Saturday, April 30, 2011

Let's Go Shopping

Prince William and Princess Kate are now newly weds, and the world is waking to hangovers and reruns of the wedding on every TV channel.

Here are a few gorgeous rings that Kate could have worn, all handmade by some clever BrisStyle team members.



Afrikitten



Denim Days



Shazzabeth



Kellie Christie



Marjon Scheffer



To take part in our weekly Let's Go Shopping meme, post your Etsy finds on your blog then pop back here and add the blog post link below. Don't forget to link back to this post so everyone can check out all the fabulous Etsy finds. Anyone can play along so come join in the fun!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Twinkling Twilighters: Little Bird!


The BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market on April 29 will be the very first BrisStyle market for new member Kyla from Little Bird!


In Kyla's words, Little Bird is a 'creator of stuff'! Never content to settle into one crafty discipline Kyla is constantly re-working vintage textiles and paper to make beautiful and useful things.  Little Bird started as a brand only 12 months ago, however, Kyla has been creating and selling at markets since she was 11.


There are many pretty things in the Little Bird 'nest' including felt and fabric brooches, re-purposed storybook stationery and knitted bow brooches.  What ties the collection together are the memories of childhood.....images from storybooks, vintage fabrics and techniques your Grandma may have used.


You can follow the Little Bird story on Kyla's blog or facebook page or come and meet her in person at the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market this Friday night.


When: April 29, 2011
Time: 5.00pm - 9.00pm
Where: King George Square, Brisbane City

Twinkling Twilighters: Maleena Eve Designs!

Many of you may know Maleena as the 'creative' lady behind handmade label 'Curiouser & Curiouser'. Well, the lovely Maleena has undergone a fabulous transformation with a new label name and completely new range of products. Maleena Eve Designs will be at the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market this Friday night with their new range of bags and home furnishings!





Come along to the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market this Friday night to see all of Maleena's new products!!! You don't want to miss it!

When: Friday, April 29 2011
Time: 5.00pm - 9.00pm
Where: King George Square, Brisbane City

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Gift Guide: Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner and what better way to say 'I Love You' or 'Thanks Mum' than with a handmade gift from one of our talented BrisStylettes.

Beauty Rose Heart Pendant from Cross your Heart
Leaf and Bud Tote Bag from LaughLand
Zip Purse from bubbachenille
Paris Black Tote from Obi Lane
Patchwork Pillow from moose & bird
10 Bars CP Handmade Soap from Warm Sigh Soap
Chocolate Bouquet Mugs from Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage Gifts

Get in quick to ensure delivery prior to Mother's Day! And to all the Mums out there, have a fabulous day, relax and enjoy being spoilt! x

Monday, April 25, 2011

Twinkling Twilighters: whizzbangle!


The BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market on April 29 will be the very first BrisStyle market for new member Bronwen Jones from whizzbangle! She introduces herself and her label below:

'Hello! My name is Bronwen Jones and I am the designer behind the handmade label whizzbangle'.

Whizzbangle came from a memory of two bangles that I bought in London in 1989.  They were nothing special but I remember that I wore them like old slippers on my left hand for years.  I am quite particular about the colours and patterns that I wear; I like what I like.  So when I started making bangles in 2009 I wanted to make a few favourites that I felt were really 'me'.  Then I wanted other people to have a similar experience - a whizzbangle that they could slip on with jeans on a rainy day or dress up a LBD, one that was so comfortable, but FABULOUS!


Whizzbangle has bangles in all colours and shades, everything from classic black and white through vibrant greens and blues to hot pinks and funky purples.  And red, you can't forget red!  There are seven sizes and styles to choose from in the range, from kids bangles through to big bold bangles that really make a statement!


But it is not just about bangles, whizzbangle now has bowls, pendants, rings and gift tags all made from resin. 


Stop by the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Markets this Friday night to see the complete whizzbangle's range. Whizzbangle will be in the co-op stall at the centre of the markets!

When: April 29, 2011
Time: 5.00pm - 9.00pm
Where: King George Square, Brisbane City

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Twinkling Twilighters: WarmSigh!

Did you know that WarmSigh sells more than just soap? One of their most popular products would have to be their lovely, creamy, shower gel. Available in a variety of scents, there is something for everyone: sweet and fruity, pretty and floral and even some 'manly' ones for the boys! And to top it all off, all WarmSigh products are 100% vegan, no animal products are used at all!

