Dear Blogger

Dear Blogger,

I apologise for my absence of late (pretty much all of 2012), but I do have a good excuse.  No the dog didn't eat my homework, I didn't run over my laptop with the car while reversing out of the driveway, and aliens didn't abduct me.  It was worse.  I've been fighting breast cancer.  Not something you expect to ever happen to you, but especially at age 38 with no family history.

I'm still not ready to discuss the details in such a public forum, but 2013 however, is going to be a completely different year.  My treatment has come to an end, my hair is slowly growing back, and I'm back in the saddle.  Sure, things aren't quite the same as they were before, but that's life and I'm adjusting best I can. 

Thanks for reading my ramblings, however inconsistent they may be.  Thanks for not judging me, or excluding me, and accepting me back into the blogger fold whenever I feel I'm able to participate.

Its February already, where did January go?  Oh yeah, that's right.  Customers just kept on coming into the 'bricks and mortar' store in Inverloch, keeping us rushed off our feet.  Thanks everyone for your support of our little studio, our work, our creations and what we love doing. 

Bring on the rest of 2013!

The good life....

One of the 'pluses' of my role in Mookah is that I get to go on lots of trips to great places for markets and events, and as you may already know, I love a good road trip.  Over the last couple of weeks I got to visit one of my absolute favourite destinations.  It was that relatively small place down below the rest of Australia, that is jam packed with places of absolute beauty and serenity, Tasmania.  It was the first time Mookah has showcased its wares at the Tasmanian Craft Fair at Deloraine, which was a four day event over the Cup weekend, and we also discovered a few Tassie labels that we hope to be stocking at the Mookah Studio real soon.

We had some fantastic, quirky accommodation, staying in this little A-frame house in waterside Port Sorrell, sharing with some stallholder friends.  Isn't it oh so cute?

After the craft fair my market offsider (Mum) and I stayed on for an extra two days of rest and relaxation in the Launceston area, where I took her to see some of my favourite places.  Of course no trip to the Launceston area would be complete without visiting a few wineries in the Tamar Valley, so I took her to a couple of my favourites, being Pipers Brook where we had a leisurely lunch in the sunshine, and Bay of Fires, which has some of my all time favourite wines.

Our other spare day was spent tramping up through Cataract Gorge and visiting my list of 'to see' shops in Launceston.  One I've been to before but wouldn't miss an opportunity to visit is the The Mill - Providore & Gallery, which was just across the road from our accommodation.  This place is full of beautiful locally grown produce and other clothing, gifts and homewares, all focusing on Tassie grown and made. 

Another on the list was eco co, full of beautiful homewares, clothing and gifts.  They even had a beautiful chair recovered in Cloth's Spotcheck fabric, similar to mine!

And last but certainly not least, the shop I've been dying to visit for ages, Cocoon in George St.  I've been following this shop online for ages and it was great to be able to see for myself.  An absolutely beautiful little shop focusing on Australian made/designer labels, right up my alley!

While we were wandering up George St looking for Cocoon, we stumbled across a little pop up shop called 'et la mer' and of course couldn't resist the temptation to check it out.  While there were many beautiful things, the thing that took caught my eye was a display of organic screenprinted cushions from The Spotted Quoll.  I didn't buy any cushions, but I couldn't help myself and had to buy a set of prints to frame and hang on my walls at home.  If you're in Launceston, get in quick and check out this pop up shop!

All in all, another lovely visit to beautiful Tasmania.  May there be many more to come in the future!

My New Favourite Corner

For many years now I've been tossing around in my head what fabrics I should use to reupholster an old favourite chair of mine.  It's not just any chair, it's a beautiful old 'kanga rocker' that I got from my dear old great aunt when she passed away.  The fact that the chair has sentimental value to me has overwhelmed me, leading me to be indecisive and procrastinate.

 

My recent journey has brought lots of things into perspective for me, and suddenly I could see the decision in a new light.  My Aunty May would be happy that I have the chair, I love it and will look after it, and that I am going to recover it in something that I love. 

 

So how could I go past Australian Handprinted fabric?  I have used 2 different fabrics, but have featured Cloth's spotcheck fabric, as I've always loved it, and I am partial to a touch of red, and combined it with some crosshatch.  Isn't she adorable?

This has now become my favourite corner in the house.  A place where I can sit and rock with my feet up on a Mookah floor cushion, and read a book or watch the trees out the window.

 

I will declare though, that I feel a little like a traitor not using one of our own handprinted fabrics.  So to even things up a bit (or make myself feel better) I've picked up another rocker similar to mine which we're going to reupholster in our new Mookah fabric design.  Watch this space for that one!

Maybe we all need a little yellow in our lives?

Never fear, we're still here!

 

We haven't been visiting this little space of late, and when we have it has been quite infrequent.  I'm not apologising, just telling it how it is.  Sometimes there is just more important things going in your life, and when things settle down, you find the desire or time again.

 

We've just returned from a well needed little break in warm, sunny Queensland, and it feels like while we were away recharging our batteries, spring has arrived here in Victoria.  The first thing I noticed when I got out of the car was the heavenly smell of spring, and more specifically, the sweet smell of boronia wafting through the breeze.  It brought a smile to my face.

 

Something that also brought a smile to my face while we were on holidays was a shop we saw in Peregian Beach that had in its front window an old ladies bicycle painted yellow all over, with some flowers planted in the front basket.  It just made me feel good inside.  I'm not really a yellow person, but it didn't matter.

 

 

 

So guess what one of the first things we did when we got home this week was?  Visited a recycling yard (junk yard depending on how you look at it) to get ourselves and old ladies bicycle with character, and we found just the one.  Her name is Sally, what do you think?

 

 

 

She was just a little unloved, and a little rusty from sleeping outdoors.  She's had a wash, a rub down, and a few coats of yellow spray paint and she looks lovely again.  The basket of white lobelia will add a nice crisp touch as it prospers under the warmth of the suns rays.

 

So if you're thinking about visiting the Mookah Studio for the first time, just look for the bright yellow bicyle out the front!

 



Friday on the bench....

Today was Friday.  The day that traditionally marks the end of the working week.  Except that we choose to work Tuesday to Saturday, so have another day to go.  So today in the studio we gave ourselves permission to not be 'slaves of production', which is how it can quite often feel in the working studio of a small creative business.

We spent some time taking product photos, chatting with some lovely customers in the shop, and perusing our latest colour swatch samples for our 'Leaves' design that were strewn all over our cutting bench.  Oh, and did I mention that we made time in the arvo for an apple cake slathered in icing with a strong hot brew?

Not a bad Friday at all.  Wonder what Saturday will bring?