flowers

i had a fantastic weekend, having dinner with friends on friday, breakfast with friends on saturday and then travelling to malmesbury to ride a champion freisian with my dad in the afternoon. the flowers are out and there were endless fields of butter yellow canola flowers to ride through, which just took my breath away. people from all over the world make the pilgramage to the flower regions every year to witness the colourful and magical displays. i always experience it on horseback because my dad stables his horses there...i know....i'm pretty lucky!

new crochet bags

thanks to my friend clare, who scouted out these amazing bags for me, i will be getting them into the shop as soon as humanly possible. there is a beautiful story behind these bags, but all will be revealed later...i just had to share my excitement at having these gorgeous handmade (with love) creations in the shop soon. the pics are a little fuzzy, but at least you can get a sneak peek at what they look like! they make me feel like i'm on a european summer holiday, with a bag packed with bikini's and sarongs, homemade lemonade and sandwiches, ready for a fun day on the beach!

told you so

flickr groups

for those of you who are on flickr, you'll know how amazing it is to share your photo's with others in groups, and to see them all come together in a collective universal collage. for those of you who aren't on flickr, don't be afraid! i have little photographic skill, but its fun to be able to see the artistry of photographers and artists the world over and to see how people live their lives, from antwerp to bombay. here are some groups i belong to and here are some images taken from them.aspects of alice is a great flickr group where members can contribute their interpretations of an aspect of the alice in wonderland story.
then there's indie, retro and vintage photo group, which beckons lovers of vintage looking photos to share their low-fi images. its definitely one of my favourites.
green, red and a bit of blue is a group for lovers of this colour combination, where every photo should contain all three colours. the result is a stunning themed collage.
skinnylaminx in my home was one of the first groups i joined, where everyone gets to show off how their skinny purchases look inside their homes.
bazaar style is a group adminstrated by the stylist of the book of the same name, where contributors interpret the style and create a delicious lookbook.
then of course one of the first groups i became a member of was mid century modern ceramics and tableware.

the magic of pegasus

an old friend of mine from my crazy young free spirited days before i was a mommy, has clearly not had kids, because he's half of the curious band named, 'the magic of pegasus.' i haven't seen them play yet, as they only seem to play gigs in another province, but you can listen to their tunes on their myspace. sean always had a dirty rotten good sense of humour and the ability to take on characters as a part of his daily life and it translates into their styling and basically their glam theatrical vibe! love it!

fresh inspiration

in an effort to update my blog reading list, i weeded out some bloggers who hadn't posted in months and have replaced them with some seriously fashion forward artists and crafters who have their own wonderful blogs. i featured one of them yesterday (see below) and have also started following mieke willems, who owns a niche store in antwerp, with eccentric little arty and crafty goods which are inspiringly original and cheeky. i love and admire it when people have such a strong sense of what their own personal style is and you can see it in everything they do, buy, capture, wear......expect seriously quirky posts with pics like these!

cherry bowls and jug

one of my favourite retro pottery designers is the german company waechtersbach and i have a lovely set available in store, including a cherry jug and 3 bowls. they are highly collectable and will make any kitchen happier! the bowls are R125 each and the jug is R175.

jane foster

jane fosters work not only inspires me become a better person, but makes me feel happy and young again! here's a little blurb by the artist herself and a few pics of her work and her home...I am an artist based in Brighton. I especially love silk screen printing. You can view my work on my website www.janefoster.co.uk I currently design for the new re-launched Clothkits and sell my prints and fabric items around the country. Five of my screen prints are currently being sold as packs of cards in Habitat.

movies i'm too excited for!

tim burton's 'alice in wonderland,' 'the imaginarium of doctor parnassus,' 'where the wild things are....' wow, whats going on here? we're getting quality quirky edgy movies all of a suddenly strawberry cheesecake? i just can't wait.
In the present day, immortal 1,000-year-old Doctor Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) leads a traveling theatre troupe—including a sleight of hand expert, Anton (Andrew Garfield), and a dwarf, Percy (Verne Troyer)—that offers audience members a chance to go beyond reality through a magical mirror in his possession.[3] Parnassus had been able to guide the imagination of others through a deal with the Devil (Tom Waits), who now comes to collect on the arrangement,[4] targeting the doctor's daughter (Lily Cole). The troupe, which is joined by a mysterious outsider named Tony (portrayed by Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell),[5] embark through parallel worlds to rescue the girl.

reuse, recyle!

if you are anything like me and like to do some retail therapy sometimes, but don't want to spend any cash, then try getting something from a charity store and give it a lick of paint and turn it into something you can use in your own home, and feel proud of it too! check out this easy idea, taken from an old post on design sponge.

