Lark's looking for a designer

The lovely Allison from Lark in Daylesford is looking to fill a new position of Designer.  If you have experience in product development, design, sourcing and costing and is someone who loves cute vintage design and will stop at nothing to make the perfect product - then you're the person Allison's looking for!

The position will be based in Ballarat and could be a great opportunity for a designer looking to relocate to the country - it truly is lovely out there. You can email Allison with a brief of your experience or CV here or click here to read more.

What an awesome opportunity for someone.  Lark sell the most gorgeous things and I can't wait to see what the new designer will bring to the Lark business!

dear blog-land: thanks for the inspiration

Firstly, thanks to everyone who posted lovely comments on my last post.  It's so reassuring to read the positive words of other lovely bloggers and to know that I am not the only one who has been stuck in a craft-rut.

Recently, I've been searching for inspiration all around me.  More than usual.  So I thought I would share some of the lovely blogs that provide me with lots of warm fuzzies and mountains of inspiration.  There are truly so many amazingly talented people out there.  I'm always blown away.  Here are some of my absolute fave blogs.

Just Something I Made

Cathe Holden resides in California and is by far the most creative lady I have come across.  Martha Stewart has nothing on this talented lady!  A graphic designer by trade, she not only has a passion for typography and vintage monograms which she creates, but she also makes the most amazing things and provides free downloadable artwork so you can make your own.  Truly, if you're ever in need of inspiration or a stunning project, head on over to Cathe's place.

Decor8

Sweet, romantic, comforting, inspirational, chic, creative.  This is what you'll get from this beautiful interior design blog written by Holly Becker.  I adore reading and looking at her posts.  They are always full of beautiful photos curated in such a delightful and heart-warming manner.  If you haven't already subscribed, you simply must.  It's love for your eyeballs.

Thompson Family Life

Danielle has the yummiest photos around.  Looking at her blog is like looking into someones photo album from another era (she adds that great 70's effect to her photos).  She designs the most delectable digital kits with a hint of kitsch and nostalgia, makes embroidery patterns and has a passion for Blythe dolls... don't we all!  Make sure you give her blog a visit.  You'll be sure to "ooh" and "aah" over the visual feast she has concocted with a great balance between her personal (family) and professional (crafty) life.

Pia Jane Bijkerk

I am pretty sure she is living my life.  Oh Pia... how I want to be you. Pia is creative.  A great photographer.  Young.  Talented. Lives in Amsterdam.  Regularly travels to Paris.  A stylist for Vogue Entertaining + Travel and Gourmet Traveller magazines (plus other). Has published books stunning books.  And is just in general inspirational. She has this sophisticated yet carefree style that amplifies in all her work.  Make yourself a nice cup of tea and sit down to get inspired through Pia's wonderful blog.

What's your most inspirational blog?

re-evaluate

I'm a little embarassed to say that over the last few weeks I seem to have lost my way.  Life doesn't always go the way you plan or want it to.  I pride myself on being a seasoned multi-tasker.  But when all the lists in the entire world don't seem to keep me on track, I know it's time to take a long, deep breath and re-evaluate the situation.  A fresh set of eyes does wonders.

I'm waiting for my fresh eyes to come in.  Any day now. So let me start at the beginning.

After being made redundant from my marketing job of almost 3 years back in October of last year, I took some time to re-evaluate and figure out what I wanted to do.  By January I was sewing and creating like a madwoman and realising how much I enjoyed it.  Then of course came the realisation that it would be a very long and difficult road to make this a financially-viable full time thing.

In February I received a call from a girlfriend with an opportunity that I couldn't resist.  A part-time marketing position that paid as much as my previous job (except half the hours) which meant that I could keep up my crafting as well as earn some money to pay my way through the realities of life.

By May I hated the job so much that I started each work day wondering if I could just keep driving.  Right on past the office.  Not really sure of the destination, but anywhere seemed better than the destination of my day job.  So I made the (financially) difficult decision to hand in the apron (so to speak).  Thankfully I have a wonderfully supportive husband.  The motto in our house is "we'll get through it, we always have".


I was back to being happy.  Jobless.  But happy nonetheless.  I made the most of my time making, sewing, crafting and even organising Melbourne's own Etsy craft party. I booked stalls at markets making sure I left plenty of time in between to actually make the stock.  Then my husband became jobless.  So there we are.  Two jobless adults keeping our child in childcare so that we don't lose his place at the centre when we find jobs again.

Then came June and reality set in.  Again.  That's right.  Life getting in the way.  Again.  Oh, what's that?  That's right.  We're going to Europe in September for my 30th.  A gift which I demanded.  A gift which we could no longer completely afford, whilst also paying the equivelant of a mortgage in child care fees.  Ah, yes.  There you are.  Life.  I almost forgot you existed.

So here we are.  It's July.  I.m two weeks into a new job. A job working in my paid profession, but not necessarily my preferred job. But the folks I work with are lovely, the work is far-from-crappy and the pay is do-able.  But it's not always rosey you know.  With a full-time job comes the reality of not-much-time-for-the-things-I-want-to-do.  Like sewing.  Crafting. Writing inspiring posts. Reading blogs. Doing lots more markets. Taking lots of photos.

And now that we are both back to working fulltime, we've re-evaluated our finances and realised that we probably can't visit the six European cities we initially planned on.  So Budapest and Munich are off our list.  We have discussed cancelling the trip and cashing in our airline tickets, but my husband is smart and knows that it's not an option.  Cancelled trip = cranky wife.  I wouldn't care as much if it weren't for my 30th.  Something I've been planning for the last 2 years.

