Able and Game

Batman!

2012-01-31T18:42:00.000+11:00

You don't want to know how long we have been meaning to make this card. Considering how close Batman station is to our house it is actually a bit embarrassing. But it is here with some usual yellow shorts action. We have him available on Etsy and at our markets this week, The Suzuki Night Market at Queen Victoria Market from 5.30pm-10pm tomorrow night (Wednesday) and the Rose Street Market on Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 5pm.

The internet. And Cats.

2012-01-30T17:51:00.000+11:00

Over the weekend I was looking around the internet, getting lost on those Tumblr pages that just have loads of weird/funny pictures. Those places are dangerous, suddenly you're on page 22 and in this half asleep stupor and the only thing that will get your out is a brisk walk and a slap on the face.

Sometimes these "sessions" get you something really good like the website Kitties and Bullshit. Not sure what the bullshit is because I only saw amazing but then I'm kitty obsessed so it could be a blog about cats sitting in bullshit warming their paws and I'm going to love it. The site has = three simple boxes ticked, there is drawing, there is cats and there is familiar song lyrics. It's by a Brooklyn based illustrator called Sofia Falcon. You can view her portfolio here.

Image Source: Kitties and Bullshit

What's on offer

2012-01-26T11:05:00.000+11:00

Romance comes in all different shapes, sizes and gestures and while some people have specific tastes, other find those things utterly distasteful. I remember reading an article a few years ago about how a woman found getting the flowers and the chocolates rather offensive viewing the generic gift as a reflection on herself. I remember thinking, sure it is predictable, but you have chocolate and that is a good thing.

Our new 100% total romance card is a bit of a nod to those generic notions of love, the 12 dozen roses and the box of fancy chocolates (the ones you eat in one go because if you don't they will call your name all night long). He is available on Etsy with his cute little bow tie (what is it attached to?? I like to think he double sided sticky taped it on) ready to impress you with his skills.

CATS!

2012-01-23T16:09:00.000+11:00

Since shifting office and coming back to work after Christmas I've been designing new cards. Around mid November I realised I wouldn't have time to design anything new and to just focus on everything else December throws at you. I didn't realise taking time off from doing a job that really is the whole foundation of our business would have such an impact. It's almost like I forgot what it was that I did and was coming up with ideas for cards that were pretty craptastic. On Saturday I dropped Gareth off at Rose Street and got to work in the office on my own with only the internet to distract me. Then I came up with this card:

At first I thought I couldn't make it, it was too ridiculous. But once I drew it, coloured it and printed it I got the giggles. Then I remembered that this was what it was all about. I showed it to Gareth that night with the warning that he was going to hate it, but it was my new favourite card. He smsed me on Sunday to say someone had bought one. Mullety cat man is available on Etsy. Or in your dreams, he can deal with both.

As an aside, can you imagine if the Katy Perry song was the same lyrics as this card? I think the world would be a better place.

Even your SMS are not safe

2012-01-19T17:20:00.001+11:00

My sister sent me an SMS last week with a line about the box office of her heart and I wrote back saying I was using it for a new card. People often ask us where the ideas for the cards come from and usual we say anywhere and everywhere. Some cards don't have a cute story, others have totally funny 'this happened to our friends and they needed an apology card' story.

Our box office guy is available on Etsy and we will also be at Rose Street both Saturday and Sunday and at the North Melbourne Market on Sunday.

Tennis and Sunburn

2012-01-18T15:11:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I went along to day two of the Australian Open with a bunch of friends. I'd not been for a couple of years but ended up in the same spot watching the Frenchman Gael Monfils playing again. I took the photo below on the phone and changed it using the Tilt Shift Focus app, one of the really fun (as long as you have the right picture) photo apps.

I don't know what the temp was but I think it was around 35 degrees, so I made sure I was prepared for some sitting around in the sun by eating lots of food, drinking lots of water and getting drenched in sunscreen. Having skin that would make Antarctica look tanned I burn in about 10 minutes so the old SPF 30+ is mandatory. I do always end up missing spots and find those odd little patches of burnt skin both funny and annoying.

Speaking of tennis, we have had this card for a few years and it is still a favourite. I like the big hair and have to admit I was sad I didn't get to see the Williams sisters and check out what fashions they had this year. I hope it was an early '80s retro theme with big hair, that would be amazing!
If you're in Melbourne get along to the tennis, it is loads of fun. As I said to my friend yesterday, sitting in the sun drinking beer, does life get any better than this?

The summer for ....

2012-01-10T15:59:00.006+11:00

...Cocktails!

Summer is my favourite time of year. I like it because you can go swimming, drinking is more fun and it has that fantastic 6 days between Christmas and New Year when going at a slow pace is expected. Even if you don't do anything amazing the thought of those 6 days makes November and December's super busy times more bearable.

This summer we have been going a little cocktail crazy. We got some shakers, we got some booze and we got some books and have been mixing up a storm. We are usually beer and wine drinkers but cocktails have been growing on us the last year or so. Building a drinks cabinet is a long process (unless you're rich) so we have been slowly adding to it for months.

Gareth's current favourite cocktail is a Whiskey Sour and I like anything not too sweet. Last night I yanked a lime off a tree while walking home from the new office and it went well in a rummy number I took from Stephy A's colourful stripey cookbook. It is in the Lemon/Lime section and it uses the rule of 1 bitter, 2 sweet, 3 strong and 4 weak which I think it is a pretty good way to go about making your own cocktail recipe, and it rhymes.

So I think this summer we will be creating some cocktail themed cards (to go with these two...) and if you have any favourite drinks please sent them our way!

Moved in!

2012-01-07T16:12:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year!

2012-01-03T16:28:00.000+11:00

We hope everyone is having a lovely festive season and had a lovely Christmas and New Year. We are back in the thick of it moving office to a bigger and better space. I've been excited about it since we found out about the new place but right now I'm in the thick of allen keying stuff undone and wishing I had million large boxes to fill everything up. Shifting it HARD work and we don't even have an oven to clean.

We have been a bit slacko with the old blogging with November and December being filled with so many markets and the usual business that the silly season brings. I was hanging out for Christmas Eve and spending some time with the family and relaxing and boy did I do that. I don't think I've felt as content with just sitting as I have the last few days. But that will not last for long, the markets start back up tomorrow night with the Suzuki Night Market and our new office will need sorting, a job I'm kind of looking forward to because for once in Able and Game's life we will have a bit of room to move and maybe even a table that is just used for packing orders and another for cutting paper.

We will have to play catch up on the blog because lots of things have happened, but right now it is one job at a time, at least until the cool change comes!

The picture at the top was taken flying into Melbourne a few weeks ago just as the sun was setting. I couldn't help getting out the camera as the light was so perfect.

At the market

2011-12-12T15:07:00.001+11:00

On Saturday we took part in Craft Victoria's Craft Hatch Market at 1000 Pound Bend. We have taken part in the market once before well over a year ago so I was looking forward to this market at the new location.

Our new card displays are going well and we have worked out how to tetris them into the car really well by slotting our card boxes between them in our boot. I want to note we have a very small car (and that it was also my dream card as an 11 year old!)

1000 Pound Bend was a great space for the market, not too big and a cafe to bring me tea and eats whenever I needed it. Perfect for the disorganised carny like me who don't have anything for breakfast before leaving the house.

My neighbour was Andrea from Stämpel who had macrame plant holders and lovely faceted wooden vases.

I loved her colourful details at the top of the macrame flower holders that contrast so well with the jute. You can buy them from her Big Cartel shop.

