learning to print

Today Lara hosted our April Learn to Print in a Day workshop.
Meanwhile I was upstairs in the office beavering away on lots of admin for all sorts of new and exciting classes that we will be hosting in the coming months (you'll get a sneak peek at some of those on the left sidebar) so I must admit I didn't get to enjoy the ambience of today's class which is a bit of a shame as I love being in the studio when a class is on.
These shots are from when I popped down a couple of times to get cups of tea. As per usual all of the students were fully immersed in what they were doing but at the same time having a few good laughs along the way. I've popped some of the shots on our flickr and I apologise to any of the students whose work I didn't manage to photograph.
Em x

great things to do this weekend

Here are some fun things that are going on around Melbourne this weekend. The first is Sugar Mountain.

Sugar Mountain festival is put on by our friends at Two Bright Lakes who have teamed up with the touring company Egad Amia. This festival features both musicians and artists - it sounds super cool and I am sad I have to miss it!

But happy that I will be teaching our Learn To Print In A Day workshop to a sold out crowd!

The other event to investigate is Carbon.

Carbon is a series of forums based around contemporary street culture. The forums have specific themes that are all related to fashion, design and business. One of the forums I thought our blog readers might be interested in is named "How To Build A T-Shirt Label" .

And on a more crafty note you can check out the Scarlet Jones stall at Magnolia Square this weekend.

Scarlet Jones is a Hawthorn based store run by one of our ex students Lynn Clay - vintage hunter extraordinaire. Magnolia Square is on at the Malvern Town Hall Saturday 30th of April 10am-4pm.

Have a great weekend, and let us know if your going to any creative events...

x Lara

my walk around harvest.

hello. my name is ella and i have been lucky enough to be an intern here at harvest. here are a few pictures of my walk around the studio.

little artists

We have had some very colourful moments over the school holidays.

Harvest Textiles hosted two days of private workshops for a school holiday program that consisted of over 80 children each day - phew! Epic but great.
And the lovely Dawn Tan hosted some more intimate classes in which the children undertook some pretty nifty little projects.
The umbrella painting session was beautifully timed as the children sloshed through a downpour to attend the workshop and skipped home under the shelter of their new creation.

For anyone who is interested Dawn will begin her next round of term art classes for 4-7 year olds on May 5.

If you book into the classes before midnight AEST this friday 29th April you will receive a buy 2 get 1 free deal. Gather together a few little friends and make it a weekly after-school outing. Simply purchase two places with our online booking system and we will make an extra place available.

And thanks to Dawn for the photographs of all of the budding artist's and their creations.

Em x

easter goodies to check out

Some new friends of ours have just opened this little gem of a book store called Perimeter Books.

They describe it as a small bookstore and art space that stocks local and international small press, art, photography, architecture and design publications. It also exhibits contemporary artists with an interest in the printed form.

They also showcase work from their own publishing company ERM Books.

Check out how beautiful the shop looks!

I don't think they are open today but you can visit their shop Wednesday - Sunday at 748 High Street, Thornbury.

I think they might even have great stationary too...
x Lara

big brother was watching

Here are some funny shots of us ON AIR this morning at ABC Melbourne 774 discussing thrifty ways to DIY with home furnishings.

Lara and I didn't realise we would be visually recorded - we might have even brushed our hair and sat up a little straighter if we'd known. Oh well...it was fun and the presenter Hilary Harper was really nice as were all of the talk back callers who contributed to the discussion. I was also very glad I didn't have a coughing attack as I have been sick all week and was having nightmares that I would be spluttering all over the microphone.

Thanks to everyone who called in - we had a really fun time listening to all of your stories and crafty solutions.

Em x

local places to find supplies

This morning we are headed to 774 to chat with Hillary Harper about DIY craft and textiles. I thought for the listeners and all of you blog followers I would start an evolving list of local fabric, material and art suppliers who we recommend checking out.
If you feel we have missed anyone worth knowing about please email info@harvesttextiles.com.au.
Haberdashery & Blank Supplies
Button Mania
Jimmy Buttons
Beautiful Silks
Patchwork on Central Park
Tessuti
The Fabric Store

Ziguzagu

L'Uccello

Jobs Warehouse
Winter Wood
Art, Book Binding & Screen Printing Supplies
Melbourne Artist's Supplies
Australian Screen Printed Fabric
Ink & Spindle
Thea & Sami
Umbrella Prints
Tinker
Patterns & Online Tutorials
Nicole Mallalieu
Kirin Notebook
Places to do Classes
Harvest Workroom
Thread Den
Tessuti

I will be adding to this list in the coming days as it is just a small start but for now its off to the radio.....I'm feeling pretty nervous!
x Lara

monday gems

If you're looking for something to lighten up your Monday morning be sure to tune into RRR at 10.15 today.
The ladies over at Handmadelife - Beck and Ramona - do a monthly segment on a show called the Grapevine where they talk about all things crafty and arty happening around town. It is a surefire way to keep abreast of all the fun people who are making/creating in and around Melbourne and coupled with the duo's great on air (and off air mind you) personalities an absolute monthly must for us here at Harvest.

emily green workshop

It's no secret that the Harvest girls are HUGE fans of Melbourne artist and jewellery designer Emily Green. Her gorgeous beaded necklaces and geometric resin brooches have quickly become our accessories of choice and we're not the only ones who have fallen in love with Emily's unique creations - she has developed a cult like following across Melbourne and beyond!

And guess what?? Emily is hosting a workshop at Harvest Workroom next month! Hooray!

Firstly, Emily will show you her process for creating her signature colour palettes. Then, she will help you compose a large abstract geometric collage using images, water colours and screen printing techniques. But wait, there's more - after the workshop, Emily will take your large original collage and turn it into a mini wearable artwork - yay!

We are all so excited to spend some time with the sweet and stylish Ms. Green!

See you all in class,

Jess x

online store now open

The bad news is the PopUp Shop is now closed for business but the good news is that the online store is now open.

It was fun taking pics of the new products - they are so colourful and photogenic and how cute does Dawn's new Gorman pompom jacket look in these pics? Her face is even cuter...see here.

Darren (Dawn's other half) did a great job taking pictures especially considering my 2 year old pirate son took Darren captive by tying his legs up and poking him with a cardboard sword as he worked - a very patient fellow (Darren that is!)

Enjoy perusing the goodies.

Em x

pop goes the shop

Wow...it is so so nice to sit still today in this special "two days only" shop space we have created reading the newspaper, listening to good music and chatting to all sorts of folk as they poke their heads in to find out what we are doing. The lead up to it has been a little crazy and hectic - very late nights and running all over town getting this and that. In fact last night before we hosted our opening party we were still screen printing as the first guests arrived - yikes!

But the madness was worth it and we had such a ball last night meeting all sorts of gorgeous people and serving up the Harvest Vegetable Soup to warm their tummies and homemade lemon cordial to sweeten the experience.

The PopUp Shop is open today and tomorrow at Harvest Workroom between 10am-5pm - come and say hello. If you can't make it - not to worry - we will have all the goodies online over the next few days. See more pics of the shop space at our flickr.

Em x