Sea, Sand and shopping

It a little belated but I've finally gotten round to downloading my recent holiday photos!

We had a magical fours days in paradise with the most perfect weather!

We spent two days exploring the beaches of Coffs Harbour and then two days visiting Byron Bay & Bangalow on the way home for lots of inspiration, vintage finds and shopping... here is my holiday in photo's I hope your inspired to visit the area on your next holiday! :)

The magical sunrise over the sea in Coffs Harbour...

My new bamboo bowl... perfect for shells...

Beach-combing, I found these coral pieces, and beautiful white stones...

Shopping at Hope & May I collected this bowl, bamboo pouch, bottles and raffia mats...

Jewellery from the bead shop in Byron Bay...

Gorgeous feather bottles from Hope & May...

A little bit of luxury from the Ramad hotel... Bliss!

Vintage macrame pot hanger... from Hope & May...

A quick visit to Ahoy...

Shopping at Tigerlily... I brought this divine coconut and lime candle...

My vivist to the new Spell Boutique... wishing I could take that Peacock chair home... LOVE!

Shell Chandeliers... gorgeous designs... to many to choose...

Watching the ocean...

Vintage love at Heaths Old Wares...

Happy Holidays...

Vintage Love

A little vintage inspiration... I found this gorgeous amber and wicker jug and cup 
set this week! Perfect touch for any island home setting!

Sumika Collections - designed 
for Bohemian Girl Beach Babe!

Recently I had the chance to catch up with the lovely Angela from Sumika Collections, I came across the gorgeous Sumika label via instagram! I love crochet and was seeking something unique and comfortable and found just that in the Sumika range, I also loved the fact that Angela is based in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast and you can find her at many local markets. I recently bought one of her gorgeous monokini's, I team it with my favourite jeans, kimono and boots! In fact the monokini is where it all started for Angela...

 2011 Monokini Design

The name Sumika is very unique can you tell us where it came from 

and what meaning it has for you?

The Name Sumika is a creation of my 2 daughters names blended, they are my love, inspiration, heart, soul & world. They have so much excitement for Sumika even at there young ages. I have added Collections to the name early this year after going through unused past samples & giving them ago this year. In the last few months & next few I will be working with leather/ suede, shoes, bags, home wares & of course adding to my crochet designs.

Tell us about a typical day in the world of Sumika Collections... 

A typical day for Sumika Collections, starts with smiling, breathing, brainstorming, promoting, selling, designing, communicating, occasional collaborating and adding a few of my own personal touches to some with embellishments, tassels, shells, beads, leather, plaits to keep them that little more unique.

Who or what inspires your Sumika Collections creations?

Inspiration for my label comes from growing up on the beach and at such a young age loving , wearing, owning so many unique crochet pieces. My first piece of crochet was a gift at 10 a crochet bikini, once earning my own money it was spent on hotpants dresses vests any thing crochet & then I added suede vests & denim & that was pretty much my staple wardrobe, so many years later , I still love the 3 teamed together! Fashion has always been a big part of me, So to design my own Boho beach style crochet pieces & add a little uniqueness to the market has been a dream. The cut style fit  is what makes Sumika sit so well. Being hand made no 2 pieces are the same which I love!

What are your hopes and dreams for the Sumika Collections label?

 Hopes & dreams for Sumika Collections. To be up in lights one day very soon "SUMIKA COLLECTIONS"  To keep Sumika unique & share my passion, zest & love of my label with my daughters so as they grow Sumika Collections will grow. As my family & I have a huge love of travel I hope to have Sumika Collections world wide some day soon & to keep adding new creations, new collections new ideas.

Have there been any defining experiences in the past that have shaped the Sumika Collections label into what it is today?

In my experience to shape Sumika to where it is today with the designs, sample creations, style, efforts & all starting from scratch has been sometimes a long, testing overall interesting memorable journey. Through many hiccups, the odd loss & nonstop hours, I still wake up with so much passion, inspiration, designs, creativity, dreams & motivation to keep building Sumika Collections to be a rewarding loving creative family business & of course to be "UP IN LIGHTS SOON!"

2013 Monokini Design

SUMIKA COLLECTIONS - BOHO GIRL MEETS BEACH BABE

Available online soon.

To purchase visit Sumika Clothing on facebook

Email sumikastyle@yahoo.com

phone 0432681351

Instagram @Sumikacollections

Random markets & festivals

Stockisits:  Urban Elements Noosa & Gypsy Stone Mooloolaba

Many thanks to Angela, images courtesy Liz Dick Photography.

An interview with Anna from Lost Lover

The one thing I love about the world of instagram is coming across new and amazing talents! There is so much inspiration to be found, it's such a great place to meet new and like minded friends. I am always so humbled and grateful for all the lovely comments I recieve on my posts, the love and support in our creative community on instagram is overwhelming and heartwarming. I am constantly inspired by the many new small business's I come across, this is why as a new direction for my blog I have decided to bring to you some of the amazing new people and business's I have come across recently! 

One such lovely new talent is Anna from Lost Lover.
I was blown away by the gorgeous new products available in her online store, including beautiful jewellery and unique homewares. I quickly grabbed one of the amazing pouffe designs for my outdoor area! It came in the mail today and I can't tell you how excited 
I was, it is made from the softest leathers, it's just gorgeous, I can't wait to add it to 
my outdoor area and show you. I was very excited when Anna agreed to do my first interview for my blog! I hope you enjoy Anna's interview and find it as inspiring as I did. 

What motivated you to create Lost Lover?

