…so make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight as you’ll need all the rest you can get before we head off on this very special journey. See you bright and early in the morning!

xx

Cassandra’s  beautiful old home in New Zealand, as photographed by Matthew Williams.

Perhaps you are like me and are guilty of collecting fabrics upon fabrics which you want to make into a quilt but never find the time? Well, yesterday while I was reading Cassandra Ellis’ (from Haven Workroom)  beautiful blog, I was thrilled to find out that she is now taking orders for quilts made with your own personal collection of fabrics! It’s a wonderful idea, and Cassandra’s style and designs are stunning, she is one of the rare people I would give my pile of precious fabrics to without hesitation.

Read her original post about how she serendipitously came upon the idea here, and click here to find out about pricing (follow the link to ‘our goods’, ‘quilts’, then  ‘download pricelist’).

For those of you who are new to Cassandra’s work, let me introduce her to you. Back in 2002, Cassandra started a business called Haven Workroom in NZ. Then it was a gorgeous little store selling high-quality hand-made homewares (which sounds like my little indigo, but no doubt much, much nicer!). A little while ago, Cassandra packed her bags and moved to London and re-created Haven Workroom into an atelier making bespoke contemporary quilts as well as restoring and up-cycling vintage furniture. Cassandra’s aim is to keep artisan skills alive and relevant. Her quilts are contemporary and one-of-a-kind, made from vintage silks and cottons combining Indian, English, Asian and Eastern European textiles.

Take a look at her quilts right here.

The photos you see above and below are from Cassandra’s home back in New Zealand. I love her eclectic yet cohesive collection of homewares displayed throughout each space. It’s a home filled with soul…

Beautiful, non? Oui! But you know I was going to say that.

I don’t know about you but for me, this week’s posts about talented female artisans and their work spaces has been truly inspiring – first  it was Tracey Deep, then Harriet Goodall and now Cassandra Ellis of Haven Workroom. Be sure to check out all the links attached to each post as there is more inspiration to be had than what I have shown here.

Have a great weekend mes amis. See you on Monday!

xx

PS I am over the jetlag and flu now – yay! Thanks for all your well wishes.

all gorgeous photographs for this story  by chris chen.

Before I hopped on the plane back to Amsterdam, I grabbed the latest issue of country style at sydney airport for two reasons. 1. because I’ve always loved this mag (the photography is perfection, and they often feature the homes of country artists whose style is natural,  real and inspiring) and 2. because a little birdy told me that the feature article would make my heart sing. Indeed it DID make my heart sing because it is all about Harriet Goodall, her home & property in Robertson NSW, and her incredible woven creations…

Harriet’s story about how she came to be weaving baskets is as beautiful as her creations themselves. She says she has always been drawn “to the ephemeral and imperfect beauty of natural materials and have forever collected buckets of shells, driftwood, beautiful leaves, bones, moss and feathers  with no particular purpose in mind.” Sounds delightfully familiar.  She saw a flyer for a basketry course in Mittagong and decided to join up because it fitted perfectly with her love of art made from nature. After another course she was well and truly hooked on the craft. Inspired by the work of Andy Goldsworthy, Herman de Vries, and Chris Drury, Harriet says that the wonderful thing about baskets is that “it’s possible to harvest your garden then sit on a patch of ground and, just with your hands alone, make something that’s strong, useful and beautiful – while knowing that women have done this for millenia”…

Harriet and her husband Mat collected all their furniture from the local tip shop and family hand-me-downs. The area where they live is surrounded by national parks, waterfalls, beaches, rainforests, and incredible escarpment and rolling green hills  – all within a 30km radius…

Meet Banjo: Harriet and Mat’s little guy who loves being in nature as much as they do.

It’s a beautiful, inspiring story, and I encourage you to find yourselves a copy of the february issue of country style to learn more about harriet’s home and work…

cover shot by mikkel vang, styled by sibella court.

Thank you for the inspiration Harriet! I hope to come and visit you one day, and see your creations in person.

……………………………………

Harriet’s baskets are available to purchase. They start at around $140.00 AUD. For further enquiries, click here to email Harriet, or you can call her on +61 402 346 106.

A big thank you to Country Style and photographer Chris Chen for the use of the images.

For those of you who have been visiting the (blog)house from the early days, you may remember my little story about the first time I walked into ‘Tracey’s world’ as I like to call it, when I was propping in Sydney some years ago (here is the post). I’ve been wanting to visit Tracey in her new studio in Redfern ever since then, and last week I finally managed to do so. It really is a world of natural wonder, with exotic flora and found objects made into incredible pieces of art. Tracey continues to be a huge source of inspiration for me, her work stretches the imagination in the most sophisticated, yet simplest of ways. I took some photos while I was there, just for you, would you like to see them? Here you go…

Tracey’s studio is just around the corner from Baffi & Mo, that great cafe I featured a few weeks back. My suggestion would be to have some breakfast there and then wander over to Tracey’s (Studio GO1/59 Great Buckingham St, Redfern)…

Thank you Tracey! I can’t wait to see what you create next.

Look what I found over at  liberty post – a video of nathali lete painting a mural in a shop called usagi, in japan. You will want to watch the whole thing, so grab yourself  a little afternoon tea, and watch away. (this is also to distract you while I get the next post up, it will be a while still, kids)…