anna-lisa

This site has moved

2011-03-31T17:39:00.002+11:00

Visit anna-lisa.com for news and updates.

Display

2010-10-30T13:53:00.002+11:00

The other night I stumbled across this nice resource: thisisdisplay.org a collection / shop of mid 20th century graphic design books and periodicals. I got the images from there. xxxx

Art by Design 6

2010-10-16T19:01:00.004+11:00

Here's a group exhibition I'm in at Kinokuniya books in the city. The artwork I put in it is a revamp of the poster I recently did (post below). There's a larger image here. The show is on from the 17th October to the 13th November and organised by Naomi Solomon from happyend designs. Thanks Naomi xxxx.

Positive Posters 2010

2010-09-10T16:34:00.006+10:00

Positive Posters is an annual competition for graphic designers. This year's them was 'Optimism'. Above is the poster I submitted (you can see a larger image here), or you can view all the other entries here.

Primoeza

2010-08-28T12:58:00.005+10:00

These amazing scarves are made on a hand operated knitting machine by the designer in Melbourne. Primoeza is the name of the label. There's an online store and more information here. xxxx

Helen Frankenthaler

2010-07-23T11:15:00.004+10:00

A friend and I were having a conversation last night about Helen Frankenthaler - a New York, colour field artist who was influential in the 1960's. She used to thin down her oil paints with turps to stain her canvases, creating really nice gradients between her colours. You can see more of her work and read about her here.

Digital lace

2010-07-14T16:02:00.004+10:00

Here are some 3D works I made for a recent competition submission. Sometime in the near future they should exist as silk scarves. Larger versions of the images here. xxxx

Embroidered plastic shopping bags

2010-06-30T13:06:00.005+10:00

It's great to see someone giving the plastic shopping bag some TLC, before they become a thing of the past. These are made by Josh Blackwell. Found via Banquet.

Bernhard Willhelm & Jutta Kraus

2010-06-01T16:01:00.005+10:00

I just got the new book Bernhard Willhelm & Jutta Kraus, and in the same week found one of his dresses second hand. The middle image was taken from fashionising.com. It's part of his SS2010 collection. The other images are the front and back cover of the book. xxxx

Matohu

2010-05-19T18:44:00.003+10:00

I was having a look around for nice screen-prints because of my course and I came across Matohu, who showed at Tokoyo Fashion Week, Spring 2010. I spent more time looking at the purple dyeing effects than the prints. Have to try it. Images via coolechicstylefashion. xxxx

Getting crafty

2010-05-13T13:14:00.003+10:00

Started a screen printing course last week. Lots of fun but need to refine my sewing skills!

Some new work things

2010-04-20T18:02:00.007+10:00

Here's a CD cover I did recently: Tim Rollinson, You Tunes. Also some patterns I did a while ago have been published in this book: Estampados Padroes, by Spanish publishing house Mao Mao. xxxx

Paul Schuitema book

2010-03-12T13:08:00.004+11:00

Here's some images from a book I got on the holidays: Paul Schuitema - Visual Organiser, and a link to it's review by Eye magazine. xxxx

Valentines Day

2010-02-14T12:31:00.002+11:00

My friend Charlotte hosted a Valentines day morning tea through the week for the little ones. Very cute. xxxx

Nice artist and a colourful graphic

2010-01-25T13:47:00.008+11:00

Above is a hibiscus graphic I'm drawing inbetween jobs, and below is a painting by Gina Ruggeri, found via Commmunity Bulletin. xxxx

Nice Cards and a library of old books

2010-01-20T17:22:00.004+11:00

My friend Anna has started making clever, handpainted gift cards called 'Cards for complicated people' which are available on Etsy (images above). I also found a good graphics resource of historical book covers and design examples at Photobibliothek. The pics below have been sourced from there. xxxx

At the art gallery

2009-12-03T11:05:00.006+11:00

This is the first time I've seen the airbrushed red, burgundy and blue painting (left) in the flesh rather than in books. It's by my uncle Paul Partos and is called Vesta II, done in 1968. The other paintings (left to right) are by Trevor Vickors (I'll have to double check this) and James Doolin - also done in the late 60's. The picture was taken at the Art Gallery of NSW, Australia.

