New listings and Twilight

I've been busily working this week on only size medium and large garments. Very soon I'll get to listing an even amount smalls, mediums and larges so that my shop is more balanced. It takes me about a week to get items listed because I usually photograph a batch of garments once each week or two, then stagger the listings until the next batch is photographed. I've also got more custom garments coming up.

Just listed these two tops:

M looks like rain top

S candy house top

I'm going to take a tiny fashion break and talk books for a minute. Before I got into fashion designing, my hobby was writing fiction. Now that designing is my job, I find myself wanting to write as a hobby again. Here's why:

In this post, I was talking about how I don't read much and that I haven't been engrossed in a book in forever. Since then, Twilight came along. The feeling of being engrossed came back, but not in the way I remember. The book was disappointing. It was slow, silly and dull in parts. But I loved the premise and the idea of the character Edward (protagonist's love interest), and that's what kept me reading.

The movie was more fascinating and more frustrating. It was richer, and the characters had more life to them, but they just sort of followed the motions of the plot on the screen. I didn't really care about them, didn't believe that the main duo was in love except that they told us so. I felt like they could have done so much more with the story. And vampire's skin sparkling in the sun? There was no way to not make that look dumb.

Rather than read more of the series, I'm instead left feeling inspired to find, read and/or try to create other stories with the same amount of passion but with more depth, feeling and plausibility than the Twilight books.

We'll see how I go.

Long post: today's outfit, shopping and new listings

I hope everyone had a fantabulous Christmas! We had a fun time. Although there was a gaping hole where my dad should have been..


Okay this picture of Ellie was actually from the weekend, but she was just as delightful yesterday, which may or may not have anything to do with the oodles of presents she recieved (this bouncer was not one of them, but she does find it far more fascinating than she did when she was little enough to use it).

This is what I wore today:

Dress: Review
Boots: Josef Siebel
Bag: Somewhere in Thailand

I pledge to do more outfit posts. I keep intending to take outfit pictures but either I forget the camera, it's out of batteries or I plan to do it 'later' and by the time I remember it's too dark for a decent photo. Poo.

Today was my brother's 25th birthday. I went to Chadstone shopping centre to get his present this morning before his birthday lunch (yes, I left it stupidly late. But I did know what I was getting him). In Australia, Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), is pretty well-known for its sales. Stores open at 7am and people arrive in droves to get their hands on a bargain. After driving around the carpark for 20 minutes I thought it was a completely dumb idea to shop that day, but then I tumbled into a parking spot completely by fluke. I thought my luck was getting a little better. It ended up being a good morning, depite it taking three times as long to get anywhere because of the crowds.

I got myself some significantly reduced tights and socks from Myer and a necklace. I avoid all clothes in shopping centres, except to browse for inspiration (which 99% of the time is a waste of time). However, I figure that tights and socks are machine-made and therefore don't require sweatshops, but I haven't done any research on it. If anyone knows, please hook me up. This is the necklace I got:


And I got this fedora from K-mart for $10, also significantly reduced.


I never seem to find hats that look good on me, but I quite like this one and I need one for summer. I never really wore hats before but now I want to set a good example for Ellie. The band around the hat is a little tacky looking, so I think I'll replace it or remove it altogether.

I also got lime green chairs from Target for our dining table. I've been looking for second-hand chairs for ages and gave up when I found these cute little numbers (for 30% off). I'm quite over eating on stools.

The gift I got my bro was a remote controlled helicopter. They are pretty damn cool.

In Heidi & Seek news, these are the new listings for tonight.

S/M dance polka top

S in frame top

S reinforce dress

I'm dreaming of a green Christmas

Recycled Christmas gift tags by PaperPumpkin

I can't remember the last time I was really into Christmas. I think it's important for kids, and I want Ellie to have that Christmas spirit (simply because it's fun) but this year I haven't gotten into it at all. We haven't decorated the house, we don't have a tree. We're so incredibly busy and run-off-our-feet that all we've done for Christmas is the necessary organising of gifts. Next year I want to get into it. We'll have a tree, maybe this one, for decorating:

The Cardboard Tree

The great thing about this is that it's made from recycled paper, plus each sale contributes to a reforestation program. We should be planting trees, not cutting them down for decoration and then throwing them away.

The mass consumerism of the holiday makes me uneasy. I haven't avoided the shopping centres altogether, for the sake of convenience. A lot of our gifts came from the Oxfam store. But being in the centres, having marketing material shoved in our face and looking at everyone running around and buying up big, just screams 'waste' to me.

