I’m so excited at finally having my work put in two of my favourite design shops – Handsomeandpretty in Canberra and Made by Others in Moss Vale – two beautiful outlets with amazing owners.
Firstly, Handsomeandpretty….well I’ve known Jen since I started selling my ‘hobby’ ceramics at the Kingston Bus Depot Markets (KBDM) way back in 1998. I had a full-time job and was practicing my hobby in the evenings. Jen had a shop called The Hive and it started at the KBDM, where she stocked my ‘sushi’ and ‘fertility’ sets, and then she moved to bigger and swankier premises in Braddon. Jen would have been the first person in Canberra to really showcase local artists work in a trendy shop. For some Canberreans…shopping outside of the Mall or the Canberra Centre was considered unheard of. She was the trendsetter of boutique art + design shopping. Anyway, several years down the track she sold The Hive to concentrate on becoming a silversmith jeweller and imagine my delight when I found out a few months ago she was opening a new shop back in the stomping grounds of Braddon. Even nicer was she was keen to look at my work and take a few pieces on for her new shop. OMG…me being Anne had to think long and hard as I honestly didn’t think I would be selling my jewellery till 2013. Admittedly, I didn’t have the confidence (or the time) to invest in marketing my own work. The irony is that I was happy to help other artists market their work! So, the good news is Jen will be stocking some of my pendants (note images are above are indicative of pendants available) and please if you can support local business…pop into Lonsdale Traders and check out the industrial warehouse concept that will change your view on shopping. It’s quirky, cool and is going to put Canberra on the map! In fact, it’s so cool that hot off the press today is a fabulous article, Transformation into a hipster hangout, in The Canberra Times today (27 October 2012).
Now, to my faithful friends in Moss Vale at Made by Others. I first met Anna and Ursula exactly this time 2 years ago when I was finishing my first semester at the ANU Canberra School of Art. Hubby and I had gone to Bowral for the weekend and as we whizzed past the main street of Moss Vale my shopping alert radar went up as I spun my head around 90 degrees and told him to pull over! Why? I saw a gorgeous shop and we must stop! Talk about funny….well it was beautiful and had lots of artworks from ceramics to scarves to prints and dresses. The story goes…
I got chatting to the owner Anna and once she realised I was studying she was keen to see my work – I happened to have some photos and Anna said to keep in contact. Well, I kept in contact with the occasional visit, showing her the latest work and once I graduated and they saw my final exhibition pieces she said when I was ready with packaging etc to come and see them.
Well that happened about a week ago (2 years later…) and I was thrilled that Anna, Ursula and Kate (one of the customers providing her insight into my pendants) loved my works. It was great watching them pick and choose while I chatted away to Ian who was studying painting. Anyway, they have take on a few of my works and please if you can support an interstate business….pop into the main street and check out the coffee/hot chocolate/tea and scrummy cakes available while you shop in style, have a chat and meet new people.
Oooh…did I mention I was excited? Yeah…I’m grateful to have such wonderful supporters of the arts/craft/design in Canberra and NSW.
