As featured in the NEW Spring issue of QH, we give you a run down of some of our favourite designers, makers, and crafty folks behind some of the finest Australian handmade designs and objects of art!

In the next few weeks, we’ll be revealing the creative locals that made our ‘Made with Love‘ special feature - so stay tuned!

First up - Bonni Barker…

Based in far north Queensland, designer and illustrator Bonni Barker makes the most beautiful range of laser cut plywood and perspex wall clocks out of her studio, Snowfawn.

She also makes wall decals, art prints, bangles, pins and brooches using the same techniques. Originally from England, Bonni moved to Australia over five years ago and has set about interpreting her love for European inspired-wilderness, creatures and romance into a really beautiful collection for the home and body.

For more info on online stockists + to discover more of her world… visit her blog > snowfawn.blogspot.com

We’ve featured the beautiful range of hand printed, organic fabrics, tea towels and homewares from Brisbane bespoke studio Thea & Sami within the pages of Queensland Homes, so it was with great pleasure that we received word that they now have their very own showroom/studio.

The newly opened space welcomes anyone who is interested to see where they design and hand-print their limited edition ranges, and they also offer workshop space for those who want to create their own projects.

You can find the new Thea and Sami studio at Unit 1,6 Jones Road in Capalaba.

Phone Thea on +61 (0)411 270 263 for more info, or email her at thea@thea-sami.com.au.

www.thea-sami.com.au || BLOG: theaandsami.blogspot.com

With the burst of wall stickers that have come out into the scene, you might be starting to get a little sick of them!

Australian Designer, Love Mae has come out with something quirkier - fabric wall stickers!

Designed and made in Australia, these fabric wall stickers are made from gorgeous fabric - which are 100% re-usable and guaranteed to not damage your walls!

With a whimsical and vintage feel, Love Mae’s designs are perfect both children and grown-ups - just remind yourself to use them sparingly!

Find out more about Love Mae on The Design Files or on their website on www.lovemae.com.

Made With Love is an exhibition of hand made furniture and art and follows on from its widely successful predecessor Meet Your Maker.  MADE (Makers and Designers) are the brains behind the exhibition, and are a group of artists with shared ideals working to establish new pathways for Australian furniture designers and makers.

The exhibition profiles eight of Queensland’s most inspiring and unique studio furniture makers and designers including, Nick Bailey www.nicholasbailey.com.au, Hiroaki Ebaand www.hanasho.com.au, and Moo Design www.moodesign.com.au. This year’s makers and designers are an interesting bunch with hugely diverse backgrounds, guaranteeing an impressive array of artefacts.

This year, the exhibition will be held at Graydon Gallery www.graydongallery.com.au in New Farm from June 22 to July 4. For more information visit the MADE website: www.makersanddesigners.com.au

We cannot wait to check this out!

- QH guest blogger Michaela Tam

A Man Without A Moustache Is Rather Like A Woman With One.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a pirate themed party, where I succumbed to the masculine mystique of sporting a [stick-on] moustache, and oddly enough I enjoyed every moustachioed minute. So I’m sure you couldn’t image the ecstasy I was in when I discovered Peter Bruegger’s www.peterbruegger.com “Moustache Mugs” on Third Drawer Down www.thirddrawerdown.com. I no longer have to worry about a case of a sweaty upper lip, an unforeseen costume malfunction or disconcerting stares, and I can now effortlessly enjoy masquerading behind a character moustache while sipping on my evening tea.

Every mug has a different design on each side, and you can choose between the Fu/Magnum, the Mustafa/Chaplin or the Maurice/Poirot. I think I’ll be opting for the Maurice/Poirot. Poirot had a pretty fantastic egg-shaped head and his meticulous mou was the pinnacle of cool. And as the legend goes, Hercule Poirot does not sweat.

- QH guest blogger Michaela Tam

Australian textiles designer Angie McCarthy is on a mission to bring colour and beauty in to the world of the humble tea towel, cushion cover, apron and napkin! As the creator and designer behind the Materialistic range of same, she brings an element of fun and whimsy to the table (no pun intended!) with her ‘lovely stuff you just have to have’. Materialistic create original, hand screen printed pieces in graphic bright colours, inspired by silhouettes of native flowers from her Mum’s South Coast jungle, exotic birds and the eccentricity of op-shop style table settings. 

(more…)