the black swan blog

The Black Swan blog has a new home!

2009-07-20T00:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a few months in the making, but finally it's time to announce the arrival of my fancy new Black Swan Designs website! Hooray!
So fancy in fact, that this blog is now redundant due to the new site being integrated with its very own blog... smarty pants eh!
So head on over to blackswandesigns.co.nz and check it out... : D

Quite possibly the best belated Birthday present ever...

2009-07-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

It may have been a couple of weeks late, but it was well worth the wait... I'm now the proud owner of a gorgeous new travel case for my ukulele!
Handmade by the lovely and talented Lucy, (including 6 hours worth of hand embroidery on the intricate pattern that matches with the inside lining!) ...just beautiful!
Thanks Lucy and Mark xx

Bird's the word...

2009-07-14T02:04:00.000-07:00

Hooray, another Etsy treasury feature! Again with fellow crafters inmybackyard and BamBamCreative

Etsy treasury feature...

2009-07-13T04:23:00.000-07:00

It's always a nice surprise to find that one of your creations has been picked for an Etsy treasury, and even better when the creator lets you know so you can snaffle a look before it vanishes off into the depths of the internet!
This one also features the lovely work of fellow crafty friends inmybackyard and BamBamCreative

Slip yo...

2009-07-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

The black swan has recently picked up another addiction, to sit alongside coffee, ping pong and playing the ukulele... crocheting flowers!

Lucy from felt.co.nz is organising slip, a crochet project as part of the Winter Garden that will be installed in the Square for the Christchurch Arts Festival, running from 23 July – 9 August, to which I'm donating the fruits (or flowers as the case may be) of my labour.

After initally feeling a little retarded with a crochet hook I've now got flowers down to a fine art, and have made 30 flowers to date! They are easy to pick up, and a fun way to spend a night infront on the fire. For all those crocheters and knitters out there, and keen learners, head on over to the slip blog for more details... crochetchristchurch.blogspot.com

Crafty goodness

2009-06-11T19:53:00.000-07:00

Well, another Craft 2.0 is done and dusted... it was an amazing day down at Our City last Saturday, with the forecast snow nowhere in sight. As predicted, the keen punters were queued up well before 11am for the free goodie bags for a whole block down the road, and the people kept streaming through all day! A big thanks goes out to everyone who came along on the day, and to my helper Amy for making it possible for me to flit about all day talking to people and taking photos... roll on the next Craft 2.0 in Wellington, July 25th!

So, without further adue, here's a little Craft 2.0 montage from the day...

Mmmm... cupcakes...

The lovely Deidre from Shaky Isles truly upped the anti with her beautifully merchandised display... (top left)

My display on the left... thanks to Lucy and Briar for helping with my new table runner.

Craft 2.0 Sat June 6th!

2009-05-31T01:20:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost here... the second Craft 2.0 in Christchurch, Sat June 6th, 11am–3pm at Our City Otautahi on Worcester Blvd. There'll be free goodies bags for the first 50 adults and 50 kids through the door (which I helped stuff today with many exciting goodies), which had people lining up out the door and over the bridge last year, so get in quick!

I've also been working on a few new designs of my pendants necklaces...

My stall will be upstairs in the gorgeous old debating chamber on the day. Hope to see you all there!

Well crafted Zest article...

2009-05-27T21:46:00.001-07:00

Look what turned up in the Zest section of the Press today, as part of the Craft 2.0 marketing campaign...

That's my wee fern photo brooch on the left, and I've even been quoted! Thanks heaps to Katy and Lucy for the extra pre-Craft 2.0 promotion! It should be a good day...

The pretties flew!

2009-05-26T02:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, the Fly My Pretties gig at the Theatre Royal last Friday night was just spectacular! With a narrated story and accompanying illustrations interlaced with music for the first half, and footage from the National Archives to accompay the second, it wasn't a surprise that the crowd were on their feet on several occasions! To top the evening off there were tasty Fly My Pretties cocktails (42below, L&P and mint, mmm...) and gorgeous teatowels!

