Brisbane Caberet Festival

One of my most vivacious of customers, Alida Rae, will be appearing in the Brisbane Caberet Festival in a production of 'Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer' next Thurs night (2nd Oct) which is sure to be a great way to spend an evening. The festival runs for 10 days and has some fantastic shows lined up. Sounds like a perfect way to brighten up your week with a bit of glamour!

Matterz of the Heart

I am a serious addict when it comes to the Chocolate Nougat Brownie at Planet Matterz cafe. The fantastic thing about the brownies is that they are gluten free which means that I can share them with my friend Nicole (of Hot Toffee fame) when she has dropped in for the odd cuppa. I am a true glutton for this gluten-free snack and this morning I treated myself to (another) one for the week and was suprised by a lovely accompanying strawberry decoration - just perfect for balancing out that icing!!

Sign of the Times

This the last week of Lyssy May residing in Morningside! Its very hard to believe and I know it is going to be a sad week as it is already proving hard to say goodbye to the many wonderful 'regulars' who pop in to say hello and are just as passionate about handmade as I am. I will actually still be sewing from the shop for another week after I close on Saturday so the made to order service is definitely in full swing. Its not too late to stop by this week if you were hoping to have something ready for racing season etc.

The good news for locals is that the spirit of what I have tried to establish at my little location is going to be maintained with the new store that will be taking my place - more news to come on that soon!

Bird at My Window Grows Up

Running a small business often involves a lot of hard work and sacrifice and can lead you to question why on earth you are doing it some days. Then out of the blue you will have a wonderful reminder of why you love to do what you do. This happened the other day when I received a lovely note and photo from Melissa (pictured above) who said she was smitten with her new Lyssy May bag. After spying the Bird at My Window Little Miss design she knew she would love it in a 'grown up' size so we worked together through the magic of email to make one of her very own along with a matching zip pouch. I love how Melissa has co-ordinated the bag with her cute red pinafore. Thanks for making my day!

Unfortunately I can't say the same for the person who decided to grab a 'five finger discount' for one of my other Little Miss designs in the shop in the last week. It is truly distressing when people steal things that have been created with so much time and love and I can only say that the bag was made filled with beautiful thoughts but walked out the door filled to the brim with bad karma.

A big week!

I have had an exciting but exhausting week in Melbourne and I can't wait to share all my plans with the friends of Lyssy May. The best news is that I have some studio space lined up so I will have a little corner of this fabulous city for Lyssy May to call its own. I have been wandering around and soaking up all the possibilities that stretch before me and I can't wait to start.

After pounding the pavement all day it is nice to have a comfy place to stay of a night and I can thoroughly recommend Carlton Terrace if you are visiting and would like somewhere that is handy to everything but is also peaceful and relaxing. It is located parallel to Lygon St which is bad for the wasteline but is also near the Carlton Gardens where I have been having some beautiful walks on my way to check out Fitzroy etc.

I am back in Brissy tomorrow and about to head into the last 2 weeks of trading from my Morningside store which is going to be extremely, extremly, extremely sad so I am pleased I've had a chance to scout out Melbourne to reinforce the decision before the emotional farewells begin!

This little piggy went to...

This Sunday is the quarterly Young Designers Market at Southbank. It is one year since the concept was launched and I have loved being involved as a stallholder. Unfortunately I will miss this weekend as I am visiting Melbourne. Above is a pic my friend Nicole of Hot Toffee took of my stall in June (at the time I didn't know it would be my last one there!). I really encourage Brisbane designers to get involved with the markets and for locals to support them. There is sure to be some wonderful things to check out - why not catch a city cat and make a day of it?