It's the reason I didn't post my scheduled 'Inspiration: Budapest' post on Friday.  I guess I didn't want to face the reality.  This blog has sort of turned into my reality and not being able to fulfill what I promise (even if just to myself) gets me a little down.

So we're doing Europe cheap.  Not flea-ridden, bed-bugs cheap.  Just things-are-safe-in-our-clean-hotel-room-while-we're-out-sightseeing-cheap.  We'll still have fun.  We just can't be too carefree with our spending.

So this brings me to my point.  Sorry if I lost you earlier.  Thanks if you've stuck with me and made it to here.  Life throws you curve balls.  Deal with it.  As best you can.  It's all you can do really.

Yes, I'm having trouble getting my inspirational, crafty mojo back at the moment and I think that sharing this kind of stuff is important.  It helps to understand and gives perspective.  Even if just the process of writing it all as evidence.  Get it all off my chest. I'm still here.  Just a little flat.

fabulous sydney market to finally grace melbourne soil

Oh my goodness.  If you haven't heard the news yet, the infamous Finders Keepers market (started in Sydney) is finally going to hit Melbourne for the very first time.  I have been waiting with baited breath for this little gem of a market to reach us down South and I almost couldn't believe it when I read the news today. Eeeeeee.

So my little treasure-hunters... get your fossicking boots on because the market is set for October 9 & 10 in Melbourne's Docklands.  Write it in your diaries.  With room for 150 stallholders, it's sure to be a doozy!  And who knows when the next one will be.

Sorry if you don't reside in Melbourne.  Really.  You're missing out.

inspiration: european cities - week 3 prague

Ahoj!

Have you had a nice week?  I started a new job this week.  It's going well thanks.  I'm excited about the challenge of a position I haven't done before and all the work I must do over the next 2 months before our European holiday.  Yes, I'm a little twisted that way.

9 weeks until we leave for Europe. Yay.  I'm super excited.  This week's inspirational city is Prague. It's the 3rd inspirational installment of 6 European cities.

Click here if you missed week 1: Paris or week 2: Amsterdam.

1. Charles Bridge print 2. World Traveler Pendant 3. A sunny afternoon in Prague

4. Czech Easter Eggs 5. Marionettes 6. Czech food... yummo!

7. Czech Crystal Glass 8. Retro airmail Praha castle envelopes 9. 1930's glass necklace

Enjoy!  Next week... Budapest!

Sbohem.

lovely daylesford weekend & flea market finds

A little belated with this post, but I wanted to share the delights of my weekend.   I had the Daylesford Makers Market on Saturday so I set off from my home at 7:15am with stock packed to the brim of my car - affectionately known as 'Betsie'.

I got to the market, set up my stall and was really happy with how it looked.  I've been slowly adding some various props and decorations over the last few markets.  I think it looked the best it's ever looked.  The 10am opening rolled around quickly and despite being a really slow start with the sales, the day finished up fantastically.  I think the alterations I've been making to the stall and the refined product range have finally made a difference. I couldn't have been happier.

Before the market ended I received a call from my beloved telling me that he and my son were surprising me by driving out to Daylesford and we were all going to stay the night in a quaint little cottage.  Yay.  That meant I didn't have to drive an hour and a half home after packing up my stall following the 5pm market wrap up.  Super excited!

The weekend was freezing, but it was all overshadowed by the enjoyment of Daylesford town and delightful surrounds.  I took photos.  How could I not.  I wanted you to share in my delights of course. 

Here's where we stayed.  Well, it's not actually where we "stayed", but it is a pic of the sign out the front of the property.

Complete with a lake and row boat.  I would rather like to return in the summer when this lake, gardens and picnic area would be best put to use.

We visited the Daylesford (flea) market.  Lots of stuff there.  And by stuff, I mean the bric a brac variety.

The market was followed by lunch at Gourmet Larder. I had the pot pie. Yum!

And this unfortunately was the view from our table.  It's the cabinet containing local and imported cheeses.  And lots of them.  More yum.

Obviously I had to visit one of my fave shops in Daylesford.  The Wombat Hill Antiques store (or "Curios Antiques - it has two signs and they're both different names!) is such a treasure trove of items dying to be discovered.

Here are some of the goodies inside the many rooms that make up the second hand store.

I finally found some gorgeous tea cups and saucers that were to my liking.  Purchased from a little second hand shop of which I don't know the name of.  They had a box of "orphan china" on the floor almost hidden under other things.  I dug through the box for about 10 mins and found the perfect combination of bone china cups and saucers - all missmatched of course!

Did you do anything nice on the weekend?  Did you do any flea market or op shopping?  Do tell

inspiration: european cities - week 2 amsterdam

Hallo!  

I'm a little late this week.  

Following on from my last 'inspiration: european cities' post, it's now time for a bit of Amsterdam love.  My second city in a six-week inspirational visit series in the lead up to my European trip in September.

1. Across the Canal - stitched canvas 2. Street Scene print 3. Hand cut map

4. Wooden clogs print 5. Dutch children embroidery 6. Amsterdam Made by Hand book

7. Dutch postage stamp charm 8. Dutch Skyline wall sticker 9. Dutch couple figurine and shoe


Stay tuned for the next installation of European Cities inspiration... Prague!

Adieu!