A Bit Of A Rough Weekend
Some weekends just don't turn out as planned.

On Thursday...

...as Sharon was driving home, she found a little ginger ball of bones that turned out to be a kitten.


Boris, as he is now known, is all spine and ribs and sunburnt face, but not much else. He now lives in our bathroom and is being regularly stuffed silly with food and water and vitamins. His ears and nose, which are badly burnt, are covered in paw paw cream, as is his little neck, which has lost all of its fur.

On Friday...

... our car died. Totally and completely died. After an adventure with towing and many phone calls, we were told our engine needs to be replaced.

 Please note: Not our actual bus! Just a cute, relevant photo :-)

We're now using Sharon's giant school bus and keep getting inspired by the idea of a road trip!

On Saturday...

... a severe storm hit Melbourne. If you didn't see it in the news, here's a great update:


Normally I get very excited by storms. They mean lots of silliness and running around and squealing in the rain. Saturday's storm, however, flooded the Pepperberry & Co. studio. Bad drainage in the building meant that water rushed in at ground level, and the crazy, 10cm large, solid hail stones broke through the roof and flooded us from above. 

We lost quite a bit of stock, particularly paper; our office furniture got soaked; and we are yet to see if all of the machinery (computers, sewing machine, overlocker) that we rescued actually function. Our office kind of ending up looking like the shop they show in the video above.

We moved out of the studio on Sunday, and are currently working from home. Next weekend, we're moving the office into the spare room of our temporary rental property. And then, we'll try to regain some semblance of normality in our now very wet world. 

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4:18 PM | Category: , | 20 Pepperberrians Said...

My Very First Stockist!
Some things in life are so overwhelmingly exciting they just don't seem real.

A year ago, in March 2009, I dipped my nervous little toes into the big wide world after a bout of Chronic Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

I found the wonderful Stitches & Craft Show.

I learnt how to sew. 

From scratch!

I started a business.

I made stuff.

I sold stuff!


And I slowly got better.

And now, a year later, I have another mind-blowing achievement to celebrate... my very first stockist! 


A year ago, as I was sitting in my sewing classes and listening to the wisdom of some of craft's brightest stars, I never in my wildest dreams imagined that one day, something I made with my very own hands would be sitting on an actual shelf in an actual shop. 

But there they are, at the gorgeous Little Shop Of Handmade run by the even more gorgeous Bec. 

The Little Shop Of Handmade at 8 Woorayl St Carnegie

And I couldn't be more proud! Thank you to all of you who have supported me from day one. I couldn't have done it without you!

May all of your perseverance, blood, sweat, tears, laughter and hopes too turn into a dream come true...

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1:49 PM | Category: , , , , , | 13 Pepperberrians Said...

The Mum That Became an Eco Power Knitter
One of my very favourite quotes in the world goes:

'If you think you are too small to make a difference, you've never been in bed with a mosquito'.

It always reminds me that no matter how insignificant it may seem, every little positive action can create an inspiring chain of reaction... well, maybe with the exception of a mosquito bite, which simply creates annoyance and some naughty words!

Whilst the internet is full of wonderful projects that take the concept of turning small things into big ideas to create magic, one in particular caught my attention today- the wonderful idea that is ReKnit. 


The mother-and-son duo behind the concept take your old, uninspiring sweater, unravel it, then knit a beautiful piece of fashionable wear and post it back to you. Better yet, each month readers get to choose which pattern the team will work on next by voting. 


It's design, creativity, recycling, ingenuity, community participation and fun all in one idea- perfect. But with only 30 items knitted each month, you'd better get that op-shop jumper in to them fast!

Now it's your turn to inspire me! What creative ideas have rocked your socks recently?

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6:36 PM | Category: , , , | 4 Pepperberrians Said...

Sustainable Craftiness
For anyone who has not ever had the fortune of visiting or living in Melbourne, please allow me to share with you one piece of advice: the months of January through March are the time to come. Why, you ask? One word: festivals. 


If this beautiful city knows how to do one thing well, it's celebrate. From the Midsumma Festival and Chinese New Year, to the St.Kilda Festival and the Melbourne Fringe, us Melbournians will head out in droves to anything that screams 'art', 'craft', 'culture' and 'environment'. And that's why I love living here!

