Shiny pretty things - clothes for little people

We try as much as we can not to use standard shop fittings to showcase our lovely wares. So, for the many beautiful and unique kids clothes we have in store, we have a couple of different displays....

There's this very sweet little cupboard which is chock full of fantastic boy clothes including screen printed t-shirts by Mini Mayhem and mud effect tees by Lord Muck, plus shorts by Pollen, Middlemost and Little Brown Dog. Stacked on top is a little cane shelf which houses bubba singlets by Whiskers Lane and Mumatopia and organic cotton, screen printed onesies by Kate Ward. (The toys we'll have a closer look soon).

To the left of the little cupboard we have one 'traditional' rack which we stumbled across at the Hospice Bargain Centre (hurrah for opshops!). We adjusted it so it's a stepped display and the racks now hold all sorts of alternative girly things including:

 

UPcycled and screen printed t-shirts by Little Brown Dog, pantaloons and leggings by Pollen and crocheted dresses by Little Golden. 

 

And finally up next to the papery goodness table is a rack my dad helped us build from an old room divider and brackets we removed from the kitchen hutch that is now our counter. This is where the really girly stuff is - gorgeous frilly trousers and skirts by Dressing About and little wee apron dresses (and more) by the busy lady from Pollen.

 

It's taken us a while to build up to this selection of quality, handmade kiddies clothes and I've gotta say I love them all. They're all from mum's with a kid or two (or four), so wearability and longevity have really been taken into account when designing and making them, many have adjustable sizing and they're all made to last so can be passed along to another little person once they've been grown out of so the handmade love can be shared around.

Next week I think we better have a look at all the snuggly stuff we have in store to keep you warm on these clear, chilly days.

xx Bec

Shiny, pretty things - papery goodness part one - prints n things

We have loads of lovely paper based goodies in store and we've used a random assortment of op shop finds and the odd ikea piece to display them.

We've decorated our cosy corner a bit like it's our own lounge. Resting along the shelf we have a selection of original pen and gouache Frida 'doodles' by Shelley McDonald and pegged and paper clipped along the walls we have prints from a range of talented craftisans including Art by Jaz, Zoe Ingram, Missy Minzy, Bonnie Beyond Pluto. 

Opposite the cosy corner we have a whole table (and more) full of paper wares. We've used my aunts old office desk, stacked on a vintage telephone table and slid in a lovely old drawer, then on the walls we've used the ubiquitous ikea spice racks. The range of goodies that grace this display includes handmade and hand bound books by Kreative, a selection of handmade recycled paper by Lesa Hepburn, removable wall stickers, bunting, badges and prints by Missy Minzy, notebooks by Lilac and Snow and Chrissy Foreman Cranitch, cards and small prints by Huck Jones, zombie babushka magnets and more by Anti Craft, mini prints Bonnie Beyond Pluto. And if that's not enough...

you can even make your own recycled paper with a 'how to make paper kit' by Lesa Hepburn.

Shiny, pretty, things - jewellery showcase

After finishing a great e-course with A Beautiful Mess I'm feeling inspired to start a new regular blog feature showcasing our store displays and the lovely products that grace them. So here we go...

Our store counter is a thrifted kitchen hutch and this display cabinet used to perch above it on a couple of cast iron brackets. After a quick coat of paint to the shelves (it was already the lovely grey colour on the outside), some astro turf lining and the installation of some fairy lights it now houses these beautiful silver, PMC, hand woven and ceramic pieces by:

One day soone

crocodilli

Kate Roberts (via Art Time)

SilverMonk

Pirates Dreaming and

Lesa Hepburn.

Continuing the tour up past the counter we have used a wall mounted drawer (its inside painted with blackboard paint) and an old wooden sewing box (with yet more astro turf lining) to display these varied pieces by Kimono Reincarnate.

And finally up the back of the store we have just finished our great wall:

We originally discussed a peg board wall but since I'm essentially a massive tight arse when it comes to spending money on something we could perhaps cobble together with the assortment of randomness stashed in the cupboards, behind shelves and under tables in the shop this is how it turned out. And despite the giant blisters I inflicted upon myself because I'm too impatient to wait for the guy with his drill, I'm pretty chuffed with myself. Here's a closer look:

Kellie Christie

Flights of Fancy

Found Pieces, Poly Clay Creations, 

Little Bird and Once I Was

Hope you enjoyed the first 'tour'.

Next week I'll share our display of prints and papery goodness.

xx Bec

DWELL...a special event

We have been 'secret squirreling' for a while now, planning and making, designing and pretty much getting excited about this special event we are planning. Finally we are ready to let you all know about it, so here goes...

DWELL is all about living sustainably in this disposable world, about how we can change the way we live in small ways to make a big impact.

And how do we get that message across to everyone? By having a heap of fashionable fun, of course!

(with special help from our pals at Peppermint Mag!!!)

There will be a whole bunch of events throughout the day including...
* Boutique Markets featuring handmade, fair trade and sustainable products.
* An UPcycled wedding dress competition
* A green carpet fashion showcase and
* A sutainability forum with guest speakers from different industries and walks of life.

INTERESTED?...we are taking expressions of interest for all of these events, so if you think you would like to be involved or can help us out in any way please send us an email at cultivershop@gmail.com and we will let you know where we think your talents will be most needed.

Tickets for the DWELL evening events will be available soon so keep an eye out here on the blog and our facebook page for details on this and other important information.

A wooly window.

One of our absolute favourite things about our shop are the enormous front windows and one of our favourite things to do on a quiet afternoon is to potter about putting in new window displays.

Kyla is a little obsessed with yarn bombing at the moment so we thought we'd herald in the cold weather with a yarn bombed window.

We gathered Nanna blankets from the local op shops and were gifted lots of lovely bits and pieces by our crafty friends which we sewed together to make a huge wooly curtain for our big window.

We decorated the lamp, and one of our old chairs with some French knitting and more Nanna blankets. Plus we've showcased some of the beautiful wooly wares we have in store (check out this amazing hand loomed poncho by Dash Robin).

We also uncovered lots of little hats in the stash from Kate so now the shop critters are nice and cosy too.

And for our small window we constructed a wee Gnome hideaway, complete with snow capped mountains.

What fireside crafts are you planning to keep you cosy this winter?

x Bec

Sunday session

A lovely way to spend a Sunday at the shop - hanging out with interesting peeps and screen printing.

Images from 1 year (almost)

It is almost a year since we formed the crazy idea that we could open a shop filled with all the amazing things we loved and made! Our official first birthday is a little further off but to celebrate Bec and I becoming rockin' business partners I thought I would share some of my favourite images of the shop over the past year...it's been a fantastically wild time and we are so excited for the next one...heaps more big things to come.