There has been a distinct chill in the air this week in Hobart so there is no mistaking winter is almost here. I’ve delayed walking the dog until late morning hoping for a little sunshine – but I’ve needed to be quick to catch it. A coat is now de rigueur and its time to bring out the gloves too!
Walking back from the post office today I picked a small piece of Hedera helix – also known as common ivy, English ivy, European ivy, or just ivy!
I do have ivy growing in my garden but not with the dark purple-black fruit and I’d been thinking it would be striking in a flower arrangement, so today I’m sneaking it into my In A Vase On Monday arrangement with flowers and foliage from my garden.
You may remember my peony tree ‘pink sticks’ from a few weeks back – I’m pleased to report they kept their colour once dried – so I’ve added a few of those and some blackened plum sticks (the water shoots that grow nice and straight up from the base of the tree).
I’ve used 3 cobra head lilies, one pink rose and some bergenia flowers that after a few days of good rain and a little sunshine are providing a lovely splash of colour in the garden.
I’m not sure the sticks work so in the morning I may have a fiddle and try it without them but I am pleased with my choice of vase – an old tarnished silver sugar bowl, which I’ve used with a ceramic flower frog to help hold the arrangement in place and my miniature wire bird cages from Faff & Rambling seemed the perfect little props to sit along side.
Cathy from Rambling In The Garden started In A Vase On Monday to inspire people to bring something from their garden inside to enjoy – what ever the season. Pop over to her blog to see what she and others have gathered this week and if you feel like joining in one Monday put a link to your vase in the comments on her post.
We are back from our first big mainland market – the Bowerbird Bazaar! Held twice a year in Adelaide, South Australia over three days Bowerbird Bazaar is a celebration of Australian artists, designers and creative collaborations.
This year there were 150+ designers and makers exhibiting, Insitu displays – six rooms featuring stallholder product, creative workshops and demonstrations, a Saturday Speakers Corner for talks by design professionals, gift wrapping for a gold coin donation (to support breast cancer research) and delicious local food and drinks.
Jane and the Bowerbird team’s organisation and promotion before the event blew us away and we knew we were in for a fantastic and fun 3 days.
I was very excited to be chosen to be interviewed for their Meet The Maker series on their blog in the weeks leading up to the market.
Without further ado, let me show you some photos from the weekend.
The friendly front desk girls greeted market goers and behind them a lovely avenue of trees that on Sunday became an enchanting setting for a Mother’s Day high tea.
Posters, banners and booklets featured gorgeous artwork by Adelaide designers Andrew Smart and Heath Riggs.
Fairy lights, trees and lawn created a fair ground feel in the food and bar area.
A display by visual merchandising students and one of the Insitu rooms.
Sunday’s high tea was opposite our stand and I couldn’t resist going over to take some photos of the tables set with vintage china and glass cake stands, champagne coupes and pretty floral arrangements.
It was serendipity that I saw this digitally printed French denim from one of my fabric suppliers just as I was thinking about our stand design – it made the perfect backdrop for our Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.
As always it was fun designing our display but it takes ingenuity to make it transportable – I think we rose to the challenge well – all this packed down into 3 suitcases and one of my old art school folios with our stock for the two plane trips to get there and back.
It was a great weekend, we had fun meeting people, some lovely conversations, gained a new stockist plus some leads to follow up and our suitcases were a little lighter coming home!
And then there were our evening strolls looking at Adelaide’s beautiful old houses and gardens – but I’ll keep that tale for another day…
Petal & Pins 