You Beaut / Before Pop

Such a lovely morning in the big city.

Went to see the Andy Warhol and John Olsen Exhibitions at the Art Gallery of NSW:

Loved this commissioned Christmas Card Andy made for Tiffany & Co in the 1950s:

As a Gemini, I had to take a sneaky snap of this. Hits the mark quite closely...

 

....and was reminded of the big world that exists when I venture out of the 'hood.

While the daily goings tickled my fancy, I couldn't help but reminisce...

Remembering the days working at Chifley Tower while the Sydney Olympics were on,  watching and celebrating in the Domain. Such fun times.

Was just a tad crunchy under foot in places...

Ventured out wearing a new purchase from Emily Green. On leather twine are these polymer clay beads in all my favourite shades. And with sparkles! 9 x bead necklaces are Emily's signature design although she creates pieces with up to 18 beads as well as earrings, art works and even has a sock range!

Don't these works celebrating our wonderful country put a spring in your step on a sunny day? 

  

John Olsen certainly captures the essence of Oz.  He is still painting and going strong at 89! 

Inspirational.

S x

Gifts at The Gallery

I love a good Museum shop.  Embarrassingly, it can often be my highlight when visiting a museum / art gallery.

Yesterday, prior to seeing the Collette Dinnigan Exhibition at The Powerhouse Museum, I found myself in the newly-renovated MAAS Store mentally ticking off many gifts from my scarily extensive Christmas Shopping List.

Check out some of these hand-made discoveries:

The interlocking wine rack you can configure to suit your needs / space.  Made by Power to Make, these plywood sets come in different colours and you can add sets as your wine collection grows. The best bit is they come flat packed for building, so easy to post & carry. Starting at AUD$55 for the 6 bottle set,  this would go down well in any home at Christmas.

I was totally crushing on these flower frames by Sydney company Rainy Sunday. They come in all sorts of delicious shades. I imagine gifting one of these with some fresh blooms, as they provide a beautiful keepsake long after the flowers have gone. Single black one will set you back AUD$52. 

Having laid Tasmanian Oak Floors in an attempt at a slightly Scandi interior, Oak is still very much on my radar. These oak homewares by Normann Copenhagen caught my eye in the Museum Shop. 

Great gifts, good prices and so smooth and tactile to boot.  A house can NEVER have enough hooks and here are a couple of stunning oak versions, and a luxe timber trivet to protect your bench tops. Truly Scandinavian, all items online are sent from Denmark, so prices are in USD. 

Curve hook - USD$28, Trivet - USD$33 & Stick Hooks - USD$25

I could account for at least a third of my Xmas Shopping List at The Museum Shop - I recommend it highly for some novel pressie ideas, some amazing books and they even had some yummy fodder on hand for the hungry visitor.

If you have the chance to see the Collette Dinnigan Exhibition - on until Aug 2016 - you won't be disappointed. Tickets are $15 and she has a book out too. That's the perfect Xmas gift combo right there!

Spoiler alert.....some visuals of her most AMAZING mood boards at the exhibition below....

Something for everyone at The Powerhouse right now!
Sx

Mother's Day - A Crafter's Christmas

Mother's of small children will no doubt have received some hand-made delights of the naive & sentimental variety over the weekend. As a purveyor of all things hand made & repurposed, Mother's Day ticks a lot of boxes.

My loot comprised of:

1) a beautifully wrapped, hand painted and hand glittered votive with candle:

2) A charming tea-pot card complete with tea bag:

3) A handmade, laminated bookmark:

...which was really handy, as I also received

4) about 6 x month's worth of reading materials (having put a Facebook call-out only recently for recommendations):

And there was one other little parcel to unwrap - it was

5) This t-shirt from Seed

...which I wore while eating a scrumptious breakfast outside in the glorious sunshine (better than breakfast in bed any day!). It was handmade by my husband:

I was lucky enough to have my Mum & Dad visiting for the weekend. On Mother's Day even my Mum got in on the hand-made act and spent a good hour or so making a fluro-orange, woollen pom pom to add to my outdoor "chandelier":

We squeezed in a walk to the Marina with our four legged friend, a family game of Rummikub complete with oysters and Bellinis and since we kickstarted Mother's Day with a little aperitif (i.e. a glass or two of bubbles Saturday evening at The Opera Bar);

We decided to round out Mother's Day with more of the same excesses, and yet another tasty husband made meal:

Roast Pork Rack with Extra Crackling. And Red Wine. Hooray!

I then finished the night snuggled on the sofa with my two little people and a pre-recorded (no adverts!) episode of The Voice. I mean seriously; does it get much better than that?

I give this Mother's Day 12/10.
Sx