Jazz LP covers

2009-11-11T14:12:00.002+11:00

As research for a CD cover I've been looking at old, LP jazz covers - particularly Blue Note records. I found a website called Vintage Vanguard that has a huge resource of artwork. I got these album covers from there. xxxx

Posters

2009-09-11T04:21:00.005+10:00

Here's a couple of great posters I found looking through both Balladora and manystuff. I'll put more specific details about who did them asap. xxxx

Recent digital fabrics

2009-07-23T14:11:00.007+10:00

Here's some nice digitally printed fabric I've seen around lately (from top to bottom): Basso & Brooke; Australian designers Trust Fun, and a top by Bernhard Willhelm which looks much more vibrant in real life. Images are from their respective websites. xxxx

Malene Landgreen

2009-07-16T13:57:00.004+10:00

I recently saw a painting of Malene Landgreen's on the cover of a Scandanavian design magazine. She's a contemporary Danish painter who also does installed architectural works. You can see her work from a recent exhibition here. xxxx

Nick Knight, John Young

2009-06-26T13:10:00.008+10:00

John Young's 2008 paintings (above) look like abstract versions of Nick Knight's earlier photographs (below). You can see more of John Young's work here, and Nick Knight here. xxxx

Blogs > Mad about Design

2009-06-17T14:18:00.003+10:00

I just got this book in the post: Blogs Mad about Design, which is a 528 page, hard covered book about design blogs. Mine's included, (I've scanned the pages below) as well as lots of others I'm looking forward to exploring. It was put together by Mao Mao Publications.

Ryue Nishizawa

2009-06-02T10:39:00.004+10:00

I've been a bit obsessed with looking at home renovations and architecture as our house is in desperate need of a revamp. Ryue Nishizawa is a Japanese architect I'm in love with. He loves to mix up the indoor and outdoor spaces as much as possible. The top image is his office space, and the other two are residential jobs he's done. He and his partner Kazuyo Sejima will be designing the Serpentine Gallery pavillion which will be open from July to October 2009. I got the above images here, here and here.

Colourful times in BKK

2009-05-25T16:02:00.004+10:00

Lots of fun at Reflections hotel in Bangkok. (see post below). xxxx

Market Stall, Thai fashion and some zines

2009-04-09T19:04:00.011+10:00

Next Saturday I'm gonna do a market stall at Glebe, selling clothes from Hey Pilgrim, a Bangkok streetwear label I found a while back. I'll also sell second-hand clothes, and if I get time to finish them, some zines I've been making. My friend Anna is gonna do the stall with me selling handmade cards.

The clothing images above are from Hey Pilgrim (you can see more on their website). And the images below are the cover of a zine I'm making about plant cuttings and a previous zine that I'll convert to black and white (and perhaps spot red). xxxx

Eric Nitsche's Flickr Set

2009-03-28T19:57:00.003+11:00

Via AceJet 170 I found this beautiful Flickr Set by Eric Nitsche. Above are a couple of my favourite images from there. xxxx

Plant lampshades and some elegant bags

2009-03-24T12:07:00.003+11:00

Here's some cute plant/lampshade things by Helmut Smits via balkon-garten, and some beautiful bags and purses by Vlieger & Vandam, Rotterdam, which I found at my local Gorman store. xxxx

Groovy Bangkok Hotel

2009-03-18T18:14:00.002+11:00

We're off to Thailand in May and I'm just making reservations to stay in this cool hotel called Reflections in Bangkok. Each room is done by local designers and artists. Check out the website to see all the rooms. The images above are from the website. I'm gonna stay in Room 405, which is the one in the top image. xxxx

Petronio Associates

2009-03-06T13:19:00.006+11:00

Here's one for the economy. Wall stickers in alphabetial letters by Petronio Associates, formerly known as Work In Progress. Here's a link to thier blog showing off all their current projects. xxxx

Cute dwellings, and cool fonts to download

2009-02-17T11:37:00.002+11:00

The top image made me smile because I used to live in a yurt exactly like it, (image via materialicious). And the white cottage/house collaged together by Kilian Schindler is adorable. I found it on a blog called balkon-garten where you can see images of quirky art, craft and plant life.