This weekend saw one of the highlights of our festival calendar come to town- the Sustainable Living Festival. This 3-day show, which raises awareness around the issue of sustainability in all its manifestations, is filled with practical workshops, interesting talks, great performances, gastronomical delights and some of the year's best shopping opportunities. And did I mention it's free?


As any proud urban hippy did, I too headed to revel in SLF over the weekend. Ok, I did more than revel; I moved in. In fact, I have spent the last three days doing nothing but soaking up the inspiring world of people who are changing the world for the better in a crazy and creative number of ways. Bliss!

One of the absolute highlights of this year's program was the gorgeous Slow Fashion Show.  Now, before you cringe at the very idea of the misogynistic, self-absorbed industry that is mainstream fashion, know this: the Slow Fashion Show was the exact opposite of just that!


The models were stunning, 'real' women and men; the event was open to all members of the public and was free; and best of all, every single item on the catwalk had a light environmental footprint. There were four key categories: Fairtrade, Sustainable New Materials (such as organic, unbleached and hemp items), Locally Handmade, and Second Hand/Vintage. I felt very proud that Pepperberry & Co. would fit into two of those four categories... if only we did fashion!

After delighting in the creativity and eco-goodness of the Show, I headed off to Re-Mixed Re-Worked Re-Fashioned, a workshop aimed at giving sexy new lives to sold favourite, op-shop gems or shocking Christmas gifts. There, I spent five hours doing some of my favourite things: laughing with fellow crafters, chopping up second-hand goodies and making a present of funky and stylish 3/4 pants for Sharon.



The highlight of the workshop, however, was discovering a true gem of the crafting landscape: Social Studio. The Studio is an inspiring concept that fuses the creativity and wisdom of Melbourne’s refugee community with recycled and excess materials from local industry to create original fashion garments.

In a nutshell, some of the most disadvantaged members of our community are welcomed into a space where they learn, create, craft, build long-lasting relationships and gain employment. It just makes my little former-Social-Worker's heart go all fuzzy! The Studio is located in Collingwood and runs these types of workshops every Saturday, and worldwide shoppers can also support this brilliant cause through their Etsy shop.

What did you all get up to on the weekend? Were you also spoilt with some crafty goodness?

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1:44 PM | Category: , , , | 3 Pepperberrians Said...

Custom Love
Receiving a request for a custom item can be many things: exciting, challenging, flattering, and fun. Unlike the production of regular stock, a custom order presents you with the opportunity to get back to your roots and... shock!... get creative. 

There's the mind-boggling, mathematically-loaded logic puzzle that is figuring out the pattern...


Then there's the trial-and-error process of making, fixing, remaking, fixing, remaking, wanting to cry, and then fixing it again...


And finally, there's that precious moment of putting it all together in the most beautiful fabric you own and being presented with the final piece...

 
A Pepperberry & Co. Luggage Tag

Which comes out beyond all of your expectations and makes you feel all warm and gooey inside. And is that, ladies and gentlemen, not exactly why we craft?

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8:58 AM | Category: , , , | 8 Pepperberrians Said...

Gasp!
Ok. So, I may or may not have not blogged for... please cringe with me... nearly two months. And I may or may not now be too petrified to return to the world of blogging. But, fortunately for me, I am surrounded by a group of beautiful Melbourne crafters who have promised me that writing a blog post after so long will be nowhere near as scary as it seems... so here I am! Peeking out from under my little hat of blogging laziness and hoping that at least some of you will still be peeking back. 


Seeing as this is my Official Return To Blogging, it seems quite essential that I update you on all the a-happenings over the past two months! With that in mind, please sit back and enjoy a very speedy, super-succinct Top Ten Things in Two Months:

1. WE SOLD THE HOUSE!
Wee-hee! You may remember that I posted about our beautiful renovation and impending house sale, and the brilliantly exciting news is that our house sold within one week of being on the market for $100k more than it was valued at! Needless to say, we were just a little bit over the moon. 

2. HURSTBRIDGE IS OURS, ALL OURS!
That's right! We've settled on our beautiful 20-acre lot in Hurstbridge and now our heads are buried in a crazy amount of information about water tanks, septic systems, fire safety, solar panels, wind power, insurance, planning permits, and a million other things we've never dealt with before. So exciting!


