Win a bubble calendar!

This is shaping up to be a week of freebies! On Friday I told you how you can get 20% off everything at Mr Sparrow this Thursday, and today I'm going to tell you how you can win a Bubble Calendar! These are so much fun - you might remember I wrote about them here. Well, now I've joined forces with SixThousand to give one away! SixThousand is a weekly subcultural guide to Perth, with categories like Shop, Watch and Eat/Drink (and lots more). If you like to keep your finger on the Perth pulse, it's a definite must. There are also versions for Sydney (TwoThousand), Melbourne (ThreeThousand), Brisbane (FourThousand) and Adelaide (FiveThousand). You can check out the SixThousand website any time, but you'll have to subscribe to the newsletter for your chance to enter the competitions. The Bubble Calendar will be up for grabs in this week's newsletter, which comes out on Thursday, so make sure you sign up before then for your chance to win!

Good luck!

From me to you

I thought it was about time I gave something back to the lovely people who read this blog. It's easy to start thinking I'm talking to myself on here...until a friendly comment or an introduction at the shop will remind me that there are actually people out there reading it! So, this is for you!

To say thank you, I'm inviting you (and subscribers to Sparrowmail) to an exclusive 20% off everything at Mr Sparrow on Thursday 3rd December, between 9.30am and 9pm. This is your chance to pick up some super-special Christmas presents at an even more special price (or to get that little something for yourself you've had your eye on!).

All you have to do to get your discount is bring in a flower from your garden (thanks to Eko for the suggestion!)...or one you've borrowed from some other lovely person's garden if you don't have your own! I'll put the flowers together in a little vase at the store and you'll get 20% off! (If you're a Sparrowmail subscriber you can choose to bring in the email instead if you prefer.)

Also, to make sure you have time to get all your Christmas shopping done, Mr Sparrow is extending his trading hours. From 1st December, his doors will be open until 6pm every day (Mon-Sat) until Christmas and until 9pm on Thursdays. They will also be open on Sunday 20th December from 11am-5pm.

I hope this helps make your Christmas a little bit merrier...and I look forward to seeing you at the shop on Thursday!

Something special coming tomorrow...

Apologies for the briefness of this post, but it's been another somewhat frantic day here. Make sure you tune in tomorrow, though, because there might just be an early Christmas present coming your way...

See you then!

Steve's

Yesterday my dad returned from his odyssey (I don't think I've mentioned that here but if he gives me some photos I'll fill you in soon!) and in celebration we had dinner last night with him and mum at Steve's. My God that place is good! Not cheap, but downright delicious and only about 1 minute from my parents' place, so a pretty regular haunt for us. I also had breakfast there recently with mum and the breakfast menu was probably the best I've seen in Perth - I spent about an hour deliberating! Which reminds me, there is another little breakfast spot that I have to tell you about. I think we're going there again next weekend so I'll wait till then to share it with you!

Karin and Frankie

It's hard to believe because it's fit to bursting, but there is still new stock arriving at Mr Sparrow! Yesterday a beautiful range of ceramics by Karin Eriksson arrived from Sweden, and today the Frankie 2010 calendars dropped on my doorstep!

Karin's work is really beautiful - everything is handmade from porcelain or stoneware and is decorated with screenprinted enamel transfers. I love these little "caress" butterfly pebbles, but there is also a range of vases in different sizes, materials and designs, and some beautiful teacups.

The Frankie calendar features pretty pictures from handpicked artists including Louise Robinson, Shira Sela, Sarah Mcneil, Ashley G and Drew, Lilly Piri, Anke Weckmann, Emily Martin, Ghostpatrol, Mel Stringer, Paola Zakimi, Catherine Campbell and Marjorie Liucci. The Afternoon Tea cookbook and Photo Album sold out quickly so if you're after one of these you better be quick!

Christmas at Mr Sparrow

Last week the package of Christmas decorations I was waiting on turned up, so I was finally able to finish my Christmas display at Mr Sparrow! In the window I have this beautiful natural twig wreath from House Doctor (you can't see it that well in the photo of the window but that's it in the bottom photo - it's really very special, I think) and some 3D paper ornaments and a banner all from O-Check (these all come flat as cards, with space to write, and then unfold into ornaments). Hanging on the door I have my wreath from last year, which I just made from materials at Spotlight. On the main table is my wooden Christmas tree, which Eko, James and I made together last year, decked out with decorations from Have You Met Miss Jones, Greengate, House Doctor, Prismera and Laikonik. I also have a little wooden tray filled with wrapping essentials - cards from me and amber and Mokoh, gift tags from Poppies for Grace, a range of different belli bands (strips that wrap around the middle of your gift), and some beautiful vintage Christmas postcards from Italy. Come in and have a look!