Moite are a design studio and they had greeting cards, hand bound sketchbooks and beautiful delicate bowls with gold, black and pastel interiors. They don't have an online shop but they are available at Paperpoint in South Melbourne and Richmond.

These hanging fruit baskets from Made by Dane are pretty great and a great KK gift at only $15 plus shipping. You could also use them for other things but I think having a hanging fruit basket would be perfect for freeing up more bench space. We never seems to have enough!

These terrariums from Greenscape Creations are pretty amazing. I'm a sucker for anything plant related and the added bonus of a pretty glass jar makes these pretty special.

Craft Hatch

2011-12-08T19:34:00.000+11:00

It is well and truly market season here in Melbourne and Gareth and I are both suffering from Marketisis. This Saturday we will be at Craft Hatch at 1000 Pound Bend from 11am - 4pm and also at Rose Street on both Saturday and Sunday from 11am - 5pm. A relatively quiet weekend compared to last weekends make or break showdown. While the markets are always great fun it is the behind the scenes work, packing and unpacking of our tiny car (tetris is an important game to play as a child) and getting stock ready so you can be in three places at once that really makes even a type A personality feel chills. I a writing this while sitting at Revolver Market while Gareth is across town at the Northcote Kris Kringle Market. It is called market multi tasking!!

Back to Craft Hatch here are the details:

Craft Hatch

Saturday 10 December

11am-4pm

At 1000 £ Bend

361 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne City

Christmas Design Pop Up

2011-12-08T09:10:00.000+11:00

If you're in Melbourne over the next three days we will be taking part in a design pop up store in the Nicholas Building in the city. Located on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Lane the building houses loads of cools shops like Alice Euphemia as well as many many artist studios. We will be on the second floor across from Buttonmania and will be open 10am - 6pm today and tomorrow and 10am - 3pm on Saturday.

Dawn designed the poster with the lovely Christmas Pudding to get you feeling all Christmassy. And unlike most shopping centers we wont be playing carols! Come along and say hi and meet some of the other lovely makers. More details are over on the facebook event invite.

Designer’s Websites:
Monolog
Emily Green
Madeleine Stamer
Rebecca Argent Millinery
Dawn Tan
Kick and Screen
Shara Lambeth

4 years our of work...

2011-12-06T17:26:00.000+11:00

Four years ago I quit my teaching job to work on my own business. I went from being able to function in a busy office to not being able to have anyone in the office as I get too distracted. Coworkers are a funny species as you can often spend so much time with them they become like a second family. A coworker once told me you could tell if someone would be good to work with if they dropped the f-bomb. I am sure some people will disagree but it rang true to me when she said it. We made this card a few months back and it was fun times coming up with silly present ideas people might give someone leaving a workplace. It is available on Etsy as well as our weekly markets, which have quadrupled in the last few weeks:

Every Wednesday
From 16th November -29 February
SUZUKI NIGHT MARKET
When: 5.30pm-10pm
Where: Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne.
Enter via Queen, Therry or Peel Streets

Every Thursdays
from 24th November - 15th December
KRIS KRINGLE NIGHT MARKET
When: 5.30pm - 10pm
Where: Northcote Town Hall
High Street Nothcote

Every Saturday and Sunday
ROSE STREET ARTIST MARKET
When: 11am - 5pm
Where: 60 Rose Street, Fitzroy

Markit!

2011-11-25T19:10:00.000+11:00

I just checked the weather and it looks like it will be nice (as long as the shower clears) this Sunday for Markit. I've seen and heard lots of promotion for it including the poster across the road from us as well as on RRR. We will be near Beer Deluxe and I think I will be wanting to have a beer when it is all over. Lucky it is a certain someones birthday that day so we have an excuse to get on the razz. Not that we ever need one! So come along say hello, there is loads of amazing people there.

Suzuki Night Market

2011-11-23T13:54:00.001+11:00

The Suzuki Night Market at the Queen Vic Market in Melbourne has been going for 14 years. This year we are taking part for the whole season and going from regular market carnies to hard core market carnies. We had our first outing last Wednesday and both slept well that night.

Having taken part in many a market on a hard ground I knew the most important thing we needed (after stock I guess) was rubber mats and I said to Gareth near the end of the night that without them I would have been sobbing in the corner. We will be there again tonight from 5.30pm - 10pm and plan over the 12 weeks to try some of the food at all the stalls.

You can see Gareth peeking up in that last picture, we got some new card displays from fellow Rose Streeter Carey Potter and they are pretty amazing.

Melbournalia

2011-11-22T21:31:00.000+11:00

Having travelled earlier in the year I've spent the remainder of the year realising how amazing Melbourne is. It has so much support for all things creative and I think that is an important thing. At this time of year there are all sorts of fun and interesting things going on and Melbournalia is one of them. Kate from Elly Oak and I attended the opening briefly before we nicked off for our Illustrator Course (only one drink consumed!) and as I stood in the crowded room I thought about how people often talk about great ideas, but when they happen it is pretty amazing. You know a lot of work went on behind the scene to make it happen, yet it seems so effortless.

Melbournia Home is an amazing space, down a lane way, around a corner and up some old wooden stairs. It is the space that you wish you had as an art studio in those little daydreams you have when you're knee deep in mess in your own small space. They have a great range of Melbourne products and no matter how many times you see an Ink and Spindle quilt and Emily Green necklace or an Otto and Spike blanket you're still amazed every time.

There is not one but four locations opening throughout November and December in the Melbourne CBD including the Melbournalia Home, Captains, Parlour and League. So if you want a bit of an alternative to the usual shopping experience then pop along to one of the locations. They also have a postal service if you have friends and relatives overseas.

Sauce Birthday Boy

2011-11-18T18:48:00.000+11:00

I made this card a few weeks ago but realised that it wasn't quite right. It needed something extra, so I drew him a colourful hat and some beer cans. I'm not sure if calling alcohol sauce is an Australian thing, but there is something rather funny about it. I love any word for alcohol that isn't alcohol, some of my favourites being razz, grog (this is my Dad's favourite!), juice and booze. We have the card available on Etsy and at lots and lots of markets coming up till Christmas. So many that I will well and truly be on the sauce on Christmas Day! You can check our website for the current list of markets.

Werribee!

2011-11-17T11:45:00.000+11:00

We have a new Melbourne card based on the station at Werribee, a photo we finally got a chance to take when we were coming back from Geelong last month. We decided to stay the night for a wedding and had a Sunday off together for the first time since January. We stopped by Williamstown for fish n chips and took it nice and easy all day (maybe also due to festivities the night before!). This card feels rather close to home with Gareth and I coming up to a decade of relationship, it almost feels like we have been together forever!

Gin and Tonic Weather

2011-11-10T17:04:00.000+11:00

A few months ago we made the card below as we were dreaming of warm weather. Gareth was a bit confused who would buy it and why but I stuck to my guns as it was the exact card I would buy for my brother's fiance. The last 8-12 weeks it has been selling pretty well and Rose Street and I've been enjoying chatting to people about who they are giving it to and why.

The other weekend when it was 30 degrees I realised the card had lost its relevance and needed an update as now it was time for gin.

Quick question, when I spoke to Gareth about the card below he thought it was a woman, but I drew it as a man. What do you think?

New Tea Towels

2011-11-07T15:07:00.000+11:00

We have two new tea towel designs to add to our growing range. The Zombie and Lovely Meals tea towels came back from our screen printer last week to much excitement. I think the zombie towel is a new favourite with all the zombies coming from our card designs. Poor old Tuna Casserole Mum is holding a brain casserole. I can't think of anything worse to eat!

