Aquarius

Nothing beats a good digital print.



Especially when it's by local talent - Poppy Lissiman!
(and to think, she's only a year older than S & I.  What a gun.)

If you cast your mind back to this post, then you would have already picked up on the vibe that I have a thing for Poppy's designs.  Really, I've liked them for a while now, but was blown away by her current Pantonia collection which hit the Australian fashion week circuit a few months ago.  Unfortunately we weren't able to make it to the designer collections show at PFF this year...  

Anyway, I've had my eye on this top in this print for a good 3 months now.  It's my official post-good-exam-results-present-to-myself (no... that other stuff from the S&B sale didn't count).  As cranky-liscious as I look in the photos below, I actually do love the top, and cannot wait to debut it somewhere!  

Photos are by my little brother - the newest member of my family to be sucked into an interest for photography.  The raging hipster kid has already started a tumbr.  I wish I was that cool when I was fifteen.  

Excuse the livedo reticularis legs.  It was cold despite the bright sunshine!


"Pistol Tunic" in Tank print - Poppy Lissiman
Denim shorts - thrifted Guess
"Clubmaster" sunglasses - RayBan
Necklaces (two worn together) - DIYed (see this post)
Watch - Longines

Although it isn't silk (and therefore has a mind of its own thanks to static electricity), I'm pretty sure the eye-catching print and floaty dipped-hem makes up for it!  FYI, the print has also been reincarnated into a selection of dresses and skirts, some complete with fringing and electro-pop-hued lace.  If you haven't already seen the photos from the Pantonia campaign, Poppy's got a few other cool prints on rotation as well - perfect for some print-on-print clashing.

xx T


P.S. Poppy's new store Poppy Lissiman Addition also just opened in Claremont last Friday - I highly recommend you go there to have a browse...

Native Heart

Wondering what's in the bag?



Read on!!
(*hint*hint* - it's sparkly!)

Meet Alushia-Sanchia, the lady behind the beautiful jewellery line of the same name.
(No, she wasn't hiding in the bag)

S & I were surprised by an email that dropped into our inbox a couple of months ago regarding a competition on Oracle Fox that I had entered, informing us that we had won a voucher for Alushia-Sanchia Jewellery.  Things got lost somewhere in translation, but we were eventually able to meet up with Alushia herself to banter about her work and inspirations, after the realisation that she lived only a couple of streets away from S!

Alushia's Native American inspired pieces in her Spring-Summer collection feature intricate resin inlays and ethically-sourced turquoise and black onyx.  As she said, it's not a beautiful business, but it can be done beautifully.  (With the most beautiful results!  Continue scrolling...)

Checking out the display in her studio - pictures just don't do the pieces justice.
If you're a Perthian, head over to Zara Bryson or Varga Girl to see them in real life.  

Alushia explained to us some of the complexities in the process of turning one of her designs into reality.  Let's just say that it is not as easy as drawing a picture and sending it off to the magical jewellery-makers.

Of course, Alushia has had years of experience behind her, having studied it in Sydney.  With an inspired sense of imagination and a love for the technicality behind her work, it would be hard to imagine her collection to emerge any less stunning.

"I've always been obsessed with jewellery that does things..."

(So have I, which is why I chose the Pyramid Poison Ring)


Have we piqued your interest?

Head over here to see her collection (and perhaps pick up a few pieces), or head here to see her blog.

As I've mentioned before in a previous post, one of the most inspiring things for me is to see the connection behind an artist and their work.  With that, I'd like to give a huge thank you to Alushia for welcoming us into her home and sharing with us her motivation and passion for her art.

xx T

More DIY statement necklaces!

You might have noticed already that S and I like our statement neck-bling - especially when we have a stab at making them ourselves (see here, here and here).  Here are some photos of my latest batch of necklaces, which I made last Sunday, whilst sleepy Simon was having an afternoon nap. 

CLEAR ROCK CRYSTAL & GOLD CHAIN NECKLACE

The first of the lot was inspired by a necklace I had seen on Gossip Girl a while back, by Stephen Dweck (see it here).  Forget Serena or Blair's style - my favourite person to get jewellery inspiration from on the show is Lily.  I sometimes re-watch episodes purely to get some necklace inspiration.

