Novelty Brooch Friday - April winner

For April's Novelty Brooch Friday I was so pleased to have Sarah from Curious Pip agree to donate one of her special brooches.  

All of her creations are made with such care and attention, and am so lucky to own one myself. Thank you Sarah for your donation to Novelty Brooch Friday and to offer someone the chance to own this Louise Brooks brooch.

This month there was 325 entries!! The random number generator chose 8................

Congratulations powderpuffboutique you are the winner of Ms Louise Brooks, if you could email me your postal address tunabake@hotmail.com Sarah can send you your prize.  

Thank you everyone who posts to this hash tag, I really look forward to Fridays and seeing everyone's brooches, there are just so many styles and variations to admire.

Keep an eye out on Instagram on Friday for the announcement and find out more about this fabulous maker.  

Here is a hint for next months creator: she is a familiar maker to many, her work pops up on Novelty Brooch Friday hashtag a lot and they are the cute and shiny!

See you Friday x

Novelty Brooch Friday - April

This month I'm very excited, when I contact a creator or seller to be part of Novelty Brooch Friday I become a little apprehensive, as it's always someone I admire. I discovered Sarah's work through Instagram, I don't know how I found her account, like most people I follow, I forget, but I just fell in love with her work; her paintings, her dolls and her brooches. Lucky for me and for you Sarah said YES!

I hope you find Sarah's work as magical as I do, and fall in love with Curious Pip's world of vintage ladies and creatures, all created with love and care.

I asked Sarah 5 questions about her work and her inspirations.

 I first came across your drawings and subsequently your dolls and brooches recently through Instagram. How long have you been creating these lovely works?

I started my blog and shop in 2011. I've always been a sketcher, I've always made stuff, always been interested in textiles and beautiful vintage fabrics.  Having had an on off career in the theatre prior to having my son and starting Curious Pip, I started to grow  much less ambitious with my acting career and found myself channeling my creativity more and more into drawing and making. It's not easy to hop off and on a theatre tour when you have a baby so starting my business was much needed motivation.

 Your drawings and dolls/brooches have a constant theme, that of glamorous, intriguing women from the past, do you have some favourite eras that you like to draw from?

It's natural for me to make and paint the things that I love and inspire me, I grew up on old movies and am fascinated and intrigued by old Hollywood.  I aim to evoke bygone eras with my work but I think the 1930s is my favourite era. All those witty, screwball comedies and Busby Berkeley musicals are just magical. Back then it seemed all women were stylish, they sizzled with glamour - they wore beautiful clothes and had gorgeous curls, hats and makeup. I also draw from and am inspired by actresses like Myrna Loy, Jean Harlow and Claudette Colbert and I love classic old showgirls, circus performers and theatricality.

Your females have a unique look, is it a style you had in mind from the very beginning or was it a style you have developed over the years? (I’m asking as a lot of people become disillusioned very early on when they can’t find a style they are comfortable with)

When I was little all my drawings of girls had big eyes and wavy hair. In fact when I first started making dolls I wanted to pull away from big eyes but it seemed to be what came naturally so I stuck with it. From a very young age I loved old picture books and vintage movie annuals. My grandma had old film annuals I'd flick through as a child but I also remember being bought old books from jumble sales and fetes that had sweet and cute illustrations in them (Illustrations by Mable LucieAttwell and Beatrix Potter). I later discovered artists such as Arthur Rackham and Margaret Tarrant - to name a few - so I guess those beautiful bygone illustration styles seeped subconsciously into my work from the very start.  I wouldn't say I went out looking for a style it was just a 'look' that developed quite naturally.

What materials do you like working with both in your drawings and dolls/brooches?

With my dolls I just adore working with vintage fabrics. They have history. I don't much mind if there are a few stains on the fabric – in fact I like it more! And I love raw edges and tiny holes in things. If something doesn't look quite shabby enough I age-it-up with a bit of black tea or wash it, screw it up in a ball and let it dry naturally - creases and all! I love imperfect perfection. I could never work from a pattern and don't use templates. Merino wools work beautifully for hair, and you can purchase such a rich array of colours. My shelves are full of Sequins, buttons and bits of old haberdashery which are perfect as finishing touches.

When I make drawings and illustrations I like to use both watercolour and gouache but I do sometimes use acrylics. I get frustrated with the amount of paint I waste though when I use acrylics as they dry super-fast! Recently I have been enjoying just simple pen and ink for my latest Jean Harlow inspired illustrations.  I like Khadi paper which is handmade in South India using recycled rag. I sometimes like to coffee stain my canvas as it gives a slightly older feel. I also regularly use water colour paper as well as pastel paper.

