Friday, December 7, 2012

Friday Friends, DUST Team Makers, Rare Beasts

Happy Friday lovely Maddabling readers, welcome to a brand new Edition of Friday Friends. This week sees the creator behind Maddabling turn another year older, and very much in relaxed Holiday Mode. Maddabling hopes to head to the Denmark Arts Markets on Saturday to catch up with two DUSTy Divas being Deb from Unique Dichroic and Karen from New Earth Soaps.

Ok, now back to todays blog post - it is my great pleasure to introduce you all to a new guest blogger, Australian Maker and DUST Team Member, meet the super talented Brian from Rare Beasts.

My hubby writes, records and edits his own music and I am pretty sure that Brians' creations would be of great interest to anyone who dabbles in music to the more serious musician looking for that unique sound.

Brian says this in his Etsy Shop Announcement to give you some idea of his craft :
"At RareBeasts you will find unique electronic musical instruments, synthesizers, drum and noise loopers and other custom electronics, all items are 100% designed and handmade by me. Recycled materials are used when available and practical. Custom orders are most welcome."

Flash-Tron II Light controlled handmade synth

I will now hand over the blogging reigns to Brian so that he can tell you more about his amazing craft. Have a great weekend everyone and see you all again soon xo

The Rare Beasts Score

My name is Brian and my Etsy store is Rarebeasts. I'm an inventor, musician and gadget freak that builds hand held electronic musical instruments that are so simple that anyone can play them.

Apart from creating and selling things on Etsy I also contribute articles to a magazine called Make, often writing how-to articles about products from my Etsy store. Because I work from home it allows me time to look after my two kids (we get to make lots of cool projects) and I also play in a band called CupAndBow that makes music using the instruments that I create and build.

I've always liked music and electronics so I find my inspiration from marrying those two interests. I find that many mass produced electronic instruments are too complicated with menu systems forcing you to reach for the instructions every time you want to play, so I wanted to design simple instruments that do one simple task, that anyone could pickup and start playing.

I've been tinkering and pulling things apart since I was very little but I've only really been designing original instruments since I made a piece for my daughter's 1st birthday called the R-Tronic, it was a simple step sequencer that uses shapes to put sounds into a sequence that makes up a little song.

I find inspiration from many places but I do have to give credit to those old electronics kits you could buy, that taught you the basics of electronics. Credit also goes to great sites like makezine.com and instructables.com that have an amazing community of creative people contributing to them.

Sometimes a new design will come from a need to make a certain sound or find a new way to play an instrument, for example my Wicks Looper allows you puts sounds into a loop using a rotary control rather then a sequence of button presses. But sometimes its just a matter of playing around with new circuits and finding that crazy sound completely by accident.

I hope in the future I'll still be making new instrument designs and I hope to expand my production of electronics kits that will teach a new generation about how to make their own instruments and have fun making music with electronics at the same time.

Dear readers want to explore the craft of Rarebeasts and CupandBow some more ?
Here is how you can connect.

Buy cool things on Etsy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/rarebeasts

Follow sweet tweets on Twitter here: @rarebeasts https://twitter.com/Rarebeasts

Follow the fab images on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/people/rarebeasts/

Become a fan on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rarebeasts/435992720186

Download music from Bandcamp here: http://cupandbow.bandcamp.com/

and learn more about CupandBow on TripleJ Unearthed here:
http://www.triplejunearthed.com/CupandBow

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Things that caught my eye - Wednesday Wishes

Well dear readers, today is my birthday. And I want to share with you all a few things that caught my eye in this edition of Wednesday Wishes - perhaps I can put these on the Birthday Wishlist for next year?

I hope you love these beautiful Australian Handmade Finds.

lady pastel drawing print by Savage Kitten

Yellow clutch with berry tree and blue silk lining by sirtom

Necklace - silver, gemstone, crystal, pearl "Winterbeach" by Natural Candy

Yellow + Black Retro Style Felt Miniature Dress Brooch by CandykinsCrafts

lavender sachet pink bird in eco felt. embroidered flowers on linen
by edwardandlilly

Friday, November 30, 2012

Friday Friends - Summer Street Fair Makers

Welcome dear readers to a different kind of Friday Friends Blog Post. At Summer Street Fair today, I spent some time talking to the other stall holders and thought it would be nice to share their stories with you.