I have always had a huge passion for travel and discovery.  Last year I went on a trip to Europe, and after I returned I could not stop thinking about all the beautiful and unique products I found in Turkey.  I received many compliments on the jewellery and gifts I purchased on my trip, and as I wandered around Sydney I realised I could not find any similar pieces here. I started dreaming up business ideas to the point of near-obsession and one day I decided "why not just do it?" So I quit my full time job in the corporate world (I'm a qualified chartered accountant) and booked flights to Turkey!  I wanted to follow my heart and work on something completely different, more creative and exciting, and I have always loved the idea of running my own business.  I felt the time was right to take on the challenge. So now I get to travel to exotic places, meet with amazingly talented artisans and search for eclectic pieces, and then share my finds with everyone! 

How did the name Lost Lover come about?

Lost Lover is all about a love of travel and losing yourself on adventures around the world.  The name came to me in the middle of the night and after that I couldn't get it out of my head - I knew it was the one! I love the dreamy and romantic quality of the name Lost Lover which fits my bohemian inspired collection perfectly.

Where or who do you draw your inspiration from for Lost Lover?

I love design, colour, bohemian styles, dreaminess. I draw inspiration from the beautiful places and people I meet on my adventures. Whether it be from the creative artisans in Istanbul, or the turquoise waters of the calcite pools in Pamukkale, or the traditional pestemal (turkish towel) handweavers in an old Aegean village, I am constantly lapping up inspiration from my travels. 

I am also very inspired by Australian female entrepreneurs who started with nothing but a dream and have become huge success stories. My two biggest inspirations are Samantha Wills (so in love with her jewellery collections!) and Kristina Karlsson - Kikki K  (I have always been obsessed with stationery!).  

Tell us a little about yourself, your hopes and dreams for you 

and Lost Lover?

I live on the Northern Beaches in Sydney and now that I have my own business working from home, I can choose my hours and even manage to fit in a swim and a hula (my newest hobby!) at the beach most days. I have been upholstering vintage furniture with beautiful fabrics as a side project, which I may include in Lost Lover's range in the future! I'm loving the challenge of starting my own business and I'm so excited to see where Lost Lover leads. Travel is always on my mind, and I'm starting to plan my next overseas adventures to hand pick more beautiful Lost Lover products to add to the collection. Currently high on the list are Mexico, Morocco, India and Nepal. 

My favourite quote is by Mark Twain: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."  This pretty much sums up why I'm doing what I'm doing :) 

Anna's beautiful dream catcher logo was designed and hand painted 

in watercolour by the very talented Kathryn Green!

Anna is also adding some gorgeous 100% cotton Turkish towels & beautiful handmade copper bowls & soap boxes to the Lost Lover range!

Check back to her web site to keep up to date or follow Anna on Instagram @lostloverstore

Styled photography by Nicola Bodle 

A huge thank you to Anna for being my first interview, I hope you enjoy!

Louise xxxx

Sydney Gift Fairs

As I mentioned yesterday, I am doing a very belated Life In Style/Gift Fair post. I collected many new contacts, meet some amazing new suppliers and made some great new friends. Life In Style was full of amazing new products and beautifully designed stand displays. My time was rushed as I was only in Sydney for two days to do all three fairs, I didn't get to take many stand images, as as you know photography is prohibited throughout all the trade fairs, so I have decided to do far better, over the coming weeks I will be featuring some amazing new labels that as I said I met at Life In Style or have recently met on Instagram, this week I'm excited to be sharing a Spider & Lily shoot I did recently with a gorgeous gift Kelly gave me at the fair. 
I will also be sharing with you an amazing new label called Lost Lover, this is just the beginning of a new direction for my blog. I'm passionate about helping new business's get there name out there, the products are amazing and if you don't find something new to purchase, I'm sure you'll be inspired in some way by their story and love for their labels. 
During all fairs I was loaded up with samples and catalogues and cards. I decided to take a couple of photo's to share. The gorgeous towel in this shot is from the goregous label Hamam-ist, I can't tell you how amazingly soft this towel is, it's top quality and sooooo soft. The super cute shell napkins are from Urban Nest Designs whom I met at the Reed Gift Fair. I'm looking forward to styling a gorgeous table lay with these in the near future! :) Happy Sunday! :) xx

7 Vignettes - March Challenge - Catching up

Hey everyone, sorry I've been missing in action again for a little while! I've been off down in Sydney visitng the Reed, Home & Giving and Life In Style Fairs as part of my day job! I've been flat out sourcing lots of amazing homewares for up coming shoots which are beginning again in the next few months. I'm looking forward to showing you some behind the scenes and inspiring homeware images along the way where I can, we are off to some gorgeous locations so stay tuned! 

I have lots planned for the coming months here on the blog, I am going to be bringing you some amazing new business's. When I visited the fairs I realized just how many new and upcoming business's there are out there that I had no idea were there! So I decided to make use of my blog and spread the love around for lots of new small business's that inspire me day to day... I've been lucky enough to meet some on instagram then in person which has been an absolute pleasure! 

On my recent trip to the Reed Gift Fair in Sydney, thanks to my boss, I was lucky enough to catch up with the lovely Sheba from @beached_treasures1 (instagram) Sheba was a fantastic help, being completely overwhelmed with the size and amazing inspiration at the Reed Gift Fair, Sheba so kindly helped me find all the major suppliers I needed to catch up with, she also introduced me to some amazing new suppliers as well! Thank you so much Sheba, your amazing help on Saturday morning was much appreciated! :)

I'll be doing a complete round up of my favourite stands especially those from Life In Style, however belated, tomorrow! :)

So it was another big week during the 7 vignettes challenge. Especially during this bucketing rain! 
I managed to do a few images, however rushed they were each day after work in my studio! Here is a complete round up of the week's images, all inspired by my amazing new/old aqua chair I picked up last week from a local collectibles shop! It inspired the whole weeks posts... I hope you enjoy!