Hand-printed Christmas Tags and Labels

Over at the Nest we have collected some very special Christmas tags and labels, all lovingly hand-printed - below are a few of our faves and you can check out the full range here.

GladRagz Skirts & Dresses On Sale!

We are planning a complete revamp of our clothing range and to make way for our exciting new stock we are clearing out some of our current items.  To get the process started we have marked down ALL of our GladRagz products.  These gorgeous skirts and dresses are made on the Sunshine Coast out of fantastic recycled fabrics.  Pop on over to the GladRagz artist page to check out the full range and to grab yourself a bargain!

Safety Pin Bracelet!

We thought we'd kick off the first week of December by showcasing one of our Feathered Finds.  This groovy bracelet is hand-made in South Africa out of safety pins and blue beads - very creative, and very beautiful.  Have a great week!

Feathered Find Of The Day

Our Feathered Find Of The Day is this funky looking sock monkey called Jasper Fez. Our little one, Georgie, loves her sock monkey, she gets so excited every time she sees it, very cute.  Jasper Fez, is the "cool" one of the sock monkey group, he is beautifully handcrafted and very handsome, a monkey who knows how to impress the girls! He is 56cms (22″) in length and wears funky monkey printed pants, waistband with contrasted stitching, and a brown short vest embroidery detailing. Check out the full range of Jasper's friends here.  For a limited time only, you can get 30% off your favourite sock monkey - all you have to do is put the promo code "SOCKMONKEY" in the box at checkout.

Food Trucks!

We have been checking out a couple of the Melbourne food trucks recently.  First we popped into the CBD to grab a burger from Mr Burger - I was hoping for a veggie option but they hadn't introduced them yet (they should be available by now) -  so I went the meat burger - even though I'm not usually a fan of burgers (unless I have made them myself and I know the meat is good quality) - I really enjoyed my Mr Burger burger!!  David was also a big fan - Georgie even enjoyed a bit of a nibble (not that you can tell by the funny face she is pulling in this photo).

So, because that was such a successful outing, we thought we would pop past the Taco Truck when it was in Brunswick.  And I'm pleased to say that it was another yummy meal - I had the fish tacos which were really delicious. Go the food trucks I say - fun and yum!  

Hanky Fever Takes Over The Nest!

Our range of retro hankies have been so popular that we thought we should order some more! Here's just a small sample of our new stock, to check out the full range just click here.

Feathered Find Of The Day!

Our wound up cufflinks have been one of our best selling products and it's easy to see why.  They are unique pieces of jewellery which are made out of reclaimed watch mechanisms which have been sourced locally and date as far back as 1920.   The exciting news is that Brent (the maker) is currently working hard creating a new range of products which we will no doubt be stocking - but, unfortunately the range of cufflinks that are currently in stock will be our last ones - so, if you want to snap one of these up before the mad Christmas rush, this is the time to do so!

Another Sun Rising Show!

You may remember our little blog post back in August about a show called Sun Rising - a show that pays tribute to Sun Records in Memphis and the amazing artists that recorded there in the 50s. Well, the first show at the Toff ended up being a sensational night and the exciting news is that there is another show at the Northcote Social Club tomorrow night.  So, if you are a Melburnian I highly recommend you come along for a night of great music and interesting stories about the little recording studio in Memphis that had such a huge impact on the music industry.  More details about the show over at their Facebook page.  Hope to see you there!

Featured Artist: Karen O'Leary

Karen O'Leary from Charlotte, North Carolina, USA is one talented lady - just check out the detail on these map prints (Melbourne above and Prague below) - the prints originate from hand drawn, hand cut original artwork, and the level of detail on these pieces of art is amazing. 

Some interesting facts about Karen include:

• her favourite food is Thai and Korean food, the spicier the better!;
• her favourite recipe is a crap cake recipe (from her mum);
• the most rewarding part of her art is that each creation is her own.  Each piece is different and takes a huge amount of time - each piece is hand drawn and hand cut, no two pieces are alike.

Pop on over to Karen's artist page and check out her amazing range of city prints -  to find out more about Karen just click on the "artist story" section under the product. 

Bags, bags, bags!

