heart of hearts

I thought today, being the royal wedding and all would be perfect time to share my newest little creation. It has a love theme after all. Are you going to watch tonight? I know it's kind of daggy but I am! Love a good wedding.

So the other day, okay a while ago actually, I cut a stencil to print this faceted heart print. This design is actually the basis for my whole Heart Flowers pattern. A heart made up of triangles. I love the graphic simplicity of it. We have a couple of these available so contact us if you would like one. I plan to get this design exposed onto a screen soon so that I can print it more easily, for tea towels and cushion covers. Imagine it would also look pretty awesome printed onto plywood.

Now for a name for this design, well I have many. Too many. First was Love Triangle, then Tri-Heart (get it, ha, I'm such a dag). I also like Broken Hearted. Heart of Hearts. Big Love. I know I'm forgetting one... It also kind of reminds me of a faceted gem stone, in the shape of a heart. So many names and I just can't seem to pick one. Do you have a favourite? Or a suggestion?

If you are in Brisbane, don't forget the Thea & Sami open studio day tomorrow with fabric printing demonstration. (see post earlier this week for details).

Have a good weekend, happy royal wedding watching. Ooh, and happy long weekend for some too!

Image: olive & joy

adore home

We are thrilled to have our Heart Flowers Tea Towel included with such good company on the Adore Home Blog. See the blog for details of the other items including a cute card (which by coincidence I have bought before) by fellow Brisbane local Little Jane St.

Image:  Adore Home blog

thea & sami open studio this saturday!

Thea & Sami are opening the doors to their brand

new studio this Saturday 30th April. There will be 

fabric printing demonstrations at 11:00am and 1:00pm 

- showcasing how their beautiful hand printed 

homewares are produced. You may remember last year I

went to one of the open studio days and wrote about

it here.

It's really fascinating to see blank fabric come to life with colour and pattern in a matter of minutes - I never tire of seeing fabric printed. So if you are in Brisbane this weekend the studio will be open this coming Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm - come and have a peek at printing in action and purchase some of Thea & Sami's lovingly hand printed homewares (maybe for upcoming Mother's Day. I will be there too!

Thea & Sami Open Studio Day

Saturday 30th April 10-4pm

Unit 1, 6 Jones Road

Capalaba

ps. if you are thinking of going you can rsvp here.

Images: Olive & Joy

sentimental

Stationery from my grandad's country town general store. It dates back to the 1960's as you can see from the 196 prefix to which you can add the year. I found a wad of these pages whilst sorting through some boxes recently. There are 29 precious sheets of it, which I have absolutely no idea what to do with. My mum also has some, as does my sister. I can remember drawing on the paper when I was a child with a giant pencil (do you remember those?). I don't want to waste the stationery, but then I don't want to just file it away and forget about it again. Maybe I will frame a sheet.

My mum came over a few weeks ago to spend the day with me and with her she brought this little metal belt. She was no sooner in the door and I had it clasped around my waist. Mum remembers being given the belt when she was in her teens, and thinks it belonged to her Nanna Olive before her. I can remember the belt as a child also but it has a long time since I had seen it. It is very scratched but not tarnished so I'm not sure what metal it is made of. I need to lose a tiny bit of weight as it just fits me. In sitting and 'after meal' situations it is really uncomfortable (metal is not forgiving). I'm told that it is 'on loan', maybe indefinitely mum?

ps. I just noticed that the stationery says W. Gardner yet my grandad's first name was Henry (middle name William). I can never remember anyone calling him by his first name, ever. It was always Bill, Will or Willy. It was quite common back then to call someone by their middle name, I just wonder why?

Images: olive & joy

heart flowers cushions

Recently I printed my Heart Flowers design onto fabric to make into cushions. It was quite a time consuming process as I had to mask my tea towel screen into the right dimensions for each cushion and then print each panel, leaving a gap in between in the same way you do when you print yardage, then going back and doing the second print once the first was dry. Above you can see Heart Flowers in White on Hopsack cotton and Heart Flowers in Olive on Hemp/organic cotton looking right at home beside some Florence Broadhurst cushions. The white Heart Flowers on hopsack is a really classic look. 

