Petal & Pins

Category: Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe

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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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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November 2, 2017

A Beautiful Mess

The big voluptuous blooms from the tree peony  started to slump in the cut glass vase and as the petals started to dry the colours intensified.

I left the vase sitting on the cocktail cabinet and every day  more petals gathered around the base of the vase looking like a decadently dishevelled ball gown discarded by my garden fairy.

When it became more mess than beautiful I scooped up the petals to design with – their texture like silk paper taffetta and each one uniquely shaped and coloured I almost got lost in admiring their detail.

There is beauty in decay.

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October 13, 2017

For Every Season

greeting card designed by Tasmanian botanical artist Sandra Alcorn

While I may be enjoying Spring, you may be somewhere watching the leaves turn and fall.

I gathered leaves earlier this year in my Autumn to design some dresses for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe® and this design has just been released as a card and limited edition print.

In this picture it’s surrounded by some of my vintage pieces including a very special bag.

It arrived one day in the post with a lovely note from a friend, the bag belonged to her mum and made her think of me and so wanted me to have it.

“…You bring me fond memories of my mum when you talk about her. I don’t mean for it to be a bag you would carry – it just feels as if it would be more at home with you!”

Now I’ve always been attracted to vintage bags, from ones in my childhood dress up box to the op shop and flea market finds I collected as a fashion design student so it was easy to see why she thought of me!

I was delighted with both the bag and the sentiment from a friend I see all too rarely  (we live in different parts of the country) and this lovely gesture shows we will always be kindred spirits. I will use the bag – in fact I already have, I’ve also been leaving it sitting on my grandmothers dressing table that we use for a hall stand so I can glance at it every day.

You can see all my card and art print designs here.

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September 7, 2017

Out & About This Spring

spring 2017 tableau greenery dress and perle d'or

©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!

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August 23, 2017

The Seed Of An Idea

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Hello! this is me in our Life Instyle trade fair stand at the beginning of August.

In a few weeks it will be five years since I began this blog – I would never have thought then that I would be showing my designs at a trade fair (or sharing a photo of myself!)

Some people start a blog with a pronouncement of what it will – or won’t – be.  I didn’t really have a plan but I knew it was about taking the seed of an idea that was playing in my head and letting it take shape and grow.

Of course writing this blog has done that and  more – loosely around the themes of my garden and design work with a bit of life, loss, friendship, and travel thrown in. 

And now here we are. I’ve spent the last two weeks sleeving cards and packing orders to send to stockists and Mr petal & pins has made multiple trips to the post office and is updating the online shop with our new collections (all while juggling the start of a new job!)

So thank you for following along, I’ll continue to write and share snippets from my garden and studio here but I also invite you to subscribe to our petal & pins newsletter to be the first to hear about new releases, design markets where we can meet up and special VIP offers (Subscribe now and receive 15% off your first order!)

petal & pins stationery and art prints

‘Our stylishly playful stationery and art prints are designed with flowers and foliage from our Tasmanian garden.

Sandra draws on her background as a fashion designer to create ephemeral artworks that she photographs for the petal & pins collection including our signature range the Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe®.

Established in 2012, our studio looks out onto the rambling garden that inspires our designs and a ‘live in the moment, find joy in the things around us ethos.

petal & pins stationery and art prints are imaginative, unique and always enchanting.

We invite you to share our story…’

Sandra & Simon X

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July 26, 2017

Winter’s Pink

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When winter is at its greyest the bergenias add a much needed spash of colour in my garden and the rusty coloured stems make a striking contrast to the dusty pink petals.

Massed in a bed on a gentle slope in the middle of the garden, come spring the odd jonquil will poke its way up. Most things have been flowering late this winter – I only noticed the first of my violets today and not many at that but I can always depend on the bergenias to show up as a pretty visual antidote to the cold and grey.

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July 5, 2017

Starry Nights & Fairy Lights

petal & pins winter blues

This Friday we’re heading to Launceston for the Starry Starry Night Niche Market. The beautiful Albert Hall will be transformed to a winter wonderland of fairy lights and local designer + makers will show their wares.

For those of you not in Tasmania I’ll be sharing some pictures from Starry Starry Night during the event on instagram and facebook I invite you to follow along to see the magic conjured up in the wonderful 1890’s building  and take advantage of shopping from the petal & pins online store with *FREE worldwide shipping all weekend (starting from today!) by entering the code  STARRYNIGHT at the checkout.

*offer ends midnight AEST Sunday 9th July 2017

PETAL & PINS ONLINE SHOP

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June 20, 2017

Pink Skies & Shrimp Tails

winter sky

Winter skies are always beautiful in Hobart around dusk with pink hued clouds alluminated by the setting sun.

The aptly named flowering Shrimp Tail Salvia echos the colours of the evening sky and the leaves turn to patches of burgundy and green like an exotic camouflage print, perfect for the Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.™

I once mistakenly picked this flower for a floral arrangement,  the strong scent becomes more intense inside and is not at all pleasant – definitely a flower to simply admire in the garden.

botanical couture by petal & pins

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May 29, 2017

Moments In May

Another month is drawing to a close – where did the time go! Here are a few moments in May to give you an idea of what I’ve been up to.

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It started with a trip to Adelaide for the Bowerbird Design Market, a fun three days to showcase all things petal & pins, chat with familar faces and new amongst the market goers, catch up with other designer makers and have a glass or two of South Australian wine…envelopes

when we got back we couldn’t put it off any longer – we needed more envelopes – that’s 5000 sitting on our doorstep…so I’ve been ‘sleeving’ cards… Autumn patterns

I started @thehobarthaberdasher on instagram to sell some of my sewing stash…fabrics, trimming, beautiful laces – if you’re a sewer or crafter take a look, I’m happy to post world wide!

petal & pins greeting card and quinces

and while I’ve been giving away bags of apples from our garden, someone gave me quinces from theirs. With a supply of homemade quince jelly from last year I decided to just use them decoratively – a large bowlful on the dining table and that lovely yellow was perfect for a photo prop with my banksia rose greeting card don’t you think?handmade postcards

I did a ‘Postcards Over the Edge’ Workshop with Tasmanian artist Lynne Fellowes at the Schoolhouse Gallery – a fun and creative way to spend a day with a couple of friends…

cherry tree in autumnand I’ve watched the cherry tree turn golden and loose it’s leaves…so in the garden I’ve been sweeping and raking.

What have been some of your Moments in May?

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