Here’s the final instalment in my Etsy Christmas Gift Guide for 2012. Hope you’ve found a gem of a gift for someone special, and you’ve enjoyed all of my favourite wee finds.
1. Ahoi Marie Schifferbecher Anker, EUR9.90 from Ahoi Marie.
2. Silk yellow neck scarf with lace pattern, CHF75 (with free worldwide shipping) from Zafran.
3. Plush woodblock elephant pillow. Available in customisable colours and made to order. US$16.50 from Laura Frisk.
4. Sushi print leggings, AU$70 from Uptightso.
5. ‘Double Rad’ Gocco print by Gemma Jones, US$29 from Paintergirl.
Don’t miss out on that perfect Christmas present! Click here for my entire series of posts for my 2012 Etsy Christmas Gift Guide.
Have you bought anything from Etsy for Christmas this year? Tell me about it in the comments below!
I’m always fascinated by Australian interpretations and portrayals of Christmas. When we’re not pretending we’re living through a northern hemisphere winter complete with snowflakes, icicles and sleighs, we roll out Aussie Christmas cliches of barbecues on the beach and sunburnt Santa surfing the waves. (Weird, because the only people I know who spend Christmas day at the beach are English backpackers – although I do love a late afternoon swim after everyone has recovered from their post-lunch naps.)
Maree Oaten and Anna Johnson are the creatives behind the Sydney-based art and design studio, Little Branch, and they’ve called their collection of cards for 2012 ‘A Mythic Bush Christmas’:
“Cicadas are screaming, sunlight is streaming and we’re all dressed up with somewhere to go. Lit up like a Christmas tree drinking champagne out of a chipped tea cup, where did the time go and who do you love? It’s time to tie a red ribbon round your wrist to forget me not and gift wrap your devotions.”
While the colours in Little Branch’s designs are big, bold and vibrant, reflecting the brilliance of Australia’s summer flora, the illustrations are rather whimsical and romantic, with young lasses in Christmas-tree frocks and candy-striped stockings.
The ‘Little Branch Cards‘, AU$5.50 each, are printed on chlorine free, 100% recycled paper and made entirely in Australia, while the smaller ‘Miss Miniature Cards‘ are priced at AU $3.50 each. They’re perfect for sending some a wee bit of Aussie Christmas cheer around the country – and abroad.
Disclaimer: Little Branch is a Wee Birdy sponsor, but this is not a sponsored post. I just happen to dig their work, and hope you will too!
Have you been watching Offspring? Are you as obsessed as I am?
This season has officially got me hooked, and when I’m not angsting about Nina and Patrick’s on-off relationship, I spend quite a bit of time perving at her apartment. (My sister, meanwhile, is obsessed with Nina’s casual-bohemian wardrobe, and if you also want to get her look, I heartily recommend Styling You‘s excellent series of posts, ‘So you want to look like Nina Proudman‘.)
I adored Nina’s first apartment (which was destroyed by fire in the first episode of season three), especially the extraordinarily beautiful white pressed metal feature wall. I was so taken by it that I hunted down the Melbourne-based manufacturer, Pressed Tin Panels, and bookmarked their site for future dream home renovations.
This led me to hunt down some of the key pieces from Nina’s new apartment, especially her bedroom, which features quite a few things by independent Australian designers. I love that the stylists and set dressers have sourced many things from Melbourne, which is where the show is set. Way to keep the show real.
In a tribute to Styling You‘s original Nina posts, here’s how to make Nina Proudman’s bedroom your own:
1. I love Nina’s lamp on her bedside table, which was a gift from Darcy when she moved into her new flat. It’s made by Melbourne-based design studio Pierre and Charlotte. The bleached and limed Baby Tree Light is AU$630 plus GST and can be ordered via their website.
2. Nina’s distinctive cushions match the quilt which was custom-made for Offspring by Melbourne-based accessories label Nancy Bird. The Fish Scale cushions are AU$150 each, from Nancy Bird. (Nancy Bird’s other cushion designs also feature on Nina’s couch.)
3. Nina has a chrome floor lamp on the other side of her bed. Get the look with the Alpha Floor Lamp, $299 from Freedom.
4. Nina’s room features a French provincial farmhouse-style dresser or buffet. Get the look with the HEMNES chest of eight drawers in white from IKEA, AU$499. For a similar antique French sideboard, check out Sydney’s Country Trader as well as this Cancun white-washed three drawer console table, now AU$499 from Freedom. I also like this gorgeous fishing boat buffer from Rustique, which would also look great in Nina’s apartment.