Also six posts down is a typeface by Jakob Nylund. Now you can download it for free, along with other really nice fonts (above). All you have to do is send him an image of how you used it! So generous. xxxx

Clever collages

2009-02-04T19:31:00.000+11:00

These must be two of the most clever collages I've seen in a long time. Lines on paper was found on Today and Tomorrow by Laser Bread, (lots more cool stuff on the Flickr page). And the collaged Photoshop screen was found via Little Starwonders. I tried to trace back to the original artist but couldn't find it. Would love to know who did it. It's unreal! xxxx

A couple of nice things

2009-02-02T13:25:00.003+11:00

Here's a couple of intriguing images I found last week. The first is by set designer Rachel Thomas, found via It's Nice That. The second is called “Leh”, Crude oil, 1 litre, by Gyan Panchal 2003, found via vvork. xxxx

Kitchen with hanging plants and cool shoes

2009-01-23T11:49:00.009+11:00

While I'm on the subject of gardens and plants here's a kitchen I love (found via 2 or 3 things). Also some cool shoes that are a collaboration between Vivienne Westwood and Melissa. xxxx

Garden drawing

2009-01-21T18:39:00.004+11:00

Here's a picci of a garden I did inbetween jobs the other day. I've been growing these plants in the backyard. xxxx

Justine Ashbee

2009-01-16T14:14:00.002+11:00

I found this amazing drawing by Justine Ashbee via Dear Ada. You can see more on her website. xxxx

Jakob Nylund

2009-01-13T12:17:00.003+11:00

Found this typeface by Jakob Nylund via i love typography. xxxx

Maria Sibylla Merian

2009-01-12T13:57:00.004+11:00

When I was making the kalidescope-butterfly image I was looking at a book of illustrations by Maria Sibylla Merian, who was a botanical artist working in the 1700's. I've posted the front cover of the book along with another illustration of hers which I found here. xxxx

Yulia Brodskaya

2009-01-07T15:28:00.003+11:00

I saw the above Christmas image in the Guardian, which led me to find out who the artist was: Yulia Brodskaya. I found the other great paper illustrations from her website. Lovely and festive for the first post of the year. xxxx

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year

2008-12-25T16:55:00.004+11:00

Hope everyone has a great Xmas - and a lovely New Year too! I found these retro catalog images here. xxxx

Back from a long blogging break!

2008-12-17T14:18:00.005+11:00

Almost a month off line - that's a record. Moving house, renovations, phone line problems etc etc. Here's a couple of pics for an upcoming exhibition about collective animal nouns. I chose ' a kaleidescope of butterflies' and my friend Anna did 'a tower of giraffes'. You can see a larger view of the butterflies here.
xxxx

Moving house

2008-11-07T14:53:00.002+11:00

We're moving all our stuff into our tiny new house on Monday, so may be offline for a while. We're gonna have to dump everything into the front room in boxes and spend the next couple of weeks unpacking. I'd love to be able to say that things will be as organised and neat as the picture above, but I kind of don't think it will be. I scanned the image from a 1960's Swedish magazine appropriately called 'Form'. xxxx

Kitchen cupboard handles

2008-10-31T20:50:00.006+11:00

I found these cute 1950's cupboard handles at the restoration yard and got a combination of No. 22 and No. 32 for our kitchen. xxxx

Type Tuesday Studio 't Brant Weer

2008-10-28T20:01:00.004+11:00

The above examples are done by Studio 't Brant Weer from the Netherlands. I found out about their work in the book Area 2. xxxx

Also the black and white image on the top is from the Studio 't Brant Weer website.

PS. Blogger has stopped resizing my images, so I'm having to upload them at a smaller size. Has anyone else had this problem?

Old Tiles

2008-10-27T19:11:00.006+11:00

The house we just moved into has two fireplaces with the most gorgeous tiles around them. I've decided as a long term project I'm going to collect lots of old miss-matching tiles to put in the bathroom or kitchen when we get around to renovating. Here's a couple I saw on eBay the other night. xxxx

New Wacom tablet

2008-10-23T07:38:00.004+11:00

This week I had my third attempt at using a Wacom tablet. The first two times I used a large and medium size tablet, but found them too awkward and only persisted for a couple of days. This time I had to give it a better shot because I'm starting to get really bad RSI. So I tried the smallest Wacom tablet I could find. Now I'm addicted. So much better than using a mouse. I did the above doodles testing the different pressures of the pen. xxxx