Here they are in a bit more detail:

Metcop

2011-10-26T17:36:00.000+11:00

My friend Jodie sent this to me yesterday thinking I would get some laughs from it. I think my favourite part is when the kid gets shot in the leg for stepping on the yellow line. We have a new Melbourne card coming out very soon, we took a trip to Geelong on the weekend so can you guess which station it might be?

Around the studio

2011-10-25T17:58:00.000+11:00

A few photos around my studio layered up to create a little bit of strangeness. I was going about getting all six images the same size by lowering the transparency on the first two layers (hey doesn't everyone do these jobs in a round about way like me?) and realised the images looked rather interesting this way.

Cats and images of Gareth feature strongly, as does his new taste in coffee (if anyone finds out will we be booted from Brunny East?) and a map of Melbourne stations from an old school Melways. I've included an image below of the six images pre-amalgamated, my pixels didn't line up and I had to adjust/crop them some more.

2012 calendars

2011-10-19T16:29:00.000+11:00

Our 2012 calendars have been available for a couple of week now so I thought I better get round to blogging about them. We have four designs, the girls, the boys, the kitties and the Melbourne stations.

I bet you're wondering which one is my favourite, well it is the kitty one of course! I drew it up last year but ran out of time to get it bound (you know what December is like) and ended up making about 6 of them a week before Christmas. There is a whole bunch of non card drawings in the calendar as well as the familiar cats from our growing range of kitty cards. I think the kittens playing risk is a real favourite, so many levels of catlolz in that one!

Oh, the life of the zombie artiste!

2011-10-13T15:36:00.000+11:00

This week I have mostly been drawing zombies. They are for a new tea towel design featuring people from our cards that didn't survive the zombie apocalypse. Poor Why yes I have been working out guy, he had been training on that treadmill for years only to discover he can't outrun the undead!

I did these drawings with a brush and ink, different from the usual fine liner technique I always use and I liked how loose and free they are. For the final design I ended up sticking to the fine liner but I think I will use this technique for some future card designs.

Lambrusco or Fruity Lexia

2011-10-10T15:31:00.000+11:00

A few weeks ago Gareth and I took a trip to East Gippsland to visit the parents and get some fresh country air into our lungs. It was a lovely few days off spent watching the Brownlow Count (something we have not done in a long time, go Swanny!) and eating and drinking lots of food made by Mother and Father.

Although it was a few days off we like to think it was a business trip because we
a) posted a few Etsy orders from Bairnsdale and
b) took some photos of train stations on the way back to Melbourne.

We knew we wanted to get a photo of Officer station but as we were driving towards Nar Nar Goon we had a bit of a should we/shouldn't drive there for the photo. Lucky we did because we sold a few at Rose Street on the weekend and I think it might be quite popular with the young goon drinking folk. We have the card listed on Etsy ready for all your wine connoisseurs out there.

Solo Date Night

2011-10-07T15:14:00.000+11:00

A range of cards from start to finish

2011-09-15T17:20:00.000+10:00

We recently had a teacher ask for some personalised cards to give out to her pupils and I realised it would be a good idea for a range of cards. The brief I gave myself was six cards that are bright, colourful and cute and would appeal to children.

As I started sketching ideas I thought it could be good to document the progress for the blog. Normally when I work I'm one of those people where the best ideas come at either the last minute or after hours/day/months of pushing through a whole bunch of crap ideas and the frustration that comes with that. I also get obsessed with an idea and have to do it right away, even if there is other things that need doing more urgently. I know if I lose interest I might not be as enthusiastic about it later on. During the 'idea high' it kind of consumes your thoughts like a boy crush, although you might not be prone to giggle about it while sitting on public transport.

We only have one birthday card that could work for a kid, the rest seem to mention goon or other things that kids don't really get (yet). My plan for the cards was to have 6 different animals doing six different birthday things. Once I got sketching I didn't really like any of the animal drawings much. I don't think I could get past the octopus. I figured if I couldn't get it right then everything else would be even harder. You can click on all of the sketches to see them a bit bigger.

I decided to scrap the animals and go with aliens. I think this decision was a mixture of laziness and creativity. Laziness because it is easier to draw an alien than it is to draw an animal and creativity because I could draw whatever I wanted and make it a little odd. Although I didn't go with the animals, I still like the idea of the octopus with all the balloons and the school of fish with the blower things and might go back to them in the future.

I was pretty much settled on the idea of aliens at this point so drew some ideas for different creatures. Although I was sold on this idea this didn't stop me from drawing lots of other things as well. Once you're in that mindset that what you're doing is right it helps to draw other things as you can come up with another idea that works for something completely different. From the birthday ideas at the start I decided I liked the party hat, balloon and present images. Although I liked the idea of the game, it would be a bit more complicated to illustrate and I wanted to keep the cards really simple.

This was the last of my sketching where I was working out which colour things would be and what the aliens would look like. I used the triangle lines to tie them altogether and also have a place to add some other colours.

These are the six drawings I did with the fine liner and then have been scanned onto the computer. I've become particular about the paper and fineliner I use, I don't like the line to have any fuzziness, the smoother the better. Once they are scanned into Photoshop I take them over to Illustrator to clean them up and get the lines nice and smooth. I usually digitally colour in Photoshop, but for this range I used Illustrator. Once I started colouring them it didn't take too long to finish them all and the first one always takes longer than the last.

This is one the final designs showing the personalised text. The text is a new typeface I made with my own handwriting (super time saver, I had been handwriting everything previously!).

We will list the personalised teacher range on Etsy in the next day or so. The pack will have 30 cards (5 of each design) and we can also put the class name and school year on the back. The cards will also be available individually just with 'Happy Birthday!' and we also plan to offer packs of 6 at the market.

Here are the final six designs with matching envelopes. They are printed on a lovely parchment stock we use for a small range of our cards. It picks up the ink really nice and has a soft texture to it. Which one is your favourite? I think mine is the pink one.

Heidi Date Day

2011-09-07T20:30:00.000+10:00

Something Gareth and I have been meaning to do for ages is visit Heidi Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen. We started stocking the gift shop with our cards, so whenever we had an order to send I would suggest driving out there. We even made the mistake of going on a Monday when they were closed. Silly me!

So I made it official by putting it in the googie calendar and every time the day came around something else came up. I think it got bumped about three times! Well today it finally happened, we had an order to drop off (they have Kitty and Melbourne calendars that we have not even put online or blogged about yet!) so we got in the car and 15 minutes later we were in Bulleen. It is a fast drive from Brunswick, once you're on the Eastern Freeway you fly along very fast.

We were excited to try the Cafe Vue for lunch and after sitting down we realised we had not been out for food in a while (pub food doesn't count). I had the lunchbox and Gareth had the burger and the waiter KNEW that was what Gareth would order. He was a smart guy. The tea was fancy pants Simon Johnson and I thought it wouldn't be as good as my favourite Dilmar, but it might have been better, big call!

We spotted this guy in the vegetable garden (he is hard to spot in the photo, look to the top right). I was keen as a mustard plant to have a look at how the vegies looked. They had lots of herbies which are my favourite. Gareth pointed at the curly parsley and said "see that is what real parsley is". No winning him over with the gourmet flat leaf!

I guess we better talk about the art (it isn't all food, gift shops and vegie gardens you know!), we went to Callum Morton (which runs till October 16) and I think the Le Pine Funerals sign out the front was a highlight as we both had a BIG confusion when we came in as to why it was there. Although I think my favourite was the old Gas and Fuel Corporation building with 'help me' from The Fly playing over and over. I had been thinking about Fed Square and what used to be there because it feels like it has always been there. I only shifted in Melbourne in 2002, but I used to row as a teenager so it isn't like I wasn't ever in the city. Even seeing the replica confused me as it just gone from my memory.

