Montage Maker interview - Louise from Simonette

Hello my name is Louise Simonette and I am a ceramicist from North Perth, Western Australia. 

I have been working with porcelain for a number of years now and I still find myself more and more drawn to its beauty and possibilities.

My work began well over ten years ago in the medium of glass from the kitchen of our home after the kids went to bed! The call to ceramics was strong and I have spent much time in short courses, doing experiments and learning from anyone who would answer my questions. All these years later I work out of my much-loved studio in the backyard of our home, which I share with my hubby, two busy kids and of course our beloved dogs.

My work is made with much passion, and time spent out of my studio are days of frustration. I am inspired by a simple life, pretty shapes and form which work so beautifully with the pure whiteness of porcelain. Blue and white are a recurring theme for me, as are vintage floral designs. I aim to make pieces which bring some delight.
 
My greatest challenge as a maker is the time spent away from making. The necessary paperwork and time spent organising the practical side of what I do is what I find the most difficult. My best tip for others starting out is to remain flexible and never be afraid to make changes.

One of the favourite aspects of my work is taking my wares to market. Market folk are the most joyous people on the planet which is reflected in the wonderful atmosphere I love to be a part of on market day.

My aims for 2013 include making a pretty porcelain homewares range with beautiful shapes and patterns. I would love also to find time to begin the process of sculpting the images which I dream of daily.

In a business sense, success of a craft-based business must be judged on the sales and money made. However what we do is much more than business- it is a need and an outlet for creativity, and personal satisfaction will not necessarily coincide with the day's takings. A creative person's success will be judged by their own sense of achievement after a period of making.

CONTACT
PH: 424205440  
FB: www.facebook.com/simonetteceramics
SHOP: www.madeit.com.au/simonette

Easter goodness from Montage artists

1. Babushka Mo Doll by Little Mo and Friends - $27
2. Bamboo Bunny Brooch by Osmosis - $14
3. Hello Sunshine Tunic and Bloomers by Lamonster -  $38
4. Cute White Bunny Brooch by Tall Rabbit Cost: $20
5. Chocolate Hat by Caldi - $59
6. Chocolate Cake Apron by Neddynibbles - $30
7. Bunnie in a Onesie by Anna Hadwin Crotchet Toys - $42
8. Large Cushion Cover Birch Trees by Ella and Lily - $89.95
9. Perfect Pastel Brooch by Simonette - $8
10. Spring Doily Letterpress Card by Fluid Ink - $6

Montage Maker interview - Kathy from Lamonster

My name is Kathy Lamont and I am the creator of Lamonster Handmade Clothing. I make dresses, tunics and bloomer sets, pantaloons, rompers and suspender rompers in sizes newborn to size four. I sell mainly through Etsy and also at various market stalls around Perth.

Overwhelmed by the lack of sleep and the all consuming needs of a newborn, I taught myself to sew after the birth of my daughter in October 2010 as a way of finding a little outlet for myself.   I immediately loved the process of sewing and soon progressed from simple things like pillow cases/baby toys to clothing for myself and my daughter.

A few months later, I entered a picture of myself and my daughter wearing matching dresses that I had made into a Spotlight competition and won the first prize!

After the competition I received a lot of great feedback. In particular people loved the little vintage inspired outfits that I was making for my daughter and soon received orders for children’s clothing from family and friends. 

My little label has been in operation for just over one year, and it’s been a great year! 

The highlights have been receiving pictures of children in their outfits and also being featured in some of my favorite magazines such as Frankie, Peppermint, Tickle the Imagination, Kid Magazine and Kid Independent. I also won a market stall for a year in Fremantle.

I am inspired by so many things but mainly my daughter (my favorite outfit for her is her Beatrix Potter suspender romper), fabrics, vintage children’s fashion and pattern books, the sewing community and meeting like-minded local creative people.

I work part time as a legal assistant in a busy law firm in the CBD. That as well as caring for my now two year old daughter and finding time to sew keeps me very busy, and is perhaps my biggest challenge.  Luckily I have the support of my amazing husband who helps with my promotional photography and all graphic design tasks.

