Staying home and social distancing during this global pandemic is hardly an imposition on a beautiful Autumn day when I have a garden to step into. My Garden Office is of course just a folly but a pretty one at that! I hope it inspires you to find joy in the things around you.
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.
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.
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!
With several warm December days in a row the magnolia outside our studio window has been a mass of blooms. I glanced out at this one last week and it was perfectly open for photographing but a little high up for a good shot without the step ladder.
I hesitated for a moment and told myself not to get distracted from all the work I had to do that day and take a photo later…of course when I did go back outside the petals had started to close up and I’d missed the moment.
The next day the flower was less than perfect but a buzz with bees – so I grabbed my camera and the step ladder.
First there was one bee, then two, then three gathering pollen before flying off to another flower. No sooner had they left a bumble bee arrived and burrowed into the stamens.
We’ve been busy as bees in the petal & pins studio these last few months with Christmas markets, orders to get out the door and preparations for our first international trade show in the new year.
The ‘To Do’ list is finally starting to feel like it’s decreasing not increasing but as any small business owner knows it never stays that way for long.
I’m looking forward to a few days over Christmas doing nothing at all – hopefully the weather will be agreeable to lying on a blanket in the garden with a book!
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.”
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.
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!
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.
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®
On a recent trip to Melbourne we went back to Heide – this time with friends, picnic supplies, and time to linger.
These are a few of the photos I took of the Heide II kitchen garden in which Sunday Reed worked daily until just before her death in 1981. It’s a beautiful serene garden so I can imagine the joy of being in it daily – despite the sign warning to be aware of snakes!
Being in a different city is always fun and although there wasn’t time to go exploring when we were in Melbourne last month for the trade fair the walk each day back and forth to the Royal Exhibition Building from our air bnb pied-à-terre was down Gertrude St Fitzroy with it’s wonderful and eclectic shops.
Always closed at the times we were going past we could only window shop and take pictures – but the great restauarants, bars and cafes were, so we ate well and after four days we had some new favourites we hope to get back to on our next visit!
©2017 Sandra Alcorn petalandpins.com
We’ll be making a few market & fair appearances this Spring so why not come and say hello!
First up on Sunday 17th September is The Market. Hobart – this curated design market of local Tasmanian artists + makers is held in the charming old Masonic Temple 3 Sandy Bay Rd from 10 to 3.
On the 23rd & 24th of September we are excited to be heading to Launceston to be a part of the Blooming Tasmania Flower & Garden Show held in Princes Park & Albert Hall – there is a terrific program planned for this event and you will find us at stand 46 inside Albert Hall so do come and have a chat and see all our new designs.
Sydneysiders we’re heading your way too so pencil Sunday 8th October in your diary! We will be at the annual Made By Hand Market at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery 782 The Kingsway Gymea. Always a lovely event with stalls in the gallery and gardens -why not grab a friend and make a day of it with lunch at the gallery cafe too.
November you will find us at the Bowerbird Design Market in Adelaide – a hand picked selection of independent Australian designers. With over 160 stalls, it’s the perfect place to seek, explore, find and collect unique high quality wares. Held over three days from the 24th to 26th at the Adelaide Showground Fri 4 – 9pm Sat + Sun 10 – 5pm
Hope to see you at one of these events – we love getting to meet and chat!
Petal & Pins 