Saffrons Blog

A blog about fabrics, designing, ideas and things that inspire me.

The design process of a commissioned boys fabric for shorts and hats

Saffron Craig - Thursday, September 30, 2010

MIDA boys shorts. Fabric designed by Saffron Craig

A few months ago Janet and Jonathon from Mida contacted me to help funking up their boys wear summer range. She could not find any fabric she liked and thought she ask me after she found me on the net and liked my style.

So we met up and talked it through and I think she was surprised at how happy I was to help. See, I have a background in fashion design and love designing clothes. Janet had a fairly good idea of what she wanted though was very open to me interpreting her ideas in my own style.

The brief for this project was quite specific and simple; to design fabric for boys summer shorts and hats under the age of seven. Initially there was two ideas for me to work up, one based on fish and another on graphical elements. As the garment was intended for shorts it gave me the opportunity to design boldly, though keeping it cute for a wee boy. Also I knew I was really designing for their mums and grand parents who buy their clothing.

I kept in mind that squares, blocks, checks and stripes are widely used to make sure you can tell it is a boy from a distance while dots and circles are more feminine. However, dots inside a square as a pattern appears masculine again. Often ambiguous pattern designs make a pair of board shorts look more like a skirt from a distance. This is so true on little kids because of their androgynous physique.

This is what we decided on.
Saffron Craig funky fish design

Colour was very important for this project. I so wanted to use colours that I don't see in boys' shorts very often such as dark grey, to hide the muck, and orange with green. Janet said I could use as many colours as I like, which was unusual as colours bump up the price in printing and budgets need to be maintained. Being able to be free with colours was really cool for me. No constraints. Janet really liked my colour ideas, she asked heaps of mums who agreed and liked them as well and said they would dress their sons in them!

I decided on a fish shape that was a bit pointy as I thought it looked more masculine. I then played around with the placement of the pattern inside the fish. The image below is a working sketch I emailed Janet to see If I was going down the right path, which luckily I was!

I also played around with a stripe inside the fish and really liked it but the one with the squares is just a bit cleverer so I used that instead and developed it to the finished design.

This image combines a lot of the elements I drew up to use for the shorts. Again another early sketch I emailed to Janet.

For the final design I settled on a graphic approach with an abstract gold fish. Simple geometric shapes is one of the design languages for boys' clothing so I really enjoyed playing with it. It took a few tries to get it exactly right, which is part of the fun of creating a new fabric.

And last week, quite some time after finishing the designs, Janet came to visit and gave me a few pairs of the final shorts and hats to my great delight. I think they turned out great and hopefully will be very popular. I am really pleased with them. I stuck to the brief and designed something that still has a "Saffron" feel to it. Now I have a few give-aways for my nephews and my friend's boy Arlo!
MIDA boy's hat. Fabric designed by Saffron Craig

MIDA boy's hat. Fabric designed by Saffron Craig

Well, I really enjoyed the process and hopefully will get to do lots more commission work. Actually, Janet has asked me to design another fabric for her based on trains so I will be sure to share that with you once it is selling in her store.

Until then you can buy these shorts online via her ebay shop.

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6 comments

Gaye Steley commented on 30-Sep-2010 09:06 PM

Amazing Saffron... They are really cool.xx

Toni Coward commented on 30-Sep-2010 10:54 PM

Even though you find boys fabrics harder to design, you are AWESOME at it Saffron!
I especially love these fish and would definitely dress my boys in these prints :)

Simon Tracey commented on 01-Oct-2010 05:34 AM

Those shorts look really cool, Saffron. I like your work.

Buttons commented on 01-Oct-2010 11:03 AM

Hi Saffron,

This was a great post to read! I'm studying textile design at the moment and it's so great to learn about other designers processes... makes me feel like I'm on the right track! It's also nice to know there's a market for bold designs with interesting colours! Thanks!

Kirstin Bokor commented on 07-Oct-2010 08:10 AM

Arlo loves them - if he likes something he rubs his face in it. So saffron - success. xoxo

Amelia Sliedrecht commented on 11-Oct-2010 05:51 PM

I love that the fish are looking at me :)
It's great to see your design process and I love the final product!

