two crafty dames : deeply fabulous vintage-inspired handmade fashion

As the two crafty dames are soon to pop over to Tasmania and Melbourne for extended adventures in retail, craft and cuisine (with obliging fiance and sister in tow), I wanted to get together a gaggle of our most fabulous arty friends for a leisurely Saturday luncheon. Imagine my delight, the planets seemed to align and all 7 of us were able to attend! Tina, Trish, Alison, Debbie and Ellenmary joined Carly and I for a lovely afternoon filled with giggles and gossip, fueled with champagne and yummy food.

We chatted about all the usual things, the roaring success of the Food for Thought exhibition, and planning lots of other fun events like establishing a “crafternoon” or studio circle, and working on a pop-up shop concept for Kalgoorlie. (Watch this space)! On hearing about the two crafty dames, the eyes of our party collectively lit up and offered us lots of encouragement to create beauteous retro themed garments and accessories, including a few pre-orders! Prolific artist and all-round fabulous dame Trish Little was particularly incensed and said she had just the thing for us– a swag of fabrics she had been hanging on to and had never quite got round to turning into something new… Who could resist?!

The swatch on the right is actually from a beautifully cut dress waifish Trish wore in the 70′s. With a sharply tapered waist and box pleated a-line skirt, it would be a shame to cut up this beauty… Carly insists it wouldnt fit her but I am not so sure!

We joined Trish for a cup of tea this afternoon and she gave us the grand tour of her lovely 1950s style home and wonderful light-filled studio. A feast for the eyes, with lovely details everywhere you look; artworks collected from friends and her travels, and of course her own artwork, ranging from mixed media framed pieces to gorgeously vibrant and vibrantly gorgeous hand woven floor rugs (I want one – it would go perfectly with the violent orange carpet in my living room). Trish admitted that all of the furniture in the house was bought second hand and lovingly restored – partly from determined thriftiness while simultaneously raising a young family and studying – and partly from not finding any new furniture she liked at reasonable prices. I was particularly taken with the dining table chairs that were repainted fire engine red and re-upholstered (by trish) in a gorgeous brightly patterned fabric. Suddenly my good ol’ Herman chairs from IKEA lost their appeal when compared with these revitalised beauties. (I can feel a home decor project coming on…)

It was a real treat to be invited into Trish’s studio, where she proceeded a show-and-tell of her latest artworks, and the fabrics she was not yet ready to part with! Finally she unveiled the swag of retro florals she had been carefully squirreling away…. some she had regifted from other friends, others were garments from another time, some were suprising finds from poky fabric shops estate sales. All of them fabulous! Thank you Trish, we look forward to revamping our regifted retro fabrics into new creations! x

Clearly Scandinavian, this Anenome flower print was designed in Finland
(no, not a Marimekko design!)

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