Beach

On a cloudy Saturday in July.

Dwellings

Dwellings to dream on... whites, neutrals and pale woods are definitely floating my boat right now.

Urbis Design Day 2013

Last Saturday Simon and I had the pleasure of attending Urbis Design Day. The day is a collective collaboration between around a dozen different design venues in the city - from industrial to product design and interiors, it's a chance for design studios and retailers to showcase the latest and greatest and promote their products and services (as well a fair share of fun interactive installations and great food!) 

Everything I had heard about this event shot well above my expectations. 

It was well and truely a pleasure to attend and be totally inspired as well as fed, watered and driven to each location. 

Amazing chair from Backhouse

 Visited the BLOC store in Mt Eden and fell in love with all the beautiful minimalist objects by Douglas and Bec (in collaboration with Kate Sylvester). Think pale woods, ceramics and leather in dreamy hues. yummy. If you haven't heard of them before they are well work a peek!

 Sneaky selfie in the mirrored exhibition space for the Design Assembly installation.

 This is probably the longest post ever but I couldn't cull anymore photos! If you're ever in Auckland around this time next year I would highly recommend Urbis Design day - a great way to be inspired and see the city.

neutrals

Seaside beige and neutrals. Happy weekend!

workspace wednesday

I've decided to run a weekly feature on my blog called 'workspace wednesday' - unfortunately I'm a day late for the first one hehe, but I think it will be a great way to keep my workspace tidy and force me to change it around regularly which is always a good way to stay inspired! This week is mainly my bare wallspace as my desk area is too messy to show off... although this wall has been pretty much the same for the last few months, i plan to mix it up a bit this week. 

And now to quote Elsie De Wolfe:

"I'm going to make everything around me beautiful, that will be my life."

Technical Issues...

I have had such an amazing week of stepping out a little and taking some chances with promoting myself as a designer, and have been so overwhelmed with the response... Except to co-incide with this I have also been having major issues with updating my website which makes totally un-brilliant timing. Grrr. If anyone is wanting to get in contact with me or can't seem to get through, my email address is clarecollier@gmail.com. I'm hoping to have things sorted in the next few days, fingers crossed.

It's been very frustrating and I think the only thing that can remedy this angst-y feeling is to have a good catch up on some of my favourite blogs!!!!

Bleubird Vintage // Emmadime // Fieldguided // Pennyweight 

I must apologise for all the wedding related posts lately, but that seems to be alot of what is going on in my life at the moment! These wee invites were made for my beautiful sister and her fiance and I hope they will reflect the feel of the wedding - fun, flirty and floral. It's less than two weeks away now and we are getting so excited - weddings are such fun! 

Happy Anniversary!

On sunday Simon and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary - I am gobsmacked at how a year can pass by so quickly... and apparently the older you get the quicker time goes! It has been such an incredible year of being together and growing more and more in love, I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world.  x

Merry Christmas bloggers! Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday... 

Stationery

What is on my mind? Stationery!

I have 2 beautiful friends getting married within the next few months, and for both weddings am solely in charge of designing the invitations, order of service, menus and other pieces of stationery needed... Safe to say it's going to be a busy summer, however i do love designing for friends because they know you and trust you with your taste, rather than a client who might have a very specific brief that I have to stick to. It's also exciting to have that trust and freedom to experiment with different methods (letterpress, offset printing) or materials - especially when it comes to packaging. Theres is nothing that get me drooling more than a beautiful piece of packaging argh...

source. 
All images via my pinterest.
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SILO PARK

Summer is here and this saturday the hubby and i checked out the Silo Markets with some friends. It was a mixture of good music, cute vintage stalls and oh so much yummy food!

I can't believe it's december already - 22 days till christmas and counting! This time of year always seems to creep up so suddenly and life starts to get pretty busy. I desperately need to start christmas present hunting, but this year I'm hoping to try and be a little bit clever and crafty and give more meaningful gifts than just something I snaffled up at the last minute.  

(and i hope to post my progress on this soon).

Happy Christmas preparing!

uno, dos, tres.

one, two three paper bowls with gold leaf I made several months back - it's fun making things to decorate the house... it's was also quite nostalgic to experiment with paper mache again after so many years! it totally took me back to my childhood of making crafty things, i suppose i've never really grown up in that regard. I'm down to the last six weeks of university before i finish my degree - excitement is an understatement. I'm so looking forward to this next stage in our lives! 

It's quite an exciting time at the moment - several friends recently engaged and planning beautiful summer weddings. Also, i failed to mention last post of one of my besties in the olympics last month. Lucy we love you! Dreams are coming true. Happy weekend! 

I wish my posts weren't so few and far between - the truth is i have terrible time management skills and at the moment i'm *trying* to squeeze every spare minute into university projects... eeek.

But, what a picture.
Laura Gommans

tea time

A cup of tea in the morning. Pink grapefruit, mandarin and lime flavoured tea to be exact. It turns the most magnificent shade of pink which I find most satisfying to look at and drink.

I'm very much looking forward to the weekend and what it will behold... The Auckland Art and craft Fair is happening tomorrow which is always a feast for the eyes and showcases all kinds of handmade goodies! If you're interested in the types of exhibits check our their blog for a taster of what's to come, and maybe I'll see you there tomorrow!
It is in the city's Aoetea Square and begins at 10am.

Happy Weekend!

A little piece of my heart

Some pictures from our trip south a few weeks back - the middle of winter and a morning frost makes for beautiful pictures. It was pretty crisp down there... isn't crisp such a great word?!

Anyway, it was a brief but lovely visit - A chance to catch up with family I don't get to see so much anymore. The farm has been in my family for over one hundred years so all the hills are familiar and I know the land like the back of my hand. We grew up here but I gradually grew away from it. Now it is sometimes a little sad to go back - all the memories from my childhood still lingering on the walls and  in the hallways of our old house. Going back makes me realise how much my life has changed, and every time we leave to travel back home I feel like a little piece of my heart is left behind.