Sebastian and Sienna rock Adelaide

With Mathilda's Market in Adelaide happening this Saturday 3 July at Loreto College in Marryatville, I thought I'd sit down with a cuppa and leisurely peruse the line up of Adelaide stallholders. It was a pleasurable way for me to savour part of the last day of staying with my parents for the week (and milk the most from the 24 hour babysitting service!) I clicked on stallholder names randomly, and when I found myself at the Sebastian and Sienna home page, I immediately admired the label's fabulous logo:

Wow! Too cool for school! I was curious, so decided to investigate further. I soon learned that the label's boys range, called "Little Sebastian" is inspired by rock-pop culture and "our love for the New Romantic movement, Empire of the Sun, The Goonies, skinny jeans, floppy tees, MGMT, The Doors and Ferris Bueller." Hmmm .... I love my rock n'roll (Empire of the Sun ... these gals have great taste!) and the fashion inspired by it, and I had a feeling Sebastian and Sienna made garments for the little ones that I was to start gushing about. The “Little Sienna” range is all about girly dresses and skirts, high-waisted shorts and pretty blouses – think piggy tails, Pretty in Pink and tea parties. I'd fallen for the words - but would the actual clothes live up to their enticing descriptions? Quite excited by this stage, I couldn't navigate my way fast enough to the website's gallery to check out the range. Click ...  ahhhhhhh .... click ..... fabulous! ....click ... Oh my gosh, that's insanely cool ... Click ... Hmmm, where is my purse, I must find my credit card. Needless to say, I was far from disappointed.

                                                   

     

Do you think young Sebastian may have a modelling career ahead of him? What a natural!

Inspired by the clothing styles they grew up wearing in the seventies, Adelaide gals Vanessa and Peta started Sebastian and Sienna in 2008, and the label has evolved from their oodles of ideas and drawings into the S&S collection today.

                                       

                                           Vanessa, Evangeline, Sebastian, Peta and Sienna

Considerable  design, patternmaking, grading and sewing skills go into the production of this range, as the duo do everything from scratch - it's all handmade! Limited runs of each style mean you know you're getting something for your little fashionista that you wont see on every other cherub rocking on down the street!

         

Keep a close eye on the Sebastian and Sienna website for the "Little  Evangeline" range, a collection of one-off pieces, handmade using fabrics, 1970's vintage patterns and buttons. "Little Evangeline" will be inspired by all the best things from Peta and Vanessa's childhood: Little Golden Books, Patsy Biscoe records, roller skating with friends, pinafores, homemade birthday cakes and running under the sprinkler! That's my suburban Sydney childhood too, and I can't wait to see what amazing creations the ladies have in store. 

Don't forget to drop in on the Sebastian and Sienna stall at Mathilda's Market in Adelaide this Saturday 3 July!

Peta x

Mathilda's Market blogger

Jim jam time

It's near impossible to find PJ's for kids that aren't from a licenced brand and covered in cartoon characters, isn't it ... I think it's rather nice to put the kids to bed wearing something a little less, well ... busy! Something in calm and soothing and soft colours, that says "time for bed", rather than something loud that shouts "why not stay up and play!"

So I'm loving the look of the jammies being created by Milly & Jock Designs, who will be selling their range at Mathilda's Market in Canberra THIS Sunday 27 June!

Milly & Jock was started in 2009 by two sisters, Eve Munro and Linda Croker, from country New South Wales (the business is based in Cumnock, in the centre of the state). Between them, they have five children. Frustrated at being unable to find stylish and affordable children's clothing, particularly pyjamas, and with their flair for design, the sister's business was established.

If you live in a city, it's easy to forget not everyone lives in the big smoke. Linda and Eve's geographical isolation also proved to be a contributing factor in the establishment of the business. Making garments available to rural & urban families alike is a key focus for Milly & Jock Designs.

The Milly & Jock range is designed by Eve and Linda, and is made using the highest quality cotton. Their garments look good and last the distance, even if the kids DO forget they're wearing PJ's in soothing colours, and engage in some rough and tumble behaviour occasionally before bedtime!

