image: a corner of my home
image: printed and starched doilies by candlelight
watching and waiting for family and friends from the UK to spend the rest of the summer with us…
Late last year I was asked to gather my tips for creating a home studio/office for Homestyle Magazine . The article has been published in the current issue (Feb/Mar) of the magazine, available in New Zealand.
image: the studio
Lucinda, the editor, emailed me today to let me know that their brand new exciting blog has just gone live. There were several photos taken at my studio that they couldn’t squeeze into the article so she has included them in a blog post.
Homestyle Blog will certainly be added to my ‘favourites’.
Until next time…
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One of the reasons why Mr TS and I moved from the UK to New Zealand and chose to live in Carterton, a small rural town with a population of 4,000, was that we wanted to become part of and get involved in a community. This weekend I really felt that. Many of us from this tiny town were invited to show our work at the Greytown Arts Festival. The Art and Garden Trail was just a small part of what was on offer over the weekend. Nine houses opened up their homes and gardens to the public and hand-picked artists were assigned to each one. I was based at a wonderfully modern home called Westwood.
image: westwood
Here are a few photos that I took during the festival day when it didn’t rain!
image: janet green pottery
image: ramari textiles linen and silk dolls and screen printed pillow
images: a sean crawford sculpture
image: sculpture detail
image: wonderfully vintage gate in the grounds
image: gate detail
image: brett harman sculpture (would love to have this in my garden)
image: niko thomsen iron arch detail
image: further arch detail
It was such a great weekend, very much like a huge social event. I’m thrilled that I was able to be a part of it.
On Saturday evening, also as part of the festival, Mr Tread Softly and I went to see the Wellington Ukulele Orchestra. My Dad will chuckle at that as last night we had a ‘discussion’ via Skype, on how to spell the word Ukulele. He won! However, I’m still sure that it would look a lot more exotic spelt with an E! Have never been the greatest speller - I’ll be the first to admit that! |Thank goodness for spellcheck! To have a taste of the amazingness that is the Wellington Ukulele Orchestra, take a look at this You Tube clip.
Until next time..
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Isn’t it great when you make a new discovery? Well, I say new, but I’ll put money on every person in the Antipodes knowing about the culinary ‘zen’ genius that is Donna Hay.
image: ‘the instant cook’ + sweetpeas from the garden (the house is filled with them right now)
Being a diehard Jamie fan I rarely give other chef a second glance but, I had a $20 book token to spend and our amazing local independent booksellers just so happened to have a sale on, so for $19.99 I decided to expand my culinary horizons.
image: last night’s supper
I wasn’t sorry. The book is overflowing with incredible, achievable recipes using the freshest of ingredients which, is pretty lucky as our vegetable garden is going crazy right now.
image: our veg patch
We usually take it in turns to cook the evening meal but Mr Tread Softly hasn’t been able to get near the kitchen since I came home with this book…and oddly enough, he’s not complaining!
Until next time…
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image: pottery hearts
I’ve just updated my opening times page for the shop over the Christmas and New Year holiday. If you’re planning a visit then do check out that page first as I will be taking a few days off to recuperate after, what has been an incredibly busy time. You may well have noticed that the online shop has suffered a wee bit. Handmade lovelies have been selling fast but I plan to add new stock the first week of January. Customers who are on my mailing list are always the first to know about updates so if you’d also like to join then nip over to this page.
image: new zealand house and garden january 2010 edition
We’re very excited here in the so tread softly house as our home and business is featured in the January issue of New Zealand House and Garden . If you’d like to have a peek inside our little cottage, then it will be in the shops on Monday 21st December. For those readers overseas, I’ll be popping the article on my press page at some point over the Christmas break so that you can have a look too.
