Hunting for George

I have decided that it is time to makeover my bedroom. It is waaaaaay overdue for a change and I’m having so much fun picking out homewares! I’ve stumbled across Hunting for George who are a local label and create some amazing bed linen ranges of their own as well as being a stockist for some other amazing labels such as Kip & Co.

I have created the looks I’m thinking about below.

I am seriously obsessed with the bright ‘Islander’ quilt (in chat reuse with white triangles) along with the sheet set in the reverse colour way. The other choice is a gorgeous grey linen cover from H&M Home paired with the bright islander sheets. The two blue options are the ‘Real living’ quilt on the left and the Kip & Co velvet on the right. Loving how plush the velvet looks!

Any ideas? Check out Hunting for George and their gorgeous ranges!

Knots and Knits

I met Megan who is behind this gorgeous little label last year at Maryanne Moodie’s Weaving classes up in Brisbane. She has completely cornered the market for these classy yet casual hand knitted bags and clutches in her signature quality rope and brass fittings. She makes every single one of them herself and also releases one off’s and numbered run’s for that ultra unique touch. The label seems to be catching on quite a bit up north, I saw a couple as I was wandering around at Christmas time up in Brissy- its high time we saw a bit more of Knots and Knits coming down Melbourne way! If you want something a bit different, great quality and a perfect summer bag- this is it.

Follow Knots and Knits on Instagram (knotsandknits)to be the first in the know of limited releases, one off releases and new season sneak peeks! I mean the red version limited release around Valentines day was seriously amazing!

Visit and shop Knots and Knits here

The news is….

Ok ok, so I know its now Feb and there has not been a post. Thats what you call all of a sudden having 4 random jobs and an ever recovering chronic fatigue syndromer! I swear if you want a job (or two or three) in fashion, just get a degree in Health! Everyone I went to uni with is in fashion (and something bigger than just in store!), only one of my uni friends is working in Public Health!

The big news of what I have been working on is an online store. I want to bring the best in small business to you. Starting off quite refined and then widening the scope, kids (my all time favourite to shop for) will be the initial venture and then the natural progression into women’s and homewares will ensue. I have BIG ideas so I hope you will follow along for the ride! It is all under a different name (SECRET! For now…) but the adventures will still continue on here, the blog will very much tie in!

What were your big finds over the summer? A lot of places shut up shop in the city but that means some of the holiday shopping and cafe spots get discovered! Share!

Rose St Trading Co

Last post for the year! Such a busy time of year, but if you’re still after a last minute gift then here is the store for you. I’d recommend going in rather than online, there is so much more in store!

Rose St Trading Co.
This gorgeous store has recently moved into Hawthorn. I watched as they moved in and set up just down the road from my work and it is just the kind of store at Glenferrie Road needed. A stunning store full of home wares, women’s accessories, jewellery, art- you get the idea. If you can’t find the perfect gift in here (for a female anyway) then I’m out of ideas! The cushions and lamps are seriously amazing and probably my favourite pieces in the store. You really could be there for a while looking through everything! And if you really love their style then Rose St offer interior design services. Wishing I could have a little bit of everything!

I haven’t been to the Armadale store but I am more than sure it is just as beautiful. You can also Rose St Trading Co stores in Albert Park and in Sydney. Find all the addresses you need to find Rose St Trading Co here

Rose St Trading Co website here and Facebook here (all pics below are from their Facebook page)

Why not have a wander down Glenferrie Road- especially in mid January the street is very quiet because everyone is away but all the stores should be open again after the Christmas break. There are some great shops including some other favourites of mine that are worth checking out- Mozi for well priced home wares and Hoss for luxe fashion and shoes.  And although I am not working there anymore as of very recently, I still say the kids store Petit et Grand is to die for, even if you don’t have kids just go and check out the gorgeous kids fashion!

I am looking forward to bringing you some exciting news in January (with my web luck- probably early Feb). Let me know any of your finds over summer!

           

Munster Kids and KaPow Kids

With a boom in the number of baby boys being born this year, it is about time to let you in on some different and funky options for boys other than cutesy baby blue with caterpillars. Both these labels are Australian, well priced and worth checking out their websites to get a better idea of their full range and styles. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Munster Kids
Munster have filled that awkward gap of dressing boys up to 14 years of age in fun clothing that they actually want to wear. Think whimsical, neater skater style, skinny jeans, simple cuts and fun prints. I love giving the Mini Munster as gifts because a lot of people aren’t aware that fun baby clothes exist for boys. The range seems to sell fairly quickly as people are catching on to this funky brand so it may be worth checking out where Munster is stocked. Keep up to date by following them on Instagram- search for munsterkids.

