Step right up. Step right up. Madame Mitchell and Madame Dent’s travelling museum of misfits is in town. See these strange and unusual curious critters, right before your very eyes. Now available in the little online shop of Mitchell & Dent.

mitchellanddent.com.au

For Boston and Arthur,
Kind regards, the Mesdames

roverdog.etsy.com

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

Om nom nom, vegetables love your tummy and fruit is sweet on you, don’t you know?! Well, Mitchell & Dent think so anyhow. These brand new art prints are perfect for cute kitchens and kids who need to learn more about healthy foods. This is what happens when we watch too much Jamie Oliver. Oh – and do note the Ray Cook ramekins I bought during our delightful day out in Melbourne with Miss Gemma. Yummy.

mitchellanddent.com.au

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

I’m not sure when Mason jars became the belle of the ball, but they’re clearly wearing the sash and tiara and lording it over the plain girls. You can’t move in girlie-blogland without stumbling across gorgeous pics of twinkling tealights in Mason jars, beautiful blooms in Mason jars, cute little animals in Mason jars. I thought I had seen it all until I saw these red velvet cupcakes in Mason jars on the Cakies blog. Recipe and all. Jarring, huh?

mycakies.blogspot.com

Channel your inner eighties child – think ra-ra skirts and rollerskates, blue light discos and mix tapes (on cassette of course), pastels and prettiness. This brand new Mitchell & Dent print by Mademoiselle Michelle might help too.

mitchellanddent.com.au

What is going on? I thought winter was planning on packing up and going home soon but instead, what we’re getting is lovely for ducks. We’d quite like it if the weather would kindly progress to something more along the lines of the bottom row of this brand new Whether the Weather print by Mademoiselle Michelle (now available online from Mitchell & Dent). Let the sun shine in.

mitchellanddent.com.au

I am a sad fan of Matte Stephens. The reason it has taken me so long to tell you what I love about him is because I’m a ditherer. I can barely choose from a menu without the fear of meal envy, so deciding which of his works to show is a near impossible task. By choosing one or two or three favourites means a few dozen more equally wonderful works are neglected. But then, in my quarantined snufflehead state last week I revisited my favourite film from childhood – Mon Oncle – and the decision was made. You’ll be delighted to know Matte Stephens artworks are available from Perth’s brand new Outré Gallery in William Street.

matteart.net

So, clogs are going to be big in the southern hemisphere this spring. How do I know? Because when I was home sick last week I watched daytime telly (inbetween whining and moaning and feeling terribly terribly terribly bored – not good at being sick, me). And Nicky Hilton, the font of all fashion knowledge (tee hee), said Chanel did a high-heeled clog and they were, like, the coolest thing evah. She may have meant something like this, but in my snot-laden head I imagined them to be more like these Swedish Hasbeens. Clearly, I’m so 2009.

swedishhasbeens.com