The Milly & Jock range currently includes sleepwear and hair accessories in sizes for children aged 1 to 10. I'll leave you to browse some of their lovely hair elastics and headbands, too.
Peta x
Mathilda's Market blogger

Mathilda's Market on Sunday in Canberra

In Canberra, we hold Mathilda's Market at the stunning Hyatt Hotel, and we love it there. You will be pleased to know that entry is free at Mathilda's Market and there is plenty of free parking surrounding the Hyatt Hotel Canberra. There will be a face painter and balloon artist too. Indulge in a fabulous range of truly yummy food in the 'Mathilda's Market cafe', prepared by the Hyatt. Enjoy a day of shopping, eating, relaxing and catching up with friends. The grand Ballroom and Gallery will be brimming with beautiful stalls, itching to share their exquisite wares with you. All stalls are set up inside, so come rain, hail or shine, we will proceed.  Note: easy pram access at rear of Hyatt Hotel. The front entrance has NO ramp. Prepare your shopping list here with a listing of most stall holders!

Under the shade of the Koolaman tree

In outback NSW, just north of the Victorian border, you'll find a town called Balranald. The town is the the gateway to the stunning Mungo National Park, the first National Park to be World Heritage listed in Australia.

Stay with me ... This tale DOES relate to Mathilda's Market in Canberra, this Sunday 27 June!

70 kilometres north west of Balranald, you'll find Koolaman Station, a 73,000-acre sheep and wheat property, passed on for three generations through the one family. And there you'll find Lisa O'Keefe, her farmer hubby Christian and their three kids. Koolaman Station is home to dust storms, plagues of grasshoppers, and is the headquarters of Koolaman Designs - a business crafting beautiful hand stamped sterling silver jewellery.

Lisa and her sister Stacey Clayton are the two women behind the business, busy working mums with six children between them - the eldest being four years old! 

(Oh, if you're planning to visit Lisa, make sure there's petrol in the tank - you'll need to drive down a 50 kilometre driveway to reach the family home! The Koolaman Designs blog provides a wonderful insight into her unique life).

Outback NSW is not a place that screams "jewellery" does it? Yet it just goes to show there are deeply creative and entrepreneurial people in every nook and cranny of this wide brown land of ours. Stacey is no city girl either - she resides in Victoria's Rutherglen wine region. How wondeful that these two women manage to run their venture with such a geographical distance between them - 450 kilometres, to be precise! 

All Koolaman Designs jewellery pieces designed by the sisters, made overseas then are hand stamped at Koolaman Station, using brute force! You'll adore the range of pendants, bracelets, cufflinks, keyrings, earrings and bead necklaces they produce. (One of their pendants has even been worn by Australia's first MasterChef, Julie Goodwin). The designs come in an assortment of shapes and sizes, which you then personalise with your children's names - or indeed, the names of anyone close to your heart.

Loving this gorgeous cuff bracelet ... You can plainly see why it was such a popular item for Mother's Day this year.

And the Violet design, a solid five petal pendant that would make the perfect christening or birthday gift for a little girl.

Or you might choose the Eliza pendant by itself, or with up to six other pendants.

These are merely four of the 21 pendant design options on offer from Koolaman Designs - just click here to see more of the range. And if you'd like to see their pieces up close, head to Mathilda's Market in Canberra this Sunday 27 June.

I'll leave you with this gloriously evocative photo of Lisa's family gleefully frolicking in their huge backyard at Koolaman Station, after heavy rain in January this year!

Peta x

Mathilda's Market blogger

Getting To Know ... Katy and Jane from KatyJane Designs

This edition of Getting To Know ... is twice the fun, as we feature not one, but two creative souls. Meet Katy Metcalfe-Gibson and Jane Chambers from KatyJane Designs.

Jane with her girls

Katy

I am passionate about …
KATY: My family & their happiness, and my business and spreading the word!
JANE: Doing things well

I get frustrated when …
KATY: I snapped my achilles tendon last October and had to walk with crutches for 12 weeks – now that’s frustrating!
JANE: I don’t have enough time to spend doing the things I love, or with those I love.

I started my business because …
KATY: I had always wanted to start up my own business and wanted a challenge beyond being a mother – I saw an opportunity with Jane and went for it!
JANE: It sounded like a good idea from Katy at the time!

If handed $100,000 in an envelope and instructed to spend it however I pleased, I would …
KATY: Where do I begin? Travel to Vietnam and India (two of my dream destinations amongst many others), charter a yacht for my family and friends with a chef, hire a masseuse and a full-time cleaner (both handsome and male of course!), ... oh, and move house! Is that greedy??
JANE: Extend our little two bedroom cottage, immediately! Anyone donating?!

