Regrowth

I found this photo in my mother's old photo box.  Nobody seems to know who it is.  My mother probably knew, but she can't tell us now. 

 

It's a painfully evocative image: a captured moment from the first decade of the 20th century (a fashion degree wasn't completely wasted on me).  The burnt-out trunks of tall, straight gum trees (and the fact that it was in a family photo box) suggest that it's most likely in the Otway Ranges in Victoria, immediately after a bushfire.   

 

 

Are this couple looking back at what was once their home...? Have they lost everything?

 

What are they thinking? 

 

What did they do next...? 

 

What was their next stage of life like? 

 

I keep coming back to that thought. 

 

 

I haven't lost everything, but I'm packing up and moving to the next stage. 

 

 

Since the first hint that life was about to get tricky, the last 18 months or so have been ... transformative... in the slowest and most painful of ways.  I've worked on through.  I've modified the way that this little business of mine runs.   The little engine kept on chugging.... I wrote another book, I did an international trade show, I... kept... on... working....

 

People who don't know me tell me that I'm "a superwoman", or that I'm "an inspiration", or even that I'm their hero (?!).  People who know me tell me to slow down or take a break.  And now my own instincts are telling me that I have to stop for a bit.... breathe ...be the type of parent that I want to be.... learn to relax again...   I have to change the way that I do things ... again.  I hate to let down the people who don't know me, but I am in no way 'super'.

 

I'm packing up my lovely studio and office and moving house and business to something more home-based.... with time and space to be a small, mother-and-daughter family, first and foremost.

 

I'm going to continue to do the things that feed my soul.... like teaching.

 

 

I've already started using the fantastic space above GJ's in East Brunswick as a teaching space (and there are still places on the zipper class in a couple of weeks time...), and will be teaching at Bargain Box in Mornington and Kimono House in the city in the coming weeks.

 

I'll also continue to supply my patterns to fabulous online and bricks-and-mortar shops, but I won't be operating a retail space or my own teaching space.  

 

I'll continue to design patterns in both paper and digital format (although I'm taking a short break from both, until I feel rested and settled in my new workspace).

 

I'm looking forward to my book being published early next year, and I have other plans for new projects.  But first, I must rest and settle in to a new way of being. 

 

...And I will plant a vegetable garden. (I've been dreaming about it!)

 

 

I will still have the Helen St premises until mid-November, but will be moving to the new house over the next few weeks.  There will still be classes and there will still be patterns, but I may be somewhat quiet online.... (not gone... just quiet). 

There is much to be done in the real world right now. 

 

Speaking of the real world... (a tenuous segue... it's completely beside the point of this blog post!)

 

How is this for a classic Melbourne-weather weekend...? 

 

Above: Saturday.  Below: Sunday.

Don't go away... I'll be back.... with shiny new wings.

 

Showroom Display Sample Sale!

To all those people who asked in shops or at craft shows, and were told, "The samples are not for sale"....

 

 

I take it all back.  I've hidden away all the samples that are not for sale (or left them hanging in the stairwell of the studio) so that ONLY samples that are for sale are on show in the showroom.  I won't have space for them all when I move from here and I need to cull.

 

There are hats and caps and berets for men, women, kids and babies.  

 

There are dresses and skirts for kids and women, and there are bags and purses of all descriptions. 

 

We're open Thurs (tomorrow) and Friday 10am-4pm
and Saturday (28th Sept) 10am-12pm. 
3/99 Helen St Northcote

 

Please don't all arrive at 10am, though... As anyone who has been here can tell you, we can only fit about half a dozen people in the showroom at a time, and you might find yourselves waiting on the stairwell or in the lane outside if too many try to get in at once. We'd like to stagger it, if possible.

Le Grande-ish Tour

We're IN the new place! The new address is 3/99 Helen St Northcote Vic 3070.

The new phone number is +61 (0)3 9078 5896.

When I work out how to set up the fax without it picking up on every voice call, we'll also have a fax on that number. Failing that, I'll let you know the fax number at a later date.

The bookshelf was the first thing set up, to make the place look like home....
The classroom is still a little stark, but I'm LOVING the flooding natural light and the split-system air conditioning!!!! I need one more table and some pictures on the walls. When the room is filled with people doing creative things, it will be full of colour!!

The sewing room.... well... it has a little way to go. We overlaid the Persian rug to protect the new carpet from the sewing machines and all the mess I'm likely to make with them, but we're yet to rearrange the machines and straighten out the rug.... sort out the cutting table and a stack of boxes.. set up the patternmaking computer.....

The office is functional, even if not completely unpacked or tidy. That's Vireya (below) there, working hard, sending out internet orders (while I swan about taking photos).

The showroom is all set up,with all the patterns and bits you usually only see on the website.

You're welcome to drop in to shop anytime between 10am and 5pm, Tuesday to Friday. (Mondays are always a tad too busy with the weekend's internet orders...please don't drop in then). Just ring the doorbell and we'll let you in!

On the weekend, we tested out the multi-purpose nature of the building, hosting a birthday party for the wee girl. It was a "Thomas the Tank Engine party with craft activities".... as requested by guess-who.

...and I'm yet to finish cleaning up the craft table debris in the garage....

If you're looking for a venue to host an art/craft group event (with or without the Thomas the Tank Engine theme), I'm happy to hire out the space. Email me with any enquiries.

***

Next on the list is scheduling my classes for next year. We have to move HOUSE in the next couple of weeks (!!), so I'm afraid the pre-xmas workshops I was hoping to do are now looking awfully like a complete impossibility. Stay tuned for the 2011 schedule.

Soul food weekend

I nearly cried when I saw the sign for the little town of Lancefield on Friday. It reminded me of coming home to Melbourne after an absence of many years (or like when I got lost as a child, and only cried when I finally found my mother....).
I was home. Home... where it's normal to sew in pajamas before breakfast and to sew into the wee hours of the morning. Home, where it's normal to know the names of fabric ranges and designers and to talk endlessly about patterns, books and overlockers...where ideas and sewing tools are shared.

I was inspired, entertained and nourished - bodily, emotionally, creatively and mentally.

I loved seeing Annie's quilty genius in action (at lightning speed). I loved seeing Lara embracing the OFM attitiude, and my sewing buddy's drapey tops becoming EVERYONE'S summer wardrobe. I loved watching Megan prepare for her upcoming crochet classes. I loved the exquisite work that went into Rachels and Karen's little-girl-dresses...and I loved that I whipped through a pile of simple dresses for my girl, and made a few things for me.

Most of all, I loved that I got to share a weekend with a group of wonderful, talented and generous women who were the best company I could have wished for.

And it was lovely that Blogless-Kerry was able to drop in for a cuppa... and take photos for us. (Really Kerry - it was great to see YOU. And thanks for bringing that bun!).

And then I came home to unpack into a new home.

That'd be 3/99 Helen St Northcote 3070. Nicole Mallalieu Design just grew up and got her own apartment.