snakes alive!

A few years ago a friend and I were discussing how wonderful the flavour of old-school snakes alive! were. Seven year old Lily was listening in and came out to bat for the current 'all natural' flavours of the new snakes. We had to explain to the innocent-organic-steiner child that to our palate those evil red snakes were just the best, they may have sent us bouncing off the walls but those greasy lil jellies tasted fan-fucking-tastic. Yeah for man-made flavourings!

These trouser-snakes, oops sorry, door-snakes, though, are just full of natural goodness. 1kg in weight, covered in vintage fabric and lined with calico, they could also be used in self-defense in case of a home invasion. Or as a means to stop draughts. It's up to you.

In store Wednesday. 

(Do you know how hard it is to do a glamourous photo of draught-stoppers?)

(...and Blogger is driving me insane, not letting me load pictures, changing the font size, moving things around by itself and I have spent the last 3 hours attempting to get things back to normal but it may never be the same..... is it just me or is anyone else having trouble?)

stuff

Just thought I'd sneak a post in before I head out to teach.
Vintage fabric pillowcases in contrasting patterns. One side in one fabric and the other in some other fabric......... you know what I mean!
Also with the rain tumbling down (oh how it's been falling, I got stuck in the car in one of the big downpours) I've popped the angora fingerless gloves into the shop and also some over the knee angora socks, they are really lush and perfect for around the house or to wear with boots. Only in cream at the moment though.

inside looking out, outside looking in

Miss Jess has all the good photos from Saturday in the shop, so you'll just have to make do with my dodgy pics (there is something weird about my camera's focusing).

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The internet is back up so I'll be able to post some pictures of new things as I get them finished. (In other words stay tuned.)

And excitement- there is a bit on Three Thousand about the shop! Check it out.

'why clean when you could be doing something creative?'

Saturday went off with a bang and now my body, mind and emotions have decided they have been overworked and have all shut down.
Along with my internet connection.
Telstra came today to hook up the phone (took 3 weeks) but in the scheme of things I forgot to sort it out with my internet provider......bugger. So I'm stuck with a dodgy airport/wireless hook-up that is absolutely crap. Which means no pictures etc until the broadband is back up and running.
Tomorrow I get to go to the studio whilst Elise looks after the shop. I'll be in being shop-girl on Friday and Saturday, which means I need to organise something to keep my hands busy while I wait for people to come through the door.
I have to say I'm as flat as a tack today, I think the adrenaline gland may be a bit overdrawn. I still need to get back to old Brunswick St to sort and pack and clean but the energy packs are empty and the thought of lugging boxes of magazines around is not hugely inviting.
Really its been a huge 7 weeks.

welcome to cottage industry

It is my pleasure to announce that Cottage Industry will open for business on Easter Saturday 22nd of March at 11am.
Please pop in! We'll be open until 6pm.
67 Gertrude St Fitzroy, just around the corner from Brunswick St, on the right as you head towards Nicholson St and the Exhibition Gardens.

melted

Spot has taken to lying on the sofa in the half dismantled back sitting room, something she only does if I'm sitting there with her. She knows something is up.
The backyard is full of shelves and boxes and 'refugee bags' full of stuff.
I don't think I've left enough time to pack 16 years of crap.
Really all I'm trying to do is clean off the horizontal surfaces so they can be moved. I'm lucky in that I don't need to move lock, stock and barrel all in one hit.
Have discovered that we appear to have had a bit of a mouse problem over the last few month. I wonder if its the drought or just that I am surrounded by restaurants.
At least its not raining and its ok to leave things lying around outside.
I'm over it.

the end is nigh

(and I've managed to paint something green and like it!)

frustration all around

I am very over this weekend. It has been non-stop aggravation and frustration. I'm over-tired and sleep deprived. Not a good mix. I had to go out into the lane-way twice last night to ask people to f**k off, they had music playing from a car and gave me grief, at least one girl apologised as they mooched off. And the neighbours over the back decided to sit in their backyard and talk VERY loudly until 6.30am............. I am not fit for human consumption at the moment.
And Blogger has been playing up.
Perhaps its in the stars...... a misalignment maybe.

sunday fun day

I remembered this morning why I stopped going to the Camberwell Market last year. Getting up at 6.30am is a pain in the arse.
Not to mention dealing with some seriously freaky people at that time of day is just not right.
Jess popped in for tea and gossip in the backyard and then I headed in to the city to go to the IFFTI conference to hear Andrea present her paper. I didn't stay long and came home on the tram with the rest of the freaky Melbourne people who weren't at the Market this morning. Is it me?- I wonder.

