Looking up

I'm back! These are just a few images from my fantastic four days in Sydney - I seem to be developing a habit of shooting up into the sky but there are some pretty things to be seen up there!

Mum and I had such a great - and totally packed - four days and I've come back brimming with new ideas for Mr Sparrow! I won't try and tell you everything now, but the first things that spring to mind when thinking back over my little trip are:

* beautiful camelia trees lining the streets
* spectacular old buildings
* tiny little shops tucked into suburban streetscapes
* completely unpretentious, affordable and delicious restaurants
* totally perfect weather!

We walked the streets of Surry Hills, Paddington, Woollahra, Darlinghurst and The Rocks, ate spectacular food, and of course brought home a few souvenirs :)

I'll tell you lots more in the days to come but for now, as wonderful as the little holiday was, it's good to be back!

Goodbye for now!

I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour - I'm off to Sydney for a few days of shopping, eating and drinking with my mum! I probably won't be able to post while I'm away so I'll be a bit quiet this week, but I'll be back by Friday and ready to share lots of exciting new things with you, I'm sure!

In the mean time, I hope you have a great week!

Update on the online store

Well, I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that the issue I was having with the photos for the online store has been resolved, and the result is these double photos, which I really like! I think they sort of make sense of everything and showcase the products well, so I'm really happy about that.

The bad news is that this issue, and some other issues to do with the photos, have meant that things have been held up somewhat...so unfortunately the launch date I was hoping for of May 1st is now off the cards. It won't be long after, though, and I am desperately hoping it will still be up and running by the time Home Beautiful hits the stands in June!

Anyway, for anyone hanging out to do their Sparrow shopping online, I promise it is very close and I will keep you posted as soon as I know more!

Little things

I'm really loving both of these at the moment - badges from Spanish designers rebaba and hair button bands from Queensland locals Kindling. Together with Monique Germon's hair slides they look so cute in little teacups on my shelves!

Rebaba's badges are all made by hand using unusual materials like cuts from plastic tablecloths, Barcelona metro maps and reflective vests. Kindling's hair button bands are made from small scraps of beautiful material that would otherwise go to waste (I had to take home one of the red and white ones for myself - isn't it such a pretty print?). 

Both of these are freshly arrived at Mr Sparrow!

Top photo from rebaba.

A Fairbridge wedding

 I'm lucky enough to have a cousin the same age, who also happens to be a seriously lovely girl! Unfortunately family circumstances and geography meant that we didn't get to spend much time together as kids, but still we've stayed close. Last weekend she married her high school sweetheart (as they say in the movies :)) in a beautiful ceremony conducted by my mum at the Fairbridge chapel.

Fairbridge is basically a little village near Pinjarra that was established in 1912 by Kingsley Fairbridge, a Rhodes Scholar from South Africa, as a farm school for child immigrants. These days it is used mostly by school groups (we had our year 11 camp there), and also runs a series of programs and services for young people.

A beautiful building (that's it in the second photo), the chapel is particularly fantastic in my opinion because it's not affiliated with any church and, according to my uncle, that was always the intention - that it be a spiritual place open to all Christians. This was of course why my mum (a civil celebrant) could conduct the ceremony, rather than a priest. Perhaps I'm biased, but the ceremony was beautiful and had me on the brink of tears most of the time!

The reception was held outdoors in the gardens, where we sipped delicious drinks, munched on tasty cocktail treats and danced under the stars. All in all, a perfect wedding, I would say!

Congratulations, Rachel and Dale, and best of luck for all the wonderful times ahead!

And another package...

This is the beautiful collection of presents I got from my sister for my birthday (plus a BRILLIANT Top Shop jacket!), which arrived in the post yesterday! Probably the only good thing about having a sister living on the other side of the world is getting packages in the post - that and the endless supply of Muji pens! I can never get enough of those. The little bird is a bookmark (cute!) and the pink tubes are beautiful hand and nail creams from Neal's Yard Remedies. I love the Sukie desk calendar, too - I really think I have to get Sukie into Mr Sparrow, although my stationery section is already getting out of control...

Thanks for the fantastic presents, Katie! :)

Unpacking...