Being the good patron that I am, I didn't sneak in my camera in... although I kinda wished I had!
To my consolation, there are at least some great pics from the gig up on Fly My Pretties facebook page...

A crafty Saturday in Lyttelton...

2009-05-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend a balmy Chistchurch afternoon than with a trip to Lyttelton... a well made soy flat white, gourmet veggie sandwich and a side of locally made craft.
My primary purpose was to pop in and visit my new stockist Pocket. Carolyn has a lovely wee store, tucked away down an alleyway off London Street. It's great to look around and recognise the wares of so many local makers on display. I'm really starting to the get the feeling that craft is the new black...

Apparently my brooches have been a real hit with the males, which I find curious...

Another lovely shop worth visiting is Portico, at 48 London Street, which will be stocking my Cherry Blossom design brooches sometime in the near future. Maree from Portico, also gave me a great tip-off to a little old abandoned house up on the hill, as we got talking about photography. She has an image on display at the moment in COCA... so many talented people about!

48hrs of furious film making!

2009-05-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

The black swan had a very busy weekend, involved in a team for the 48hr film competition. This is the second time that I've taken part, and as I anticipated it was a blast!
For those that haven't heard of 48hrs before, you are given a genre (by random selection), character (name and trait), prop and a line of dialogue and then you have 48hrs to make a short film between 1 and 7mins long... so you have to brainstorm, write, shoot, edit, and of course find all the relavant people and props to help make it happen!
We had revenge as our genre, Alex Puddle who was an exaggerator, a rock and the line "it doesn't fit".
The photo below was my best prop contribution... a shot taken of the family in our story, which I gave a little bit of a tweak in Photoshop, and was then filmed in later footage.
It's an amazing way to spend a weekend, working with other creative types under ridiculously tight deadlines, and you come out the other side feeling like you've made instant friends for life. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Check out more info about 48hrs at 48hours.co.nz

Review from our heat screening:

"The director is quoted to saying: Less is more. I think he's bang on.
Short and sweet. Some great acting by the lead male, all in the eyes
and actions. Not much is said but when it is, its there only to drive
forward the story. Great angles, close ups and even the colour of the
soup. Every second used well, nothing dragging. Also, great spin on
the genre as our lead character has his family enact their painful
revenge ever so subtlety on him. I'm gonna give this one my first 5/5!" ...yay!

Upcycled teaspoons

2009-04-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

After debuting these at the Wellington Easter Craft 2.0, I've finally gotten around to listing them on felt.
They're currently available in 4 designs; coffee beans, kiwifruit, "stirrer" and "wanna spoon?" (a little hint of humour from the black swan, just for a change from making pretty things..)

Former unloved souvenirs turned cute kitchen accessories!

Craft 2.0 Wellington

2009-04-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Phew.. after weeks of working towards Craft 2.0 it's all done and dusted, and alas I now have the post madness head cold to prove it. It was an awesome day up in Welly at the New Dowse, there were heaps of people streaming through the doors all day, and everyone was so lovely and friendly. Congrats to Sue for organising another amazing event, I'm now looking forward to the next fair in Christchurch in June!

Thanks to Dave (dreamer on felt) for the photos of my stall, I didn't have time on the day to take any of my own, or for that matter any room in my case for the camera!

Business time..

2009-04-06T16:42:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to take my camera along to the last Crafty Business meeting, on April 6th, and here is the result.. a crafty wee pano!
We meet on the 1st Monday of every month at Churchills on Colombo Street, Sydenham. For more info head over to the Crafty Business blog. There's the great company of like minded people, cheaps drinks, a roaring fire, and just enough time to get home to watch Flight of the Conchords.. what more could you want on a Monday eve!

Shiney new business cards!

