Etsy Challenge #1 November

Hello!

I must say its lovely to be back, after the long weeks of hard slog at uni. Christmas is gearing up, as is my excitement about getting back into the swing of running my darling little businesses! Keep note this week, as I will be updating my online shops with a whole manner of new and new-to-the-internet designs that I think you'll love (they certainly have a few fans in the market world). I'll also be listing a COLLOSAL amount of vintage over at www.acornsvintage.etsy.com, and I hope you'll be able to find something there that takes your fancy for a Christmas present to yourself or someone else - I'll be sure to preview them here too for a reminder!

Also make sure you pop-over to the facebook page as I'll be running a comp there in the next week for my fans - naming one of my design ranges!

Also very excited about my return to roller derby practice tomorrow night, and the amount of Christmas markets I'll be at!


But now for the real reason for my return - a challenge to all of you with an Etsy store! (myself included...

1. Create an item to one or more of the following themes from Etsy's November merchandising newsletter

2. List on etsy with the tag "merchchallengenov11" and link to your item in the comments of this post

3. Do this by the end of November

4. I'll promote all here on the blog

5. We do it all again for December!

As for me, I'll be choosing the theme of movember! (and can I just say how much i LOVE the marketing and advertising style they're using this year, so so dapper.

Be sure to let me know what you'll be doing in the comments!

xx L

Boiling the Kettle.

Sounds like a great idea - I'll be squeezing in lots of crafting before my stall at Angove St Festival this weekend, as part of the Perth Upmarket Pop-Up Market.

See you all there my dears, it's nice to take a break from all the uni hecticness.

xx L

p.s. image is a print from this lovely etsy store.

New Stuff in Montage

Hey All,

Just thought I'd show you some new stuff that I've put in my pop-up freo store - a very cute selection of my crowd favourite succulents, plus a pile of bunting I've just started making (sooo fun!).

If you cant make it down to the shop, then don't worry, 'cause I'll be taking it all out for one day only this Sunday for the Made on the Left Pop-Up market in the Perth Cultural Centre.

xx L

Tomorrow Cancelled

Unfortunately Made on the Left's pop-up market being cancelled/postponed isnt as cute or as funny as cheese-rolling. Its actually pretty sad. But it better than having to battle Bianca, especially as she's known to leave your house looking like a cyclone's hit after she's left.

So I'll let you know when it's been postponed to when I know :) xx Lauren

See me at : Made on the Left Pops-Up for a Market

See me here;


Art by the very lovely Nicole from Tallrabbit. She's our new graphics wizz over at MOTL, so glad I no longer have to wrestle with it, and that MOTL will be getting the awesome graphics it deserves.

As a side note, I'd love all you readers to perhaps start thinking about donating some time to MOTL. In the next few months we'll be doing a call-out for new committee members, and the more awesome dedicated people we have to choose from the better.

xx Hope to see you at the market... the organisers tell me there will be a vintage carousel... SO SWEET ARGH!

xx Lauren

A Letter From Acorn

Hey!

Check out these photos I took at Vintage Vixens & Vamps!

awesomely dressed lass lookin at my shoe rack


simple, yet stylish


and attention to detail as well! cute-as whale belt! - we decided that whales
should be the new trend animal... move over owls!


this lass ws so laid back but awesome looking at the same time...

it might have had something to do with the carvan on her hat.
omg.

this darling from Sugar Blue Burlesque,
there was a hula hooper as well as lots of others but I was too entranced by the
hula hooper to take any photos...
SHE WAS AMASING

my little cacti table was ignored most of the day,
until right at the end when some people took
some of my green buddies home


and these are my little helpers for the day
cutest couple in the world;
Niina and Mr A :)
(Niina has issues with trustgames, this is as far as we could get her
without freakouts - teehee)
big thanks to those two for getting me lunch and stopping me from dying of boredom.xx

and thats the end of the photos, hope you enjoyed!

xx Lauren

He's a bit strange

But has a velvet voice so he can get away with it I suppose. The "I'm off my tits" head bobbing weids me out something chronic though. Kind of like David Grey (Mr Bobblehead - go look up a video of him and you'll see what I mean), but much much much much cooler.

