... and the winner is ...

I know you've spent all weekend wondering who has won my giveaway, but I wanted to build the suspense a little. Sorry, but there's not much else exciting happening around here, seeing as I'm in the middle of another translation and haven't left the house for days. Normally I'm out skydiving, bungy jumping, fire eating, wrestling with wild animals* and all that sort of thing, as anyone who knows me will attest, but for the past few days I've had to get my thrills vicariously via the internet. 

Anyway, thanks to the lovely folk at Kodansha who have made the giveaway possible, now someone else gets a thrill too. The thrill of getting to make things like FELT ANIMALS!! Can't get a lot more thrilling than that!! (Bungy jumping is a bore in comparison, plus it requires more equipment!) So without further ado, I'm going to announce the winner... 

... well, maybe after I thank you all for entering and make you have another look at this supercute cover... 

Anyway, so drum roll for the winner... it's Magdalena! Yay! 

Please let me state now that it was not me who chose the winner, it was the team at Kodansha (which is the company that publishes the book). I knew it would be too hard for me to make the decision so I handballed it to them. I'm thinking of getting them to handle all of my life's difficult decisions from now on. What to wear? Should I have that extra bit of chocolate? Should I watch just one more episode of Glee instead of looking for paid employment? Why tire myself out thinking about that sort of thing? I'll just ask Kodansha. 

*I bet you thought I was joking about the wrestling with wild animals, but Suki can really put up a fight when she doesn't want cuddles!! Look at that grumpy little face!

Gucci gets me

As an ex-Vogue Nippon editor, you would think I would be glued to my computer checking out all the fashion shows as they go live, which happens to be right now (ie the international collections are on as we speak). While I'm not madly following the modeschau in Milan, I did happen to check out the goings-on at Gucci on style.com this morning, and look what I found.

 

If the emerald-teal tone looks sort of familiar, it might be because I CHOSE THIS COLOUR TO WEAR AT SAVERS for their fashion show only a week ago.

 

Coincidence? I think not!! Frida has me on speed dial, after all. So don't be surprised if the next Gucci collection is all fluorescent orange, if that just happens to be my favourite shade the week before the shows. Haha.

Oh, and if you thought I only have a huge influence over major designers when it comes to clothes, may I remind you that Marc's always after me for earring ideas. 

And here's another little reminder - if you want to enter my giveaway, you have until midnight tomorrow (Melbourne, Australia time) to do so! Check it out here! You have proof now that cute little felt creatures are going to be the next big thing on the catwalks, so get in there and make them NOW!!

Tiger wine is REALLY NOT FINE

I know that most of the space on this blog is taken up with pictures of me cavorting around in my creations and generally looking like everything is fine with the world, but some things are really NOT fine. Like this, for instance. Before you click on that link, let me warn you that the article is not about fashion, or jewellery, or any of those fun and frivolous things. It is about horrible, horrible humans in China (although how they can be called human is beyond me) who are keeping 1500 tigers in the most terrible conditions so that they can make wine from their bones. The article does of course go into a lot more detail and if you are at work I would advise you not to read it until you are home, because if you are anything like me you will most likely be bawling your eyes out by the time you finish reading. You will also want to go and give your cat/dog/rabbit/whatever gorgeous animal you live with a big cuddle.

Although I concentrate mainly on sustainable style in my blog, I do quite often participate in other environmental and social campaigns, even though most of the time it is only by signing my name on an email petition and trying to make all my friends do the same. For some reason though, this story about the tigers has made me really, really mad, and I want to do more about it! I contacted the organisations in the article, as I wanted to put my name to any campaigns against these atrocities and also find out how to donate to dedicated funds to help the tigers, and I got a reply from TRAFFIC which advises that you can donate to them and specify that you want the money to go to the tigers. If I find out about any other organisations that are helping fight the tiger farm I'll put the information up in a later post, but for the meantime, does anyone have any fundraising ideas? I'm thinking something like a Tiger Afternoon Tea but have not thought of the specifics yet. Suggestions are welcome! Suki and her feline friends thank you in advance for your time.

Step by step account of Savers catwalk show

At the risk of boring you, I'm putting up another post about the Savers Mill Park opening event last Wednesday night. It's a fairly blow-by-blow account, so those of you who just want to see pretty pictures (thanks to SDP Media), scroll down!

I was invited to model in the event because another participant, Lara at Wardrobe Wonderland, knows how much I love op shopping and recycled fashion, however most of the models were taking part because they were friends with the organisers. All the models gathered outside Melbourne's Arts Centre at 2:30pm and we were taken by mini bus to Mill Park (probably because they knew none of us would get there on time otherwise!)

