It's a Wonderful Blog

Warmest greetings of the season to you.  It's been a heck of a long time since I last posted anything but I knew I couldn't say goodbye to 2014 without having the last word.

A few weeks ago I had the great experience of working on a Christmas-styled photo shoot with Rose from The Eleventh Flower, floral designer extraordinaire and my BFF.  Planned over lattes and laughter the shoot took place one not-so-sunny Sunday afternoon at Silvan Reservoir in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges. 

Rose went with gorgeous traditional reds and greens, with lovely touches of moss here and there and I kept my stationery a simple black and white. I really loved the results and we enjoyed working together so much we were already discussing ideas for our next collaboration on the drive back.
 

 

Best wishes to you for a safe and happy 2015.

Deb xx

The Colour Purple

Happy New Year, you old son of a gun.  Long time, no blog.

I was just sitting here, thinking about colour, as you do on a dull Saturday afternoon where everything outside looks like fifty shades of grey (hey, that sounds like a good title for a book) and I was wondering where is all the Summer colour?  Better yet, what will the colour trends be for 2014?  And thirdly, why is there a dodgy looking man standing in my front yard?

The answer to the first question is easy.  I live in Melbourne so Summer and all her glorious colours will arrive when she damn well pleases.  

The answer to the second question is...drumroll...

The colours are, from top to bottom: Dazzling Blue, Radiant Orchid,
Placid Blue, Violet Tulip, Freesia, Celosia Orange, Paloma, Hemlock,
Cayenne and Sand

Pantone, authority in all things colourful have selected the ten colours above as what to look for in fashion, beauty and interiors this year.  The Dazzling Blue doesn't really dazzle me and I can only take orange as strong as Celosia Orange in small doses but I definitely see some winners with the other eight colours.  

If we look at wedding themes I can certainly picture Radiant Orchid, Cayenne, Hemlock and Sand appearing in bridesmaids dresses through to reception decor and flowers and I can already picture fun, summery wedding stationery in simple Black with touches of Freesia.    

From the ten colours, Radiant Orchid was chosen as Pantone Colour of the Year 2014 and I can see why.  Let's take a closer look.

Pretty, yes?

Purple is considered regal and noble.  It can have a calming effect and can also inspire creativity.  It's one of my personal favourites and like the Freesia yellow I think a simple pairing with Black will make some eye catching stationery this year.

Some of these Pantone Spring colours will complement each other very well.  The neutral, warm beige tones of Sand make it a great colour to match up with bolder selections like Radiant Orchid and Cayenne.  So nice.

Radiant Orchid, Sand and Black

Sand, Paloma and Violet Tulip

Sand, Cayenne and Black

Of course, colour choice is subjective and just because a colour is in fashion it doesn't mean it has to be incorporated into your life.   

Colour your world however you want to.

   

All right stop, collaborate and listen.

Note to self:  Don't read Frankie magazine before bed ever again.  Until the next time you do.

It's not a great start to the new week when you haven't slept at all and only managed around four hours the night before.  But this is something that I experience more often than not.  It's exhausting, obviously, and it's extremely disruptive to life.  But I try to make the best of it, because it's in this restlessness that I have time to think (too much time!) about what I want for Marmalade, and what I need to do to achieve it.

  
Here is what kept me awake last night:

It all started with Frankie.  I love/hate this magazine.  I was flipping through my May/June issue, alternating between oohing and awwing at the many talented creatives from various industries and as usual cursing myself for not being as good as them.  I got into bed and turned out my light but my eyes wouldn't close.  Ideas started buzzing through my brain.  The new website I want to design; I should get onto that.  I can see it in my head, and I love it.  It's exactly what it should have been all this time.  But what good is a shiny new website with a shiny new look without shiny new designs?  I should get onto that too. They can't remain a collection of notes and thumbnail sketches.  Duh, it's much easier to sell a product that exists, stupid. 