PLAY Comme des Garçons

2008-10-16T13:36:00.003+11:00

I'm usually not one to buy a product based on it's logo, but I did make an exception the other day when I found one of these on sale. The above t-shirt has the logo for PLAY, Comme des Garçons on it. I found out via Sakato that Filippa Gowski, who did the artwork, has also done some textile prints for Comme des Garçons, as well as lots of other logo and print work. You can find the above t-shirts here. xxxx

Tauba Auerbach

2008-10-14T10:47:00.004+11:00

Comme de Garsons ran the above advertisment in Vanity Fair last month, done by the artist Tauba Auerbach. I had a look at her website and there's lots of images where she uses text and it's meaning as the basis of her studio work. All the examples below are done by her. I got the images are from the website, and the above advertisment is scanned from Vanity Fair. Click to see details. xxxx

Pretty plates

2008-10-12T15:27:00.007+11:00

Found these pretty Austrian hand-painted plates at the auctions last week. xxxx

More album sleves

2008-10-10T12:00:00.003+11:00

Here's a couple more 7 inch record sleeves from the 70's found here. xxxx

Cool record sleves

2008-10-04T21:25:00.002+10:00

Via Hi & Low I found about this incredible on-line library of record envelopes. I got so excited I did an image search for 'geometric record covers' which brought up the Vivaldi cover (below) which was posted at Grain Edit, a groovy blog that specialises in graphics from the 50's - 70's, and contemporary design that's influenced by that era. It's now on my list of daily reads. xxxx

On My Desk

2008-10-01T19:24:00.002+10:00

A couple more rough pages for the zine I'm making. It's supposed to be in the mail by now - Monday at the latest!! Also the other thing that's taking up most of my waking hours is that we bought a tiny little unrenovated house, so lot's to organise and a frightening amount of work to do once we get the keys!! More On My Desk players to be found at Kootoyoo.

Type Tuesday 30th Sept

2008-09-30T22:22:00.002+10:00

Tsang Kin-Wah is a Chinese born Hong Kong artist who was awarded the Tokoyo Type Directors Club award in 2007. I first saw his work over at I love typography. Click to see detail, or see more of his work at his website. xxxx

More Triangles

2008-09-29T17:09:00.008+10:00

These fantastic dresses were shown at Paris Fashion Week by Korean designer Lie Sang Bong. I found the images on the SMH website and the invitation via Lie Sang Bong's official site. xxxx

Triangles

2008-09-24T18:37:00.002+10:00

Shoes by Cesare Paciotti and packaging design by Niels Fryst who I came across via Balladora Typographica. I found the shoes in a fashion mag. xxxx

On My Desk

2008-09-17T07:56:00.003+10:00

I got some really cool stuff in the post the other day from Sakato as part of her love letter project. And I'm working on a zine about vintage clothes care for zine-swap generated by Nikki. xxxx

OMD - Another modified pattern, and a love letter

2008-09-08T17:39:00.006+10:00

Here's a different colourway of an old pattern I made. (more patterns two posts down). I'm in experimentation mode before I get some more digital fabric printed. Also I just joined Sakato's love letter project. More about that soon. xxxx

this is ...my favourite band of all time

2008-09-07T16:28:00.006+10:00

Thanks to Curlypops for this weeks theme - this is... 'my favourite band of all time'. I've got really scary memories of serving orderves at my parents parties while they all danced to Boney M. In my adult life I gained a very daggy, but new found respect for them. Their lyrics are educational - teaching us about historical and literary figures such as Rasputin and Steppenwolf. Also in 1978 they ignored political tensions and toured the Soviet Union, acting as ambassadors for the west during the Cold War.....But on a more serious note - if I could only choose one performer to listen to for the rest of my life, it would have to be Nina Simone. I got the groovy record cover from Milkcratebreaks. Thanks to Three Buttons for hosting the game. xxxx

Work in process patterns

2008-09-06T20:41:00.003+10:00

Here's a couple of work in progress patterns. The top one's made in 3D, and the bottom one was made by pulling apart bits of typography and making them into shapes in illustrator. Also here's a link to a fantastic blog I found today called BibliOdyssey. It's got lots of old world calligraphy, maps and scientific diagrams. I'll post some images from there later. xxxx

Nice stuff from other blogs and bloggers

2008-09-02T07:29:00.005+10:00

Last night I found this amazing photo over at Maize. It was posted there via Speedtrails photostream on Flickr. Also the lovely Pod gave me the link to these felt dogs by Stephanie Metz. xxxx