We just received a very exciting shipment from the USA - a box of handmade bags made by Rachel Aughtry in Texas (one very talented lady!).  This is one of the fabulous satchels that we have been admiring - we have only uploaded a few items so far and you can check them out here.  The rest will be uploaded in the next few days.  Let us know what you think by commenting below, we would love to hear what you think of them.

Hanky Fever!!!

Anyone else out there having sneezing fits at the moment?  Ahh, Spring in Melbourne, loving the  warmer weather but not enjoying the hayfever!!  Lucky we have Hanky Fever over at the nest.  Pop on over and check out their range of quirky, retro hankies - pictured above is one of our new additions (cool cars!).

Bibs & Bobs Canvas Bag

Our featured product for the week comes all the way from Scotland and it has a lot of personality for a canvas bag!  It is hand screen printed and is just the right size, shape and weight whether its rolled up in your bag or filled with shopping. These bags have been very popular since we added them to our Nest - they are only $12, so get yourself a little bit of Scottish canvas! Click here our whole range of Yoke products.

Czech Republic: Interesting Facts and Finds

Last time we were over in Europe we spent some time in the Czech Republic hunting for handmade gifts to fill our Nest.  3 interesting facts about the Czech Republic:

• the country is almost completely surrounded by mountains;
• There are over 2,000 castles, keeps, and castle ruins; and
• their inhabitants are the WORLD'S heaviest consumers of beer!

Other than drinking beer and admiring the gorgeous castles and mountains, we did manage to come across some fantastic unique finds while we were there which you can check out here.  There's only a few left because a lot of them have already been sold (a good excuse to get back there, yipee!) but there are still some lovely gifts left and the painting above of this gorgeously content looking cat is one of our favourites.  We found it in a small town called Sedlice and we just couldn't go past that irresistible smile.

If any of you have  been to Czech Rep and would like to share some interesting facts or finds please feel free to comment below, we'd love to hear from you.

Feathered Find Of The Day

Our Feathered Find Of The Day is this gorgeous etching of Sporgasse in Graz, Austria which we found on our last overseas trip to Europe.  The detail on this etching is stunning.  It measures approximately 12 x 14.5 cm (4.5 x 5.5") and is $48.

Feathered Find Of The Day

Happy Sunday everyone!  We've just rustled around our Nest and come up with this fantastic Feathered Find Of The Day.   This is Lydia and she is created almost completely from recycled materials. Lydia measures approximately 8cm (body diameter) and will go to the right home for $50.  So, if you like the look of Lydia pop on over to Robin Street Market and check her out and while you are there say hi to her buddies!  They are all very cool...

Feathered Find Of The Day

Today's feathered find is this super sweet birdie brooch.  Handmade right here in Melbourne this cute little birdy is the perfect way to brighten up any outfit.

Handmade Father's Day Cards!

We love a good handmade card over here at the Nest.  And our Father's Day range is mighty cute.  Like this one for example.

Love the hair, the hands, the shirt, love everything really!

Check out our full range here...

Sun Rising - Launch Tonight 16th August!

Ok, so I know I said I was going to focus on posts about Father's Day, so here's my "Father's Day angle" on today's post.  My gorgeous husband David, who is also a fantastic Dad to our gorgeous daughter, is involved in launching a brilliant show tonight at The Toff In Town.  The show pays tribute to Sun Records in Memphis and includes songs by artists that recorded at Sun Records including Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, BB King and loads more.  The band are absolutely brilliant and along with the music you will also get to hear some fascinating insights about Sun Records and the artists that recorded there.

So, if you are in Melbourne, come along tonight to the Toff tonight and experience "The Songs That Made Memphis"!

Another unique gift idea for Dad...

What better way to say thanks for being a great dad than to give him a pair of these wonderfully unique cufflinks. Made from recycled watch mechanisms, parts to make these amazing pieces of jewellery are sourced locally and date as far back as 1920.  To see the full range of these cufflinks click here.

It's all about the Dads

With only a couple of weeks until Father's Day, it's all about the Dads at Robin Street Market.  And which Dad doesn't deserve one of these groovy, retro-themed hankies...  They are all priced at $8 and you can check out the whole range here.

Father's Day 2012!

Well, Father's Day is just around the corner now, so we thought we would inspire you with some unique gift ideas for Dad.  Which of these fantastic gifts is your favourite?