What else?  Oh yeah, there are of course the supplies I bought months ago to begin making jewellery.  Why in the frilly heck do I think of designs for these at 4 a.m?  Just lucky I guess.  Wall art; my ideas keep changing for this.  Do I want to sell them with frames or just as posters?  Is it even worthwhile going ahead with both the jewellery and the wall art or should I just focus for the moment on invitations?

Then I start wondering if and when I'll get around to opening an Etsy shop,  purchase a new back up printer/scanner, or become more active with my marketing.  

It's enough to lose sleep over...oh wait, I already have.

So it's about 8 a.m. on a Monday and my brain is already foggy, the excitement of all the ideas I want to implement is draining along with my energy and hand/eye coordination.  Awesome start to the week.  I may have to have a "business nap."

Deb.

It's My Party And I'll Blog If I Want To.

I was recently asked to design a birthday invitation for my twin nieces' upcoming birthday.  To be honest, I'm not a big fan of designing for friends and family.  I've done other invitations in the past, CD covers, logo design and business stationery and I always have the same fears: what if they don't like it but say they do to spare my feelings?  Or, equally bad, they hate it and actually tell me!  So I end up over thinking what should often be the easiest task.

Anyway, the requirements for the invitation were:  Simple.  Girly.  Pink.  A bit vintage-y if possible.  My nieces are your typical girly-girls who love to dress up as fairies, wear headbands with big bows on them and occasionally spend a minimum of two hours pretending to be kitties.

So here is what I came up with:

I was really pushing for the first design but my sister decided to go with the second and I was able to modify it slightly for the one boy who was being invited (a bonus service that only comes from being related to the designer).  I know she made the right decision.  The girl's do love their pinks and greens and tea party imagery (big thanks to the talented folk at VectorStock for the tea cup and cupcake) and it does have a simple elegance to it, if I do say so myself.

The girls turn four this Sunday.  I'm going to miss the three year old versions of them, with their funny interpretations of the world and their idiosyncrasies but I'm also looking forward to watching them morph into the fabulous fours as they learn more about the world and their places in it.

Happy Birthday Grace and Lily,

xoxoxo

My Ideal Day

The topic this week for Listmania at Home Life Simplified is a good 'un:  Ideal Day.  So I started to imagine what mine looked like...


My husband, Astronaut Mike Dexter wakes me up with a kiss after a refreshing eight hours of undisturbed sleep.  Somehow, I've become a 'morning person', and I can't wait to start the day.  Mike is off to save the world again, and he promises to name a new constellation after me in his spare time.

Mike looks remarkably like Japanese movie star, Hiroyuki Sanada. 

After a hot shower and delicious breakfast of fresh juice and croissants (I can eat these because I woke up at my ideal weight) it's time to find something to wear.

Decisions, decisions.

Then it's off to work.  I'm really looking forward to getting to my new office.  It's such an inspiring place to be.

I love my girly office.

My goodness!  I'm swamped with new orders for my wedding stationery.  It's going to be a busy day but I know I can get everything done because I no longer get distracted during the day by Facebook or the stupid Sparkle City game I downloaded on my phone.  That's all in the past.  I'm focused, driven, successful.

Not only do I make amazing progress with my orders, I have time to work up some new, totally amazing designs.  My e-store is growing, the server never crashes and it's time to start thinking about hiring staff and expanding.

After a fulfilling day at work I return home and throw together something for dinner.  I've discovered that I'm something of a genius in the kitchen.

Jamie Oliver is jealous.

I also eat Mike's dessert since he's away saving the
world and I won't gain any weight on my ideal day.

After dinner and a video chat with Mike (the world has been saved again thanks to him) I write a few more chapters of my novel.  It's going really well and I have a feeling it's going to be a bestseller.

Time to curl up with a good book and a warm cocoa before another eight hours rest.

What a wonderful, completely fictitious, ideal day I've had.

Deb

Marmalade Likes...

In this entry I want to bring your attention to a few other Australian small businesses that I like and recommend.