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The Beetle Bugs fabric strike-offs—the design process of a new range

Saffron Craig - Tuesday, September 21, 2010

The Beetle Bugs strike-offs have arrived from the printers. This range has been worked on for few months now and I'm happy to see the results. I have listened to requests to make something a bit different for boys and I've wanted to design a boy’s range for a while.

My daughter's best friend five year-old Matisse actually gave me the clues, you see he loves bugs.
On a rainy winter day he took my hand and we wandered through his garden filling up jar after jar with snails and bugs. It was quite amazing. He diligently showed me where they live, gave them names and he created homes for them all.

So thanks to Matisse who gave me insight to his world and I guess the world of boys in general. It inspired the motives, shapes and forms for my new range Beetle Bugs. I filled up pages in my sketch book with drawings and ideas after this outing and as each design was being refined both Matisse and Sequoia were keenly interested and heavily debated each print out. He has even redrawn several himself, which he gave me and I now treasure.

I get a huge sense of relief when I can say to myself "yes, send it to the printer"; it’s the last stage that takes oooohh so long.
The ideas, concepts and inspiration for new ranges come to me quite quickly and so do the actual designs. It is the tracing and shuffling pixels on the page to refine my idea, as well as the final decisions on scale and colours that takes time. I am still far away from being a vector perfect designer and have Patrick to thank for making these designs polished.

While designing the Beetle Bugs I needed to put the designs away for a week or two at a time and bring them out again just to see how I would feel about them with fresh eyes, asking myself "do I like them enough?"

Often I thought they were finished only to find out they needed a tweak. As this is a boys range the colours were quite neutral for a while, however my sister said I had to make them bright, more "Saffron"! She even bundled up all her son's favourite clothes and explained "this is a green a boy will wear and this is not!"

So, brighter and more saturated they became and out came petrol blue, orange, and bits of grey on white. No pinks, purples or shades in between for this range, which I feel took me out of my comfort zone. Not to mention that flowers, birds or in fact anything remotely girly was not allowed!

The name Beetle bugs came about thanks to facebook comments on my fan page when I wrote a post asking for ideas to rename the range on the working title of Bugs. So thanks to you all for participating.

Three weeks ago I sent my little bugs off to the printer. I hoped all my thinking would result in perfect strike-offs and they were close. I learned a lot about boys fabrics in the process that's for sure.

I didn't really know what to show you as they're still months away from being ready to sell. We live in a copy cat world and there's always the danger someone takes an idea and runs with it. Usually I don't show the designs at all until the bulk is printed and selling in shops world wide but this time I thought I would show you a glimpse. After all this blog is a bit of a journal of the day to day of my working life.

The Beetle bugs will be available in 2011, a while away I know. This is the first colourway of six designs and another colourway is soon to follow. Sign up for my newsletter where I will let you know once they are here.

When I design a a range there is a process where I start with one design and it develops into something else and then it goes another direction again. I thought I might share a few of the many designs that did not make it to print.

The design below is inspired by Charley Harper's bugs. He's just such an amazing artist and working with these bugs got me underway.

In this design I tried to convey the idea of a bug on a leaf and how they can hold on so tightly and almost defy gravity. It ended up more random and much more colourful but the essence is still there.

This design developed to be part of the final range. We aptly named it Snails and Ladders.

This spot became the Beeele Bug Spots, which you can see in the photograph at the top. Quite different now!

As always, if you feel like leaving a comment I would love to read it.

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27 comments

Hanna Kondering commented on 22-Sep-2010 03:34 AM

Hi Saffron, those prints are just the kind of "boy" prints i´ve been looking, so much fun !!! I really like your bugs, Hanna

Gabi commented on 22-Sep-2010 08:29 AM

Absolutely beautiful. I want !!!!

Rachel Koopmans commented on 22-Sep-2010 09:07 AM

Love it Saffron, and love how you've included the kids in the process....really looking forward to these!

Netta commented on 22-Sep-2010 09:23 AM

I love the bugs. They are too fun. I showed them to my 3 year old grandson and he wanted to play with them! Definitely a hit!

Sandy Norman commented on 22-Sep-2010 09:25 AM

Wow the bugs and so cute... the colours are great too

Sandyn

Lydia Guy commented on 22-Sep-2010 09:46 AM

I love the navy and yellow!

