Bag of Tricks

I discovered One Trick Pony whilst browsing Felt for my Friday faves and found far too many lovely things to share just one with you guys. Working from Nelson, One Trick Pony creates beautiful jewellery from a range of different materials and found items. I think I might just have to get myself some lovely earrings....but there's so many to choose from! Decisions, decisions.

Felt Faves Friday

Linen Bunting Purse by Recycled Glam

Retro Bunting by Laura Liberty

Fox Print by Ellaquaint

Beautiful Crochet Purses by Julihunter

Sorry for the absence of posts lately; we've been having a bit of trouble with our laptop after 'something' chewed through our adaptor cable and left us with no battery. All sorted now. Here are some lovely things I discovered on Felt today. Enjoy.

Interview Styling

An outfit for a interview in creative industries

A boring outfit for a 'bog-standard' interview

I had an interview today for a job in which I could use my creativity to help customers make informed choices regarding home furnishings. I decided, rather than the boring old white, black or grey I'd normally wear for an interview, I'd wear something that actually says something about me and gives an accurate impression of who I am. And yet it still looks smart and professional. It was so refreshing to actually wear something that I like and makes me stand out. If I'd been going for a normal retail or admin position - for example - I'd have tried to pair down my usual attire and would have tied back my fox tail hair to draw attention away from it. Instead, I wore colour and my hair down to accentuate it. And the best part is, I walked to the interview feeling confident and assertive because I felt like myself. Nice, ey?

Fox Tail

I decided to dip-dye my hair this weekend. I'm pretty chuffed with my DIY Ombre hair. I tried to create a gradual fade so it looked more natural. I like to call it 'The Fox Tail' look.

Just like Salmon

My first attempt at fishtail plaits. Been wanting to learn how to do this for ages. It looks really complicated, but it's actually easier than a normal plait, it just takes longer. My second plait was a lot neater than the first, but I like it looking a little messier and more fly-away. Mr Bear said the look reminded him of a piece of salmon...I laughed at the time but I kind of get what he means. It looks a bit like the horizontal stripes, but a little less pink. After four and a half years, I think I'm finally beginning to understand how his funny mind works!

Pirate Cats and Stag Mutts

Another wonderful find on Felt, today I discovered the wonderful illustrations of Bird in a Bunny Suit. After completing a degree in visual arts, this wonderfully talented artist decided the best way to find her 'dream job' was to create it herself. A woman after my own heart. It is such an inspiration for me to see people doing what they love and not letting anyone tell them 'you can't do that' or 'get a proper job'.

Since moving to New Zealand, I've felt like I am struggling to find something when I don't really know what I'm looking for. I am gradually beginning to realise that in life, we must create our own path and, since you only live once, you really should be doing something you love, something that makes you and others happy. For me, that is creating. Just because we don't have someone to call 'boss' or a printed payslip at the end of the month, it doesn't mean we aren't working.

New blog: William Woolfe.

 

Check out my new blog, William Woolfe, to keep up with the progress of my new venture in design consultancy! 

I will be posting about interior trends, amazing home decor designers and things that inspire my work. The baby blog is just learning to crawl at the moment, so stay tuned and watch it grow over the coming weeks!

Japan Day

Bit of a quiet weekend but nice to spend some quality time with Mr Bamboo Bear too :) We had a slightly sombre day on Saturday as we joined the crowds on the Cathedral Square walkway into the city centre, open for a couple of days so the people of Christchurch can say goodbye to the beloved Cathedral before the deconstruction begins. It was a strange visit. I didn't take the camera as it wasn't something I wanted to document. I felt it was a very personal experience that could only be felt, and not expressed in words or photographs. I am very grateful we had the opportunity to see the square, as we presumed we'd never get the chance while we were here; but I would have loved to have seen the Cathedral whole and unbroken. For me, it was the embodiment of everything that has happened here and a stark reminder of the sometimes brutal nature of Mother Earth.

The following day, we took a trip with our German and Czech housemates to a special Japanese Day at the Riccarton Market. After about 20 mins trying to find somewhere to park, we arrived to an extremely crowded row of stalls. I was slightly disappointed to say the least, as I had been looking forward to taking lots of nice photographs of geishas and kimonos, but I managed to angle the camera over the crowds enough a couple of times to get decent-ish pictures of the lanterns and decorations. Some visitors had really made an effort to dress up. There were some beautiful kimonos and every now and then the odd cosplay outfit too. I would have loved to have got a shot of the lovely little Japanese girls in their traditional dress. They looked so pretty.

Back home in the evening, our new housemates were lovely enough to cook us a traditional Czech meal of Knedle (a type of dumpling), caggage and pork. I didn't get chance to take a pic before I emptied my plate, but here's an example of what it would have looked like...

 

Felt Faves Friday

Flower Brooch by Pin Up

Swallow Earrings by Little Fritter Design

Paper Plane Necklace by beautifulyou

Japanese Fabric Necklace By Freedom Collective

Last year I used to post regular updates with my current craves on Etsy. Since moving to Christchurch, I have discovered the wonderful Kiwi version, 'Felt', created by the lovely Lucy Arnold, whom also runs Crafty Business, a monthly meet-up here in the city for creative businesses which I attended on Monday. After a little exploration of the website, I wanted to share some of my favourite pieces with you.

Going Tribal

Tribal Tunic Dress

Native American earrings from Weave Gold

Finally found a way to accentuate my funny shaped eyes!

Burnt Gold Eyeshadow ♥

The assembled look!

We went out for a meal in Addington last night at North and South Gourmet with people from Martin's work. Mr Bear thought it would be nice for me to get myself something new to wear since I had to get rid of a lot of my dresses when we moved across the water. I decided to go tribal; maybe it was because I'd been working on a wolfy logo for my new interiors venture all day, or maybe just because I'm in love with all the Red Indian inspired clothes in the shops at the moment. I'm very happy with the result, especially since I was able to finally do something with my make-up that made a feature of my eyes.

Good Karma

Yesterday was a beautiful day. I went walking around the city, enjoying the sunshine and smells in the gardens. On my way home, I walked past this little Buddha, meditating in the middle of some city-centre rubble. It made my day. This is why I love Christchurch.

My Market Foraging Spoils

Last weekend, we visited the Sunday market at Riccarton Racing Ground with our housemates. Martin had spoken to people at work about it and was told it was a real eclectic mix of genuine pirate treasure and...rusty old tin cans. I managed to do some digging and find me some of that treasure! I spent the grand total of $5 on books and magazines to use in my work, which Mr Bamboo Bear was very chuffed with! My most prized purchase of the day has to be a yummy bottle of homemade Garlic and Manuka Sauce that went amazingly well with the steak we had later that day. Nom nom!

Bizarre Brassiere

As part of the WOW Art Exhibition, the Bizarre Brassieres were displayed in glass cases along with the story of their creation. The pieces included the Budgerigar Brassiere and 'Hand's Off': a bra equipped with highly practical defence mechanisms to keep wandering hands at bay!