A great deal of care is taken to create each bottle of WarmSigh shower gel.  The process goes a little bit like this:

1. Mix the lye (potassium hydroxide) and oils together and 'cook and stir' for 3 to 4 hours until your arm aches. The mixture will be very stiff by this stage. Coconut oil is the main oil used in WarmSigh liquid soaps. To make shower gel, the coconut oil is thickened using guar gum - a plant based thickener.




2. Once the cooking process has finished the mixture will be almost translucent. Water is then added and left to sit for 12 or more hours until the paste has totally dissolved into the water. You will be left with a thin, wonderfully foamy liquid soap!


3. The last step is scenting! WarmSigh uses essential oils or fragrant oils especially made for soap making.


To see the full range of WarmSigh products including soap, shower gel, liquid soap, baby bottom cream and face and body creams come along to the BrisStyle Indie Twilight Market on April 29.

Time: 5.00pm - 9.00pm
Where: King George Square, Brisbane City

Mother's Day Giveaway!

Image courtesy of KW Ceramics, copyright and credit to John Downs

Mother's Day is only just around the corner and what better way to spoil your Mum than with a parcel of goodies from the beautiful KW Ceramics range!

The lucky winner will receive:
  • A Vintage Lace Porcelain Pendant
  • A Porcelain Hanging Butterfly
  • A Set of 6 Porcelain Heart Gift Tags (with 'Love', 'Hope', 'Miss You', 'Thinking of You', 'Take Care' and 'Love You')
To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post letting us know 'why your Mum is so special'! Facebook or tweet the giveaway for a second entry, but be sure to let us know in your comment below. Please also leave an email address with your comment so we can easily contact you if you are the lucky winner! Giveaway open to Australian residents ONLY! Entries close Sunday May 1st. Good luck and get commenting!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Let's Go Shopping

There's only one thing I want at this time of year, and that's chocolate. And a lot of it!!

Here's a few chocolate brown goodies handmade by BrisStylers just for you.  Happy Easter everyone, and have a safe holiday.



Beetle Creative



LMBC Gifts



Small Town Carousel



Sailor Mouth Soaps


Good Boy Cracky



To take part in our weekly Let's Go Shopping meme, post your Etsy finds on your blog then pop back here and add the blog post link below. Don't forget to link back to this post so everyone can check out all the fabulous Etsy finds. Anyone can play along so come join in the fun!


Friday, April 22, 2011

Shop Handmade: Tangled Yarns

Tangled Yarns is a beautiful little yarn shop in the thriving Newstead area, in Brisbane. We were lucky enough to catch up with Kelly Kingston, the owner of Tangled Yarns, to find out all about her shop and her plans for the future.

Tell us a little about your background and what path led you to open Tangled Yarns?
My grandmother taught me to knit when I was 6 or 7 years old. I dabbled here and there over the years, knitting, sewing, always tinkering with something crafty but the 'bug' truly bit when I was pregnant with my first child.  The nesting instinct kicked in with a vengeance; there is something very special about creating something handmade to wrap your tiny newborn in.


Prior to opening Tangled Yarns I was working in the corporate IT world and as much as I enjoyed my job I felt my creativity was being stifled.  I found that I was squeezing my creative desires in at night when the rest of my family was sleeping. After the birth of my second daughter I had a decision to make, my maternity leave was coming to an end and I was no longer looking forward to returning to my job.


By this stage I had been running a small online store selling my hand dyed yarns and knitting accessories for around a year and it was obvious that that was where my real passion was. After much soul searching I decided to take the leap of faith and turn my online store into a bricks and mortar store.  I had visions of a light, open, peaceful space, filled with colour and plenty of space for like-minded people to meet, socialise, share, learn and create.


Tell us what Tangled Yarns is all about?
If I had to describe Tangled Yarns in one sentence it would be 'An inspiring space where people can purchase high quality yarn and spend time with like-minded yarnies'.



We supply high quality knitting and crochet yarns along with accessories, books, magazines, patterns, needles, hooks and dyes.  I would also like to think that we are a great source of inspiration. We pride ourselves on being more than just a retail store.  We have a very vibrant social community both in store and online.  Our regular social groups of a weekend add an extra element to the store and we are constantly welcoming new crafters to the mix.


As a long time online consumer (going to a large shopping centre with two small children isn't my idea of fun) I understand the importance of speedy turn around times and excellent communication.  We strive to process and ship our online orders the day they are placed and have often shocked customers  when they order online at 4.30pm in the afternoon only for them to wake up with a lovely express parcel on their doorstep the following morning.