Jill commented on 22-Sep-2010 09:47 AM

I love these fabrics! It will be hard to wait until next year for them. Thanks for sharing a bit about your design process.

Kelli Hynes commented on 22-Sep-2010 10:03 AM

These are great Saffron, I am kinda glad they aren't here till next year, got two applique quilts on, and doing the fairy hearts too! Will there be a fantastic quilt pattern to go with these?

Jen Burn commented on 22-Sep-2010 11:27 AM

These are fantastic! Love the colours. Can't wait for them to be officially released. Thanks for sharing, Saffron.

Angela Moore commented on 22-Sep-2010 12:53 PM

This is a gorgeous design! I love it and it'd be great when sewing for boys.

Kylie commented on 22-Sep-2010 04:25 PM

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Kylie commented on 22-Sep-2010 04:27 PM

These are fabulous! I have two little boys and I can't wait to get my hands on these fabrics and create something special!

Kate Pangbourne commented on 22-Sep-2010 05:05 PM

Gorgeous designs and colourway, can't wait to see the rest. Will start saving up, because I think these are 'must haves', even though I have enough fabric to open a quilt factory.

nicole vos commented on 22-Sep-2010 05:31 PM

Awesome stuff Saffron! The designs are unique, fresh and modern looking. Great job. :)

Toni Coward commented on 22-Sep-2010 11:11 PM

Wow Saffron, they are brilliant!
I know lots of sewers who are going to be over the moon with these and can see some of my "boy" patterns working perfectly with them!
Well done - can't wait for 2011!
xxx

Kate Conklin commented on 23-Sep-2010 09:49 AM

Wow Saffron, I'm in love! The colours and designs are just perfect. I'm kind of wishing I'll have a boy now, so I can make him the cutest quilt ever. These fabrics are going to be a hit!! Fantastic work!

Sharon Feigl commented on 23-Sep-2010 04:24 PM

Hi Saffron,
Love the bugs...and your sister is so right...I've had 3 boys and they have all looked great in bright colours.
Hugs, Sharon

Kirstin Bokor commented on 24-Sep-2010 05:00 PM

I love these - you're just getting better and better. Your process is interesting, and the designs prove that it is a great way for you to work. However as the mother of a boy I have to say the boys I know adore birds. Arlo squeals at the them every day, and his best friend Harry is followed by Fairy Wrens where-ever he goes (it is true, pretty magic huh?).

I can't wait to do something with this range - saffron friend, you might just get me learning to sew one of these days if you keep designing things I love this much. xoxoxoxo Kirst

jodi commented on 25-Sep-2010 12:56 AM

Love it, every last thread of it!

Cyndi Hoeller - Bee Tree Designs commented on 25-Sep-2010 01:15 AM

OMG, I thought the Purple and Chartreuse Bird Tree fabrics were just "IT" until I spotted these beetle fabrics............foer me halloween and I have 3 granddaughters who will love love love some of the other color ways just as much as my grandson, HURRY 2011!!!
Thanks for such great innovative colorful fabrics!!! Keep it up! loving them all!

Pam T. commented on 25-Sep-2010 05:27 AM

Too adorable for words!

Marcia W. commented on 25-Sep-2010 11:56 AM

Beetles is fabulous and enjoyed the story of creating the collection.

Lynn Harris commented on 26-Sep-2010 04:35 AM

I just found your website. Your fabrics are delightful.

cori commented on 26-Sep-2010 10:03 AM

Great boy fabric!! I can only find trucks and cars for boys, Thanks for the bugs, My 5 nephews will love them.

Leslie Schmidt commented on 26-Sep-2010 04:36 PM

I LOVE Charlie Harper! The lady bugs on the leaves is very much in that vein. All the fabrics look like they would be fun to use.

Leslie Schmidt commented on 26-Sep-2010 04:38 PM

I LOVE Charlie Harper! The lady bugs on the leaves is very much in that vein. All the fabrics look like they would be fun to use.

Vicky commented on 27-Sep-2010 07:03 PM

Wow, I love this range. As a mother of a 6 month old boy, I'm now looking for boy fabrics and this is just perfect (and so different from other boy stuff available now). Can't wait for it to come out.

