Thank you for all the support & well wishes that have poured in over the weekend, you guys are truly wonderful. Something else I’ve wanted to share for some time are these 3 lovely features in 3 of my new favourite independent magazines. First off is the beautiful spread in the latest Anthology magazine. It features never-before-seen photographs of our petit bateau vert (little green houseboat) in Amsterdam. I took these images last year and saved them especially for this article. Above is an image of our tiny boat loungeroom. Last year, Romain spent the year composing his first guitar album, and that exact setting was his office! Meanwhile, I sat at the desk just 2 metres away writing and editing images for My Heart Wanders – it was a special year that we will always cherish, and was the perfect ending to our 3 years of life in Amsterdam on the houseboat.

Below is an image of the bed, covered in a mosquito net during summer, and a view of the living room space, looking down from the kitchen…

It’s a really special feature written by Anh-Minh Le, with lots of info about what life was like living on the boat. This image below is also from the article, and is one of my all-time favourite photographs from inside the boat. Over the course of a year or so I’d taped flower stems to one of the walls and watched them strike their natural, deceased pose. The muted shades, textures and unique characteristics captured my imagination each time I gazed at the wall. The little Dutch sailing boat I found at a market that Leslie and I visited, and I made the sail from scraps of linen, tea stained cotton and lace…

I’m in the midst of recreating another wall like this here in my new home in Sydney, I’ll be sure to show you once it’s complete.

The next sweet feature is in the latest issue (issue 10) of Canadian-based magazine, Uppercase. This one is written by lovely Christine Chitnis, who you may recall was also a recent guest in the (blog)house (here are her fab posts on life in New England). In this article Christine captured my thoughts, ideas, ideals, and ambitions in the most elegant of ways, and included one of my intimate poems from My Heart Wanders . I hope you can find yourself a copy of this issue, there are loads more great articles “for the creative and curious”…

And the third sweet piece is in the newest issue of peppermint magazine, an Australian-based publication focused on sustainable style. It’s a terrific mag filled with eco-minded articles, products and fashion trends. In this article, written by Frances Frangenheim, I talk about my ‘natural’ tendencies, all that inspires me, and my sustainable goals in life and work…

Just before My Heart Wanders was launched here in Australia in April, I decided to get some publicity portraits done by Olga Bennett. Although I was nervous and awkward in front of the camera, Olga managed to grab some great, relaxed images, many of which have since been featured in editorial pieces around the world. I want to thank Olga especially for letting me use these images for publicity. Please visit her fab blog here, and to see more of her photography, please click here.

In other news, I’ve managed to update the stockists page for my books, click here to view. My friend Heidi said she saw big stacks of both Paris: Made by Hand and Amsterdam: Made by Hand in the Seattle Anthropologie store, which is wonderful news. So from what I’ve heard, Anthropologie now stock both these books throughout their USA stores  – thanks Anthro!

I also heard that My Heart Wanders was nowhere to be seen for a while in Europe and the UK, and apparently it was because there was no stock left, which is also terrific news. But even better is that another print run has been completed and sent to stores in Europe, the UK, and restocked throughout Australia.

As many of you have become aware, the book won’t officially be released in the US until Spring (April/May) 2012. But I have something special in mind for those of you who would love to receive the book for Christmas – I’ll post about this next week.

Have a beautiful week mes amis.

goodie bags at the door – inside each was a special gift, made by hand by Kylie

I can’t believe this spectacular event in Brisbane was over a month ago. I’ve been wanting to share these photos with you for all that time. They were taken by the very talented Natalie McComas who is a Brisbane-based photographer. Natalie wandered around for the whole afternoon snapping gorgeous moments like you see above and below…

(Click here to read more…)

gathering my supplies for the window displays

It’s been a lot of fun gathering leaves and tree branches from parks and the side of the road, then installing all this found nature into shop windows. It’s incredibly satisfying, especially when I see people stop on the street and take a look – taking a moment out of their busy day to see something a little unusual, hopefully capturing their hearts and imaginations.

The first window in Sydney I installed was at the bustling Better Read Than Dead on King St, Newtown. This was one of my favourites to install, I think because I had the chance to incorporate some of Tracey Deep‘s incredible floral sculptures…

Tracey let me choose a number of pieces in her studio. I settled on these marvelous sphere sculptures, and some delightful dried banksia branches. I thought they might just work perfectly hanging from the ceiling next to my old chair, to create a kind of dream-like forest scene – a place to sit quietly and read a chapter or two from your favourite book. I used the packing paper flowers as well, and cut out some of my butterfly illustrations…

The cushion is something I’d made years ago with some left over sample fabric from Signature Prints. The backdrop comprises of linen strips that I’d used in the houseboat for curtains, and the leaves I found at Callan Park…

The next window I created was at sweet Oscar & Friends in Surry Hills. This window had quite different dimensions – it was tall and skinny, with only a small ledge for sitting props. So for this window I decided to focus on the glass itself and print then trace an entire passage from within the book…

Once I put the text up on the window to trace, I loved its roughness and was tempted to leave the strips of printed text as is…

Above is my little work station while creating the window.

