You Found Me

Liz and Lily at Finders Keepers with a bit of unintentional colour coordination.

via Madeleine Stamer.

Thanks to Lucy from The Design Files for a great Market Wrap -Up and to the other bloggers who posted some pics.Ramona, Morgan, Michelle, Madeleine, and Pip.(let me know if I have left you out).

Pretty Birdy!

Ok, all this talk of birds, craft, and Bryce and Lisa doing their thing has not deterred me.
See, I have even put a bird on my bird!
Even my fruit shop has boxes which look like they have been spruced up and made pretty.

Which remindes me. There is less than a week left of Shaun Rafferty's enCounter window display at Craft Victoria. So do see it. And while your there, check out the new Betty Jo goodies in the Craft Victoria Shop downstairs!

Finders Keepers Highlights

Wow. This year the Melbourne Finders Keepers was chocca block with designer pretties.
Things I liked in no particular order.
: The weather, and my position right near the doors so I could get some fresh air and harbour glimpses! .
: My lovely stall neighbours Able and Game and Emily Green. Both their cool products were going OFF!

This Able and Game Fat Cat mug came home with me!

: The lovely lady who fell in love with my baby fox brooch, came back several times, left the market to go home, then came back and bought him.(it must have been his pleading eyes!): The girl who had been to Mexico 3 or 4 times and told me all about the Day of the Dead festival. I met her best Mexican souvenir (cute boyfriend) and she ended up buying my skull clock and a skull brooch too.

:Having a stall buddy on Sunday so I could have a wander, a natter, and get over to the Mister Nice Guy cupcake stand before they all sold out!Thanks Finders Keepers team for pulling off another ACE Market!

Finding Betty Jo

Hello again if you jostled on the tram with footy fans or manoeuvred the car through the concrete jungle of the docklands and found me today at Finders Keepers.
And hello to those who plan to visit tomorrow. It is such a big shed of creative goodness that you will need a few hours to absorb it all.....and remember, alot of us don't have credit card facilities, so stop off at your nearest ATM before you arrive just in case your feeling spendy!
Oh and hello if you don't live in Melbourne, or have other important things to do this weekend. There's lots on thats for sure.

Put A **** On It

As Melbourne peeps maybe already aware, the Finders Keepers market is on this weekend.
It will be the the perfect antithesis to the Grand Prix also on this weekend. No petrol fumes and Rev head free. I lived in fairly close proximity to Albert Park lake the first year it was held in Melbourne and was continually irritated by the persistent nnnnnooowww of the stupid race cars doing their laps.
I'm sure you'd want to be as far away from that as possible. You do? Good.
And for added incentive I am offering a 10% discount to all Betty Jo customers if they can tell me where this phrase comes from.....

Share the Rubbish!

Once again I am fuming that a person has been arrested for taking something from a council hard rubbish collection in Churnside Park. I think it is such a waste of police resources, not to mention the fact that it totally goes against societies enthusiasm for recycling, re-using and saving perfectly good items from being crushed in the garbo truck and taken to the tip. It's made me so angry I think I need to YELL a bit .
Apparently hard rubbish becomes council property once it is put on nature strips, which are technically council-owned land. So arrest me! I am guilty of stealing from greedy councils and I won't stop.
Last week I was happy to see alot of my hard rubbish disappear before it was destroyed. I chatted to a girl about the history of a piece of furniture as she put it in her car. I hope some one enjoyed fixing up our old bike and is putting their cuppa down on my old coffee table.

I am lucky that kind souls all over the country are checking the hard rubbish and notifying me of old lino that needs rescuing. Just yesterday Gabrielle from Miss Trinket Jewellery Designs sent me some fantastic lino she found lining the shelves of an old cupboard. All the way from Armidale N.S.W.

I can just imagine the house where these pieces came from. The funky geometric patterns are probably from the kitchen and bathroom, the scrolly design maybe from the hallway and the super cute kiddy design with lambs, trainsets, bunnies and blocks would be from the nursery no doubt.

I've made some goodies already with the Armidale lino. They'll be at Finders Keepers this Saturday and Sunday (except the Geo-metric brooch which is a gift).
And just a reminder. I am happy to custom make any piece from my jewellery or clock range for you. If you like the lino here, get in quick as there is not much and once it's gone, it's gone!

Update! Police are set to drop charges against a man who took a vacuum cleaner from a hard rubbish pile after a community outcry. And so they should!!!!!