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Leila's Quilt - made from the Bird tree fabric range

Saffron Craig - Tuesday, September 14, 2010

This quilt is for my sisters baby girl Leila Blossom. My sister loves bright colours. In fact the Bird Tree range was designed with her favourite colour of green in mind. I started thinking about what quilt I would make her when my sister was pregnant. When she visited me a while a go I asked her which fabrics she liked?

"All of them " she replied.
"Ok so which one is your favourite?" I asked for a bit more clarity.
"The Elk Landscape in purple," was her reply.
"But you don't like purple" I said and I mean she really doesn't. I can tell you she has told me a million times ! Silence ensued as she kept on stroking the fabric.
"It is my favourite, I like purple now. This fabric makes me like purple!"
I pursed my lips and stared deep into her eyes and as two sisters who know each other only too well burst into laughter. I suppose she can change a life time decision not to like purple.

So that is all the help she gave me for this quilt, which means I got to do and use what I wanted. I suppose it is a gift for her daughter.

As the ultra sound could not show the gender of the baby I assumed she would have a boy so I made a boy's quilt, I will share that one in a while. When Leila was born I started to sketch up ideas around her middle name Blossom. I wanted to hand-stitch this quilt so I knew I needed to leave space to feature the running stitch.

As my sister liked so many fabrics I included a lot of them in the flowers and the solid blocks letting the patterns do the work. The centre panel of appliqued flowers is 50cm square, which is bound by 5cm strips of the Squiggly Flowers.

For the back I used the Elk Landscape in purple to make it a double sided quilt.

The entire quilt is hand stitched with running stitch. Every time I threaded the needle I used a different coloured thread. WonderFil Tutti Frutty thread is an Egyptian cotton which is thinner than Pearl cotton, is so much easier to use as it glides effortlessly through the three layers. It is also thicker than quilting thread so it offers a lovely texture. The variegated thread created a lovely colour combination and kept fascinating me.

Then I named the quilt, dated and signed it! I thought I should use a few selvages with my name on it as well just for fun! Finally I bound Leila's quilt with the Blossom patch, a favourite of mine from the Bird Tree range.

The last step was a father's day outing to the Art Gallery and a meander through the Botanical Gardens to take some pictures and enjoy a garden in full force of the approaching Spring. Once my sister received it I pressed publish.

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6 comments

Gail McClain commented on 14-Sep-2010 10:20 AM

The quilt is lovely. I am a quilter and have made baby quilts for my 2 grandaughters. Your fabrics are wonderful and the colors are great. I love your style of quilting and the overall design. This quilt has a feel of free spirit. I am sure the little one will charish it.

Neecie Selby commented on 14-Sep-2010 10:55 AM

I think it's a truly unique and fabulously girly quilt. Leila will certainly adore it; and like your sister, I absolutely love the Elk landscape in purple. (& I don't normally care for yellow! hehe) I enjoy the way you incorporated the selvages in the dedication block~ what a novel idea! Changing thread colors each time also intrigues me. Thank you for such fresh and vibrant patterns.

Kate Henderson commented on 14-Sep-2010 02:36 PM

It is gorgeous - what a wonderful present.

Nicole Okimura commented on 14-Sep-2010 03:54 PM

Just adorable as always Saffron xxx Im sure Yvette and baby will love it!

Nova commented on 17-Sep-2010 11:20 AM

love the quilt you made so much! I'm really interested in the threads you used for the quilting - is there a supplier in Australia do you know? x

Bec commented on 20-Sep-2010 09:22 PM

Saffron, Its so so beautiful... I cant believe all that hand quilting!! Have you had nothing to do!! haha!! It wouldve taken soo long! Its so worth it though.. looks AMAZING! xxx mmm i havent tried my Eqyptian Cotton yet.. bit excited though xx hope to catch up soon xx

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Baby shower quilt gift for a woman with a heart of gold.

Saffron Craig - Friday, September 10, 2010

When I was a girl I had a friend who would tap on my window always dressed in a medieval cape; day or night. We always had so much fun together and we both still share so much passion for life and adventure. She always wears a smile and has a huge golden heart. I have always thought of her as sunshine. We have now been friends for over 2 decades.