On the bus were told that we would get to choose two outfits, a casual and a formal one, and we would get to keep one of them. So that things would run on time, half of us would go to hair and makeup first while the other group chose their outfits, and then we would swap.
I was so excited that I was first through the door at the new store - but my enthusiasm proved my downfall as I was grabbed to be in the first hair and makeup group. I'd never had my hair and makeup done professionally so was excited about that but had been looking forward to being let loose in the new store straight away. Instead, I had base smoothed on, lips made luscious, eyes ringed in black and false eyelashes attached (with sighs escaping from the despairing makeup artist, due to my spindly little eyelashes and the black eyeliner smudging everywhere) and hair given the glam treatment too. All this took an hour or more... and then there were 20 minutes to rehearsal and I had not even chosen ONE outfit. So I ran madly around the store grabbing anything and everything that looked like it might fit, and came up with this...

A boy's wool jumper originally from Target and a suede fringed skirt by Morgan de Toi which was part of a set (the top was a fringed, backless number which you can see here). Also loads of necklaces, a leather bag and Italian leather shoes with stacked wood heels. I just had time to get this on before the rehearsal, and then raided the racks for a more formal outfit while we were waiting for the show to start.

I went for a racewear look as I'd discovered a gold pillbox hat and cream beaded gloves - the challenge was then finding the dress! I suppose I ended up being a bit patriotic as I went green and gold (thanks to the Savers staff for helping me find the gold heels).
So that was me taken care of, and I managed to make it down the catwalk without tripping or dying of nerves. Miracles do happen.
Here are some of the other models - two pretty ladies in polka dots:


Monochrome looks for these two:


Lara's "evening" look:

And the finale:

We had photos taken after the show too and then got to do some shopping. Here you can see where Lara got her jacket... rather than ransack the racks, she shopped from her fellow models (she not only bought the jacket that the guy on the right is wearing, she also bought the hat and gloves that I chose!)



And this picture is a member of the audience overwhelmed in the book section, just to give you an idea of how big this place is!


After the adrenalin rush of being a model and getting to shop unrestrained in a NEW SAVERS STORE, the mini bus took us back to the city and we all went home. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I'm sure people on the train were looking at me strangely. The makeup team had said our look was meant to be "Sex and the City" but by that stage my supposedly sultry eyes were probably better described as amateur emo. Oh well, I'm sure even supermodels don't look super all the time!

**It's completely unrelated to this post, but don't forget to enter my giveaway!!

Catwalk debut in Mill Park

Where is Mill Park, I hear you ask... I asked exactly that question when I was invited to be a model in the Mill Park Savers store opening fashion show. I freely admit I had to look it up in the Melway (which, for non-Melburnians, is our street directory bible). Short answer: nowhere near where I live. So as I was getting a free day trip (and scoring FREE CLOTHES and getting to meet people and, um, hello, I LOVE Savers) I really couldn't turn this offer down. It was worth the trip!

Oh, and before I get ahead of myself, I suppose some of you might want to know what this magical place called Savers is ... basically, it is a massive, MASSIVE op shop, thrift store, charity store.... whatever you want to call a place that sells huge amounts of donated TREASURES. See? Rack upon rack of second hand GOLD! (although admittedly, there are not usually bloggers like this lovely lady taking photos of models among the treasures).
I'm going to do a proper post and explain what we got up to on the night, with catwalk pics etc when I get some from the organisers of the event, but for now here are a few happy snaps. Basically we got to choose two outfits to model, and keep one of them. Here are some of the models in their outfits...



Of course I got a few shots of what I wore too, although there will be better ones later (I hope!) For now, here are my own crappy snaps. Here's the first outfit, "casual":


Here's the second, "formal". I'm with Lara from Wardrobe Wonderland and her pal Chloe. Crazy heavy eyeliner, yes!? I'll go into the makeup and everything in more detail when I get proper shots.


After the catwalk show we got to go shopping, and here's what I got...
Shoes $9.99, necklace, bracelet, and earrings, $1 or so each, and a shoe horn for $2.99.


Yes, you read correctly, a shoe horn.
But not just any old shoe horn! Look at this little guy, isn't he sweet?
He's missing an eye but that's probably part of the reason I couldn't leave him there. The other reason is that he's made in Japan, and I'm a sucker for anything retro and made in Japan.

I have a feeling that this picture ($3.99) was also made in Japan and is quite old, it's a Mt Fuji scene and is completely embroidered.


Although I got a lot of comments (good ones!) about the green dress from outfit 2, it's not something I'd wear every day, and I'm trying to be a bit more practical. So I kept my first outfit instead, which was a grey Target jumper from the boys' section that would have cost something like $3 and a suede skirt and top with fringing by Morgan which was $19.99 for the set.

