we have almost everything ready for the market now, which is rather organised for poppies. I feel silly and like a commercial for saying what i am about to say, but here goes..... market day will mean a one day poppies sale: cards $5, tags $2.50, boxed cards $25, small writing sets $20, desk sets $35... come one come all and snap up a little christmas gift or two. owww do forgive me.
is it just me or does each issue get better and better. I adore it, a cup of tea, short bread bikkies, feet up and mag in hand. the november issue has the most perfect recipe 'warm roasted vegetable salad with couscous'. So good I've been making it every week, I like adding green olives and slices of chili salami to mine. Anyway this Christmas issue has a few poppies things featured. One being our lolly bags. Clair- such a talent stylist and beautiful woman has used some of our camellia sweets and isobel treats with red letters and christmas pegs. way to turn a simple bag into a work of art. She is amazing. sooooooooo incase there is any confusion we don't have Christmas themed lolly bags exactly!
Another feature is some home made envelopes, I'm certainly not the first to use children's book illustrations for envelope making, but I am still thrilled they made it into the pages. It is such a simple way to get crafting, so go on, run down to your local opp shop and see what you can find. The envelopes look oh so good on a gift wrapped in brown paper. If you can't bear to rip the pages out (like me) scan the image in and print out a copy.
xx alana
ps. isobel turned 3 yesterday. happy birthday dear sweet isobel. and yes, you are right you can go to ballet class now.
is that market we all love. It is on again next Sunday (30th) here are the details. We are bundling all our things in boxes and setting up shop for the day, so if you are in melbourne pop by! We are now in the process of sewing up our little birdies to keep us company. yay for market day.
is the dear Leah Bartholomew's debut exhibition. on from now until the 16th of november at gorker gallery. 'Dry wheat stream like ribbons in the hot wind and the sun won't go to sleep. harvest time is coming and there is a whole world hidden in the corn fields- a world of innocence and nostalgia, children with skin like honey and feathers in their hair hiding from the future, singing about the summer and freedom.' eeeeeeeee it is all beauty, as is she. i came home with a camera full of bad photos and a receipt for summer love (the print in the photo above these words)
our beloved sticky notes, square boxed cards and favorite lolly bags are all now back in stock.
phew.
tea and cake anyone?
ah ha, all our christmas delights are now online.
we are introducing our latest birdie friend....
Paul Partridge. He's got a rather unconventional wing, we think he stands out from your every day partridge.
do pop on the site to see the full range and don't forget Sara and I are at the ready with our scissors and wrap!
with joy,
alana
xx
ow what a good day:
1. the wisteria is starting to pop all over the fence. we become the purple house in spring; three lilac trees and wisteria, and we all know wisteria does what she pleases, each year she's found a new place to grow.
2. mum came for a visit and gave me green tea with rose from T2, such a treat
and then
3. a little package arrived from Kikki K. oh how i love the post. I had emailed Kristina earlier in the week to say how much I was loving all the colour in her stores, especially the cute diary and now Sara and I have one each and a bright yellow pen. thanks kristina, I feel so special! this is a good week for yellow (and purple)
writing about being 27 reminded me of our dear friends birthday tea we had on the balcony the other week. the sun came out, we dipped strawberries in dark chocolate, sara made hummingbird cake and we drunk tea from nans delightful cups. it is so so good to celebrate.
I am sitting here with a bright orange ball between me and the chair in an effort to sit up straight.
turns out you can't be serious when trying to keep a ball in its place.
well, I came on here to write about post trade show happenings, which is now all about getting everything christmas ready to post on the 1st of october, four days before I turn 27. (I still feel like the dorky high school kid. Every now and then I have an odd dream where I am told that the year I finished didn't count and that my whole year level has to repeat the last year of school. in the dream I fish out my old school uniform and pack my school bag.)
anyway, christmas. Our christmas things will be on our website by the 1st of october too, we are making wrapping paper this year so we will be offering a wrapping service. that sounded very shopping centerish. the wrapping service is me and sara, two pairs of scissors and some sticky tape.
In other news, we are not going ahead with our 2009 calendar. which is so sad, but the idea of not selling them all is worse, the waste would make me cry.
last of all, here is a picture of our notebooks blowing on the line.
xx
below are all the pictures from the show, including little abigail showing us her favorite bird house.
I can't take credit for the merchandising, that is all Rachel, super talented and most excellent of friends.
so thanks Ra Ra. We've played together since we were 8, digging up old fish ponds, baking or burning depending on the day, watching cutting edge and working out we could climb from her brothers room into the bathroom using the tree by the window.