When she became pregnant last year with her son, her first baby, I really wanted to do something very special for them. A gift which would represent her love of her friends for her and life in general. So of course I thought about making her a quilt. When I suggested the idea to Kirstin she really liked the idea to ask her friends to gift a 20cm square of fabric of their choice instead of baby gifts. She ended up receiving both fabric and a huge amount of gifts.

I also offered to host her baby shower and made up the invitations. Kirstin absolutely wanted a costume party! So it was a Mad Hatters themed party but stretched to become any character from your favorite story, which was crazy. I dressed up as a fairy naturally. One of the quests brought 50 cup cakes with Eat Me written on it. So we did, so much fun.

Kirstin is the white rabbit.

When Arlo was born I had not yet finished the quilt, so I made a small one first for the pram using some of the delicious fabrics Kirstin had been given.

Then I set to finish the big quilt. Arlo's quilt is patch-worked together using 25cm squares up to a few 50cm squares. It is absolutely huge! Kirstin is very loved and so many people became involved. Her mum and dad, aunties, uncles and a life time of friends, we all share a huge love for Kirstin that's for sure. One lady got a picture of her dog digitally printed onto a soft cotton, another did an applique of Kirstin's black poodle.

I backed Arlo's quilt with the Elk Landscape in Aquamarine., which is why it took me a while to finish; I had to wait for the fabric to be printed. It was important to me that the quilt is reversible as he will have it for a long long time and it is wonderful to be able to use either side.

The quilt grew in size to cover a double bed, so too big to fit under my machine, struggle as I might. If I had hand stitched it I might have taken another few month or more so the best option was to get the quilt was long arm machine quilted. I chose a leaf shape in big motives so the quilt feels lovely and soft.

A big thanks to all of you who gave fabrics for this gift. Kirstin just loves them both and uses them every day. Arlo is fascinated by all the patterns. So special for him to be wrapped in such love.

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4 comments

Kirstin Bokor commented on 10-Sep-2010 02:32 PM

Arlo and I love this quilt - it goes everywhere with us. My hope is that if there is ever a time when he cannot talk to me, he will look at the quilt and be reminded of all these amazing soul mammas who I just know would take is hand and help him work things out.

I think having a baby is a hugely personal experience, and a joyful one - but I do not believe that it is about expensive present giving. Years before I had a baby Saffron said to me "children are about love", and finally I get it. Thank you for making this quilt for us, a tangible sign of all that love. It still blows me away. (I do feel guilty though for suggesting that you put together a quilt of bits and pieces from all my friends - I cannot sew on a button for God's sake - I am sure even now I cannot appreciate the huge amount of work you put into this).
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Fiona Jowett commented on 11-Sep-2010 12:05 PM

It is a wonderful quilt and the prfect gift for someone who is loved as much as Kirstin. It is only natural to love this woman...she is simply happiness embodied in a human form! It is great to think that the squares given by me and mine will be wrapped around darling Arlo so he can always feel that love for both his mother, himself and his Dad as well!!! I think Saffron made two fantatic quilts, quite a thing to do with so many different types of fabric. For the sake of historical record..Caitlyn, Lachlan Chris and myself gave a number of pieces. The Winnie the Pooh Panels that were extra from the curtains of both kids nurseries, The Very Hngry Caterpillar pieces (hand embroidered by me) and the "Dick and Jane" Panel, also hand stiched by me. Thank you for all your hard work Saffron....and Kirstin thank you for your friendship...it is one of the blessings of my life!!!! Arlo....by the very fact of the family you were born into....you will always be wrapped in the warmth of love!

Amelia Sliedrecht commented on 12-Sep-2010 01:34 PM

Wow Saffron! It looked like such a fun party and that is one amazing quilt ... how special :)

Baby Shower Invitations commented on 14-Sep-2010 03:42 PM

A costume party is good. I am an organizer for my sister's baby shower too, and I am excited. Thank you for the great advice.

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Manly Arts festival. Frameworks: Illustrators: From Pen to Pixel

Saffron Craig - Monday, September 06, 2010

On Friday night I had the honour of being an artist in the opening of the Pen to Pixel exhibition as part of the Manly Arts festival. The exhibition was opened by the Manly's lord Mayor. I had such a happy time chatting to the other illustrators and being part of the community.

