a man who knows colour

I love a man who knows how to use colour. Throw in an aptitude for print design and you have a winner. Hello Dries.

I am always in awe of the way Belgian designer Dries Van Noten uses colour and print. The way he combines colours and patterns that logically shouldn't go together to produce amazing textiles that are vibrant and exciting, but also totally wearable, is inspiring. I wish I was as brave as him.

fall 2010 ready-to-wear

spring 2010 ready-to-wear

spring 2010 ready-to-wear

spring 2008 ready-to-wear

Images from style.com. Click here to see entire collection.

visual warmth

Still feeling a little cold this afternoon, I went in search of some more visual warmth. When I'm cold I want warm, cuddly, woolen things. I want knitted scarves, hot tea, boiled eggs and toast soldiers. I want beautiful soft blues, creams, navy, charcoal... and a hint of sunny egg-yolky yellow.

Ah, I feel all warm and fuzzy already.
Now maybe some more tea?

sun + colour = sunset

Today I am feeling cold. In need of some sun. I am also in desperate need of some inspiration. Colour-palette inspiration. The combination of these two things led me to think about sunsets, because sun + colour = sunsets (that's how it went in my brain anyway!). Specifically, I started to think about the brilliant colours and organic patterns that are created. The spectrum of colours in a good sunset is magical.
And so I went searching. And what I managed to find was a little bit of colour magic.

Amazing colours. And that cloud formation... gorgeous!
Image from here.

California sunset. They do make them pretty over there.
The soft colours with strong black of the rocks is beautiful.
Image from here.

Lone tree sunset. Alone and stunning.
The stillness in the image is lovely.
Image from here.

I want to go to Hawaii! If only for this view.
The golden-yellow light is so beautiful.
Image from here.

a little bit of luxury

Australian designer Fleur Wood's philosophy of every garment in her collections being "a little piece of luxury" is something that I identify with completely. That feeling of luxury and attention to detail is something that I strive for within my design work, but I have to say that don't think that I am always successful in creating this. Lacking a little inspiration today, I had a look at how Fleur Wood does it...

winter 2010

winter 2009

winter 2009

spring 2009

All image are from the Fleur Wood website,
which you can visit here to view entire collections.

welcome back ladies

I am pleased to see a return of some curves on the catwalk (albeit small ones!). Bye bye androgyny, hello ladies!

I am a girly-girl at heart and I have to say, it is a relief that fashion appears (at least momentarily) to be moving away from the uber-waif and towards a little more celebration of the curve. Ah... delightful. Who doesn't love a nipped in waist and full skirt? Hand me my pearls and twin-set, it's time for a revival!

Loius Vuitton is certainly on board, you just need to look at the Fall 2010 ready-to-wear collection to see that Marc Jacobs is a fan of ladylike behaviour. Ladies, grab your gloves and pop on your pumps, it's time for high-tea!

So elegant, so chic!
I love the soft colour and effortless silhouette.

All prim and proper.
But also quite sexy. Oo-la-la! That fur collar.

The cut of this skirt is immaculate.
Sigh! That's all I have to say.

The print, the colour, the belt, the gloves...
Delicious.


All images from Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 ready-to-wear collection.
To view the entire collection, click here.

monica and meridith

I have been looking at this cookbook for a while now.
What initially caught my attention was the whimsical cover illustration, and then realising it was written by Monica Trapaga, my favourite Playschool presenter, I became seriously interested.

Above images from Trapaga's cookbook 'She's Leaving Home',
(sourced from here)

Initially, I though that the delightful illustrations were by Tragaga, however on closer inspection, I discovered that they were in fact by an Australian artist by the name of Meredith Gaston. I managed to find some more of her work at a website called kindergallery, and I have to say that I am now in love with her quirky, innocent aesthetic. It is refreshingly childlike and playful, probably due to the fact it is aimed at children, but I think it has a broader appeal. It certainly speaks to me. Make of that what you will!

'Tia with lovebirds'

'Bettina Bubbles with Bluebird'

(Above images from here)

food fantasies

I have to admit to something. I am addicted to MasterChef. I love it. After a day of designing, thinking, making, there is nothing better than an hour of pure food obsession. I love the drama, the politics and the personalities, but mostly, I love the food.

Tonight, a dessert was created that was utter food fantasy. It looked amazing and I really wanted to eat it. Like really. The recipe was by chef Darren Purchese and was called 'fruit carnival with sugar tuile, aerated fruit chocolate and toffee apple'. Not exactly a catchy name. But it was so beautiful. It made me sigh. And salivate.

This image really doesn't do it justice, but you get the idea.
Gorgeous colours and textures.The baby toffee apples were totally gorgeous
(created by using a melon-baller to make little apple
balls and which were then coated in toffee. Delightful).

