Happy Holidays

Here in South Africa we've just laid a great man to rest and we are left to keep that indomitable spirit alive in this our beautiful land...so this is how I'd like to sign off 2013...

Sunset Beach Cape Town 15 December 2013 - Hamba kahle

Go well to you all
let's meet again in 2014 :)
Heloise

One Last Thing

It's the end of the year and I'm nearly on holiday...

picture of a moms mind

In Absentia...

I can not believe that I've been awol since May! Sometimes the real world just takes over and runs off with you. Since my sales figures started soaring (relatively speaking of course). I have been to Zimbabwe on a 18 day camping trip, to the office and back via the school more times than I can count, and finally to the Cederburg on a 'wilderness experience' (woman only). I will have to tell you about that in another post.

But first things first, I've started a new sketchbook. There is nothing quite as scary as that first virgin white page to someone who used to know how to draw. I do it so infrequently now that I feel like I need training wheels every time I want to put something down on paper! But once I start I get lost in a world of absorption, form, line and proportion.

Time slows down and I forget my agoraphobia as far as paper goes...

We Have A Result!

We... (might I remind you) as in the royal we, have sold 5 pieces.
It took a while and it's baby steps, but I'm thrilled.

So, thank you 'I love my laundry' & sweet&soutie for allowing me to start spreading my retail wings.

Grass Stiching

None of my on-going projects are in the position of being worthy of a visual record yet - so time for some eye candy... I found this via Mike McDowell's pinterest site and just couldn't resist :)
Featured on pavingexpert.com here (just scroll down). Imagine the possibilities!
P.S. I'm sorry it's such a small pic but I could not find better

Bag! Ladies!

Bag by Tjou-tjou

My fabulous new handbag! Do yourself a favour and pop over to tjou-tjou for a peek at Henriette's latest creation... and then get your hands on one - I am totally in love with mine.

Conversation with Self

"Conversations with self" 

I've been experimenting and playing with an idea...something I rarely get the time to do - it usually gets no further than my imagination. I have to keep reminding myself that nothing beats hands on play.
scalpel, magazine, profile and viola!

A Blogger In Need, Is a Blogger In Deed

First some background to this post:

As you may or may not know I’ve been doing the “Blogging your way” course through Holly Becker from décor8 because I felt that I needed a new way of looking at my blog. I’ve loved every minute. I’ve been invigorated, inspired and the learning curve has been huge. This post is a step to putting that learning into practice and the bounce back into my blogging.

Have you ever felt stuck in a blog rut? Well, that’s me now…maybe you can help me out :)  

So I thought I’d learn some more about you and about me, from you. If you have a moment I’d appreciate it hugely if you would give me some constructive feedback on my blog.

This is the idea…I’ve devised a picture-poll on Pinterest for those of you who like quick and beautiful. 

However if you prefer to peruse my neck of the woods a little and then leave me a note (via comment or e-mail) I’ve designed a little feedback questionnaire below. (Each question has a link to a somewhat relevant post so you get a bit of an introduction if you haven't visited before.)

Enough about me! Let me know a little about you.

And that's it! If you've gotten this far here's a big blogger hug from me xxx

All Picture No Sound...yet

MIG Moodboard

So this is the other thing I've been occupying my time with!
Part of my homework for The Blogging Your Way Course - I'm planning a more interesting but no less imperfect future and you're invited :)

Oops! I just realised I forgot to add this...
Some of the images I used I've collected on pinterest.

The seagull: Marc Johns
Water colour bird illustr: Matt Sewell
Beans: Peter at slouvlakiforthesoul.com
White ink on brown paper by: Oh! Deer Julie
Oh! and last but not least the cup: Annette Oberwelland
Stiched labels and pressed flowers: found via carly-mac.tumblr.com

Market of Loveliness

I can't believe it's been more than a week since I last posted about the 'Market of Loveliness'! But here it finally is.

