weekend adventure - Nannup

I have just returned home from a lovely weekend getaway. My love and I have decided that we should try to make a monthly ritual of heading out of town for an adventure. It doesn't have to be far away and where we stay does not have to be fancy. We want to take the time to be together, away from the distractions of work and home. This weekend we packed up the Volkswagen and ended up in a tiny country town called Nannup, less than an hours drive from our home town of Dunsborough. 

Nannup is a picture of hills and orchards and golden paddocks. I would absolutely love to come back after the rain has turned everything to green once again. Its so nice to explore the towns that we often drive straight past. Looking in the shops, eating at the cafes, walking the streets and checking out the cute local homes. I definitely recommend being a tourist in your own town at any chance you get!

I hope you have enjoyed a beautiful weekend too!

THE BEE KEEPER DRESS

Just a few detailed shots of the new "bee-keeper" dress that will soon be available online.

There have been times this year where I have felt so burnt out and exhausted that I have not been able to cope with the amount of inquiry that came my way. This means that emails have gone without reply, questions on facebook have gone unanswered and so on. This is absolutely not how I want to treat the people who support me and what I do, and who make this creative life possible for me. There have been times however when I found this unavoidable, especially as a single mumma. I just want to say thank you to everyone for your patience. For understanding that there is only one of me, Thanks for appreciating that my creations are made on our dining table and not pumped out of a factory. I am so sorry if I failed to respond to any of your emails, comments or questions.

This year I will be working on new systems to try to overcome this. I will be streamlining my blog, shop and facebook so that the answers you need will be easier to find. I will move away from custom orders so that I could make every dress as the fabric inspires me, with the details that I desire. 

So every dress will be truly one of a kind and made with love.

So that I can give each my beautiful customers the attention they deserve.

So the only dresses that leave my studio will represent how I want naughtyshorts to be seen in the world.

The new shop will be opening soon. I hope to regularly replenish my stock with beautiful one-of-a-kind garments, vintage pieces and eventually a few imported pieces and home-wares. The items I sell will represent what I love in the world. It will be eclectic and quirky with a focus on handmade.

It will evolve over 2014, I'm sure. Step by step.

You can see more pictures of the bee-keeper dress in action here

xx

My latest design...

My gorgeous friend Ash came by this afternoon for an impromptu photo session. I am trying to organise pictures of my new designs ready to upload into my new online shop, opening this week!  I'll tell you more about that later. I have just been playing with the pictures and I couldn't wait to share them with you, hence the mid-night blogging...

I haven't even named this style yet. It features a scooped neckline and it slips over the head with no zippers or fastenings. It has enclosed elastic at the back and a drawstring that ties at the front. For some reason I have 'the bee-keeper' dress in my mind but I hardly know how it relates to the style. Too obscure? Any suggestions??

Goodnight xx  

On a roll...

I had a bit of an embarrassing breakdown at the optometrists this morning... 

It all started when I picked up my new glasses last week only to realise that the prescription was not right for me, so I made a new appointment to have my eyes rechecked and get my new glasses fixed. I was in the middle of the eye test when I broke down into tears, gasping, sobbing, blubbering, red faced, snot nosed... It was horrible and exhausting and seeing as this is my third teary breakdown in as many days, it is obviously hormonal. If I ever find myself crying watching masterchef or neighbors or any other equally terrible program you can bet that its time to reach for the nurofen and the chocolate.

My day started beautifully, with an early start and a bit of a work out on the beach. Panettone  for  breakfast, op-shopping and fresh coffee. And to be honest I have actually been on a bit of a creative high for the last few weeks. I have been filling my sketchbooks with designs and ideas and most of the designs I have put into action have worked out beautifully.

I have also purchased new photo editing programs so I have been spending a bit of time trying to navigate the new software. I have so much to learn,  but I have included a  few pictures from around my house taken over the last couple of weeks. I think they look pretty good. 

How is the Christmas prep coming along? Have you found any amazing Festive D.I.Y's online?

Bec x

DIY summer jacket

I found this top at an op-shop a few weeks ago and I was instantly drawn to the print and colours of the fabric. It reminds me of something my grandma would wear on special occasions. The fabric is synthetic, like chiffon. I normally prefer a cotton, but sometimes a little bit of slink is a nice addition to a outfit. I instantly saw its potential as a gypsy style jacket. 

I have been making boleros, kimonos and jackets lately (sneak peek coming) so I had this amazing vintage coral tassel trim on hand but you can find tassel trim in craft shops. I simply chopped off the sleeves at 3/4 length,  then I cut length off the back and I cut diagonally chopped the extra length across the front. I then sewed on my tassel trim to all of the raw edges and I was finished. A 15 minute project that I adore! I will be keeping my eyes out for similar pieces to do this again...

around these parts...

Hello beautiful friends! How are you on this fine spring day? It is lovely and mild down in these parts, but the sun is shining and the crickets and cicadas are chirping away so it feels like summer! Its a sound that reminds me of HOT summer days and it sort of lulls me into laziness...

But of course as always I have had a million and one things to do this week, and no chance to be lazy. I rearranged my home, I continued with the culling and sorting of our belongings, I set up my studio and on Tuesday I spent a whole day playing dress ups and taking photos with the lovely Peach from peach woods photography and local beauty, Claire. It was such a fun and laid back day and we shot at some fabulous locations and I CAN NOT WAIT to see the pictures and share them with you all.

Hopefully next week I will have a few more to share here... In the mean time I will leave you with a few pictures to give you a little taste of how my week has looked...

Bec x