September Featured Members and Giveaways!

This month, please give a warm welcome to Therese from Little Mary Moo and Teneale from Wicked Child Designs, as they give us a sneak peak into their fabulous worlds of crafty goodness, and give away some of their wonderful handmade items to two lucky readers. To enter is simple - just leave us a comment at the bottom of this post. For more info (and to find out how to score an extra entry) read The Rules at the bottom of the post. Good luck everyone :)

Introducing BrisStyle member...

NAME: Teneale Muir
ETSY SHOP NAME: Wicked Child Designs

1. Can you please describe the items you are giving away to one of our readers?

Gothic Gretel.

2. How would you describe your work?

I make offbeat little people that have a wicked nature. For example, Bad Benjamin tells lies so the girls will like him, Gothic Gretel will only wear black and listens to The Cure. All children have their short story printed on card, and the names can be changed if necessary (to make it a more personalised gift).

3. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

I started sewing in high school, and really liked it. Ten years later my husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas, and having no patterns I pondered through bookstores looking for inspiration. The book I purchased was Softies, and I loved making all the small, crazy creatures. I’m also a big fan of Real Living magazines, and they mentioned the website Etsy. I checked it out, and found so many other people selling their wonderful creations I thought I’d give it a go.


4. Who or What inspires you?

The fabric I pick up gives me the inspiration to make something from it. I never thought I’d make a Dame Edna plush until I picked up some curly purple faux fur from Spotlight ! I also get a lot of great ideas from my mum and my husband Tim. They are constant supporters of Wicked Child Designs, and I love them dearly for it.


5. Do you 'reduce, reuse, recycle' as part of your creative process?

I use fabric and buttons that are discarded and sent to thrift shops where possible. I wash all used fabric with normal washing detergent, so everything is spotless, clean and smells nice. I also recycle old children's books into blank cards and brooches, and bottle caps into fridge magnets.

6. Can you describe your studio / work area?

My work area is a work in progress. It is getting tidier, honest… I have my sewing machine Tim bought me on my grandmothers kitchen table, and lots of felt and fabrics stored underneath. Sometimes things get a little cluttered though when I get carried away trying to match fabrics and playing with buttons.


7. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

I'd have to say my Kevin Rudd softie. He was just such a quirky thing for me to make, and everyone loves to see him at my markets.


And I love my new dolls with the button eyes, they have cute contrasting fabrics and can sit on your desk or bookshelf.


8. Do you have any other places that people can view your work?

Wicked Child Designs Etsy Shop
Wicked Child Designs Blog
Twitter
Wicked Child Designs on Facebook

I am also at the Young Designers Markets every first Sunday at Southbank (Brisbane), and I'll also be at the Racecourse Road market in Hamilton on 20th September. Please stop by and say hello!

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Introducing BrisStyle member...


NAME: Therese Hayes
ETSY SHOP NAME: Little Mary Moo

1. Can you please describe the items you are giving away to one of our readers?

My give away consists of two medium size purses. They are both constructed from hand screen printed Australian designed textiles. The one with the trees is by of paper and thread


and the one with the bird is by Pippijoe.


The fabric in both purses is a cotton/hemp blend and they are both hand screen printed in solvent free, environmentally friendly inks. They are fully lined with a crisp white cotton and close with a five inch zipper. The purses and lightly interfaced for structure and squared of on the base so they can sit neatly on their bottom.


2. How would you describe your work?

My purses and bags are predominately constructed from hand screen printed textiles. Their structure remains simple in design so the print in the fabric can feature fully.

3. How did your Etsy shop come into being?

I have always loved fabric bags. Within the mainstream shopping setting it is really difficult to find bags that are fresh and funky so I started making my own. I fell in love with hand screen printed textiles and I opened my etsy shop as a way to feed my obsession.

4. Who or What inspires you?

May be a little corny but I have to say my Mum. She is the most amazing, resilient person I know. She used to sew all our school uniforms and even made the most beautiful wedding dress for my sister. From a design point of view it would be Australian independent textile designers. They are all amazing and without them it would be impossible to be doing what I am now.


5. Do you 'reduce, reuse, recycle' as part of your creative process?

I always try and get as much as possible out of any one piece of fabric. It is all so special. All the "scraps" get kept aside for other crafting projects.

6. Can you describe your studio / work area?

I recently acquired a large table 1.5 m square that sits in the corner of the family room. I am lucky to have two huge windows on either side. Half the linen cupboard is full of fabric too. I share the area with my three girls who all enjoy the crafty process.

7. What is your favourite thing in the shop at the moment?

A little purse made with fabric from Kristen Doran. It has the most beautiful, intricate design of peacocks and flowers in a baby blue ink on a cream, cotton base. I only had such a small piece of this fabric so it is definitely one of a kind.



8. Do you have any other places that people can view your work?

I have a small blog: www.littlemarymoosplace.blogspot.com

*****

Thank-you Teneale and Therese!

The rules:

Simply leave a comment on this post to be in the running to win one of these two fabulous giveaways. Be sure to leave a way for us to contact you. If you don't have a blog, please include your email address. Only one entry per person. You may enter twice if you mention this giveaway on your blog. If you choose to do this, please pop back after posting to your blog and include the url address to the post it was mentioned on here in the comments. This will count as your second entry. International folk are welcome to enter. BrisStyle members and their immediate families (ie: husbands/partners, dependent children, and their computer savvy pets) are excluded from entering all BrisStyle giveaways. A name will be randomly drawn on the 25th of this month and the winner will be announced on the blog on that same day.

Cheers bigears. And good luck :)