2009-03-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

My new black swan business cards arrived back from print this week.. yay! (spot the graphic designer..) It's funny how after designing for clients you're always itching to do something for yourself, but when it comes down to it self-promotional work can be just as much hard work if not more! (And it doesn't particularly help being a perfectionist..)

The cards are printed on a matt laminate paper stock, which is very tactile and feels lovely to touch. I had my last batch of cards printed on this, and quietly observed people unconsciously running their fingers over the card's smooth finish while we were chatting!

Also pictured, another one of my new photo brooches that will be debuting at Craft 2.0 in Wellington, April 11th.

Black Swan in World Sweet World!

2009-03-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

Nothing beats the little buzz of unexpectedly seeing your creations out and about, which was what happened when I spotted the latest issue of World Sweet World magazine in Whitcolls; "Hey, there's my little birdie!"
One of my new photo brooches is also featured in the felt double spread ad, 1st page in.. thanks Lucy!

New goodies for Craft 2.0!

2009-03-04T03:53:00.000-08:00

Here's a little sneak peak of some of the new designs I'm busy working on at the moment, in preparation for Craft 2.0 in Welly..

Lyttelton Street Party

2009-02-21T21:07:00.001-08:00

I've been making the most of all the events that are on about Christchurch at the moment, and this weekends destination was the Lyttelton Street Party. London Street was packed with people enjoying the entertainment, food stalls and sunshine, but my favourite spot was the Sound Garden, set amongst the roses a little way up the hill by the old Lyttelton jail. It was a lovely spot to relax in the sun whilst enjoying a vodka iced tea..

Shaky Isles featured in Etsy article

2009-02-17T14:57:00.000-08:00

The lovely Deidre from Shaky Isles recruited my photographic services earlier in the year for an Etsy Storque article on tea towels she was taking part in, and I've been patiently waiting for it to go up online so I can blog the final composite image we sent in.
I was a little hesitant before the shoot, as Deidre had warned me that she ends up looking like former Prime Minister Helen Clark in most of her photos, so I was very pleased with the final image in which she looks just lovely! (and nothing like the PM).
Deidre makes gorgeous screen printed, pure linen tea towels – my favourite is the pohutakawa print we used for the portrait frame – and also has a lovely range of upcycled textile products.

Check out the Etsy Storque Tea Towel article
Visit Shaky Isles' felt shop

Chinese Lantern Festival

2009-02-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

After missing the Lantern Festival the last 2 years in a row, (and kicking myself after seeing all the amazing photos my photographer friends took), I well and truly made up for it this year, visiting Victoria Square both nights of the festival, and now have a lovely collection of photos for the black swan archives!

A little Lantern Festival montage..

And of course I had to take at least one pano..

While I was hoping to see fire breathers, the puppeteers (9 of them in total) put on an amazing show!

Summer roadie – the final installment!

2009-02-03T20:18:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's February already and not only have petrol prices jumped up 30 cents odd since, but I still haven't finished uploading my holiday pics! It all seems like the distant past now alas, but I have picked up a new obsession (it's not quite that bad, not yet anyhow..) for collecting teaspoons which all started with the one little spoon below that I picked up at Langfords Store in Bainham, just out of Takaka (love at first bite). I fear it won't be long before I'm purchasing some sort of rack to house them in..

Full moon rising at Collingwood, and on the right a couple of shots taken on the last day of the trip at Lake Rotoiti, including the obligatory black swan shot.. very obliging creatures.

Summer roadie Pt III

2009-01-24T16:29:00.001-08:00

The pics just keep coming..

Grove scenic reserve just out of Takaka on the left, and on the right some more macro fun.

Coffee overlooking Farewell Spit, and a David Attenborough style macro shot of a nasty looking wasp I spotted while walking back from the spit, which was dragging away it's latest victim. A bit gross, but kind of fascinating at the same time.

Summer roadie – Part II

2009-01-21T15:53:00.001-08:00

Phew! It's been a busy week back at work, with no easing in gently as I'd imagined, so I'm a little behind on posting some more holiday snaps. So, without further adue..

