Monday, February 11, 2013

Dawn Dishaw Ceramics

We recently stumbled across the stunning ceramics from Dawn Dishaw whilst scrawling through pages of ceramics on Etsy on search - once again - for the perfect mug.

We had that rare quick fluttery-heart leap which makes trawling through pages and pages (and pages and pages) on Etsy so worthwhile. Eventually you will unearth the gold!

Wheel Thrown Ceramic Mug in pink navy and red - $36
The delicate hand drawn patterns, the slightly chunky lip, the mottled slight-grey of the ceramic base, the perfectly chosen colour combinations...

Wheel Thrown Ceramic Mug in red, blue and purple - $36

Wheel Thrown Espresso Mug in blue, orange and red - $28
And then we delved into her bowls. Bowls used to be our real ceramic weakness. For years they were hoarded, some too nice to ever be used. Some to simply hold flowers, some to hold one variety of fruit each and muddled in a haphazard way on the kitchen counter.
Bowls are still a weakness...especially when they're all scalloped edged and delicately patterned like this:

Ceramic Bowl in turquoise, orange and red - $58

Ceramic Bowl in salmon and blue - $58


Wheel Thrown Ceramic Bowl in blue, navy and purple - $62


Underneath detail of Ceramic Bowl in navy and salmon pink - $52

Each wheel thrown piece is a labour of love with the whole beautiful process from the painstaking hand drawn patterns to the series of glazes taking between one and a half to a staggering 12 hours to complete.

Now the impossible decision has to be made...which mug?
And, naturally, to take advantage of combined shipping, which bowl...

xo
g&j

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

For the love of...fields of flowers

I have always loved flowers. And not in a slight 'oh yes, flowers are nice' way; in an overwhelming all-consuming sensory overload kind of way.
Where I grew up in the inner Sydney suburb of Marrickville, our 1/4 acre block was filled with all manner of simple, uncultivated flowers. I can remember the small waxy buttercups near the back door, the happy brights of the nasturtiums curled up the stone steps, the throbbing blue of the morning glory vine, the great purple clusters of bougainvillaea, the heritage five petal crimson roses which climbed haphazardly, clinging to the wall of the shed. These simple flowers were gathered into posies and scattered gleefully around the house.

Cheerful nasturtiums trailing the curb.
My brother and I in the vegetable patch, 1986
I was always trying - and very unsuccessfully mind you - to create some kind of field of flowers in the top left hand corner of the property, behind the mulberry tree. This rather barren part of the backyard was invariably choked with blackberry vines and curls of bracken, but I dug up a large proportion of it with my brother and tried to create something more colourful. Whilst we did find a great wealth of tiny glass bottles I now use for vases, the bracken always won out in the end.

Wild Forget-Me-Nots, in NY state. Stunning!

Traditionally cultivated varieties hold very little interest for me. I'm not particularly fond of gerberas, long stem roses (boring!) or long stem anything for that matter. I'm completely head-over-heels in love with the abandonment of wild flowers fluttering across a landscape.

Once when traveling in the Blue Mountains during winter many years ago we happened upon an abandoned wooden house surrounded by a field of jonquils. We hopped over the fence and I had no qualms at all ruining a pair of shoes getting through a muddy ditch to gather armfuls of this deliciously scented stuff. 

Drifts of Daffodils. Photo: Erin Glasener
When I think about traveling, my mind quickly jumps ahead to 'oooh, what flowers will I get to see?'. In New Zealand I was completely smitten with the Lupins. There is certainly no shortage of them over there, and yet each time we saw their multi-coloured heads bobbing around on the side of the road, I would exclaim with glee! We saw a glacier, trees bent over backwards from the wind, eerily blue lakes, and vistas that take your breath away, but the thing I remember most vividly was seeing those wild lupins everywhere.

Early morning Lupins!

Near Rarangi in Marlborough, a delightful seaside yellow variety.

Roadside Lupins. Never got tired of them! (Above 3 taken with a Holga, slide film, cross processed)

I still have a few floral fantasies that I must experience now the Lupins are out of the way:
One is to traipse - yes, traipse - through a field of bluebells. And I will almost definitely feel the need to lie down in them. That delicious silvery blue carpeting the floor beneath a canopy of soft green trees...
Bluebells!! Photo: Busy Nothings
Fanny Brawne knows what I'm talking about. Photo: a still from Bright Star 2009

The other revolves around striding through a field of wheat and poppies in Italy. Fans of the genre will immediately skip in their memories to that infamous scene in 'A Room with a View' where Lucy and George steal a kiss in the Italian countryside. 

