Pretty Pictures and Sunshine Days
2013 has been a busy year so far, and now here we are heading into the sweetness of Spring time! The sun is shining, little children are sleeping (or pretending to) and plans arrive into my days on a September wind.
Today we have a new spot in the newsletter called 'Curiouser Loves', with a quick list of funky finds, resources or events that are a bit fantastic and that you might love too! You'll find that near the end, after I share some recent exciting news, link you to a gorgeous
slideshow and update you on
Curious Bazaar!
Imagination runs wild
In the 2013 Victorian Professional Photography Awards, run by the
AIPP, I was excited to be one of the three Emerging Photographer of the Year finalists! I won two silver awards out of my three entries into the Portrait Category, one of which is the 'Cat Girl' above, and the second - 'Pirate Boy' - is below.
These creative portraits were slightly different from my usual work with families, being concept-driven, and still featuring children and their interests or individual characters but in a more deliberate, whimsical way. I am excited to explore more of this style of portraiture in the months to come, as it has really ignited my creative love. This might have something to do with my adoration of masks and costumes... If you'd love to plan a concept shoot for yourself or your child, do let me know, it is so much fun!
My second award-winning portrait from those awards - my 8 year old son as a pirate. Ash has high-functioning autism and pirates have been his special interest since he was 3 years old. I confess, he spends more time obsessing over Terraria and ipad games than playing dress-ups nowadays! He still considers his pirate-love to be an integral part of who he is, though, and it was one of his own drawings that gave me the seed of an idea for this picture.
With his love of ships and maps and all such pirate-ish details, we'll be visiting Hobart, Tasmania, in a few weeks for the
Tall Ships Festival there. I've made room in my schedule for one or two family / portrait sessions - scroll down to the end of the newsletter for more info on that one.
"When we speak of magic we should speak of those moments that were the purest, when the stars were bright and when the laughter was loud - those are the most magical moments in life." - Pinned here
Towards the very end of Autumn (well, technically Winter, but with orange leaves still clinging to their trees...) I had the joy of capturing this sweet family in their own backyard. Click through to see
the slideshow from their session, it is so cute! Plus it has a sweet soundtrack, 'Hey Mama' by
Mat Kearney (licensed through SongFreedom).
While Curiouser is my main love, my side project Curious Bazaar is stealing some of the limelight lately! We are entering market season, and my fellow-creatives in our handmade collective have been busy. The
Curious Bazaar store is full of current stock, with new releases arriving later in September.
Check out our market dates below for first dibs on the latest stock, including handmade children's clothes, stunning jewellery and super funky screen printed cushions and softies. We also have a few other dates we might be adding... is there a Melbourne market you'd love to see us at?
As much as I adore
pinterest, some things I love to share need special attention! Here are a few favourite finds that are just lovely...
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The Storybox Library - I just ADORE this new initiative, all about sharing the fantastical world of books and imagination with primary-school aged children. My 9 year old daughter Sienna gave it two thumbs way up ;)
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Colour Me There - Maddie's blog (formerly L'il Magoolie) has been on my radar for a long time, but the inspiration just does not stop! I was lucky enough to be featured recently...
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The Junk Map - Coolest furniture / decorating shopping directory EVER. If you're fixated on old and quirky, as I tend to be, that is. Victorian road-trip planning at its best!
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Flow Magazine - I picked this up from my local newsagent, which is fab, though it is created in The Netherlands. A visual feast. Be prepared to devour inspiration.
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Seedling - I LOVE LOVE LOVE this brand. I love it. Plus, I sent them an email enquiry a few weeks back, and they were just so lovely. The 7 year old son of a friend recently said that the 'Trick Glider' I bought him was the best present he ever got (it cost 90c). I buy their products from local kids shop Hugs For Kids in Belgrave!
As ever, if you have any questions or enquiries, suggestions of future 'Curiouser Loves' finds or other tips, please do
send me an email :)
In the meantime, take a moment for yourself to pause, breathe, find something beautiful. Possibly around you. Probably within yourself.
Discovery is a wonderful thing.
