A nomination!

Hello! I'm still poolside in Bali (it's tough, I know!) but I just had to pop in to share some exciting news! If you haven't already heard, Mr Sparrow has been nominated for a Thousands Award! The awards support small businesses and recognise local achievements. It is such an honour to be representing Perth in the SHOP category, and up against such exciting businesses in other states!

If you'd like to show your support for Mr Sparrow, please vote for my little shop on the awards website. You could also win yourself $1000...and you will definitely win my eternal gratitude!

Thank you for all your loyal support that has got me here, and thank you so much, Six Thousand, for the nomination!

*Image from The Thousands Awards

Looks like: A beach house holiday

It feels like Easter is never going to arrive and when it does my dream location would be Dickebusch, a small fibro cottage that's been renovated by the Koskela design team. It's in Patonga, 80 minutes from Sydney. It looks great... just what an Australian beach holiday should be!

The festival of my birthday

Yes, folks, today is my birthday...and (deep breath) it's my 30th. The interesting (and sometimes hard) thing about birthdays is that they confront you with a point at which to stop and reflect on the year, or sometimes the many years, that have been. It's funny because probably almost a year ago I was talking to a friend about turning thirty this year and we both said we were feeling totally fine about it. Then both our lives kinda took a turn for the worse, and I don't know about her, but a whole lot of stuff happened that made me feel like maybe I wasn't ready for this thirty thing after all. There were points last year, and even this year, when I felt like my whole world had come crashing down. But then, eventually, things started looking up. I am essentially a very positive person - I can't help but always assume things are going to work out for the best, which I suppose is a good thing (although sometimes you get a shock when that doesn't happen!) - and now I'm here feeling really good again about the whole thirty thing. Everyone says your thirties are great and I'm inclined to think they might be right. Plus I've discovered that talking to older people really helps :) The older the better, in fact! A little old lady who visits me at the shop often just about keeled over when I told her I was turning thirty: "Thirty! But that's so young!" Thank you, that was just what I needed!

So, the "festival of my birthday"...well, that's what James has been calling this week, as he has given me a present each day as soon as I've woken up in the morning. Being a big one for extending out my birthday, I've been loving it! The presents have all been beautiful, too - I will have to share them soon! Eko has been doing a fantastic little countdown, too, where she gives me parcels with a certain number of items (lollies, fun paperclips, stamps, even bracelets) inside, matching the number of days until my birthday. So I'm certainly feeling very loved!

The festival is set to continue through the weekend, too! Tomorrow night James and I are hosting a "dessert dinner party" - five courses of dessert, and nothing but. It's been a dream of mine for years and we're making it come true - I can't wait! And then on Saturday I'm having a lovely champagne breakfast at mum's with family...and then in the evening we leave for Bali for a week! So you won't be seeing much of me for the next week, I'm afraid, but I will try to pop my head in, and will definitely share plenty of photos from the weekend's festivities!

In the mean time, have a lovely Friday and a completely fantastic weekend!

Emily Green

I have been loving Emily Green for a little while now and am so excited to announce that I'll soon be stocking her gorgeous jewellery at Mr Sparrow! Emily is originally from Perth (yay!) and now lives in Melbourne, where she designs and handmakes each of the pieces in her collection from her home studio. I love her use of colour and shape and pattern...and I also love, love, love her photography and styling. I just hope I can make these babies look this good when they're on Mr Sparrow's shelves!

*All images by Emily Green

Wooden spoons

 
It's come time for me to admit that I'm more than a little obsessed with wooden spoons. It started with a little hand-carved one I bought at the Fremantle Arts Centre a few years ago, which we use as our salt spoon, and recently it has developed into a little collection. I found some lovely little long-handled ones at this wonderful antique shop in New York, and picked up a cute little wooden spoon and bowl set from funkis while in Sydney. I dream of one day owning one of Herriott Grace's amazing hand-carved creations, and I am seriously excited about attia's collection arriving at Mr Sparrow soon (along with other beautiful wooden and ceramic designs). I even love the disposable bamboo spoons that are popping up around the place these days, and recently bought these from emerald + ella for the party I'm having this Friday night (I'll show you afterwards what I did with them!).

Ok, so maybe I have a problem...but you have to admit these are pretty special!

*Images from (from top): Herriott Grace, attia, funkis, Anthropologie, emerald + ella, me.

Pizza and pig

After talking up my weekend of eating, I had to show you some photos! Unfortunately I didn't get any of the actual pizza at Dwellingup on Saturday night, only these few shots of the table. James and I were too busy whipping out pizza after pizza during the night to document the event properly! But it was a great night and we made our best pizzas yet - delicious biancas, margheritas, cacciatore and vegetarian - and everyone seemed to enjoy them! It was such a lovely, still night, and there was that super-bright moon, and of course the magical setting of the bush. I think (I hope) it all combined to give mum a wonderful birthday. I know James and I definitely had a lot of fun!

