Christmas Markets 2011

The Eucalypt Homewares Studio has been in a constant state of making madness over the last few weeks, in preparation for the upcoming Christmas markets. We are looking forward to showcasing the latest bowls and plates, decorations and adorns at these fabulous events.

Perth Upmarket Sunday 27th November @ UWA 10am-4pm Perth Upmarket brings together over 150 of Perth's talented artists, designers, stylists, craftspeople and gourmets all under one roof. The product mix is diverse ranging from handmade clothing, cupcakes, wall art, cards, homewares, jewellery to skin care products. The market allows Perth shoppers who appreciate the handmade to connect with the talented creators. Eucalypt Homewares will be located in the usual spot in the Undercroft of Winthrop Hall.

Fremantle Bazaar Bazaar at Fremantle Arts Centre is your annual slice of pre-Christmas shopping heaven on earth, taking place again this year from 2-4 December. Established in 1985, Bazaar is the foremost event of its kind in WA for high quality locally made wares. Bazaar remains the best pre-Christmas market for goods made by local artists, designers and makers of Perth's finest fashion, jewellery, textiles, homewares and more. Shop under the stars on Friday night and enjoy the beautiful garden setting throughout the days on Saturday and Sunday. Fremantle Bazaar 2010 Eucalypt Homewares will be joining forces with Old Grey House and Robin Wells Jewellery under the stall name Clay Cloth Metal.This unique and beautiful stall can be found up the stairs in the upper deck, near the payment tent and food stalls.

Market to Market This Sunday

This Sunday take an outing to the Perth Upmarket at UWA. Eucalypt Homewares will be in the usual spot in the Undercroft of Winthrop Hall.

New for the October market..

Brand new Christmas Decorations ( I know it's only October, but some people like to be organised!)

Christmas Reindeers. Also available, stars, doves, hearts, angels.

Floralware Herb Labels (sorry, still in kiln so no photos)

Floralware Tumblers and Larger Bowls

Pretty Dinner Setting

Eucalypt Homewares Vouchers (perfect for weddings, birthdays, Christmas or just because...)

Vouchers Redeemable @ The Eucalypt Homewares Studio

Dress Rings

Funky rings to wear for fun!

Hope you can come by....

Make Your Own Christmas Decorations

I have just been trowelling through the photos of student work and thought these shots of the nativity scene might inspire people to want to make their own in my next round of classes.

Baby Jesus snuggled in his swaddling

A collection of tree decorations

Many Josephs waiting to be fired (in the kiln)

The Marys drying on the shelf

No experience is need to participate, just a desire to create and get a little dirty :)
Email me at melanie@eucalypthomewares.com.au for details.

Christmas Clay Classes and Workshops 2011

Christmas Stars

Christmas Decorations and Nativity Scene

The next ceramic workshops have a Christmas theme, students will make some lovely things to decorate their home or give as gifts. The lovely porcelain Christmas-tree decorations are made using cookie cutters and pretty stamps, then glazed in Christmassy colours. A Nativity Scene, including Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus, will be hand built in porcelain paper clay. Baby Jesus Students will be given step by step instructions as to how to make the decorations and nativity scene, so no experience with clay is necessary! There are a number of workshop times to choose from including six week night or morning classes during the week and one day workshops on the weekend.

Joseph

Night Classes

$250
Six weeks 7.30-9.30pm

Mondays 26 September – 31 October 2011
0R

Tuesdays 8 November – 13 December 2011

Day Classes

$250
Six weeks 10am – 12noon

Tuesdays 18 October – 22 November 2011

Mary

1 ½ Day Workshops

$200

Saturday 29 October 9.30am – 4.30pm + Sunday 5 November 1pm – 4pm

or

Sunday 30 October 9.30am – 4.30pm + Sunday 5 November 1pm – 4pm

To enrol please email melanie@eucalypthomewares.com.au

Weddding Inspirations

Eucalypt Homewares will be at the inaugural Wedding Upmarket held at Mosmans restaurant Saturday 13th August. Attendees will be able to purchase an order product for their special day. Here are a few ideas or inspirations to get your imagination flowing...

Inspiration 1: Request Eucalypt Homewares vouchers as gifts from your guests. Use the collection of vouchers to order a dinner set directly from the Eucalypt Homewares Studio.

 
Inspiration 2: Pretty porcelain decorations can be used to add a splash of colour on your wedding tables and can have the dual use as a place-name (names applied with a clear printable and removable sticker). These lovely decorations come in flying dove, nesting dove and love heart. Your Guests can hang them in their house as a reminder of you special occasion.

 

Inspiration 3: These little bowls look very pretty grouped on a table with tea lights aglow. Just perfect for creating the right ambiance for your wedding reception (or dinner party). They come in Floralware as well as a tonal range of colours to match your wedding decor.

 

 
Inspiration 4: Serve your spectacular wedding cake on Eucalypt Homewares organic cake plates (available in a large range of colours). Then perhaps gift them to your guests as a thank you after the reception?

 Inspiration 5: Floralware vases filled with flowers create a sense of opulence in your wedding venue; the church, the reception, on your wedding tables and in your home. Display them on the bridal table, the cake table, the gift table or even on each guest table.

 Inspiration 6: Porcelain trinket boxes and porcelain dress rings make thoughtful gifts to say thank you to your bridesmaids.

Cracking The Kiln

"Cracking the kiln" means to open the kiln just a crack to help cool down the kiln before emptying it. There are different schools of thought as to when to do this. If cracked too early you can loose all your work to thermal shock. However, when in a rush to get the kiln unloaded, one some times takes risks...

