Petal & Pins

Category: Art & Design

March 4, 2020

Budding Genius

While autumn has begun here in Australia I’ve channeled  spring vibes for this photo with my copy of British Vogue’s Spring Fashion 2020 issue.

As a fashion design student long before the age of internet, the arrival of the latest issues of international fashion magazines on the newsstand was cause for excitement. Vogues from France, Italy, the US and UK, Harpers Bazaar, Donna and the then new edgy publications ID, The Face and Details.

If you knew someone going overseas you would ask them to bring magazines back because that ‘Air Freight – Just Landed’ sticker wasn’t as quick as it implied and as a student imported magazines were expensive.

Of course now the latest collections can be seen in an instant on a device in the palm of your hand…but there’s something intrinsically enjoyable about flipping through the pages of a magazine – it makes you slow down and encourages you to take a moment for yourself (maybe with a cup of tea or a glass of wine) and aimlessly flipping or working your way through it from cover to cover depending on the mood you’re in.

In my styled spring Flat Lay are roses from my garden, petal & pins Blush Rose greeting card from the Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe Collection, Vintage Rose handkerchief and some of my favourite accessories.

 

Last European spring I was delighted to have my Aquilegia & Rose Dress art print featured in UK Bride magazine’s The Pretty List after the editors saw us exhibiting at the Top Drawer London tradeshow.

Alas my efforts to track down a physical copy came up empty handed but at least I have this digital image to share because it was a proud moment to be included alongside so many pretty floral things…and being called ‘Budding genius’ no less!

 

 

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October 9, 2019

Spring Notes

I’d like to say I sat down to this cup of tea and spent a few hours sketching but it’s just a pretty tableau to show off the beautiful detail inside the cover of our petal & pins notebooks that we released at the beginning of Spring. It’s exciting to go from an idea, finesse a design and then hold a new product in my hands.

The posy in the photo is from my patchwork hedge, there is lilac, crabapple blossom, japonica, beauty bush and a rose and if I’m lucky (like this year) their flowering overlaps for a colourful spring display.

The hedge inspired the patchwork dress which features in our Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe card collection. A sundress design I like to think of as conjuring up weekends wandering around markets or picnics with friends.

I timed the photoshoot perfectly because now it’s raining – the garden will love that and I’ll go and put the kettle on for a cup of tea I’ll actually get to drink before sorting stock to pack for  the Made by Hand Market this weekend at Hazelhurst Arts Centre.

Made By Hand Artisan Market

10 – 3 Sunday 13 Oct 2019

Hazelhurst Arts Centre

782 Kingsway, Gymea, NSW

This event is part of Sydney Craft Week see what other events are on here, and if you’re out and about in Sydney on the sunday come and say hello!

 

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August 13, 2019

Violets

 

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March 25, 2019

The Devil Is In The Detail

March 2019 In a Vase on Monday

I think autumn is one of my favourite months to join Cathy from Rambling In The Garden’s Monday blog post project In A Vase On Monday. 

There’s always an eclectic mix of colour and shapes to choose from in my garden at this time and the end result is often bolder and more considered in the way I put things together.

This morning I’ve chosen to use my glass vase that has a swirl of crimson around the top thinking it would pick up the colour of the crabapples growing in our hedge.

The ones I could reach to pick are a much more golden hue, and with a trio of pink roses I also picked  some mottled hydrangeas to tie it all together.

A stack of magazines was a practical solution as a makeshift plinth to raise the flowers for photographing but I thought the gorgeous rich image on the cover of Flowbulous magazine also created a beautiful backdrop!

I bought the magazine in Japan last year and it’s full of incredible photographs and flowers by Atsushi Taniguchi.

Flowbulous Magazine_

As I arranged my vase I began to realise I’d not picked nearly enough for such a wide necked vase and at that moment it started to pour with rain. My solution? the gum nuts sitting undercover on the verandah and some hydrangeas dried from last autumn in the palest of pink.

For Me By Dee print and vase of flowers

The gum nuts of course add a distinctive Australian touch to my vase so I decided to photograph it with Desmond the Tasmanian devil – a beautiful print from an original watercolour drawing by Melbourne artist Daniella Leo.

And that is what’s inspired this Monday’s blog post title!

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August 28, 2018

Scribbled

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One of the things I love about stepping out in a big city is the fabulous window dressing you see.

When I was in Tokyo this mens shoe store display caught my eye, it’s deceptively simple but carefully and artfully arranged.

The suspended writing (a play on pinstripes?) gives a sense of movement and the nonchalant lean of the umbrella is positioned just so that you can almost sense an imaginary hand resting on the handle.

I photographed a Melbourne window display back in 2014 that also used script in a clever way, appearing in reverse you needed to look at the shadow to read it.

Anyone care to have a go at deciphering what the scribbly man says?!

