Wow, November went by quick didn’t it? My November online book boutique is about to close its doors – there are only 2 days left to order your personally signed copy of My Heart Wanders, Amsterdam: Made by Hand, and Paris: Made by Hand (or all three)…

It’s been fun signing books, wrapping them and sending them off to interesting destinations around the world. Thank you to everyone who has ordered so far. Some people have asked if I will extend the opening of the store but the answer is a very certain ‘no can do’ as I’m now nearly 8 months pregnant so my attention over the next 6 months will be focused on bringing our first bub into the world. That means now is the time to place your orders! I won’t be doing any public events or signings for the coming months. Click on the image below to be taken directly to the boutique…

note: I will be closing the boutique on Thursday December 1st so that North American readers have until their November 30, end of Wednesday, to order.  px

PS keep in mind I will ship ANYWHERE in the world – if your country is not on the shipping list just pick the country nearest you, then when ordering you type in your shipping address with correct country. (I just couldn’t type every country in the shipping, it would have taken me days.) If you are unsure, just email me your shipping address and book request and I will email you an invoice.

As many of you are aware, My Heart Wanders won’t officially be available in North America until April of next year. Over the last few months I’ve taken note of the collective dismay expressed by those living in North America not able to get a copy for themselves or their friends and family for Christmas. So it got me thinking, what can I do?

Well, in between bouts of nausea and back pain (but oh to also now feel little feet and hands kicking and wriggling inside my growing belly – it’s so strange and beautiful) over the last few weeks I’ve been quietly working on creating a little “November only” online book boutique – a place where you can buy not just My Heart Wanders, but also Paris: Made by Hand and Amsterdam: Made by Hand, no matter where you are in the world.  To make it extra special, I will be signing each book with a personal message and dedication, so that your copy will be one of a kind.

The November book boutique will, as the title suggests, only be available for the month of November so that I can get all orders shipped out and to your door by mid December. And although due to the weight of the books the shipping seems expensive, it’s important to note that knowing my current situation,  I won’t be able to travel to book events, workshops or signings for quite a while, so this will be the only chance to get hold of your own personally signed copy of the book…

If you don’t see your country of residence in the shipping section, do not fret – I was not able to select regions (i.e. Scandinavia, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia etc) so instead I chose a few countries in each region -  you can pick the country closest to you as that will be the same shipping cost, or if you don’t see a country near enough to you then just email me your country and what you’d like to purchase and I’ll email you a paypal invoice tailored specific to your needs. (Australians please note: There is a great inexpensive flat rate for books sent within Australia – $5 for either Made by Hand books, $12 for My Heart Wanders , or $18 for all three).

I made the boutique very simple, specifically for buying one copy of each. However, if you want something more,  for example, 2 or 3 copies of My Heart Wanders with 3 different dedicated signatures, then email me your order request, I’ll get the shipping quote for you and will email you a paypal invoice specific to your needs.

So without further ado, let me welcome you to my November online book boutique! Please click here to browse the boutique at your leisure…

I do hope you like this idea, and that you’ll make room for a book or two on your Christmas list.

xx

Extra notes:

+All prices are in Australian dollars.
+Limited copies available, so please get in earlier rather than later to ensure your signed copy.
+The last order will be taken November 30, 2011 to ensure deliver by mid-December.
+Please click here to send me an email for special requests.

photograph by Al Jensen.

Well, it’s the end of another year. I can hardly believe how the months of 2010 have flown by. I fully intended to curate a holiday gift guide for you this year but I realised by November that I was not going to get all the things done on my all the things to do before the end of the year list. However, there seemed to be a plethora of fabulous online guides out there so hopefully you found some lovely gift ideas via other bloggers.

I don’t usually buy christmas gifts – my family back in Oz are pretty laid-back when it comes to the holiday season, and my friends know I’m not big on gift giving at this time of year – I prefer to just give randomly throughout the year, or go out for special dinner dates.  But sometimes christmas is unavoidable, and this year is one such time – Romain and I are headed to France for the holiday season and his family celebrate Christmas. As much as I have my (many) reasons for not being big into Christmas, it’s just plain rude to turn up empty handed. So, yesterday Romain and I took to the streets of Amsterdam for a spot of gift shopping – my way. I chose a selection of boutiques from Amsterdam: Made by Hand for us to visit , and with list in hand, we spent the afternoon wandering around in the snow, hopping from one handmade treasure trove to the next. Within only a couple of hours we had completed our holiday shopping, and I have to tell you mes amis, it was so. much. fun. Never before has christmas shopping been so enjoyable! There were no line ups like there would be in department stores, there was no rushing, nothing was overpriced, everyone was super friendly and welcoming, and we found everything we needed, and then some (for me). And of course, everything was handmade and utterly gorgeous. I took pics along the way as it occurred to me during our journey that you might have liked to join us. Yes? perhaps for those who have Amsterdam: Made by Hand, you could follow along with the page numbers…

So,  we started at Leidseplein, headed for  Tesselschade (pg 147). They have a great range of hand-knitted baby ware, smocked dresses, and handmade soft toys. We found everything we needed for the little ones in the family (hand knitted baby booties with little white ducklings on the tops; tiny strawberry hats; a penguin; bib…) -  all handmade, and all very reasonably priced.

Then we headed to La Savonnerie (pg 85) for some handmade soaps and did a spot of sight-seeing while we were in the area…

We then strolled to Dutch Quilts (pg 103), for some special Dutch fabrics that I know Romain’s mother will love…

…and then back toward the Jordaan. On our way we popped into The Otherist – although I was not able to include this fab boutique in Amsterdam: Made by Hand, it’s one of the ones that I hoped people would spot while they wander from handmade boutique to boutique. It’s a gorgeous shop, and in here we found a beautiful bamboo carved necklace for Romain’s oldest niece.

We ended the afternoon with a glass of christmas ale (for him) and port (for me) at the super quaint Cafe Thijssen with some friends.

I hope this might inspire you to do a similar holiday wander in your local area – there are so many incredible small boutiques, handmade markets and ateliers popping up all over the world these days, I urge you to go out there and discover them! It’s seriously the best way to rediscover & get to know your home turf.

I got word the other day that a beautiful store called TASK in Brooklyn, New York is stocking my two books Paris: Made by Hand and Amsterdam: Made by Hand. Thank you TASK! They have a great online store too so be sure to check it out, you’ll find lots of gorgeous treasures.

If you know about a store that is stocking my books please let me know by either commenting on this post or sending me an email. I am still planning to put together a stockists page for my books and I really want to make sure that along with the big book stores,  all the little independent stores around the world are on there too.