onward...

Balmain calico & ivy has opened and continues to be visited by many.  Thank you so much for such positive support.

Sarah and I visited the flower market on Monday to collect some fresh flowers.  So many bustling, happy vegemites at such an early hour (5.30 am)... and such a colour explosion!

 

and into the shop they went...

 (Liberty betsy made into the fun bubble dress by Oliver & S patterns)

We have released the sale of tickets for Kaffe Fassett's workshop over here in Western Australia this week.

Tuesday March 1st - 9.30am - 4.30am

 

This will be a day of colour and pattern experimentation with guidance.  Kaffe and Brandon both entertain and inform, and all participants leave with colour placement achieved for an eye catching quilt.  We have chosen the Bordered Diamonds quilt from Kaffe's book Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts as the subject quilt, and still have a few places available for the day.

The cost of the workshop is $300.00 which includes a light lunch.

Please call into the shop or phone on 9383 3794 to book or for more information.

A word of thanks...

The above images are of some special pieces we have acquired to furnish calico & ivy balmain. 

Ken Wallis owns an amazing emporium named Seasonal Concepts in redfern, nsw. 

During our establishment of the balmain shop,  Ken has offered valuable advice and assistance, and just so much neighbourly friendship.

I encourage you to visit this stunning shop to experience their collection of vintage Australiana and exciting and unique flowers and greenery. 

The mannequin and stand (we use for books and patterns) below are a couple of other treasures we sourced at Seasonal Concepts...

Almost......



Our Balmain store is almost ready.  On Monday we open our doors to you all for the very first time!

We are so excited and can't wait to share a bit of 'Calico' love with Sydney.



Months of dreaming, planning, painting, building.....

............choosing, sourcing, waiting.....

       

........scouring.....

                                                                       

...........tying..............

                                                                     
       

...a little bit of sewing....

...primping, preening, tweaking....... and ' Little Calico' is oh , so nearly ready.

We open our doors:

 10am - 5pm  Monday - Saturday

10 Birchgrove Road, Balmain

9555 9909

And because we are in Balmain and Balmain is all about the dog, I need to share with you a little dog love.

This is Otto.



Hoping to see you in the shop soon. Sarah

a quiet christmas

Anthea created a very 'anthea' window for us this season.

Anthea's style is beautiful simplicity and one of my favourites, many thanks.

More thanks to all of the 'calico' girls for their unerring support and love.  Not a moment passes that I don't feel extreme gratitude for their presence in my life and their roles within the shop.  Each has an individual specialness of quality that they bring into the shop environment...and it is that which makes 'calico' a memorable place to visit.

We are approaching our down time now, and I welcome some special time with my family.

One more day for visiting before we close for a near on two week break.

These are a few new goodies you will encounter in store...

and these...

the new french ribbons have been well received...

and I cannot end the year without tempting you with a little Liberty... bias!

maybe I will catch up with you tomorrow, otherwise we re-open on thursday 6th january 2011, 9.30 on the dot.

It's going to be a great new year... I just know it!

Sarah is busy readying the Balmain shop for our first day of business on 10th January... have a glass of champers for me!

and a little bird told me that the newest Liberty seasonal collection will be available very early on in the new year...yes!!!

progress

It has been a while between posts but our attentions have been focused on preparing 'baby' calico for her opening.  We didn't quite make the mid December timing we were hoping for but have chosen to allow the holiday season to pass first.

Monday 10th January is our official opening day - 10am.

10 Birchgrove Road, Balmain is your destination for a visit.

 Lady Liberty classics have arrived, the new seasonal collection will be available by February:

Greeting cards galore:

A very special cabinet to showcase our Sophie Digard collection:
 

 And why not a cuppa while stitching?

very beautiful ribbon:

and of course our yarns are consolidating ready for the new season:

She makes us smile every time we walk in... hopefully you are liking her too.

Meet Sarah, Amy and Donna on your visits and be creatively inspired!

soul blossom wedding

we had a wedding yesterday... the marvellous, beautiful wedding of our daughter Danielle and her fiance Nick. 

The lead up to the wedding was a tad busy, as much to our delight Dani and Nick asked to have the reception in our home.  We had a bathroom to renovate and decided the adjoining room may as well be fixed up in the effort.  This added to the refreshing of the Balmain 'baby calico' kept hubby and I on our toes.

But an amazing calm fell over the house on Friday, we had tizzied, fluffed, arranged, played, cleaned and fussed, until we could no more.  We took a collective deep breath and decided the fun would begin.  So a quiet Friday night led into a casual, laughter filled Saturday.  Everything fell into place perfectly and Danielle met her groom a relaxed, radiant bride, for a ceremony on the water off the cliffs of Blackwall Reach.

Back home to final preparations and Dani and Nick's guests filled our home. It was all candles and flowers and many upbeat, happy friends enjoying a balmy night for an occasion of great merriment.

 Random pics from the night.

I had a few problems with the camera and light over the night and most of my pics are a little blurry.  I will show you our beautiful bride and her dress very soon, on receipt of some better snaps.

Danielle is a girl of colour, and her fabric choice to embellish a couple of the tables came from the latest range of fabric to hit our shelves, Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms, and some of our linen gauze.

Amy chose to capture some of the textile inspirations she experienced while travelling through India for this range.  This collection takes me back to her earlier ranges in colouring and pattern.  The colours suited Danielle's palette of yellow, pink and orange for the wedding, so just arrived in time to play a leading part.  I found some free time on Friday to pop it onto the website here

Just a few more peeks at Amy's Soul Blossom in the shop

 

exciting isn't it...

yes, truly enchanting

You may remember this image posted not so long ago.

Nimet sent me what she felt was a rough translation so I could get a gist of the written word.

Here goes:

"For Charlotte de L'Isle (written on door)

How often did the little door of La Charlotte open up?

How many times did faces fall upon finding her shut?

How many pots of chocolate passed through to the dishes, not to mention the cups... or the hands of the washer-man or washer-woman

As for having a rest, how often, how much... No! I stop.

Simply: thank you

For your presence, each of you, your peals of laughter, your silences full of care and attention.

This door which offered me so much and taught me so much will shut once more

and life will open up again, in the country, for other adventures."

We are of the opinion the shop may have closed and the owner moved to the country, as the shop was not open on what would have been a normal trading day (all neighbours were open) or maybe a grateful customer leaving Paris for new pastures presented this to the owner.  Whatever the circumstances, yes the translation was as enchanting as I imagined.

Thanks Nimet

balmain continued and fabric crochet

Simply put... thanks.  We have read your enthusiastic comments about our new store in Balmain... thanks.  I have received emails with offers of assistance, and talent abounding... thanks.  Even a few heads have popped into the half open doors while the paint dries, and the preparation works continue... thanks.  At such a busy time in the collective lives of those of us at Calico these touches are so uplifting... so many thanks.

Personally what is ringing through clearly is that Balmain is a community of like-minded, friendly, positive souls.  I have lived much of my life in and around Fremantle, here in the west, and that same vibe is what ties me to this environment here.  It feels good... very good.

Anthea has been guiding a class of girls through the ins and outs of fabric crochet.
The enthusiasm was such that before the second class these are some of the goodies the girls whipped up at home.

The above baskets were Jill's creations, just in one week.  The basket in the first image is made of multi-coloured voiles, the lower image shows a green woollen check with cotton string used as a trim for one basket and the other a patterned fabric, with added strips crocheted onto the edge to create the whimsical edging.

Above is Tracy's basket made from cotton fabric with the trims being strips cut from an Indian fabric skirt.

Next term might be your opportunity to learn this fun skill.