Cushions!

Folding the fabric between bulldog clips creates an interesting star burst pattern.

Onion skins ... organically graphic!

This gorgeous orange was achieved in a dye bath of loquat leaves.

I completed these cushions a few months ago, in time for the launch in December and they've since been shown at the RAW showcase as well. Now it's time to show them to the rest of the world so I'll be listing them in my Etsy shop in the next week or so.
The tops are eco dyed silk (of course!) with eco dyed cotton calico on the reverse. I've experimented with a couple of techniques as you can see by the images. I used a Shibori method of folding the fabric in a particular way (there are hundreds of ways to fold for different results) and clamping with bulldog clips. This produced a star burst pattern both where the fabric was resisted and where the metal clips left lines of rust.
Another  technique I tried was an ombre effect.  This is where the colour graduates from dark to light across the fabric and it seems to be everywhere at the moment from bed linen to fashion to hair! My results turned out a little patchy, more painterly than smooth graduation of colour, but I think it's a cool effect all the same. My next project is to try the ombre thing again on scarves....
The cushions have an envelope opening and I've filled them with feather cushion inserts so they're really squishy and comfy!

http://www.ahomefortandy.com/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/AHomeForTandy

RAW Melbourne - Awakenings

Well it's been at least a week since the RAW showcase and this post would've come sooner if I hadn't been interrupted by my pesky appendix needing surgical removal in the following days. Anyway, I'm making the most of this enforced "sitting down" time to focus on my next move, reading up on marketing strategies and inspiring stories of craftsperson success etc. I am enjoying immersing myself in the wealth of information and literature available to me from the comfort of my couch via laptop, however..... Maybe it has something to do with my less than robust state of health, but as a designer/maker trying to get product made while managing the business side of things while coming up with entrepreneurial ideas while working full time at a day job.... all this information can seem rather overwhelming! Then I think of the alternative...which is to give up... and then I realise I what I've expressed on this very blog in the past, that I just have to do something every day and I'm moving forward.

The RAW showcase was a bold step forward. It was an opportunity to show my wares to an audience wider than my friends and family and I received insightful and positive feed back. Professional images and a video interview are still to come, but in the meantime, but here are some rough images of my display.
www.ahomefortandy.com

The back drop is a 6m length of fabric created for a friend of mine to use as a window dressing, much like one might use a sari (of which he already has a few!) He was kind enough to allow me to use it for the display and I think it worked beautifully as a background for all my work. But before I handed it over, I made sure to take some close up pics. Here they are....

Oak and prunus leaves and onion skins.

A rusty tin can adds interesting texture.

Wrapped, ready for handover.

New Projects

Here are the results of an experimental project I tackled yesterday. I have thought for months now about the idea of dyeing existing garments, bringing new life (and colour!) to what might otherwise be discarded. Rather than begin with something simple, I started with an ivory silk bodice and skirt (probably designed as a wedding or debutante gown), which I bought  a few years ago ridiculously cheap from the clearance rack of a well known Melbourne couture designer. I plan to display it at the showcase at the end of the month (see details below) so I launched in head first!

I first dyed each piece separately in a bath of loquat leaves for a soft apricot background colour. By the end, that colour was more a dusky pink which isn't really apparent in these images but still works well.
Then it was time to add some special effects. I was particular about the placement of the printed leaf patterns so it took my assistant (teenage daughter) and I a bit of thinking to figure out how to place the plant material and bundle it to achieve the desired results. We used prunus leaves which gave us gorgeous purple prints, onion skins and geranium leaves. The skirt took two attempts before we were happy but the bodice was perfect first time! I have deducted that interesting results always happen when I wrap the bundles around either a rusty funnel or a rusty cow bell! The metal reacts with the plant material and fabric producing great effects. The only challenge was wrapping the garments securely around such odd shaped objects.

I'm pretty happy with it as a first attempt....

www.ahomefortandy.com

Leaf print detail.

Hem detail.

Rear bodice detail.

Cleo insisted on making an appearance!

Rear view.

My next project is a special order for an eco-dyed six metre length of silk for a friend wanting to adorn his window frame as one might do with a sari. It may prove challenging to fit the whole piece into the dye bath so I will experiment with sections at a time and see how that works. Images to follow!

In the meantime, Melbourne friends, remember to book your tickets to my upcoming show case to view these experiments (as well as scarves and homewares) in the flesh....

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2014!