I think about the gifts that are bought just for the sake of having a gift to give, when the recipient probably won't love it. I've done it before, even this year, because it's hard sometimes when you haven't the foggiest clue what to get. You can't not give a gift. Although, I am doing better than last year. I made a few gifts. We got thrifty. I got a couple of World Vision Smiles donations to give. But others are just things for the sake of the occasion. Not extravagant things, but things nonetheless.

Next year I'll try to be a bit more prepared. Next year we'll get crafty and thrifty with decorations. We'll start our own traditions. We'll try to avoid the shopping centre rush. Next year the lead-up to Christmas will be a lot more fun.

We're doing the family rounds on Christmas day. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing presents. Happy holidays, everyone.

How I create

This top, imagined, is a testament to the strange, organic way I have of making things.


I first made it as a skirt, but I was unhappy with how it looked so it sat in the 'to alter' pile for a while. As a skirt, the lace lined the hem of the skirt. Then when I revisited it I decided to try it as a top instead. I flipped it upside down, sewed up the excess and made and added contrasting straps. I love how it turned out. It's drapy and loose in a flattering way.

These are my other listings for today.

S nanna betty top

XS the real girl dress

sky & forest

This is the first of my new made to order pieces, a t-shirt called sky & forest.



It's currently available from Etsy and Made It. I'd love to hear any feedback you have about it. Don't like it? Would you like to see it in different colours/patterns? Have an idea for a better, slightly different version?

This is kind of a test-run because I don't have a great deal of this fabric. I could probably get something similar if the design is popular, though.

Let me know what you think, lovelies.

Treating myself

The title of this post sounds like it might be referring to something a bit less PC than shopping. Whoops.

I usually only buy something new for myself, like an item of clothing or a homewares item, about once a month. Since it's Christmas and I was feeling particularly in need of some retail therapy earlier this month, I splurged a little.

The Frankie 2009 calandar. I'd been checking out oodles of '09 calendars for the perfect one, uhmed and ahhed over them and put them in the 'maybe' pile. Then when I saw the Frankie one, I made a beeline for the online checkout. They're limited edition and only available from the website. Pretty!




I also treated myself to a Frankie magazine subscription. For those of you who might not know the mag, it's "a national bi-monthly based in Australia, aimed at women (and men) looking for a magazine that’s as smart, funny, sarcastic, friendly, cute, rude, arty, curious and caring as they are." Love.

I also got these two tees from Threadless.com, because I was already purchasing a Xmas gift from there and I fell in love a little.

Musical Meditation

My Fantasy World

This tee reminds me of my younger bookworm days, when I used to fall so completely and utterly into a story that the real world ceased to exist and the fiction became the reality instead. A book hasn't gripped me that much in a long time and I kind of miss it. I'm hoping that this tee will inspire me to read more (rather than make me nostalgic).

Messy at work

This is my mess of a workspace.


Oh what I would do for more room. I still fantasise about the secluded house for sale in Tasmania that had a massive light filled attic. It would have made the perfect studio.

I've given my Made It shop some love, in the form of these dresses:


I haven't forgotten about my Etsy shop either:

S multiframe top

S framed top

World Vision Smiles and finally, bigger sizes

L/XL medallion top

L/XL free words top

S graze top

S hannah dress

These are the new items up in my Etsy shop. You'll notice I listed a couple of bigger sizes for the meantime. I've designed my new made-to-order collection, mostly. There's dresses and tops and skirts and I'll be making samples very soon. I'm really glad that I'll be offering a decent range of pieces in sizes XS-XL, because every time someone says to me, "I wish there were more in my size," I feel terrible about excluding people. But I'm glad that they've said it because it made me get my butt into action. Watch this space.

Also, I came across this World Vision initiative called Smiles. Basically you can buy donations as gifts. You could buy a chicken for a rural community for $6 or immunisation for a child against deadly diseases for $23. Or a bicycle for $101.


Instead of (or as well as) giving a physical present that may or may not be appreciated, you could give the gift of giving. I think it's a great Christmas present idea for someone who's caring and already seems to have everything that they'd want. Have a look here.

New items on Etsy

iceo vest

fine frenzy top and pastures skirt

I love turquoise. There's something about it that just makes me happy. It always seems to stand out and look good. What's your favourite colour?

I finally changed my blog header image to my new logo. It's much nicer and brighter than the last one, don't you think?