5 and 6. I spy some luxe Jo Malone candles and cologne on Nina’s dresser, and I reckon the Wild Fig & Cassis fragrance is very Nina. Jo Malone is available from David Jones stores in Australia. Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis home candle, £38 and Wild Fig & Cassis cologne, £76, both from Selfridges.
7. The distinctive painting over Nina’s bed is by Australian artist Rosetta Santucci.
8. It looks like Nina has an oak candlestick on her dresser. If you’re after a similar design, look at these French Oak candlesticks, from £110 from Katherine North Design. Otherwise, get the look with the ÅRYD candlestick, AU$17.99 from IKEA.
9 and 10. It wouldn’t be Nina’s bedroom without an owl. While most of her collection perished in the house fire, it looks like she’s restrained herself in her new apartment with just one small ceramic owl on her dresser. Get the look with this owl ornament, AU$12.95 from Domayne. I also love this image of an Have You Met Miss Jones horn owl lamp, which is also very Nina and features a white pressed metal wall in the background – just like Nina’s old flat.
11. Here is Nina’s actual quilt which was custom-made for Offspring by Nancy Bird. They’ve since been inundated with requests so they’ve put the digitally-printed design into production. The Fish Scale Queen size quilt cover is available in Queen and King sizes from $650.
12. Nina’s dresser features a group of plain white pillar candles in various sizes. Get the look with the HEMSJÖ unscented natural block candle, AU$2.99 for a pack of four from IKEA.
13. I’ve spotted a classic Bentwood chair next to Nina’s bedside table. You can get a replica Thonet No 18 Bentwood timber chair from Matt Blatt for AU$195.
14. There is an arrangement of various clear glass bottles and carafes on Nina’s dresser. Copy the look with IKEA’s LÖNSAM carafe, AU$2.99 and PS BJUDA Carafe, AU$15.99.
15. Nina’s dresser also features a white bone china bird on a pedestal. I’m pretty sure it’s by Australian designer Have you met Miss Jones, for AU$24.
Do you watch Offspring? What’s your favourite thing in Nina’s room?
Etsy shop: Storybook Rabbit.
Who: Kelly, a Sydney-based illustrator who lives with Juno the bunny “in a little house filled with tiny ceramic animals, brightly coloured dresses, vintage treasures and rabbit-chewed furniture.”
What: Re-worked vintage plates with decals of Kelly’s ridiculously cute animal illustration – think Hipster bunnies in peter-pan collars, baby deer in party hats and French bulldogs in Breton stripes.
Best Buys: Little Shy Bunnies vintage plate, Lovely little hipsters on green ’70s floral plate as well as handy plate hangers and stands.
How much: A baby pug vintage plate starts at US$27.
Read more: Storybook Rabbit’s blog and Facebook.
Etsy shop: Draw Pilgrim.
Who: Pilgrim Lee, a Melbourne-based graphic artist who loves the design and style of the ‘60s and ‘70s.
What: A collection of bright and bold decorative children’s prints which are evocative of vintage picture books, wallpaper, décor and toys. There is also a range of tote bags, badges and cards.
Best buys: Alphabet poster print; Ahoy art print; and ‘Little Girls Made Of’ art poster.
How much: The Ahoy art print (above) costs AU$15.
Read more: Pilgrim’s blog and Twitter.
It’s a Week of Aussie Etsy on Wee Birdy, in celebration of Etsy Success Sydney on Saturday. Click here for more Australian Etsy goodness.Do you have a favourite Aussie Etsy shop? Or are you an Australian Etsy seller? Tell me all about it below in the comments!
Etsy shop: andODesign.
Who: Yumi Ando, a Japanese ceramicist based in Melbourne.
What: Delicate ceramic jewellery and homewares in muted shades inspired by Japanese and Australian cultures. The pieces are made in Ando’s home studio using clay slab tecnhiques.
Best buys: Crown earring holder; Octogan-cut jewel stud earrings, and porcelain air plant hanger with faceted bead.
How much: Stud earrings start at AU$30 a pair.
Read more: andODesign’s blog and website.
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