There has been lots of new stock arriving in the last couple of days, so I've been busily unpacking boxes! The most exciting thing is this beautiful collection of Japanese masking tapes from MT Tape. They look almost good enough to eat! It just makes me want to wrap lots of presents in brown paper with this pretty tape. MT Tape have lots of other ideas for it, too, though - labelling jars (a good one!), fixing your glasses (cute!), bandaging your knees, striping your socks...basically it's good for just about anything and comes in such a great range of colours and designs.

Also just arrived is a whole pile of new bone china beauties from Have You Met Miss Jones - new milk bottles, tealight holders (including a cute owl design!), bottles with little perching birds...plus the very popular button dishes are back, along with a few other pieces that had sold out. There are some other exciting new things from Have You Met Miss Jones coming soon, too, like ceramic bird houses and keys - I can't wait!

A little update on the online store...there has been a bit of a hiccup with the photos (formatting issues) but it's on its way to being sorted so hopefully we are still on track for May 1st. I'll keep you posted when I know more!

I spy with my little eye...

Last night James and I went to the opening of I Spy With My Little Eye, an exhibition of new works by five local artists, held at the Burt Street Gallery in Cottesloe. We went with James's sister Lisa, who has recently moved back here from London (hooray!) and is friends with one of the artists.

The five artists involved in the exhibition are Sarah Keirle, Moira Court, Clare Stroud, Mikaela Castledine and Stephen Castledine, and they each created works based around the theme of "I Spy" - a game that asks you to look carefully around you, singling out objects from their everyday surroundings.

This group of five artists are very diverse in their medium and in their approach but their works all complemented each other really well. I particularly loved Sarah Keirle's pod series of vases and Moira Court's sweet felt clouds - in fact, I really wanted to take the clouds home (all the pieces are on sale at very reasonable prices) but am trying to be super-restrained at the moment!

I Spy is on at the Burt Street Gallery until Sunday 18th April.

Portavilion

I saw this on inhabitat a few days ago and had to share it with you. It's called Portavilion (or Rosy the Ballerina, as it's been nicknamed) and is by German art and architecture collective raumlaborberlin. A transparent membrane attaches to a van, which inflates it to create a temporary space. According to the architects, “this translucent bubble can squeeze under bridges, wrap around trees or nestle into corners, providing a nomadic, inside/outside space in which people can perform debate, eat or simply hang out.”

Raumlaborberlin have developed similar mobile "bubbles" before and toured them around the world as banquet halls, conference rooms, cinemas, concert halls, ballrooms, dormitories, boxing arenas and even steam baths! This giant inflatable pavilion will be in London this summer, hosting productions by the English National Ballet and the Tate Modern, among others.

"Rosy the Ballerina" will be set up in 15 parks and green spaces in London between May and September, and since I won't be able to get there myself I've told my sister (who lives in London) to make sure she goes along!

Top two photos are from inhabitat, bottom photo is from raumlaborberlin.

Kaikado

My friends Eko and Rick were given this beautiful tea canister recently by their friend Kayo in Japan. It is by a company called Kaikado, which was established way back in 1875 and still meticulously handcrafts each of their tea canisters, or "Chazutsu". I think the combination of functionality, beauty and quality craftsmanship make these so special...and isn't the packaging beautiful, too?

The care put into each product is what impresses me most. There are more than 130 steps involved in making each Chazutsu and the lid and body are perfectly designed to be completely airtight. If your Chazutsu becomes dented through use, Kaikado will repair it for you at any time throughout its long life - how often does someone promise that? And these canisters are designed with a long life in mind, with the various materials (brass, tin and copper) all changing gradually over the months and years as the metal naturally evolves. As they say on their website, "growing beauty through time is the principle fascination in Chazutsu", which I think is a lovely idea.

Luckily for people like me they have recently launched a new English website, so if you want to read more about Kaikado, including their fascinating history, check it out here.

I can see these being great for storing just about anything in the kitchen, and also jewellery, little mementos, seeds...so many possibilities! Now to see if I can get them at Mr Sparrow...

Top two photos are from Kaikado, remaining photos from Eko.

Bread.