Lucy approaching the lustful George in the 1985 film.
Red corn poppies dotted through a wheat field
There is something undeniably romantic about wild flowers; their recklessness, the all-consuming scale of quantity, the bright spark of colour and texture.

Native Flannel flowers en masse. Photo: Lilly Pilly
We had not been together long when my beau picked me up from the airport with a freshly picked bunch of flannel flowers he had gathered for me on his way into town. The epitome of romance.

xo
rabia

Monday, January 28, 2013

Four of a Kind for Love

It will come as no surprise to many of you that we are really mad keen on curating. Nothing gives us more glee than putting lovely things together in an aesthetically pleasing fashion.

We really got into the swing of creating Etsy treasuries last year - our Summer Four Ways treasury primarily featuring Australian Etsy sellers even made it to the Etsy front page!

Recently we have been searching for beautiful lingerie - something feminine, unique and well cut. On our searches across the world wide web, we found many stunning examples from Etsy sellers and our new treasury Four of a Kind for Love is based around the four best examples we discovered.

Valentines take note!
xo
g&j

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Pinterest Picks #13

Summer is at its most lethargic in Sydney at the moment; restless nights with kicked-off sheets, a great cacophony of insects and slow languid twilight.

There's something quite delicious about the slowed pace of it all...










{All images sourced from the Ginny & Jude Pinterest boards where they link back to their original source}

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

The Talent: Tania Bowers of Hello-Lashes Salon

We here at Ginny & Jude have been incredibly blessed to have worked with a number of really talented people through the years. They have have all helped us build this little brand up from the ground to the glittering star it is today.

Today we start a new feature on the blog called The Talent where we introduce you to these get-out-of-town talented gals.

First up we have the wonderful Tania Bowers. 

I first met Tania when she started working at the Button Shop with me a number of years ago when she had just moved back from America. We hit it off straight away and I have been very fortunate to have had her extend her talents to me for a total of 3 shoots now. 

Despite her considerable talents, she is one of the most humble people I have ever met and always emanates a reassuring sense of calm. She also has an enviable back catalogue of crafting skills and once traveled the world playing songs under the guise of Via Tania.

I certainly share her no-fuss attitude when it comes to makeup for the everyday and can personally attest to the wonderful of get-up-and-go-ness of tinted lashes. Marvelous!

- Rabia, Designer for Ginny & Jude

The gorgeous Tania. Photo: Andy Mueller

Tania Bowers - a lady of many talents! Tell us a few fun facts about yourself...

I once crashed a shoemaking course for a whole semester. It was at the Art Institute of Chicago. No payment necessary, no grades either, but I didn't want grades I wanted to learn how to make shoes.

I had an emergency root canal during the SXSW festival in Austin Texas and had maxed out my Credit Card while on tour, luckily the dental nurse suggested to the dentist that instead of forking over $1000 I could perhaps get his daughter a pass to the music festival. I just gave him mine while I was on the bed.
Unfortunately there is a music video of me singing a few hours later trying not to drool. At the time I thought I was getting away with it, but thanks to the internet, I can't fool myself.

I lived in Melbourne, moved to Sydney, then Chicago, then back to Melbourne, then back to Chicago and now in Sydney again. 

I used to teach a summer school inside the University of Minnesota for creative high school kids it was funded by Target and I met designers from all over the world, a guy that designed inside space ships for NASA, German car interiors, so many cool teachers 

My daughters name is Frida Jane Wigdahl. I'm not sure how she's going to feel about that.

Tania's varied work for Ginny & Jude, photo: Lyndal Irons



Tell us a little bit about the Hello-Lashes Salon...

I'm a pretty cruisy chick and beauty salons never really interested me so it took me a long time to find my path to the beauty industry. Painting, drawing, makeup, styling are all my passions and learning to do eyelash extensions is such a specific skill but I saw a niche in the market; it's for girls that want to accentuate their features while still looking natural. 

With makeup I have a pretty 'light hand' and like to see skin not a foundation mask but because of my love of photography I have worked under strong lights and with photographers enough to work out where you can do that and where you can't.

Hello-Lashes Salon is for real women and girls who like to have fun, dress up or be natural but not overdo it, know what I mean?

Soft and subtle; photo at right Gintas Zaranka, photo at left Damien Thompson.