Along the similar lines if you have a girl who isn’t into pink or frills then Munster’s girls line ‘Missie Munster’ is perfect for her. Think harem pants, t-shirt dresses and tee’s with fun and bright prints. And with sizes (from 6 months) up to 14 years this label also helps combat that problem of finding age appropriate-yet still cool- clothing for the older girls.

Visit Munster Kids site here
Check out a small selection of Munster Kids below! Photos are sourced from their site.

KaPow Kids
KaPow is a fairly new label, made in Melbourne by Andrea who sews everything herself and even hand stitches the prints on the onesies and tees! (hand stitches!!! I can’t get over that! ) I love the individuality of a small handmade label, and the colours and prints of KaPow Kids is so fun and bright- they would make the perfect funky baby shower gift! Clothing and gift ideas for boys and even the surprise baby (unisex) are done well, with plenty of colourful yet neutral tees and onesies  as well as bandana bibs in the funkiest fabrics. The designs are kept fun and colourful while still being simple which is perfect for little ones. A hot tip would be to get on the baby girl headband bandwagon before it takes off in Oz! KaPow do a great range of fabric headbands and I can tell you that there are similar styles sold in America that sell out in minutes so get ahead of that trend!

You can visit KaPow Kids online here and Facebook here . Keep an eye out for stockists and markets that may feature KaPow as this cool little label grows!! Check out a small selection of KaPow Kids below- of course more on their site! Photos all sourced from their site.

Spring Hill Peony Farm

So much to write about when its hitting the warmer months cause there is so much more happening!!! I’m blogging from the airport- such a weird experience! Everyone is so interested on what you are doing on your laptop, I’ve caught more than one glance of someone looking over my shoulder!

Spring Hill Peony Farm
Yes this is a whole post on one flower. If you know me at all, you would know I am mildly obsessed with the beautiful peony. The problem many years ago was this stunning flower was at least $50 a bunch which I can not justify for a ‘I just love flowers so much I will buy a bunch every fortnight’. I came across the peony farm when they provided flowers for a magazine shoot and it was in the small print so because they were a working farm I rang them up and found out that I could go and pick my own!

Just over an hour out of Melbourne and roughly 15 minutes out of Kyenton is Spring Hill. It is a beautiful part of the country and heading to the peony farm leads you down small roads that you would not have usually taken!

The farm holds open days where you can come and pick your own or buy ready picked bunches. This Saturday, 25th November through to the 30th November the farm is open for you to come and pick your own flowers. From memory it is about $15-20 for a decent bunch and you can take your pick of whites, soft pinks and fuchsia varieties (uyou can tell by my pics below that I favour the fuchsia!) Bring your own secreters or borrow theirs. I like to go towards the end of the day after I have spent the day exploring the area. This year the open days on the 24th and 25th are more than about just the flowers with food and wine stalls and the opportunity to picnic among the peonies. The farm now includes the ‘Little Church’ which is a gorgeous restored church and site for events and I believe now the entry point for flower picking.

I usually go up a couple of times a season- the season is so short (about 6 weeks) that we have to make the most of it! What I have learnt is if you can’t make it up during the week then aim to pick your flowers towards the very end of their opening hours. Less people. Probably less flowers too as they will have been picked over but there is plenty so this is not a problem. Last year a carful of us had a girls day out and ended up at the farm right on closing on their very last day of the season, we literally filled the car boot and they didn’t charge us!! Needless to say we are all going back again next weekend because we are all addicted to these beautiful flowers and a fun day out!

If you can’t make the trip up to the farm, you can find Spring Hill peonies at farmers markets around Melbourne! Check out their site and Facebook page for locations.

Spring Hill Peony Farm site here
Facebook page here

And now some photos of the wondrous things! ( If I go during the week I take my dog Lucy with me, hence the dog wandering the photos!)

Night Noodle Market

Coming into summer, there are SO many events in Melbourne, I think I’ll be doubling up for the next few weeks with events that are totally worth checking out!