Firstly, a virtual tour of Summer Street Fair. These are some all encompassing snaps of the fair layout and all of the wonderful stalls for you to look at.

Now, it's time to introduce to you all the lovely folk that make up Summer Street Fair 2012.
Judy

Meet Judy - creator and the wonderful soul that runs Summer Street Fair each year. Judy says this about her craft:
"I am a draw-er of fish and creator of steam punk models bordering on sculptures. I also make jewellery from vintage pieces. I have been running Summer Street Fair for 17 years now and was a stall holder for 5 years before that. It’s interesting to see the way the fair has morphed and developed over the years and that people who first came here with their mums are now coming here to shop handmade and vintage with their children."

Joanne Adams – Antique Linen and Collectibles

Meet Joanne - the face behind Joanne Adams - Antique Linen and Collectibles. Joanne says this about her craft:
"I source and supply vintage linen and collectibles including vintage jewellery. I attend local Fairs and Markets in the Albany area."

Jules Jewels

Meet Julia - the face behind Jules Jewels. Julia says this about her craft:
"I have always loved jewellery and love creating things. I am currently obsessed with my brass

Steam Punk style pendants and necklaces."

This Paper Cut Life

Meet Sue – the creator behind This Paper Cut Life. Sue says this about her craft:

"I create paper cuts, wood cuts and laser cuts. My designs are created from life experiences and tell stories about places and family, making them quite personal. I find that people are drawn to, and connect to my art because of this."

DEL-icious Designz

Meet Del – the creator behind DEL-icious Designz. Del says this about her craft:

“I create lots of different things and specialise in Spoon Jewellery and Crochet Goods I also make Festive Flag Bunting, Tea Cosies and Crochet Toys. I have designed patterns for and made my own line of Cabbage Patch style hats and lots of other character hats.”

Maddabling
Meet Samara - the creator behind Maddabling. Samara says this about her craft.
"I make pretty things and never leave home without a camera. This year I have added to my Bath Milk and Herbal Bath Tea Bags and tried my hand at making some Goats Milk Soap with great success! My Signature Line is Kilt Pin Brooches which I have been making ever since my very first Summer Street Fair. I am also committed to promoting Australian Handmade on the Maddabling Blog and I am one of the Team Admins for the DUST team (made up of the cleverest bunch of creators in Australian ETSY land)."

Sugagirl Cakes
Meet Shevi – the creator behind Sugagirl Cakes. Shevi says this about her craft :

"I specialise in novelty cakes and cakes for all occasions. I really enjoy getting into the kitchen to create unique goodies especially Christmas Goodies like Cherry Bourbon Balls and brandy Christmas Cakes just to name a few."

Sherree’s Stitches from the Heart

Meet Sherree – the creator behind Sherree’s Stitches from the Heart. Sherree says this about her craft:

“I have fun sewing and quality matters to me. I make things that others don’t including custom orders. It’s the creative urge that keeps me sewing and I find it very relaxing.”

Margot’s Creations

Meet Margot – the creator behind Margot’s Creations. Margot says this about her craft

“I started to knit when I was young, before I could read and write. When I arrived in Australia I became passionate about working with wool and creating colours which makes me happy. I also enjoy spinning. At the Denmark Markets I am known as the Sock Lady. I specialise in knitting and dying natural fibres, including Alpaca Wool, Cotton and Silk.

Sew What

Meet Carol – the creator behind Sew What. Carol says this about her craft :

"My passion is Colour and I am addicted to fabric. I am a Fabric-holic. I started to sew when I was ill and this helped to bring out my creative side. I specialise in hand sewn bags and toys. My next project is to start painting and drawing on fabric to create my own fabric designs and to start to create my own fabric patterns."

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about the Summer Street Fair Makers, and if you haven't had the chance to visit us yet, we are open for a little longer. Pop in and say hello - and remember: "Keep Calm and Shop Handmade This Christmas"

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Vanilla Bean - Thursday Thoughts

I sampled some delicious Melting Moment Biscuits today from Sugagirl Cakes - they had the most sublime Vanilla Bean Creme centre - hence the inspiration for todays Thursday Thoughts. I hope you enjoy these divine picks x