Christmas inspiration

I have had the craziest day ever at Mr Sparrow! There must be something in the air today because it seems like everybody just decided to do their Christmas shopping! Not that I'm complaining - the more the merrier - but I'm now somewhat exhausted! But in my very brief downtime today, I did come across this lovely post by Pia Jane Bijkerk, with some really lovely gift shopping tips. It's from last year, but Pia has promised to do another "holiday decorating ideas and gifts bonanza" soon, so I'm looking forward to that one. If you aren't already familiar with Pia's blog, make sure you check it out - I guarantee it will make a lovely addition to your day!

Image courtesy of Pia Jane Bijkerk.

Peonies

Without a doubt, my favourite flower...and, wonderfully, in season at the moment! Yes, they are ridiculously expensive, and no, they are nothing like as extraordinary as the ones you can get in Europe (which, incidentally, are about 1/4 of the price), but I still had to buy some! I'm thinking about trying to grow some at some stage soon but I don't really know where to start...?

Eko and Rick's wedding...ceremony details

I've been a bit slow with the wedding photos, I realise, but there are still a few that I'd like to share. These are from the ceremony, which took place at Eko's parent's house in Denmark (about 400km south of Perth). It was such a beautiful, intimate location, and one full of meaning for Eko and Rick. Almost every detail involved in the wedding day was made by hand by one of the people there, which made it extra-special.

Here are the details...

• the ring - was designed by the happy couple and features a strip of tiny diamonds set in white gold, in a yellow gold band. Eko specifically designed it to go well with her engagement ring, which was from Marjorie Victor (and chosen by Rick).
• the ring pillow - was made by Eko and had their wedding motif hand-stitched into it - so cute! You'll see more of the motif in the reception photos...
• the champagne - was from WA Cleanskin Cellars, who also printed the custom label, which was designed by Eko. The photos on the label are of Eko and Rick as kids - again, more of that at the reception.
• the buttonholes - were made by Eko and Sophie (her brother's girlfriend), who turned out to be an absolute genius at such things. And also extremely organised - when on the morning of the wedding Eck and I had a bit of a freak-out as we realised that James and my dad had left for the ceremony without their buttonholes, Sophie revealed she had made some spares and had already fitted them out!
• the bouquets - were made by Eko and me the afternoon before the wedding, using mostly flowers from the property and its surrounds, with a few extras from our friend Hannah thrown in.
• the amazing cake - was made and decorated, all at the last minute, by Eko's mum and Sophie. Incredible but true!
• the poms - were made by Eko and I following Martha Stewart's instructions.

Photos of the reception to come!

What I did yesterday

This might not look that fantastic to anyone but me, but this is what I spent yesterday doing and I'm pretty excited about it. For the last 18 months we have had about 2/3 of our spare room, plus this area (top pic) in our study, taken up with boxes of extra stock for Mr Sparrow. Because my shop is so tiny, I can only keep a couple of everything on hand and the rest gets stored at home. At the moment Mr Sparrow is at maximum capacity in preparation for Christmas, so things were getting out of hand at home. Those hideous boxes haunted me and every time I wanted to get an extra something-or-other for the shop, I would have to trawl through piles of cardboard boxes to find it!

So, the solution - get rid of our old, unused computer desk to make some room in the study and put in some big floor-to-ceiling shelves. Ideally I would have liked to have shelves custom-built to fill up this whole wall, but we went for the much cheaper IKEA option. James put them together for me on Sunday and I spent yesterday filling them up, tetris-style. Somehow I managed to fit almost everything on - there's just one box leftover and once the Christmas boom is over I should be able to get rid of that. The study is so much better now and we have reclaimed our spare room! Hooray!

I thought I'd also share what is now my favourite corner of the study (second pic). A few months ago I got rid of some seriously horrible desk drawers I'd had since about 1987 and bought the ones you can see here from - you guessed it - IKEA. I really like the industrial look they have and being nice and small (but surprisingly deep) means I can categorise things into different drawers and keep it all nice and organised! Also, I'm very excited about the lamp - I'd been looking for a mid-century desk lamp for ages, after buying the drawers and deciding it would finish it off nicely, and couldn't find one anywhere (except online from the USA, which seemed crazy!). Then last time we went to Dwellingup, we stopped into my absolute favourite store and there was this one looking up at me! Just perfect.

