Taking Stock : May

(Photos from my Instagram account. You can find me at @christinalowrydesigns. Come and say hello!)

Making : A striped knitted baby blanket for a friend
Baking : Banana bread - then thinking I should have made a double batch
Drinking : Loose leaf tea
Reading: 'Love and Summer' William Trevor
Wanting: A garden full of flowers
Looking: At the rainbow lorrikets that come to eat our neighbours flowers
Playing: Lego with the little ones
Deciding: To attend a whole sale or Bridal Fair next year
Wishing: My sister wasn't so far away
Enjoying: Library trips with the little ones
Waiting: For my 'Real Australians Say Welcome' poste
Liking: The #mystillsundaycompetition hashtag pretties
Loving: That my big boy is devouring chapter books.
Pondering: My little boys first birthday.
Considering: What to buy the third child, when they need nothing? 

Thinking: I would like to have his portrait sketched or painted.

Buying: Delightful, pastel, porcelain bird whistles at a market.
Watching: 'Jane Austin and her many lovers' on iview.
Marvelling: A how quickly bubba's first year has flown by.
Missing: The view of the sea and the river we had last week in Yamba.
Needing: More holidays!
Waiting: For more episodes of 'Vikings'
Wearing: A second hand swing coat I brought while we were away.: 
Noticing: How many Myna birds there are now
Getting: New postcards with images from the photo shoot. Can't wait!
Pinning: Linen kitties that make big and little girls swoon. 
Coveting: A group of creative business owners to discuss my business ideas with.
Feeling: Excited about doing the Red Hill Fair on 25th July
Hearing: Three year old Emerson 'reading' to Oscar

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Joining in with Pip.

10 Months - Oscar

For anyone keeping count, my little Oscar is actually turning one this month. But between laptops dying, the busyness of business and babies, and a holiday too, I'm a wee bit out of date with this project. In an attempt to remedy that, I present you Oscar's 10 month old post. There weren't many shots taken on this particular day, as my teething babe quickly fell out of favor with the whole idea and wanted to be held instead. Oh teeth, how difficult they can be. I often say if it wasn't for the three T's I would have had ten children - teething, tantrums and toilet training. At ten month he had three teeth, at almost twelve months he has six.

I see many more sleepless nights ahead of us yet...

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Here's Miss Emerson at 10 months.

Oh, holidays

 

My boys

Our accommodation - 'Sea What Happens', Yamba

A child in each room

Cafe chickens

Gazing towards the lighthouse

Shell inspector

Marmalade thief

Angourie

I think the best thing about holidays is the ability to pay very little attention to time. In our normal day to day there is the pressure of time, like school drop off and pick up times, and the necessity of feeding and dressing four people before getting out the door. While on holidays, such rush is unnecessary, there are no deadlines except checkout. Time is more fluid, the days more relaxed, and things happen at their own pace. Just by relieving this pressure, and thus the urge to nag, I find spending time with my little ones is all the more enjoyable. Surely this is why we take holidays? This escape of the everyday. Late nights, slow mornings, afternoon naps, days spent walking and exploring. Or so was our holiday.

The chill in the air morning and night was a welcome to change to the heat of the months past. The days warmed as they went, lending themselves to a layering of clothes. The shadows were cold while the sunlight was hot. The crowds of the Summer were long gone. The ocean was surprisingly warm as we waded in up to our knees, but I had no desire to dip in any further. You could feel Winter moving in. Dave on the other hand, mad body boarder that he is, donned his wet suit and flippers and paddled out.

A week away was exactly what we needed. We had such a wonderful time, we have already booked for next year.

Happy Mothers Day!

Mothers, Grandmothers, Mothers-to-be, here's to a wonderful day for you! May your tea be hot, your family adoring and your sleep-in luxurious. 

And if not, may you find five minutes peace in the chaos to remember what an amazing job you are doing are how very important you are.

xx

A Shop Makeover

My online shop had a makeover this week. I had been researching graphic designers to handle it for me, but my excitement about the photo shoot images (combined with my lack of patience) meant I pushed my technological abilities to their limit and transformed my virtual store in to it's current incarnation. My aim was to create a friendlier, easier to navigate, beautiful site, and I am so pleased with the results. 

The new photos, along with Bigcartel's recently introduced theme and my modest programming skills, have combined to showcase my jewellery in such a way that you get a feel for the items as if you were in a bricks and mortar store. The larger images give greater detail of the quality, the pictures of the pieces on the model portray the scale of each item and allow you to imagine wearing the piece yourself and the Featured and Collections pages make it easier to navigate from one item to another when browsing for the perfect piece.

I would love your feed back on the new design if you have a moment.

Winter 2015 Look Book

How gradually my little business has evolved. I hadn't imagined at University that I would one day be my own boss and work from home around my children. I didn't think as an apprentice that I would ever stop working for others. I couldn't have imagined how the internet would allow me to share my work with my tribe and create pieces for the special moments in their lives. But little by little I have been building, creating, learning, investing and making, in order to grow a seed of a dream in to a reality.

And now I am one step closer to a bigger dream, as I share with you images from my first ever photo shoot and my very first Look Book. I am so excited about these images! It's wonderful to see the ideas I sketched on paper and then brought to life in metal, being worn and so beautifully photographed. It feels like quite the achievement for this independent jeweller and small business owner, let me tell you. The images just seem so 'me' and so in tune with my brand. I love that Trudi and Harriet were able to interpret my vision. I am thrilled and I would love for you to take a look and share your thoughts with me. 

And if I could be so bold, perhaps you could share the Pinterest pin of my Look Book too?

Many thanks! 

xx

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Winter 2015 Look Book

Photographer: Trudi Le Brese

Model: Harriet McAtee

Location: Residence of Brisbane poet Carmen Keates

Photo Shoot Sneak Peek

Props gathered from around my home

The library - sigh

Experimenting with flat lays

Cuddling chickens

It's a rather troublesome thing, running an online business without a laptop, after it gave up on the idea of turning on two weeks ago. The repair man informed me that fixing was the same price as replacing. It's also troublesome to have to dip in to the 'rainy day' funds. I have managed to get by on my phone alone in the meantime, but I was quite pleased when the courier arrived today.

So, here I am, tapping on my new keys, having missed my blog. The blogging hey-day may have passed, and I'm sure I get more eyes on my Instagram account than on my dear old blog, but I still think of this space as my online home. I have returned once more in order to update you on recent going-ons.

I had my first jewellery photo shoot recently. The above images are iPhone photos I took on the day. I am excitedly waiting to receive the edited images and share them with you. I was so nervous before the shoot. There had been delays in completing the new collection, I'd had to reschedule the photographer, the model and our booked location three times before it went ahead. I'd collected a file of images for inspiration. I had a picture in my head of the style and look I wanted to achieve. I collected props, packed up the jewellery and brought champagne and flowers for the day. Then I put my trust in photographer Trudi Le Brese and model Harriet McAtee, and in return I was rewarded by their creativity and amazing shots.

The afternoon went off without a hitch, thanks to all the lovely ladies (and possibly the champagne.) My nerves quickly disappeared. Brisbane poet Carmen Keates welcomed us in to her home and library, while her sister Kylie took over chief baby holding duties with my dear little Oscar. We laughed, chatted, and experimented with different angles, props, lighting and back grounds until we ran out of daylight. I had so much fun. I actually can't wait to shoot another collection now!

If you haven't seen the new collection yet, pop over to the shop.
And if you are thinking of doing a photo shoot, do it! Have fun with it, make a list of what you want to shoot, print out your inspiration pics, get your model to sign a release form, bring champagne, and you can't go wrong.

xx