New listings and wish lists

M voice of reason dress

M blocked out skirt

S/M/L yellow flame tunic

Today is a nice enough day, so I'm going to take product pictures and then finally start creating new things. It's been a while! I've barely had time to scratch myself. I'm going to be listing new items more regularly, a few times a week, so hopefully you don't get too bored with the new listing posts. Promise I'll mix it up a little, though.

This gorgeous address book by lacunawork is on my wish list for Christmas. Plus it's made from antique wood and recycled paper, perfect.


Do you have any eco-friendly gift ideas/wants for Christmas?

New listings and h&s update

XS/S autumn bone dress

S kingsley shrug

XS freezer dress

These are the new listings I've just put up. I'm currently getting through listing the items I made and took pictures of weeks ago. I know they're all size small but I promise I'm on my way to making a decent range of sizes. If you have any feedback to help out - opinions on paticular designs or features that you like/dislike, what you'd like to see more of or less of, or anything else - then I'd love to hear it. You can have a look at my portfolio here to see almost everything I've made in the past to help.

At the moment I'm working on new business cards that will be printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. I've ordered labels from Etsy which will have washing instructions on it and feature my new logo. I think I'm a little too excited about recieving them. I will probably squeal when they appear on my doorstep.

Also, I've reduced my shipping prices in my Etsy shop. I just realised that I'd updated all my item prices based on the exchange rate but I hadn't updated the shipping! Silly silly.

Neco Melbourne

For the Melbourne readers, I have some exciting news.

Well, it says now open, but the opening is tomorrow. Neco is an amazing store that has pretty much every eco-friendly thing you could possibly want. We've shopped at their online store before (for nappies, I think), but it's a bit of a hassle waiting for everyday things to arrive and paying for shipping when sometimes the things are available in local shops. But now that they'll have a physical shop I won't need to worry about it.

And I'd much prefer to shop somewhere that's dedicated to to being green. Their range is far larger than the eco-friendly items you'd find elsewhere. They sell a huge range, including car offsets, homewares, office supplies, insulation and even Kara Smith's lovely handmade handbags.

We'll be making our way to the Neco superstore soon, especially since it's only a few minutes away from our home.

I contributed to N.E.E.T Magazine

So if you haven't heard of N.E.E.T Magazine, I suggest you head over and check it out. It's grassroots, it's indie, it's online (i.e. free!). And it's filled with cool stuff, including lots of Etsy love. There are back issues on the site, too.


For the latest issue, I wrote a review on Skunkfunk, a fashion label that prefers to set trends rather than follow them (and I'm all for that).

Short update tonight because I'm exhausted. Night folks!

Pretty posters and a pretty dress

I found this awesome RightBrainTerrain.com poster via the lovely Fiona who mentioned that she got one of their other alternative motivational posters. Titled 'Planet', this one is perfect if you need that extra reminder sometimes to think about whether what you're buying is earth-friendly, or necessary at all. And it's nice to look at, too. I have to say, these motivational posters are a lot more appealing than the traditional black bordered ones with pictures of landscapes on them. I don't usually need help remembering eco-friendliness, but I'd love to get this one for my studio:

For inspiring me back into action when I'm feeling particularly uninspired and lazy-like.

I spent today designing a new business card and making patterns for my new collections. Grading (making patterns into different sizes) can be such a pain. It's nice to have them nearly completed though. The patterns are basic so I can do lots of cool creative things with them. I haven't decided on all my final designs yet, but I have a good idea of several items.

I also had time to list one item in my Etsy shop this evening. It's cute cute cute. I wanted to keep it because it's comfy, too, but I have to discipline myself or I won't end up making much money from this Heidi & Seek shindig at all.

S or M temperate dress

It fits a size small with a relaxed fit or a size medium with a snug fit. Yay for versatility!

Fashion Awards and finally, some new items

I'm stoked to let you know that I was shortlisted for the 2threads Fashion Awards in the category of Best Women's Fashion Designer. Please vote for me if you think I deserve it. Click the image below to visit the voting page.

Thanks to whoever nominated Heidi & Seek!

In other news, I have ended my listing drought and put up four new items in my Etsy shop. My favourite is the last dress. Good for twirling. Everyone needs a dress you can twirl in. Yes, even the guys. Although they'll have to shop around because this one probably won't fit them. Gosh, it's been a long day and I'm talking nonsense. On with the show..

S/M creative nessa dress

M seven check dress

XS/S blue fire dress

S little house dress