The Other Side of the World

So here I am sat at my new temporary desk, on my new lap top, in a whole new country. We have been in Sydney for 5 days & today is the first day I feel vaguely normal. I think Russ & I masked any jet lag we had in Singapore with all our socialising & the time difference only really hit us when we arrived in Australia.
It was so good being back in Singapore, the smell, the heat, the ease, the friendliness and of course the food. I had forgotten just how good the food is and how cheap. We treated ourselves to a plush hotel, we were on the 31st floor and felt very high up indeed until we popped over to the NAB for a cocktail on the 71st floor !


We had a wonderful time at our friends wedding,





The invite said wedding attire; Colonial chic followed by beach ware for the reception at Sentosa beach (& bring your bathers) Even knowing this I had to do a double take when I realised my friend was doing her first dance in a frilly white bikini & looking just beautiful.
Thank you to Gemma for letting me share her gorgeous photos with you.


Russ & I met up with old friends and new, this is the lovely Mylene and Jonathon, who I hand delivered a Belle & Boo order to.


and who inspired me to hunt out this cute polaroid effect download, that looks like this on your screen.


Our first few days in Sydney have been equally fun, thank you so much for all the wonderful welcome messages, but more about here in my next post, because as I 'may' have mentioned I am here for another 11 weeks, yyippeeeee !

Just before I sign off my friend has relaunched her pretty online shop & if you mention my blog when you place an order (in the comments section in Paypal) she will refund you 20%


& last but most importantly a BIG Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary to my lovely mum & dad.

Sydney Here We Come

Oh my gosh I am SO excited, the taxi is arriving in half an hour to take us to the airport, first stop Singapore for a friends wedding & then onto Sydney for a 3 month house exchange.
What about Belle & Boo I hear you ask?
Well I am leaving it in the very safe & capable hands of Kate & the girls in Bristol.
Whilst they are dealing with the day to day running of the business, I am taking a bit of time out for me & I am going to be working on the first Belle & Boo book.
Did I mention I am VERY excited !


PS Also very excited to have had our Lovely Day bag chosen to feature in this years Red Direct Christmas Catalogue.

See you on the other side of the world x

Trick or Treat

I can't quite believe it's October, where did this year go. I have always loved October, the colours, the weather, the holidays, Halloween & Bonfire Night (Ok that's in November, but only just!) This year I love it even more as October this year is the month Russ & I leave for our 3 month jaunt to Australia, in just over 3 weeks time we fly to Singapore for a wedding and then on too Sydney where we are house swapping until the end of January. I am SO excited BUT there is plenty to do before then. I have just finished this new Belle & Boo illustration.

Trick Or Treat




It is available both here & here as a mounted or framed print, it is also available as a postcard & look 2 extra little characters snuck on the end !



Also the doll project I have been involved in for the past year ended this month


& here is my Belle,





isn't she divine, I squealed when I unwrapped her, her glasses, stripy scarf, leather gloves and exquisite cloak, what fun.


Lots, lots, lots more exciting things happening, but that's all for now, have a lovely weekend everyone x

Lark

Isn't it funny how sometimes you think, talk, wish something & then out of no where it just happens. About a month ago Kate & I were saying how lovely it would be to have a section of a shop dedicated to our products & yesterday these photos arrived from the lovely Allison of Lark. She has just opened a shop in her home town of Daylesford, Victoria, Australia & it looks GORGEOUS, just the place I would love to shop & hopefully soon I will be able to, but more about that later.
Here is some info about the shop

It is open 10.30 to 4.00 each day

the address is

Lark
4a Duke Street
Daylesford

(if you can't find it, it is tucked away in the lane behind the MS op shop, look for the big Lark sign on an old warehouse building!).

The shop has cute homewares, yummy stationery, cool kid's stuff and all the fresh goodness you would expect from Lark - and some of our lovely friends including Victoria Mason, Betty Jo, Beci Orpin, Arthur's Circus, Genki, Able & Game, Twiglet, Little Shop of... and Rice! It's also a great place to discover local makers, we have some great crafters here in spa country! Oh and zines and mags including Thaw, Peppermint, Mixtapezine, MadeIt. Japanese things too. Lots of ace stuff, really, and very friendly service.