If I could be anywhere right now I’d be …
KATY: At lunch with my girlfriends, sipping wine, laughing about the good times and sharing the hard times.
JANE: On holidays - not too fussy where!

I am most proud of …
KATY: My two gorgeous children, Maisy & Finlay
JANE: My parents: their humility and selflessness is unmatchable.

Katy's children, Maisy and Finlay

I think the biggest obstacle our kids will face in the future is …
KATY: Technology – it’s a good and bad thing.
JANE: computers

My favourite item from our product range is …
KATY: The rainbow birthday card and badge – it’s guaranteed to raise a smile!
JANE: The Blue Whale invitation set

My heart sings when …
KATY: Maisy & Finlay laugh so much they almost cry.
JANE: Things come together!

The hardest part of running my business is …
KATY: The work life balance ... of course!
JANE: The unpaid time that goes into it

I love sipping on …
KATY: Chilled wine in the summer, a warm red in the winter
JANE: A glass of rosé on a summer afternoon with friends.

One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen is ...
KATY: My sister trying to water-ski at a cable park. She was nicknamed the bouncing bomb afterwards – you had to see it to believe it!
JANE: My husband Clinton catching grapes in his mouth, thrown from metres away. You have to see it – it’s a great circus trick!

A person I admire greatly is …
KATY: My Mum ... her unconditional love and ability to forgive is admirable
JANE: My husband. He is 100% content with himself and a wonderful support to me and father to my girls.

The best part of my day is …
KATY: I have two! When Maisy & Finlay jump into bed with me and wake me with kisses & cuddles, and when they are safely tucked up and asleep in bed – oh the peace and quiet! This is when I get to share the day’s events with my husband over a hard-earned glass of vino!
JANE: When the kids go to bed ;-)

My favourite food is …
KATY: Cooked by someone else – what a treat. But also haloumi cheese and anything tapas style, food to share.
JANE: Cooked by someone else!

I struggle with …
KATY: Accepting defeat.
JANE: Confrontation and money management.

Friendship to me means …
KATY: Everything
JANE: Sharing the laughter and the tears.

I just can’t live without …
KATY: Maisy & Finlay, my husband James who is my rock and life support through the good, the bad & the ugly, my Mum, my sister & family support, and my best friends.
JANE: A 50 metre pool – swimming keeps me sane.

Celebrating life's biggest occasions ... all in one memorable weekend!

Mathilda's Market is on this weekend (Saturday) in Brisbane! But there are even more reasons for me to give this weekend the thumbs up ... This weekend is quite a special one for me, and no, I'm not getting married! But Erin, one of my oldest friends from school is, and whatsmore, there's a baby on the way for her and her hubby-to-be! Two years ago, very few of my closest friends had children, but now there always seems to be a baby on the way. It's so nice that we're moving into this next, very different phase of our lives together - I love being able to chat to my oldest mates about sleeping, teething, feeding, etc. without seeing their eyes glaze over!

So I'm about to drive up with my little Edie to Sydney for the nuptials tomorrow, but before the wedding, I've got a gorgeous girly night to look forward to. My dear friend Jacqui lives in Mozambique, and had her baby girl Amaya two months ago - and today I get to meet the little cherub for the first time! We're all staying in the one house and savouring two nights of living in one another's pockets before the family jet back to Africa on Sunday. Plus, I'll meet my friend Heidi's baby boy Leo for the first time at the wedding tomorrow. But perhaps best of all, another dear friend has flown in especially from the UK to surprise the bride! She deserves a cabinet full of trophies for juggling her 12 month old son, Angus on a  flight from London to Sydney this week. Last time I saw Angus, he was a newborn. So do you think I'm a touch excited about all these glorious reunions? You bet I am!

Which brings me to a Brisbane business who create personalised stationery with panache - if you want to announce your own good fortune or a special occasion of your own, then I highly recommend heading to http://www.invitewithstyle.com.au/.

All Invite With Style stationery is designed to be personalised, and you can modify the colour and wording to suit your needs. Plus, the designs are interchangeable, so if you find, say, a birthday design that you love but you want to turn it into a christening invitation, it's no problem at all for Anna and the Invite With Style team, who you can find at Mathilda's Market in Brisbane this Saturday 19 June!

