Friday Friends - Australian Makers - Hellcat Clothing

Hello readers, welcome to another edition of Friday Friends. Roller Derby is something that has become very dear to my heart as Freshmeat skater in a developing league. And today I am super super excited to introduce to you a very special maker. Meet the truly fabulous Helen of Hellcat Clothing! 

I have a pair of the Hellcat Clothing Derby Shorts, they have great cover and are designed for real size women :) They don't ride up and look fantastic on! There are a couple of other items on my Hellcat Clothing wish list and they include a super practical Nautical Anchor A-Line Roller Derby Skort,  

a pair of super cute Ruffle Butt Roller Derby Shorts and

a pair of Magic Star 3/4 Length Leggings.

Readers, I invite you now to read the Hellcat Clothing Chronicle. Have the most fantastic weekend and see you all next week for a new edition of Thursday Thoughts xo♥

Hellcat Clothing Chronicle
Hellcat Clothing is a clothing label run by me, Helen, otherwise know by my roller derby name GoGo Fiasco. I make colourful, crazy, and comfortable active wear and other fun stuff.

Making clothes has been a pretty solid part of my life since my mum taught me to sew. I've always enjoyed created something unique for costume parties, festivals, anytime I could find to dress up. It meant I could wear exactly what I had in my head, no matter how outrageous it was.

I started playing roller derby in 2008 and it wasn't long before my love of making outfits made it's way to my roller derby uniforms (or boutfits as we called them). Individuality was nurtured in this sport where you could completely be yourself and wear just about whatever you wanted.

As time went on and roller derby turned into a bit more of a serious sport, I started craving functionality. I found it really difficult to find clothes that were comfortable, would stand up to the rough and tumble of the sport, but still meant that I could express at least a little bit of individuality. So I started making more sporty clothes.

Pretty soon friends and teammates were asking me to make their outfits too, and before I knew it I was on Etsy selling roller derby shorts all over the world. Now I make a range of clothes for roller derby, although they are used for so many other things from circus performers to pole dancers to martial artists and wrestlers.

Etsy has been amazing and a really important part of setting up my business. The seller community is so helpful, and Etsy shoppers love anything a little left of centre. It's also helped me gets my products seen outside of Australia, with a lot of customers in both the United States and Europe.

My two mantras are functionality and individuality. If active wear isn't comfortable there's no point to it. But my favourite thing about creating is that every pair of shorts is different. My pieces are custom made to the idea that exists in my customer's head, and helping that become a reality that they can wear is pretty special.

 

Other than full custom made designs I also have lots of pre-designed products, but I still like to let the customer have full choice of colour combos, using different fabrics and textures to match their team colours, personality, or taste.

My day to day inspiration are the derby girls. They are such an imaginative and creative group of women, and the ideas they have for their uniforms are as varied and clever as their roller derby names. I bounce off my customers and together we come up with all sorts of crazy things. I am also inspired by colour, texture, sparkly things, combinations of fabrics, and how visual combinations, colours and shapes, can make you feel different things. 

Readers would you like to see more? Here is how you can connect: 

Buy fantastic things on Etsy here: 
www.hellcatclothing.etsy.com
Follow Hellcat Clothing on Facebook here: 

www.facebook.com/hellcatclothing
or email for info at: 
sales at hellcatclothing dot com

Divine Desert - Wednesday Wishes

Inspiration for the Wednesday Wishes post today is 

Divine Desert. 

Enjoy xo♥

Hanging Glass Succulent Terrarium Orb with Flat Bottom; Dirty Pink Desert from limetreebower

Silk Embroidery Thread for Needlework, Embroidery, Stumpwork hand dyed in Desert Dawn from SpiralDyed

Desert Gypsy Slouch Pant from BareSoulDesign

modern art glass plate 8x13 inches Namib Desert from jensstudio

Wool rug cactus brooch from alittlevintagestore

Friday Friends - Australian Artists - Isobel Von Finklestein

Happy Friday gorgeous ones, the weekend is almost here! I am super excited this week to introduce a new Friday Friend and Australian Artist, meet the super talented Isobel Von Finklestein! 

I adore the work of Isobel Von Finklestein and reckon you will too. It's a little bit cheeky, a little bit naughty and a whole lot of fun. Here are some of my favourites :) 

I invite you now to explore The Wonder of Isobel Von Finklestein. Have a wonderful weekend everyone xo Happy Reading ♥

The Wonder of Isobel Von Finklestein
Who: Isobel Von Finklestein – The Von Finklestein Studio

How and When? As all artists say, in the womb! I graduated from Certificate 4 in Visual art in 2003 and briefly started my Bachelor degree in Visual art at Uni S.A but found myself broke as and decided to go back to work ( finishing that course is on my list of goals). I airbrushed plaster statues for a few years.

I started working seriously towards my art career about seven years ago. My husband introduced me to the Kustom Kulture/ Lowbrow world and I knew I had found my art ‘home’. It was everything I loved but now had a name for it. Before that, I was much more of a surrealist and tended to hide most of my work in private journals.

What inspires you ?  Hmm… so many things! I’m a daydreamer, a lot of work just pops into my head and I’ll paint it there first before ever picking up a pencil.

