SALE Time!

Oh lala! Shop here.: mrsparrow.com.au/shop

Christmas Gift Guide: For the Kids!

I had a lot of fun putting together these gift guides and picking some of my favourite products from the shop! I love that children's toys are always so bright and colourful. I hope this gives you some ideas whether it's for your niece, nephew, grandchild, your own child, or your bestie's kids!

1. Horn Owl Box - Decorate the nursery or kids room and organise at the same time with this sweet ceramic owl box. $46.

2. Penny the Duck - Soft toys are a child's best friend, and Penny the Duck is a super sweet choice. $35.

3. Wooden Rainbow - These little beauties come in a small or large depending on the child's age, and are perfect for creative play. Handmade in New Zealand. $26 for small or $38 for large.

4. Lovebirds Mobile - Hang this beautiful mobile in your baby's room. Made by hand, the soft birds hang from white painted twigs. $75.

5. Hole Drawing Book - What a genius idea! This drawing book has holes on every page, so kids can create something different from each one. $18.

6. Wooden Magnets - Suitable for older children to stick up their art work on the fridge. $28 per pack.

7. Dollshouse - This is a great alternative to the traditional dollshouse, allowing children to draw all over it. Made from cardboard in New Zealand. $35.

8. Lovi Birds - Sweet birds to decorate the room of an older child, and they come in a sheet which means you can easily post these. $22.

9. Party Hat Card! - I love these party hat cards, and they come in a range of designs too! $8.95.

Christmas Gift Guide: For the Guys!

Expect some pretty nice things today as I share some of my top picks for guys - gifts to suit your guy, dad, uncle, grandpa or that ever-so-cool-trendy-mate that you can never find anything for. If the weather is as wild and windy in your part of the world as it is in ours, then I think a nice cup of tea and a flick through the Gift Guide is in order!

 

1. iPad cover - Keep your iPad nice and cosy with one of these fancy felt iPad covers. We have iPhone and mobile phone covers too! $72.

2. Planter - All the way from Japan, this little planter is shaped like a mini concrete wall and is made from mortar using the same techniques used for building structures. Each piece is made by hand and designed to weather along with the natural environment. $145.

3. Dance of the Glasses - These dancing glasses are designed in Germany, and pivot around the base, giving a cool effect. A pretty nifty party trick we reckon. (In store at the end of the week!)

4. Leather Notebook - O-Check get it right every time with this refillable leather notebook. The leather will soften with use and as you finish scribbling all your thoughts in the notebook, no need to buy another - just fill it up with more papery goodness. $79.

5. Gardening Gloves - Don these gloves whilst out in the garden and avoid those nasty prickles! They come in a khaki or navy and are very comfy indeed. One size only. $26.

6. Polka Dot Pillowcase - These super nice pillowcases by Kip & Co feature a military colour with the odd orange polka dot. Sold as a set of 2 for $55.

7. Quilt Cover - If you fancy a quilt cover to freshen up your room then this military polka dot choice will do rather nicely. It comes in Queen or King, and other patterns and colours are available too! $189 for queen, $205 for king.

8. Sky Planter - Whoever thought of turning plants upside down deserves a gold star in my book. Bring some greenery into the living room - perhaps some herbs to use in your cooking? Mini $39, or try a triple planter pack complete with ceiling extensions and all the extras for $110.

9. Conceal Bookshelf - Surprise guests with a floating bookshelf! Just slide it into a book and secure it, and it's ready for stacking other books on top and displaying your inner library geek . $29.95 small or $39.95 large.

Christmas Gift Guide: For the Ladies!

As promised, we kick off the Christmas gift guides today with this rather pretty collection of things for your lady! Be it your gal, your sister, niece or aunty (or if you're like me and end up buying a few gifts for yourself) any of these picks will go down rather well... and yes, it means we have the Papillionaire bikes back in stock, as well as the Spot Fasset Vases!

 

1. Plant Pod - This beautiful ceramic planter is perfect for hanging indoors, as it comes with two parts allowing drainage without drips. Grow herbs in your kitchen or some pretty greenery in your living room. Perfect! $135.

2. Handmade Bead Necklace - You can't go wrong with a pretty handmade necklace by Emily Green of Melbourne. Plus there's lots of other colours available including bright neons and pastels. $45.

3. Spot Vases - Oh lala! I have a super crush on these vases and I keep one on my kitchen bench filled with pretty and bright flowers picked straight from the garden. Made in Melbourne from post-manufacture timber waste, each one is slightly different. $46 each.

4.  2013 Daily Journal - Frankie magazine always fills our hearts with goodness, and their daily journal is no exception! Filled with pretty colours, hand drawn details and sweet typography, you'll want to pen all of your dates into this one. $26.95.

5. Leif Body Double - I love Leif. They combine the most beautiful and simple packaging with the yummiest body products around. Inspired by Australian natives, the Body Double pack includes a Body Cleanser and Body Balm, and makes for a super nice gift. $39.95.

6. Nina Nightie - Lounge around in this pretty nightie all day long whilst flicking through your favourite mag. It has a cut out back and is made from lovely, soft organic cotton by ALAS of Sydney. $59.95.

7. Mini Stud Hoops - These pretty stud hoops come in a variety of metals, and are ever so nice. $55.

8. Velvet Cushion Covers - Oh my! If you have a velvet crush going on, then nab yourself a velvet cushion cover set by the fabulous Kip & Co. They come in a set of two and you can pick from Toucan Orange, Peach, Desert, or Ash Grey. $65 for set of 2.

