Although I’m not yet a parent, I can’t help but adore everything from Noosh! Noosh creates  quality unique and quirky, but most of all fun rooms for kids. And all their stuff is Australian made!

We are loving the Gigi Alphabet wall hangings at the moment. They come in a raw MDF finish, which is perfect for a do-it-yourself painting job so you can customise and decorate to fit your colour scheme.

> You can by them online through the Noosh website … visit noosh.com.au for more!

- Despina Papamanolis, QH Guest blogger

How we love our Brissy designers! Featured in our ‘Made with Love‘ special (have a read in the current issue of QH Spring 2011!), boutique greetings designer Alarna Zinn puts her little heart and soul in to her Little Jane St. collection of unique, handmade designer stationery.

With a knack for paper crafts, plus a creative eye for cute and quirky design, she creates the most adorable range of limited edition greeting cards, gift enclosures, custom invitations, signature wrap, art prints, paper decoration, ribbon, ceramic garden labels and personalised trinkets.

Putting the love back into greeting culture, giving the gift of a smile and a warm heart to the receiver, Little Jane St. is all about a revival in heartfelt moments. And little treasures that make you go ‘ohhh’.

> You can buy online, and have your parcel delivered in organic hand-stitched cotton carry-bags (cute!) … littlejanest.com.au

or

> Head out to explore Alarna’s recently opened Little Jane St. boutique at 5c Winn Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

Love handmade goodies? Check out our other fave designers featured in our ‘Made with Love‘ special here!

With a body of work we can only describe as whimsical, evocative and playful, artist Mia Taninaka has truly enchanted the local arts scene with her intriguing, illustrative artworks.

With hours and hours of painstaking drawing involved on each and every illustration, and her other loves - hand stitching, patchwork, and textile mediums - that come into play on her large scale paintings and the conceptual works of art that she creates on wooden panels, it’s a definite explorative process behind all of her stunning designs.

QH LOVES Aussie talent! Mia is also one half of Wolfie + Huck, a collaborative design team - their blog is a definite must-see!

> See more of Mia’s art on her blog @ wolfieandhuck.blogspot.com

In commemoration of the new Sex And The City 2 movie, and my widely publicised contempt towards the series (I’ve already braced myself for the torch bearing mob), my friend sent me an article written by Seattle journalist Lindy West. West’s article was a scathing review of the movie and crass it may be, the article accentuated that perhaps us women get a little too wrapped up in the superficial. The only aspect of the show I resonate with is Carrie’s lust for fashion, but for us women who aspire to nurture our feminine energy and beauty, shouldn’t we aim to look good whilst doing good? This is Australian Brand Carsha’s www.carsha.com.au mantra and their cause definitely warrants support.

Carsha (a portmanteau of its founders names, Carmen and Sharon) is combining fashion and charity with their handbag designs. Carsha’s high quality leather products are each inspired by a different city -and its people, architecture, culture and environment- and are available at an affordable price (handbags range from $125-$170). But the best part is, for every handbag sold, Carsha will donate one mosquito net to the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign. Nothing But Nets www.nothingbutnets.net is a global grassroots campaign that supplies and distributes mosquito nets and other health interventions to African families to aid in the fight against Malaria.

So ladies, evaluate your perspectives and get your benevolent streak rolling!

- QH guest blogger Michaela Tam

When I told my boyfriend that I was once a Girl Guide, he burst out in hysterical laughter and refused to believe me until I showed him my sash full of Brownie badges (including a Sixer’s badge, thank you very much!). His disbelief aside, my fondest memory of Girl Guides was definitely craft time, followed closely by ‘The Chocolate Game.’

The reason I’ve been propelled into corny sentiment is the other day I was flicking through my old issues of Frankie www.frankie.com.au and I rediscovered Tamara Maynes www.tamaramaynes.com macrame owl wall hangings. I distinctly remember (more…)