I better go pack my bags ... I can barely contain my excitement! For everyone in Brisbane, have a wonderful day shopping at Mathilda's, and I'll leave you with a few more designs below from Invite With Style.

Peta x
Mathilda's Market blogger

Mad for Mimoo

Mathilda's is happening in Brisbane tomorrow... which is marvellous if you live in sunny Queensland. But for me here in windy old Melbourne (OK, on holidays in Jervis Bay in NSW this week, but usually in windy old Melbourne!) all this news has given me is a severe case of Market Envy. Market Envy happens when one reads through the line-up of stallholders selling their goodies at a Mathilda's Market that's too far away for you to attend, and the result is that you feel green with jealousy! I seem to suffer Market Envy on quite a regular basis, which then leads to flurried bouts of online retail therapy. Hmmmm ... this blogging for Mathilda's Market is a dangerous hobby for me!

Today and tomorrow in our bloogy corner of the universe, I'll be featuring short but sweet write-ups of two of the Mathilda's Market stallholders you will find at the Eagle Farm Racecourse tomorrow. Today, I'm waving my hands and saying, "Mimoo! Mimoo!" No, I haven't gone a little bit loopy ... Mimoo is the name of the business started by Brisbane mum Tina Kirkegaard in 2008. At this time, Tina arrived back in Australia after almost a decade in the UK, her newborn babe cradled in her arms. Feeling underwhelmed with the range of "same old, same old" baby products available in stores, this inspired Tina to launch Mimoo, and create products that were fresh and fashionable, using only 100% cotton fabric. Tina hand sews all pieces in the Mimoo range, which include plush padded play mats, a wonderful "take-it-anywhere" nappy change mat wallet, and some gorgeous jammie sets she's created just for Mathilda's Market!

(For me, this really is the beauty of Mathilda's Market, in a nutshell. I love that you can unearth beautiful, quirky, unique creations that you're unlikely to find in every second store! Most Mathilda's Market stallholders don't even have their own shopfront).

Find Mimoo online at http://www.etsy.com/shop/mimoo, or at www.madeit.com.au/mimoo or of course, at the Eagle Farm Racecourse this Saturday!

Peta x
Mathilda's Market blogger

Two generations - one glorious garden

Only a few more sleeps until the next Mathilda's Market in Brisbane on Saturday 19 June, and I've been browsing the line up of stallholders here, wishing I could grow wings and fly to the Eagle Farm Racecourse that day. Afraid I will have to settle for a spot of online retail therapy instead!

One label in particular I'd love to be there to see up close at the Market is Nan's Garden. This business produces a range of environmentally conscious products for the little ones, including delectable clothes crafted from beautiful and natural fabrics. 

It all began when Brisbane mother-of-one Amelia Apogremiotis and her own mother (Nan) decided to put their boundless creativity to use by making clothes and accessories for children. What is fabulous about Nan's Garden is that they use many upcycled materials in the creation of their wares - this means you'll often find the Nan's Garden team foraging in op shops, online, in co-ops and at markets to unearth wonderful vintage patterns, fabrics, buttons and other bits and bobs to create with. "I hate to see gorgeous fabrics and old furniture go to waste just because someone doesn't think it is fashionable anymore," says Amelia. "We aim to fix some of this by using upcycled fabrics in our clothes and upcycled things as props for our photo shoots."

Each garment from the Nan's Garden range is hand dyed and sewn by either Amelia or Nan - so it  comes to you crafted with considerable love and care! They use fabrics in such as organic cotton and bamboo that are not only kind to the earth, but super soft, too. Their range includes long pants and skirts, dresses, pinafores, crocheted booties, beanies, onesies, t-shirts, shorts and bloomers, singlets, hats, socks, headbands, etc. Here are some recent snaps of their new Truffle Monkey range.

As the song goes, from little things big things grow, and it's the little contributions that add up and make a real difference to the planet. So it's lovely that the tags attached to Nan's Garden products are handmade from recycled paper and come embedded with seeds to help you start your own garden. (Simply dunk the tag in water and plant in the garden to watch your flowers or herbs grow). To add to their green cred, Nan's Garden even use a green web hosting company to ensure their site has as little impact on the environment as possible.


Don't forget to pop in and visit Nan's Garden at Mathilda's Market in Brisbane THIS Saturday 19 June - for more details click here ... Or drop by the Nan's Garden website or blog, anytime!

Peta x
Mathilda's Market blogger