Are there any artists/craft people you admire either contemporary or past?

Oh hundreds! We're so lucky with the internet these days, we can seek out other inspiring artists that you might not have otherwise discovered if it wasn't for social media and being able to make a tiny corner of the net your own. I adore doll makers - artists such as Sarah Strachan or Sara Sherriff of Wildwood Maker (lots of Sarahs in doll making!)  I also love the work of Mister Finch and the paintings and ramblings of EmilyWinfield Martin  who created Inside a Black Apple.

Artists from the past whom I'll forever be in love with and who inspire my work on a daily basis have to be (again to name a few) Nell Brinkley who was a comic artist and illustrator famous for her comic strips such as Prudence Prim and The Fortunes of Hossie.  I also adore the works of Anne Harriet Fish an artist of the 20's and 30's who always drew fabulous flappers and dapper gentlemen. Norah Wellings dolls (famous for the little sailor doll) and old boudoir dolls from the early thirties are inspiration overload! There's so much out there to be inspired by and enjoy it's just fabulous.

And so this month you could win this oh so adorable Louise Brooks brooch (one just like this, Sarah is going to make a special one just for the winner).

For your chance to win just post a picture of yourself on Instagram with your favourite brooch, with the hash tag #noveltybroochfriday (entries can be submitted on any Friday in April up to and including Friday 25th April).  I will announce the winner (randomly chosen) on Monday 28th April. Open to everyone, you can enter as many times as you like on a Friday, either new or vintage brooches. 

*If you are a designer or sell vintage brooches (worldwide) and wish to donate a brooch for an upcoming month and have your shop showcased, please contact me at tunabake@hotmail.com 

Novelty Brooch Friday - March winner

This month the fabulous online shop Vintage Pip donated Egbert the Echidna brooch by Erstwilder to give away. Thank you so much Pip for your generosity, I hope you all had a chance to see the treasures Pip has in her shop.

With over 300 entries I used Random.org to chose the winner. After subtracting the shops promoting their wares number 183 was.......Littlestlass!!!!

Congratulations Littlestlass, if you could email me at tunabake@hotmail.com with your postal address I'll get Pip to forward you little Egbert.

Next month (April) I have another brooch to give away, keep an eye out on Instagram on Friday for another special treat.

So if you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a brooch to #noveltybroochfriday giveaway on Instagram, and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs, shop and i'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com

Until Friday.......x

Novelty Brooch Friday - March

Happy March! And it's another happy brooch we are giving away this month, well, a brooch always makes me happy.

This month we are so pleased to have Pip from Vintage Pip online shop donate a brooch to giveaway to one lucky person. 

Egbert the Echidna!!! By Erstwilder.  What a handsome fellow!

Pip sells accessories by designers she loves and carefully selects each item, hoping you love them as much as she does. Thank you Pip for offering one of your brooches to give away....Pip gave me free reign to chose from the range of makers and brooches she sells, it was a tough decision but I so love this little Australian native animal, and like Pip, hope you love him too.

Below are 5 questions I asked Pip, to learn a little more about her, her shop and a bit of an insight into how she started her shop, her inspirations and what motivates her running a small creative business.

When did you start your online shop and what was your motivation to do so?

I started Vintage Pip in July 2013 and I am amazed how quickly it has developed and grown. What was once just a ‘late night idea’ I dreamt of while my boys were tucked up in bed has now turned into a truly fulfilling business that motivates me daily.  I am constantly delighted at the opportunities that appear when you take a leap of faith and I have been lucky to meet and collaborate with so many fabulous and interesting people since starting Vintage Pip. Over the years I have had numerous friends, family and acquaintances complement me on my quirky and different sense of style as well as my uncanny ability to source things, I love the fact that Vintage Pip has allowed me to share these qualities.

What do you look for in design and choosing jewellery for your shop?

I choose items for the Vintage Pip store the exact same way I choose items for myself and my home, first and foremost they must make my heart sing! I place great emphasis on stocking objects that are good quality, value for money and from brands I have personally selected. If I resonate with a brand and their ethos I’m more likely to feel good wearing it. I have been described as vintage, rockabilly, fun, quirky, retro, organic, different, colourful, and many more things and that's what I like to convey in the stock in my store.

Do you have any small business owners or crafts people you admire?

