Some Serious Work...

On Friday we had another clothing shoot for Surface Art. Me the model, Denis (my other half) the photographer.

It is a jam packed day and we have been known to squeeze in up to 60 clothing changes into the one day... Whoah!

It can be hard thinking up new poses that don't look too try hard if you know what I mean. So in between a few shots to loosen up I did a few jumps. Denis, quick as a flash on his trigger captured the above pics of my crazy jumps. 

Then I decided to do some interpretive dance LOL!

I love working with Denis on these shoots. One day when we are old and grey, we will fondly think back to the days when I would model and he was the photographer!

:)

Support Locally Made This Christmas

Saturday 6th December - Langmeil Wines Tanunda.

Sunday 7th December - Hart Mill, Port Adelaide

Sunday 14th December - Bowden

Last chance to purchase my Messagemark products directly from me! Come along to one or all of the amazing events listed above and stock up on SA goodies. Please support our small local businesses this Christmas to help keep your $$'s in South Australia!

Toodle-pip,

 

My Gift

This is me, taken 11 years ago, I had just turned 30. I was on a crazy wild snowboarding trip in Wanaka, New Zealand and I decided to have a random photo in the snow in my bikini - like you do! (and yes it was freezing)

One month after this photo was taken I was diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer. My whole world as I knew it changed forever.

I was just saying to someone yesterday how I was given the 'gift' of having cancer at 30. "Wow what a statement" was the response! I was on the wrong life path and this was the only way I was going to become aware - something big had to happen to stop me in my tracks. 

Cancer - an experience I am now grateful for, an experience that I am proud of and would never change, an experience that continues to link to the daily choices I make, and my core values. 

Today I celebrate 11 years of being cancer free! So here I am with my original boobies out (well sort of) for breast cancer awareness month!

OM,



PS: I was a bit hesitant to post this photo coz it is a bit out there, but it is a good representation of the crazy cat I was prior to cancer, and I'm happy to say that part of me hasn't changed! I even have a pic of me topless from this spot too! LOL! At least I have one photo of how I used to look in my natural state before I was reconfigured!!

It's Market Time...

Spring is in the air (and a touch of summer with 34 degrees here in Adelaide today) and so it is time to come out of the old Winter hibernation mode and take part in a few markets leading up to Christmas.

First up you will find me sporting my new little Messagemark mini shop display at the Goodwood Art House Marketplace Sunday 2nd November.

Yay for sunny days, gorgeous crafting friends, lovely customers and supporting local primary schools!

Support local, see you there!

Not only One Small Room

The original idea for One Small Room (OSR) was to set up a room with lots of special pieces chosen for their quality, uniqueness, style and soul, all displayed in a retail space just as it would be in a home.

Ten years later this idea has now evolved into a multifaceted business specialising in interior, building and product design, prop hire and styling – and the original OSR retail space in Croydon, Adelaide is still a popular stop for lovers of all things vintage and retro!

My design brief was to create a clean and feature full website for One Small Room, something to simply promote the two sides of the business – Retail and Design. Rather than manage an online shop, OSR wanted to have a simple way for customers to enquire about a product, so a sophisticated gallery and pop up form was developed to suit this requirement.

The project was completed with crisp professional photography by Denis of Smith & Collins, working alongside Stylist Rebekah Cichero of One Small Room. Some behind the scenes pics...

Bek and Denis churning out the styled product photos.

Behind the scenes setup at the OSR Hall. Impressive!

Toodle-pip,

Surface Art Spring 2014

Some may find this quite scarey seeing 6 of me in one place, it freaks me out a little. But putting that aside, check out the first roll-out of Surface Art's new Spring / Summer range for 2014!

Oh and also thought I would mention website design by Kyrie Design Studio! ;)

The Shedley

Image Source Here >

Built in 1965, The Shedley Theatre is a long standing icon in Elizabeth, and was recently upgraded to incorporate a new cafe and bar. I worked alongside The City of Playford's Marketing Department to develop a new brand for the Elizabeth Civic Centre's Café space.

The brief was to somehow incorporate the original 1960s Shedley sign into the new brand, keeping it fresh and not in your typical council style!

I managed to reproduce the original Shedley sign into a logo file, and introduced a new element - a complimentary 'octagon' starburst graphic to use on its own for stickers, uniforms and other marketing.

Interior Design by Total Space Design

It was also a requirement that all designs complimented the new interior design by Total Space Design.

This was such an awesome job because I love the fact that this brand was inspired by the building's history and elements from the 1960s, including starbursts, Featherston Chairs, red bricks!

Feeling Responsible

I was chatting to a friend the other day who was telling me about their recent experience with having a business website developed. So I jumped on my iPhone while on the run to check out her new online digs and was really disappointed to discover that her new site is not "Responsive".

So what does this mean?