Terramundi Money Pots

Yay, more Terramundi Money Pots have hit the nest - about time!!  These unique, terracotta money pots are hand thrown in Italy and hand painted in London and have been traditionally used in Italy for over 2000 years. The tradition is that once the first coin is dropped the money pot must be fed until full upon which it must be smashed whilst making a wish. As the Terramundi is renowned for bringing good fortune, it is customary to replace the pot and spend the money on good things!  To check out the full range, click here.

Our Products In Family Australia Magazine

Some of our fabulous, unique products were featured in Family Australia Magazine this month.  Our leather baby shoes (Strawberry and Whale designs) were featured in the"Things For Kids" Section and our wound up cufflinks were featured in the "All About Him" section.  Thanks, Family Australia Mag!!

Winner of iPad Pouch Giveaway!!

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to enter our Handmade iPad Pouch Giveaway.  It seems that Gremlins got into our blog during the week because some entrant's comments weren't showing up on our blog, but never fear, we received all comments via email in the order that they were left so we have record of them all and we have used the original order that comments were left to come up with a winner.  We'll have this issue sorted out asap.

The random generator has spoken and Liz B is the winner, so congratulations Liz!!  We have sent you an email so check your inbox.

For those of you who would like to view the entire range of handmade iPad pouches, just click here.

Happy Weekend!

Giveaway: Handmade iPad Pouch

We have just added some lovely new handmade iPad pouches to Robin Street Market, designed and made in Thailand by a mother and daughter team (who you can find out more about here).

To celebrate our new additions we are giving away one of the pouches - and if you are the lucky winner you get to choose which one!

All you need to do to enter the giveaway is to leave a comment at this blog telling us which pouch is your favourite. You can check out the range of iPad pouches here.

The giveaway closes at midnight on Friday 11th May 2012 and the winner will be drawn at random and announced on this blog on Saturday 12th May 2011.

Best of luck and have a wonderful week!

Handmade Baby Beanies!

We have recently added a range of handmade baby beanies to our Nest - they are very cute and in need of a good home - given the Wintery weather in Melbourne over the last week there should be a good number of chilly little heads out there craving some handmade warmth and toastiness.  You can check out the range at this link.

Mother's Day 2012!

Well, Mother's Day is fast approaching and to help you find the perfect gift for your Mum we have created a Mother's Day Gift Guide.  And to go along with our unique range of gifts we are also stocking some unique and very funky Mother's Day Cards.  This card below is one from our range and it has real freckles on it!!  Only a very special mum deserves real freckles :)

Featured Product: Gretel Ring

Our featured product this week is this funky ring featuring an acrylic chrysanthemum cabochon. The flower is a gorgeous turquoise colour, which nicely complements the antiqued brass filigree ring. This eye-catching ring is very light and comfortable to wear and is flexible and easy to adjust. Click here for more details and to purchase.

Bowl Makes It To The Big Time

So if you turn to Page 35 of the April Edition of Real Living Magazine you will notice one of our colourful paper mache bowls (handmade in South Africa), hanging out in the bottom right corner.  Yes, you are correct, our little bowl had to travel all the way from South Africa to Australia to get famous...

We have had a few sales of these in recent times (thanks Real Living Mag!) but we do still have a few left in stock and will be getting more in soon.  To see the whole range of these unique and colourful paper mache products click here.

Hello Scotland!

We are very excited to announce that Scotland has just been added to our World Map, woohoo!!  And, the Scottish artists that have joined our Nest are ridiculously talented and fabulous.  Mark & Zoe Yoke (affectionately known as Mr and Mrs Yoke) are illustration and print making specialists and their philosophy is keeping it simple - their iconic, bright, bold, beautiful illustrations are sure to brighten the gloomiest of days! Check out their fantastic range of tea-towels, canvas bags and screen prints over at their artist page.

Spirit House Restaurant

While I was up on the Sunshine Coast last year, I was lucky enough to head along to the Spirit House Restaurant for lunch.  We had the most delicious lunch and enjoyed the food so much that I decided to head back to the Spirit House with my good friend Nikki to do a Thai Cooking Course.  We had a fabulous day at the course and I highly recommend a visit to the Spirit House either for a sensational meal at a gorgeous venue or to learn the wonderful art of Thai cooking.  Here's a link to their website.