Making garments by hand is a time consuming process: all fabric must be pre-washed, and then you cut the fabric, then assemble the clothing – which includes hand-stitching buttons etc and lots of pressing.  Also there is work to do to get the garments into the Etsy shop (such as photos) and marketing – so people know that I exist!

This is why I love handmade – the process.  A handmade item has had someone’s valuable time and care and is unique and one of a kind. I believe that supporting handmade is a way of connecting with the community and encourages individuality by being able to customise garments for the customer. 

It’s for this reason I am so excited to be a part of Montage!
This is my first Montage collaboration and the opportunity to be surrounded by so many creative and talented people is mind blowing! 
I think the idea of a group of artists creating their own pop up shop is so resourceful – what a fantastic way to get some exposure for our products.
I definitely have big plans for Lamonster and hope 2013 bring lots of great opportunities.

CONTACT LAMONSTER
ph: 0421 160 605   
Facebook: www.facebook.com/LamonsterHandmadeClothing       
web: www.lamonstershop.com

Drum Roll Please...

Montage 7 Pop-up Shop opening soon!

Yes, it's true, we are back for our first shop in 2013!

GRAND OPENING: Thurs 4th April - Sat 4th May, 2013.
224a William Street Northbridge (between Francis & James St)

We are so pleased to have a home in Northbridge again for a whole month! 

Previous Montage artists will be joined by some new faces as well as a different guest artist each week.

Montage 7 Artists:

osmosis designs

Lasercut jewellery and cross stitch kits 

Neddynibbles
Stylish aprons, photo cards, nursing covers, coin purses and key fobs 

Fluid Ink Fine Letterpress of Australia

Letterpress cards, coaster, gift tags and stationery 

Tall Rabbit  
Cute lasercut jewellery, greeting cards, badges, magnets and framed prints 

eeva margita  
Jewellery & accessories 

Caldi 
Women's fashion 

Anna Hadwin Crochet Toys 
Crochet and knitted toys, hats and other fun stuff  

Little Mo and Friends 
Art, illustrated jewellery and stationery 

Major Mitchell 
T-shirts, caps, beanies,

           

Introducing new Montage artists:

Simonette 
Porcelain jewellery and homewares 

Lamonster Handmade Clothing 
Children's clothing 

Ella & Lilly  
Bags & accessories 

After Many Years   

Lighting and Mobiles 

Paper Plane
Map journals

Week-long guest artists:

Beau est Mien 
Printmaker 

Stepmums 
Recycling products from tetra, vinyl and innertubes

Sylvia Shrewsbury
Ceramics and zines 

Samantha Hughes 
Illustrator  

       

 

Montage maker interview - Davina from Fluid Ink Letterpress

Davina with 'The Admiral' and 'Mavis'

My Name is Davina and I’m a letterpress printer.  

I have been the designer and printer at Fluid Ink Fine Letterpress of Australia for 4 years. I have also operated Mini Ink Custom Cards for Kids and Mini Ink Fingerprints for 7 years. I’m a mum, a wife and a singer with WASO.

To my absolute delight, I joined Montage in September 2012. Being involved with a group of like-minded crafters has given me inspiration and a community to call home. I love being in a store that I can call ‘mine’. I get a chance to chat to customers as well as hang out and learn from fellow Montage makers. I really enjoy that we work towards a common purpose of sharing the love of products that are designed and hand made right here in Perth Western Australia.

I print letterpress coasters, greeting cards, gift tags, invitations and wedding stationery onto 100% cotton paper and recycled card stock using photopolymer plates, vintage illustrated blocks and moveable wood & metal type.

Flid Ink Studio

Fluid Ink was born out of my urge to 'unplug' from my regular desk job in front of the computer. Working with letterpress forces me to be slow, accurate, work only with what equipment and tools I have and there is no 'undo' button! It’s a dinosaur’s approach, to be sure, born out of nostalgia and a desire to unplug from my overly digitized existence. The appeal is being hands on, messy and sometimes quite physical.

I print on an 1892 Chandler and Price Old Style (the main work horse 'The Admiral') and an 1893 Golding Pearl Old style #3 (the precious little lady 'Mavis').

It’s important to me that my work is seen and liked. I like to create pieces that are contemporary, current and fashionable. Its not art for arts sake, my letterpress items are meant to be used as purposeful stationery and paper goods.

