Where does the time go?

This past month has been very exciting. I've celebrated my 26th birthday and visited a tropical island for the first time.

Work has been hectic and exciting. I'm being pushed to be more creative every day, look for new possibilities and increasingly being asked to help shape the visual future of our company. I love the challenge but with so much energy needed to learn and grow at work I've struggling to leave any creative ideas/thoughts for when I get home.

I started this blog when I didn't have many creative outlets. It's been a great outlet for me to find inspiring people, music and other blogs. I've loved the exploration and challenge.

At the moment I don't feel like I'm doing it justice. I'm barely able to make a post. I think about it all the time but my priorities are else. So I'm taking a break until I can come back with some new ideas, perhaps a new layout and so I can focus on my other projects.

Bye bye for now. I'll be back soon.

What inspires me at work

Oh dear! I am a bad bad blogger. My poor neglected blog is not at all a fair representative of how creative I'm having to be lately. Since starting my new role at work at few months ago it's been challenging but rewarding to put my creative and design skills to the test everyday. I feel like I've grown alot and feel more confident in my abilities as a designer. It's unfortunately (for my blog) it has meant that home time is down time and time to give the right side of my brain a rest.

Perhaps the answer is so show you what inspires me with my day to day projects. I'm often hesitant to post what I'm looking at during work for fear of being a bit corporate or boring but I hope if it inspires me then it will inspire you too.

I am an avid follower of pinterest. It's a beautiful way to find inspiration in an uncluttered environment. Here are some quotes I have (literally) pinned up next to my desk.

One particular stationery blog that brings me crisp, clean and exciting design is lovely stationery

I hope you enjoy a little bit of inspiration for your working week! 

How do you define your creativity?

I've been thinking alot in the past year or so on how I define myself and my creativity. There are so many words to describe creative people. You could be a designer, maker, embroiderer, craftsperson, decorator, artist, stylist, videographer, photographer, illustrator, blogger, stitcher and the list goes on. In some ways I identify with all of these titles so how do I chose one that summarizes what I'm interested in and passionate about. I struggle with picking just one that people understand, respect and can relate to.

As a child I aspired to be an artist. I had a romantic idea that being an artist would mean I get to draw all day and make things. As I progressed through high school the determination to draw all day was probably affected by slightly disappointing marks in painting and the rapid rise of my love for photography and graphic design.

Post high school I pursued a degree in graphic design which I loved but there were some areas I felt uncomfortable in. I just didn't quite fit. My passion for craft influenced my graduation project where I explored the relationship between pixels and stitches. The contrast between limited edition and mass produced, handmade and technologically produced. Graphic designer somehow didn't seem to reflect those interest entirely.

The label or title that fits the best with me at the moment is probably a maker. I make designed objects, things out of paper, things about of fabric, images of light, videos, collages. Although I'm comfortable with this title there is a sense that who I am and how I express my self creatively is an evolving and ongoing exploration. The struggle to define myself helps me to explore new mediums and creative outlets.

Does what you make define you creatively? I'd love to know what title you think fits you.

Music Monday - Beach House

I just can't get enough of Beach House's album Teen Dream at the moment. We got my Mikey a cool vintage record player for his birthday last week and this album on vinyl. Zebra is one of my favourite tracks. I find the chorus intoxicating.

Walk in the park is one to sing along to. You know you want to. (Sorry I had to remove this video it was a bit to unsettling to the tummy). The song is awesome but the official video is quite shocking.

Look what I made - Easter decorations

Look what I made last week. Our cafe needed a bit of Easter cheer but it needed to be subtle. We didn't want to go all out with Easter decorations that we'd need to take down again within a few weeks. I found these cheery flowers at my local plant centre and dressed them up with some pretty painted mini eggs on painted skewers. 

Do you decorate for Easter? What are your favourite Easter crafts?

Music Monday - Julia and Angus Stone

Today's Music Monday is music you can dream to. Julia and Angus Stone are a brother/sister duo from Australia. Their music is emotive, contemplative and motivating.


The Boys is my favourite song. I love the tied dyed ponchos!

Pressies from Mum - Melbourne

I love when my Mum goes on holiday! She always manages to bring back such interesting pressies and treats. When visiting a close friend in Melbourne she got me the perfect goodies. An alphabet tea towel, a cute budgie melamine plate, a Hello Sandwhich gift wrapping guide, a cute handmade pin cushion, some vintage thread and post it notes. My Mum has a reputation for buying the best presents.

I'm really dying to put the gift wrapping guide into practice. Love you Mum. 

