Petal & Pins

Month: December, 2017

December 23, 2017

The Fairy & The Farmer

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Two of the highlights of my year have been about collaboration.

In April Lisa Britzman, a ceramic artist and sustainable boutique farmer in the Huon Valley of Tasmania got in touch to see if I would be interested in having some of her autumn blooming saffron flowers to design my minature botanical couture with.

Mr Petal & Pins and I drove down to Campo de Flori Farm which is picturesquely located high in the hills. It was facinating to see saffron growing  and Lisa showed us how it is harvested. I brought a basketful of the striking purple flowers home and designed a mini collection of dresses that has kicked off the Farmgate Project by petal & pins.

Recently we went back to the farm for olive blossoms and culinary lavender – and of course we were only too happy to come home with some freshly baked lavender shortbread biscuits too!

The other wonderful collaboration began in the Spring of 2016 when Carolyn  Turgeon editor-in-chief of Faerie Magazine interviewed me by skype for the The Faeirie Handbook – ‘an enchanting compendium of Literature, Lore, Art, Recipes and Projects’.

In winter this year I got a sneek peek at the proofs for the pages featuring my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe® and the beautiful cover featuring Euphaeidae from the Wonderland series by Kirsty Mitchell Photography but of course had to keep it a secret until its release.

The book launched in November and I was very excited when my copy from publisher Harper Collins New York office arrived!

It’s an exquisite hardback book with silver edged pages and I couldn’t be more proud to be featured within it.

There’s something for everyone who loves a bit of whimsy and magic of any age with chapters on Flora & Fauna, Fashion & Beauty, Arts & Culture and Home, Food & Entertaining.

So let me know if you see The Faerie Handbook in your local bookstore…or if you have a suggestion for a collaboration why not get in touch!

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My limited edition prints can be purchased from the petal & pins online shop and selected stockists. Wholesale inquiries welcome.

The Faerie Handbook is available from bookshops worldwide and online through Amazon, Booktopia, Dymocks and the Faerie Magazine online store. 

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December 20, 2017

Seasonal

In November Mr Petal & Pins and I headed to Adelaide to do our 4th Bowerbird Design Market.

We love this event for all sorts of reasons – and although it’s work it’s also lots of fun, although not so much the 4am start to catch our flights (2) to get to Adelaide in time to set up!

We get to share our story and products directly to consumers and chat with other designers and makers from all around the country running creative businesses just like us.

And then there is the food…our favourite this time was from The Seasonal Garden Cafe. Their endeavour is to celebrate seasonal produce serving simple, peasant food that is guided by what is available from their cafe garden and from the gardens of local growers – and they certainly delivered that in a very delicous way!

Equally impressive was their stand display so I took some photos to share with you.

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December 7, 2017

A Playful Dash of Festivity

This years petal & pins Christmas Collection I designed with geranium flowers from the garden.

From window boxes in Paris to Australian gardens, these bright happy flowers add a playful dash of festivity – and perfectly suit a summertime Christmas!

trio of petal & pins xmas geranium gift tags

I had fun stringing our petal & pins gift tags and some sprigs of geranium flowers  above the mantle piece in the studio earlier in the week – the first festive trimmings to appear at our place.

gift wrap

We added petal & pins wrapping paper with this collection – it was exciting to see it develop from an idea to the finished product and branch out from just greeting cards.

The Christmas Geranium Collection is available at selected stockists and from the petal & pins online shop…and for classic with a twist, take a look at the Holly Dress greeting cards from my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe®

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