& here is what it looks like









The magazine style picture rack is such a clever idea, I will have to show it to some stores here in London as inspiration for displaying all the lovely art you can buy these days.
I really hope some of you reading this will be able to stop by and see it for real and say "Hi" to Allison from me.

Whilst blog hopping the other day I spotted this sweet illustration by Catherine from Bumpkin Bears, I asked her if I could show it on my blog and she has kindly offered 10% off to any one that buys it during the next 2 weeks from her Etsy shop (offer ends 15th Oct 09) just put a message in the 'note to seller' section about seeing it on Belle & Boo's blog & she will send you a revised invoice.


I also came across this extraordinary cushion / dolls house/ bed on a blog and I feel dreadful as I can't remember where, but I had to show it, it makes me smile. aaarhhhhh........ it was made by Rubyellen from the delightful blog cakies, thanks everyone.

Book Plates

We have wanted to sell book plates for ages now but couldn't find a supplier here in the UK (that was affordable) So thanks to the VERY lovely Sarah Jane, who gave me her contact, let me use her address for delivery (as they wouldn't ship abroad) & then organised posting 2 very heavy boxes, we can now offer book plates yipeeeee ! They are gorgeous quality prints & very easy to use with self adhesive backs, I couldn't be happier. They are now available to buy here and here.



Other news Sarah Fox has written about yours truly on her blog, you can read it here.

Belinda has had this incredibly Belle & a puppy tattoo done, she sent me a very sweet email explaining the reason behind it.



"I work with children in a kindergarten, and I think thats one reason I knew that I would never "outgrow" this tattoo, because I love my job and the kids so much. I think that's why I like your drawings as well. They really capture the innocence and beauty of Early Childhood - it is such a precious time. Plus, I liked that you named her Belle, and since my name is Belinda I quite often get called Bel.

I hope you don't mind that I changed the rabbit to a puppy - it was not because I didn't like your little Boo! It was because I wanted it all to mean something, and since we are not allowed to have rabbits here in QLD, Australia (they are illegal) I went for the puppy"

I can't imagin rabbits being illegal anyway in the world, no more Boo's, boo hoo!

& Amanda sent me photos of these 4 canvases she embroidered from my images 'My Favourite Spot' She is one clever lady. The detail is incredible.

TOP DRAWER 09

I remember thinking "phew, Thank goodness it's a whole year till I have to do that again" after finishing Top Drawer 08..... I blinked & what do you know, it's a year later & Top Drawer 09 !
It's been a mental few weeks of designing, planning, ordering, printing, cutting, gluing, lots of late nights and early mornings, lots of nervous energy & bitten finger nails (no blogging what so ever, so Thank you, thank you for all your lovely, yummy soap comments) but it was worth it, 110%, we had such a fabulous show.

Inspiration, the scale model & design layout




Display boxes


Prop House


Packed van


Unpacking at Olympia (Kate & I felt like Thelma & Louise driving into the exhibition centre, we wanted to drive round at high speed, doing handbrake turns!)


Patrick, Kate's VERY patient partner putting up our Belle & Boo logo (we were there till 9.30 the evening before the show started)


The result





What a fun few days, Kate, Tracy & I met so many lovely people & the feedback was amazing. We showed lots of samples of new products, cushions,



Little madam angels (Ok not exactly new, but missing for a while !)



a toiletries range, shampoo, bubble bath and hand wash for children.


& book plates (which will be available in the shop in next few days)


We are hoping to have the fabric products ready for early Nov, the bubble bath early next year, so watch this space.

This year when the show finished I felt slightly sad, especially leaving this little fella behind :(


'hello' to all our new friends & thanks for reading.

Yummy Soaps

A delivery man arrived last week with a very heavy parcel. A sweet smelling & well traveled box, filled with Belle & Boo soaps all the way from Australia by sea. I think my favourite is 'Found' whats yours?

Found


Giddy Up


Belle Hugs Boo


Boo


I Like Your Bow


The soaps are gentle enough for young children or adults with sensitive skin. They are made from all organic ingredients: coconut, olive, palm and sunflower oils, and delicately scented with organic oils of lavender and mandarin. The soaps are wrapped in cellophane with a pretty label, making them a perfect gift or a treat for your bathroom. They are really yummy and are now available here and here