Night Noodle Market- Melbourne
So the Night Noodle Market shave already been running in Sydney for years. Now it is our turn! From November 18-30th, every night there are Asian street style market stalls set up for dinner including stalls from some of the best Asian restaurants in the city. Food from a range of Asian countries will be represented, you may have to make multiple dinner trips in! Newcomer to Melbourne is Gelato Messina, who make the most amazing flavours of gelato I have ever seen and tasted. (About to open a store in Fitzroy! Maybe I should have written an entire blog entry just on them! I love gelato!!)

Some of the restaurants that will have stalls at the market include Chin Chin, Paperboy Kitchen, Hoy Pinoy and Dumpling Plus. These names don’t mean much to you? Check out the full menu here as part of the Melbourne Good Food Guide. Everyone in the comments here are whinging about the prices compared to ‘street food’ in Asia which is super cheap. When you are getting together some of the best chefs and restaurants in the city I am not expecting to pay $2 for my dinner, but I think they are also missing the point of this being a bit of fun, something different. I love a bit of chaos and atmosphere! Heres hoping the weather improves so we can enjoy it fully!

Night Noodle Markets are being held in the Alexandra Gardens from the 18-30th November times vary but from around 5-9 each night with some nights starting earlier, some open later. Check out the Good Food Guide or Broadsheet Melbourne for exact times.

(photo from Broadsheet Melbourne)

Kuku Design

So I have no idea how I stumbled across this label, there is no website or facebook page- it is all through Instagram! Based out of Melbourne, Kuku Design make wooden pendent lamp shades in an amazing floral type shape. Hard to describe, but there are pictures below. These would look perfect in nursery or kids room with the coloured pom pom trim or minus the pom poms these would look great as a feature light in a lounge or above/on a desk! They are amazingly unique and if you follow the instagram newsfeed you will see that they were experimenting with copper leaf which is exciting- anything with copper leaf is amazing! I’m excited to see where this label grows and goes!

Find and follow Kuku Design on instagram under kukudesign
Contact- info.kukudesign@gmail.com
(All photos are from Kuku Design Instagram)

Lily and the Weasel

Finally, another store you can go and visit! There have been requests for more bricks-and-mortar stores in and around Melbourne to visit! Here you go-

Lily and the Weasel
Visited this little gem recently, it is the shining light amongst the somewhat questionable Swan Street. The perfect store for gifts, I adore their range of ceramics unique kids items. I was after a Kim Wallace Ceramics platter for a gift, I kind of wanted to avoid the postage charge from ordering online (don’t we all- it all adds up!) so hunted down where they were stocked in Melbourne. Surprise surprise I did not leave with the platter as intended but some other beautiful mugs and some serving dishes. My absolute favourites are the crisp white dishes with little sparrow sitting on the side and bright glaze on the inside of the bowl. Simply stunning. There are many great Australian brands in the store including Emily Green‘s necklaces, Angus and Celeste ceramics, Weasel soft toys and Victoria Mason jewellery just to name a few. There is also quite a homage to the area with skipping girl bookends and items vintage printed with the Richmond postcode. Very Melbourne.

A mix of pictures from the Lily and the Weasel website show some of their amazing products, it is definitely worth a visit!

Lily and the Weasel- 173 Swan Street, Richmond

New branding and back into posts next week!

Welcome to the beginning of the new site! Ok so it is just the branding done for now but over the next while I hope to bring many exciting new things! I’d love your feedback on the new branding- I certainly never knew so much thought and consideration was put into graphic design! Luckily I had a friend working on it for me and when she explained the thought behind the concept is great! The font is like a cut gem- because this blog is about finding and sharing ‘gems’! Let me know what you think!

Quickly just another small post on somewhere worth visiting this weekend-

Earlier in the year I wrote about The Super Cool (check it out here) and if you have checked them out since then you would know that they have pretty unique props and visual merchandising (not to mention the awesome stock they sell!). This weekend The SuperCool are having a garage sale out of their South Melbourne Market stall and selling not only old stock but old visual merch props! This means vintage crates, rocking horse, ladders and suitcases amongst other vintage inspired items! It will be so worth checking out to grab some unique items! 

Find this sale at The SuperCool- South Melbourne Market October 12 &13th, 8am-4pm!