I whipped up an ottoman cover this evening, with some fabric a friend in London gave me. The ottoman is part of a revamp of the study. The study styling has to incorporate a Tunisian rug, Japanese and Chinese artwork, and the colour red will tie it together. Stay tuned to see how it turns out...
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The Great Gatsby is premiering today in Sydney, and I thought I would post some images that symbolise to me some of the influences on the 1920s and the 20th Century. http://thegreatgatsby.warnerbros.com/
I bit the bullet and have set up my Facebook page today for Designs from my Suitcase. At this stage I am throwing my ideas out there, so any feedback - good or bad - is appreciated! I hope to have more designs up on FB next week and hopefully some actual product getting out into the market for Spring/Summer (Australian seasons). Have a quick look at my FB page to see what I am working on. I have finally made the time to go through my notes taken from Karen McCartney's talk at the Coco Republic Design School in Alexandria. Karen was the founding editor of Inside Out magazine and is a Guest Speaker at the Coco Republic Design School. Relax and be inspired for a while by flicking through the images on Karen's blog http://karenmccartney.tumblr.com/, following her on Twitter @KarenMcCartney or on Instagram @mccartneyk. (I haven't got Instagram, so sorry, no imbedded link to Karen's Instagram page.) Technology out of the way, lets get back to the details of Karen McCartney's talk. Some of Karen's favourite stylists are: Glen Proebstel (who has a blog with the most lovely images) Vanessa Colyer Tay Claire Delmar Snippets of information gleaned from Karen's talk are: **Be aware of the styling that others are creating around you (in magazines, websites, etc.) **Don't replicate, but take on board ideas and colours that can provide inspiration. **For interior shots - make your view go from one room to another. **Try and make images resonate so you can connect with your viewer. **Vary the heights of objects to draw your viewer's eye across the image. **Try a neutral background with a feature colour. When putting text over an image, use the same feature colour to pull the image together. (In my photo I have used two of the above styling ideas that Karen suggests.) With fabulous autumn weather in Sydney today was the day for a walk. We started at Bradleys Head, Mosman and it was lovely to see so many people (and dogs) out and about on such a lovely day, making the most of the brilliant weather. Loaded with our home made Anzac biscuits, we walked through Chowder Bay, an ex-military location. A perfect site to spend the afternoon, and to partake in the holiday celebrations of the Anzac anniversary. Continuing with my "being creative" theme, I took photos on the walk. The attached photos may not be very creative, but definitely, with such a lovely harbour view, something worth capturing. I have started reading Michael Atavar's book - 12 Rules of Creativity. I am on chapter one - Open your Eyes. OK, I am a slow reader, since I have had the book for a week! I have started the creative process though and I am working on the creative task of either "taking a photo or making a drawing every 24 hours" . My photo for today is to the right, which is a really sweet, full of character, single storey terrace house in North Sydney. A long time between blogs but I thought I would write a snippet about the Etsy Merchandising talk I went to in Sydney, 13 March 2013, that was organised by TFIA. www.tfia.com.au and www.etsy.com .
Emily, although a little jetlagged as she had arrived in Sydney the morning of the talk, went through some advice that should help everyone out there to merchandise a bit better and get your Etsy page in front of a larger audience. So here are the tips: Photos Photos tell a story. Put things in context eg place a cushion that you are trying to sell on a chair, so your audience gets where you are coming from. So they can see it in their home also! Declutter We all know how important decluttering is. Heavens there are even tv shows about it now and enter "declutter" into google and you can see how popular it is now. Live models get clicks Yes that is right. Ask friends or budding young actors if they would like to promote themselves - at no cost! (That also means they don't get paid. Etsy is for the small producer, not the companies with big marketing budgets!) Page layout Western society, if this is your market, looks at a website page from left to right, and then the eye naturally goes diagonally across the page. So it a good idea to have your best image in the top left hand corner of your Etsy page and, for the remainder of the page, ensure you have items of interest, that will draw your audience's eye down and across. So finishing in the right hand corner, and hopefully catching attention all the way down the page. Go Odd The old rule, like with gardening, group in odd numbers rather than even. So images in 3, 5, 7 etc. Fill em Up If you haven't got enough of your items yet to fill an etsy page, then it is OK to double up! It helps to create a "welcoming experience". Profile In your profile write about why you made the particular items. What your inspiration is. People like to get to know who they are buying from. People connect to a story. Etsy teams You are 70% more likely to sell your items on Etsy if you belong to an Etsy team. So get reading up on the Etsy website! Action Plan
That's my condensed version of Emily's talk. Hopefully it helps with selling on Etsy! As the saying goes "practise makes perfect" so when I was thinking of a birthday present for a close friend, I thought I would whip up a cushion! I searched through my stock of fabrics (the fabric with the design of the girl riding the vespa, is from a designer on Etsy) and I then raced to a shop near by that has a nice selection of some exy fabrics, to purchase something pink to go with it. A mix of fabric from indie designers and well known designers (Marimekko in this case) is a great way to create a gift that can create an impact. Below are some snippets of the designs I have been working. Printing onto fabrics, some time soon I hope!
Ok, so I didn't whip this up on the sewing machine today. It was a couple of weeks ago but, as I haven't done a blog for a while, I thought I should cram in a few of the things I have been working on. This is an image of a cushion I made from silk fabric based on the painting of Lola, the Spanish dancer, by Manet. I am an absolute fan of Manet. I love his still lives and his gorgeous paintings that capture the heart of the society of his time and the soul of people, such as those depicted in The Conservatory and The Balcony. This weekend I have been working on designs from photos I took while walking the coastal walk from Kurnell to Cronulla. Updated design idea below. Developing over the months!
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AuthorLover of travel, design, food, culture (and our two toy poodles). Archives
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