 

 

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July 24, 2018

Life Instyle Melbourne 2018

petal & pins at LIS rose card

For Spring/Summer I’ve created a brand new card collection with pretty colours and whimsical designs with apple blossom, jonquils, sea shells and Flemish butterflies!

I’m also delighted to introduce a range of linen tea towels and new designs to our popular Love Letters & Christmas Collections.

You may have seen some sneak peeks on the petal & pins instagram of these new designs and I’ll be showing the full range including our signature collection the Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe® at Life Instyle Melbourne next week at stand 2249.

If you are retailer you have a chance to win $1000 to spend at the event by registering to attend here.

The ultimate destination for all things in style.

“Life Instyle is a boutique trade event for leading buyers with a discerning eye for quality and style. With a strong focus on creative excellence and innovative design, Life Instyle has become a highly anticipated and sought after event within the retail industry and a centre of activity for buyers with their finger on the pulse.

Explore a mix of beautiful designer brands featuring premium homeware, giftware, lifestyle and kids products all within an inspiring and fresh sourcing environment.

With two shows per year, visitors, including leading local and international buyers, interior designers, stylists and the media, all come from around Australia and beyond to source from the most exclusive brands in the country and enjoy the relaxed ambience and open floor plans that have become the trade mark of Life Instyle.”

Life Instyle Melbourne 2018 email footer

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June 15, 2018

Just A Card

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I was excited for our lapel pins to arrive, just in time to wear at our upcoming trade fair in Melbourne!

Have you heard of the Just A Card Campaign? It came about when British artist & designer Sarah Hamilton saw the quote “If everyone who’d complimented our beautiful gallery had bought ‘just a card‘ we’d still be open” by store keepers who’d recently closed their gallery.

This prompted a call to action! Designer/Makers and independent shops and galleries needed a voice and so in 2015 Sarah started the wonderful Just A Card campaign.

Sarah says “when you buy JUST A CARD, just a book, just a gift etc from an independent shop or creative business you’re not just buying a card…you’re supporting passion, skill, creativity, originality and community” – I couldn’t put it better myself!

Many of the shops that sell my work are small independent stores with passionate owners, so my sucess is also linked to their sucess.

While the Just A Card Campaign started in Britian it’s message has resonated globally with designers, makers, and independent shops and galleries and next week is a 3rd Birthday celebration of just how far it’s come.

Coming from a small island off an island  (my old atlas doesn’t even name it!) by necessity gives me a “there’s a whole world out there” focus on where I’d like petal & pins to be so I’ll be participating in their Five Day Instagram Challenge and I invite you to follow along – @petalandpins

How can you get involved?

  • Follow Just A Card on twitter and Instagram
  • Download a poster and put it up in your event or shop.
  • Like, comment or share the social media posts of designers, makers and independent shops and galleries whose work you love.
  • Re-post this blog post!

And finally as Sarah says – by all means compliment people, it makes the world a far sunnier place, but if you can, please, buy ‘just a card‘!

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Image | May 1, 2018
petal & pins Mothers Day card and Perle d'Or card

 

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February 14, 2018

Galentines – Valentines

petal & pins Valentines Day 2018

I must confess I had to google Galentine’s Day to know what exactly it was when it started popping up in my instagram feed and on the artwork of fellow card designers.

Was it a fancy pants way of saying Valentine’s Day? a Galician or Gaelic tradition?!

Having never watched the television show Parks and Recreation I was in the dark to the 16th episode of the second season (first aired in 2010).  Amy Poehler‘s character Leslie throws her annual “Galentine’s Day” party for her female friends, celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day.

Like so many things Galentine’s Day has apparently transcended from the television screen into everyday culture. While it started out with the character Leslie going to brunch with her female friends, the unofficial holiday is now not just celebrated by fans of the show, it has turned into an optimistic celebration of friendship to be celebrated on the 13th February.

Yesterday I received a Valentine’s card in the mail from an admirer – a fabulous female friend, I doubt she’d heard of Galentine’s Day either and I love that over the years we’ve found our own ways to celebrate friendship with no popular culture prompts needed.

So happy days of love and friendship to you, whether you’re choosing to partake in old traditions or new or blissfully ignoring them!

Sandra X

 

 

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February 6, 2018

Just Out Of View

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With Valentine’s Day just around the corner we’ve been busy sending cards from our Love Letters Collection out to stockists and I’ve been having fun with some romantic styling for social media.

Designed with the lovely Cécile Brünner roses from our garden there are currently four designs in the Love Letters Collection and three are available as signed giclée prints.

I’ve written before about this pretty rose, it’s a favourite of mine, and I chose to pick sprays of them to combine with ‘Naked Ladies’ (amaryllis belladonna), snow berries and camellia leaves for a sophisticated elegance… and let’s pretend just out of view is a ‘Schiaparelli’ pink velvet chaise longue, a gorgeous art deco ice bucket with champagne chilling and French doors with a view of the Seine.

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