It started to get dark rather quickly and I needed the outside light to be able to trace the text, so I had to stop taking photos of it and focus.  It was labour intensive, but once I finished and stripped the paper off, I loved the results. Then I wondered, what to do with the rest of the window? And how to draw the eye to the text? Well, I just happened to have found a huge eucalyptus branch the day before which had fallen from a tree in a car park. So I installed that up against the side of the window – I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was an ideal fit. Then to create an autumn tree effect, I attached branches of dried leaves along with some ribbon from the top of the window…

While I was searching for which passage of text to use a few days prior to installing the display, I opened the book and unexpectedly, it flopped open to one of the beginning pages that talks about how my trip to Paris came about. In it I mention that I was having an after-shoot drink with an art director friend – that after-shoot drink just happened to be around the corner from Oscar & Friends, at a neighbouring bar. So now here I was just around the corner but 4 years on, making a window display about the book that I wrote based on the journey I took that stemmed from that very conversation. I find that amazing. Anyway, back to the window display: It was pitch black outside by the time I finished the window, but I took a photo regardless of the lack of light…

And then before I headed off to Brisbane the next day, I took a quick detour back to Oscar & Friends to take a photo of it in the daylight…

The beauty of doing window displays is that they are so much about being there, in the moment – you have to be there to really see it, as windows are not easy to photograph with reflections and all. There are always lots of textures and layers which is what makes them wonderful, 3d forms of art.

Next up was the fabulous Shearers in Leichhardt… hello Norton St…

This time Ashlea and Romain were there to help (merci beaucoup mes amis!), so we got the window installed in next to no time. I love that all the props I’ve used in all these windows have been found, salvaged or handmade. For this window, I found a lovely branch the day before while driving through the residential streets of Bondi Beach. We attached it with fishing line, and then attached the paper flowers and scattered the leaves around the base, along with copies of the book…

Thank you Shearers, Oscar & Friends, and Better Read Than Dead for your continued support, and for letting me play in your beautiful windows. And a big hug and thank you to Tracey Deep for lending me some of her floral sculptures.

Last weekend Stef from Newspaper Taxi and I created a window display in her gorgeous store in Newtown (and had a party to celebrate it!), here is a sneak peek of the display…

…but more about that soon. For now, be sure to check out the window at Newspaper Taxi -  there is something you can add to it too (I’ll let Stef tell you about it when you go and visit).

This Saturday will be the very last window display event in Sydney to celebrate the launch of the book.  It will be at Little Paper Lane in Mona Vale. It’s exciting to wrap this month of events up on the Northern Beaches – my old stomping ground. On Thursday night I’ll be talking at Mona Vale Library – the very place I used to go to almost every afternoon after high school. And then Saturday we’ll have a party at Little Paper Lane- I’m so looking forward to being surrounded by family and locals, new friends and old – I hope you can come along! Check out the details right here. I wonder what I’ll create in Jayde’s window? I think since it’s my last, I’m going to go all out – Mona Vale, here I come!

a jumble of words, a jumble of thoughts and ideas…

PS a few people have asked what I use to write on the windows – I’m using posca pens in white, in different sizes, and I bought them at modern times on king st, newtown.You just need a bit of water and a rag to wipe them off glass. I find the pens are much easier to use than paint and a paint brush. Have fun!

the first wandering window display: Coventry Bookstore in Melbourne

Many many months ago, way back when I was writing My Heart Wanders, I thought about what it would be like to finish the book, and what I’d like to do to celebrate the book’s release into the big wide world.  I dreamed up a rather wild idea – I wanted to go and visit various boutiques and bookstores, creating a ‘wandering window display’ in their windows, inspired by the fun I had making the window displays in Paris and Amsterdam. I liked the idea of these window displays just popping up around the city, randomly, with quotes from within my book, with images and ideas that I explore in the book taking form in ’3d’ within a shop window. I thought that I’d get a resounding ‘no’ from my publisher when I proposed my wild idea during a meeting earlier this year. Instead, I received a booming ‘yes!‘ from everyone in the conference room, I couldn’t quite believe it. Then I was lucky enough to be teamed up with book publicist Ashlea Wallington, who  – as I mentioned in my Melbourne post – loves getting crafty, and doesn’t mind the challenge of an untraditional author like myself.