Until next time…
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image: greytown classic christmas trees
Christmas is fast approaching and the weather’s turning warmer. I think that I’ll always have difficulty coming to terms with that. I’m used to cold, cold days, perhaps with snow on the ground, Christmas specials on the telly, chestnuts roasting by an open fire… But you know, I think that I will eventually become used to spending Christmas in the heat, creating our own personal traditions and making it our own, as opposed to what we’re told it should be. Having said that, Mr Tread Softly and I still insist on bringing a tree into the home at holiday time and a few days ago once I’d closed the shop, we took a drive down to a farm in Greytown to choose our tree.
image: farmer christmas lending us a hand
We spotted the perfect little tree hidden in amongst a forest of its elders. We wanted it to go next to the log burner so we definitely had size restrictions.
Loading it into the truck, the cabin was filled with the smell of sweet, heady pine. We sneezed all the way home mind you but hey, it’s all for Christmas!
That evening I decorated the tree using simply white light and a scattering of tiny love hearts made from wonderful antique hemp.
image: wrapping up christmas
The very next evening, the weather took a turn for the worse and as our home is just heated by that one log burner we had to take down the tree and move it into the lounge so that we could have a fire! Do you know, as I sat there with the log burner blazing, a blanket over my knee, watching the white lights on the tree and tucking into a bowl of walnuts, I got that feeling, that little spark of Christmas, that warm contentment.
We’re living our dream here, away from everything I know, but with our fourth Christmas just around the corner and by including just a few of my memories and past experiences into our new traditions, it allows me to connect to those that I love and miss at home.
Another post is planned for tomorrow with details of my opening times during the Christmas holidays but in the meantime I want to wish all of you who take a few minutes out of your precious days to read my occasional ramblings, a very happy, peaceful and restful Christmas.
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I thought that you might be interested in seeing a few shots from the Images onto Fabric workshop that took place on Friday. The weather sort of behaved itself so we were able to enjoy lunch on the deck. I loved sharing my studio with 6 of the friendliest ladies. Looking forward to doing it again in January.
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It’s been a busy week in the shop with lots of lovely customers and another photo shoot. This time, for the fabulous Homestyle magazine.
image: uk and nz based photographer sharisse eberlein
The studio was flooded with wonderful natural light the morning of the shoot. The article will appear in the January/February edition.
This Sunday (6th) I’ll be at the Thorndon Fair. Apart from Mr TS losing the car keys last year, for me, it was the highlight of the fair season. The weather forecast isn’t looking too good so we’ll take the gazebo and should be nice and toasty underneath it. Drop by and say hi if you happen to be in Wellington that day. It’s an amazing fair for Christmas shopping.
Until next time…
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image: book cupboard
I really wish that I’d thought to take a ‘before’ shot so that you could see the above cupboards transformation. I purchased it from our local reclamation yard (my new favourite place to shop). The glass was smashed, it didn’t have sides…or a top come to think of it. When I described it on the phone to Mr Tread Softly he was certain that I’d spent good money on fresh air! I knew, however, that it had potential.
image: old french photos pegged onto hemp string
For those of you who have been readers for a while now, you will know that my studio used to be in the house and that once I moved into the new work space and shop, we had an empty room to fill. Before the move to New Zealand we wrote a wish list and under ‘little wooden cottage’ we’d written ‘library’. Both being avid readers, a little library, for us, seemed like complete decadence. Well, it was a wish list afterall. Let’s cross that off the list shall we? We now have one – well, the makings of one anyway. It’s a little sparse right now but it’ll get there.
image: the library cupboard
So after a lick of paint, a bit of Mr TS’s carpentry skills and some new glass, I have to say that I’m thrilled with the results. I lined the doors with a gorgeous piece of french antique cloth and it’s just perfect for a selection of our favourite books to live in.
If you’d like to see more of our home and workspace it will be featured in January’s edition of ‘New Zealand House and Garden’ - in the shops from 21st December.
Until next time…
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image: hand printed brooches : antique buttons : sage
This Saturday (14th November) I’ll be at the Rathkeale Christmas Fete. Drop by and say hi if you’re in the vacinity.
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