Monday, June 29, 2009

back in the studio


Welcome to a new week my sweets, I hope you had a lovely weekend.

We are back in the studio after a few relaxing days away. A new significantly shorter haircut and much sleep later the world is back looking gorgeous again. It was also so lovely to come home and see that our stunning flowers from Mondo Floral Designs are still shining bright and filling our studio with a gorgeous burst of colour.

More on our little weekend adventures soon.
xox

Thursday, June 25, 2009

katherine and adam wedding invitations


Sweet lovelies thankyou for all your encouraging words after a few tough days in the studio. Pure exhaustion took over yesterday and we are having a mini break to recuperate. We will be back in the studio next week but in the mean time I wanted to share with you a recent wedding invitation set we completed for the gorgeous Katherine & Adam who are to be married in Melbourne in August.

With a vintage elegance theme we designed this pattern based upon by old world glamour, art deco motifs combined with a quirky serif typeface and a beautiful flourish script. Printed in pink and silver its gorgeously romantic and feels just divine to touch! Also big thankyou to the lovely Terrianne & Louise from Mondo Floral Designs for the gorgeous flowers featured in our shots above.

Have a lovely weekend my dears, see you again next week.
xox

Monday, June 22, 2009

oh dear...


The letterpress gods have been against us here in the studio the last few days.

We are running short of paper, our printing plates are not being friendly and Charlie is having a grumpy week. And whilst we are in a complaining mode its been pouring rain, Herbie is getting leaked upon, I ruined my new pair of shoes with the fore mentioned rains, and to top it all off we all have colds most likely from the rains as well.

Oh dear. Thankgoodness for pretty inks.

Friday, June 19, 2009

shannnen & damion wedding stationery



Do you remember the gorgeous wedding invitations we produced for the lovely Shannen and her hubby to be Damion? Over the last few days we have been finishing off their order and have been busy handcutting and hand assembling placesettings for their reception tables. We simply adore this pattern, it has been such a joy to print, how we will miss working with this gorgeous couple!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

in bloom


One of the first things we did to the outside of our house after we had bought it was to have a big jungle clean up, and by jungle, I mean a succulent jungle full of aloe vera and mother in laws tongue. Someone had previously been succulent crazy and they had multiplied by the hundreds.

Over an extensive weekend we slashed back the garden and mulched the succulents to make way for a new tropical garden. There was this one big scraggly looking bush tucked down the side of our house. Planted in a garden bed of gravel, it was the most strange location for this big ugly sad looking bush, we wanted it gone and we wanted it gone quick, but my mum was adamant it must stay.

And now I see why. The scraggly big bush has turned out to bear the sweetest pink camellia flowers which are now dotted around our home in crystal bud vases. Mum was right, it looks like the gravel garden and the scraggly bush are here to stay after all.

Monday, June 15, 2009

In the studio today


We are most busy here in the studio today. Charlie is working like crazy, our right knees are aching from treadling the press so much, and we are suffering from serious work overload. But we will be back soon with more stories, we promise!

xox

Thursday, June 11, 2009

winter warm me up sale



I don't know about you, but here in Brisbane we are freezing our little fingers off with this cold snap that has hit Australia. To drown our sorrows, and spread some lovely warmth we have we have decided that we will have a secret squirrel winter sale.

For 48 hours only, all prints are 20% off!

Be quick, we are nearly out of stock of many of our popular prints, first in best dressed! Enter the code "WarmMeUp" at check out to receive your 20% off. Sale ends 2pm Saturday!

Now where are those gloves, my little fingers are freezing....

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

featured wedding: louise & brett







Date: Sunday May 17th 2009
Location: Maleny Manor, Maleny
Photographer: Calli B Photography
Flowers: Mondo Floral Designs
Hair: Evalyn Parsons Wedding Hair Specialist
Make up: Kim Image Specialist
Dress: Made by private dressmaker

We were so very excited to recently receive the most stunning wedding photos of the incredibly gorgeous Louise & Brett, shot by the fabulous Calli B Photography, every one of these photos took our breath away!