remember the liezel trautman cup and skinny laminx sale!

i have brought a few cups through from stanford for customers who have bought cups via my blog and i have 2 blue swallow cups with red hearts in the middle and red swallows and a heart cup, so let me know soonest if you want to own a piece of functional art from one of the best ceramicists in the country, if not the world. (Discounts for orders of 4 cushion covers and up)
also remember that my cushion sale on heather moore cushion covers for R140, is still on!

never on a sunday

the cafe has been very busy this morning so far and i am posting a few photos before our lunch booking arrives. i created some bird and apple tree window decorations, making a bird theme for my window this morning as there is a birding festival here soon.

a beautiful day

its a beautiful day in stanford, the sun is shining, people are smiling and my new red apple paper in the back of my koskas, makes me happy.

easy makeover project

here's a really really easy makeover project for everyone this weekend! lets compare next week in pictures! i know we could all find an old spice rack in a charity store or second hand furniture store this weekend and turn it into a beautiful hallway shelf to house our collections of weird and wonderful small things. these pictures are taken from apartment therapy.

swallow and heart porcelain cups on sale!

my last sale before season will be on all liesel trautman porcelain cups, at R180 for a pair! i have red swallows, blue swallows, red and blue swallows and hearts and red cross stitch heart designs currently available, but stock is limited, so please order via the blog, email or phone if you'd like to increase your own collection or buy early christmas gifts xxx i will deliver anywhere in the cape town.southern suburbs/south peninsulsa area. (all cups are the size of the one in the first pic only)

a little secret at lily vintage

i've discovered a children's vintage online store on etsy that sells mint condition GORGEOUS outfits for under $12.99....!!!!!!! take advantage now of the great prices at lily vintage.

long street style browsing

mungo & jemima

mememe

i took luca into town late yesterday afternoon for a tv casting and we had some time to kill, so i stopped in at my favourite clothing stores in cape town, mungo & jemima and mememe, which happen to be situated across the road from each other in long street. mememe was one of the shops responsible for making long street as crazy popular as it is, when back in 90's, nobody wanted anything to do with it and rentals plummeted, some talented young visionaries saw the potential and opened their funky stores in that neglected part of town. i worked in long street at that time when young hipsters opened tiny coffee shops, clubs, bars, restaurants and shops and have made long street one of the most popular tourist destinations in town.
mememe is owned by the multi-talented doreen southwood, who is also an award winning artist and a lovely young woman to boot. her off-beat fashion designs are available in store, with other choice designer ranges that compliment her style.
mungo & jemima is only a year old and i was inspired to see many young fashionistas floating into the store yesterday, a great sign in our current economic climate! i love the stores fresh look and feel, with its whimsical decor accents and fabulous local designer fashion selection.
these two stores are authentic 'young designer emporiums,' filled with threads that are designed by south africans, such as my favourites 'i love leroy' and 'coppelia' (which i have been wearing for almost 10 years) and are feminine, folky and edgy and made with love.

studio space

tomorrow hopefully i will have recovered from my migraine (which i only seem to get in this house) and will be converting my loft bedroom into a studio space for my son and i to work in. i need a creative work space to work on my kiddies range and luca needs a constructive space to occupy him in the afternoons! the space is very large and totally under utilised and i hope i succeed in making it a positive work environment.

the mysterious production of eggs

shara of 'my brightest diamond'

andrew bird

i'm truly enjoying andrew birds latest album, 'the mysterious production of eggs.' and have i introduced you to 'my brightest diamond' yet? these two would be a dream collaboration...

crochet cushion order

a fabulous blog reader and customer of mine, ordered a personalised crocheted cushion with the colour accents that she desired and it looks absolutely gorgeous!

beatnik beasties

beatnik bazaar is now going to be crossing over into children's goods and decor too, with a dedicated kiddies section in store. as everything in store is cute anyway, it all blends well and as always, every item will be locally handmade or sourced, with vintage collectables and other sweet things together in the mix. i already have vintage bassinets and cots, a pram, soft toys and beautiful vintage girls dresses in store, and i'm working on some special things for boys. my collection of clothing, toys and decor will be influenced by life in stanford and the old fashioned ways that children entertain themselves there. my plan is to grow this into a whole new shop, so watch this space!

spring is in september

the 1st of september is the first official day of spring in south africa and to celebrate the new season coming up, i was inspired to shop you some of my favourite retro flower designs, which are usually bold, happy and colourful. aren't they gorgeous?