Hawkes Lookout on Takaka hill.

A few more old abandoned houses.

Stained glass details from the Christ Church Cathedral in Nelson.

Nelson & Golden Bay Summer roadie - Part 1

2009-01-18T00:28:00.000-08:00

Whilst it would appear that I've been hard at work this week, the reality is that I was off on a photographic road trip around the gorgeous Nelson/Golden Bay area. The weather was beautiful and I've returned with a whopping 897 photos from 4 days worth of shooting! There were so many fantastic places in such a relatively small area, which reminded me a lot of the Catlins down south, and there were several little gems that really made the trip.. coffee on a pirate ship in Tata Beach (I'm a self confessed pirate fan from way back), Laingdons General Store in Bainham, and sipping a 'fizzy frog' fejoa cider at the Mussel Inn to name a few. The prospect of condensing the whole trip down into one blog post seems like a fairly daunting task, so there will be a few more posts to follow..

Coffee on the Espresso pirate ship at Tata Beach.. yarrr!

Golden tan, golden shoes and golden sand on Totaranui Beach.

One of the many abandoned houses in the region, this one was found in Appleby.

New photo brooches

2009-01-14T01:58:00.000-08:00

I've been looking forward to having a play with some new photographic brooches, as my resolution for 2009 is to make better use of my ever growing stock library. The problem of course ends up being how to narrow it down to a handful of images, but I figured that a black swan makes for a good starting point..

I've also made a few using scans of my Nan's Hollywood portrait collection..

Super Shed haul

2009-01-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

With the next Craft 2.0 in Wellington only a few months away in April, the Super Shed has been on my list of places to visit for new display props, and my recent visit failed to disappoint. I came home with a lovely haul of plates, fancy trays and bowls, all with a distinctly Victorian style, for the grand total of $8! Recycling at its finest.

Bee-utiful summer weather

2009-01-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in 2009.. hope you all had a great Christmas and New Years. I'm currently enjoying my Summer holidays (3 weeks off, which is the first time in I'm not sure how many years, at least around 10) and with temperatures in the 30˚s I have the tan to prove it! There has been much reading and pottering, and as little computer time as possible while I get my annual intake of vitamin D. I have also invested in a lovely new 60mm macro lens, and spent an afternoon chasing bees around the backyard, from which I have compiled a little bee montage..

The last week of my holidays holds a photographic road trip to the top of the South Island, round the Nelson area, so there will be many new panos coming soon!

Lupins and Murphy

2008-12-19T20:36:00.000-08:00

I finally managed to get away for a day trip down to Tekapo this week, to snap some photos while the lupins were still out in force. The weather in the area was typically unpredictable, and changed its mind on several occasions throughout the course of the day, and although Murphy was having a field day (Murphy's Law) I did manage to outsmart him on one occasion, snapping a rainbow mere seconds before it dissipated. Although the overall score for the day was well in his favour, I was still quite happy with these 4 new panos to add to my collection.

Seconds after finding this little tin shed it started to absolutely pour down, reminding me of rule #2 in caring for your digital camera – "do not get wet"

Murphy 0 – Mel 1
(truth be known, Murphy actually had a few on me by this stage..)

One of my favourite spots, atop Mt John in Tekapo

Cherry Blossom

2008-12-13T00:30:00.000-08:00

Katherine and Emily have done a great job of promoting my new brooches at Cherry Blossom, which included a feature in their newsletter, my very own section on their website and an absolutely gorgeous display instore!

Any excuse to take a pano..

Paua-rific!

2008-12-10T23:37:00.000-08:00

I've been looking forward to popping in to the Paua Shell House for quite some time now, and finally rewarded my patience this week with a little photographic expedition, which was well worth the wait!
The Museum has done a great job reconstructing Fred and Myrtle's house, in particular the lounge, with carpet identical to that which my grandparents had, and little kitschy relics nestled in amongst the hundreds of paua shells. I wasn't entirely sure where to point the camera first, and found myself momentarily stunned with a child like sense of wonder. Love that Kiwiana!

