two crafty dames : deeply fabulous vintage-inspired handmade fashion

The gorgeous “Little Sisters” studio, at the Museum Village Esperance, is fitted out with lots of repurposed vintage treasures thrifted from op shops and garage sales!

On our recent trip to Esperance for Festival of the Wind, we were absolutely delighted to discover Marisse Hotop’s “Little Sisters” studio in the museum village! The studio has been just beautifully decorated, with all of the fittings made from repurposed vintage furniture and curios. So imaginative and inspiring! The overall look is so indie kitsch/granny chic and WE LOVE! (How fabulous is the bureau with red drawers?)

At the time of writing, Marisse made the hard decision not to renew her lease and move back into her home studio. Aswell as the venue change, Marrise is changing her business name to “Cactus in a Teacup”, and you will know from our Spring Festival post, that cactus’ in teacups are among our favourite things.

It was really fabulous to chat with Marisse and get her insight in running a retail space, because as you know, the Two Crafty Dames will soon be opening our own store, Fossick Handmade. Of course we told Marisse that we wanted to carry her gorgeous creations, especially her awesome softies (i couldnt resist the little denim bat or velvet Mr. Slug, and Mr. Whale with his zippered mouth almost came home with me too)! So if you want a little Cactus in a Teacup softie to call your very own, watch this space!

Marisse gives Carly a sneaky peak at her latest creations

Oh, the beautiful chaos!

Look at this old beauty- Marisse’s lovely old Bernina sewing machine. The little artwork in the corner was given to her by a friend, to celebrate the new business name “Cactus in a Teacup”

Even Marisse’s swing tags and backing cards are hand made- gorgeous. I couldnt leave this beautiful card behind, complete with handmade envelope using vintage golden book pages. The saucy little pin-up girl magnets are proudly displayed in my studio, complete with backing board (I couldn’t bear to remove it!)

Left: This lovely little bat softie was made with upcycled jeans and tablecloth fabric- his little feet are fabric loops that you can use to hang him up by, and you can also fasten his wings shut (when it is bedtime).
Right: more beautiful details from Marisse’s retail studio.

My favourite softie, Mr. Slug. Made of soft, plush stretch velvet, love his boggly eyes and wonky smile!