Steampunk Awesomeness

The Oamaru Steampunk HQ

A pleasant discovery when I was last down south was the awesome Steampunk HQ nestled amongst Oamaru’s historic buildings. It had only been open for two days when we visited, but it was the coolest thing I had seen in ages. Well worth a visit if you are into steampunk, or if you are not.

On that note, the Oamaru Steampunk Festival Weekend is on the start of June for those lucky enough to be in the area. The town itself, is well worth a visit, I wish I could have spent longer there. A really awesome place.

A Miscalculation

Alright, I lied. Well not really, but Stitch Bone Studio has taken longer than I said, and Stitch Mana has been a little neglected also. When working from home, other things have a way of taking over. Due to some long-overdue renovation, a lot of time has been spent moving furniture and all the things (from one room to another), and painting (window-frames not art).

But Stitch Bone Studio is coming, and will be worth the wait. We will be updating on twitter about our progress, so follow us there to be the first to know when we go live.

Previews from Stitch Bone Studio
Previews from Stitch Bone Studio

Stop the Kraken: ACTA

Last week Stitch Mana went dark in protest of SOPA/PIPA. Although I am not American these bills clearly had global ramifications. Obviously things went well and the bills were delayed/suspended. But it is not over yet. Get a load of this monster: ACTA: the Anti-Counterfeiting-Trade-Agreement. This time it is clearly a global issue (just look at the countries behind it), and it entirely disregards the way the internet works.

Take a look at these videos and keep yourself informed on how it will affect you before it is game over.

Meeting the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

Life Dressing: The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas by Joana Avillez
While I was in New York recently, the lovely Idiosyncratic Fashionistas (Jean and Valerie) invited me to go with them to the inspiring LOOT jewellery exhibition and sale at the Museum of Art and Design.

Jean and Valerie run a successful and interesting blog about growing older with verve, and then some. They have an iconic style in their own right, so much so that they inspired a book: ‘Life Dressing: The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas’ by Joana Avillez (I’ve got my copy!). They were both really great to meet, and are genuinely nice women and excellent company. I came away from them thrilled to see other people embracing and creating their own style. Their confidence is very inspiring.

The LOOT jewellery exhibition was a huge treat to see. There were some really amazing pieces, and meeting their creators was inspiring. I loved Suzanne Golden’s beaded jewellery and Margherita Marchioni’s wonderful pieces using pencils and plastic bottles. Sara Basch’s use of rubber bands was really cool. As it is, going to an exhibition like this leaves you feeling extremely creative, and I was introduced to a lot of great women also with their own style. Jean and Valerie have done a couple or write ups about LOOT here and here, complete with more pictures. I did plan to take some, honestly.

We rounded off the evening with cocktails upstairs at ROBERT, and I will repeat that it was really lovely to meet and spend a little time with them.

Stitch Bone Studio

Stitch Bone Studio, the not-so-secret collaborative project I’ve been working on with my daughter, is here. Well, it isn’t completely finished, but we decided to ship it early since I am going to be away. The basic premise is for an ongoing series of design collections. So the collections will continue to grow and evolve over time. The photos below are just a preview, but you can see more on the site itself.

Stitch Bone Studio
Stitch Bone Studio

I won’t stop blogging or making patterns available here, this is just diversifying a little. Hopefully those of you who have enjoyed this site might find something to like over there as well. :)