To Ashlea and my delight, lots of boutiques and bookstores put up their hands for a wandering display, and so I’ve been busy every week throughout the month of May, creating my wandering displays. The first window I created was on May 1st in Melbourne, at Coventry Bookstore…

me having fun making the display, photos by ashlea wallington

Would you like to know a little of the process of making the displays? As you guys already know, I like to use what I have. So it’s probably no surprise that my inspiration for the window displays came when I was unpacking the boxes that arrived from Amsterdam a month ago. Everything in the boxes was wrapped in recycled packing paper. It was not too thick but not too thin. It was pliable and looked as good all scrunched up as it did all smooth and flat. Without thinking much about it, I’d begun collecting the paper – flattening out each sheet and putting it in a pile on the lounge room floor. Soon there was a huge stack of paper, and I was inspired by the layered edges. They reminded me, somehow, of flowers. And then I thought, perhaps I can make paper flowers? So that’s what I did – I began making paper flowers by tightly gathering small pieces of the paper, bundling them together and tying them with string. I loved the effect, so over many days and nights, I made hundreds of paper flowers for the window displays…

I made this origami boat out of brown paper gift wrap, a diary page from My Heart Wanders as the sail, paper flowers and some ribbon with my name on it

Then, because my journey in the book begins in autumn of 2006, I wanted to create autumnal scenes for the displays. So with this in mind I began forming my ideas, while looking around my surroundings for inspiration & things I could use. My friend Jenni came over one day and made a beautiful brown paper wreath using a big roll of brown paper I’d kept from my shop days. You can see the wreath in its full glory in that first photo in the window of Coventry Bookstore. Jenni also made the heart garlands and gorgeous little paper books which I combined with some of favourite spreads from within My Heart Wanders…

(Click here to read more…)

leaf gatherings for window displays, photo taken on my iphone using instagram

I’m sitting here in my new home, ugg boots on, three layers of clothing, blanket wrapped around my shoulders, typing with frozen fingers. I am so very cold. Oh the irony. Although it is not ‘that’ cold here in Sydney compared to Amsterdam (all I have to do is stand out in the sunshine here and I will thaw) , I’m now fully aware that houses in this country are not built for cold weather – that is, weather that dips below 15C. I find that quite peculiar, because at the same time every year, the temperature drops. Winter might not last for long in this country, but it still exists, and it’s cold. Why not make a home accommodate that change in temperature? I don’t get it.

Anyway, here in the (blog)house the weather is always fine, and we are always cozy. Right now I have two special guests pottering around, have you noticed? Dear Marjorie has come back to cook a fabulous spring menu, starting this week with recipes for gougères and an endive salad – miam. In January I had the pleasure of meeting Marjorie in her new hometown of Beaune in France, I will post some photos of this amazing French town soon (needless to say I fell in love with this special place and everyone who lives there). Click here to visit Marjorie in the (blog)kitchen.

Also in the (blog)house, hanging out in the guest quarters is sweet Christine who has just published a book called “markets of new england” with The Little Bookroom. Christine is taking us through New England each week this month, and already she’s shown us some amazing discoveries. I adore New England, I have been wanting to take Romain there on a road trip since we met, and Christine is certainly enticing us ever more to head out on our New England adventure. Click here to visit Christine in the guest quarters. Thank you both Marjorie and Christine for coming to visit, I hope you will enjoy your stay.

While we’re here, would you like to hear about my weekend in Melbourne? After the book launch in Sydney at Ariel on Friday (April 29th) I had to get up bright and early the next morning to catch a plane to head to Melbourne for a special event at Magnolia Square in Malvern Town Hall.  My Heart Wanders book publicist Ashlea had made all the arrangements for the weekend and came along to help me with the events and window displays – what a treat that was.  Ashlea loves getting crafty and totally ‘got’ my ideas and what I wanted to do, I feel very lucky to have her on board. Once we got to Melbourne, it was full steam ahead – we headed straight from the airport to the town hall to find it a-buzz with creative people. Within minutes Magnolia Square founder & director Nic MacIsaac announced my arrival and before I blinked I was surrounded by the loveliest Melbourne dwellers, all wanting to get their hands on a copy of the book and chat. We barely had time to get the books out of the boxes…

all photos above courtesy of little bird photography

Lynn from Scarlet Jones provided all the incredible props for my signing area. Although I have not been to Lynn’s shop, I’d been in contact with her over the years through our blogs – it was serendipitous that she was going to be at the market and was able & willing to bring a whole bunch of beautiful wares for my use. Lynn brought old suitcases, birdcages, a tailor’s mannequin, french doors and tables – when I arrived, the little corner space was so perfectly styled and arranged thanks to Nic and Lynn, I dared not touch it. Now I am dying to visit Lynn’s boutique – I have seen lots of photos of this special treasure trove and next time I visit Melbourne, Scarlet Jones will be one of the first places I go.  Thank you dear Lynn and a big thank you to her daughter Emma who stood by me the whole time and organised all the book transactions.

(Click here to read more…)