If you're planning a lovely date day then I think Heidi is a good idea. It is quick drive, they have fancy food and art + pretty gardens is good for the soul.

Bendigo!

2011-09-06T17:55:00.000+10:00

For those of you in or around Bendigo we have some exciting news that is Bendigo related!

Firstly on the 17th of September we will be getting up early and heading over for The Square Market at the Town Hall. We are looking forward to doing our first regional market, going for a bit of a drive and meeting some of the lovely Bendigo locals.

Details:
Saturday 17th September
THE SQUARE - BENDIGO
When: 10am - 4pm
Where: Bendigo Town Hall
Hargreaves Street, Bendigo

We also have a new stockist in Bendigo called View Point Gallery. They only just opened last Friday and it looks like they have big arty plans in store for the space.

Details:
VIEW POINT GALLERY
Where: 13 View Point, Bendigo

We asked Jessica a few questions about the shop:

What do you sell in your shop?
We've recently opened the first stage of View Point Handmade Gallery - the handmade retail section, which stocks all kinds of wonderful handmade goodies. Soon to be followed by a cafe, outdoor stage for acoustic music events and a dedicated gallery space upstairs, we're aiming to create a hub of creativity right in the heart of Bendigo!

What is a great place to go to eat in the area?
We will be soon enough! In the mean time there are some fantastic cafes and restaurants sprinkled through out the CBD; The Old Green Bean, The Good Loaf, T'hooft... The list goes on.

Best thing about running a shop?
I'm torn - I love meeting all of our wonderful customers and stockists.. but I also have a huge soft spot for receiving parcels in the post, so unpacking new stock is always a highlight for me!

Doing an interstate market

2011-09-02T15:49:00.001+10:00

In July we participated in Brisbane Finders Keepers, our sixth interstate market. I realised this was the first time everything went smoothly and was really stress free but to get to that point I think I made every mistake possible. From staying in a dive hotel on Hindley Street in Adelaide and getting little sleep due to the party people 6 floors below to sending 10 boxes via Australia Post thinking it was the cheap option only to have all our stock mixed up and spending a stressful 2 hours hidden under the table trying to sort it out once the market started. However I think nothing will trump arriving at the airport after two days of Finders Keepers Sydney to discover I had booked our flights for the night before, a costly mistake that caused a mini meltdown.

This post is long and covers lots of different aspects of doing the market. Different people might have different ways of doing things and I got some advice from seasoned interstaters including Leeloo, Me and Amber and Record Attempts and included tips from them as well. If you have anything you want to add or a question you want to ask please feel free to comment on this post.

Application

This is going to be one of the most important things to get right so make sure you read through the application and get an understanding of what is needed. Organisers are going to be going through a lot of applications so make sure you include everything and make it super easy for them read your application.The Finders Keepers Market has a great resourse with the top ten tips for applying on their websit e.

Suggestions for getting things right are:

1. Get some good product photos.

2. Know who your target market is (Everybody isn’t your target market, think about who buys the bulk of your product)

3. Know what products you are going to sell.

4. Have an idea on how you will display your products. This might be a diagram or photos of another stall you have made.

5. A good description of you and your product that is clear and easy to read. Get someone to read over it if you’re unsure.

Getting your stuff there

I think this has caused me the biggest stress and it has taken us a few markets to get right. If you plan on driving then it isn’t going to be a problem, but don’t drive because you don’t want the hassle of organising a courier as it isn’t that hard. A drive will be two days you could spend organising things beforehand and sitting drinking cocktails once the market is over.

If you sell small items you can probably get away with getting everything into your suitcase, but don’t go over your limit and not expect to pay for it at the airport. Weigh it beforehand to avoid the $364263266723 a kilo most airlines seem to charge.

If you’re organising a courier get everything ready that you want to take at least a week before the market is on so you have enough time to get it to your location with a day or so to spare in case something goes wrong. If a courier says it takes 2-4 days to arrive, send it 5-6 days beforehand. I like to know it is there before I leave. DO NOT let it arrive the day the market starts; I’ve been next to stalls with no stock because the driver couldn’t find the location of the market.

I like to send things to the place I am staying because you can check in, then get your boxes and get a taxi to the venue. Me and Amber suggest finding an obliging friend in the city of the market and having your stuff sent to them.

When packing your boxes make sure things are in some order and write the content of the box on the outside so it makes it easy to set up.

Angela from Leeloo suggests not using plastic boxes as they break. Removalists often have big boxes for sale that are perfect for loading with products. Pack things securely, couriers aren’t known for their treatment of fragile boxes.

When you get to the market Angela says you can save a lot of time by taking your scissors in your luggage and to label the ‘utilities’ box so that when you start unpacking you can get into the rest of the boxes.

The other important thing is getting your stuff home, obviously there will be less stuff to take, but make sure you have a plan on how you will do this. My suggestion would be to organise a courier to collect it from the place you’re staying. Make sure you organise all of this before you leave. You need to know who you will be using and that the place you’re staying are know what is going on.

Transdirect are a good service that isn’t expensive and you don’t need an account to use them. They do require you print off labels with weight and box dimensions and stick them to the box, so if you are using them to get your stuff home make sure you can access a printer, have a tape measure and scales (or have a good idea of what the weight of a box is).

Places to stay

I usually go to Wotif and have a look for hotels and try and find something within 2km of the venue. If you plan on sending stuff to them give them a call to make sure this is okay before you book, generally they are happy to do this but if it is going to be 6 large boxes you want them to know this beforehand. I also like to look on the website of the place to see if they have any special deals on.

If you have friends going you can sometimes find serviced apartments that would have a good group rate and you can pretend you're on school camp!

From my experience don’t always go for the cheap places, you’re on a business trip for your own business so you might as well stay somewhere nice.

Flights

Make sure when booking flights you give yourself enough time to set up, and pack up after it is over. You don’t want the stress of trying to get to the airport after a busy day of selling. If you can do it, try and stay an extra day or so after the market, it is a good way to relax after a busy time selling and good chance to do some sightseeing.

Display

If you do markets regularly then you probably have your display sorted, but it might be bulky and heavy and not so good for shipping interstate. Finding something light isn’t always easy, but remember that paper and fabric can cover ugly light things and make them look okay.

Also get an idea on the size of your stall, what size the tables are and how you will display them with enough room for you to get in and out to fix up your display and replenish stock. Make sure your table cloths (if you need to provide them) are the right size for the tables.

With a lot of people coming to the markets make sure your product is easy to access. You want to minimum amount of work per item when you have lots of people wanting to buy at the same time. If you have to keep stocking up items allow to have more out so you have enough time to serve customers and pop items out and tidy up.

Mark from Record Attempts suggests keeping a list of things you forgot to bring while setting up rather than remembering for next time. It is best to write it down while it is fresh in your mind rather than remember six months later when you do it all again.

Must have items

A list of all the important information you need in the bag you carry at all times. This includes the following:

All the info the market sent you.

A google map with directions for all the places you will be travelling to.

Contact details for the place you’re staying at.

Contact details for the courier company you’re using.

Contact details for a taxi in the city you’re staying in.

The address of the market venue.

Your flight details.

A big float. Think of all the prices you have and the change you will need to give. If you have something that is $18 you will need a lot of $2 coins. We usually take a really big float so we don’t get stuck, but even with big floats we have been stuck before. Also if you’re carrying a lot of coins and flying it is best to put them in your check in luggage or separate them a bit. Security have dug through a bag of coins before and been rather confused as to why I had so many.