I would like to let you all know that the reason I have seen this is because my Dad is a fan. No other embarrasing stories behind that knowledge. Unlike a friend of mine who confessed his first concert ever was Savage Garden because he was obsessed with them. And he hadnt been to any live music since then (this was four years ago, and we are 21. You do the math).

But onto strange lead-singer antics with awesome music...

I always feel idiotic once I find out what the lyrics to a song actually are. This is one of them - I've just been kind of mindlessly humming along whenever this comes on the radio, and then I find that he's singing about "blood-buzz" - hipster vampire reference? Maybe?

I really have no idea. It's 12.24 and usually that isnt late but I have an infected sinus and throat from severe hayfever (the devil isnt a red dude with horns, its heavily brut-ed teenage boys - one of which lives in my house. that and flowers.) which means that I need much more sleep than normal but I cant cause I have a 2500 word assignment due at 4pm tomorrow and I've only written... *goes and does wordcount tool* ... 251 of them. So the knowledge that I probably will be getting very little sleep, in addition to knowing I have a vintage market I'm supposed to be ready for by now that on on Sunday and my little brother (the one that doesnt smother himself in hayfever inducing "deoderant") wont give me the commodore to lug my vintage things down to Freo makes me want to go to bed extra bad.

Gosh I wish I had written this many words in my essay instead of procrastinating here. It's now 12.39.

Sorry to have freaked you all out with my mind-spew, I seem to have a habit of doing that (my facebook friends know what I'm talking about). But I think this is the most pretentious blog post I have ever written - so feel free to deride me in the comments if you wish - or ignore this post entirely perhaps. I won't get mad.

I'm a bit strange. Perhaps Mr The National and I can have a late night chat. Once I finish this essay...

Apply! Apply! Go!

Applications are open and we so desperately want you there if you are creative. You don't need an ABN, business name or table, we just need you and your creations!



Click HERE!

Oh, in other news, I'm now vice chair of the Made on the Left Committee. A lovely newcomer named Mel has now got my old position of Secretary (or sexytary as the team like to call it, teehee)

Can you volunteer your time to Made on the Left? Click HERE!

xx

A Letter From Acorn

We are going to be there!

Put it in your diaries folks, its gonna be huge!!!


xx Acorn

Acorns Vintage at this Weekends Oxford St Markets

Hi All,

Just a quick little note to say that we are looking forward to this weekend where we will be selling a delightful range of vintage and retro wares, clothing, patterns, books and decor, plus a typewriter!

Annie will also be there with her laser-cut label; Osmosis Designs.

Yesterday was Grand!

Hi All,

Had great fun at Unwrapped, got sunburnt on my arms and on the end of my nose, so I'm Christmas themed, just like Rudolf!

Got a couple of features yesterday too, which is always appreciated SO much, thankyou from the bottom of my heart!

Front Page on Etsy!

Plus the lovely (and well dressed!) Emma from Dropstitch did a little write up on Unwrapped and included some photos of me and my 'Ingrid Pattern Portrait' necklaces, click the banner below to read it, and make sure you read her blog from now on :)



xo to you all, and I hope you're Holiday shopping is going well/finished!

Lauren

Inspiration - Market Displays

I'm definitly having some of this at this weekends UNWRAPPED market... end the year with a bang I say!

Hello, I am Really Really Busy.

... and really, shouldnt be blogging about being busy as it is just one more thing to do, but have decided to show you tidbits of what I am up to and will continiue to do until Saturday arvo!

Pretty please come to visit me, you can do your X-mas shopping in the city at the same time.

Just hop off the train in the city centre, and head over Roe Street into the Cultural Centre, and keep an eye out for our fake grass floor marquee!!!

