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Small finds - the owls

Recently when my youngest is meant to be asleep he comes out, blinking in the light, to tell me that the owls in his room are scaring him. There are no owls, not even toy ones, but when I go in and shoo them away he falls straight to sleep. I am not sure why he became scared of owls, but we have been looking at pictures of some sweet and loveable owls to make them less frightening.

Here are some of the cutest owls-

Happy Owl by Matt Stephens

Owls in a tree by Helen Musslewhite. (check out all her paper work- it is amazing!)

Owl Pillow by Little Korboose

2 black owls by Olofsdaughter

 

The winners of the Nellystella giveaway are Flora (size8) Kati (size 6) and Staci (size 3). Lucky you! Please contact us with your details.

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Sam Shmith

Amber Wallis

two artists- young and making mountains.

small hands - flower bunny and dolly

 

 
Lovely little hand made toys.

Flower Bunny

small shops - maromeria

A new little shop focusing on well designed, poetic children's products based in Miami, Florida.

Maromeria

 

Small give aways- more Nellystella!

The last give away from Nellystella was so well recieved that you now have another chance to win the lovely Lauren Dress (in mulled grape.)  Nellystella has teamed up with Smaller to give away three more of the dress in either size 3, 6 & 8.

Nellystella is the designed by Nelly Chen. Each collection is carefully concieved to appeal to little girls (and the more discerning mama!) Nelly personally designs each print by hand.  The fine fabrics and details in every item she produces is inspred by her love of imaginative and fun elements combined with traditional European quality.

Please leave a comment on how you would style this dress and to qualify for the draw please specify which size you would like. Here the Lauren dress is teamed with a grey cashmere grandpa cardi and black leggings.

We will pick three winners- one for each of the availble sizes- and let you know next week. 

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Harlequin print from belafontesbunsa's shop

Iota in Smoke and Mirrors at the amazing Spiegeltent. This whole show was inspiring.

 

small decor - aphorisms

Ros Shiers

cross stich by Chez Sucre Chez

Dear Collen

small art- for the kids

Four new (to me) illustrators I love.  I think any one of these posters would look great in a kids room.

ABC poster by Deuz

Herd by Lee May Foster-Wilson

Tapdancing by Violet May

Collection of the Best by Hanna Mellin

happy valentines to you

 

Steve Visneau (photo) - Our daughters together in Brooklyn

 

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Miranda July (video still)

Elena Kalis

Small bites- blackberry jam

It is the end of summer in the southern hemisphere and so we are picking mountains of fruit and trying out ways to use it. First up was blackberry jelly. We managed to pick 7 pounds of blackberries from the laneways near the family beach house...enough for us all to eat and still make 16 pots of jam! Blackberry jam is the most satisfying to make. It is wonderful walking the lanes searching for the brambles and challenging to reach the berries without getting caught on the thorns. You can never buy enough of this fruit commerically so it is always special when you can find enough to make jam with.

Recipe: Measure out 1 pound of fruit to 1 pound of sugar. (After a test run we we decided to use 25 percent less sugar and added half the recomended amount of 'jam setta' to make it a little less sweet but still set) Cook until a drop of jelly congeals to the right consistency on a cold saucer. Pour into jars (sterilised in the oven) while the jars are still hot. Seal with plastic, and decorate with your own lables and a fabric cover.

small space - Les Invasions Ephémère

OK,  I will take one of everything from this fantastic range of wall decals and fashion and home accessories from Les Invasions Ephémère.  This line is made in France from a collective of visiting designers under the direction of creative couple Pierre-Yves and Sofia Antonovich. Great patterns, colors and silhouettes! Love!

Les Invasions Ephémère

 

small play - mirasa design

Great little stuffed animals by Mirasa Design made using fair trade practises and by using Azo free dyes so they are eco friendly! Oh, and a portion of the proceeds from all purchases go to  Room to Read, a non-profit that partners with local communities to establish libraries, construct schools, and provide education to girls.

Mirasa Design

 

p.s. the winner of the Nellystella Giveaway is comment no. 21   Congrats! Bethany!

Small decor- more about walls

If you don't live conveniently close to one of the wall muralists we featured last week but are still interested in a bespoke wall covering Little Hands might be just what you are looking for. Little Hands is the work of two Portuguese artists, Leonor and Marta.  They have a huge catalog and can make any theme for any wall. They can even include personalised elements and names. The wallpaper arrives ready to go up and the image is designed to fit perfectly. We love how they look up on the wall!

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a little bit monstrous...

Donn Kenn (monster drawings he does in his spare time on post-it notes- amazing!)

The Black Apple

Small decor- wall art

Walls painted by the new Paris based company, Bartsch. Their current collection of murals are inspired by the cycle of the day. Twice a year they will add to their catalogue but will continue to be inspired by the seasons and colours of the natural world.

Some new work by New York based artist and muralist Ami Suma (who we have written about here.) The first image is Theo's room and the second image is from the lovely Yoya store in New York.

small threads - misha lulu

I am dreaming of spring today as our whole city has been shut down for two days because we are covered in ice! Here are a few images from Misha Lulu's spring/summer collection. As usual their photography is amazing, but yet again Karen consistently designs each collection with an originality not seen in any other clothing range. You can always tell when a collection is influenced by a feeling of the heart rather than following trends. How amazing is that "I love NY" dress and patchwork hat?

Misha Lulu

small paper - alphabet prints by Petit Flaneur

I love the retro look of these alphabet prints by Petit Flaneur.