As I mentioned earlier, James and I spent this weekend at Empire Retreat, which is near Dunsborough and Yallingup (about 2 1/2 - 3 hours south of Perth). The retreat itself was beautiful and we spent plenty of time just lounging around there, enjoying the spa and having an incredible hot stone massage (yes, please!). But one of the best things we did during our weekend away was visit Yallingup Woodfired Bread. The simplicity of this place was fantastic. First of all, we drove past the turn off twice before finding it, but were determined to get there because we had been meaning to visit ever since James read something about it ages ago...plus we had tasted the bread with our breakfast at Empire and it was delicious! When we eventually found the entry to the bakery, all it was was a huge rock with a sign reading "Bread" - fantastic. When we got further in we found the place deserted but an honour system in operation: a line of beautiful loaves, a tin of money and a sign saying "Please help yourself". Brilliant. We bought a loaf of the "Wave Pure Whitebread" and devoured it in nearby Yallingup with some cheese and salami. All the bread is made in a woodfired oven using locally-milled biodynamic flour and rainwater. The German baker bakes during the day instead of at night, because he prefers it that way (my kind of guy). I love this place, and not just because the bread was delicious!

If you're ever down Yallingup way, you should definitely drop in (it's on the corner of Biddles & McLachlan Rds), or alternatively pick up a loaf at one of a few spots around Perth (I'll post up a list later today).

***Here is that list, and a bit more info about the thinking behind this delicious bread:

Happy Monday!

It is a happy one for me because the Sparrow is back in action! I managed to get my computer fixed over the weekend and life is back to normal - phew! I hate being so damn dependent on a computer, but unfortunately that's just the way of it and I can't see a way around it.

Anyway, while my computer was in rehab I was doing some rejuvenating of my own at Empire Retreat (my birthday present from James), which was just lovely. I'll share some photos later in the day.

Right now I have a week's worth of sales to enter into the computer...I hope you're having a happy Monday, too!

PS This awesome Pantone mug was a birthday present from Eko - in the colour of the Sparrow! Thanks, Eck! :)

sweet treats

Frankie magazine has a new recipe book! It's called sweet treats and it's packed full of old-fashioned tasty treats like honeycomb, toffee apples, candy hearts and mint patty delights. Yum! I loved Frankie's afternoon tea recipe book (currently sold out at Mr Sparrow but more are coming very soon!), with its delicious recipes and beautiful design, and I'm sure this one will be just as pretty and tasty.

I am an absolute sweet tooth and love making sweet things far more than anything else. If I'm having people over to dinner, I'll decide on the dessert first and then start working on the other boring bits! My love of baking started from a young age, probably because my mum, although a magnificent cook, is not a baker at all and finds desserts daunting. So as a Mother's Day present (it's coming up - Sunday, May 9th!) this wouldn't work for me at all, but maybe I could buy myself a copy and then make mum something from it? Everybody wins that way! :)

It's not available to buy just yet but I've just placed my order so expect to see them on Mr Sparrow's shelves when it goes on sale on May 5th.

Photos thanks to Frankie.

PS Sadly my computer is still in freaky, useless spyware/virus mode but until I can get it fixed I'm using James's...

Damn spies

If I'm a bit quiet over the next few days it's because my computer has contracted spyware (my own stupid fault - WHY did I open that attachment?!) so has basically shut down on me. I'm using James's at the moment, but it doesn't have any of my programs or files on it...

So keeping shop is now back to the basics of a pen and paper! It's amazing that a business can go on without a computer at all - it's not comfortable and I'm not sure how it would work in the long term, but it is possible.

Anyway, bear with me and hopefully things will be back to normal soon!

Rottnest

I'm a little bit sad to be back from a lovely, relaxing Easter weekend at Rottnest. I've been there with my family almost every Easter since...well, probably since I was born, so it's a pretty special place for me. My favourite thing to do there is go wandering through the dunes,  especially at sunset. I did a few wanders this time, and found myself exploring some incredibly beautiful, untouched beaches, where the pebbles and the waves made delicate patterns in the sand...Rottnest isn't a beautiful place in any traditional sense - it's rugged and scrubby and certainly not luxurious in any way, but that's really why I love it. It's simple and natural and good for the soul. I hope I'll be back there again soon.