9. Polka Dot Pillowcase Set - And if velvet is not your kinda thing, then resting your head on polka dots might be! Make it chartreuse or military, and you won't be in a rush to get out of bed in the morning. $55 for a set of 2 pillowcase covers.

10. Papillionaire Bicycle - Every girl wants to scoot down the street on a vintage style bike, with the breeze blowing in her hair (under her helmet of course!), whilst in a summery dress. Featuring a step through powder coated steel frame, 3-speed internal hub gears, cream tyres and sweet leather grips and saddle, we'll even pop a basket on the front for you! $750 including assembling of the bike so you can wheel it off home.

I hope you've enjoyed this ladies Christmas Guide round up! Pop back over the next few days for a few more including for mens, kids and your mum!

A quick hello!

Hello! I've been a little busy lately hence the poor blog has not gotten much love, but the good thing is that I've been making little Christmas gift guides for you guys to get some gift ideas! They'll be up on the blog next week. I was going to leave them til the week after but things are already starting to fly out the shop, so next week it is!

Until then, you should definitely check out Craft Victoria's really amazing gift guide - those guys seem to beat themselves at their own gig every year, plus I now REALLY want those cloud bowls...
AND you definitely have to get your mitts on the online Good Stuff Guide by Pip of Meet Me At Mikes. So much good stuff in there, and you'll see a little Mr Sparrow ad amongst the pages too!

These are just a few photos of the shop and life at the moment... (sorry for the short post!)

 Beautiful new summer sleepwear by ALAS - in store now!

 iphone snap of the prettiest meal I've ever eaten at Restaurant Amusé.

 Dave baked a cake! Go Dave!

 Claire baked too! And boy were these amazing!

 Nothing says summer quite like juicy sweet watermelon.

 *Chirp*

 Coffees from Spring Espresso (thank goodness for the coffee shop across the road, and the bakery next door!)

Pretty flowers from a beautiful friend (thanks Alana!).

xx

My first few days...

It's all been happening at Mr Sparrow this week, I feel like I've hardly had time to sit down. Which is good, of course! But I also feel like there is so much more to do - I guess that will never change!

Today I just wanted to share a few snaps that I've taken over the past few days. The funny thing about owning a shop now - something I have dreamed about for a very long time! - is that no one ever really tells you how satisfying the feeling of owning a small business is. Of course I'm not immune to the hard work that comes with it, certainly the last couple of weeks have been a challenge, but in a good way. Anyway enough chatting let's get snapping!

Kip & Co. are my new favourite designers!

Leif has some of the most divine packaging I've ever seen! And yes... the bath tub has well and truly gone!

 I'm new! Why not give me a try?

 Walking the dog at sunset.

 Having fun wrapping gifts in the shop!

Oh deer; My new shopkeeper skirt... psst it's by Obus.

 My thank you gift to Anna (amazing wrapping paper by none other than Mitchell & Dent of Studio Bomba).

Velvet cushions and polka dot pillowcases? Yes, it's true! (Though looks like I'll need to improve on my chalkboard writing skills...)

Pop in and say hi! Oh, and we have new opening hours too:

Jelena x

Hello!

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Hello Mr Sparrow folk! It’s lovely to meet you. I’ve just taken over from Anna as the new owner of Mr Sparrow, and wanted to drop by and say howdy. I’ll be hanging out here on the blog now, sharing lots of shop news, beautiful new arrivals as they come in, Perth tips, snaps from my adventures, and other bits and pieces. I hope that you’ll join me!

I know that many of you will be thinking that Mr Sparrow just won’t be the same without Anna – and it’s true, Anna has done an amazing job with the shop, I’m just as sad as you are to see her go. But I’m also really excited to have this amazing opportunity to be taking over a shop that I have shopped at and admired for the last four years.

When I first found out that Mr Sparrow was for sale, I was really disappointed. My first thoughts were “Anna’s not allowed to leave Perth! Mr Sparrow isn’t allowed to have a new owner! Perth isn’t allowed to potentially lose such an amazing retail space!” And so on I went.

A few weeks later when I mentioned to my husband that Mr Sparrow was for sale, he pointed out that maybe I should look into it a bit more.  And well… the rest is history! (I should add that he proceeded to point out just how many Mr Sparrow finds I’ve managed to collect around the house over the years…)

So I hope that you will stay and share this really exciting and fun journey with me as I point Mr Sparrow in a new direction. Though don’t worry, the changes won’t be too drastic (though, yes, we have said goodbye to the bathtub water feature…), but I promise lots of beautiful new pieces and some fun new in-store features that will make you fall in love with Mr Sparrow all over again.

Jelena x

Advent calendar workshop

Good news! We've just opened up 3 more places in the StudiOH! Advent Calendar workshop! 

Head over here to secure your place...

Neon dip-dyed goodness

I've been working on some neon dip-dyed crackers for an upcoming Christmas craft ideas story in The West Australian...what do you think?

Christmas trees!

StudiOH! are excited to announce the launch of our first product, a beautiful, sustainable Christmas tree! The trees were designed by Eko and myself and are made in Australia from durable lasercut pine plywood. We wanted a simple but striking design that could be manufactured with minimal environmental impact and stored flat to use year after year.

Two flat pieces slot together to form a sturdy tree that stands 1.2 metres tall. There are two different branch designs, Skinny and Chubby - Skinny has slimmer branches to allow ornaments to slip over, while Chubby has wider branches with holes for you to tie ornaments through. Both styles are $180 and are available from our StudiOH! online store now (with Australia-wide shipping offered). The trees will also be available for purchase from our pop-up workshop space at 246 William Street, Northbridge, during the workshops, and at the Illuminites Night Market at the Perth Cultural Centre on Friday 14th December.