Well in website terms a Responsive website design takes into consideration all screen sizes that the site may be viewed on. For example tablets/iPads, iPhones, laptops - basically big and small screens on any hand held or desktop device. When viewed on different screens the website should cleverly (and subtly) change layout to make the overall viewing, navigation and scrolling experience easier. (here is the long definition on Wikipedia)

So considering how many gadgets people will potentially view your site on, it is recommended that you make sure Responsive design is on your website wish list. Actually I would expect this to now be a standard feature of website development, so do check or ask the question when gathering website quotes.

Big Merger Taking Place!

I have decided to merge my Messagemark Facebook page together with my Kyrie Design page so I have less to maintain on Facebook, which means more time to create! 

My new page is called Kyrie Design Studio, to cover all of my design antics - branding, websites, paper products, and features from this studio blog. There is so much cross over in my design work it makes sense to do this.

Thanks so much for visiting my little corner of Facebook, and if you haven't already, please pop over to the new page and like that one so you continue to see updates in your Facebook news feed!! 

Toodle-pip,

Gettin' Creative with Dinky-Dye

Heidi & Baby Pip, Nigel the Kookaburra and Denis the Platypus

What a thrill to receive these photos in my inbox this morning! A loyal customer of mine (Kathleen) beautifully designed and handmade this amazing quilt for her little boy's bedroom. Kathleen has designed the quilt around our Dinky-Dye Cut & Sew characters Nigel, Heidi and Denis.

Creative and clever is an understatement!

I am so happy that my Dinky-Dye range inspired these creative projects for Kathleen, forming the colour palette and theme for her son's bedroom. No classical navy and red to be seen here! I love it!

Next on the to do list is a custom made cushion featuring Jess & Baby Toby!

Click here to see a previous post about the matching floor rug that Kathleen made to compliment the Dinky-Dye framed prints. AMAZING!

Toodle-pip,

Happy Ethel!

So pleased to see that E for Ethel are happy with their new logo and website that I designed for them. Hooray!

Messagemark Instagram Love

Polyhedra "Kite Print" - perfect for a boys room.

"Retro Mod" Prints hanging in Moyra's lounge.

Nigel the Kookaburra having an afternoon siesta!

Polyhedra Garland Kit  - Well done Kristy!

At Three Card Trick

Polyhedra Garland in white at Council of Objects

I just did a tag search for "messagemark" on Instagram and found these posts from my customers! I love seeing where my products end up! Thanks for sharing lovely people! 

Toodle-pip,

A fresh face for E for Ethel

I've just completed a brand refresh for my lovely friends Dan and Amanda from Adelaide cafe and gift store "E for Ethel". The design brief was to retain some text elements from their existing logo, and also compliment the look and feel of their newly handpainted window and street signs.

I included a pattern of knitting in the logo set, and kept the tea cup element to link the visual message back the two distinct sides of the business, cafe and hand made products. View all elements of the brand set here>. An enjoyable job to work on with the most gorgeous couple. Now onto the E for Ethel Website!!

Toodle-pip,

New work digs...

After spending the last five years working from home, I decided it was time to mix things up and look for a new environment to work from. Ok that is not totally true... if I am to be 100% honest here, my main motivations to work away from home were:

+ I was starting to feel a bit trapped within the walls of my house
+ I was needing a clearly defined separation between my work, study and home life
+ The days would roll by, weekends would come and go, and I started to feel like I was stuck in one long continuous day
+ Conversations with my cats were becoming more and more interesting - was this a sign of madness or was I simply craving more human interaction?

For those of you who have done the whole work from home thing, you will totally understand it has many benefits, but at the same time can become both challenging and stifling.

I was starting to feel like I was lacking structure and also discipline in my life. There were too many blurred edges - for example, weekends were not weekends anymore, and work was way too accessible and I would catch myself after dinner checking on something or answering an email. I was also beginning to allow clients to contact me after hours as if that was ok too. Over time this kind of balance, or should I say imbalance between work and relaxation time started to take it's toll. Throw full time study into the mix and you have the potential recipe for a complete break down.

So when the opportunity to work in the most awesome creative space with Bek and Tim from  One Small Room was presented to me, I pounced on it! They recently set up business in a character church hall for their overflowing creative endeavors (interior design / architecture, styling, vintage furniture restoration etc) and were kind enough to offer me a corner to work from all styled up and ready to go!

And the best part, when I leave I can totally leave work there and I now have a more balanced home life. It is incredible what this simple change has done for me. I am even enjoying jumping in the car or jumping on the train with work as the destination. The time and space between home and the hall gives me a moment to clear my head and prepare for the day. So different to walking from the kitchen straight to the desk! I have also discovered that I have so much more free time for study and the things I enjoy the most - like chatting to my furry friends.

It is amazing, and quite possibly the coolest creative space west of the city! More central for client meetings too! So it now seems timely to point out when you will find me in my new work digs ...

Business Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 9 – 5pm
4A William Street, Croydon (by appointment)

Here are a few happy snaps of the amazing collection of vintage goodness also sharing the hall space with us...

Toodle-pip,