Food and water

Bags (to put goods in when they sell)

Paper

Mailing list form

Lots of price signs

Calculator

Tape (including packing tape for packing up the boxes after it is over)

A banner with your name on it so people can easily identify you

Business cards (500+)

Fun

Remember to have fun and remind yourself you are going on an interstate business trip for your own business. This is an exciting thing but something you can often forget.

I’ve spoken to a few people who have worried they wont make enough money to justify the trip, but I think only good things can happen from participating. At the end of the day making money, although very important, isn’t the only factor in why you participate in an event like this.

Have a look at who else is going, email them to say hello and organise a dinner or drinks and make some friends. You can talk shop with them and get inspired by people who work in a similar field as you.

An Ode To Winter

2011-08-31T18:20:00.000+10:00

It's time to space bag the doona suit because winter is over. Eight months ago when Gareth and I arrived in Scotland it was -8 C, so this Melbourne Winter hasn't felt too cold. Add to that a new place that often doesn't require heating and it has been an a-ok winter. That being said I'm looking forward to summer!

Here are a few links that are getting us ready for summer:

- We didn't just actually go through winter, this is what winter is really like. I'd suggest they shift to Melbourne but I think our summers might be a wee bit tough on them.

- Uber cute summer dresses by Gorman.

- Cricket. And for those of you who don't think it is interesting, I still remember this match. It has run outs, it had McGrath coming into bat, and it has Bevan saving the day.

-Cocktails. In jars with pretty straws. I'm thinking vodka/pink grapefruit/passion fruit/mint would do the trick. What's your favourite recipe?

-Swimming time. I'm looking forward to hitting the beach again this year. I think Sandringham is my favourite place in Melbourne.

It's always time for gin and tonic

2011-08-25T19:34:00.000+10:00

Gareth and I would call ourselves connoisseurs of gin. It started many moons ago when Gareth would go to New Zealand every few months and get duty free Bombay Sapphire. Starting out on good gin means I don't much like anything other than the good stuff and we also have a soft spot for the Tanqueray. I like it with lots of ice, plenty of lime and a decent tonic. Oh and someone else (Gareth) to make them for me. The last few days have been warm enough to dust off the gin bottle although we often follow the rule that anytime is time is gin time.

This card is available on Etsy and we will also have it at Rose Street Market on the weekend. We sold out of it last weekend after Gareth had wondered who would buy it on Friday night. I would buy it was a good enough answer and it seems others are thinking the same thing as me.

Does your Dad rock?

2011-08-24T17:11:00.000+10:00

The other night we were at the Cornish Arms in Brunswick and it was open mic night. A leather clad couple in their 50s got up and played a few songs together and it made me think of this card. They played some Nancy Sinatra and some June and Johnny Cash and I'm not sure if they had been playing for long but I thought it was twenty levels of awesome that they got up and had a go.

While listening to them we came up with a game where you had to guess the next song they would play. To add to the game, because the chance of guessing the song was obviously slim, we had to decide which guess was the closest in likeness to the song they played.

The card is listed on Etsy for those of you out there with a rocking Dad.

Father's Day

2011-08-18T15:27:00.000+10:00

Father's Day is only a few weekends away and we have been working on some new Father's Day cards for the special occasion. We have a whole range on our Etsy Shop and we try and have a range to appeal to lots of different Dads. My favourite is still the I'm glad I inherited your taste in beer card which I sent my Dad last year and Mum said was the perfect card for him. I also like it because it makes me think about the A & G brewing company we can dream of making, along with the vineyard, cafe, kitten house and gallery that also pop up on the wish list.

Guest Blogging on The Design Files

2011-08-15T18:35:00.000+10:00

This week we are very excited to be guest blogging over at The Design Files. We are following up from two great Melbourne Indy Designers, Emily Green and Betty Jo. The theme of the week is the trials and triumphs of life and we have drawn illustrations around the little things in life that often get overlooked. Today we focused on work life and one things that I think is a big trial in life is meetings. Sure some are productive but they are the exception to the rule. I drew the diagram above during a meeting I recently found myself in. I left early as the desire to hit my head on the desk was growing rapidly and I think I witnessed at least 4 "circles of rubbish" during the 40 minutes I was there.

We are also running a giveaway with The Design Files and you can leave a comment on today's post to go into the running to win $150 worth of Able and Game products. If you have not had a chance to read The Design Files then you have a few years of backlog, but it be worth it as Lucy and Jenny do an amazing job, plus they are both super lovely. They are also running a bike giveaway on the main blog. I need a new bike and the Papillionaire are pretty freaking pretty.

It's Your Destiny

2011-07-29T17:31:00.000+10:00

I don't know what is better, this guy or the jacket he is wearing. I like to think it is made from vinyl and came from 1983. It would be the op shop find of the decade.

We have him available on Etsy and he will also be at Rose Street this weekend. On Sunday the weather looks like it is going to be a nice 18 degrees in Melbourne, probably the same temperature as Glasgow. So head outside and pretend you're on vacay in Europe celebrating your destiny with the yellow jacket guy.

24 lazy eyes

2011-07-22T17:57:00.000+10:00

This is the design for one of our new tea towels available on Etsy. When I started to think about how we would turn this design into a tea towel I wasn't sure if I should have the boy or the girl from the original cards on the tea towel. I then had a think about it and realised having a lot of people winking would be much more fun. I wanted a nice mix of boys and girls, some cool, some dorky, some pretty and some a bit plain. I spent an afternoon drawing all the people and felt a bit drained afterwards. I didn't use anything as a reference so coming up with fresh ideas for each person, particularly hairstyles got a bit difficult near the end and I emptied the mental archives I have from years spent people watching. I think one of my favourites is the bearded person at the bottom and the woman third down on the right.

What are you doing on the weekend?

2011-07-20T18:10:00.000+10:00

This weekend is a big weekend for things on in Melbourne, so if you've been couped up inside your warm house drinking cask wine and watching Sons of Anarchy then maybe it is time to put on the winter warmies and check out what Melbourne has to offer. Outside isn't too bad when you have a gazillion layers on.

We will be at Melbourne Design Market on Sunday looking car park chic and selling cards. Come along and say hello, or wave as you travel by in the sea of people.

The first Camberwell Art Show is also on this weekend at Camberwell Girls Grammar Junior School. They have a whole bunch of talented artists including David Bromley, Lisa Madigan and Michael Jenkins. They also have a gift shop with about 13 different designers, including us.

They have a Friday night launch (call 9813 1166 for tickets) with drinks and food and it runs on Saturday and Sunday as well. Maybe you could get up early, go to Camby Market, then onto the artshow?
If you need somewhere to go for lunch in Camberwell we went to Collective Expresso just across from Camberwell Station on Monday with Kirsteene. The food was lovely and apparently the coffee is good as well.

Also Design Made Trade is on this weekend with a whole bunch of talent showing off their work, so no excuse to sit at home when there is so much on!

Five Years

2011-07-18T18:41:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago I went along to an Etsy meet up with Matt, one of the founders of Etsy. After seeing a few familiar faces from when I first started on Etsy I realised that it had been five years since I started my shop. Before Able and Game I had a label called Anna Laura and I like to think of it as the training wheels for Able and Game. It's nice to look back on the five years and think of all the things that have changed, we have shifted twice and Gareth and I have both left our jobs to work full time on the business. I'm excited about the next five years and seeing which direction we go with the business.