My first retail experience was really a very pleasant one in the small personal space of 'I Love My Laundry'. After a rather chaotic start (I had no idea what to price my various items at) we all settled down to some dim sum and a wine tasting hosted by the 'Land of Hope' label. Great wine with a great ethic behind it - not to mention a rather nice looking label :). Clayton shared some of the 'I love my... ' brand vision and Carmen introduced the Sweet&Soutie concept to everyone.

Then all that was left to do was shop!

Life On The Shelf!

And so the big day arrives for me...

I have never had the guts to sell my stuff, or even display it, so I have quite a build up, 

and now it's up for grabs - officially priced and on the shelf, and table and anywhere else it could fit, 

at the coolest 'destination laundry' in Africa (in fact the only of it's kind in Africa)...come and get it!

A full report back on the launch evening of Sweet&Soutie's Market of Loveliness will follow shortly.

Say It Like It Is

Look what I got today! One of tjou-tjou's beautiful hand stitched cards - customised for yours truly. I think it deserves a frame and place of importance in my kitchen. 

You'll make me smile everyday my friend tks.

Pic and design by Henriette from tjou-tjou

So Much!

The 1st of March arrived sans the warm-up of the 29th and 30th Feb...so did the Design Indaba, The 'Blogging Your Way' online course I enrolled in, the school camp-out, and the soon to happen launch of some of my work at 'I Love My Laundry'.

All good - she says quietly in full panic mode :)

6 days later - and the last is still in full swing, but I'm gaining ground.

I now own 3 absolutely gorgeous paper proteas from Denise and her daughter at Freshlyfound - which I bought at the Design Indaba Expo. (See more about their making here.)

I am sooo inspired by the speakers at the Indaba my head is exploding with ideas, roll-on 'Blogging Your Way'. Thanks to Holly and her team I am now on twitter, have an 'avatar'...hullo! (I still have to learn what to do with all this) but that's the point.

AND completely unlike me, I actually have finished my goodies for follow 'I love My Laundry' on twitter but that's a story for the auspicious date of 13th March when I'll be there with Henriette from tjou-tjou.

pic by' itswhatiminto'

If things go my way this will also be my first tweet soon :)))))

Water & Clay

Mami Wati (mother water)

This was one of my most enjoyable clay sessions ever. From start to finish she took me two hours to make - no planning, no scketches just going with the flow and I loved it. She's about 25cm high. I think I'll finish her off with green and blue oxides and only glaze parts of her.

February in Tomato

I have a lot, I mean bowls full and they're all beautiful - and I have more coming into sunny sweet ripe red everyday. I'm loving this :)

Monday Blues

One of many ellies at play at a waterhole

We were lucky enough to spend a weekend at a game lodge in the Waterburg (about 2 1/2 hrs north of Pretoria)
Today I'm back at my desk...gumph!

Wind Blown

"Tumble, tumbleweed, tumble through my hart..."

It feels like the South Easter hasn't let go for weeks. My garden is dried out, the Cape is dusty and everyone is feeling a bit frazzled, but in the quiet space of the pottery studio even that can be inspirational. I've been wanting to make this platter for a while with a beautiful photograph as reference but I kept on forgetting to bring it and in the end the drawing came straight from the heart and not the head.

Detail of the tumbleweed sketch

Fan Fare!

Hot summers day melty cream berry cheesecake celebrating my delightfully wonky candy colour cakestand... finally.

Sunshine In A Box

Sometimes you make your own happiness by passing it around :)

A Lot Of Nothing Is Good For The Soul

We spent the New Year here - in the middle of no-where; no water on tap, no ablution blocks, no cellphone reception, no people and guess what no stress...but a feast for the senses.

Aaaah - the sunsets

and truly 'Life of Pi' - phosphorescence in the waves

Breakfast West Coast style

A pair of breeding Oyster Catchers - we only realised this when discovering their egg after dropping a piece of flotsom we picked up - and then I had to look twice to make sure it was what I thought it was - 

Someone else was there too!

Amongst all that blue, some fire

The Meerkats (all thirteen of them) kept us under close observation the whole time

Just when you think everything is windswept and scrubby - look closer and the colour starts to pop

Life's a beach...and then some

Welcome back - I'm looking forward to 2013 and I'm expecting some magic :)