The "Cracked Kiln"

 Luckily for me, this was no such circumstance. Phew!

When cracking the kiln there is a sense of thrill as well as dread, what will the kiln hold? A trove of treasures or cracked rubbish?

Today the kiln holds goodies for the up coming Perth Upmarket. Below are photos of said treasures - no cracks!!!

Herb Labels

Black Bowls and Tumblers

Canisters

Trinket Boxes

Work waiting to be sanded

Hope to see you at the Upmaket, this Sunday @ UWA 10am - 4pm

Out On A Limb Eco Design Store

This lovely store in Maylands opened earlier this year. It has a great mix of adults and children's hand made and Eco friendly products including jewellery, textiles and home wares. Perfect spot to pop in for a special gift, then wonder up (or down) the road for a coffee.

They have a very good selection of my work. Especially tumblers and large salad bowls as well as some Floralware and other bowls from my Eucalypt Range.

 

Debbie and Kiri are the owners and are completely gorgeous!

Out On A Limb Eco Design Store

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	"Our ethos is to sell predominantly Australian and New Zealand made ecoO friendly sustainable products and to support local artisan talents to create an interesting mix of gifts and homewares." 194 Whatley Cr, Perth, Australia 6051 · Get Directions 0893715351 Tues - Sat: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Sun: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Studio Ground Work

Today was a day of "studio ground work". Next term I am running a coil bowl clay class. So I spent some time today making a coil bowl using the coil bowl I made a couple of years ago as an armature.

 It is extremely therapeutic to roll coils. The goal is to roll them all the same thickness to create even walls of the bowl. They are joined on the inside, being careful not to squash each coil too much so as not to lose the definition on the exterior.

 This photo is of the (almost) finished bowl, upside down of course. Tomorrow it will be dry enough to turn over....

Oh, the other thing I did today (ie 90% of the day) was to re-make the prototypes of all my moulds. Here they are under wraps, as they will stay until ready to show in their finished form.....

Trinket Box Clay Classes

Over the last six weeks I have been running three Trinket Box Clay Classes.

 The first two weeks we made trinket boxes, some with stamped decoration and some smooth ready for tissue transfers.

 They following few weeks we constructed the canisters. They are a bit like trinket boxes, only bigger...and harder.

One of the canisters we decorated with wax, waited a week then washed back the clay to create a relief pattern.

 Week five, out came the tissue transfers and off we went!

This week is the last week. Every thing has been bisc fired ready for glazing.
next week is pick-up week. I'm looking forward to seeing all the trinket boxes finished!

Workshop for Teachers

Last term I ran a workshop for high school art teachers. We spent the day making moulds, casting bowls and experimenting with different decorating techniques.

Here are few photos that one of the participants emailed me, taken on her iphone.

They are mostly of me talking and people listening!

Oh, here's one of some work being done! Don't worry everyone worked very hard. I can't wait to see photos of the bowls their students make....

Mother's Day Studio Open

Twice a year I open my Eucalypt Homewares studio to the public for a sale on current pieces as well as some real bargains on seconds and discontinued lines.

One is held just before Christmas and the other the week before Mother's Day. Last Sunday was the annual pre Mother's Day sale. This year I invited some other local designers to join me resulting in a lovely market like atmosphere in my back garden.

Eucalypt Homewares table

Shoppers could wonder through the garden looking a tables set up with work from Eucalypt Homewares, Robin Wells Jewellery, Little Babushka and Old Grey House.

Robin Wells with some happy shoppers

It was a perfect sunny day with people arriving at leisure through out the afternoon. There was a nice mix of loyal supporters and new enthusiasts all enjoying an outing perusing local artist's wares. We even had a lovely local lady organise a luncheon for her friends with a stroll down to my studio after, a special thanks to Mia!

Looking through the garden at Little Babushka and Old Grey House

Talking of thanks, much appreciation to my friend, Kim and my husband, David for their help on the day!
I'm looking forward to the next Open Day in December....

Term One Clay Class Photos

These lovely bowls where made by the Monday night advanced slip-casting class. They designed and made prototype bowls then cast them using the paper pulp mould making method. Lots of Japanese tissue transfer was used to decorate the bowls, as well as wax resist and two tone colours.

Some interesting forms where designed by the Thursday night clay class group. Each bowl was decorated using a different technique; two tone colours, tissue transfer, wax resist and inlay. They also made a collection of ceramic drink coasters.

Next term we are making trinket boxes. I still have spots left on the Tuesday 10am class. Email me if you would like more information melanie@eucalypthomewares.com.au

Brand New Shiny Kiln

No, this is not my brand new shiny kiln. This is the old faithful, well maybe not so faithful... just old. It is a bit broken, but can be fixed. I'm giving it away to anyone who is willing to take it out of my studio... Send me an email if you are interested melanie@eucalypthomewares.com.au. You will need 3phase power and an electrician to hook it up.

This is my shiny new kiln - it's it beautiful?!! Here's to many years of firing success!

Win Eucalypt Homewares Products

Come to the Perth Upmarket this Sunday 20th March @ UWA 10am - 4pm to win a $200 Eucalypt Homewares voucher.

To enter visit the Eucalypt Homewares stall and fill in the entry form :)

Brooches

Next weekend is the Perth Upmarket. I am in a state of making madness to get ready.
Here is a little sneak peak at some of the new brooches I have. They come in lots of patterns.

You can choose from a number of shapes. Featured here are the cat and flying dove.

I have also made nesting doves, tiny kissing doves and love hearts.

These little guys are my new teddy brooches. They come in red, pink and sea green. I have a new batch of my other children's buttons too.