Mitchell & Dent's Tittle Tattle

From the moment I first spotted the Christmas tree above, I have loved the work of Jane Schouten, a Dutch designer who has the sharpest eye ever for vintage trinkets and treasures. She creates artworks and items for the home by cutting, pasting, painting, drawing, sewing and re-purposing found objects and collectables. I pop in to see her blog All the Luck in the World whenever I have a spare moment, which can be terribly dangerous because I also end up scooting all over the www looking at the things she finds wonderful. And then today, she announced that she has a brand new Etsy shop. Oh dearie me, I’m doomed.

blog.alltheluckintheworld.nl
alltheluckintheworld.etsy.com

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One of my most favourite parts of the movie Amélie is when she slides her hands into the sack of grain at the market – it is just one of those moments when you think “I wish I could do that”. So too, when I read ceramic artist Laura Walls Taylor‘s profile and she says “there’s nothing quite like having my hands in wet muddy clay then resting my hands in a bucket of nice warm water” (of course, I also wish I could make such wonderful works). What simple physical sensation gives you joy? Please share. Hmmm, that request could open a whole can of worms – or is it a barrel of monkeys? Whatever container of animals it is, perhaps we should avoid smuttiness, but don’t let that stop you sharing…

laurawallstaylor.etsy.com

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The thing that has always bugged me about clocks is how that little hand keeps spinning around, making it painfully clear that seconds are being counted down. It’s nerve-wracking. I don’t want a household appliance reminding me of my mortality. That’s why I like this clock. It is more relaxed. And pretty. Thanks Biegert & Funk for Qlocktwo. And because I don’t have a spare 800-odd Euros handy, I very much appreciate the iPhone app version.

qlocktwo.com

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OK, OK, enough about Melbourne already. I promise this is our last post about our jaunt to the east. We spent a day at the overwhelmingly huge Life InStyle trade show and were amazed by the goodies available to people with shops. Almost enough to make us wish we had a shop. Geez Louise, Australians make some good things. And what really surprised us were the number of Perthonalities who travelled across to exhibit. See, we can do things other than dig stuff out of the ground in this state.

It was nice to catch up with our favourite felt folks Jess and Jayden from Bug and Megs. Have you been to their shop in Fremantle yet? You should.

Tú are a local fashion label and we loved seeing their Mary Lou for Tú jewellery range. Sweetness.

Antigone has her very own House of Antigone and combines her graphic design and photography skills to make art objects for the home.

I bet you know Freo-based jewellery designers Loop already. Danny Sheiner makes amazing things and has a new studio in Margaret River to boot.

Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette and Miranda Kerr wear Sophie Kyron jewellery and you can too. If you like crazy carved beaded over-the-topness.

Pure Linen are all about pure linen, oddly enough. Designed in Australia and made in Europe and Australia.

We’ve bought these Mattiske map bangles and never knew they were designed and manufactured by Perth’s  Sharra Art. Well, whatdoyaknow?

Of course, Pigeonhole. The one-stop-shop (well, four little shops and an online store now) for cute and quirky. So much goodness.

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I know I know, that title doesn’t quite work, but I needed to get into the guts of this post quick smart. No time for tweaking the twee, as there is an awful lot to tittle and tattle about. If you’ve been living under a rock, you may not know that Mitchell & Dent went to Melbourne last week to hawk our wares at Magnolia Square (we did go on about it a bit). And omigoodness, there were so many good things there by good people that impressed our good selves. Here is a little taste of the goodness (from top to bottom)….

Melbourne’s A Skulk of Foxes make crazy good silver, timber and acrylic jewellery.

Angus & Celeste make jewellery and homewares, but we most loved these porcelain bottle vases decorated with botanicals native to Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges.

A treasure trove of vintage papery goodness from Green Olive – prints and stationery items made out of rescued children’s books from days gone by.