(Image from MasterChef website where you can also find the recipe.)

playing with flowers

Following on from my successful visit to the Sydney Flower Markets last week, today I have been playing around with the photos I took to see what I can come up with. A few of them are looking quite promising for digital print ideas. The colours are quite beautiful - and much more exciting than anything I could have come up with myself!

(All images created by me)

I heart Willow

Today I became preoccupied with the idea of effortless, feminine fashion. Specifically clothes that are comfortable and easy to wear, but also stylish and luxurious. No mean feat. However, one label that sprang to mind for its consistent ability to encapsulate these things was Australian label Willow. Designer Kit Willow-Podgornik seems to have an innate ability to produce stylish feminine clothes than also manage to maintain an effortless, unfussy aesthetic which I admire greatly. I love the fluidity in her work and her skill with draped design is something I find incredibly inspiring.

spring/summer ready-to-wear 2009
(image from here)

the last 2 images are from the Willow website,
which you can check out here for more inspiring images.

clouds, water and urban outfitters

I am undoubtedly jumping on the bandwagon a little late, but I have just discovered Urban Outfitters. And more importantly I have discovered their blog. I love it. It is a quirky mix of images, musings and music that is delightfully personal and interesting.

Being interested in the idea of natural beauty, as I currently am, the blog has some lovely images of landscapes and American countryside. They are beautifully atmospheric. Here are a few of my favourites.

I feel all calm and relaxed now...

Check out the Urban Outfitters blog here for more images and inspiration, it's definitely worth a look.

long gloves = elegance

Continuing my love of knitwear, I now have a thing for gloves. Specifically long gloves. They are just so elegant. For some reason long gloves remind me of a bygone time when people had time and inclination to dress up and practicality was not such an issue. Ahh... what a wonderful thought.

In the spirit of reclaiming some of this elegance, I went in search of inspiration...

So chic, so warm. I love the lace-like detail around the cuff.
(Image from here)

If only people still wore matching hats and gloves. Delightful!
(Image from here)

A little more modern, but no less elegant.
If only I were game to wear them. Ah...

flowers and rain

This morning I got up at the crack of dawn to make a trip to the Sydney Flower Markets. It really was not a getting-up-early sort of morning, what with it pouring with rain and being generally cold and dreary, but get up I did. And boy am I glad I did! The markets were amazing and full of the most beautiful fresh flowers in quantities that I have never see before. Ahh... it was enough to make a girl swoon. The colours, textures and scents were spectacular. I came home with an armful of flowers and now my house is delightfully fragrant and blooming.

Here is a small selection of what I found...

Paper daisies. I love their crunchy texture.

Many, many tulips!

I could not resist. This is a small selection of what I bought.

The colours are beautiful. Ahh... sweet peas.

For more information on the Sydney Flower Markets, visit the website here.
(All photos taken by me.)

knitted knickers

I love the thought of knitted woollen knickers - all snugly and soft - and as I am currently in the process of designing some, I thought I'd have a look at what some other people are doing...

These are fantastic! They are by New Zealand label Stolen Girlfriend's Club, and for me they bring back memories of warm hand-knitted jumpers and cosy wood-fires. Ahh.
(Image from here.)

The same pair, but in cream. Also delightful.
(Image from here.)

These are a vintage hand-knitted number. How cute are they!
I really like that lace detail at the hem.
(Image from here.)

tea and toast

There are a few things in life that I can not live without. Tea and toast are two of these things. They keep me going when I would rather stop and provide a small slice of perfection in buttery, caffeinated form.

It seems that I am not the only one that feels this way, and tonight I stumbled upon an illustration by Irish designer/illustrator Oliver Blake that sums up my food feelings perfectly. This image made me smile. I hope you get a giggle out of it too!

Image from Oliver Blake's online portfolio, which you can access here.

another excuse to go shopping

Need and excuse to go shopping? Well, here's one. I stumbled upon these delightful shopping baskets in a store called top3 by design, and instantly fell in love with them. Designed by a clever lady by the name of Marie-Louise Gustafsson, the Carrie shopping basket is charming in an old-fashioned, doily kind of way, but somehow totally contemporary as well. I want one.

I love the lace-like patterning combined with the sturdy, industrial-looking shoulder strap. It successfully moves it from grandma to cool.

Black and white. So chic, so cool.
It also comes in green and black, but I think the white works best.

Images and info from top3 website, where you can also buy the baskets.

natural beauty

Who doesn't love a good flower? I always find myself drawn to photographs of flowers. I find the colours and patterns incredibly inspiring, and the colour palettes are always much more exciting than anything you could have created yourself. That Mother Nature, she's pretty clever.

Flicking through Notebook magazine, I found these beauties...

The colour and patterning in this image are beautiful.

Ah, so Australian, so beautiful. Understated natural beauty.
The pinks, yellows are greens are gorgeous.

This image is beautiful cool beauty.
Icy tones and simplicity. Delightful.


All images from Notebook magazine (June 2010)