A Fresh Start in Largs Bay

During the late nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries Largs Bay was a disembarkation point for overseas passengers and played a key role in the distribution of the English mail to eastern colonies.

The Largs Pier Hotel, the jetty, a railway extension from Glanville, and a row of six shops were officially opened on 23 December 1882.

Now over 100 years later one of the original shops on Jetty Road is the new home to Messagemark. Our shop was originally a bread store in it's hay-day called "Old Fields Bread". I would love to go back in time to see the hustle and bustle when Largs Bay was a busy port.

We've just finished the renovations and have proudly created an open and fresh work space with the bonus of being just a hop skip and a jump from the beach. The 1890s features - high ceilings, original shop window, wooden floors add to the character and uniqueness of our studio.

The Messagemark Studio is open by appointment - contact hello@messagemark.com.au

Font Squirrel

For some stylie free fonts check out the website Font Squirrel. The dudes at Font Squirrel handpick high-quality, commercial-use, free fonts creating a one-stop resource for us all.

TeAro Estate Tasting Room

After 18 months of meticulous restorations of a heritage listed 1850’s barn, TeAro Estate has opened their Tasting Room in the main street of Williamstown. Boasting a lovingly re-pointed stonework exterior, upon entering you are greeted by a warm, contemporary and relaxed atmosphere with a variety of lounges, bar stools and tasting stations for guests to enjoy a hosted wine or tea tasting experience.

Focusing on regionality, expect to find local art, local produce, locally made gifts and well-being products, many exclusive to TeAro Estate. Messagemark cards are also available to purchase, along with some wonderful Ball of Light photographs by my hubby Denis Smith.

WHERE: 20 Queen Street, Williamstown SA 5351
ONLINE: www.tearoestate.com
PHONE: 08 8524 6860
OPEN: Thurs - Mon 10am to 6pm (other days by appointment)

Card Stand Solution (for card makers)

Product display can be tricky. Effectively displaying your product without spending a fortune can be a big challenge.

When we were getting ready for the last Bowerbird Bazaar, we wanted to come up with a new way to display many cards in a small space. My brainy husband came up with the idea to use standard galvanized steel shelves (from Bunnings), but with the shelves angled and turned up-side-down. This worked really well, they were easy to transport, and ended up being an affordable solution.

It's a small world...

After my "mini-me" product shoot I decided to do a search on Flickr to see what other miniature ideas were out there... and I came across these delightful photos.

Annina Günther, a graphic designer in England, is a collector of dolls-houses which she stages for photographs and then posts on her blog Miniatures by Annina. I absolutely love the mid-century decor and the fact that all rooms have a lived in quality. I believe she even makes most of the accessories and furniture herself. The detail is unbelievable - You have to look closely to realise they are not actual full scale rooms! Check out her Flickr page here...

Gigantic Slide Rule

We hit the second-hand furniture shops on the weekend and found this treasure. Well it is actually for Denis to put up in his photo studio - a gigantic slide rule for doing those tricky calculations. Trust us to go out in the Smart Car and ending up with a random purchase that really doesn't fit. Luckily we managed to get it back to the studio safely without any trouble, but having said that we did turn a few heads driving across town!

The Light Fantastic

It's been busy week building a new website and brand dedicated to my husband's Ball of Light photography project. We had a deadline to get this site launched this week because Denis was interviewed for a feature for an online US publication Vevant.

Some people ask why do a dedicated website for Ball of Light... Well, we think the Ball of Light deserves its own canvas – after all, it seems to have developed an identity of its own now!

Read the Ball of Light web feature |  www.balloflight.com.au | Denis Smith Photography