3. WE HAVE SOMEWHERE TO LIVE!
Not being homeless is always such a nice feeling, and luckily for us, friends of ours have just bought a new home and are renting their old one to us whilst we build on our land! There's room for all of our pets (6 at the moment!) and even for us. 


4. I SEWED THROUGH MY FINGER!
Ok, so I don't know if that deserves an exclamation mark, as it really wasn't that exciting. But it sure was painful! In a momentary lapse of concentration whilst sewing at the highest speed, the needle managed to go right through my finger, pick up the bobbin thread, and bring it back through. I then panicked and pulled away, which resulted in the needle ripping through the entire tip of my finger. EEEWWW!


That's not my actual finger (mainly because there was so much blood I couldn't take a photo!) but that's exactly what my finger felt like!

5. THE PEPPERBERRY & CO. TEAM HAS EXPANDED!
This has got to be one of the most exciting things to have happened since I started this journey- I now have people working with me! They are a wonderful team who deserve to be introduced properly in a blog post, though, so I'm just going to leave you with that tantalising bit of information and tell you more later!


6. WE GOT A Wii!
Ok, so it's totally unrelated to craft and my business, but WOW! How much fun are Wiis? I've already pulled my shoulder muscle playing tennis, peed myself with laughter doing obstacle courses, and felt proud to be 20 years old one day and 40 the next. Seriously addictive.


7. I CAUGHT UP ON MY FINANCES... ALMOST!
Yes, this is the most boring member of the list. Bur possibly also the most important! January was a crazy month that saw me open a Business Bank Account (all growed up now!), get an EFTPOS machine (endless excitement!), finally get an accountant and call the ATO (scary!), and get my income and expenditure into order. Phew! Good luck to everyone else out there trying to do the same...


8. WE SURVIVED THE CHRISTMAS MARKETS!
Christmas itself was a delightful pleasure, but the 17 markets we did in four weeks were a little less so! Of course, meeting all the lovely crafters and crafty lovers from around Melbourne was a highlight, but working every Saturday and Sunday, getting up at 6am, packing, unpacking, keeping on top of stock... well, that was that was not quite as much of a highlight. We survived, however, and had a blast along the way. Here's to many more Christmas periods of madness!


9. POSSUMS, LIZARDS, ECHIDNAS, & PREGNANT WALLABIES...
We've seen them all! Our little possums from way back when are all grown up and almost ready to be released. We rescued a very fat lizard who had been hit by a car and she gave birth to fifteen (FIFTEEN!) babies (ouch!). Whilst walking on our block a really fluffy bush moved and it turned out to be an echidna. And then a mummy wallaby with a little bub bounced past!So much cuteness all at once.


10. I MISSED Y'ALL!
I haven't read a single blog in two months, or emailed friends, or facebooked, or tweeted... and I miss you all! I miss laughing out loud at your crazy blog posts, being involved in your crafty projects, hearing all the inspirational stories, and most of all, getting to know you better and better through back-and-forth emails. I can't wait to get back into it!


See you soon...

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12:25 PM | Category: , , , | 33 Pepperberrians Said...

And the House is On Sale!
My. Goodness. Me. What a mad week, month, year! The end is near, though, in more ways than one. December is creeping towards the New Year, my list of upcoming markets is slowly getting smaller, and... AND!... the most exciting, important goal of the year is complete. 


Our house is on the market!!

In the space of eight weeks, it has been transformed from an average home into a gleaming, sparkling, spotless little beauty. It looks so good, in fact, that Sharon and I are wondering why in the world we're moving out! Mind you, we've also conveniently forgotten all about the blood, sweat, tears, tantrums and bruises that got us to this point. Here are some pics I took for the online ad:


 Our front yard, with the requisite sunrise.


Our beautiful, brand new kitchen.



Our ridiculously clean bedroom (please note the lack of cat fur!).



And our big, beautiful backyard with freshly grown green grass! 
(Yes, this is a big deal if you live in drought-riddled Australia!)


Is this super-exciting or what? I've never sold a house before, and it's all a bit of a rush. We have our fingers crossed that it will be snapped up this week so that we can start planning our move to our 20-acre bush sanctuary in Hurstbridge:




And begin living our sustainable, off-the-grid, animal rescue and rehabilitation centre dream. Fingers crossed!


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11:49 AM | Category: | 17 Pepperberrians Said...