Hmm, what was that about being practical?? I don't know that I'll ever wear this top but I had to take it as part of the set, so maybe this is the universe (or the Savers staff, anyway) telling me to stretch my style boundaries!?

Giveaway - coming to you from Japan!

To the casual observer of this blog, it may appear that all I do is cavort around my backyard showing off my creations. But money doesn't grow on trees, you know, and I have to fuel my expensive fashion tastes somehow (some of my dresses cost a whole DOLLAR after all). So although I advertise the fact only infrequently, I moonlight as a freelance translator (among other things). After weeks sitting at my laptop puzzling over the most appropriate translation of obscure Japanese words, it's always very exciting to see my work culminate in shiny, colourful gorgeousness, ie the English version of the book. So it is with great pleasure that I present Felt Friends from Japan!



Yes, I know, this book should come with a "way too cute" warning!

Although the projects in the book are all adorable, they are also very easy and don't require fancy equipment (unless you count scissors, needles and thread as fancy). There are lots of animals to make, as well as little purses, badges and bags. And for those of you who are scared of stitches, some of them can even be made without any sewing!




Now, if my powers of seduction have worked, you should all be itching to get your hands on a copy, and you will want to know where it is sold. For Australians, if you are in Melbourne, try Collins, Dymocks, Readings, Reader’s Feast, and Brunswick Street Bookstore, and in Sydney, the book should be available at Dymocks George Street, Kinokuniya, Gleebooks and Hill of Content, amongst others. If you can't find it at those places (or, indeed, elsewhere) don't be shy to ask the staff to order it in for you. Otherwise, you can make use of that new gizmo called the internet and order it online at

http://www.borders.com.au/book/felt-friends-from-japan-86-super-cute-toys-and-accessories-to-make-yourself/13780463/

Those of you overseas can hassle your local disgruntled book shop employee or buy it on Amazon. Yay! (Also, I have just been reliably informed that you can buy it on this site, which ships free worldwide http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/category/2942/Crafts-and-Hobbies )



"But wait," I hear you say, "I'm only reading this post because there was "giveaway" in the title."
Yes, I'm getting to that. I have one copy of Felt Friends from Japan to give away to a lucky reader ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!!

All you have to do is to bring some entertainment to the blogging world by leaving a comment telling me what animal you'd most like to be and why. The giveaway will be open until midnight on February 25 (midnight Melbourne, Australia time, that is, and I'll be sitting there with a stopwatch just to make sure*) so if you don't mind a bit of healthy competition tell all your friends, relations, and even people you don't like, and spread the word!



... and now, back to normal programming - there will indeed be cavorting in the next post as I am making my catwalk debut tomorrow! Savers is opening in Mill Park and they've invited me to be a model! I'm excited about being one of the first people to see the new store, but also seriously nervous about the modelling bit. Aggh! Wish me luck, and I'll post pics as soon as I can!

*Outrageous lie as Suki never lets me stay up that late.

More bangles for no bucks

Remember how I said the other day that things were going to happen this year? Well, turns out I was right, if by "things" I meant "lovely people giving me bangles". This week two different people fitted me out with spectacular new arm-our.

These ones are the result of a meeting at Kinfolk with Matt, a volunteer at Bicycles for Humanity. I contacted the organisation a little while ago with an idea for an accessories collaboration (which I'll go into later when things start happening) and because he was in Africa at the time when he got my email, he kindly looked out for some accessories for me to kick things off. Here they are - what do you think these are made of?

At first glance I thought they were painted bone - but they are actually made from recycled PVC pipe. The pipes have a coloured coating, so the very clever, creative artists who made them carved out designs to reveal the underlying material (at least that's what Matt thinks!).

These ones are by Paro Paro and were sent to me as a thank you for using the brand in the Fair@Square fashion show in December.The creator of this glossy gorgeousness is my newest follower (hi, Faye!)

Such a coincidence to receive two sets of bangles in one week, don't you agree?

It seemed like cause for celebration... or at least offered a good excuse to lie on my stomach in front of this Chinese cabinet, snapping away with the Photo Booth function on my laptop...

...and offering up a little wish so that more creativity and happy circumstances find me (and you!) in the near future!

Join me for Me-Made-March?

I'm doing this - are you? I also participated in Self-stitched September, also run by So, Zo, so if you want to see what I got up to there, go back to my September posts! 

