Farewell for now, Gleaners Inc

Long live the Queen - Our Queen Liz, Queen of Glean.

Alas, Gleaners Inc has closed the shop doors. Sparta Place sure is a lot more Spartan without it too! As the main brain behind the gorgeous ethical gift shop, Liz has been gone above and beyond the role of a stockist. She has been the champion of all things hand crafted, recycled and ecologically sound AND she's super cool.

With the shop she has supported makers around the country by promoting, selling and just sharing the love.  She has even packed our stuff up in vintage suitcases and taken them to the BIG markets like Finders Keepers to further our exposure and to represent us there.

 As a curator, initiating various group shows in the Stairway to Nowhere Gallery, she  has been inspiring. The Gleaners Inc art challenges have been open and inspirational. I really feel Liz has given me opportunity to extend my creativity and skills - to be brave and experiment. The exhibitions have allowed me to participate in larger festivals like Craft Victoria's Craft Cubed and Melbourne Fashion Week - something I could never have achieved as an individual.

And that's where the "Inc." part of Gleaners Inc is so important.  Liz has welcomed us all as part of the whole group hug that is Gleaners Incorporated. I feel lost without it already!

The good news is that Liz will still be the chief designer cutter gluer at Betty Jo Designs and that she has a new light filled studio in the hood to continue her work.  And I also have the feeling that Gleaners Inc may pop up again - I know I still feel incorporated.

Camels are the new donkeys (foxes, owls...whatever..)

 You heard it here first! Camels are the new donkeys.... Well I made that up. But why not? Why can't I be the arbiter of international style trends? I'll put it out there and see what happens....and if you start seeing camels everywhere.......... then remember you heard it here first!

I've been playing with camels for the Materialized exhibition at Gleaners inc - part of the cultural program at the Melbourne Fashion Festival.

For this exhibition, Liz Jones, curator, and hostess with the mostess (and all round creative maker of all things in recycled linoleum) gives each participant a swatch from the same fabric.  Here it is!

You can use it (or in my case, lose it!D'oh!)in any manner - for inspiration, colour, pattern, incorporated into your piece or not.


Word was going out that it was a bit Morroccan or Arabic in design and I started thinking about how we as westerners interpret other cultures through our very "white" western lens...about our sense of what is exotic?

So I wanted to use very common craft techniques and materials - crochet and tapestry - to make "exotic" emblems....and I thought about the camel....and then added that other "exotic" cliche...

...the pineapple! 

Then I kept going....

Because camels and pineapples go together like...well....camels and pineapples.

Materialized exhibition is at Gleaners Inc,2 Ballarat St. Brunswick. Opens 7th of March and runs through to the 23rd. 

nichos!

It has to be said - I had too much fun making these nichos. Playing with colour, flowers pom poms, cacti, skulls and Fridas - what's not to like?!

Now available at My Mexican Donkey Pop up Shop at Gleaners Inc in Brunswick (although a couple didn't make it that far and got sold en route!)

My Mexican Shirt and My Mexican Maracas!

Have you ever felt the urge to be Carmen Miranda but couldn't find your maracas? 

Have you ever wanted to break into song and "go to Rio" but just had nothing to shake? 

Have you ever wanted to join in with band but felt a bit lame just clapping? 

Have you ever wanted to add a little bit of zing to your conga line?

 

Well I know I have. And here's the solution!

Introducing the portable, wearable mini maracas! Yes! They ARE real maracas - they can shake with the best of them! And yes, they ARE a brooch. Have your maracas at the  ready and always at hand! Available at My Mexican Donkey Pop Up Shop at Gleaners Inc

I've teamed mine with my little vintage Mexicali shirt. 

It's label is "Gayette" and it certainly is that!

Now....if only I could find a conga line....

My Mexican Donkey Pop Up Shop!

There's a distinct Mexicali mood round these parts! We have the My Mexican Donkey Pop up shop happening at Gleaners Inc in Brunswick all this month - you can find some gorgeous hand made Mexican items such as these:

You will find papel picado banners which are perfect for any feista, intricate hand painted ceramic candle sticks, milagro medals and mini sombrero brooches! 

