Heart warming

I have to say one of my favourite things being a business owner is getting feedback on our product and service. We got this email this morning - it's been the highlight of my day, thus far!

Hi Vanessa and Justin,

I have just received my first RAVF order, and I just wanted to drop you a line to say how happy I am with the quality of the fabrics, the beautiful presentation of my order (best ever of my online shopping!) and the very prompt delivery, in just two days. The pieces were presented so beautifully.

So, thank you and congratulations!

I will certainly be keeping an eye on your website as I build up my collection of vintage fabrics.

Sigh. If only the rest of my broken-hand-trying-to-work day could be this wonderful!

Loving

Image via here.

Even though our house is a renovator's delight 1970 build, I would love to pop a facade over the front...exactly like the above. It creates so much mystery...

Things are a little quiet around here thanks to me falling ' a over t' while out for a walk on Thursday night. Yes - splat on the sidewalk, thanks to tripping between the pavement and grass verge. Have broken bones in right hand (nothing to be done for them) and am very, very sore. If anyone saw it, they would have laughed and laughed. I am laughing at my illegible handwriting. But today I can lift things again and can type, albeit a little slowly. Poor Justin had to keep the orders going on Friday - but hopefully I'll be back to it tomorrow and help any way I can.

You never know what's around the corner, do you?

Loving

These shots make me want to run out and buy an old warehouse and build separate rooms inside. I would be in my element. I could make each room different...a different identity for each. I am in love with this idea.

Found here.

Sardines in an Aquarium

Yesterday was a national holiday - Australia Day. I get a bit funny with Australia Day as it commemorates the landing of white people here and the subsequent domination of Aborigines (our native people). Don't get me wrong - I love being Australian and I am very proud of our culture and land - but I don't necessarily need a day to think on how lucky this lucky country is.

The kids have definite cabin fever so we took off on the train and headed up to the Melbourne Aquarium for the day. Neither one of us had been and we thought the kids would get a real kick out of it.



I have only been to one aquarium - Kelly Tarlton's in Auckland, New Zealand - and I was totally blown away by it. Mind you, I still remember the pacing sting ray in it's really small enclosure. I expected the same from Melbourne Aquarium.



Unfortunately we walked away a bit meh. Even the kids weren't overwhelmed. We don't know why, either...but there was nothing extraordinary about Melbourne Aquarium and the amount of Australian fish they had (which we have seen before) was just a tad too many. The best part was the Oceanarium - and that was at the end of the tour. By that stage the kids weren't impressed with how many visitors there were and they were grumpy!



It cost us around $100AUD to get into the Melbourne Aquarium, so it's not cheap. I would recommend it if you haven't been to an Aquarium before - as the total experience is great. But what I wouldn't recommend is going on school holidays - there were WAY too many people there, so many that we couldn't get the kids to see some exhibits....so go on an off time of year!

Frenetic psychedelic

So today wasn't much better. I think the kids have cabin fever, so we're off tomorrow to do some adventuring. There was much yelling, crying, fighting over toys...sigh, such is the life of peeps with more than one child, I think. Apparently the little tackers outgrow this type of behaviour...for a while...and then they hate each other again when they're teens. Oh dear. Pass me a drink now, please...

But I set to at work and got a lot done. But the 100% focus won't come until the kids are in kindy and school...I realise that now. Expecting too much of myself, as per usual.

The Scream

Can I (quietly) admit I am looking forward to school resuming and kindy starting? I know...I am horrid. But some days, after you've heard the word MINE screamed at the top of tiny lungs a billion times and crying at the top of tiny lungs...well, you just want school and kindy to start NOW.

I thought of using Edvard Munch's The Scream to portray my head exploding...but I thought that wasn't kitsch enough...a 1960s housewife having a meltdown is good enough for me!

1970s Scandinavian super graphic flower - only $20!

We have too much fabric surrounding us - so I have been selling pieces off a la cheapo on ebay in the last week to try and give us more room. $5 here, $5 there - and I just put up two of these fabulous 1970s Scandinavian panels for only $20.00 each...

This is me, nude...

I have no idea why I have dots on my elbows...you can find out more here.

Valuing vintage fabrics

I have been traveling the world of vintage fabric yesterday and today. Well, traveling the value of vintage fabrics. I've done everything from putting stock on ebay for $5 a pop to putting 1880s cotton on the website for $35. The pieces below are going on ebay - the pieces above are already on the website. If you purchase from both sites no extra postage will be charged...you just pay the website postage flat rate.

