You and Me

one key lesson learned in hypnobirthing classes was the art of loosening the jaw. helps the whole body to relax. this body is not relaxed, its not giving birth either. but. tomorrow our photographer is coming here to take snaps of the studio, here, as in, to this mess. yes that is a loo roll in the right corner, i'm a classy nose blower. not only that but next weekend is MARKit & i've decided to take a little holiday next week. yep. loosen the jaw. 

but living with kids means i have access to kids music. how can one be blue listening to the rio soundtrack. i've put it on & been looking through vineyard photos. pinch me please. not only do i have soundtracks. i have vines & wide open spaces to inspire me. i have a little boy who wakes up in the night because a dinosaur ate his snack. a little girl who makes funny faces. i have gumboots by the door. yep, blessed is one word for it. 

every time we pack an order, another easter egg tumbles from our shelves. turns out we are not great egg hunters. ha. i'm hoping it lasts all year long as the feeling of finding an egg is such a good one. so what was i talking about? ( rachel castle guest blogging on the design files took my attention for a second.) ah prints. we finally got ourselves organised enough to release a few of our designs as art prints. the paper is so beautiful that when i'm feeling a bit low i pop into the studio & take a big breath in. smells so good. i've also painted a few canvas boards. ruined a favorite t-shirt in the process. (can hear husband tutting from the vineyard)....pop onto our website, click on art & you are there. all prints purchased this month get a little gift. the gift is to say 'gee wizz, glad you like the prints, thanks'.

huxtaburger on the way & on the way home. such a fun two days of market. here's some snaps of our stand, the burger, the venue, one of our art prints & miss neve's new trick (crawling). up until Mothers day our entire rose garden range is on sale. that means you can grab a desk set, writing set, pack of mini cards or sticky notes for 25% off. perfect. enter ROSES at checkout. ahhh where are the tissues- caught johnnys cold. 

finders keepers is such a great pairing of words, it has the same feel as 'ready or not here I come' & 'come out, come out where ever you are'. Are you smiling yet? We are pretty excited about being apart of the next finders keepers market in melbourne (20th-21st april). I used to bug my sister by constantly saying 'yeah, but i'm the coolest kid in town' ironic words coming from the shy girl in the ken done t-shirt. i'm guessing there will be many cool kids at this event. I can't wait to gobble them all up with my eyes. what fun. if you are planning on being there, come say hello. all purchases over $25 will earn a free poppies treat. we will have our full range of prints, limited stocks of tissue balls & most of our current stationery line up for sale. yippee. 

there are only three sweet days left to enter our sweet polli competition. sweet. our dear friends at polli are sweet. our mini tissue balls are sweet. a mini sale is sweet. the way neve eats a pear using her entire body is sweet. 

so, to win your little one a sweet polli pendant all you need to do is place an order on our website by the end of this month. an added bonus is the 5% off sale (use discount code: MINI at checkout) we have five pendants to give away. Made using sustainable plantation grown hoop ply pine, the pretty pendant hangs from a cotton cord with a magnetic clasp which is safe and simple for little fingers. sweet. sweet. sweet.

A dear friend (who sews our cards in her spare moments) sent me an email filled with quotes. I liked one the best. I will paint it one day, it says 'and forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet & the winds long to play with your hair'. 

Sara has just told me a story. Here I sit. crying for the beauty and the great sadness of it.

Now here is the story...

a friend of Saras lives & works in a slum in bangkok. He decided to take a group of children to a park outside of the slum. One of those children is blind, she is blind because while she was still in the womb her mother beat her belly to try & rid herself of the baby. Shortly after she was born she was given to her elderly grandparents. She does not explore like the other children as she may fall into open sewage. 

The children arrive at the park, Chris puts her on the ground, she asks him 'what is touching my toes', he looks and say's 'grass'. She tells him that she likes it. He tells her she can run as fast as she can without fear of falling. She doesn't move, so he picks her up, puts her on his back & runs. She asks 'what is touching my face'. He says, 'freedom'. 

I can't breathe. this moment has swallowed me whole.

I have grass, I can feel the wind on my skin. A few months ago we started loaning small sums of money to women in poor communities, our hope is that this small thing will give them more life. we donate through Kiva. the story of the blind girl is a gift. we are made to give of ourselves, don't you think? She has given me a holy moment. what will I give her? 

(photo is of lucas a year ago, running free)

I did think the blog would of seen more of me by now. hello 2012, hello February, hello baby who does not sleep all night. the word for 2012 is joy. i have found great joy in my two little bundles of light, joy in the garden (even though my zucchinis have not impressed me) & joy with a paintbrush in my hand. I've not felt this creative in years, sleep deprivation is doing me wonders!

We will soon be launching a new section on the website- this  will be our art gallery. You will find prints, paintings, hand painted cushions & pillow slips, mobiles, garlands & Sara's amazing stitched creations here. We can't wait to see what you think. Its been a fun way to start the year, this new adventure. If you'd like to take a peek before the section is launched, simply follow us on twitter, facebook or instagram. I'll be uploading photos as each work is completed.

I'm also toying with the idea of writing about my gardening adventures (I have NO idea what i'm doing, but things are growing) 

I hope that this first month of your 2012 has felt just as limitless as ours. that you too have been creating, exploring & finding joy in your days. 

i type this with sticky fingers & a full tummy. my favorite time of year. celebrating a year working with beautiful friends. we have such fun together. this year we decided to have a handmade christmas & make gifts for each other. ah the pressure. stitching, baking, planting, painting, folding & cutting. 

markets are such fun. MARKit was truly wonderful. so many beautiful, colourful things. i kept landing at Emily Green. with big eyes i went back again & again, finally handing over my cash for two pairs of earrings, purple & yellow. yes, that was the right choice. & then there was dawn tan, my goodness, my goodness. i'll have the herbs & plants print thank you & perhaps can i come over to your house & sip tea with you. not to mention can i do a class & can lucas have you come round for crafting?... wow just spent the last 26 minutes on dawns blog, giant icecreams, HELLO. my final purchase was from new supplies & inspiration brand BLANK (lots of stationery). she was launching her brand at the market, it was a treat to be there & watch the joy (our stand was across the way) i came home with a draw your dreams pillow case & marker set for my nephew sam.