Fred and Myrtle's Paua Shell House is in the Canterbury Museum on Rolleston Ave, and open 9am – 5pm everyday!

My 2cents worth

2008-12-09T04:41:00.000-08:00

Each year I like to treat myself to a little something special for Christmas, as you can guarantee that whilst shopping for pressies you'll see something that you fall in love with. For me this year it was this 2cent coin bracelet, made by Christchurch jeweller Andrew Peach. Locally handmade classy kiwiana, it doesn't get any better!

Lake Coleridge

2008-12-07T02:41:00.000-08:00

With dropping petrol prices and the increasingly likely chance of fine weather, I'm easily talked into a road trip these days, and Lake Coleridge was the destination this weekend. An enjoyable day out, even though I did end up a tad on the wet side after orienteering in thigh deep water around the shoreline of the lake for a good few kms (high hydro lake levels were to blame for the non-existent beach access), but the planned shots were successfully snapped, and I can now enjoy the scenery once again whilst wearing dry pants!

More new pretty things

2008-11-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

These new Japanese photo brooches are off to Cherry Blossom this week. The images are scans of old photographs, which I print onto photographic paper, and sandwich into a little laser cut frame made from recycled wood. I'm hoping for a spare next batch so I can keep one for myself!

Lupins out west

2008-11-23T00:46:00.000-08:00

What better thing to do on a balmy Christchurch Sunday afternoon than to head off on a Sunday drive, and after following my nose in a general westerly direction I came across this colourful field full of lupins. I think perhaps another weekend roadie down Lake Tekapo way is in order..

Making pretty things..

2008-11-12T21:03:00.001-08:00

It's been a few weeks now since my last post, but I do have an excellent excuse in that I've been busy making pretty things to hopefully bring pleasure to many this festive season. In other words, I've been spending hours sitting on the floor assembling little bits of wood and acrylic, and gluing brooch backs.
I've just filled my first order with new stockist The Vault Design Store, in Chch, Welly and Auckland, and have finished my new range of brooches for Cherry Blossom, which were very well received by the owner Katherine, who isn't putting them out in the shop until she's decided upon and picked out her favourite!

My new Japanese inspired brooch designs (6 in total) available now at Cherry Blossom.. kawaii!

My recommendation to all is to get that Christmas shopping done soon, while the shops are still relatively quiet. Or even better do your shopping online (stopping in first at felt of course) and avoid the chaos all together!
I used to work as a visual merchandiser and have seen first hand what the 'festive' spirit can do to people's demeanor. I think anyone who has spent a Christmas in retail will understand where I'm coming from, and will also be shopping early like me!

Show closes Sunday 19th October

2008-10-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

A few pics from my exhibition Unnatural Selection, which closes this Sunday 19th, out in Sumner at the L'Estrange Gallery. A selection of works will remain in the Gallery's permanent L'Estrange collection, alongside works from Tony Cribb, Bryan L'Estrange himself, and a whole heap of other talented local artists.

Craft 2.0 Wellington – Photo Montage!

2008-10-13T04:52:00.000-07:00

Despite the early morning on Saturday, I had a great time up in Welly at Craft 2.0, promoting felt. Myself, Lucy, Millie (pink paper pinafore) and Jan (wrycan) headed up from Christchurch to represent. There were some gorgeous creations, and I'm looking forward to heading up for the next one now in March 09 (and wondering how on earth I'm going to fit all my goodies into one suitcase?!..)

Craft 2.0 Wellington – Sat 11th Oct

2008-10-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Early tomorrow morning, in true jet-setting fashion, I'll be heading up to Craft 2.0 in Wellington with Lucy, to help out on the felt stall.. I think several coffees for breakfast should do the trick!