Obviously I didn't buy enough clear rock crystals (my maths failed me somewhere in the conversion from mm to inches), so I improvised with some gold jump-rings to make the strand a little nicer.

A bit fiddly to put together - the crystal beads are heavy so the nylon kept slipping out of my hands!  I resorted to using some artery forceps to keep them at bay (and to also practise my surgeon knotting skills haha).

How do you like it?  I reckon it looks pretty cool when the light catches the clear beads and they glow.  (Just like this)

FROSTED GREEN AGATE STRAND NECKLACE

The second necklace is made out of a strand of frosted green agate beads, which I just re-strung and attached a clasp to.  Continue scrolling down for some blatant cam-whoring.

*derp*
(we don't take ourselves too seriously on this blog...)

GOLD & GREEN AVENTURINE GRADUATED BEAD NECKLACE

The third one I made out of aventurine beads and gold jump-rings as spacers.  It took me longer to sort the beads into size than to string up the lot!

Unfortunately the beads don't sit as nicely as they do in the photos - I'll probably have to take them off and re-string them again once I work out how to keep them from sticking up haphazardly.

Then I had time so I made this too.















(Just kidding, I bought it at the Sass & Bide sale I was slaving away at last week.  Who knew that hanging up clothes for 11 hours was so tiring.)  
$220 down to $30?  Don't mind if I do.


See the top two styled in action here
xx T


P.S. Just out of interest, would anyone consider every buying my necklaces?

S's Burgeoning Playsuit Collection

In the space of a week, my playsuit collection expanded from zero to three!  By accident!  Okay, maybe buying this one on Asos wasn't quite an accident...  but it now turns out I have a new Summer uniform.

It goes:

Hat + sunnies + playsuit + sandals

Just add a few accessories and you're all set and ready to go!

I loooove coral & turquoise together.  The brown leather & wood accents make it a little less kiddy and a bit more grown up.  I'm still trying to convince people I'm older than my little sister!

Just casually leprechaun-ing around in the middle of the street...

Playsuit & sandals - Asos
Necklace, belt, hat - thrifted
Sunglasses - markets
Bag - French Connection (Thanks LG!)

This is my last glimpse of sun before an adventure in Tasmania, home of the frostbite.
 T will keep a watch on the blog & I will be stalking from afar...

xx S

And the winner of our giveaway is...

Diana of Love at First Type!

Congratulations, you've won yourself a cool $25 for The Iconic!  

(Check your email for the voucher)

Thanks also to everyone who entered our little giveaway - we hope to have more lined up for you in the future!

xx S & T

DIY Leather Strap Bracelets

As soon as I saw this quick & easy DIY bracelet made by the talented Marusya over at CrashingRed, I was inspired to try my hand at one of my own.

Off to Spotlight I went to collect materials: 1m leather strap & the appropriate beads was all I needed!!  It totalled under $10 all up... bargain!  Wow!  So!  Many!  Exclamation!  Marks!

I cut the leather into 4 lengths, plenty long enough to wrap around my wrist & knot.  I then just threaded on the desired amount of beads onto each leather strap and added one extra "spacer" bead to have at the end of the thread before the knot. (see picture below)

Voilà!  Bracelet already made!

NOW for the hard part... getting someone to tie all the strands together onto your wrist without the little end-beads running towards the middle. Try it & you will see!

(I used three strands; odd numbers of things look so much better!) 

The finished product is a quick & easy addition to a raging arm partay.

You could even make a single strand (like my left over strand below) & use it as a quick little gift for a trendy friend!  Alternatively, your little brother's horse (named chocolate cake) could wear it as a necklace.  Your choice.

Hope you're liking our inundation of DIY projects of late... we are seriously going CRAFT CRAZY!!!

xx S


Oh and don't forget to enter our GIVEAWAY!  Last chance today - the winner will be drawn at 12am tonight! (Perth time)