greenolive

back on deck

the recuperative power of crochet

A stash of scarves – the "Day at the beach" collection. Faded colours, soft natural fibres. Snap them up at Magnolia Square this week.

Been MIA for the past week. Courtesy of a bug/flu/virus thing I picked up over a week ago at the Arts Centre Market. 

Doctor prescribed bed rest and fluids. Found out its much easier to comply with Doctor's orders when you add some balls cotton and bamboo yarn and a bunch of old DVD favourites.

So my week has been a haze of crochet, snot, tissues, Ladies in Lavender, phglem, panadol, more crochet, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth (what is it with Englishmen with sideburns), tim tams, Daniel Craig, even more crochet, tissues, The Italian Job, and yes, you guessed it, more crochet. Oh, plently of cups of tea were added to the mix too!

The result? Seven new cotton scarves, a stash of handmade face washers and bins overflowing with tissues.

While this may sound like multi-tasking – recuperating and being productive simultaneously – I missed a week of sewing and making. Both of which are crucial for the big market in three more sleeps...

great gift ideas for him

One of the designsforhim products – this sage green leather eye slip - has been included in a gift guide for men put together by Katherine from reclaimed threads. Drew is rather excited! Thanks Katherine.

There are some other great selections in the guide. I like this scarf, in great shades of green and made from felted sweaters. (Actually, I'd like it for myself.) And this colourful belt buckle has an edgy, industrial feel. Very hip.

Happy shopping!

experimenting with leather

No, not that sort of experimentation!

I've been experimenting with the recycled leather Drew uses for his designsforhim products. I'm not allowed to use the good stuff mind you, just all the odd-shaped bits and pieces that are discarded. I told you I couldn't wait to get my hands on the stuff!

I'm drawn to the uneven shapes of their edges. The edges are just as we found them, evidence of the leather's past usage and history. Each small piece provides a challenge: what can I fashion from it? Something useful but also visually appealing.

My solution so far has been zip wallets. The size and shape of each is dictated by the piece of leather. And this in turn dictates what length of zip is suitable.

I love their honest, deconstructed and slightly wonky aesthetic. Drew doesn't like them much, but he had to revise this opinion when I sold one the first week! A very design-savvy mother bought one for her Architect daughter. It was a gorgeous pale green leather zip wallet, big enough for pencils. She didn't hesitate, saying her daughter would LOVE it.

a day in the sun

all work and no play, etc

You know the drill – all work and no play makes Jack a very dull boy. I reckon you could substitute "dull" for cranky, grumpy, stressed, etc, and the adage would still hold true.

Last week we escaped to the beach for the day to lift our spirits, catch some rays and blow away the cobwebs. It was all very spontaneous and ended up being a lovely day. Complete with the best takeaway fish & chips ever.

More photos on flickr site if you'd like a virtual tour of the Portsea beach!

feeling the love

An etsy admin curated treasury that was on the front page recently. Can you spot the scarf? It sold just a few days later and is on its merry way to Sweden.

We've been feeling a bit of blog and etsy love in past week or so. It is so exciting and lifts your spirits when you are feeling doubtful and unsure...you've geared up for the Christmas sales rush and you are waiting...waiting. You all know what I'm talking about!

One of my scarves and a set of tribal coasters both made separate treasuries that were curated by etsy admin and featured on the front page. Inclusion in etsy curated treasuries, featured in gift guide – surely a stint as an etsy featured seller is just around the corner?! LOL!!

Another scarf and some urban type fabric were featured in other treasuries about the same time.

And mr greenolive had his first sale in the designsforhim shop.

Then Lynsey from cuteable blog let us know she'd done a post on crafty couples, featuring us! Thanks Lynsey, always a thrill to see your work on another's blog.

Ok, I'll stop bragging now and get back to crafting, photographing, listing items on etsy, writing blog posts, making LOTS of money...

the art of photography

Aside from finding the perfect natural light just when you want it, the hardest thing when photographing your handmade stuff is making it look as good as it does in real life. Its a real challenge and we're always trying to perfect our photos.

The move to the new place a few months back has got the natural light thing sorted. Our interior hallway is bathed in light during the day thanks to a skylight and an east-facing toilet!