Here are a few images from last five years:

The very first stall I had at Rose Street in January 2007. It was a bit of a mess, I shared the stall with my sister and I think I thought doing a market was hard going and maybe not for me. Just over a year later I was doing it every weekend and realised the errors of my way.

This is one of my felt lady badges used to make and I often see a resemblance between the images on the cards and their little stitched faces. Although I've not seen this for more than a year I still remember her name was Danica.

These were some of the cards I sold at Rose Street in 2008 and I like to think of them as the seeds that got Able and Game started. Just after selling these for Mother's Day I decided I wanted to start a card business and that Gareth and I would do it together. He came up with the 'Thanks for the lift" copy so I knew he would be a good fit. Plus he has skills with computers.

Gareth used to help me with the modelling of my bags. This was from when we lived in Upwey and had a big lush garden and I was teaching full time.

Things we love - The Astor

2011-07-14T16:01:00.001+10:00

Growing up in Melbourne it seems that the one rule for share houses was you must have The Astor poster stuck up on the back of your toilet door. I think the first time I saw a poster I probably 21, Lambrusco-d up and thinking is this a list of films I have to see by the time I'm 30 because I've got LOADS of time before that happens.

Gareth and I went the other night and here are the following reasons why we love The Astor:

- They have a cat that lives at the cinema. He was sitting on a sofa when we were there so I got to sit and have a pat.

- You can see two films for $15

- They show films that were made when my parents were under 10 that are in colour. We used to tease my parents whenever they spoke about their childhood by saying "wasn't everything black and white back then?"

-The olde world charm makes you feel like the star of a noir film, even if you're in your trackies.

The first rule of birthdays: there are no rules

2011-07-13T17:19:00.000+10:00

You know that feeling you get on your birthday when you think should I do this? Then you realise it's your birthday and you can do whatever the jolly heck you want to do. Technically when it comes to birthdays there are no rules, you can walk around doing what you please and making others do what you please, but if there was to be a set of birthday rules then crying, cake and crooning should be at the top of the list. The card is up on Etsy ready to give to someone who is going to make you do all their birthday bidding for you.

I'm sitting down

2011-07-12T17:48:00.000+10:00

Sometimes when you think about someone's birthday you get so excited because you just know they are going to put on something special. A nice dinner at a restaurant you're too scared to go to unless you're with someone who knows the drill, a party where the host understands the importance of lighting, or just a good old cake-o-thon. We have our new card listed on Etsy and we will be at Revolver Market this Thursday night and Rose Street this weekend.

Speaking of parties, this weekend I'm heading back to Gippsland for my cousins 21st and I have to admit I'm pretty excited. There will be:

Costumes, I'm dressing as a man.

Ample booze in my Dad's never ending esky of fun.

Standard Beer: VB tinnies
Fancy Beer: Crown Lager

A dance floor big enough to get at least 1 sibling and 2 cousins doing the robot to Mustang Sally.

Decorations that would make Jamie Durie wish he was hosting a TV Challenge show called "Cricket Club Halls: Make 'em Fancy".

kittens

2011-07-08T15:25:00.001+10:00

Cards with cats on them would have to be my favourite cards and so it isn't too much of a surprise when they creep onto our cards. I think we have around 6 cat cards now and this new birthday card is already a firm favourite. We have it available on Etsy and it will also be at Rose Street Market this weekend.

Speaking of cat cards, when I got back from Brisbane Gareth gave me a cute cat card from Gemma Correl that he purchased at Dorothy and Evelyn to say he missed me. Too cute!

Sorry, But I'm In Europe

2011-07-07T17:48:00.000+10:00

I beg your pardon, I never promised you a herb garden

2011-07-06T17:36:00.000+10:00

Gareth and I shifted a few months ago and one of the things that really worried me about the move was shifting my herb garden. In fact I used to lie awake at night feeling sad at the thought of them dying because they didn't get enough sunlight on the new balcony. Well after three months, one of those months being winter, I am pleased to say my little baby herbies are doing okay. Sure the basil died but everyone's basil dies in winter, that wasn't my fault - it's in its DNA.

Our last house had a big front and back yard which needed mowing every month or so and a lovely guy called Bruce would come and tend to it. I would always get excited when he came as it gave me a chance to show off my herbs and talk shop with him and learn some herbie tricks. I love talking to anyone about growing herbs and when I was up in Sydney at Life Instyle Kate from Elly Oak and I got chatting and discovered we both upload photos of our herb garden to Facebook like proud parents. In the picture above you can see my Sage, Chervil, Mint, Coriander, Chives and Rosemary. I also have Vietnamese Mint (my new favourite, the stuff grows like it's being paid!), Parsley (curly and flat) Marjoram, Thyme and Oregano. I have a few spare pots for some new herbs, so if you have any suggestions for ones to add please let me know.

Brisbane Finders Keepers

2011-07-05T16:03:00.000+10:00

I've just arrived back in Melbourne after a pretty fun four days in Brisbane for Finders Keepers. It is the second time we have been up to Brisbane for Finders Keepers in winter and the thought of warm weather really did have me excited. Even though I was at the event on my own it was really stress free having learnt a few what-not-to-do lessons from previous interstate markets.

I had lovely neighbours next to me, Jarren from Temono, Jen from Jen Hall Designs and Belle from Brkich and as a bit of a coincidence it turns out Belle and I went to the same small high school and had the same art teacher. What are the chances?

It was great chatting to the customers and arrived home late last night and Gareth and I sat and spoke about all the people we had seen and spoken to at the market stalls over the weekend. I think the lady who told me she loves the blog made my day (so if you're reading this - thank you!). I was also happy to see a positive reaction to the Queensland Rail cards and the Goodna card ended up selling out on Sunday even though I made sure I had loads of stock on hand.

Below are some photos of the stall including the new tea towels.

I thought I'd put this extra cute photo in, I was passing by Nook on Browning Street West End and little Pedro the shop cat was out and said hello by doing this tricky yoga move in the sun. He was so happy and smirry* so I did what all cat obsessed people without an actual cat of their own do and took some photos.

*this is a word I use to describe when a cat gets all affectionate and cute. I looked it up thinking it was a real word and realised it wasn't.

Tea Towels

2011-06-30T18:33:00.001+10:00

We have a bit of a sneak peek of our two new tea towel designs. We just got them back from the printer this morning and I've spent the afternoon getting them all packed up for Finders Keepers Brisbane and my suitcase is full to the brim. The designs we chose (and boy was it hard to decide) were "I love you just the way I am" (affectionately known as fat cat to Gareth and I) and "I don't have a lazy eye I was trying to wink at you". I did a resign for the lazy eye card because I couldn't decide if the boy or the girl would make it onto the tea towel and I ended up drawing about 24 different winking faces. It was a taxing afternoon coming up with all these different people but I'm super happy with the result. I've given Gareth some for Rose Street Market and they will be up on Etsy next week. Now I have designed these two, I cannot wait to design some more. I think I will aim to get new designs out every few months.

Brisbane!

2011-06-29T18:30:00.000+10:00

If you're in Brisbane this weekend be sure to come by the Finders Keepers Market on either Saturday and Sunday. I've been checking the weather each day and it has gone from raining to sunny so I hope that forecast doesn't change because some t-shirt weather could be nice.*

We have some new card designs and I'm looking forward to testing them out at the market. This time last year we had just made our fat cat card and he had his first outing at Finders Keepers in Brisbane. We were not sure if people would like it, but by the end of the day we had one left. We also cannot wait to get some feedback on our Brisbane Train Station cards we made last year (yes, we went out to Goodna, took some photos, then waited 35 minutes for the train back into town!).