For me as a mum of 2 the internet and especially blogs have influenced me greatly. In a lot of ways they have helped me find my identity and feel comfortable with it. Blogs such as Styling You, The Beetle Shack, Pull Your Socks Up, Skunkboy, GalaDarling, are just a few of my regular reads. Ultimately though my biggest influence has been my mum she has been crafting for as long as I can remember. My most treasured Christmas present ever is a doll called Polly she made me.  My Mum is also my greatest jewellery influence she always wears a brooch and cannot be seen without large earrings and her nose stud (yes she is seriously cool).

Is there any advice you could give others who are looking at starting an online shop?

In a lot of cases I have found the old adage "it’s not what you know but who you know" to be very true. I am surrounded by an eclectic group of family, friends and acquaintances and their input and insight has been invaluable.

If you could choose 1 artist/crafts person to represent in your shop that you don't already who would it be?

Gosh it’s too hard to pick just one as there are  so many talented people I would love to collaborate with and showcase through Vintage Pip. I am always looking to stock amazing Australian artists work and am open to all genres, I especially like to provide an opportunity to up and comers as I know how hard it can be to get exposure in the early days. I am eagerly on the hunt at the moment for an Art Deco influenced designer/crafter/maker.

So for your chance to win this cute brooch just post a picture of yourself on Instagram with your favourite brooch, entries can be submitted on any Friday in March up to and including Friday 28th March with the hash tag #noveltybroochfriday.  Erin and I will announce the winner (randomly chosen) on Monday 1st April (no it won't be an April fool, I promise). Open to everyone, you can enter as many times as you like on a Friday, either new or vintage brooches. 

*If you are a designer or sell vintage brooches (worldwide) and wish to donate a brooch for an upcoming month and have your shop showcased, please contact me at tunabake@hotmail.com 

Novelty Brooch Friday - February winner

Gosh this week and this year is flying by so quickly.

February's brooch giveaway from Cam of Curlypops was such a cute hand-painted wooden rainbow brooch. Thank you Cam for your donation and sharing your shop and passions with us.

And to everyone who plays along every Friday with #noveltybroochfriday, thank you.  I know most of us wear brooches everyday but Friday gives us an extra day to share them with people across the world...and you are a fantastic bunch of lovely people, thank you.

So.....February's lucky winner, chosen at random (minus my posts, the donator's and shops trying to sell their brooches by posting many posts in one day and throughout the week) is...................number 48, 

mrsjojoc!!

Congratulations!!! If you could email me at tunabake@hotmail.com with your postal address I can have Cam send you your prize.

This month, March we have another brooch to give away, keep an eye out on Instagram on Friday for another special treat.

So if you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a brooch to our #noveltybroochfriday giveaway on Instagram, and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs, shop and we'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com

Until Friday.......x

Novelty Brooch Friday - February

This month I am so pleased that Cam has agreed to donate one of her wonderful, cheerful handmade rainbow brooches for this month's Novelty Brooch Friday.  I have followed Cam on Instagram for a while now, I love her colourful designs and marveled at her recent recovery from a lung transplant.  I have always told my family that I want my organs to be donated and following Cam's story has reinforced my decision and started the conversation again.

I asked Cam some questions about her work, inspirations and also her involvement in organ donor organisations, raising money and awareness of such an important decision we should all consider.

You've had your craft/arts business selling your work since 2009, can you tell us what motivated you to start your own business and shop?

I've loved to craft since I was a little girl - anything that involved colour and mess was right up my alley. It was just a hobby throughout school and early adulthood. I taught myself to sew in my late 20's and started making things for myself along with my family and friends.

In 2007, I had to take a bit of an early retirement from my career due to my lung disease, so all of a sudden, I had a lot of spare time on my hands to indulge in my craft, and improve my skills. I'd already started my CurlyPops blog by then, and lots of people started asking whether they could buy some of the things that I'd created. Opening the business was a bit of a natural evolution from that.

 Your work is fun and colourful, and has fun motifs; can you tell us what inspires you when creating new work?

I'm inspired by colour and pattern. Pattern mainly comes from things that I see in my day to day life. I particularly love metal and concrete block fence patterns from the 60's and 70's, but I also notice patterns in things like metal grates in footpaths, and pattern and texture in vintage glass doors. Vintage quilts are also a great inspiration.

I don't take anything too seriously - for me designing is fun, and I think that's why my creations end up that way!

You work over many areas, from fabric design, jewellery to soft toys, how do you find working across all areas? 

