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Today we peek into the studio of Sisterbrandt where five designers collaborate in art direction, illustration and graphic design on everything from children's books to magazines and catalogs. Sisterbrandt also designs a beautiful card collection and are offering Smaller readers free postcards to download.
Click on the postcard to download!
You might have come across Lark online but there real world store in the picturesque Victorian country side, is just as beautiful. The shop is eclectic yet perfectly curated with plenty of hard to find items and one off pieces and exclusive designers from UK, Europe and Australia.
The owner, Allison Jones has her own whimsical range, Lark Handmade, which includes toys and vintage dresses made from vintage fabrics she has collected her whole life, as well as many other quirky items reflecting Allison's taste for old world charm. Originally from England she now runs and owns Lark with her Australian husband in the historic town of Daylesford.
If you can't make it to Daylesford, then here are a few pictures of the most adorable store in town! It is a very adorable town so this is no easy stunt. Don't cry of you are too far away, their full range is available from their on-line store.
La Marelle has in new Adolie Day products. Our favorite is this adorable melamine plate set. We love Adolie's work and were really excited to be able to feature her in the last issue of Small. She did the amazing illustrated fashion story, Sun Kisses in the summer issue
We do the illustrated stories in the same way we do the photo stories. We approach an illustrator we admire and discuss story possibilities. In the latest issue we asked the super talented Kay Van Bellen. Once we have settled on a theme Christine acts as the stylists and finds all the clothes she wants in the story and send them along to the illustrator who then uses them in a story that features the fashion, but celebrates the illustrators own unique style. Our first story like this was with Fifi Lapin way back in our fourth issue. We have now had 11 amazing artists contribute these stories. You can find them near the front of each issue.
I first discovered Coral & Tusk on a visit to Sweet William in Brooklyn, soon after I was able to get a closer look at the full range at Playtime NY this summer. I remember that Miette, my 6 year old, was drawn to the beautiful embroideries that were adorned on baby shoes, brooches, tee shirts, dresses, stationary, framed artwork and pillows. I can easily see why children are drawn to Stephanie Housley’s embroideries that originally come from her drawings.
For this weeks giveaway Coral & Tusk is offering their Owl in Tree
Pocket Pillow.
Here are the details:
This pocket pillow doubles as decoration and a toy. The owl
comes out of his tree and is a fun small critter to play with. When the owl is
out visiting with you and the chipmunk, you can see the inside of his tree house
and all of his other nocturnal friends in picture frames!
Pillow has a 95% small feather, 5% down insert. Embroidered
cover on 100% linen fabric. Back fabric is hand block printed Indian cotton.
Measures 12″ × 16″.
Cover is removable for cleaning. Machine wash cold (turn
inside out) and tumble dry low.
Retail Price USD $104.00
All you have to do is comment on your favorite creation
from Coral & Tusk.
One reader will be picked at random and notified by e-mail
(please leave your email when you post your comment!). The winners name will
also be posted on the blog the following Monday. Our winner last week (picked
by random.org) was comment no. Congrats to Kelsey, comment number 21!
Want to shop the pages of the current issue of Small? Hadley and Holly from Tada! Shop have created a shopping list of products featured in our Autumn issue. How cool! Check it out!
You can find some of our favorite handmade Halloween costumes in the Fall issue of Small. There were so many more we wanted to share with you that we will keep featuring them here over the next month.
First up from Ouef- Halloween costumes with staying power. There woolly hats are cute all winter and its always fun to wear a tail. Pictured above are the 'little devil' tail and hat and the 'wild thing' tail and knitted crown. Team them with a leggings and long sleeved tee, or a one piece suit and you are ready to go. All Oeufs products are eco-friendly and hand made sustainably under fair trade in Bolivia.
Hooray! This week giveaway happens to be from one of our favorite designers ses petites mains.
Beth Miles and her team have inspired us once again with the new fall line you can view here. From the gorgeous dresses to cute separates, every detail is well thought out and balanced.
What we love the most about the fall collection would be the combination
of the colors and feminine details. As you will see in this weeks
giveaway outfit!
The outfit includes,
1- the poppy jean in ecole denim.
2-the kat surplice in clovelly stripe.
These are available in sizes 2T-8Y.
All you have to do is write a comment about what you like from the new Fall collection.
One reader will be picked at
random and notified by e-mail (please leave your email when you post
your comment!). The winners name will also be posted on the blog the following
Monday. Our winner last week (picked by random.org) was comment no.. Congrats to Elaine R, comment number 29!
For those who can't wait and want to shop
now, you will receive 15% off any item(s) from the fall 2010 collection
when you write 'SMALL' in the comments section (this can not be combined
with other promos). Awesome!
Here's a few behind the scenes shot from our autumn fashion editorial. New issue will be out this week!
(That's Aften & Steven modeling some beautiful Les Zigouis pieces)
Here's an early Autumn music mix curated by Amberly Warnke of Pied Piper Radio just for our Small Magazine readers. A beautiful soundtrack for your family featuring songs about falling leaves, acorns, apples and the changing seasons.
Enjoy!