All the details for the event are on the Finders Keepers website and there is also a Facebook invitation if you want to tell friends about it.

*that being said it is almost t-shirt weather here in Melbourne at the moment. Almost.

Sorry Dude

2011-06-27T21:53:00.000+10:00

It might be a bit of a catch-22 that the reason we don't sell many sorry cards is because until a week ago we only had one sorry card. I drew this guy and had him stuck up on my studio wall for a week or so thinking he was destined for romantic card stardom with looks like that. A bit of a heartbreaker who would most likely be apologising to someone for hurting them he ended up becoming a sorry card. We have him listed up on Etsy and he will be at our markets this weekend. Oh and check out his Lady Clairol hair, maybe whoever did that home dye job might need this card to say sorry to him.

I would like hot chips to be perfectly honest

2011-06-23T17:58:00.000+10:00

No time to write as Gareth wants to leave because he has rumbles in his tumbles.

Game On Game: Which?

2011-06-22T17:17:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago I rocked up to meet Gareth at Rose Street late on a Sunday afternoon and he was next to a stall selling a game called Which? Stuart, the man who designed and made the game, had the idea in his head for the last 20 years and spent the last few months designing and making it. I know I'm one of the many people who have had lofty ideas of making my own board game, but how often do you meet someone who has actually gone out and done it?

The game works by you choosing between two options from a question card and everyone else guessing what you have chosen. You can play in teams or individually with the first team/person to reach 30 correct answers the winner. We played it the other night with 5 people (odd number - so we played as individuals) and despite having people who were total strangers before the night we were all able to compete and had some interesting conversations. Some of the questions are rather interesting, for example: would you rather die before or after your partner? (Gareth guessed this one wrong by the way) and by the end of the game we had learnt some interesting things about one another.

Next month we will have two games of Which? to give away in our newsletter, so if you're not on the mailing list you can join by entering your email on the form on the left hand side, or you can buy directly off the website here.

Cost: $25
How long till you get the hang of it: Right away
Play it when: You have a bunch of people over for dinner
(from 4-8 people would be ideal)
Platform: Old School (dining table, lounge room)
IQ Improvement: 0
Addictiveness: Medium
Honeymoon is over: When the wine runs out

That guy in the yellow jacket

2011-06-20T19:20:00.000+10:00

I was going through my folders of old drawings and found this guy and wondered why he didn't end up on a card. I redrew him with a smashing yellow jacket and sexy eyes. When it came to the copy the guy kinda of spoke to me, a gentle whisper that said what's up birthday babe? Yeah, sometimes the people I draw tell me things, it's a special power.

We have him listed on Etsy, and I'm trying to think of what his name would be. Marty maybe? A guy who had his heyday in 1990 and likes to get his groove on to a bit of Deee-Lite.

It's been on the cards

2011-06-17T19:15:00.001+10:00

We made some Ha Ha Ha 30 cards over a year ago for a friend's birthday (yes, when he turned 31 we gave him the same card with a one scribbled after the three) and we made a Ha Ha Ha 40 after a few requests. We then started getting requests for a Ha Ha Ha 50 card but I was unsure if people would buy it. After being assured by many women it would be perfect to give to a girlfriend turning 50 I realised it was a card that we needed to make. I said to one lady at the market that it was on the cards when she asked for it. Wow, what a bad pun, and I didn't even realise when I said it, because even though it was on the cards it wasn't on our cards. We have this listed on Etsy and we will also have some at Rose Street this weekend.

Bad Hair Day

2011-06-16T15:23:00.000+10:00

In late 1995 I came to school and decided a haircut was in order. I told my friend to cut it off at the ponytail during homeroom and I think about 6 inches came off leaving me with shoulder length hair.

A few things I remember about this event:

Later in the day a boy in my maths class told me how crazy and spontaneous the whole thing was. I asked if he had ever done anything as spontaneous before and he said he had, he put tomato sauce on his 2 minute noodles once to try it out.

My Mum squealing when picked me up from the bus stop. My Deb Ball was 6 months away and she was worried my hair wouldn't grow long enough to wear up to the event. I was a total rebel.

Cards we will never make

2011-06-13T09:39:00.000+10:00

If you're in Australia* enjoying you're Queen's Birthday holiday I hope you're having a lovely day. Public holidays and long weekends are fun because when it gets to Sunday night you think, wait I get a whole extra day to bum round and have total fun times. I can even have a glass of wine on Sunday night and not feel bad. 2 bottles later and the bad feeling is waking up on Monday morning feeling like rotten grapes, but just blame Liz for that as it's pretty much her fault.

* Not Western Australia, they got last Monday off I think.

Hey What You Doing This Weekend?

2011-06-10T18:33:00.000+10:00

Notecards

2011-06-09T18:24:00.000+10:00

We have been selling note cards at our market stalls for well over a year and have finally got them up on Etsy. We have three different styles including these thank you birds. The note cards are perfect for a little message to someone special and these bird ones come with bright yellow envelopes which should cheer up even the most miserable being. We plan on doing some more designs and if you want to let us know what you would like to see on note cards it will help us when designing the next batch.

How to cope with winter

2011-06-08T18:27:00.000+10:00

Get some yummy food into your tummy

2011-06-03T21:26:00.000+10:00

Some exciting things are happening at Rose Street this weekend. Firstly the kitchen will have a resident chef, Dan Vaughan who was in the Masterchef top 50 and has a regular stall at Rose Street. He will be cooking up some Mexican and Latin American fare which is super exciting. Also on Sunday they will have some fresh fruit and veg stalls, so you can fill your bag with pretty things and carrots and celery for a winter soup.

Why yes I have been working out

2011-06-03T00:18:00.001+10:00

A few years ago I decided to take up running. Working from home meant I could go during the day and it was free so you got none of that gym-guilt you feel when not only are you not working out, but you're paying for it as well. Having just shifted to a new location I missed my old perfectly mapped out route but I've found myself a running buddy and got back into it tonight. I'm super slow and end up with the reddest face in the world but I can run for about 5km and I don't have to have any money direct debited from my bank account to do so. Totally win win!

One running memory that has always stuck in my mind was from back in the late '80s when I wasn't too bad at running. Primary school with its kiss chasy, regular chasy and dacking season was a non stop training session for both the short and middle distance runner. I used to do Little Aths and I was running a race against a boy I thought was kinda hot stuff. I remember coming around the bend just ahead of him and his brother yelling out from the sidelines something about a woman beating him. At that point I was trying to beat him to impress him, but after that I just wanted to annoy his older brother. I was also confused as to why he was calling me woman when I was only ten. Turns out a woman didn't beat him, but I certainly did try!

Game On Game: Ninjump

2011-05-31T14:11:00.000+10:00

Ninjump is a quick and simple smart phone game where you have to get as high up a wall as possible. With games like this I always wonder, how high can you go? Does the game ever run out or do they make some algorithm where it lasts for ever? I guess you want good value for your 99 cents, but do you get good life value if you’re playing the game enough to get that good? It is a handy little standby game when you have a spare 10 minutes and you have already grown bored of the email/facebook/twitter check but isn't as addictive as Angry Birds. I know they wont be making a Ninjump film any times soon!

