secret garden party

A snap shot of our day at the Ipswich Festival Street Party.

Big, huge thank you's to:

Kate and Jen who helped make hundreds of recycled bottle flowers

Our wonderful performers - three blind mice, Kasey Michelle, Sound and Vision and Shoot! the piano player (links under pics)

And

Greg and Emma from Tangible Media for the snaps (Kyla took some too in between the crazy craft activity action).

three blind mice

Sound and Vision

Harry Brown (ok not on our stage, but he's my bro and we got him to play so he totally counts as part of the Cultiver family)

Kasey Michelle

Shoot! the piano player

Thanks also to all the gorgeous people who came and made stuff, we hope your UPcycled plastic flowers are brightening your day.

xx Bec

Workshop - using up you fabric scraps and sewing machine maintenance

Want to come along and sew with me? Next Sunday I'm running a 'sewing with scraps' session at Cultiver. If you've been hoarding gorgeous bits of fabric and looking for just the right project to use them for, then this is for you. 

The sess is split into two so you can either come and play all day or just come along for the morning. If you have little ones you are welcome to bring them along as we'll be in the workshop space upstairs and have a few things to keep them occupied.

And as an extra bit of awesomeness we'll have Jen from Damned Soles along to run you through some basic sewing machine maintenance too.

Here's all the deets:

24 February 

9:30 - 12:00 and/or 12:30 - 3:00

COST:
Full day
Members $40
Non members $50
Half day
Members $25
Non-members $30


WHAT you'll make - your choice of items including cushion covers, pencil cases, baskets, infinity scarf, head bands etc from your fabric scraps
Stay and make for the whole day or have a couple of creative hours on a Sunday morning.


TAUGHT by - Bec and Jen


MATERIALS required:

• A sewing machine (we do have a couple available to use if you don't have your own - please advise at time of booking if you need a machine)
• Basic sewing kit - scissors, thread, quick unpick, measuring tape etc
• A selection of scraps from your sewing stash in a variety of sizes and weights (we will also provide fabric bits and pieces for you to rummage through and use)
• Any extra sewing bits and embellishments - zips, buttons, ric rac, pompom fringing, old doilies etc - that you think you might need.

Yard sale

THIS SATURDAY - 13th APRIL 8AM - 12PM

the digital mag (eeeeek)....

With our lovely pals from Tangible Media we have been crazy busy over the last six months developing a Cultiver digital magazine for iPhone and iPad.

A whole bunch of amazing people have contributed their ideas, their time, their writing, their recipes, their handmade goodies and their support. And after many photo shoots, buckets of coffee, a couple of BBQs and a lot of late nights (especially the last one waiting to see if we had approval) we are finally able to let you all know that it's done and ready to download.

HUZZAH.

The Cultiver Xmas app is a fully interactive arts and craft digital mag, chock full of handmade goodness. It includes a couple of fun tutorials incorporating a bit of lino printing, a wee bit of crochet and needle felting and of course model railway figures. We feature a vintage film review and craftisan interview plus some fun interactive interludes. We've also thrown in some poetry, a recipe and a photographic essay which will evolve over further issues.

We are stupidly excited about it and eternally grateful to the Tangible Media team who have made it all possible.

You can head over here to download it for just 99c and if you need want a sneak peek of the cultiverse on iPad then head over to vimeo here.

To celebrate the release of the app we are offering a $15(AU) iTunes card to one Aussie resident who helps us spread the word about the app. You could share the link on Facebook (those who've already shared will go in the draw) or perhaps pop it in a blog post. Whatever you do, it will be greatly appreciated. To go in the draw for the iTunes please leave a comment here to let us know.

Now it is most definitely time for a power nap and a regroup. We hope you love it as much as we've loved making it and be sure to stay tuned as we are working hard on ideas for the next issue.

xx Bec and Kyla

our Christmas wish list...

Attention Cultiver husbands,

are you looking for a few ideas for what we would like for Christmas? Well look no further, here's a handy pictorial guide of things in the shop that we love and would be happy to take home. 

xx Bec and Kyla

new to the cultiverse...

hats and fascinators - Ginger Avenue - $90 - $120

Screen-printed tea towels - Little Evil Stuff - $16

Gift tags and ornaments - Once I Was - $4 - $6

UPcycled tunic dress (and blouses) - Middlemost - $70 - $120 

Leads and collars - Tutu's Bling - $12 - $15

Origami Kusudama Globes - Scrunch Design - $30 - $120

A quiet word with...

Janine Middlemost of MIDDLEMOST

What do you make?:  Clothing, jewellery, cards, accessories, collage art work.

Your favourite materials?:   Vintage and up-cycled fabrics. Found objects.

What inspires you to create or where do your ideas come from? (tell us a little about your creative process): 

At 9.15am everyday, after my 4 children are off to school, I turn on the music and make make make. I love working with vintage and retro fabrics, the quality is so much better. I usually start with the fabric, the size and weight determine what I can make with it. I will often cut out a bulk lot of items and then move on to jewellery making. I love the idea of things being one offs, so with that in mind I create my own hand stitched packaging for my jewellery, each one with it's own little story, like a mini collage art work. I will spend hours at night time cutting images from old books, or covering tiny buttons in my favourite fabric scraps.

How are eco-friendly practices incorporated in your work?:

I buy all of my fabrics and books from op shops, garage sales or flea markets. I use as much re-cycled products as possible.

What have you studied?: 

I studied Fashion Design at East Sydney Technical College a life time ago. I have also sharpened my sewing skills at TAFE more recently. I also have a nearly complete degree as a registered nurse, although I had to put that on the back burner as I couldn't manage it with four children.

Are you a full-time or part-time maker?:  I am a full-time maker.

If you’re self taught, how does this affect your practice?: Most of my jewellery making is self taught, if I get stuck I ask one of my talented maker friends for advice.

Why do you create?:  I love it! It's the best job in the world. 

What does DIY and the handmade movement mean to you?: 

I think the saying "Make Do and Mend" says it all. Our society is far too consumerist, people need to look at what they already have instead of what they think they need. I create goods made from almost 100% recycled materials, and am very proud of that. My goods and packaging are also hand made solely by me. I will always purchase the hand made and sweat free option.

Local/Australian makers you are excited about (please include web links if possible)?:

Julie Gibbons makes wonderful things using repurposed and up cycled fabrics.

http://www.tractorgirl.com.au 

Kurt Saggers AKA The Cats Pyjamas turns vintage tweed jackets into wonderful hats.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pyjamacat

Betty Jo designs. making gorgeous jewellery, clocks and other wonderful things out of repurposed vintage and retro linoleum, doilies, buttons and other found objects.

http://www.linoforest.blogspot.com.au

You can find a range of Middlemost items at Cultiver or visit Janine's Facebook page here