Jan from Wyrcan has kindly let me have a little space on her stall, so the last few days I've been making a display box for my brooches. I bought a gift box from Whittcouls for $8, and after a few hours with a scalpel and some card scraps, had myself a nice compact little display, that should sit well with Jan's gorgeous hand bound Japanese style books.

Check out www.craft2.org for more details

Cherry Blossom collaboration

2008-10-02T23:17:00.001-07:00

I'm working on some new Japanese inspired jewellery designs over the weekend, and am looking forward to hunting through the collection of resource books that I've borrowed from the lovely owners of Cherry Blossom in Christchurch, Katherine and Emily, for inspiration. There's some gorgeous old photographs to work with too, and I have a stack of recycled wood off-cuts all ready to go under the laser! Keep an eye out for these in Cherry Blossom and Vault at Christmas.

Unnatural Selections

2008-10-02T23:00:00.000-07:00

A few works from Unnatural Selection, on display now out at L'Estrange Gallery in Sumner until October 19th. So for all those who haven't been out yet, there's still time!

Iced Tea, Lindis Pass, Otago

Meat John, Mt John Observatory, Lake Tekapo

Left – Piecology, Tunnel Hill Track, Catlins
Right – Local Customs, Old Customs Building, Kaikoura Peninsula

"..inventive and creative and quirky and beautiful all smished into a seamless photo" – Tony Cribb (one of my favourite local artists)

Press

2008-09-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

An art editorial appeared in todays Press for Unnatural Selection.. I quite like this name in print business!

Legerdemain (my new favourite word) noun

1 stage magicians practicing legerdemain sleight of hand, conjuring, magic, wizardry; formal prestidigitation; rare thaumaturgy.

2 a piece of management legerdemain trickery, cunning, artfulness, craftiness, chicanery, skulduggery, deceit, deception, artifice.

On Some Other Country

2008-09-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

I've been patiently waiting for this to arrive in the post for a few months now, and the day of Exhibition opening it finally turned up.. hooray! I'm now looking forward to some time to sit down and read it..

Unnatural Selection

2008-09-07T01:43:00.001-07:00

The countdown is on.. Unnatural Selection opens Tuesday 16th September at the L'Estrange Gallery, Sumner, Christchurch and runs through until Sunday 12th October. Guess I'd better get those last couple of works done!..

Planet Jim

2008-09-07T01:43:00.000-07:00

Men are traditionally hard to buy for, and as another Fathers Day rolled around I racked my brain on what to get Dad.. the good old bottle o' rum is never an unwelcomed gift, but I can't help but try to out do myself each year with something original that will appeal to his sense of humour. I had the fortune to be shown yet another neat little Photoshop trick but days before, and as I was finally enjoying some weekend procrasinatory computing, a smaller metaphorical version of the big bang theory occured in my head, and I transformed a sunset at Haast into Dad's very own little planet.

felt like.. an exhibition

2008-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

The felt exhibition like something different is on at the mo featuring five creative Cantabrians, one of whom is me, along with fellow crafters Pink Paper Pinafore, Walter Lodgeman, Papillion and Naomi Smith. Our posters even made it on to bus shelters around Christchurch thanks to Our City, along with the little pink guy from Craft 2.0.

Crafty goodness..

2008-08-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

The inaugral Christchurch Craft 2.0 on Sat 23rd August went down a treat, with people queing out the door and down Worcester Blvd at 11am for their free goody bags! It was an impressive turn out with around 3000 visitors passing through over the 4 hours, and there were some gorgeous crafts on display.. my only regret was not having enough time to spend some of my hard earned cash!

Home Aside

2008-08-20T05:27:00.000-07:00

Works from Home Aside Exhibition, held at the Quentin Frost Gallery November 07.

My favourite from the show, Matrimonial Dispute, made an appearance in the Art Beat section of the Press. The show also coincided with Art Trek.

Wild Things

2008-08-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Images from Where The Wild Things Are exhibition at Photo Access 2007. A series of photographic collages I created based on the childrens book by Maurice Sendak.