I cannot describe to you how exciting it was for me to see my very own cushions, with a pattern I designed and printed. A really amazing feeling.

I haven't actually listed these in the store yet, but a lovely customer of mine Lesley has already bought a few to use in combination with the Florence Broadhurst cushions in the first photo (excuse my  'faux' cushion cover in the Hessian print, I had to wrap that cushion with fabric for the photo's sake). They look great together, don't you think?

I also printed fabric for a couple of cushions in the Watermelon colourway, and will be printing more cushions soon so if you are interested in any of these please contact me so I know to print enough of them. They can be made in the 30 x 60cm or or 43 x 43cm size and I can also print in other colours so if you have one in mind just let me know. Anything is possible! 

Images: olive & joy

horsies

We have a stable of Horses Stampede cushions in the store right now. I love this pattern so much. How exactly does one come up with the idea to create a pattern of a stampede of wild horses, and then make it work this well? I'm still amazed every time I see it. It's playful and has so much energy. Perfect for the young and the young at heart.

Horses Stampede in Chevalier Blue, just in.

And, I found one more of our Horses Stampede 30 x 60cm cushion in Yellow. I thought I had sold out, so was happy to find this!

Images: olive & joy

the chair

By popular demand. The chair. Because you folk would rather gawk at mid century chairs than my fringe. Who am I kidding, so would I! It isn't quite as tomato-ish red as it came out in this photo, it is more of a deeper, richer red in the flesh. Anyhoo, this is it, hope you like it. 


Image: olive & joy

fringed

Sporting a new 'do'. I've wanted a fringe forever but never could take the plunge. I would always chicken out and get a wispy side fringe. Well my friends I did it! It was roadtested yesterday, my husband likes it, I think I like it?? Although I am really struggling to get used to the feeling of hair on my forehead constantly, I think it even gave me a headache yesterday. The things we do in the name of style, ha!


ps. Little peek behind me of the prototype for Destination Design screen printed onto plywood. Ooh-aah!


pps. You can only see a glimpse of it but I love, love my Country Road silk tank I'm wearing here.


ppps. I'm sitting on the newly upholstered red Featherston here. It will be available in a few weeks, I just want to use it for a photo shoot first....


Bye!


Image: olive & joy

vintage signage letters

Look what we have here. Big, gold metal signage letters just listed in the shop. These are huge and heavy, and beautiful. And, they just happened to spend their previous life as signage for a Louis Vuitton store. Seriously! 

I have several of some letters available and only one of some (If you like the 'V' or 'N' - get in quick). 

Gold-y, typographic-y, vintage-y goodness. 

And yes, we do ship worldwide but please keep in mind these are heavy (the 'N' is over 800 grams!) so shipping isn't cheap. But for Louis? It's a bargain. 

In the shop now.

Images: olive & joy

it's wallpaper hanging day!

So it's wallpaper hanging day here, and a happy day it is (miserable weather and all). Here is where we are up to right now. Looking good. My wallpaper hanger is doing a good job, as he should, he has been hanging wallpaper for over 40 years. Even remembers hanging Florence Broadhurst wallpaper in Sydney back in the 70's.  We had a good chat about Florence yesterday actually. 


So far very very happy with our choice of Ferm Living 'Bindweed' wallpaper. 


Images: olive & joy

howkapow

Seriously beautiful tableware from Haidee Drew found on Howkapow. Imagine the time wasted away creating cool patterns with them on your table top. Called 'Taba' (wood platter - comes in single and double) and 'Tapa' (earthenware platter) - they would be perfect for tapas or nibbles, perhaps some simple oil and bread. The best thing I've seen in a long while. Love them.

Images: Howkapow