My year has already presented itself with a challenge of sorts, with my first project happening at the end of the month! I'm really excited about this event and hope it will lead to exposure, further opportunities and connections with other artists... On top of that, it sounds like an awesome night out! All welcome!

Looking Forward

Happy belated Christmas to all from A Home For Tandy! I hope the season brought much joy, togetherness and some satisfying creative activity that often follows the urge to bake, deck the halls and make the season bright! It's usually at this time, between Christmas and New Year that rather than reflecting on the past twelve months, I get an excited, restless feeling about the year ahead.

I'll be starting a new day job early in the year. It will involve learning new skills, working longer hours in a completely new location and a different commute everyday. My main concern with all that is "how will I manage my textile work schedule around my new lifestyle?" It will all remain to be seen, however I can't stop my mind thinking forward to possible solutions... Perhaps I could do research and answer emails on the train? Perhaps I might design a range of products that is portable enough to work on the train? Maybe a few days a week I'll travel directly to the studio rather than come home only to muster the energy to venture out again? Maybe I should try to get to bed before midnight so I won't be too exhausted by the time I get to the studio? The ideas keep coming....I'll post about the actual solutions as they manifest...

In the meantime, some exciting projects are already in the pipeline for the coming month!

I have three textile artworks hanging in the Brunswick Street Gallery 40x40 exhibition which runs until 14 January. Here's one of them...

And I'll be exhibiting my wares at RAW: Melbourne on 31 January. This is an exciting one night event showcasing the work of 40 artists across different disciplines. Check out their website of more info...
http://www.rawartists.org/

Best wishes to you all for an inspired and creative 2014!

Lift-off!

The day I'd dreamed of for many months finally arrived and surrounded by an intimate gathering of family, friends and admirers in my little suburban studio we declared A Home For Tandy open for business! Reflecting on the evening, I was surprised to realise that it went precisely as I had visualised. Often a much anticipated event will look and feel different in reality but this was almost identical to my mental images, from the product displays to the weather, the number of guests and the conversations I had with them... Perhaps it is testament to the dreaming and detailed planning I had done in the lead up! So with the help of a few amazing people, A Home For Tandy was successfully launched! The images below were taken by the very talented Pete Bell.

A large part of what I wanted to achieve in time for the launch was my online presence and I'm now "out there" on the following sites:

Website www.ahomefortandy.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ahomefortandy?ref=hl

Etsy Shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/AHomeForTandy

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/ahomefortandy/

Twitter https://twitter.com/AHomeForTandy

Feel free to check them out and "Share" and if you have any comments, feedback or suggestions, I'd love to hear from you!

So that goal was ticked off at the end of a very busy year and with holidays and Christmas approaching it would be easy to rest on my laurels and forget it all until the new year. However I'm determined to keep up the momentum. My new-found business head knows that consistency is the key to running a successful business and even if I do just one thing very day, no matter how small, I'm still moving it forward. So I'm resolved to maintain focus over the holidays. Luckily I have special orders to fulfil before Christmas so there is a deadline to work to and I'll be back in the studio tomorrow dyeing some more of my increasingly popular silk scarves.....

The studio entrance 

Baby quilts

Our name-sake story book on display

New swing tags out for the first time

Heart-felt thankyous

Me and my lovely daughter/studio assistant

The scarves sold like hot cakes!

Preparing To Launch

Be it a birthday, anniversary, graduation or any other mile-stone or achievement, I've always been a fan of marking the occasion in some way. So of course I'll be celebrating when "A Home For Tandy" is finally set up and ready for business! The idea to throw a launch party came to me as soon as I walked into my studio and I visualised the space filled with champagne sipping friends and family admiring my artistically displayed work on a balmy summer evening under a canopy of fairy lights (well, I have a very vivid imagination!) And locking in the date I realised how powerful that simple act was. Now I had a non-negotiable deadline for having a number of tasks completed that would culminate in having some product made and an online presence from which to sell it. Then I could work backwards from that date to plan what needed to be done and in what order. Had I not set that launch date and just chipped away at things when I felt I "had the time",  the project might have taken years! (Much like my first quilt which I worked on for seven years and only finished
when I had the deadline of a trip away and I decided it should go with me...)

Now the launch is only 10 days away, and just when I felt things were on track and under control, just today I've written two pages of lists; thing to do, things to source, things to discuss, things to bring to the studio and a plan for the display! I guess this is what it's like to run a business; overwhelming at times but ultimately, the exciting realisation of one's creative dream...

Next post - photos of the momentous occasion!