Where did the name 'Tangled Yarns' come from?
When I was in the planning stages for Tangled Yarns I knew that I wanted a business name that meant more than just describing what we sell.


For me, knitting is not just creating the end garment.  It is about the entire process from selecting the pattern and the yarn, the excitement of casting on and the thrill of finishing. There is nothing like giving something that you created yourself! And of course when a group of crafters get together the conversation just flows!

So the name Tangled Yarns encompasses the journey of creating something with thought, love and time plus the many stories that are told as the stitches are created. If you ask most knitters about a project they are likely to remember where they were and what they were doing when they were knitting it!

How does Tangled Yarns support independent artists and crafters and/or the handmade community?
Where possible I will choose independent over mainstream.  Although we do stock a small selection of the traditional knitting books and patterns our main resource are small independent designers.  We stock knitting patterns designed by many popular indie designers from the online knitting community and feature many more in our weekly newsletter.

One of our favourite yarns would have to be the Brisbane based Biggan Design yarns with their amazing colour range.  We stock both the 8ply and 4ply range and have designed a blanket to showcase the colours. We also stock handmade knitting bags by an independent designer which are so popular that we can't keep up to the demand.

How can local designers and crafters get involved with Tangled Yarns?
I am always on the lookout for new and interesting products to add to the store.  In the past we have stocked local hand dyed fibre, hand dyed yarns and hand spun yarns.


I also promote any up-coming local craft events that I come across and have had comments from our local customers saying how much they enjoy finding out about craft fairs that they might not have known about otherwise.

Does Tangled Yarns have any exciting upcoming events?
With winter in sight we have many new workshops scheduled to reignite people's love of knitting and crochet.  We have the wonderful Biggan Dups from Biggan Designs holding several workshops over March and April ranging from Continental Knitting to Colourwork.

What does a typical day at work involve for you?
Every day is a different day at work for me. Because I run my business around my two little girls I tend to multi-task a lot. My day starts early, usually with coffee and responding to emails. Several of my suppliers are in the US so sometimes the only way I can 'hold a conversation' with them is to get up and email them at 4am in the morning.

I try to call past the shop to prepare for the day before heading off to do the school drop offs.  Then it is back to the shop to attend to the online orders and admin/bookkeeping side of the business. Depending on the day and what is scheduled for the store we may have social groups or classes to attend to plus assisting a variety of shoppers in store and via our online store.

At this time of year I spend a reasonable amount of time ordering yarn.  It may sound like a dream job but it can be difficult not to get side-tracked by the pretty colours and remain subjective when selecting what to order!

A lot of planning also goes into my weekly newsletter which over the past two years has become a very large part of Tangled Yarns and our customers.  I have received many wonderful emails on a Friday evening after the newsletter goes out; it seems that it is just not a Friday until the Tangled Yarns newsletter is out. During the week I can take up anywhere from 200-400 photos that I edit and prepare for either the website or the newsletter.

I leave the store mid afternoon to pick up my girls from school and head home. Although I have left the store I am always on the end of my email and remain in contact with my staff.  I am certainly very lucky to have a wonderful team of staff that I can leave in charge while I go home and look after my family.

Once the domestic duties are done and my children are asleep I am back online researching new products, responding to more emails or knitting and crocheting projects for the shop. The days are well and truly full to the brim but I know just how lucky I am to be doing something that I am so passionate about!


How do you promote Tangled Yarns?
Our best form of advertising is word of mouth.  Our high standard of customer service and product knowledge means that our customers leave happy and spread the word. We also advertise on Ravelry with both banner advertising and through our Tangled Yarns group.


By far our best advertising is our weekly newsletter where we update with our latest shipments, launch monthly Knit-A-Longs, classes and workshops.  We receive wonderful feedback from our newsletter subscribers.

What is your favourite item in the shop at the moment?
This can change almost daily with new stock arriving in store often.  However, a long term favourite is our Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece range. I have recently finished a blanket for my 5yr olds bed.....


What's in store for Tangled Yarns in 2011 and beyond?
This month we have celebrated our 2nd birthday!  I hope to continue to offer exceptional customer service, support and inspiration whilst providing an interesting range of products to the crafty community.

If you would like to visit Tangled Yarns you can find the store at:

Studio A / 9 Chester Street
Newstead  QLD  4006

Tel: (07) 3666 0276

Opening Hours:
Monday to Wednesday 9.30am - 5.30pm
Thursday 9.30am - 8.00pm
Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm
Saturday 9.00am - 4.00pm
Sunday 10.00am - 2.00pm