The Arcadia Project

Have you checked out the enCounter window space at Craft Victoria yet? The Arcadia Project is an installation created by Sydney-based artist Sean Rafferty. It's been created using hundreds of cardboard fruit boxes. The printed images have been cut out and assembled to create a technicolour landscape full of animated fruit and veg and the sometimes kooky but very tropical imagery found on the boxes. When I first read about this my tummy jumped a bit. I've had a big idea in my head for a few years to do something similar. Has that ever happened to you?
There's no prizes for *thinking* about something, but not doing it. So first prize goes to Sean for bringing this to an awesome reality!
As I'm all about fruit at the moment, I had a bit of a play around on Polyvore this morning.

...And now my Tutti Frutti Girls are on Etsy

It's Friday, Friday

Sorry to those who get the corny blog title reference today. But my day has been far from corny. It's been lovely. This fruity card made by Lily was waiting for me this morning.
I enjoyed reading Lucy's interview on the Design Files with Fiona Scanlon this morning, and spotting Betty Jo's Pedro Puss clock.
Coincidentally I had brunch at Tiamo right round the corner from the Big Carlton store. I used to have coffee at Tiamo in my younger life when the only stresses were uni assignments and choosing which band to see that night!

Then Mr BJ and I caught a movie at Nova, oooh how bohemian pretending we were young and free with out a care in the world!

And just a reminder. The proceeds from the sale of these Betty Jo Japanese Geisha brooches will go towards the Red Cross Appeal to assist Japan after the Earth Quake/ tsunami disaster.

Fruity Font

I spied my "Tuttie Frutti" colour collage over on The Design Inspiration website in the font inspiration category. I'm happy that my kid's fridge magnets are seen as inspiring.I found some other fruity font too. I like multi coloured lettering. Always have, always will!
1.Tutti Frutti print by Hand and Eye. 2.Cool record sleeve art via Waxidermy.
3.Tutti Frutti on flickr. 4. Thank You via The Design Inspiration.

By the way, there will be NEW Tutti Frutti cards available at Finders Keepers market Saturday week.

Tutti Frutti Girls

It's just got so fruity around here that the girls are now channelling Carmen Miranda.
And look out. If I spy any plastic fruit in your fruit bowls I might just *borrow* it for my new clocks.

Help Japan

Order a Betty Jo Designs Japanese Geisha brooch and we'll help Japan.
Contact me via form in top bar if interested or pop over to etsy to buy one there!

Finders Keepers #2

In two weeks Betty Jo Designs will be selling her goodies at the second Finders Keepers Market in Melbourne. Located once again in the massive warehouse space " Shed 4"in the Docklands - address :Victoria Harbour, North Wharf Road, Docklands. If this address sounds like you will be venturing to the end of the world...you are not far off. But check out the map on the website and you won't get lost!I found some shots from last years market which will be handy to help me remember some display ideas. As I rarely do markets, I haven't got many tried and true display tricks and generally lump props and stuff on the table and hope for the best.(sshh don't tell ).
This time I have some new ideas that involve op shopped paintings, brooches and easels.
I'm hoping I'll have the chance to peruse some of the other stalls and maybe (if things go well) spend a few pennies .

Here are some of my picks from the line up.Oktoberdee (yummy bags)

Cat Rabbit (cute felty goodies)Kristina Brenke (silver jewellery with silky embroidery)Ra Ra Superstar (sweet vintage party dresses)

Tutti Frutti

It's getting even more Fruity!

The Lady in the Tutti Frutti Hat

Things are getting fruitier around here.

Clockwork Orange

There's been some clock making going on in my studio this past week.

A skully in Autumn tones.

A Flying finch and a Baby Owl.

And a crazy paving style *bigger* version of the Geo-Metric brooches.
Some or all of these will be making an appearance at Finders Keepers Market in 3 weeks. THREE WEEKS! EEK

Hello Autumn

Today Charlie and I tried to spot any trees that had started to change colour. Way too early of course, but I am itching for some autumn tones to brighten up our soggy landscape.

It's no secret I'm partial to a splash of orangy, browny red!
I tend to often find Lino in these colours...........or does the lino find me?

We have all learnt to deal with the shifting seasonal changes in today's mixed up climate.This time a few years ago we were sweltering well into March. The inbetweeny Autumn fashions didn't get a look in. But this year, it's looking good.
This dress from Irving Baby! would certainly help me shift into Autumn mode.

Which I would wear with these "to die for" vintage boots if I could justify the discomfort of squashing my toes in a size too small!