The distinctive, often exciting visual language of illustration is to be celebrated in Manly Council’s innovative ‘Frameworks’ art spaces - eight permanent ‘frames’ creating an 'outdoor gallery' along Market Lane in Manly’s business district and at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum forecourt on West Esplanade Reserve, close to Manly Ferry Wharf.

Artist and curator Angela van Boxtel will use the ‘Frameworks’ to explore illustration as art by a selection of eight works grouped under the title ‘From Pen to Pixel’ commencing 3 September 2010 to 6 March 2011, letting the public to enjoy them all hours of the day and night - free of charge.

“Illustrations are everywhere in our daily life,” says Angela. “Most people’s first connection with art is through the illustrations in a children’s book. Illustrations add countless layers of meaning to the written text by visual impact alone.”

“As human beings we are daily swamped by illustrations in advertisements and magazines, story books, comics and on the internet, too. “But illustrating has always been a great career path for young artists to earn money on the side and to be challenged and creative in unique, creative ways.”

The eight artists exhibiting in ‘From Pen to Pixel’ are Angela van Boxtel, Lara Allport, Julie Nettleton, Saffron Craig, Hung Lin, Cheryl Orsini, Simon Swingler and Alissa Stytsenko.

Artists’ Talk

3pm, Sunday 12 September 2010. Join curator Angela van Boxtel and artists for a talk about the ideas and artworks.

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1 comments

Kate Conklin commented on 06-Sep-2010 06:45 PM

What an honour to be part of that exhibition. You and Sequoia both look gorgeous!

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Creative business feature — Archie & Moo

Saffron Craig - Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Today I'd like to introduce Cath and Natalie who are behind Archie & Moo, a small creative business that creates some of the most unusual and original products for our little ones. They posted a pram-liner made from my Elk Landscape fabric a while ago on my facebook page and I was in love. A couple of months ago I had the chance to meet both of them at the Rosehill Tradeshow and they are two incredibly inspiring people.

Archie & Moo is a really fun and easy name to remember how did it come about?
That’s easy! It’s our children! Mia (Moo) is Natalie's second child (her first, Emilee, is named in another business) and Archer is Cath's baby boy. Our logo also represents our kids – Mia in the cow & Archer in the bean, as that is what he was called after Cath’s first ultrasound!

How long have you been in business?
We have only been operating since April. Our concept & creation went something like this... "Hey Nat, everyone loved the blanket you made me. We could definitely sell these! Want to go into business together?"

Can you explain your business idea?
Our philosophy is to design and create gorgeous and funky practical products for babies and kids. We don’t like the boring mass produced products. We wanted something unique but useful... and GORGEOUS. The first product was the PramRug. It started as a practical lap blanket for the pram but we felt this was not spectacular so we designed it with the strap for practicality.

What do you enjoy the most about your business?
The satisfaction of having a complete stranger approach you and make wonderful positive comments about our products... and the trust in us to design products we haven’t even tackled... the belief in us is humbling. We are so grateful for everybody’s support.

What product is your best seller? And why do you think so?
That is actually a really tricky question! It’s different at every market & selling through the internet is different again! Our best sellers include the PramRugs, Pram Liners, Bibs, Dummy Clips and the Nappy Wallets. We think it could simply come down to opportunistic purchases and demographic... and we believe our products are eye catching!

What is you favourite customer interaction story?
Talk about 6 degrees of separation! Nat's neighbour bought some products for a baby shower and the day after the shower, Cath's mothers group friend said she went to a baby shower and saw some Archie&Moo products as a gift... small world!
We have a lovely customer in WA who commissioned us to design the Moo’nut – we were so excited to be trusted with an unseen project & thrilled to see the final product in use by her gorgeous baby girl! We just love to see our labours of love being enjoyed by others!

Archie & Moo Moonut

Do you sew it all yourself?
We design and create everything ourselves. Sew, knit, crotchet, the lot. We call it therapy! When we become bazillionaires we might employ another person....

Where do you find most of your customers come from?
We are very much supported by family & friends & they were our initial customer base & continue to support us. Now we have started doing markets we are picking up loyal followers from there also. Online avenues have also been successful & we have found that MadeIt.com.au & Facebook have opened many doors for us by creating a fantastic network. We are hoping that once our own shopping site is up & running that our customers will follow us there!