Perth Upmarket Piccies from Today

Hello all!

I have tired feet and a tired head, but had lots of fun, lots of nice people bought stuff from me and I got some free soaps for saving some ladies from their wind-prone sign with magic red tape.

Gosh it was so windy.

I made a whole set of new displays for this market, I've been itching to do it for ages but havn't been able to until uni finished.

Plus a revamp of my OSIER sign and I brought my lil' school desk that debuted at MOTL.


Alritey then, I'm gonna go get to work on all the custom orders I got today PLUS the two wholesale works I've got due. Gaaaah! Will post about them tomorrow :)

xoxox

Christmas is Coming at William Topp

Here's what will be appearing at William Topp in the next few days... make sure you pop into the city and have a look! Kate (the lovely lady who owns the store!) has ordered a pile of goodies from me to make your Christmas shopping easier! She also stocks plenty of other amasing designers from accross Australia PLUS some awesome vintage finds...

If you'd like a bigger range, or really want to get your Christmas shopping out of the way and buy all indie-designed and handmade this Christmas (I mean, something WA made is a lot more precious and meanigful than something produced in a Chinese sweatshop... Am I right?) I'll be at the Christmas Upmarket this Sunday, so make sure you pop down and have a look at all the amasing gifts on offer... and if you come and visit me, mention this blog post and you can have a 10% "special friends" discount! Oh my gosh!
Here's a piccy of last Perth Upmarket in June/July sometime...

And here is the link to Kate's William Topp website.

Hope to see you on the weekend!

xo Lauren

New Button Creations

The number of things that inspire me is rediculous at times, and I tend to flit to and fro and onto new ideas quicker than I can create. But one of the things I will ALWAYS be inspired by is the materials I work with, and in particular vintage buttons. Their history, charm, and colour always makes me smile, and I can sit for hours just looking, matching colours, and sorting a pile of buttons.

No really, I can! I picked up two jars when I went shopping on Monday, from my local Vinnies, and this is what I've done so far, we'll se how they go at Made On The Left this Saturday...

What do you think? A bit weird? It's a necklace and a brooch, just in case you can't tell :)

I had fun at Darlington! Yes I did!

Have a look at all the stallholders and the fun we had!!!

Pre-Market Chaos

This is what my studio looks like at the moment, its an improvement on the usual mess before a market, so I am feeling less stressed about OSIER than usual, and more stressed about organising! As part of my MOTL team duties, I have co-organised our "Sneak Preview" tent at Darlington Arts Festival (tomorrow and Sunday, come along!), and it was a tight finish but we finally have everything organised. Phew!

But yes, the studio (garage) is presently inhabited by piles of fabric, hoards of vintage goodies, unfinished jewellery everywhere, half finished cups of iced coffee, beads, findings, buttons, laser cut bits, unpriced pieces... aaaaaaaah!

Better get to it then instead of blogging about it! Haha!

xo

Treasure, me Hearties! Volume 3

Yay! More press, and this time its from a fellow Aussie etsy seller, Penny from Pocket Carnival. Her illustrations are so sweet, and beautifully simple, but so well done... I'd had my eye on one of her items for a while, and so I decided that I'd treat myself.... Look!



Isn't it sweet? And I know I don't need another brooch but *I dont care*, its just too cute to give up.

Ok, back to the press.

She made a lovely treasury of Australian etsy sellers and ever-so-nicely included my Christopher Print Purse! Clicky on it to see all the great Australian-y details!


Ok, gotta go make up the info pack for Made On The Left Sneak Preview at Darlington Arts Festival (this weekend coming, see MOTL website for details) as part of my Made On The Left team duties!

xoxo

Come Visit Me!!!

Got nothing to do this Sunday?
Never fear, Perth Upmarket is here!
I'll be on the ground floor, nearer the lawn area, come see me and say hello. :)