And then last night...the pig! This was a birthday present for me from James's family, because my brother-in-law, Tucker (that's him with his pig in the photo!), has been talking about cooking us a pig-on-a-spit for a while. He has this amazing charcoal spit-roaster and, as a Cypriot, is well-versed in cooking on coal. So he stuffed and basted this huge pig, and Lisa made some yummy salads and potatoes, and it was all completely delicious! I ate far too much and sat around moaning the rest of the night, but it was worth it for such an incredible meal! Tucker also made an amazing fruit, yoghurt and maple syrup dessert, with the fruit cooked in liquer over the coals...yum!

Believe it or not, I still have three more events planned for my birthday this week! Yep, I like to make the most of these things :) But don't worry, I plan to document them well, so prepare to take part vicariously...and bring your appetite!

Looks like: Kate Spade

I've only just recently discovered how great Kate Spade is. I love the styling in the campaign for her latest dinnerware collection Fair Harbor Bayberry Collection, and the super cute Essex Small Scout Bag. Check out her online shop. I particularly love the color of the month page, which this month is Mr Sparrow yellow!

Happy Friday!...and Perth, I Love You

Happy Friday! These are some cute cosmos we have growing out the back at the moment.

I also had to share this photo I took at the shop yesterday. I just suddenly noticed the late afternoon sunlight falling on these "bags of light" and thought it was too perfect not to capture!

And I've been meaning for ages to tell you about Perth, I love you. It's a great little blog started by my friend Bonnie, celebrating all things Perth. It's still relatively new, but expect to see it bulging with reviews of cafes, shops, restaurants and public places soon! I recently contributed a review of the lovely Hobart Deli, which you can read here. Bonnie is also inviting Perth-lovers to tag Perth with love, which I think is a fantastic idea!

I have a spring in my step today because I got some exciting shop-related news this morning (which isn't 100% confirmed yet so, sorry, I will have to wait to share it with you!)...and I'm preparing for a weekend of deliciousness! It's my mum's birthday tomorrow, so James and I are heading down to Dwellingup to cook a pizza feast for her and her friends (well, James will be cooking the pizzas, but I'll be assisting!)...and on Sunday my brother-in-law is spit-roasting a whole delicious pig (ooh, sorry if you're a vegetarian!) as a pre-birthday treat for me. Yum!

I hope you have an equally delicious weekend planned!

thisweekimade

Sophie Morris is an amazing artist, general creative type and all-round lovely person currently living in Amsterdam, and her new blog, thisweekimade, is my latest obsession. On it Sophie documents her latest artworks, experimentations, outings, culinary delights, and well...whatever else she makes that week! Take a look and I guarantee you will find yourself going back every week so see what Sophie has made...

PS Sophie is also the other half of this super talented dude...

*All photos from thisweekimade

Designer interview: Up in the Air Somewhere

As I mentioned last week, I'm going to be bringing you a new interview each month with one of the talented designers whose work is stocked at Mr Sparrow. This interview will also appear the Sparrowmail newsletter (out tomorrow - remember to sign up on the website for your 20% off code if you haven't already).

I'm really excited to be launching this new series with one of my absolute favourite designers, Susan Dwyer of Up in the Air Somewhere. The Chicago-based artist and designer creates breathtakingly beautiful ceramic and paper-maché vessels, some of which are currently featured in the April edition of Australian Home Beautiful magazine.

Here's what Susan had to say...

>How did Up in the Air Somewhere come about?

About three years after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago I started to get interested in creating a body of work that was based on the industrial structures I was drawn to in the city (water towers, silos, etc). To me these are really beautiful and monumental minimal sculptures. I had't studied ceramics in school, but clay seemed like the perfect medium to create the types of pieces I had in mind. So I took a class at a local ceramics studio and immediately began working on the first pieces for Up in the Air Somewhere: the water towers. I began working with paper maché a little bit later because I wanted a process where I had more control from start to finish (firing ceramics never has a guaranteed outcome). 

>Where do you create your pieces?

I work out of my ceramics studio, my apartment, and what I call my "dry" studio. I make the ceramics in the ceramics studio, I pack and ship from home, and I make the paper maché and do everything that doesn't involve clay in my dry studio which I share with my good friend who is a jewelry designer. All three spaces are within a 1 mile radius, so I do a lot of walking between studios.

 
 >What inspires you?

I really love things that are created strictly for utilitarian purposes, where there wasn't any real consideration of the aesthetics. These are often broken down to their most basic components and end up being unintentionally very interesting. Things like painted over graffiti or garbage shoots coming out of building windows during construction are very inspiring to me. A lot of my work is also inspired by the materials I use. The way paper bends, clay slumps, or rubber drips has a real influence on new ideas.