TMOD scratchie cards

A few weeks ago I got an email that got me pretty excited - it was from Georgie and Milenka at TMOD, introducing me to their fantastic new scratchie cards. These are such a great idea! You can't tell too well from the pictures here, but each card comes coated in that silver scratchable stuff that you get on...well, scratchies, and when you scratch it off a message or a new image is revealed underneath! There's even a little heart-shaped metal charm included with each card, which you can use to scratch off the silver. These five designs have just arrived on Mr Sparrow's doorstep, including the super-sweet Christmas snow dome design, which will make such a nice, different Christmas card. The top image shows you the before and after of the Balloons and Butterflies card, but to see what the others look like before they're scratched you'll just have to come in to Mr Sparrow! (These are so new they're not even on TMOD's website yet!)

The nutcracker

Isn't he just beautiful? I just bought him from Elizabeth, a lady who drops in often and sells me some amazing old things. I get lots of little old ladies selling me bits and pieces, but Elizabeth's things are always incredible quality, and in immaculate condition. Also, she lived in Italy for a period in I think the 50s and has done a lot of traveling, so she has all these amazing postcards, books and toys from Europe. She bought this nutcracker in Nuremberg in Germany in the 70s. He's in absolutely pristine condition and still comes in his original beautiful box, although that's a little bit damaged (that's it next to him). My problem now is do I sell him or take him home? As you can imagine, this is a problem I face a lot but this is a particularly tough one for me - I really love this guy! And I love that he has a story behind him, too. He was obviously special to Elizabeth because she said goodbye to him and I've never seen her do that before! Hmm...maybe I'll just wait a little while before I put him out on the shelf!

Summer nights

Ok, today has been raining and humid and just weird but in general I've been loving the feeling of summer that's been lingering in the air of late. Perth is all about the summer to me and it's at this time of year when we start cranking up the barbie and hitting the beach in the evenings that, despite all its problems (daylight savings, anyone? Extended trading hours?) I really love this city. I mean, you have to admit, this sunset is amazing.

Eko and Rick's wedding

These are just a few of my favourite photos from Eko and Rick's beautiful wedding last weekend. More to come tomorrow!

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue

As promised, here are a few more photos from Eko and Rick's beautiful wedding - Eko's something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

The something old was a pair of beautiful earrings lent by Eko's brother's girlfriend, Sophie, and which belonged to her mum. The something new was the perfume Eko bought for the day, which was Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. This smells amazing (tuberose and gardenia - what a combination!), and I convinced Eko that it was worth buying a wedding perfume because the Chloé fragrance, which I bought for our wedding, really does remind me of my wedding day. The something borrowed was my signet ring, which is very special to me because it bears my family's crest and every member of my mum's family has one. The something blue was the Chinese symbol for Double Happiness, which Eko's mum lovingly stitched into her bra. I love that so much care went into these things, making them really special.

A happy customer!

I arrived at Mr Sparrow today to find this in my inbox! It's Poppy opening Louise's Mr Sparrow t-shirt package! Louise said Poppy kept looking for his present but soon decided he was happy with the packaging! Thanks, Louise and Poppy, for brightening my morning :)

Delivery for Mr Sparrow!

I'm so sorry to have disappeared on you for a few days - it's just been so crazy in the Sparrow's nest this week, and this is why! A whole lot of exciting new stock has arrived, so I've been busily getting that onto the shelves...plus setting up for Christmas! My Christmas display isn't quite finished yet because I'm waiting on a few special pieces, but I'll share some photos of that next week. In the mean time, these are some of the shiny new things sitting proudly on Mr Sparrow's shelves. Probably the range I'm most excited about is the beautiful stationery from Korean designers O-Check Design Graphics (you might remember I mentioned them here and here). The top two photos are of their standard range and the third photo is of their Christmas range - so beautiful. I'm just really, really happy to be stocking these guys because I think they're such a good fit for Mr Sparrow. Coming in a close second in the excitement stakes are the ever-so-sweet invitations, desk sets , lolly bags and note pads of Victorian trio Poppies for Grace (photos 4, 5 and 6). The sorts of things they make are hard to come by these days and they feel very special. The last two photos are of a couple of exciting new products from Germany - wooden plates (to use as placemats, platters or decoration) from Remember, and Veneers (flying swallows cut from wooden veneer, which curves away from the wall, making them 3D) from Taschide. I'm expecting quite a few more deliveries next week, so the madness isn't over yet, but I feel like I've got a bit more of a handle on it now!