What’s in a name? Well, you could ask Shakespeare what the blazes he was banging on about, or you could ask Emma Lamb. She makes the awesomest modern-vintage (work that one out) crocheted garlands and goodies – and names them all. Wouldn’t you like to take home a Daisy or an Esme? Or a Flora or an Edna? I don’t know how they smell, but they sure are sweet.

emmalamb.etsy.com

Yes, we are most definitely big fans of Bethamy Linton and her work. Mitchell & Dent spent a delightful day out at yesterday’s Wedding Upmarket right next door to Bethamy, chitchatting away, sharing cupcakes, gazing at glorious views, oh – and showing our wares to peeps planning weddings. Bethamy is a fourth generation silversmith who has a studio in the Swan Valley and while all of her work is something special, we were blown away by her silver and lace fans (boom tish).

bethamylinton.com

Perth is a tricky little town for designers. Sometimes the folks that dig things out of the ground do not dig design as much as we do. But we love it here. And we don’t want to leave. So where does that leave us? Well, for Mitchell & Dent, that means ganging up with a bunch of other creative types and showing Western Australia what we’ve got. Here is just a teeny little snippet of the wedding wonderfulness on show this weekend at the first ever First Comes Love bridal fair. It is a carefully curated, design-orientated, sweet and sassy little affair with independent exhibitors, a photo gallery, on the floor fashion, live music, sweet treats and a hair and makeup lounge (book yourself a trial here). Come join?

Saturday 18 June 2011 – 12 noon to 6pm
Sunday 19 June 2011 – 12 noon to 6pm
The Oxford Hotel (upstairs), 368 Oxford Street, Leederville
$5 per person

firstcomeslove.com.au

And then comes marriage. In case you missed our none-too-subtle plugs in the last post, Mitchell & Dent are making First Comes Love – an alternative little bridal fair here in Perth. We’re excited and anxious and in awe of the amazing folks taking part. We’re just mentioning it again because we’ve made a Facebook page and if you know anyone planning on getting hitched and looking for wedding wonderfulness in Perth, you’re welcome to go right ahead and invite them to the event. Off you pop now.

facebook.com/firstcomeslovefair

So, there’s this BIG THING we’ve been working on. It is called First Comes Love (and then comes marriage) and it is an alternative bridal fair and we’re making it from scratch. It is on June 18 and 19, upstairs at the Oxford Hotel in Leederville. It all came about because we took Mitchell & Dent to a big brash bridal fair last year and felt a little like fish-out-of-water. I don’t think what we do aligns too well with stretch Hummers and teeth-whitening and Swarovski-encrusted fishtaily dresses. So we thought we’d plan something smaller, sweeter and sassier with some of the incredibly creative folks we’ve had the pleasure of meeting through our stationery work. We’re all ganging up to show WA the goodness. Will you come?

And when the M&D team started talking vintage party frocks to make pledges in, it sounded like our mums all wore identical gowns. Maybe not quite on closer inspection, but just look at our mums and dads getting hitched. They’re all so shiny and happy (of course, they hadn’t had us yet). See if you can choose whose M&D is whose?

firstcomeslove.com.au

Poor Tittle Tattle, we’ve been so neglectful. But it is only because we’re super busy planning something super exciting. We’ll spill the beans real soon, promise. In the meantime, we’ve been thinking frocks. As stationers, Mitchell & Dent gets to work with lovely brides a lot and have heard how frustrating it can be to find these kinds of frocks in Perth (if you have, do please share!). Folks find them on Etsy, but would you be brave enough to order in a frock from overseas unseen? Well if you are, these ones look pretty…

Top row: The Peppermint Pretty
Second row: Alexandra King Bridal
Third row: Closet Case Vintage
Last row: Angel’s Bridal Boutique

The mesdames are constantly drawn to pretty shiny things and you can’t get much prettier and shinier than the wonderful work by Confetti System in Brooklyn. You’ll be delighted to know you can get a little dose of their goodness from Third Drawer Down in Melbourne.

confettisystem.com

The mesdames are big on snail mail. We love a letter. We love letters so much that we go out of our way to lovingly adorn them with lovely stamps. In Australia, that can be darn difficult. It is not often that a stamp comes out that doesn’t have an echidna or an explorer or an extra large piece of machinery on it. Tell me, can you imagine sending a jaunty jotting or the most ceremonial of celebratory invitations in an envelope with a jolly big jumbo on it? Where oh where are the pretty stamps? Here! Best get them real quick. Folks-in-love planning pledges might want to snaffle up these limited edition 2011 Australia Post Valentines Day stamps while the goings good.

shop.auspost.com.au/stamps

Now that we’ve plonked a pretty catchy Blur tune in your brain, let us tell you about Laurelville while you whistle your own backing track to the narration to follow. It is a big and beautiful house in York, Western Australia and you can stay there or even get hitched there; surrounded by loveliness and luxury, lofty ceilings, ornate timber staircases, open fireplaces, fragrant gardens, sweeping views. Sleep under Bemboka blankets of angora and super-fine merino wool or steep in a claw-foot bath of bubbles. It is a Mitchell & Dent kind of place. Just add Pimms.

laurelville.com.au

Hear all about it! Hear all about it! Exciting news! Mitchell & Dent is now a part of The Pressroom and Co in the US. What is The Pressroom and Co? It is a collective of very clever letterpress stationers from the USA, UK, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia and is an initiative of the extraordinarily lovely Valerie and Jim from Spark (first comes love and then comes letterpress). So, for folks across the pond who have been coveting our designs but have been hampered by the exchange rate and non-US-standard sizes, why not order through The Pressroom and Co? Off you pop now poppets.

pressroomandco.com