This is......my favourtie fabric and craft supply shop

2008-08-31T12:17:00.005+10:00

This week we've been asked to list our favourite fabric and craft supply shops. So here's mine: For all sorts of stuff I love going to Reverse Garbage. They sell industrial offcuts, fabric samples, craft supplies, and lots, lots more. My favouite fabric shop is Tessuti, they sell amazing fabric and have a blog too. And for art supplies you can't go past Parkers in Sydney. It's like the Armani of art supply shops, selling Belgium linen, exotic pigments and beautiful paints and brushes. It's been a family business since 1918, so it's got a really nice old world feel to it.

Thanks to Handmaiden for this weeks theme, and Three Buttons for hosting the game. Images are from the Tessuti and Parkers websites. xxxx

On My Desk

2008-08-27T15:12:00.004+10:00

Lately I've been thinking about the Giant Pink Sea-Snail from Dr Dolittle, and strangely enough I couldn't find an image of if anywhere on the internet. I'm sure it's out there somewhere, but in the meantime I made my own pink snail, and did lots of different texture mapping on the shell - then turned it into a wallpaper.

If anyone can find a pic of Dr Dolittle's snail can you let me know? Thanks to Kootoyoo for hosting On My Desk. xxxx

Nozomi Ishiguro

2008-08-25T18:51:00.002+10:00

Another cool Japanese designer: Nozomi Ishiguro, found via Breathe-Design. xxxx

This is...my favourite childrens book

2008-08-24T19:56:00.002+10:00

This is a childhood book I've managed to keep in my travels and still look at all the time because of the great illustrations. I also laugh every time I read the bad joke I wrote on the inner page when I was a kid:

If we painted every car in Australia pink would would we be?
A Pink Carnation.

Thanks to Potty Mouth Mamma, for this weeks theme and Three Buttons for hosting the game. xxxx

Amanda Upton's webiste

2008-08-23T13:25:00.003+10:00

My lovely friend Amanda Upton just launched her website. She did the gorgeous illustrations above. xxxx

Nice pics from old books

2008-08-21T18:12:00.005+10:00

This afternoon a friend of mine emailed me a picture (the one with the black background) from Goethe’s Theory of Colours with the email header 'Nice pic from old book'. I liked it, so did a bit of a google search and found a scholarly website called colorsystem.com that explains the history and science of colour order. Rather than read all the scientific stuff I decided to look at the illustrations, of which there's many. So many in fact that I forgot to list where all the pictures came from. If you want to find out you could go through the site yourself. I found them while I was looking through the historical articles listed on the left hand menu. Here's the link. xxxx

Typographic Masonry

2008-08-19T18:30:00.003+10:00

While I was reading Niko magazine, (above images) I found out about the designer's Richard Niessen and Esther De Vries. They do really detailed and colourful graphics, including the typographic work below (click to enlarge). You can see more of their work at niessendevries.com. Amazing stuff. xxxx

On My Desk

2008-08-13T19:33:00.006+10:00

Here are some fabric swatches I got back from Sublitech. Some turned out well, some didn't. The octopus print on the top left bleed too much so you can hardly see his legs. Have to print it larger next time.

And below are some Dodo birds I did a while back. I accidentally clicked on an old email today and was reminded of them. I'm gonna make some more 3D birds soon, so I'll be able to re-use his head and turn it into a different shape.

Thanks to Kootoyoo for hosting On My Desk. xxxx

Design Stuff

2008-08-12T19:29:00.003+10:00

Above are some examples of typography work by Si Scott. The website is worth going through, there's some beautiful work there. And below are some images from us design studio UK. This particular project is a collaboration between YNC, Nike and Nick Night. xxxx

This is...a work in progress

2008-08-10T17:25:00.005+10:00

This weeks theme for this is... , is 'a work in progress'. Through the week I made a little purse for a friends birthday out of fabric offcuts.
I made a mobile phone holder as well, but it's so badly constructed that I think it's going to stay a work in progress.... Thanks to Debbie from Kept in a Jar for deciding on the theme this week, and Three Buttons for hosting the meme. xxxx

Op Shopping and a blue and white bunny

2008-08-09T17:27:00.006+10:00

A couple of weeks ago I got this cute beret (top pic) at the markets, and that night I was looking through my Olle Eksell book and found an illustration he'd done of the exact same hat.