My favorite items are the conversational coasters. I love it when customers pick up or point and laugh at the humor in one of my prints or read the questions on the coasters out to one another in store.

Staying connected on Facebook, blogs, following other like minded makers, joining forums and online teams have all helped me grow and appreciate what an enormous network of generous makers we have at our disposal. Sure, being 'un-plugged' is one of the things that appeals to me with letterpress  printing but staying connected to real life people is my bloodline and its how I drive my business forward.

Letterpress is the graphic design equivalent of slow food - incredibly labour intensive and demanding of skill and patience. When you discover a letterpress piece, there’s something different about it. It was touched by human hands, it is tactile, you can see and feel the indentation the letters and ink leave in the paper and you will fall in love with its quality, and if you do, drop me a line, I love printing bespoke requests and custom wedding invitations.

CONTACT FLUID INK
m: 0408 936 031
w: www.fluidink.com.au
shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/fluidinkletterpress
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluidInkLetterpress

Montage maker interview - Karen of Neddynibbles

Hi, my name is Karen and I’m the owner/creator of Neddynibbles.  I make a wide range of colourful aprons and have recently added photo greeting cards to the last couple of Montage stores.

It is hard to believe that Neddynibbles is now in its 5^th year.  It has been a very interesting journey and I am very proud of where I am now.

Since I was a child, I have always been into crafts of all shapes and sizes, and have always wanted to make a business out of what I love to do.  I can’t remember a time when I haven’t been creative.  My mum taught me to knit and crotchet before I’d even started school and I have always had many crafty things on the go at once.  It is just a part of who I am.  I have done everything from making hand-stitched teddy bears, paper tole, macramé, paper crafts, jewelery, polishing rocks, cross stitch and embroidery, but have built my business with my love of sewing.

I was one of the founding members of Montage so have been involved right from the beginning in our first shop in Fremantle.  Being a part of Montage is like being a part of a family who understand my passion for creating.  I have met some wonderful people who I now call my friends.  It is also lovely to have my items on display for people to enjoy and purchase. 

I’ve found that my greatest challenge has been finding the time to sew.  I have recently made the decision to work my business full-time instead of a hobby, and am really looking forward to expanding my range of aprons and getting all the new ideas out of my head and onto the sewing table.

Out of all the styles I make, my favourite is my little girl’s apron which has box pleats across the bottom.  There are so many cute fabrics for children and these aprons always look beautiful.  I have also just made myself an apron and I chose a style that I designed just before Christmas, one of my plus-size styles which is a great apron for me as it gives me more protection when I’m cooking.

What sets my aprons apart from others in retail shops is that they are made to last, each item is individually cut out and sewn with the best quality fabric and thread and as I usually only purchase small quantities of each fabric, they are all very unique.

The thing that surprises me most about my business is that so many people still wear aprons.  I have sold almost 800 in Australia and around the world and it makes me very proud every time someone buys one. 

Hand-made items are made with love and it is wonderful to see there are so many clever people still making beautiful things and I always buy gifts from craft markets and Montage.

I am very excited about what is in store for Neddynibbles in 2013.  Being the first year I will be working full-time on my own business, I will have more time to work on new designs, new Montage stores and would love to get my aprons into some little boutique stores.  I am also just starting to experiment with a range of coin purses, wallets and little girl’s handbags.

SHOP Neddynibbles:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/neddynibbles

FACEBOOK Neddynibbles:

www.facebook.com/neddynibbles 
 

Laneway Night Markets Australia Day Weekend

You'll find 3 members of Montage appearing as "Montage a Trois" this weekend here...
http://www.onwilliam.com.au/markets/montage_a_trois/

Anna's Crochet Toys
Tall Rabbit
and
osmosis designs

Find our stall on the corner of Lock Lane and James St, near the cultural centre car park.

Montage Christmas Roundup

Montage is getting ready for a crazy month of markets. We all have some amazing gifts for you to give to someone special - including yourselves!