Look what I made - Wedding decorations

So the past few months have been non stop on the go. I've barely had a moment to catch up but rather than give up the blog altogether I'VE RETURNED. This week I hope to catch up on sharing on the creative things I've been up to.

On Saturday 2 April one of my bestest friends Helen was married to her lovely fiance Matt. The wedding was a gorgeous handmade marquee affair. I had the extra privilege of being a bridesmaid, designing the invitations, the programmes, helping with the decorations AND coordinating the alter decorations and flowers. Below are some shots from setting up and us behind the scenes of the bridal party photos.

Glorious early morning fog

The lovely Becky and I left Auckland at the break of dawn early Friday morning to pick flowers from my aunty and her partners green houses in Morrinsville. We returned at around midday to help setup the marquee with a carload of flowers.

The marquee with reception layout before ceremony setup

The flower arranging begins

Buckets of flowers and we just had enough! 

I helped to create the table runners and bunting and wrote the blackboard signage.

My alter creation and flower arranging

Jars hung from the marquee along the aisle alternating with candles & flowers

 

 

After setting up the marquee the bridal party plus friends and helpers drove up north to Mathesons Bay to stay the night. We have the lovely opportunity to hang out together and get ready up north before bridal party photos. The wedding was an evening wedding so the day felt nicely paced and probably one of the most relaxing wedding day experiences I've had!

Bridesmaid shoes line up

The beautiful couple

Bridesmaids

The beautiful bride Helen and flower girl Johanna

It was such a magical day and such a privilege to be apart of a very unique celebration. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the professional photos. I'm hoping there might be a few of the decorations and details that I didn't get the chance to capture.

Can't wait till Saturday.

It's been way too long! Life has been very hectic! I am helping my dear friend prepare for her wedding. We've been designing the programme, assembling decorations, organising pretty shoes to match my bridesmaid dress and getting together to have fun girly times. On friday I'll be picking flowers ready for the ceremony on Saturday evening. I can't wait to show some pictures. Here are the shoes I'll be wearing from ASOS. Gorgeous! The nude colour is a bit warmer in real life.

So excited!

Look What I Made - paper pom pom wreath

I've had an exciting change in my job this year. I can happily report I am now the Graphic Designer and Social Media Coordinator at non-profit Parents Inc. I'm hoping this will result in a greater creative satisfaction at the end of my day. One little job I'm happy to keep in my new role is the quarterly interior decoration at The Parenting Place. Here is the decorations I created for this first quarter.

My next installation will be for Easter which is coming up fast.

Music Monday - Darwin Deez

Today's Music Monday comes from my Mikey again. I'm not sure how Darwin Deez came across his radar but apparently he's playing in Auckland on Monday 16 May. I'm loving his playful videos. If you watch his other personal YouTube videos you can see this is one funny, quirky guy. We love his dance moves. We might even try and get a few down before the show.


Are you grooving?

My current life state of play

So I took a little unintentional break from blogging the past week and a bit. Last friday we unfortunately lost a special person in our family. My nana Merle passed away at aged 81. She was a such a wonderful, independent, creative and generous lady. She was my paternal Grandma which made our loss and the service particularly poignant as we lost my Dad to cancer just over 5 years ago.

It's sad too as she was my last living grandparent and I really feel the loss of the special older people in my life. Although I've inherited alot of characteristics from my parents I identify with so with aspects from each one of my grandparents. I'm sure I get my curly hair from my Grandad Norman. I get my passion and determination from my Grandma Val. My creativity and love for self expression from Grandad George and Nana Merle.

It's also made me reflect on my blog and I feel like it's become less personal. I think as this year progresses I'd love to share more about how things inspire me personally and the things I've made. I hope you'll join me on my creative personal journey.

Greenhouse by Joost

I wish I could have visited this temporary restaurant in Sydney while it was around. The Greenhouse restaurant by Joost is about lifestyle and the many choices that can be made; from material choices to fashion, food and ultimately waste. I am always inspired by people really persevering to create environments which contribute to the environment rather than pollute it.

GREENHOUSE BY JOOST from The Design Files on Vimeo.

How awesome is '0' waste? The Design Files, as well as creating this wonderful video did a very interesting interview with Joost which you can read here.

Type Tuesday - Typography abroad from New York and Berlin

The following typographic photos were taken be me on my recent big adventure to the USA, Berlin and Tokyo. We had such an amazing time visiting friends, art galleries, shopping and seeing the world. Now I've got a taste of adventure I can't wait to travel again. I'm hoping to share more photos soon...

You can see more pictures from the set on my flickr page.