Other artists inspire me -the Old school pinup gods; Gil Elvgren, Petty, Bill Ward. I also love Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, Gustav Klimt. From the modern era – Keith Weesner, Sylvia Ji, Tara Mcpherson, OneQ, Tyson Macadoo… so many more!

Tell me about your creative side, how did you get started? I’ve just always drawn, it’s just what I ‘do’. There was no starting point, that I can remember. I just ‘have’ to create, it’s like breathing to me.

What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite ? I work with graphite, Ink (nib), Copic Markers and sometimes guache and watercolour for drawings. I mainly use oils for painting but have recently dabbled with acrylics and Uni Posca paint pens. I also use the digital art programs, Photoshop and more recently, Manga Studio. My favourite is oil painting – I don’t get to do enough of it!

Do you have a favourite technique? Gosh, if you were to ask me one favourite technique it would be scumbling - painting with a dry brush to create shading, it’s satisfying, somehow. But I probably have a number of favourites.

What kind of things do you create ? Drawings, paintings, I carve wooden sugar skulls and paint shoes occasionally. I also do digital art. I mainly draw girls for some reason. I do like drawing men – my husband has featured in a few paintings but not as himself. Skeletons and cats come up a lot too

Do you have a favourite piece? My favourite is the painting that I have just completed ‘Halloween Happy hour’ That bar is always moving.

What are your future plans/dreams/aspirations ? I would love to take my art overseas – Japan and America are on the list. I’ve recently decided to start doing shows again after a couple of years off. I’ve recently decided that I want to do more painting, it’s what makes me happiest and it’s challenging.

Do you have any exhibitions or markets coming up? I’m having a stall at Adelaide’s Kustom Kulture Weekend which starts this Friday night! I also plan to go to the Goanna Run in Mildura and possibly one or both Greazefests.
Want to see more? You can connect through: vonfinklesteinstudio.com

This will link you to so many awesome things including social media, gallery, original art, t-shirts and stores, contact details and blog. 

Black Cats - Thursday Thoughts

With tomorrow being Friday the 13th, a little superstition was the inspiration for Thursday Thoughts today. Enjoy xo♥

Mirror acrylic and black resin feline cameo pendant from ProblemChildTheLabel

Black Cat Linocut Print from MissDangerfield

Black Cat Plate for Dollhouse from ALavenderDilly

Black Cat Tea - 100% Organic Herbal Tisane - Licorice, Aniseed, Mints from sageandmage

Lucky BLACK CAT Brooch - handmade by French Designer Ruby Roux from DecoFashion

Friday Friends - Australian Makers - Tunic Botik

Hello lovely Maddabling readers, welcome to a sparkly new edition in the Friday Friends series.  What sort of exciting things do you have planned for your weekend? Today it is my absolute pleasure to introduce a new Friday Friend and Australian Maker, meet dear Deepa of Tunic Botik. 

The pieces created by Deepa are simply stunning. I want to share a few favourites with you now. It's no secret that I love all things owl-y and this Pink Owl Necklace is no exception! Isn't she stunning! 

Now that the cooler weather is coming, this Grey Clay Floral Brooch in Burgundy would be sure to brighten any Autumn coat. 

And for those who like to wear bobby pins, these divine Blue Bobby Pin are just for you! They have a touch of yesteryear about them don't they?

Readers, I now invite you to read more about the Tale of Tunic Botik. The pieces are so intricate and inspiring, I hope you enjoy her story just as much as I did. Have a wonderful weekend everyone xo

The Tale of Tunic Botik 
Who is Tunic Botik? I am Deepa and I love creating unique and colourful jewellery. I run a shop called Tunic Botik on Etsy. I live in Sydney with my loving husband and two wonderful kids.

How and when did your handmade journey begin? I always loved to create from my childhood. Grew up wearing colourful dresses that my mum made for me. I was on top of the world when she gave me her huge collection of embroidery designs (Thanks mum!). I used those designs in my fabric painting experiments and did make some money out of it. My first business venture..! 

Tell me about your creative side, how did you get started? I got married and came to Sydney. Exciting new role as a mother was not too far away. I chose to stay at home to be with the kids and my creative journey came to life again. Lots of experiments with sewing, embroidery and painting in my free time. Finding matching jewellery for the outfits was the hardest part...I solved it by learning jewellery making and polymer clay opened a new world of colours for me. I could make jewellery in any colour that i wanted. It is so versatile with endless possibilities. Couldn't wait long to display my creations and Etsy made it possible and Tunic Botik was born. 

What inspires you? Gardens filled with colours inspires me. I enjoy working with colours. 
What mediums do you work with - do you have a favourite? I work with polymer clay which is my favourite.  
Do you have a favourite technique? I love working on tiny details and the applique technique excites me the most. 

What kind of things do you make/create? I create colourful jewellery pieces mostly in floral patterns. 
Do you have a favourite piece that you have created? My favourite is the unicorn pendant which is filled with lots of colours. 

What are your future plans,dreams,aspirations? I am looking forward to add more new creations in my online shop thus providing lots of choices for my customers. 
Do you have any exhibitions or markets coming up? I don’t do any craft shows at the moment.

Dear readers, would you like to see more? Here is how you can connect. 
Buy lovely things on Etsy here: 
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TunicBotik
Visit the Tunic Botik website here: 
http://www.tunicbotik.com/
And follow al the latest news on Facebook here: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tunic-Botik/189834687731623