and today . . .

we are still rolling along . . .

today it was miss jen's turn in the studio,
she's my thursday girl. . .

and . . . in the heat of a brisbane summer,
we remembered how nice it was to be at work together . . .
and how lucky we are, despite heavy hearts,
that we get to hang out and create things together,

and really, in the end . . .
simply share a day

the girls are back . . .

and we're rolling again . . . .

just a few lovely snaps . . .

as last year drew to a close
a few pictures were taken
( not by me )
of my work in places . . .
above a beautiful photo taken by the talented
brisbane photographer mark lobo
at the brisbane summer finders keepers market
these ornaments have never looked nicer !

at the same market
my friend alischa took some of my poetry pots
sitting on the amazing backdrop
i was lucky enough to have on my stall . . .
an old falling down piano

i love that the text sways like the keys
as the bowls sit on them . . .
lyrical really . . .

and one of my favourite shots
from the wedding of the lovely alarna from
little jane street
her husband david ( who loves clouds )
wore instead of flowers on his lapel
one of my cloud brooches . . .
. . . and such a great snap by their amazing wedding
photographer jonas peterson. . .

just swell all these snaps . . .
i've been meaning to share them for a while

they make my hard work feel like it glows in places
and through others eyes that i can't capture
cos i'm too close to it all . . . you know ?

getting back in the groove . . .

life here in brisbane has been

sad and surreal for a few weeks now . . .
but as is the nature of life
it must go on . . .

even when it is hard when so many around us have
such a long road to recovery ahead . . .

we must keep our heads up and get on with things,
keep industry going, support locals,
continue to help in what ever way we can . . .

my studio girls are back this week
and much organising and arranging has been happening
behind the scenes to prepare for our busy year ahead

one special thing that has made my week
is the addition of a new piece of equipment ( of sorts )
for the studio . . . ( image above )
it is the simple things sometimes . . .

the trick to working in our lovely space is just that . . .
space . . .
there is an amazing view
but not much square footage to work with
so we must improvise . . .
this is ok most of the time,
but last year we introduced a new system to one of our
production processes . . . spraying the glaze on !!!

my friend sean, helped me
not be afraid of an air-compressor
and all the technical info that comes with it,
and he showed and helped me understand
the process as a whole . . .

i have to say for the 'production' side of my work
his help has changed my working life !

so six months ago i bought one (a compressor),
and face mask, and made temporary spray box
out of pieces of ply that were dismantled after each use . . .

this is where the story brings us . . .
in the last week my dad has made this spray box . . .
compact,
sits on the table neatly
and when we are finished spraying . . .
we turn it upside down and a table can still be used

. . . that was my idea,
my lateral thinking comes in handy sometimes . . .

anyhoo, just thought i'd share a little bit of timber joy
it isn't always about the pretty . . .

but this piece of practical is pretty fantastic

thanks dad . . .
and sean . . .
and air-compressor manufacturers . . .

this will be used every week
as we make our quote tags and ornaments
and all the other new things we've got up our sleeves,
i'll keep you posted . . .

so much water so close to home . . .

hello friends, customers, stores...

thank you to all who have called,
text,
tried to email (and emailing now that my email is working again...)

my home/studio in milton, although it is high, and by all accounts safe
was evacuated yesterday
due to the distressing state of our beloved city

all our prayers are with our family, friends and neighbours in brisbane
and throughout our big beautiful state
who are suffering through this time

my family have been dealing with this flood disaster for some time now
with friends and family leaving
their homes in central queensland
it really is such a distressing and too close to home time . . .

i will be back in touch when we are back on board

in the mean time if you would like to donate to the flood relief
appeal please click on link below, every cent will help

http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html

(title of post thanks to paul kelly, australian singer/storyteller of the people)