It was very normal for us to be out in her parents shed last week hosing off dirty jars for our flowers.
what fun we've had. months of preparation and the launch of our new range. and our little poppies garden worked out better than the design in my head, which is unreal banana peel. I'm feeling so uplifted this week, we met with so may beautiful store owners, stylists and designers. Drunk tea out of china cups which really annoyed the caterers who we're determined to have us use their paper ones. It was lovely to see our talented friends Amber and Karen of the stationery brand Me and Amberand wonderful Elise Caarels . Now we are home again, out of the city and back with the quieter places. Although it's not so still in this house, lots of orders to fill, yay.
eeeeeeee the glee. our wedding website is up and running, we have a few little issues to iron out, but all in all, its fabulous. our web designer has done such a great job, three cheers for our guy dan CHEER CHEER CHEER. click here to see the site
ow, the sun just came out, could the day get any better. yes... sara if you read this could you make me a ripper hot chocolate.
xx
what a perfect day for the sun to come out.
everything is looking incredibly green.
i really feel the seasons in this old house on the hill,
living here, working here you have to take note of it all.
since the water we use comes from the three dams on the property you
see the colour of the water change when it rains and every drop becomes precious, like a gift.
the odd weather is shown in the leaves on the fruit trees, on the size and colour of the fruit.
we depend on this place, for my husbands income and all the fruit and vegetables we eat.
this house has blessed my life, and opened my eyes.
so, poppies uses 100% wind power to run this little business.
our products are printed on FSC approved paper and 100% recycled paper.
our envelopes are made from 100% recycled kraft paper.
the ink we use is vegetable based.
most of our product is printed to the green standards.
our packaging reflects our commitment to being sustainable.
recycled paper boxes abound.
where we lack is in our individual card and tag packaging.
if you know of any bio-degradable, recyclable sleeves,
please let me know. the product needs to be 100% transparent.
I know we can do more, change our mindsets even more.
live lightly.
x
Poppies for Grace is all about paper and its endless
possibilities- scribbling, giving, making fun and
jumping up and down. We think our stationery feels
like a perfect cup of tea would on a cold morning,
and hope that you might find life in our things.
Our collection includes gift cards and tags,
invitations, lolly bags, writing sets, book stickers and
a pinch of the fairytale all around.
Oh yeah, and this is where we work from. It makes it
very, very natural to create pictures. From our
window we can see crates of apples being driven up
the hill by alana’s husband johnny. perfect really.
I'm trying to catch up on poppies happenings over the last few years, just a few main ones. so excuse my posts about events that happened years ago!
‘ It’s a trade event like no other in Australia; it features only newly released quality products, newly developed materials, technologies and services. It is the hub for many of the Festival’s business and social activities because it focuses on the people and the products. ‘Designers, business, industry, government, trade and media groups have all contributed to the vision that is Under Capricorn,’ Says national Design Centre Director, Kathy Demos, “ It is a vision that will further develop the credentials of the design sector and promote this region’s ever-expanding roll as the hub of design excellence”
Specially created commissions by emerging designers such as Pseudo Republik, Simon MacEwan and Poppies for Grace will decorate the space, and every element of the Under Capricorn environment will reflect a consideration for design and the comfort of its visitors.’- Kathy Demos. The National Design Centre.
‘Each year Red Bull Music Academy seeks out a city that cultivates the coming together of like-minded communities from around the world; a place where friends can draw from the vibrant environment of their surrounds, a place that acts as a ‘real’ inspiration, and a place that can assist in closing the gap between the aural and visual creative arts……... the shell of the three story warehouse has been transformed from a typical dumping ground into a giant web of studio suites, recording rooms, and interactive spaces showcasing a resounding diversity in the visual arts.’
It was our joy to design a space in one of the studio suites.
‘This will only take us a few hours’ says Alana
what Alana learned that day: Sara is always right.
It took three full days, opps.
i thought i'd post a little something on the trade show we did last August...
which we are now preparing to do again in 9 short weeks.
this is the place where we felt exposed to say the least. we set up shop amongst talented, established australian brands and nearly peed our pants. i can still remember our first customer... oh dear, he wandered into our stand and sara and i looked at each other with that 'what do we do now' look. thank goodness by the end of the day we got the hang of selling!
the pics are of our stand, the little dolls house and sara and her dear little man charlie (he's only a month old in the photo)
this photo is a peek at our wedding stationery range,
due to be up on our website in a month or so.
i'm so excited that I snapped a quick one on my camera phone,
not the greatest idea...but you get the gist.
six glorious sets to play with.
and finally the 'coming soon' sign can be taken down.
oh baby oh baby they are here and not blurry, discoloured,
ugly or odd.
I've also been drawing things to go on new cards, invites, writing sets and book plates.
we're also experimenting with five new products...
ohhh i hope you like them!
also thanks so much to josephine, danielle and jess for your help with the technical bits!
our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter- martin luther king
to not feel held back.
but let these words live in me:
sight
perception
liberation
wholeness
wholesomeness
movement
health
fullness
sanity
balance
hope.
i have been reading heat (it's about global warming) and taking notes, i'm not sure why i'm taking notes but i am.
along side it i've been reading about poverty and social justice. for a week or two I felt like I could'nt breathe.
How can I make pretty things out of something that takes and consumes. Surely the beauty is not true beauty unless it gives.
Unless we stop kidding ourselves by thinking we can live without limits.
We have found a printer who prints to the green standards, which is more than eco inks and recycled paper.
this is thrilling to me, but only the beggining.
I now have a list that could possibly be unachievable, but i'm going for it anyway.
a list that gives life and dignity to my brothers and sisters in poverty.
How can my joy be complete while someone else is in distress.
i will give.
i will donate.
i will pray and move my feet.
xx
alana
p.s the photo is from Sara on her holiday in tassie, it's so glorious!