It was also lovely to pop over to Debbie Hill's blog and see that she had made a bunnie from the pattern I posted a while back. I like hers better! (image below)

I scanned the Olle Eksell image from his book, and got the bunny pic off Debbie Hill's blog, which is otherwise known as Kept in a Jar. xxxx

this is ... my trade secret

2008-08-03T16:28:00.003+10:00

This weeks theme for 'this is' is a good one. It was suggested by bollewangenhaptoet, and it's this: This is .... 'My trade secret'. I'll be very interested to read everyone else's secrets, but this is mine.

In order to have happy results it's good to have a great working relationship with the people who help you do what you do. I've seen lots of horror stories lately where people have got things produced overseas and because of the lack of communication, or problems with technology etc, things have gone really pear shaped, and they've had to start from scratch.

So here are some of the tried and trusted people I can recommend (apologies that the list is a bit Sydney-centric):

Digital and offset stationery printing: MBE Surry Hills. There's a great guy called Andrew. If there's a colour problem, or something he's not sure about, he'll call immediately. He's lovely to deal with and his pricing is competitive.

Woven Labels: Clothing Labels. I've just had a great experience dealing with them. They spent ages with me going through colour charts etc. Akira uses them, so you can count on the quality being really good. (see examples above)

Digital Fabric yardage printers: Sublitech. The only drawback is that they only print onto polyester, ie lycra and flag cloth. I found a fabric that is canvas like in quality which I'll be using for bags, but I'll wait till Wednesday's On my Desk to show that.

I'm still on the lookout for a yardage screenprinter so if anyone knows one I'd love to hear a recommendation.

Thanks to Three Buttons for hosting This is.... xxxx

Designers from Antwerp

2008-08-01T18:49:00.002+10:00

Today I got a book called Fashion Now 2, which is a selection of contemporary fashion from around the world, chosen from the people from I-D Magazine. Two of the really colourful standouts in the book are Dirk Van Saene, and Walter Van Beirendonck who are both designers from Antwerp. They are part of a group known as the Antwerp six, which you can read about here. I was interested to read that designers from Antwerp are a huge sucess in Japan, some of them exporting to the Japanese market only. Just when I thought I'd finally found an influence from a country other than Japan, I find out that theres a Japanese story attatched. I've really gotta go there ....... xxxx

This is...my favourite book and film

2008-07-27T18:06:00.004+10:00

About a decade ago I read the book The Leapord, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. In the same year I went and saw the film, which was made by Visconte. The story is set between 1860 - 1910 Sicily, in a time when the aristocracy was being overthrown. The story is told by a wise, forward thinking Prince Salina who embraces change, but has to deal with friends and family who are fighting for the old ways.

The film is long, beautiful and detailed. The only way I can describe it is like watching a huge oil painting that moves. It's on about every two years at the Palace, and every time I see it I'm moved to tears. The book is so beautiful that Sicily was our choice of destination for our honeymoon.

The other thing I really love about the book is the story of the author. He was the grandson of Prince Salina, and the last in the family line of princes in Sicily. He wrote the Leapord as a way of fighting depression he suffered after World War 2. The novel was rejected by publishers during his life. It wasn't until he died the work was recognised, and is now considered a classic of Italian literature. Apart from a book of short stories it was the only novel he produced.

Thanks to Three Buttons for hosting this fun game of show and tell. xxxx

Cute stuff from other blogs

2008-07-26T18:52:00.003+10:00

In between jobs today I was surfing around and found some nice things. At Boobook Sausage Dog I found this amazing artist, Yeondoo Jung from Korea (above) who does photo shoots of children's drawings. I also found two really good fashion blogs: Breathe Design and Dress of the Day. xxxx

On My Desk

2008-07-23T18:53:00.003+10:00

This week I've been researching and working on getting some woven labels done. (I made a badly constructed coin purse to see how they looked on an object). Anyway, the logo I usually use is my name (pink and yellow logo in bottom right corner). It's done in 3D and I was told it couldn't be woven unless it was flat colours, so I flattened it (logo underneath), but they said they still cant do it. So I found a digital fabric printer, but they can only print onto polyester!