1. Aussie Christmas Apron by Neddynibbles $30
2. Red and white flake earrings by osmosis designs - $28
3. Green Tea & Lemongrass Natural Body Candle by Evaglo - $24.95
4. Skull Tee , heart fabric by Major Mitchell Designs. - $39.90 
5. Babushka Mo Doll by Little Mo and Friends - $27
6. Lilly Dress by caldi - $69
7. Hope tree of life letterpress card by Fluid Ink- $5.50
8. Heaven's Angel Earrings - Feather & sterling silver earrings by H M Sass - $24
9. Bruce bunny by Anna Hadwin crochet toys - $42
10. All natural soap by Empire of Delight - $6

To find these items and so much more, you can fand any of the Montage collective artists at one of their many appearences at markets during the month of December 2012.

For a list of their whereabouts HERE

Where is Montage December 2012?

December is shaping up to be a huge month for the Montage Collective!
A few bleeding fingers and sleepless nights are ahead but creating something we are passionate about and love to share is what we live for.

Read on below for a list of appearances for each of out talented Montage designers as well as dates, times and locations.

eeva margita

Perth Upmarket,
Fremantle Bazaar as "Montage Collective"
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"

Osmosis

Fremantle Bazaar at their Osmosis stall
Unwrapped on 9th Dec at their Osmosis stall (not 16th)
 Illuminites Night market.

Caldi

Bazaar as "Montage Collective"
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 at their own Caldi stall

Empire of Delight

Bazaar as "Montage Collective"
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 at their own Empire of Delight

Anna Hadwin Crochet

Fremantle Bazaar as "Montage Collective"
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"
William st Illuminites
Light up Leederville night markets

little mo and friends

Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"

Neddynibbles

Upmarket
Bazaar as "Montage Collective"
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"

Evaglo

Hillarys Boat Harbour Markets
Perth Upmarket UWA
Market Girl Markets Sunday 2nd December ( Prinderville College )
Light Up Leederville
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 at their our own Evaglo store

Jimmy Lee House

Perth upmarket

Tall Rabbit

Bazaar
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"
Illuminites

H M Sass

Light Up Leederville Festival

Major Mitchell

Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"
Light up Leederville, shared stall with Anna Hadwin 8th of Dec.

Fluid Ink

Fremantle Bazaar with FOUND stall
Unwrapped Part 1 & 2 as "Montage Collective"


*****************************

MARKET DETAILS

*****************************

Perth Upmarket  

http://www.perthupmarket.com.au/
UWA  Sunday 25th November 10am-4pm

2012 Fremantle Bazaar 

http://www.fac.org.au/bazaar
Fremantle Arts Centre
Friday 30 November 5pm-10pm
Saturday 1 December 9am-5pm
Sunday 2 December 9am-5pm

Sharing a stall in Bazaar as "Montage" is:  Anna's toys, Caldi, Eeva Margita, Tall Rabbit, Neddynibbles, Empire of Delight

Christmas Unwrapped in the City (Part 1)

http://www.unwrapped.com.au/
Sunday 9 December
12noon to 5pm
Forrest Place, Perth

Christmas Unwrapped in the City (Part 2)

Sunday 16 December
12noon to 5pm
Forrest Place, Perth

Sharing a stall at unwrapped as "Montage Collective" is Anna's crochet toys, eeva margita, Caldi, Neddynibbles, Tall Rabbit, Fluid Ink, Major Mitchell & Little mo and friends.

Illuminites + Night market 

http://www.onwilliam.com.au/nightmarkets/
Friday 14th December 2012
5.00 - 10.00pm
Perth Cultural Centre
James Street Mall, Perth Cultural Centre
Perth, Western Australia

Sharing a stall at Illuminites as "Montage a Trois" is Anna's Crochet Toys, Tall Rabbit & Osmosis

Light Up Leederville 

http://www.leedervillecarnival.com.au/
December 8th
Oxford and Newcastle St Leederville

Hillarys Boat Harbour Markets

http://www.hillarysmarkets.com/Hillays_Markets/Welcome.html

Montage 6 doors close this weekend!

Montage 6 is nearly over. 
This will probably be our last pop up south of the river for this year so pop on in before we we pop down again! It's also a great chance to check out the other exciting events happening throughout Fremantle as part of the Fremantle Festival. 
Montage 6 - Woolstores shopping centre, Cantonment st Fremantle. 
Doors close Sunday 11/11/12.