What keeps you motivated/ inspired?
We are motivated by being able to please someone... to take an idea, make a plan and create something beautiful. We love to create. Our inspiration comes from our beautiful families – without them Archie&Moo would not exist!

What is in the future for Archie&Moo?
Clothing has definitely formed the next stage of our business plan whilst continuing to produce our original products. We are constantly engaging ourselves with challenges, requests and some very unique surprises... so you'll have to keep watching..... there’s much more to come!

Thanks Cath & Natalie. You can visit their website www.archieandmoo.com.au for more information.

And do leave a comment and let me know if you'd like me to feature other creative businesses in the future.

Archie & Moo Bibs

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1 comments

Kristy commented on 03-Sep-2010 09:27 PM

I loved reading all about this business. It would be great if you continue to review creative businesses. I find it hard to find out about new things and loved the interview.

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Blossom Patch - new Fabric

Saffron Craig - Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Blossom Patch is here. As we only want the best we had to wait for the fabric to be reprinted and it was worth it—it's terrific. This the 5th design in the Bird Tree range. Purple flowers on a green oasis background.

Buy it here for $28.00/m.

We have also added it to the Bird Tree 50cm fabric bundle and Bird Tree 1m fabric bundle. Happy shopping.

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2 comments

Kelli Hynes commented on 27-Aug-2010 09:03 PM

OMG, I am so in love with this stack. I need a second job to support my fabric habit! Can't wait to get my hands on some of these. Have just bought a tonne of the fairy print and the others to go with it, going to make the hearts quilt, I don't even have anyone to make it for but me!! LOL, keeps me happy. I love to make hand bags, I think I can see one coming along in purples and olive greens.......

Colette Darling commented on 28-Aug-2010 04:34 AM

This fabric collection is AMAZING! I can't wait to order some for a quilt for my daughter!

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Our adventure in the snow

Saffron Craig - Tuesday, August 24, 2010

We have enjoyed the last five days in the Snowy Mountains. We drove for 7 hours through the wonderful Australian countryside to Kosciuszko National Park and headed up in the ski-tube to a white wonderland of fresh snow. We stayed in a lodge which I have been staying in since I was 5. This year the lodge celebrated its 50th birthday. As my Grandmothers' brother helped to build the lodge we are one of the few families who continue to come. I enjoyed introducing Sequoia as the 4th generation. It was sort of a replay for me as I have such clear memories of learning to ski and being in the lodge over my life, such as jumping out the window as she has done above. We celebrated the birthday with cocktails and excellent food on a big table, chatting and reminiscing about its history, the huge wood fire crackling and snow gentle falling around us.

We had a brilliant time. Thanks to the buckets of snow we could ski everywhere across all three resorts. I particularly love being in the mountains, the scenery is so beautiful. The image of snow gums when they are covered in icicles and fresh powder snow is a favorite of mine.

Watching Sequoia ski down the mountain without stopping at the end of day two was priceless. It truly was. We were both bursting with pride. Skiing in fresh snow as fast as possible is what skiing is all about for me. I am pleased that I have been keeping up with yoga and did not get stiff muscles.

The view from the back of the Lodge.

This is on the last day on our way home.

The view from Mount Perisher on a super day. We sure had fun skiing down this hill a few times.

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1 comments

Prudence @ Flotsam Friends commented on 27-Aug-2010 10:46 PM

What a wonderful, traditional way to see the snow!! Sounds like you had an incredible time... The photos seem like you've visited another world than the one we know here in Sydney. If you have a second, stop by my blog to see how I make my Flotsam Friend dolls... You might be interested??!! Otherwise, have a gorgeous weekend. Pruxxx

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Hand finished furniture from Saffron Craig

Saffron Craig - Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I am still someone in a daze over the birth of my sister's baby. My head has been all fluffy and with a feeling of Spring in the air I feel quite light hearted.