So at the moment I'm getting my octopus done as a woven logo. It sort of suits what I do, cause I always have at least 8 progects on the go at once.

Does anyone know of a digital fabric printer who works with cotton and natural materials? I know they exist - I just can't seem to find one. Any suggestions would be really appreciated. xxxx

PS: Thanks to Kirsty at Kootoyoo for hosting On My Desk. You can go there to check out who else is playing. :)

Ivana Helsinki and some graphic windows

2008-07-21T19:05:00.003+10:00

The top images are photo's of some glass windows from an apartment block down the road. I added the black and white shapes in Illustrator. And the striped dresses are by Ivana Helsinki who I found via Fly Girls. xxxx

Pink and red blur

2008-07-21T08:53:00.002+10:00

I was just going through some old files looking for something and I found this. Not sure if I made it as part of a 3D texture map, or a scan of some sort that was photoshopped. Anyway I like it and might use it in something again soon. xxxx

This is...what makes me smile

2008-07-20T19:42:00.002+10:00

This week's topic for this is has been suggested by One Little Acorn. It's 'This is ...what makes me smile'. So the answer is easy. Other smiles usually make me smile - especially this smile. I know every mum thinks that 'her child' has the greatest smile on earth, but not every child has a double set of dimples! Thanks to Three Buttons for hosting the game. xxxx

On My Desk

2008-07-16T16:39:00.009+10:00

I've finished all the freelance work for Tika, which launches in a couple of weeks so I'll post new pics then. Anyway, it's time to switch gears and get some of my own stuff made, so I've been going through my unfinished projects to see which images I still like. The t-shirts were originally designed for kids, but I might make them in adult sizes, and the above octopus print is something I may get screen-printed or use as an image for woven labels / ribbons. I'm also working on some 3D files but they're still in too much of a raw state to show. Next week perhaps. xxxx

Type Tuesday: Pelican - A book of Scripts

2008-07-15T17:36:00.007+10:00

I found this book in the 2nd hand book shop the other day and it's full of really old, really decorative scripts. It was first published in 1949, but some of the examples date back to 8th century. Like most good books you can still get a 2nd hand copy from Amazon here. xxxx

this is...what scrambles my brain when I try to undersand it

2008-07-13T16:28:00.004+10:00

There were two themes for this weeks 'this is' game, suggested by Flightless Boyds. So this is what gives me goose bumps: Deja Vu. I went through a stage where i had the feeling of deja vu a couple of times a day, but thankfully now it only happens once in a while.

And the above pictures relate to the second theme: this is.... what scrambles my brain when I try to understand it. If I start thinking about the size of the solar system I get a bit overwhelmed, but if i try and imagine other solar systems and infinite space I have to quickly change my stream of thought. Too weird! I got the above pics here and here. xxxx

Hermes purses

2008-07-12T18:44:00.003+10:00

At the start of this year I was a lucky girl and got this cute Hermes keyring as an anniversary present. I was just looking at their website and saw these coin purses. Love them all, but my favourites are the aubergine, bananas and pig! I scanned my keyring and got the purse images off the Hermes website. xxxx

Illustration Friday

2008-07-11T18:48:00.003+10:00

I was all set to join Illustration Friday, but once I got onto the site I realised I didn't have the energy to upload thumbnails and create sign in names etc. Next Friday perhaps... xxxx

Maize

2008-07-10T15:49:00.002+10:00

Via ah-yi I found maize, a blog that posts the most beautiful photo's, patterns, fabric, art and inspiration. I got the above photo's from there. It's in French, so I can't understand the text, but it doesn't matter. It's all quite abstract, so it makes it more interesting not knowing exactly what everything is. xxxx

Attempted passport photos

2008-07-09T18:07:00.003+10:00

I thought I'd share my attempts at getting a passport photo of my 19-month old son. Under Australian law passport photos must be clear, and of the appropriate size. They must also have the subject looking directly at the camera, head not tilted, not laughing or frowning, and the mouth must be closed.

We tried to have it done in the photo lab but they sent us home because he kept smiling and behaving like a clown. So I tried with the digital camera, and thought, by a miracle that I'd got what they were after with the middle, left photo. Unfortunately it was rejected because the light source was from one side rather than front on.