First up is The Eleventh Flower, a Melbourne based floral design business.  Floral designer Rose creates amazing arrangements for weddings, events, corporate needs and gifts for special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays.  

She's a clever gal, our Rose.  And a mixed bag of contrasts.  She's a jeans and Chuck Taylors kind of girl with a strong dash of Martha Stewart and the quit wit of Dorothy Parker.  It makes for some very creative results.

How beautiful is this?

Snowberries...wow.

Okay, now she's just showing off.

So, if you're in Melbourne and need a dazzling and unique arrangement check out The Eleventh Flower.  You can also find her on Facebook here.

Next we travel to the rural Victorian town of Euroa.  Euroa has three claims to fame:  

1. Cricketer Merv Hughes was born there.
2. Ned Kelly robbed the National Bank in 1878.
3. Fabulous small business Sew N Sow is located there!

Inspired by a love of the simple life, owner Michelle takes gorgeous fabrics and transforms them into handmade hats, market totes and gifts.  

Sneaky peek time:

Chevron!

Bicycle print bucket hat?  Yes please.

Little Sweet Dreamers...aww.

You can't see it in the picture but those Sweet Little Dreamers have a pocket in the front for special treasures, or can be used as a Tooth Fairy Pillow.  In fact, nine out of ten tooth fairies recommend the Sweet Little Dreamer for the safe-keeping of lost teeth and subsequent funds transfer.

My 3 year old nieces have the Sweet Little Dreamers.  When Niece #1 wants to have a lovely dream about chocolate factories and new sparkly shoes she has Mum or Dad write the dream down and places it in the pocket.  Niece #2 keeps a shiv in hers.  

You can follow Sew N Sow on Facebook, through the blog or just go straight to the Etsy Shop.

Last, but by no means least is Pink Poppy Makeovers.  Makeup artist Rachel does bridal makeup and runs group and one-on-one workshops.  I attended a workshop a few months ago and had a great time and learned quite a lot.  They're a great idea for anyone wanting to freshen up their look for a new job, or for an alternative idea for a Kitchen Tea or Hen's Party.

The products Rachel uses, Motives by Loren Ridinger, can also be purchased from her and include both makeup and skin care.  I'm currently using the primer and foundation and love, love, love them!  I especially love the primer.  It's smooth and makes the skin feel great, plus the smell is addictive.  It reminds me of the beach.  If I'm not careful I'll wind up on that show, Strange Addictions as the crazy woman hooked on makeup primer.

Motives palette...gorgeous!

When Winter cold bites, bite back with bright colours!

Smell it...you know you want to.

You can find, contact or stalk Pink Poppy Makeovers on Facebook.

Got any Australia based small business recommendations you would like to share?  Feel free to leave them in the comments, I'd love to discover them.

Deb

Episode IV: A New Blog

The last three weeks have been a mixed bag of frustration, anger, crappy designs and small victories.  I may have bitten off more than I can chew by removing every single product from my e-store, Marmalade Event Stationery with grand plans of updating everything with a fresh new look.  In my mind this was going to be a piece of cake.  Designs would flow and the site would be updated every day with glorious new stationery, wall art and jewellery that would have customers placing mega orders.  But now I have no products at all and to add to the fun times my server is down today.  Great for business!

I have lots of design ideas, that's not the problem.  Sometimes what ends up before you on the screen looks nothing like what you picture in your head.  A lot of times it's just plain awful and needs to be shelved.  A swing and a miss.  Then there are the rare gems that take you by surprise and what you arrive at is nothing like you imagined, instead it's so much better than your original idea.  A home run!  I haven't had many of these in recent weeks and it is disheartening.  

Nobody aspires to be average or mediocre.  We want to leave behind something in this world that says we were here and just look at what we achieved.   I'll keep on persevering because I have big dreams for this business and I know where I want it to go.  I just need to get things back on course.

And of course not do anything stupid like empty a website of every product.


May the font be with you.

Deb