Owl" from little luv completes the picture in my current RETRO OWL window display. Little Luv lovingly makes a beautiful range of handmade toys made from gorgeous retro fabric. Each character is completely unique.
The cushion behind nonite owl has a cool story too. It was a Birthday gift from my sister Lynne, and was originally a prop from the Australian TV Program McLeods Daughters!! Lynne was an 'extra' in the show, however she actually found the pillow at a local garage sale in the Barossa. So I now own something famous - well kind of!
After my "mini-me" product shoot I decided to do a search on Flickr to see what other miniature ideas were out there... and I came across these delightful photos.
Annina Günther, a graphic designer in England, is a collector of dolls-houses which she stages for photographs and then posts on her blog Miniatures by Annina. I absolutely love the mid-century decor and the fact that all rooms have a lived in quality. I believe she even makes most of the accessories and furniture herself. The detail is unbelievable - You have to look closely to realise they are not actual full scale rooms! Check out her Flickr page here...
My Koala family from my childhood - Bingy (baby koala), Bang (mum koala) and Bong (father). Made from Kangaroo Fur these Koalas are pretty special to me. The smallest Koala is 'Bingy'. I received Bingy on my 1st Birthday and he was so so fluffy when I got him but over the years I slowly rubbed his fur off completely! Not something that would happen to the synthetic Koalas you can buy today! Bang has a pocket on the back to store money or small objects, and Bong plays Waltzing Matilda!!
How cool is this... I was going through some stuff stored at my parents home and came across my original Barbie Townhouse. Yes, it is sad, I have kept all of my Barbie bits and pieces all these years. But hey who could blame me, this is so cool. I always thought that if I had a kid one day maybe they might like to play with it too? I will take more photos of it when I get it out of the box and set it up one day. Maybe tomorrow...