Lao'd and proud

So, as I mentioned the other day, it's now been a year since I started this blog! Well, more than a year now. But not quite a year since my first proper post. Gaah! Today is actually not the anniversary of anything, sorry! Splitting hairs about dates ruins the whole point of this post though, so never mind. Seeing as I started this blog talking about my trip to Laos, I thought it was appropriate to finally remake this skirt which my sister got for me from that very same country a few years ago.*

Yes, a few years ago. Like many of my projects, it has sat around waiting for me to work out what to do with it for way too long. Turns out it really didn't need much done to it at all. Originally it was a wrap skirt with a tie, you've probably seen this sort of thing if you've ever been to Thailand, Laos or Vietnam as the Hmong and hill tribe people often sell them in the markets. It looked sort of like this (I cut into it ages ago without taking a photo first, but here are some similar skirts at a costume museum in Luang Prabang).

The proper versions of these skirts take something like six months to make if they are made the traditional way, as home-grown, home-spun, home-woven cotton (or hemp?) is painstakingly decorated with batik patterns using tree resin and charcoal, dyed over and over again in home-made indigo solution, pleated and embroidered, all by hand. Whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about that as I spent one afternoon in Laos learning batik and ended up with a rectangle of about 30 x 60cm - and that was just drawing the pattern on, we didn't even dye it once. (Here's the lady who patiently taught me how to do it, she drew that intricate pattern completely freehand. Amazing.)

Needless to say, the resulting skirts are worn for a very long time (I'm guessing until they practically fall off the wearer in a heap of threads).
Anyway, I just cut off the waist string and excess fabric on the sides, made a side seam with a zip, added a few darts around the waist, and voila!

Is it weird that although this is an Asian garment, it reminds me of something Tyrolean? It's probably because along with the traditional embroidery (on somewhat non-traditional turquoise polyester in the strip running across the middle of the skirt), all sorts of western ribbons have been sewn across the part that is pleated, as you can see.

I've nevertheless gone for an all-out Asian look with this batik T-shirt which I fiddled with a while ago and some earrings which my sister got me from Laos and which I converted so I can wear them (simply attached a metal loop and hooked it over the back of the clip part of some clip earrings).

My sister got me this bag too, which is made from recycled bits of weaving. Considering the intricate patterns, I don't even like to think how long it took to make the original textile!

Oh, and shoes from Savers ages ago, I have not worn them anywhere yet as they're a little tricky to style, as many of you have agreed. I'm still undecided about them!

*Well, I thought she did. Turns out it was actually from Vietnam. Gahh!

(By the way, it was a steamy 40 degrees or something a few days ago when I took these shots, but as I write it's more like 15 and it's bucketing, and many Victorians are still cleaning up after terrible flash flooding over the weekend! Thanks, Cyclone Yasi!)

Happy hoppy new year!

Happy Chinese New Year, everyone! I'm not doing anything particularly Chinesey, except for being the halfie that I am (which I do every day anyway) but here's a picture I prepared earlier... taken at my cousin's wedding nearly two years ago in the extremely Asian setting of, um, the Dandenongs...

Did you know it's year of the rabbit this year, which just happens to be my year? I'll leave it up to you to work out how old I'm going to be... I'll give you a clue - I am not 12.

Meh, I may as well tell you I'm going to be 36, seeing as the following anecdote gets confusing otherwise. 

My Japanese friend told me it's yakudoshi* this year for all women born in 1975, ie me. People are meant to experience yakudoshi several times in their lives, but despite living in Japan for 9 years, whenever I went to a shrine and checked the list of whose unlucky year it was meant to be, my numbers never seemed to come up. Maybe I was reading it wrongly? Who knows. Anyway, apparently this year is meant to be SAIAKU (= the WORST) for us 1975 ladies. However, another Japanese friend told me that because I'm a toshi onna** this year, that will cancel out all the bad luck. But wouldn't that mean that whoever worked out the yakudoshi and Chinese zodiac years stuffed up?? This is all rather complicated so I'm not going to think about it too much, especially as I have sort of been looking forward to it being "my" year so that things will happen. What sort of things? I don't know. Just.. things.

How about you, did anything change when it was your Chinese zodiac year? Do you know what animal you are? And do you think your animal is accurate in reflecting your personality? I do, to a degree, when it comes to me, but delving into that little can of worms would be a whole new post, so I will spare you and just wish you a happy new year instead!

Oh, and it's also exactly a year today since I started this blog, but I'll chat with you about that later too!

*Yakudoshi = 厄年 = something like Saturn Returns. It's basically a year when the stars are not aligned in your favour, or something like that. It's somewhat cynical but I have a feeling it might just be a massive moneyspinner for shrines in Japan, because most people who are going through yakudoshi go to shrines to have their bad luck absolved by priests. (My friend thinks her bad luck got transferred to her husband and that's why he injured his leg playing sport and had to spend a year recovering).

**Toshi onna = 年女 = a woman whose zodiac year it is, ie me, and you too if you happen to be born in the year of the rabbit.