I honestly thought we'd have to postpone our overseas trip until he's old enough to sit still, but thankfully I tried again at a photo lab when he was tired and too grumpy to smile. We got the shot the passport office was after and we can go overseas after all (if I manage to fill out the rest of the form properly)! xxxx

Toko

2008-07-07T20:26:00.006+10:00

I was doing an image search the other day and stumbled across Toko an amazing graphic design studio that began in Rotterdam, Netherlands and relocated to Sydney in 2006. They do really interesting work for clients such as City of Sydney, New York Times, MTV and Playstation. Here's a couple of images I got from their website. It's really worth looking around as there's heaps of great stuff there. They also do a blog called EnvironMental which is about site specific design and architecture. xxxx

this is....my most treasured childhood posession

2008-07-06T19:17:00.004+10:00

This weeks theme for this is: your most treasured childhood posession.
I had an olympic sized trampoline and I loved it. It still dream about it all the time. Mine looked exactly like this. I don't have a photo of it though - I stole this pic off google images. xxxx

Softies for Mirabel

2008-07-04T12:19:00.008+10:00

Via Meet Me at Mikes I found out about the fantastic project Softies for Mirabel. Crafters are invited to make and donate soft toys which will be exhibited and then auctioned off to raise money for the Mirabel Foundation, an amazing group supporting the children of families affected by substance abuse.

I sent this rabbit off in a post pack yesterday. Crafters are also invited to supply a pattern for their softies, so here's a (not very concise) set of instructions to make the above bunny that anyone's free to use. xxxx

This is......my best op shop find (for the week)

2008-07-03T15:02:00.005+10:00

Just found a place close to home that does really good fabric off-cuts, like the above bits of silk organza. So now I'm off to Tessuti to find some other bits of fabric to bind them all together. Also thanks to Three Buttons for setting up the this is ....... game. xxxx

bird drawings

2008-06-28T18:37:00.006+10:00

I did my Saturday shift at the newspaper today. It was incredibly slow - so I did a couple of bird drawings, and was happy to come across another Sydney blogger, katiecrackernuts who (I'm not entirely sure) but may work in the same building as me. Click to enlarge. xxxx

Well Spotted

2008-06-26T18:28:00.002+10:00

I went to a really cute sale today. T-shirts for kids by Well Spotted. The sale is at Publisher Textiles, where they make really nice printed fabric and wallpaper. The sale is on till Sunday. If you miss it you can get these t-shirts online at the Well Spotted webiste. xxxx

Owl cot blanket

2008-06-25T18:11:00.005+10:00

Here's another Tika thing back from Peru. An owl cot blanket along with the original drawing. xxxx

Type Tuesday 24th June

2008-06-23T20:08:00.003+10:00

For ages my favourite graphics magazines have been Eye, and Idea, but lately I've been also loving Grafik. Above are a couple of examples of nice typography and display in this latest issue. I scanned the images. Click to enlarge. xxxx

And some more samples

2008-06-20T18:42:00.003+10:00

Here are some more samples, and the the original drawings of this ranges blankets. I'll post photo's of the other two blankets later. These products aren't on the Tika website yet. It's still being decided whether they will make it into the final range. It if was up to me they definitely would, but it's not my decision. xxxx

Another cute Tika sample

2008-06-19T18:14:00.002+10:00

We got this Tika mobile phone holder back from Peru as a sample the other day. xxxx

Typewriter jewellery

2008-06-17T22:06:00.004+10:00

Here's some cute jewellery made out of typewriter keys I found at rusticspirit.com. xxxx

Hand made book

2008-06-15T18:46:00.002+10:00

My lovely friend Amanda gave me this handmade book by 'Living & Learning'. It's full of cute illustrations, diagrams, patterns and pictures of embroidery. Love it! xxxx

Tiny Crown Archive

2008-06-13T16:48:00.002+10:00

Via Ah Yi I found the most amazing link to Tiny Crown, an online Japanese shop with the most beautiful things. I got these images from the archive. xxxx

Reject Samples

2008-06-12T17:47:00.004+10:00

I just got a request to post a pic of the sausage dog sample we weren't happy with. So here he is. They made his head hang low, making him seem depressed when he's supposed to look cheerful and happy (see post below). They also got some of the cat samples wrong (you can see the correct cat here). Even though Hayley said that the skinny pink cat looks like the runt of the litter, I really love it. It's become my office mascot and I feel extremely maternal towards it! Click to enlarge. xxxx