They had a very personal and emotional ceremony, held in the garden & afternoon sunshine under a beautiful tree at Maleny Manor. Louises younger 19 year old brother proudly walked his big sister down the aisle, and in memory of her late father she wore a locket with a photo of her Dad in it. In loving tribute to her parents she also had a feature table at the reception that had a few photos of her dad, an old work diary of his with his notes all through it, and a wedding invitation of Louises parents. All gorgeous personal touches that make this wedding a very personal and special event indeed.

Louise was attened by 4 gorgeous bridesmaids who wore cream and carried bouquets to match the brides. Following the ceremony they held a garden party in the stunning grounds of Maleny Manor where they served champagne & sumptuous hors d'oeurves such as Miniature fillet mignons with bernaise sauce, tempura whiting with wasabi mayonnaise and bloody mary oyster shooters. oh my!

Louise is a florist with the incredibly talented team at Mondo, and with a brilliant sense of a style and a gorgeous love of flowers, her styling was nothing short of spectacular! She chose all her favourites that were in season including Cymbidium orchids, Sahara roses, Honeymoon roses, succulents, dodder vine, chocolate magnolia, Molluca Balm, Hyacinths, Freesias and privot berry.

"I had a slightly different floral design on each guest table and I used a variety of vases, filled with an assortment of all my favourite flowers. I bought gorgeous, old-fashioned crochet table cloths for the tables & handmade our place cards using vintage floral patterned fabrics."

We think its so gorgeous when our wedding couples surprise each other with little gifts and quirky momentos on the day. Brett is a plumber, so his cuff links were little taps with "Hot" on one and "Cold" on the other, and as a wedding cake he desperately wanted an icecream cake, so Louise had him made a special little icecream wedding cake with a personal inscription. So sweet!

A beautiful beautiful couple and by all accounts a beautiful day, Congratulations Louise & Brett!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

the incredible massive letterpress giveaway


Need I say more, We are so excited to be taking part!! Quick quick hurry on over to Poppy Talk for more information - Entries close thursday!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

things I love...

The gorgeous Thea from Thea & Sami nominated us for Kreative Blogger award back in May. I wanted to answer from my heart, to share with you my stories, and tell you of seven of my most favourite things I love... so my apologies for the delay, i hope its been worth the wait!


1. My gorgeously sweet Husband. Truly the most spectacular and gorgeous man. Back when I was 21 I traveled 2421 km to go and live with this stunning boy who I had fallen totally in love with, but really had not spent a great deal of time with. It was the most gorgeously wonderful time, I went with out a doubt, and followed my heart and it was the start of our beautiful life together, it was love of the most beautiful kind. It was supposed to be.

He is the sweetest, most kind hearted, gentle and loving man. He has built my dreams, building our gorgeous home, supporting me and all my crazy dreams and building our life together that is so very wonderful and full of cute names, funny jokes and happy times.

He is a fabulous pilot (oh how I miss him when he is away) who I admire for his dedication to follow his dreams amongst adversity. He is a brilliant renovator who will tackle anything, no matter how crazy my ideas seem and no matter how hard it would be, he will learn and conquer on the way. I am in awe of his patience, his dedication and his beautiful happy spirit.

He is a fabulous help here in the studio, not only did he build our amazing white studio, but he jumps in on the press when our legs get weary, he fixes our presses when they decided to play up, and pulls and lifts all the heavy parts which just wearnt built for girls to do. He gives so much support and encouragement to me and my business. Such a gorgeously sweet man, I am so very blessed to get to share my life with such an amazing man. This picture above was our wedding day in 2004, celebrated in the gorgeous gardens of my parents home... see below!


2. Going Home to Mum and Dad. There is nothing more beautiful and heartwarming then walking in the front doors of my parents home. Its a home of laughter, of love and joy. Its a home of gorgeous design which has very inspired my own sense of style. Its of walking in the kitchen, seeing the mail on its same spot on the table, smelling mums fabulous dinner in the oven, and smiling at the Myles cat watching from behind the door.

Its walking Mum and Dads gardens, where they have manicured the best half of 6 acres of bush into gorgeous cottage gardens. Its picking Mums David Austen roses and putting together a little posy for her in one of her crystal vases. Its watching Dad down by the pool scooping out the never ending leaves, and spending his therapy time out on the lawn mower. Its Mum and Dad in the formal lounge room, drinking tea, holding hands, so happy to be together. It is a home of love.

