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!
It’s yet another rainy day in Hobart so since it’s not inviting to be in the garden picking flowers I thought I’d share some photos of making a dress with the hydrangeas from my autumn post gathered.
If you’ve been following the petal & pins blog for a while you may remember that back in February we were planning for our first trade fair, well now we’re busy preparing for our second – this time in Melbourne!
The theme for this one is Return To The Source and it was inspiring to hear futurist, curator, event designer Genty Marshall talk about the inspiration and motivation behind this seasons event theme at a workshop in June.
‘provenance – what is true – materials – tactility – essentialism – legacy – the idea of journey’ – all these things are important to us and what we do at petal & pins from the designs I create, the paper stock we choose and the decision to print locally in Tasmania.
Our garden not only inspires but also provides the materials for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe dresses, so the seasons, and like today the weather influence when and what I have to design with but that unpredictable and sometime elusive nature is part of the charm for me – it inspires me to try and ‘live in the moment’ more.
We’ve added some new dresses to The Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe card range and last week I went to see them start to roll off the press – I can’t wait to share them and some of the other creative ideas I’ve been working on!
If you’re a retailer who loves flowers, fashion and a bit of whimsy we’d love to show you through the petal & pins range – come and say hello – you’ll find us at F24 in First Instyle.
To know when the new designs will be available online and in stores subscribe to our newsletter here.
Last November, in anticipation of seeing the exhibition The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier:From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk, I created two Gaultier inspired designs for my Garden Fairy’s Wardrobe.
For fans of “the enfant terrible of French fashion” it will be no surprise that one of these was a corset.
For inspiration I chose the conical bra style he first showed in the early 1980s and which was famously worn by pop icon Madonna on her Blonde Ambition World Tour.
Here is my take on it for my garden fairy and some photos I took at the exhibition.
In the exhibition monograph, Jean Paul Gaultier thanks many including his teddy bear – which features in the exhibition wearing the cone bra he fashioned for it as a child!
“…thanks also to my teddy bear Nana who was my first model and without whom my whole career not to speak of the cone breasts, would not have been possible…”
In my post Good Things Come To Those That Wait I spoke of waiting for several years to see this exhibition. It was first shown in Montreal in 2011, then in Dallas, San Francisco, Madrid, Rotterdam, Stockholm, New York, London and finally Melbourne in 2014.
It was worth the wait – so much so that I went to see it twice on that weekend trip to Melbourne in November!
It’s the Melbourne Cup today.
A time to frock up – a time for a flutter.
There will be winners and losers in both but my Garden Fairy knows how to turn heads on race day.
Chanel store window Melbourne © Sandra Alcorn 2014
“To be irreplaceable you must be different” Coco Chanel
A recent trip to Melbourne was a bit longer than the usual weekend jaunt and it made for a more leisurely pace with time to catch up with friends and do some different things.
Mr Petal & Pins and I spent the weeks leading up to going excitedly plotting where we wanted to eat and shop, adding new places to our list of favourites.
Going to La Belle Miette for a box of macarons has started to be a bit of a tradition – one I’m quite happy to cultivate.
Choosing flavours, not to mention which box requires careful consideration!
My posts Macarons Memories & Momentoes and Spilt Wine show how I like to repurpose the boxes.
Taking advantage of the sunshine we took a stroll through Fitzroy Gardens and it brought back memories of a childhood visit when my family drove down to Melbourne and took the boat across to Tasmania.
The impetus for the whole trip was to see jazz singer Stacey Kent and her band in their first and only Australian concert so on the last evening we walked from our apartment across the river to the Melbourne Recital Hall.
It was a wonderful concert, delightful and very special to hear her sing live. It left a spring in my step (and her tunes in my head) for days and it’s now on my wish list to see them perform again sometime somewhere.
Before flying home the next day we hired a car and went to Heide Museum of Modern Art which I have been keen to get to for a while now.
A feature of this rockery is the experimental espalier across the facade of three Silver Princess trees Eucalyptus caesia. It is designed by Australian artist Fiona Hall and is the second artist’s garden commissioned by Heide.
It was raining so we didn’t spend a lot of time exploring the gardens but lingered in the gallery and had lunch in the cafe.
It was the perfect way to round out our mini vacation – food, friends, fashion, music and art.
I’ve already earmarked an upcoming exhibition for a return trip to Heide, hopefully on a day that lends itself to a picnic in the gardens.
And then there was the cocktails at New Gold Mountain… we might have to start a new tradition.
© Sandra Alcorn 2014
With Mr Petal & Pins I’ve just spent a few days in Melbourne. We returned home to decidedly cooler weather and even more spectacular Autumn colours in the garden.
It’s ten degrees and drizzling rain as I post this, definitely the time of year when coats and scarves come out of the wardrobe.
This season my Garden Fairy’s got a new coat – but I’m sure she’ll be wearing her other one too – she’s thrifty like that!
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
A few weeks ago I composed this still life with remnants of an embroidered silk, my grandmother’s teacup, apples & seed pods.
It captured all the Autumn russet tones in my garden and around the neighbourhood.
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
The maple tree by my front gate that I can see from my studio window.
© Sandra Alcorn 2013
A florists window display – taken on a weekend away in Melbourne.
Now most of the trees are bare and I spent Saturday raking piles of leaves to reveal the green tips of bulbs pushing through to catch the winter sun.
Petal & Pins 