It has been a challenge to find furniture we like for my daughters bedroom; too many hours spent shopping. To define my own interior design style is difficult, it's really eclectic. I like an old wooden box from Australian hard wood mixed with painted timbers, soft tactile objects, tin and anything handmade. Modern and vintage Australian bush furniture gets me excited. I think people who fill their homes with furniture they love are either really lucky or very diligent, or tuned into the universe which is how we found our Parker chairs and discovered our hand made dining table.

For my daughter's bedroom we talked about buying untreated plantation pine furniture and put our own spin on it. We bought the furniture and painted the bookshelves, stool and chair grey and pink to work with the new Bird Tree range. Thanks Patrick for all the painting, I have never seen our daughter happier helping and getting covered in pink paint!

I added the patterns using the Bird Spot fabric by covering the stool. While on the chair I sewed a cushion with the Bird Tree fabric. They took a bit of time and effort from us but as we look at them every day they are worth the effort.

Finally I added some curtains from the Tree Garden fabric to tie it all together.

Saffron Craig - Bird Tree fabric for interiors

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4 comments

Kelli Hynes commented on 18-Aug-2010 10:14 PM

Looks yummy!

Sequana commented on 18-Aug-2010 11:52 PM

Oh what a lucky little girl she is! *S* It looks just beautiful! But not off-putting for her to live in.

Bec commented on 20-Aug-2010 11:10 AM

Saffron... Im in LOVE it looks gorgeous... you will HAVE to show me some pics when all the bits and pieces are in place in her room... i love it! xx

jenn commented on 25-Aug-2010 04:53 AM

your fabric is beautiful and inspiring... I'll be ordering a bit soon.

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My sister has a baby girl

Saffron Craig - Saturday, August 14, 2010

Special moments, today my sister gave birth to a daughter.

Tonight my daughter asked me if I could go to sleep with her. I tucked my arm beneath her head and she moved as close to me as she could. Her 5 year old brain is full of questions and I try to answer them until she let herself drift off to sleep, I felt her body relax and her breathing changed into a lovely soft rhythm. I shed a tear of joy reflecting on the day's events.

My sister had her baby girl this morning, 10 days early. I have spent all day thinking about the new life in our family. My sister’s birth was remarkable; the baby was born in her home in a birthing pool, only one midwife and her husband there to help and reassure. The baby weighs 4.5kgs, she worked hard for it. I am proud beyond words. I would have been there but my sister lives in Margaret River, a long flight and drive away.

I thought of my sister and the amazing human being she is and this is what I love about her.

1.   That she has so many friends.
2.   That she has so much energy and still finds time to bring in her neighbour’s bins.
3.   That she loves the ocean more than anything and shares that with me.
4.   That she has so much patience for everything in her life, her son and family.
5.   That she left school to become a successful professional snowboarder and surfer.
6.   That even when faced with near death she found the power and courage to survive.
7.   That she has the motivation to push others to do their best.
8.   That she knows how to laugh. It oozes from her.
9.   That she makes me cry more than anyone else in the world.
10.   That she knows no obstacles ever. Nothing will stop her (at age 8 she could carry the water buckets to feed the horses when no one else could. Except dad who was at work).

So Dear sister, big congratulations for the birth of your daughter, I am so pleased for you.

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5 comments

Kate Conklin commented on 16-Aug-2010 09:03 AM

What a beautifully touching post. I'm so happy for your sister, and she sounds like an amazing woman. What a gorgeous little girl! Hope you get a chance to meet her soon.

Kirstin Bokor commented on 16-Aug-2010 10:45 AM

More babies to bless this world - yay. I bet Okie will be a great big brother, your sister is such a terrific mother already I am sure this is going to be one very happy family. Please pass on my best wishes - and I can't wait to hear how things are going and see LOTS - I mean lots, of photos of this very beautiful little girl.
xo

Nicole Okimura commented on 16-Aug-2010 11:14 AM

so touching saffron xx yvette is an amazing woman thats for sure :)and you are a wonderful sister xox congratulations on the new member of your family xoxo

Sharon Feigl commented on 16-Aug-2010 08:33 PM

What a beautiful post...your sister sounds wonderful. Congratulations :)

nicole vos commented on 17-Aug-2010 04:00 AM

Oh what a touching post this is, it brought a tear to my eye! I don't know your sister but she sounds like a wonderful woman to me. Congratulations with the beautiful addition to your family! :)