The conference highlighted how differently I view the whole fashion lark, which is a bit weird considering everything that I'm in the process of doing. I don't see myself in any way, shape or form, a commercial designer (even an 'independent' commercial designer) or an 'intellectual' designer (even though my work has sold at places like Ipanema, Assin and Eastern Market, etc) but rather as someone who is skills based. I can hold my own in a theoretical conversation about fashion, but you know what? Fashion to me is clothes, and they are in every way just clothes. Pretty, purposefully ugly, comfortable, uncomfortable, black, plain, patterned, bright, expensive, cheap, it's just clothes. Don't analyse them, just enjoy them. As you can see I don't really like the intellectualisation of fashion, sometimes I think it can be way off the mark. Interpretation is everything- makes me remember why I chose not to do a masters. Making things is fun. Making clothes that people want to wear is the bee's knees.

tradee frustration

Three carpentry jobs booked in for Saturday. Tom the Carpenter has to leave early. Two done (which is good but with the state I'm in, is not good), change room/storage finish, except for a bunch of nails I need to bang in, and the kitchen benches cut and ready to be screwed to the cabinets (yeah kitchen!).
In frustration after Tom left I scrubbed all the paint splatters off the concrete floor in the shop on my hands and knees- I now have 'char woman's knee' and can barely walk.
I did go down to Amor y Locura to pick up the denim covered display mannequins and Mandy helped me carry them up the street so she could have a sticky at the space.
To end the afternoon I started painting out the red at the top of the window arches, I can't reach right to the top with my ladder but at least most of the red is gone. The weather made the paint dry on the brush- see, all around it was a very frustrating day.



As a treat I went and got fish and chips from my favourite chippy. While it was frying (fish must be in batter) I strolled down to the op shop Yours, Now Mine and spied these little Easter chicks and the somewhat strange ducks. Ahhh op shops- even entertaining when they are closed.

bit by bit

Friday was a mixed up day. Andrea arrived from Vancouver via Brisvegas, we had lunch and chats, the electrician came to fit the oven. the plumber postponed. Rob came to visit having spread rumours the shop was open and helped me put the army surplus bunk together. I potted around and then had a gut full and went to Ikea -again- to pick up some stuff.

A feeling of annoyance and general unease began to hover over the weekend.

I'm as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof.

I can't sleep properly and my stomach is constantly growling and threatening to spill its contents (sorry).

klein's easter fete

The girls at Klein's Perfumery have used my Goodwill Bunting for their Easter window. Wish we had fetes like the one this window evokes. Home-made jam for 20p! Bet the Vicar's running the tombola in the church hall! Oh and Miss Marple has killed the president of the Women's Institute! Jolly hockeysticks!



Couldn't resist a pic taken on the way to RMIT this afternoon. Melbourne does the best blue skies in autumn. And I do love the Exhibition Buildings.

dahlias for Beck

My inner-granny loves that dahlias are making a comeback.

leather

There has been a pile of cut out and half prepped leather bags hiding under a pile of other stuff on the kitchen table for the last few weeks so I thought I better get them finished. One blistered finger joint later they are now three quarters done.

......... is the new black

Just in time for fash-trash week and the black exhibition I can announce the new black is FLOOR. From the bedroom to the bottom of the stairs has been glossed to the max (and I have a splitting chemical headache to prove it).

And the kitchen is finally happening (and had Ikea not had dodgy bench tops would have been even more finish than it is now).

The whole space is a complete mess but is getting so much closer to actually being something that I am getting a little bit interested again.

Teaching starts this week and being fashion week I have a slew of openings to get to. With black floor paint stained hands and general feelings of grotness I don't think I'll make it to any of them........... and Andrea arrives from Canadia via Brisvegas any day- now that really is exciting!