>What is your favourite material to work with?

I like materials where I have a direct physical connection. Clay and paper maché are both very hands on and I love working with both. I also like exploring new ways to use old materials. 

>What's next for Up in the Air Somewhere?

Right now I'm obsessing over baskets and plan on experimenting with basketry. I'm also planning my wedding which is in 6 months!

 
Thank you so much, Susan!

You can find Susan's gold paper bowls, tiny gold lip dish and spoon & well at Mr Sparrow now and in the online store.

New from Laikonik

Laikonik's beautiful Once-a-Year Books and Photograms are now available in a range of fantastic new colours! These have just arrived at Mr Sparrow and are looking so pretty with all the colours lined up on the shelf. As well as the original White Bird and Red Horse Once-a-Year Book designs, there is now also a Blue Horse, a Pink Bird and a Green Bird. The colours are really vibrant and complement Kasia's Polish folk art designs perfectly. The popular Photograms also now come in five great colours...plus there are some beautiful new card designs! Once-a-Year Books and Photograms are now in the store and online (cards in-store only). Ah, so pretty...

I also wanted to say thanks for all your lovely comments on yesterday's post. Your support means so much to me!

*All images from Laikonik

Thank you, Harper's Bazaar!

Wow, I have just discovered that Mr Sparrow has been included in Harper's Bazaar's 2011 Ultimate International Shopping Guide, alongside Prada, Gucci, Burberry and the like! This is such an honour and has comes as a complete surprise - I knew nothing about it until a customer mentioned it to me. The guide is published as a separate little book that comes free with the April edition of Harper's Bazaar magazine (out now). It lists all the top spots in fashion, beauty, food and hotels in the "five great fashion cities of the world" - Hong Kong, London, Milan, New York and Paris - as well as their picks at home (Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney). To be in such great company and in a category (fashion) where I don't even properly qualify is such a thrill!

(And I will even forgive the misspelling of my surname :)).

Thank you, Harper's Bazaar!

***
You can read what they wrote about Mr Sparrow below...

"This cute homewares and gift store doesn't stock fashion per se, but founder Anna Macoby (sic) does have some wonderfully unique jewellery pieces and accessories as well as a fabulously diverse mix of vintage and contemporary treasures. If you are looking for something different for home, wardrobe, garden or as a gift, this is the place. Just lovely."

Looks like: Botanical

I'd like to sit down to dinner at this table sometime. This is the newly renovated Botanical restaurant, wine store and bar in the Botanical Gardens. Those tiles.... that wall....

Happy Friday!...and garage sale!

Happy Friday! This week there is some sweet-smelling orange jasmine in the little bottle, making our whole bedroom smell like summer.

If you haven't got any plans for your Sunday morning, I'd like to make a suggestion...my family is holding a garage sale at my grandmother's house in South Perth, and I'd love you to drop by!

Mini was a collector to beat all collectors (I'm quite sure I got that gene from her!) and when she left she left a house full of treasures. Many special things were left to children and grandchildren, and all the family has looked through and taken home things that are special to them. I have inherited some beautiful old concrete pots for the garden, as well as two lovely chairs and several other small bits and pieces. But of course we all have limits on what we can fit into our homes and our lives, so we decided to hold a garage sale to find homes for everything that is left. There's lots of kitchenware, bric a brac, ornaments, glassware, picture frames, jewellery, CDs and records, books, and electrical goods, as well as quite a few pieces of furniture. The woman had impeccable taste and many items are genuine antiques or collectibles.

Please drop by if you're on the hunt for a bargain! The address is 17 Riverview Street, South Perth. We'll be there from about 7am - 11am (or maybe later). Hope to see you there!

New from Telegram

Four huge boxes of exciting new products from those brilliant stationers Telegram have just arrived on Mr Sparrow's doorstep! There are dozens of new products from O-Check, including a new limited edition collection called Around, which has a sweet Frenchy theme. My favourites are the spotty notebooks, the polaroid postcard sets and the cute Paris tote bag. There's also a beautiful new guestbook, photo albums, stamp sets, notebooks, badges and these amazing apothecary-style brown bottles...plus so much more! MT Tape has brought out some fantastically fun new designs, too, like argyle prints, stripes and mosaic tiles. And - this is probably the most exciting thing of all - there is also a brand new product from MT Tape, wrapping paper! It comes in a 5 metre roll and is made from the same beautiful washi paper as their tape, in two pretty patterns. The possibilities for this are endless - I can't wait to bring home a roll for myself and start playing around with it.

I'm still busily unpacking all the boxes but pop by the shop in the next day or two to check out the whole new collection - if you're a stationery nut like me, I guarantee your heart will skip a beat!

*All photos thanks to Telegram