sasha + max studio

Hello. First post of 2013 for me. Better late than never! I've been back to the hard work of planning for the year day-job wise in the architecture and interior design field for a couple of weeks. This time of year is usually quiet in architecture and interior design which allows us to think about plans for the the months to come. The Interior Design game is a tough one at the moment -projects turn over fast so you have to continually feed the hungry machine , and there is a lot of undercutting of fees with clients not understanding what they will or will not get for the money, making it harder to get wins across the line and to get profits - it really is a love job.  These are things I ponder whilst having my jewellery making time, my other love job. In the Sasha + Max Studio, I have finally ventured into making my own earring hooks, reading lots of "how to's" ( thanks Beth Hemmila for the links on her blog last year -that got me motivated), practising ...

Licorice Earrings It is getting busy in the lead up to the holidays - must say, am really looking forward to a couple of weeks at home hanging out with Sasha and Kevin, warm weather and having more beading and sewing time.  I recently reinvigorated my sewing side by buying a new Singer machine - lots of fun but does eat into the bead time - need to rebuild my skills before I will share any creations on that front! On a totally different front, have you read the book " The Dalai Lama's Cat " -? It is such a sweet story, very light, all fiction, telling the tale of a Himalayan cat who is saved from the streets of Delhi and learns Buddhist lessons -  thank you Ingrid of The Conscious Cat who posted about it. Here are some newer earrings using enamel components from Suebeads and Gardanne. Doily Earrings

A dear friend, Alice turned 30 last week, so I made her a special necklace. Her style is minimal, but with lady like flair.  The Japanese bead by by Australian ceramic artist Natalie Fletcher of Peruzi , paired with some simple wooden discs and Elaine Ray's red beads were a perfect fit. Puzzle Bracelet This new bracelet in lovely neutral tones with a gorgeous mix of artist beads has been added to the Etsy store.  Use the code BRACELET20 to get 20% off any bracelet on the Etsy store -  code is however valid for bracelets only. Limited time only, so it is a great time to stock up on gifts.

Continuing my travel related posts, here are the London Highlights of the Forbo tour. The London Design Festival was huge - I wish we had more time (and energy!) The V+A Museum alone could have taken up two or three days! Highlights at V+A were the art installations, the Heatherwick Studio retrospective ( Thomas Heatherwick and team are multi skilled designers responsible for the Olympic cauldron and the new London Buses), and the Ballgowns exhibition, which had many designer gowns from the 1950's to now. Art Installation at the V+A Museum Entry We also visited two expos. The first was an interior design and architecture trade show, 100% Design at Earls Court - it was a fairly standard trade fair, much better than its Australian counterpart and the entry was certainly a highlight. Entry Installation at 100% Design  The second was called Tent, and was primarily furniture, accessories and lighting from more up and coming designers, although there were some oldies the...

Typical Amsterdam houses A work colleague and I were very lucky to win the Forbo award trip for a flooring design using marmoleum. The prize was an all expenses paid trip to Amsterdam and London for a week, to visit the Forbo factory,  have architectural and design tours, plus visit the London Design festival. Forbo's Krommenie Showroom The Forbo team looked after us very well, and we had a wonderful and hectic time, lots of food and great conversation, plenty of galleries and design talk, and a wee bit of shopping! My new shoes from United Nude Found an amazing shoe shop in Amsterdam, called United Nude -the store fitout was very cool, and the shoes are totally architectural, amazing colours, perhaps some not so great to walk in but very sculptural- I played it safe, I am an older chick, so bought 2 pairs in more muted tones, with relatively sensible heels, but will no doubt visit their on line store in the future as they ship to Australia. Restaurant De ...

How has your weekend been - did you watch the Olympic opening ceremony? I loved the Queen with James Bond, probably the best part of the show for me! It was our 5th wedding anniversary yesterday, so on a crisp sunny winter's day we went for a long lunch down by the beach at Balmoral at the Public Dining Room (strange name but great food), a wonderful restaurant with  a casual fitout  of oak flooring and original Eames chairs. Here are a few new beaded pieces. The first is a partner to the Snowgum bracelet, and has beads by all the fabulous ladies, such as Gardanne, Bo Hulley, Elaine Ray, Shannon Levart and Pip's Beads. Snow Gum Owls I must say those owl beads by Pips Beads are sooo sweet. They did not need much but a splash of colour and some wire.   Red The bracelet continues my obsession with Elaine Ray's ceramics. Sasha says "Have a great week!"

Hi there, sorry it has been so long between posts. I've been making only small amounts of jewellery of late, and have been trialling my new light tent to take photos, with mixed results - it can get very dark at our place during winter so I finally gave in. The egg bead featured below is by the lovely Vero of Narrative - what a talented artist she is. Egg Pendant On a personal note, the loss of Main Coon Max cat three months ago left me with not a lot to say for a while blog wise- he might have "only been a cat" as non pet people say, but to my husband Kevin and I, he was a vital part of our lives, and we were not prepared to say goodbye after 4 short years. Sasha, Max's sister, still looks for him every day which is somewhat heart breaking. This all has resulted in a fairly low key frame of mind as we move through our grieving time - time heals, as they say, and we are slowly mending  thanks to the love of friends, family and the sweet nature of Sasha.