Its climbing into a bed made by my gorgeous Mum, perfectly tucked, perfectly folded, perfectly freshly laundered. This is home.


3. My sisters. My sweet little and big sister who I never get to see or talk to enough. Its hearing their stories and thinking of them everyday. Admiring my big sister for the achievements she has made, the courage she has found, and the strength to find health and happiness anf follow her dreams. Its laughing at my little sister, full of funny sayings and faces with a love for staying in her pajamas, and sharing the her life with a million and one friends.

My sweet sisters. I love how alike we can be, and how very different as well. I love thinking of our childhood, of the crazy sister fights, but the gorgeously fun games we made up as well. Constructing pulley systems between rooms to pass notes in the middle of the night, indulging in our love of skiing - off snow, on bikes of course. If you didn't know you can ski on a bike, just ask us, we conquered it, but you must use ice cream bucket as a helmet. Its not the same otherwise.

Its jumping on the trampoline, playing in the pool, sneaking into each other rooms just to have a look. Such beautiful sisters, I miss them every day.


4. Sweet little Ruby. Gorgeous, gorgeous Ruby, she is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, the most pompous dog name but the sweetest little thing ever. She is quite precious. She wont go outside if its raining, she wont play on wet grass and heaven forbid she will not sit her bum down on mud. She is quite the lady and as such demands quite a grand name - either Ruby Red Dress, or Ruby Tuesday, names quite fitting for a lady really.

She is quite the placid dog, she was a gorgeous pup with the most striking eyes, but now aged three she has settled down into our routines quite well. She is a gorgeous studio dog and the most beautiful company for while my husband is away. She will sit by the press, and doze away despite the clunking of the press inches from her head and our seriously loud music, she isn't too disturbed. Bless her little white socks. She is quite a muffin.



5. Holidays on the farm. How I love holidays. Growing up we were extremely lucky that our extend family owned two holiday houses, we had a unit over looking Manly beach in Sydney and a farm on 250 acres just outside of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains. My favourite by far was the farm.

Being not far from the snow we learnt to ski even before we had learnt to run. We grew up speeding down the slopes, we were fearless and we were fast. My poor mother, not being a skier she was left on the edge of the slopes on a brick wall (this is before cafes and fancy lodgings, just the snow and a brick wall!), I remember she would take her knitting, most likely to distract herself from the fact that her children were propelling themselves down a mountain at a speed of knots. Dad was the skier, he would take us up the hill, and no doubt we inherited our love of the speed from him. It was fast or flat out, there wasn't much in between!

When down at "Jindas" we would also spend our days out exploring the farm on our bikes. Did you know that you can ride your bike around creeks which have been frozen over? I don't recommend it, I fell in more then once. We also climbed the great big rock boulders that were scattered everywhere, we would build cubby houses between them and chase the sheep and cows. Such pure childhood fun.

We also learnt to drive from a very young age. I would beg dad to let me drive up the long driveway over the cattle grid and through the front gate. I seem to always remember Dad letting me, although of course, I was sitting on his lap, his feet were on the peddles and he was steering with me, but still, I was a kid and I was driving. Terribly exciting!

There was also this crazy old motorbike down on the farm. Dad would take us for trips around on it. I'm sure once again their was fast or faster, as my big sister and I do look like we are hanging on for dear life. How I loved being down at "Jindas". A chance to get away, explore the area and breathe in the fresh country air with a cow pat or two.

How I miss the farm.


5. Running Bespoke. I love what I do, all I can say is that I am at home. I feel I belong here, I feel that this is what I am supposed to be doing, and I love every moment of it. I will be doing this forever.

Having been a commerical graphic designer for almost 10 years my background was mainly in packaging and as a graphic designer for the hollywood blockbuster films by Twentieth Century Fox. It seems a lifetime ago, but this was my life for many years. It was a fabulous job, I was blessed to have had the opportunity, But I did not feel at home. It was corporate and it was big, I needed more beautiful things in my life. I had had enough of designing with the Brads and Angelina's and the Jennifer's to last a lifetime.

Bespoke started with love. A love to design and produce gorgeously opulent things. To combine my love of beautiful typefaces, vintage designs, and the most amazing paper stocks into something spectacular. To get my hands dirty, to get permanent calluses from cutting paper, to get inky hands and wear work clothes. To feel at one with what I am producing.