More midcentury-meets-paper wonderfulness, this time from South Australia’s Delilah Devine. Love the flying duck plaques covered with vintage wallpapers.

The mesdames must confess, we ate a whole host of Michel’s Fine Biscuit Co‘s wares. We heartily recommend the hazelnut shortbread and the ginger and almond buscuit with a lemon myrtle-infused white chocolate filling.

And finally, having just driven by the old Skipping Girl Vinegar sign in Victoria Street, it was really nice to see her emblazoned on homewares by Make Me Iconic. Swoon-worthy souvenirs.

We want to say a giant thankyou thankyou thankyou to our lovely friend Michelle who helped us out so much in Melbourne – our guide, our taxi, our handyman, our tea-lady, our support and our cheerleader. You’re tops, Shells.

And to three ladies who made our day by coming to say hello – you know who you are Belgian Nancy, Tanya from T&J and Sylvia. Very nice to meet you.

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Can’t make it to Melbourne for the Magnolia Square Markets? Don’t fret, there is plenty happening right here at home to please us Perthonalities.

For artistic souls, Little Creatures Brewery has an selection of works by graduating design students, The Cat’s Pyjamas (and friends), upstairs right now and on until the 7th of September. Or if you pop down to Turner Galleries between the 13th of August and the 11th of November, you will spy a solo exhibition by the terribly talented Kyle Hughes-Ogders (pictured above).

For shopoholics, Popsicle will be setting up shop outside PICA from the 9th until the 15th of September and Unwrapped will be hosting their Sunday Best market day on the 12th of September. Both events are part of the Perth Fashion Festival.

For fans of vintage style, Pigeonhole is celebrating the launch of their new store Pigeonhole Vintage this Saturday, the 7th of August, from 1pm with treats and dress-ups. Go to Shop 10, Bon Marche Arcade, 80 Barrack Street to take a peek.

For music lovers, make your way to Devilles Pad on Friday the 13th of August for some Black Friday fun and then grab your dancing shoes and head to The Ellington on the Sunday the 15th of August to swing the night away with Harry Deluxe and her band.

And for those who love it all, the Beaufort Street Festival is happening on the 27th of November and promises to be a marvelous mix of art, shopping, food and music.

Goodness, our social calendar is filling up fast. Do let us know of anything we may have missed.

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Madame Mitchell is relishing in Perth’s prolonged cold spell. She enjoys a brisk walk on a dewy morning, happily cooks up hearty winter-warming soups and thoroughly enjoys an evening inside crocheting granny squares by the dozen.

Madame Dent is not so jolly. There are only so many days she can stop in bed with the cats and a hot toddy before being accused of being a lazybones.

www.lazybones.com.au

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Mitchell & Dent were faced with a dilemma recently. The lovely Luann, maker of the most divine arrangements, left our florist of choice and in her wake, so did our loyal patronage. We’ve been experimenting with new florists for a few months to no avail. Then we heard tell of Rebecca Grace and her studio Natural Art. So blooming lovely and with the most easy peasy of online ordering systems.

www.naturalartflowers.com.au

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Goodness gracious me. This multicoloured rug by Krita is made of dozens and dozens of little felted wool balls. Amazing, but it still looks like a giant freckle to me.

krita.etsy.com

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Having noticed a serious lowering in the standards of tea party etiquette of late, M&D feel the need to share their top tips for the proper drinking of tea.

1. One should avoid striking the side of one’s teacup with the spoon when stirring as the sound is most unpleasant.
2. One should never (ever) protrude one’s pinky whilst sipping tea.
3. The spout of the teapot should always face toward the host or hostess.
4. Traditional tea time is four in the afternoon, however any time between two and five is acceptable.
5. A tea party is not complete without scones, cupcakes and cucumber sandwiches.
6. Unattractive tea sets are simply inexcusable, especially as Fiona from Antiquitea right here in Perth has such pretty porcelain for hire (as shown above).

www.antiquitea.com.au

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