Does your child
love switching things up in their room? Do you change the art work on
your walls with the seasons? Whatever the case may be, this weeks
giveaway is perfect for any room in your home.
It's no secret Small loves the beautiful Mae wall stickers made by Peta, Bec and Emily. Not only are the fabric choices perfectly sweet but the stickers are reusable too! They are designed with children in mind so they can be moved, rearranged, crumpled and, smoothed out and reused again and, again. The Studio of Mae also has some brilliant wrapping paper you can download for free. Fantastic, right? We also love the mini collection too!
This
weeks giveaway includes 1 large build a tree kit and 1 medium forest critters kit.
All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what you love about these
designs.
One reader will be picked at
random and notified by e-mail (please leave your email when you post
your comment!). The winners name will also be posted on the blog the following
Monday.
Food vans are the best place to eat with kids. Two of our favorites - one in Marfa, Texas and one Melbourne, Australia.
Food Shark - Check out other food vans in your area or vote for your favorite American food van on the Food network Food Truck Race.
Beatbox Kitchen- Warm summer evenings on the corner of Rathdown and Park with a Beatbox Kitchen burger- what could be better?
oh - and in case you were wondering why these are inspirational...flexibility and freedom.
You might have read about the fun rocking Hut-Hut (means giddy-up for camels!) stool by the sustainable furniture makers, Kalon Designs in our last issue (click here for the full interview). We just heard that they are going to start making them out of resin (as well as the classic wood) in four new jewel colors.You can order through their website.
Kalon Designs also have a great line of sustainably produced kids furniture, as well as more adult pieces. Check out their shop here
Mathew Porter is a author and illustrator who paints onto wood to get a fresh and distinctive finish. He has put out five childrens books, many available through Simply Read Books or in his online shop.
As well as books he has some super cool prints which I think would look great decorating in a boys room. You can see one of them below on his work table.
Here Mathew tells us a little about his work space: My studio is at the far end of our 1954 Ranch style home in Seattle. My studio was originally a garage that was turned into a living room by the previous owners. When we toured the house 3 years ago I knew right away that it would make an amazing studio. Lots of light and as it is at the far end of the house it feels a bit separated which is ideal as when I sand it does not get the rest of the house all dusty!
The
painting is a piece I completed about 4 months ago. I have turned it
into a large poster print and made it really just for the fun of it!
The talented Emily Ulmer has just finished doing a Fall shoot for Small in Bronson Canyon in Los Angeles. For me the shoot captures the slightly melancholy time when you realize that Summer is turning into Fall and the vacation is ending. Emily is attracted to moments of transition and captures it in images of children without romanticizing or dramatizing them or their experiences. Her photos feel like a window on to childhood, but from the child's point of view- the adult gaze is not present. Look out for the full story in the next issue out soon.
In this weeks giveaway we are pleased to introduce NamheeNYC's brand new accessories line. This package will include a hairband, bracelet, ribbon pin and bird brooch.
Namhee has been creating inspirational and unique furniture and home ware for some years now. You can also spot her beautiful chairs in Small Magazine's summer issue film, CITY MICE.
Namhee Lee's designs are totally whimsical and completely functional making them so easy for us to love. Each piece is created meticulously by hand, and each piece is given the commitment and love necessary to create something truly one of a kind. The concept behind her new accessory pieces is simple- everything is hand sewn or hand made with carefully selected, 100% cotton fabrics.
All you have to do is leave a comment telling us what inspires you about Namhee's designs and you will win a hairband, bracelet, ribbon pin and bird brooch.
One lucky reader will be picked at
random and notified by e-mail. The winners name will also be posted on the blog the following
Monday. Our winner last week (picked by random.org) was comment no.66. Congratulations to Jay Willis!
We would love to do a collaged illustrated and photography fashion story for the winter issue.....anyone interested in collaborating?
I am thrilled to introduce a new segment on Smaller called small studio where we ask one of our favorite makers to send us a snapshot of there workspace. I always find the place a person works so inspiring. So we are kicking off with the studio of the wonderfully talented Miss Jess Brown. You know all of us here at Small are a bit obsessed with her handmade rag dolls...but how cool is her studio?
Whose studio would you like to see?
The talented illustrator and designer, Bess Harding from Beeb, is back with another fantastic craft project for you. This time she is going to show you how to make gorgeous girly hairslides.
Floral hair slides
You will need:
Fabric pieces
between 6-12 cm square (cotton is ideal)
A tiny bit of
felt
Hair slides
Scissors
Craft glue
What to do:
Cut your fabric
into a circle with an indent of around 1cm (see picture).
Then cut a spiral
into your circle so that you have a long 1cm wide twirl of fabric. Holding the
middle, twist the fabric around itself to create a sort of flower (it will
naturally want to do this), and when you get to the end, secure it with a dab
of glue.
Let it dry
thoroughly and that’s it! You could then decorate by gluing little buttons or
sequins or beads or flowers into the middle, or you could dip the petal edges
in glue and then glitter. The same process can be used to make flower badges,
and if you want to give them as gifts you can present them on a piece of
colored card (see pictures).