I love our presses, especially Charlie. He is a grumpy old man, their is no denying it, he does have his off days... But being 116 years old, really we don't mind. He brings me so much joy and appreciation for all his beautiful oldness. It is such a joy to be part of such a beautiful craftsmanship. A pure joy.

I love walking into our new studio. A beautiful room create by the prior mentioned renovating husband. I love the smell of the oil and the grease (it reminds me strangely of the smell of my dads hands growing up). I love my shelves with mountains and mountains of cotton papers. I love the smell when you open a new packet, its potenial to produce something amazing. I love mixing inks and watching them evolve into the most lovliest colours. I love it all.

And where would I be with out our gorgeous wedding clients. Oh how I love designing for brides (and the occasional groom!). They are full of such love and happiness. I love sharing their dreams and visions, of working so closely that deep down they become such the loveliest friends. It is such a beautiful joy to be sharing such momentous occasions. To hear their stories and their plans, to them I share such a small part of their day, but to me they are my everything. How I love working with them all. It is such a wonderful joy.

5. Blog Love. I love this wee little blog. Its a chance to share my days, tell some stories and create a journal of all the little things which happen here in the studio. I love all my blog followers and the blogs in who I admire. There are so many of you, my blog list I read daily is enormous, but it is such a wonderful inspiration to surround myself with such creative stylish people every day.

To the bloggers I have met in real life - how blessed we are to have found each other. To those bloggers I will meet one day, I cannot wait to meet you and let you know how much you inspire me. And to those bloggers from far away lands, thankyou for sharing your stories and bring joy to each and every one of my days. This is such an amazing community, we are so lucky to live in this world where we can share our lives and inspire each other. From the bottom of my heart thankyou thankyou thankyou.

As part of this award I am supposed to nomimate seven blogs in which I love. There are so very many of you I cannot choose. If you would like to share seven things you love please do and let us know, we would love to hear your stories as well.

xox

Thursday, June 4, 2009

The little white wedding book



We have recently stumbled across The Little White Wedding Book which has been written, created and printed here right in Brisbane. It is a gorgeous little white (oh and how we love white) book that would make the perfect planning assistant for brides to be. Full of gorgeous tips, beautiful illustrations and unique wedding ideas, we think that it is a must have buy when planning your perfect day.

Written by Victoria Cameron a Brisbane based wedding planner, she shares with you her years of experience designing and producing amazing weddings with her eye for innovative and unique styling.

"The Little White Wedding Book was born with the hope that it will inspire brides to think outside the square when it comes to planning their wedding. It was written to demonstrate that where there’s a will there’s a way. After all, every couple deserves a memorable day that is reflective of their individuality..."

Available via The Little White Wedding Books online store for $29.95

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

in the kitchen today


After my little adventure to Dayboro over the weekend, I have been inspired to get back into the kitchen after the abundance of granny baking which I encountered. Today I felt the urge and made some passionfruit cupcakes for my dear students.

Monday and Tuesday evenings see me heading into the city where I lecture about graphic design at Shillington College. I really admire my students, not only do most of them work full time jobs, have families and run their own businesses, but each Monday and Tuesday for the entire year they arrive ready and eager to learn. So tonight, sweet students, the sweetie treaties are on me.

Monday, June 1, 2009

a little day trip






How was your weekend my sweets? I treated myself to a day out of the studio yesterday and went on a little road trip. Just me and the car and some very bad 80's music really.

I headed out to a little village west of Brisbane called Dayboro. A little place I had never heard of until I saw they were having a good old country festival complete with affordable antique sales. I was sold, the perfect place for a lazy sunday drive.

It was all so very quaint, I bought tea cakes from the granny's who had spent the last week baking. I indulged in my love of gorgeous old tea cups, silverware and antique loveliness. I admired the cute little barn animals and then bought a mountain of antique hand made doilies - at 50 cents each, how could I not!

Such a gorgeous atmosphere, and so lovely to have a day out and about and soak up some country atmosphere - complete with the days highlight of the Dayboro Day Pineapple Pie eating contest... oh my, I bet they had sore bellys afterwards!

  © Blogger template Shush by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP