wearable goodness » Banter

week ending 7th Nov

KarinaJean — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:20:50 +0000

This week has felt like a bit of a waiting game; loads in the pipeline, and me sitting pretty at the far end waiting for stuff to find their way through. Which, on the one hand is a tad frustrating, and on the other hand gives me permission to spend some time looking at neat stuff on the web. So I thought I would share my favourite finds…

Discussions with Mirror Mirror Agencies from Brisbane about an exciting upcoming photo-shoot lead me to investigate underwater photography. Some of the imagery is simply divine, especially this and this; While Clark Little’s surf images have always been a favourite in our household, this would have to be one of my favorites .

Down That Little Lane’s release to the public and media is only hours or days away. You can find the Karina Jean store front here. I also have my eye on this and this and this.

Karina Jean also started showcasing on the Behance Network, which lead me to some great discoveries. There is some definite freedom in Maedh Costello’s experimental lines . Jeremy Blincoe photography is hauntingly brilliant and this paper city by Zim and Zoe is rather grand.

I spent far too much time thinking about who might appreciate one of these completely awesome miniatures of themselves.

Frankie told me about this clever and sweet photo project.

A dear friend sent me a gift with a note on this terrific stationary, the name of which just adds to its greatness: the "choo choo bling bling letter trump" card.

And in anticipation of Karina Jean’s own imminent online store opening, we uploaded our new fresh face.

Have a great weekend xx

Yellow warmth for winter chill

KarinaJean — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 04:23:44 +0000

Gee Wiz I love yellow. It is so cheery at this time of year (winter in australia). Sunshine yellow, lemon yellow, mango, buttercup, pineapple, canary yellow, mustard, banana, egg yolk, amber, gold……

I’ve been feeling quite chilly lately, so I sought out some happy yellow things to warm me up and make me smile. click the images to link.

Firstly this crochet by Rosa Marrero entitled ‘tejedore compulsive’ is just sweetness on a thread.

This lace-impressed bell pendant by Australia’s printmaking and jewellery duo: Abby & Kate from Goldenink is so different and nice. I really want it for my own. I have been gushing over it for a few months now. It is made from high quality porcelain and the crochet is even meticulously hand stitched. Someone buy it for me, please.

Arne Jacobsen’s Egg Chair is always a welcome sight, but this fabric is just snuggly. A woolly blanket wouldn’t go astray.

This ring by Sticks & Stones, entitled ‘The painted yellow ring’ would definitely warm my digits. Reminds me of coral.

Speaking of coral, this lamp by Berlin’s Studio Aisslinger is also pretty nifty. His ‘Coral lamp’ was part of a 2009 exhibition, and is actually about 80-100cm wide.

I have been a quiet fan of Ghost Patrol and their artwork for a few years now, but this pencil art is just too darn clever, and cute-2-boot.

And lastly, there is nothing more warming than the smile I get from a happy sunny retro’ish bike, compete with a basket full of daisies.

Some merry-go-round Goodness

KarinaJean — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:14:03 +0000

I get quite a fix out of greeting cards, both the sending and receiving, but the truth of the matter is there are only a select number of cards that find themselves a permanent posy on my notice board or vying for space on our fridge, or for the most prestigious of loveliness – framed stability. And admittedly, these are, more often than not, the ones I buy for myself. But whenever it comes time to tidy my chaos and straighten the paper work, or otherwise thin out the collection, there are always very nice cards, with very nice messages that I have to make big moral decisions about.

I always feel unusually conflicted. I really don’t want to keep shoeboxes of cards, and even though I have enjoyed every card and every sentiment, and have deliberately kept it for a respectful length of time, I find myself on a little guilt-trip when I choose to finally confine the surplus to the recycling, as if I might offend the giver or, heven –forbid, upset the cards themselves.

Which is why I am very very excited to have stumbled across the phenomenon of the Merry-go-round card. I bought the card with Nadia Turner’s ‘Little Nessa’ on the front. Just devine. On the inside is a blank piece of card that can be removed and replaced. The idea being, that when you receive the card you can replace whatever-lovely-message was written for you with another-lovely-message and pass on the love to someone else. The card finds its merry way around the globe getting all love’d up and rare in the process (rare because each card is a limited edition).

Nadia Turner’s ‘Little Nessa’ Merry-go-round card

ah.. little Nessa is a little lovely

resend me, reused me, refill me and otherwise send me on my merry way.

how-to's on the back..complete with ‘colour-me journey capturer’ and nice bar-code decoration

So not only can I free myself of the moral judgment explained earlier, my ‘Im keen for green’ mind is happy as each card does the carbon work of many, is made from 100% post consumer recycled stock, is produced by people that work in an office that runs on 100% wind power and was printed using non genetically modified soy ink by a carbon neutral printer. What is not to love about that?

I have only one problem. Nadia Turner’s artwork. It is just so lovely that I am not sure I can bear to part with it and my merry-go-round card may not get to go very merry far at all.

Sweet Season’s Greetings to All

KarinaJean — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:17:54 +0000

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings to all. If you are a regular here – Thank you for your following this past year. If you have only just found me, be sure to drop by once in a while for a little dose of creativness.

All I want for Christmas is a long-eyelashed reindeer with antlers just asking to be adorned.

adorned reindeer illustration

clever blackboard

KarinaJean — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:55:33 +0000

A while back we decided we wanted a blackboard in our kitchen. Not just any blackboard but a great big one, to fill a whole wall. But then a “whiteboard vs blackboard” debate began. You see the whiteboard claimant liked the magnetic aspect of the white board and its ease of cleaning. The blackboard claimant like the related nostalgia, the fact that chalk is wall/furniture/clothing friendly and that the writing is less likely to be wiped off accidentally. SO a compromise was reached and we made a “super big magnetic blackboard in a daffodil yellow frame.

We bought a big piece of sheet metal > Glued it to a timber backboard > Painted the sheet metal with blackboard paint > Bought a timber edging in the width and scollop-iness that we liked > Painted it yellow and attached it as a frame. It is a hit with the whole family. Occasionally I even clean it up and start a-fresh with a blank canvas.

kindling to get started

KarinaJean — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 10:35:08 +0000

Back in may 2007, we embarked on a road trip around the Australian coastline with a mission to find a new place to live. We had a 4WD kitted out to sleep in and all manner of camping objects. My granddad, an avid camper and traveler himself, gave us an old green sleeping bag full of kindling, with the advice “sometimes you can’t find dry firewood, and sometimes your not allowed to take firewood even though it’s everywhere, so it is always good to have something to get you started”. We were slightly precious about the bundle, not wanting to use it up in an un-emergency. So at the end of our 9 month trek, we arrived at our new beachside home with half of his donation still onboard. So I decided to do something creative with it, something to capture the journey and the arrival…here is the result…

A sweet treat

KarinaJean — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:36:39 +0000

This week we are donating 1 of our Boab Kisses Necklaces to “The Friends of the Birthing Centre Sunshine Coast” Picnic in the Park Raffle, FBCSC is a non profit organisation committed to the creation of a Birth Centre on the Sunshine Coast and the promotion of continuity of care for women in the community.
Get involved!

visit www.karinajean.com.au.
visit my facebook page.
subscribe to my newsletter.

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Schaffas2 – the results

KarinaJean — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 10:10:52 +0000

A little while back, on Feb the 1st this year to be exact, I told you about a charity auction I was involved in ~ Schaffas2. Screamdance, Adelaideans Sam Barratt & Chris Edser, hand-picked art-friends from all over the world to customize their own breed of schaffas – including Me – YAY!. We were each sent a similar blank shape and given free reign to add, subtract, paint or destroy these objects. This is my creation:
“Mr Schaffas-Uffagis used to have 4 legs. One day he was at the beach having a grand time. He was chasing a ball through the sand, turned too suddenly and tore the cruciate ligaments in his back knees.
He could not afford surgery, so he got a wheel alignment instead. He is happy enough. He has a one-legged bird friend called Peg-ales”

Ah Mr Schaffas-Uffagis and your wheel alignment…I wish I could have kept you for myself..but I let you go for a good cause.

You can check out Mr Schaffas-Uffagis and the rest of the 2010 Schaffas creations at meet the schaffas and just in case you want all the Schaffas for yourself there is a book that documents all of the Schaffas Two exhibition in 2010 and a selection of the Schaffas from the 2008 show. Buy it from screamdance or urban cow studio

visit www.karinajean.com.au.
visit my facebook page.
subscribe to my newsletter.

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I Made it for Madeit

KarinaJean — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:35:20 +0000

Selected Karina Jean items are now avaliable from www.madeit.com.au. Hooray!
I recently joined the Madeit crowd, releasing my Boab Kisses range for sale online. I am thrilled lovely peeps across the country are falling in love with my wares and snapping them up. I hope they bring lots of joy to those that wear them.

Made it is the Australian version of Etsy. It is a terrific place to find hand made goodies and to support local artists and makers. My StacksOnTheMill range will be the next items avaliable online.

Owl Friends

KarinaJean — Mon, 24 May 2010 03:07:17 +0000

So many new babys have been born into our circle of friends this month. Good friends of ours welcomed Baby boy bright and early on a Monday morning. He snuck in a few hours before he was due to be induced… So when I was deciding what I should make for baby F, I thought he should have some wise owl friends to go with his rather wise decision. I made him a soft plush mother owl with white leather eyes, blue patchwork cotton face and bobbly ears. I also made him a mini owl on a timber ring..ready for his first teeth.