I tend to think of myself as an attention deficit crafter. I like small, short projects that I can whip up in a few hours (hence why I don't make quilts). I could never tie myself down to just one type of crafting, or one product range, as I just love making everything. I've been told that having such a giant and varied product range is not a great business model, but for me it's fun, and that's the way I like it.

My passion really is fabric design - when that first printed sample arrives, I'm like a kid at Christmas all over again!

Recently (last year) Cam had a lung transplant and has been fundraising and raising awareness of organ donation.  Can you tell us a bit about the Tour de Transplant and some of the other campaigns you are involved in?

After more than two years on oxygen 24 hours a day, and more than 18 months on the transplant waiting list, I received the call last February that saved my life. I am so grateful to my donor and their family that I want to do everything I can to give back. I'll never be able to thank them personally, but I just hope that they know how grateful l really am.

One of the ways I'm giving back is via the Heart and Lung TransplantTrust (HLTTV) which is based at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne (where I had my transplant). I'm a member of the management committee and one of the joint editors of our Circulator Newsletter. This year we're running our biggest ever fundraiser, the Tour de Transplant. It's an 1100km bike ride around Victoria (1km for every heart and lung transplant recipient at the Alfred). The tour is taking place from the 22nd - 30th March 2014 and is being led by cycling legend Phil Anderson. In conjunction with the Tour de Transplant, we are also running the Tour de Chat where transplant recipients and bike riders will visit schools and community groups to give presentations about organ and tissue donation. It's a mammoth effort that has been put in by everyone at the HLTTV - we are all 100% volunteers.

There are lots of ways to contribute - you can sponsor a rider, or a non-rider (like me), you can come along to one of the fundraising dinners that will be taking place along the route, and if you're part of a school or a community group, you can get in contact and book in for one of our Tour de Chat sessions (these are sponsored by DonateLife and there is no cost to any organisation).

I also be doing some volunteer work during DonateLife Week 2014 which runs from Sunday 23rd February to Sunday 2nd March.

On Friday February 28th I'll be taking part in the FilmLife Project workshops. Young filmmakers have the opportunity to learn how to make a film from the professionals, covering the subject of organ and tissue donation. The workshops are running in Melbourne and Sydney and there may still be place available for anyone between 18 and 30 who would like to take part.

You can watch last years films here, the winning entry was brilliant!

You have been a part of the crafting and arts community for many years now, can you tell us a few makers that you admire and inspire your work?

Gosh.... where do I even start? Joining this community has been one of the best things that I have ever done! I now have new friends online and offline all over Australia and the world. I think the people in the community that I most admire are those that I have learned the most from. The lessons from each of these ladies has been different (and they probably don't even realise how much I've learned from them). So for all sorts of different reasons, I would have to say Cathy from Tinniegirl, Nikki from YouSew Girl / Nicole Mallalieu Design, Liz from Betty Jo Designs / Gleaners Inc, and Nic from Yardage Design......and for inspiration, I would have to nominate everyone in my Instagram feed (I'm addicted to IG and I love it)

So for your chance to win this cute brooch just post a picture of yourself on Instagram with your favourite brooch, entries can be submitted on any Friday in February up to and including Friday 28th February with the hash tag #noveltybroochfriday.  I will announce the winner (randomly chosen) on Monday 3^rd March. Open to everyone, you can enter as many times as you like, either new or vintage brooches. 

*If you are a designer or sell vintage brooches (worldwide) and wish to donate a brooch for an upcoming month and have your shop showcased, please contact me at tunabake@hotmail.com 

Novelty Brooch Friday - January winner

Helloooooooo 2014! And welcome another Novelty Brooch Friday and winner for January.

This month the brooch up for grabs was this wonderful, colourful and all-round cute cactus brooch, made by Sally of Pixels and Picas.

Thank you so much Sally for your donation, I hope everyone had a chance to see her wonderful work.

And so, the winner for January is:

Congratulations Rebecca!! What a cute brooch! If you could email me the address you would like your brooch to be sent to tunbake@hotmail.com I will post you your wonderful prize.

And so we are already a few days into February, that means a new brooch and a new prize so stay tuned, I can't wait to see everyone's brooches this Friday.

Thank you everyone for making Novelty Brooch Friday so much fun, I have met so many lovely people and seen so many fantastic brooches both vintage and handmade, there are some very passionate and talented people out there.

So if you're a brooch maker/designer or vintage seller of brooches and would like to donate a brooch to our #noveltybroochfriday giveaway on Instagram, and have your shop featured, please email me with a little info about your designs, shop and we'll get you a spot on the calendar. tunabake@hotmail.com

Until Friday.......x