What was it that attracted you to make-up and hair design? And was there a reason you chose to specialise in lashes?

I think when I first enrolled at the Makeup Designory school in New York, I saw it was the right thing for me straight away. Out came the colour wheels and tonal excersizes. It was the first time in years I felt like I was back at art school and I felt sorry for the young girls in my class that had none of that theory behind them, I would have been flailing around if not for my background, that stuff is hard!

But to be really honest, it was a creative thing that I could get paid for. A daily rate… go home, have your life! I love that kind of work because my life out of work is really important to me.  

Lashes are sweeping the cities of the world. It might be soon up there with Zumba. But I think as I have always loved using my hands, sewing and being crafty that those kinds of fine motor skills really suit me, I watched a demonstration in Beauty school and never looked back.

Gorgeous natural bridal hair and make up; photos by Joe Wigdahl of Grass Finch Photography

Looking back at the many shoots and events you've been involved in over the years, what stands out in your memory the most?

Shooting with Kevin Sinclair was a really great experience. Fashion photographers are notorious jerks and I've experienced my fair share but shooting with Kevin early on at the Factor Models space in Chicago was an eye opener; that someone so lovely and supportive of new talent can rise up to be one of the biggest most successful photographers of today. 

Also the Vera Wang bridal launch at the Oprah Show was a really really fun day seeing two ladies who work their butski's off backstage commenting and laughing at all the 'child' brides were making up - fun stuff. 
Also shooting with my partner Joe is really nice and we get on really well on set; no one knows we're married we get on so well!

Credits: Photo by Kevin Sinclair

What is the one beauty product you never leave the house without?

Vincent Longo lip stain. Totally doesn't look like lipstick and you can use it on your cheeks, my colour is Sunshine.

Can you share a never-fail make-up tip with us?

Anastasia or Gorgeous Cosmetics Brow Gel, if you set your brows with this gel brushing 'up' you will always look more groomed and neat, but no one will be able to tell why.

What are your predictions for trends in make-up and hair this year?


I think it's going to be about matte's. We've had the glitter and shimmer a bit too long. It's like studs, save them for rockstars, when Target is selling shoes with studs, just Let . It. Go at least for a while. Matte makeup is so lovely and you can play with contours and highlights without being too spangly just classic.There's a reason it's called classic, people always come back to it because it looks the best.

You can find Tania at her Hallo-Lashes Salon stall at the upcoming One Fine Day wedding and bridal fair in Sydney which runs over the 2nd and 3rd of February at Sun Studios in Alexandria.


e: whyhellolashes@gmail.com


Thursday, January 17, 2013

The garden of fashion

Yesterday I was bequeathed quite a beautiful piece of fashion history from a dear friend who was visiting from Berlin. 

Le Jardin Des Modes - The Garden of Fashion - is a rather exquisite French fashion journal from 1951 filled with delicious inspiration for the Autumn/Winter collection I'm currently designing...


Lecon De Mode - Feshion Lesson - we had great fun attempting to translate these last night! 
Some standout rules I am taking away from this are that skirts should be between 30-32 cms from the ground and no shorter, belts should accentuate a narrow waist, shoulders should be wide and that a large swing coat over all these tight angles of tailoring is a must!

Fabulous, fabulous ideas...

 

...and what exquisite winter hats!
I am desperately in love with this jacket.
Nothing like some fun fashion tableaux!
Some of you may already be aware that I have been without a functioning camera since last October. As you can imagine trying to run an online business without a camera has been bordering on ridiculous - there are only so many times you can borrow one from a friend!
Thankfully my new one finally arrived today. It is fabulous and we are very much in love.

I had quite a bit of fun testing its macro settings and ISO fiddly bits this afternoon as the sun was just slipping away behind the roofs. 

This hydrangea would be considered by most to be quite beyond its prime, but I am really enjoying its tainted rainbow hues.



xo rabia

Saturday, January 12, 2013

A New Year...

Happy New Year everyone!
2013 is upon us, with all it's bright hopes and shiny new possibilities. 


I always start of the year with many big plans and hot-air balloon-type dreams and as the year marches on manage to whittle them down into something realistic and do-able. 



So here's to 2013!
My resolution last year was to drink more champagne - a resolution which I managed to keep with ease!
This year I am resolved to read more books...

The dream library...one day!
 Any recommendations?

xo
rabia

{All images sourced from the Ginny & Jude Pinerest boards where they link back to their original source}