Guests at the fiesta are some of our local designer who make Mexican themed goodies such as Betty Jo Design's sugar skull brooches and CLOCKS (too cool!), the sister outlaws' re-sew-cool sugar skull kits  and garlands (that's us), Curly Pops sugar skull cards and the beautifully made Frida dolls by A Little Vintage.
Isn't is just a treasure trove of colour? So get your flowers in your hair and swish your skirts into Gleaners and get your Christmas shopping!You'll find Lovely Liz who is the best shop girl in town. She may even be wearing this....

sugar skulls

While I have been making new sugar skull garlands (from recycled materials) for the My Mexican Donkey Pop Up Shop at Gleaners inc this November, little 4 year Joe has been making his own ....

My recycled sugar skull garlands will be available from tomorrow at Gleaners Inc! Joe's will decorate the door for Halloween!!!

Taking part in "Take Heart"

The wonderful Liz Jones aka Miss Betty Jo is again playing hostess with the mostess in the gallery space at Gleaners Inc. As part of the Craft Victoria Craft Cubed events, Liz put out the call for submissions. This year's theme - "Take Heart".

I got thinking about all the phrases and idioms (yes I'm more wordy than visual, huh?) - you can win a heart, lose a heart, be half hearted or whole hearted, have a cold heart or a warm heart.

But let's get to the heart of it - Do you have a heart of gold? A heart of stone? A bleeding heart? Do you cry your heart out when your heart isn't in it? Is your heart in your boots or your mouth? And most importantly... Do you have cockles???

And let's not start on the songs, "Cheatin'Heart", "Cold cold heart", "Anyone who had a heart", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Wooden Heart", "Heartaches and Hangovers", "If my Heart had Windows"...the list is endless...

These three pieces are a play on words. Made with hand dyed felt rope on cable knit. 

Framed in hearts I cut out myself from a sheet of mdf. Each measures 30cm x 30 cm

What's your favourite heart saying? And your favourite heart song?

piece of cloth part: from black and white to technicolour

A piece of cloth exhibition is hosted by Gleaners inc and curated by Liz Jones as part of L’oreal Fashion Week.

Over thirty artists/crafters/designers were given this little swatch of 70’s fabric in orange, green and brown to respond to in any way they liked - colour, pattern, feeling - whatever.

Initially, my reaction was to go into complete denial about the 70’s (yes I’m sure there are others out there who are in denial about the '70's too..) and bleach the hues away in my head...

And I made this. The poncho is 100% recycled material(even the sewing thread was vintage and from an op shop). The base is a felted cream blanket and the lines are from jumpers recycled into felt rope/yarn and hand dyed black. 

Yes. A bit drab isn't it? But then, like Dorothy going to Oz my world burst into technicolour! I embraced the Seventies. I revelled in the colour scheme.
 

 I tried all the groovy seventies crafts...

like macrame, crochet, wooden beading, latch hooking and tassels....

and then I added pineapples. Because wasn't that what you did in the Seventies? Just added pineapples to everything?

It doesn't look Seventies - which is what I wanted. I wanted it to look modern - but it strangely looks a bit Edwardian. Hmmm.

A Piece of Cloth Exhibition opening night is Friday at 6pm at Gleaners Inc

A piece of cloth

"a piece of cloth"exhibition, curated by Liz Jones of Gleaners inc and Betty Jo fame, is part of L'oreal fashion week. Each artist is given a swatch of the same fabric to respond to in any way.

I've been playing around with my piece of cloth for weeks and weeks. And it's time I admitted it - it hasn't been an automatic bond. For some time there, I thought I may have to do something with the paper bag the piece of cloth came in! You see, I seemed to have an aversion to my piece of cloth.

The top left image is the original piece of cloth, resplendent in Seventies hues of orange, yellow, brown, green and a hint of dark red....I played around with colour - and decided I like the lines best of all.... I worked on some designs based on the lines....

But then, last week, something happened. I suddenly embraced the colour scheme! I suddenly discovered a fondness for my piece of cloth and found myself making something far more interesting....and colourful......I hope....stay toooned.....Oh the creative process is a strange and mysterious thing. Or as my wise friend, aphorist Kelly Hartland would say,

"Creativity flourishes on the brink of destruction"


Exhibition opens on 8th of March. Better get a wriggle on!