Someone was telling me the other day that people can tut tut the value of vintage fabric and compare it to fabric in Lincraft and Spotlight (these comments can be overheard at markets, apparently). That amazed me - it sounds so silly to me. I wonder if the same people value a 1930s cocktail dress with a modern dress from Kmart or Walmart or even Myer? Of a 1940s Carltonware sugar pot to a Maxwell and Williams piece. It's got me thinking today....

Madame le vintage knit

Since I was a little girl, I have been in love with all things French Revolution. I don't know why. I love the stories of Louis and Marie Antoinette, the mob, madame le guillotine and Robespierre. It was a very hard time in France's history - a sad time to many, many people - and a liberating one for others.

This knit reminds me of that period. I love it!

Vintage fabric bling

There's nothing like a bit of 1960s lurex brocade to brighten up your day. I love a bit of vintage fabric bling...don't you?

These are just some of the fabrics I have taken shots of today - they'll be going up on the website today or tomorrow...

Momentum

I can't believe how much the festive season took the wind out of my sails. When you stop doing something it's amazing how quickly the knack leaves you. I didn't upload any fabric over the Christmas/New Year season and have (slightly) struggled to get back into the routine. I = only started to find my mojo yesterday and have enjoyed putting even more up today. The momentum for 2011 has started! These new arrivals can all be found here.

Loving

Loving the red chandelier.



Loving the roof.



Loving the lights.

I love interiors and exteriors. I wanted to be an architect at one stage. And then an interior designer. I loved creating Lego houses, too. Click on the images to see more photos of each house.

These are Australia's colours, to me...

It's amazing what you see when you are dragged out of the house to go for a long walk with the scooter son. I saw Australia's colours - to me.

My clothes washing detergent is nuts

Inspired by this man, I am pushing our 'green thoughts' even further this year. I hate using detergent now - on anything and for anything. We were still using a washing powder detergent until a week ago, when these lovely nuts arrived in the mail. I have used them five times since and our washing seems clean and fresh - and we're not using anything nasty to get it there! Plus, these nuts are completely organic (of course), so they can go straight into the compost when you're finished with them and they're super cheap compared to supermarket detergents.

To read about them (and purchase) visit here.

And then the sun shines

We are at the end of what has been a very strange week for us - a wonderful week, in so many ways, but a very weird one. We've had to adapt to our new doggy, Syd - but the poor wee man has been ill, so we haven't been out and about. And then there has been all of this rain. I haven't been able to focus on the business very well at all, either.

But today the wee man is on antibiotics and is hopefully on the up-and-up and the rain stopped an hour ago - and the sun is out! It has so brightened my spirits!

It just goes to show that there is always light at the end of the tunnel - no matter what.

Happy Friday, all!

xNess

I am flat Stanley

I loved the book Flat Stanley when I was a wee girl growing up. His adventures being posted here and there and being able to do super-human things as he was only half an inch thick really grabbed my imagination. What has stuck with me for my life thus far is the title 'Flat Stanley' - I have always used it to describe my emotions when I am flat.

Today, I am flat Stanley.

We have had four days of constant rain in these parts and it's starting to get to me. Not just pitter patter rain, either - I'm talking nice hard as a rock balls of water. The ground is so wet you can't walk on it - and there is no reprieve for this rain until late in the weekend, from what I have heard. On top of this weird Summer rain (let's all admit it - we have climate change, peoples!) Victoria has unseasonal humidity. High humidity. I am accustomed to a dry heat, not a sticky, tropical heat...and here we are with four days of heavy rain and 90% humidity. It completely zaps you.

I feel utterly helpless with the Queensland floods, the Summer is no-where to be seen, we have two kids who are in 'arguing mode' (when is school going back??) and none of us want to go out in this weather. Perhaps it's a case of cabin fever? Either way, today I am flat Stanley...I really hope I perk up tomorrow!

The anatomy of the knit

I love this style of illustration...found in the 1963 American Fabrics magazine...

A Marimekko we don't really know - American Fabrics, 1963-1964

I was browsing some of my American Fabrics books and came across an amazing article on Marimekko - written in the Printex days in 1963-1964. I photographed the entire three page article for you to read and study - the designs are NOT what I would have thought Marimekko would have produced, I have to say. It's only towards the end of the article and the architecture designs that the famous design voice of Marimekko starts to come through.