Now I've just got to get the styling part right! I've realised that scarves are one of the hardest things to photograph well. How to you convey the length properly when you only have a small square image size? 

Since we've produced coaster gift sets and totes from our ranges of screenprinted fabrics I've found that these items are a cinch to photograph. You can display them in a range of contexts and use lots of stylish props.

Even mr greenolive's leather pouches and slips are much easier to photograph and style.

 

Maybe I'll leave the scarves for the market stall. You really need to see the colours and feel the scarves in the flesh to appreciate how lovely they are!

a day at the beach

and at the market too

A new scarf design – the jersery silk ruffle scarf - all in vibrant shades.

The weather on Sunday is supposed to be glorious. 30 degrees! Perfect beach weather.

So why not spend the day at the beach? All that sun and sand. Fish and chips for lunch. Kids paddling at the water's edge. Building sandcastles, then knocking them down. Walking along the shore looking for shells...

Sounds perfect doesn't it? You know what would make it even more perfect? Stopping at the Mornington Racecourse market on the way to the beach. You can grab a new beach bag (from us!), maybe some fresh bread from the bakery stall, some home made lemonade to quench your thirst, and get a jump on your Christmas shopping.

We hope to see you there. Both at the market and the beach!

stylish protection

coaster sets now available

An Urban Type coaster being put to good use.

Looking for some stylish protection to save your mid-century modern table from water marks?

Perhaps you've got heaps of social events this holiday season and are looking for a unique host or hostess gift?

Maybe you are racking your brains for a gift for a co-worker or your child's teacher?

A coaster gift set from greenolive will solve your problems!

The coasters are made from a patchwork of our fabrics – I have so much fun choosing what fabrics go together – and are backed by a wool felt. The front is them top stitched at add some texture and depth. They are like a mini quilt. Each coaster is truly unique in its combinations of colours and designs.

We have sets of four or six coasters, in both the Tribal range and Urban Type range. Snap them up now before they sell out.

Or, if you are feeling crafty, why not buy a bits and pieces pack of our fabrics and whip some up yourself?

the joy of knitting your own handspun

I don't know why I waited!

Remember this post? 

I had finally got around to knitting with my very own handspun yarn. Well, I can report that now I've started I haven't been able to stop!

I think I've knitted about five or six scarves by now. Even though I enjoyed spinning each batt into singles and then plying them into a two-ply yarn, its when I'm knitting the handspun that I can appreciate its true beauty.

As I knit every millimeter of the yarn I am reminded of the beauty and colour of the original batts or roving, how long it took me to spin and ply, and am continually amazed by the alchemy of the spinning process.

These scarves are all in the etsy shop, ready for some savvy shopper to snap them up as a gift for a special someone or to keep for themselves.

I've kept one for myself, there is nothing more luxurios than a handspun AND handknitted scarf these days.

designs for him

mr greenolive's new etsy shop

After quitely and patiently supporting my creative endeavours, mr greenolive has finally branched out on his own. He's opened his own etsy shop. Just in time for the Christmas gift giving season.

He's always had a good design eye. And he loves working with his hands and making stuff. He's had a hankering for awhile to work with leather, and once we found a sturdy metal sewing machine at an op shop, an old 1950s Singer, that was that.

 

I suppose it was only a matter of time. While we work well together - he wanted to have control of the design aesthetic. To make stuff that appealed to him. And to other blokes as well. We've also discovered that while etsy is full of handmade stuff, most of it is aimed at the female persuasion. There's not much out there for blokes. Especially well designed stuff.

It's been very hard for me not to want to step in and take control when I see him playing and experimenting with materials, shape, form. But I have to remind myself that this is HIS design work and I certainly wouldn't like it if he did that to me!

I might be biased, but I reckon his stuff is great. I'd buy it. Its just the sort of thing I'd be looking for as a gift for him. Well designed and made from quality materials. And eco friendly too – he only uses recycled/upcycled leather.

Check it out, designsforhim, the new etsy shop. Would you buy it for the bloke in your life?

So far there are two product lines, but keep your eye out for more...zip wallets, leather coasters, laptop cases.

PS: when you visit his shop to buy something, would you mind "hearting" him? It would make his day. Just don't let on that I sent you over there.