Cost: .99c download
How long till you get the hang of it: 3 goes
Play it when: You’re on public transport or stuck in a waiting room
Platform: iPhone and Android
IQ Improvement: -5
Addictiveness: Medium
Honeymoon is over: When the headache starts from the moving screen

Post MARKit wrap

2011-05-30T14:10:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was MARKit at Fed Square and it seemed all of Melbourne was out and about. A few times as I looked out from my stall it felt like a river of people streaming by. I had lovely spot next to Me and Amber (yes I did get another cushion!) over one of those heated wooden grates in the Atrium. I also had my Mum helping me for most of the day doing things like dashing off to get change, dashing off to get more change, getting lunch and cups of tea as well as some birthday present hunting. Her take on the market was "wow Anna, there is some really amazing stuff here, really lovely well designed products" and I think she was right. The whole day went really smoothly and I didn't even feel tired afterwards thanks to the three cups of tea and warm snuggy feet. Gareth and I got home (through some crazy busy Sunday afternoon traffic) and spent the night in very good company with some beer, curry and board games. The next MARKit date is Sunday 27th of November and although that feels like yonkers away it will be here before you know it.

Off they go

2011-05-27T17:58:00.000+10:00

Living in an isolated country like Australia I think everyone had experienced a good friend or family going to live on the other side of the world. I did it to my family when I was 17 years old and let's not mention Gareth's trip to Australia back in 2002 because that might be the longest 'holiday' anyone has ever been on.

Taking someone out to Tullamarine is almost a bit of a ritual, the awkward hanging around, the trying not to cry when saying goodbye, the looking at the duty free and pretending to be interested, the pang that you should be going overseas and finally the shock of paying $30 for an hour or so of parking. We can only hope they will send us a postcard, but speaking from experience you always write the postcard out then never get the stamps to send it.

Our new card is listed on Etsy and will also be available at our weekend markets:

Exhibition - Ears: Head Space

2011-05-24T13:18:00.000+10:00

Gareth and I went to the opening of Ears 'Head Space' exhibition at No Vacancy Project Space at Federation Square last week. It was a cold night and by the time we rocked up there wasn't any booze left but there was some pretty amazing art on display. You can view some of the artworks from the exhibition on his website here, my favourite was Zoo Rock and the one from the postcard I've stuck up on my wall in the photo above. As I've said many times I was a bit of a Brett Whiteley Fan Girl as a teenager, so anything remotely Whiteleyesque gets my tick of approval.

The exhibitions runs till this Sunday and the gallery is situated right in front of where our Markit stall will be, so come and have a look on Sunday and then say hello to us at Markit. I think Fed Square will be buzzing with arty goodness on Sunday as there is also the NGV's 150th Birthday Celebrations happening. So put on your prettiest winter coat and scarf and head into the city for some arty love!

Roller Derby: Your next night out

2011-05-20T17:32:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago we took part in a market stall at the second bout for the Victorian Roller Derby League. I went along with my family to a bout over a year ago and decided that Dead Ringer Rosies were my team as they had a player called Skate Bush. Turns out Skate Bush is a pretty amazing jammer so I think I picked the right team.

I have to admit to doing a stall holder naughty and leaving my stall to watch some of the bout, but it was worth it. I'm not sure how big the crowd was, but the noise from all the cheering was really loud, I think my ears hurt more than it did at the Anzac day match almost a month back and there was about 88000 more people at the MCG. Although I do like going to watch AFL matches I do find some of the AFL culture isn't my cup of tea, however rollerderby is. The people are super lovely and it seems really supportive and friendly.

If you have not been and think you want to go, the next bout is Saturday 4th of June. You can get tickets at Moshtix and it is located at the Melbourne Show Grounds. We will also be there selling cards and doing a double whammy market day, firstly at Sisters Market in Brunswick from 10am - 4pm, then hotfooting it over to Ascot Vale for the Derby from 4.30pm - 9.30pm. Hopefully we see you there!

Here are my tips on how to make it a fun night.

1. I'm guessing in a few weeks it will be even more chilly than now, so take warm clothing, or a blankie. They have seats around the track or you can sit up close to the action on the ground. If you want to sit on the ground take a cushion as the concrete will hurt your botty.

2. Maybe have a read up on how the derby goes down beforehand so you're not confused on the night. They give a demo at the start but if you're a bit late you might miss it. Also make sure you get a programme (gold coin donation) as it has pics of all the players and some info on how the bouts work.

3. Bring a few friends, although I am sure if you go on your own you would still have a good time or even meet some ace people. In fact if you're alone come say hi to me and we can have a chat.

4. If Jerry's Vegiburgers has a stand get the vego tofu noodle salad thing shown below because it is super yum. They also have a big deep fried food van selling yellow corned dogs and the like, but they are a bit scary. Get the noodle salad. Best $10 you will spend on food in a while.

5. Get some drink into you! They sell Carlton Draught cans which my brother is modelling in this photo below (MEGAHAND!). He had a few and left his phone at my stall while he went to buy food from the deep fried van. BIG MISTAKE! I updated his facebook status with "I'm having fun, Carlton Draught told me I could" which may have been one of the highlights of my night as I was not partaking in the Carlton Canz due to driving home later.

6. Get your celeb spotting glasses on because there is always someone kinda famous there. Sure they might be on an ad for insurance but that doesn't stop people getting all excited and yelling out his name.

Birthday Bonanza

2011-05-19T17:52:00.000+10:00

Last month we had a newsletter competition and we asked what type of card do you most use. It seems birthday was the clear winner and we started adding more birthday cards to our range. When it comes to designing cards I seems to always gravitate towards the romantic ones. I don't know why, I think because I love drawing the dorky loved up guys. Over the last few weeks I have been thinking hard about birthdays and how to turn everything into birthday related cards. Once you get thinking about it everything becomes a "can this become a card" situation.

I drew this girl and I thought she looked a little too cool for school. She was probably born on a leap year so she only celebrates her birthday once every four years. Beat that! When we listed it on Etsy we went out later that night and when checked our email someone had purchased one. When this happens it always makes me happy. Gareth and I usually high five one another then say BEERS FOR ALL! and have happy face for the rest of the night. The beers possibly help with the happy face but the card selling takes most of the credit.

She is on Etsy if you want to impress your friends with her total disregard for anything remotely mainstream. She would not approve of our happy beer face that is for sure.

MARKit @ Fed Square: Sunday 29th May

2011-05-18T17:16:00.000+10:00

We are super excited about participating in MARKit in just over a weeks time, have you seen the lineup, it is pretty amazing! Our stall is also right in front of a place that sells beer, so I'm sure I will be drinking all my profits.

One of the nice things about doing a market is the shopping and having a chat to the people who make the goods. I always like to have a run around just before the market starts and have a look at what I want to buy and hope by the end of the day it is not sold out. If you have ever been to our market stalls and I've not been there, rest assured I'm probably doing something very important, like spending up my carni cash. Here are some of the things on my MARKit wish list so far:

I got one of Madz Has Runaway's brooches late last year to wear on my coat in Scotland, so I think this necklace would be a welcome addition. I don't wear much jewellery, but nice necklaces like this are my one weakness!

This weekend we are getting our new couch and it a rather special occasion for two reasons. Firstly it is the first couch that isn't second hand or a hand me down and secondly, we have been waiting four weeks without one and have been makedoing with camp chairs. Sure it was a novelty at first, but now I'm just sick of them. We already have one Me and Amber cushion, so another would be a gift to myself for waiting four weeks without a couch.

I've discovered nice chopping boards are a bit of a must have in the kitchen. We have some thin plastic ones that seemed like a good idea at the time, but they now curl up so chopping on them is a nightmare. This Ute one has been on my wish list for about two years and I keep kicking myself that I've never got one. I think the Ute stand is opposite us at MARKit so I am sure looking at them all day will mean I'll walk away with one.

Now while I'm at MARKit, Gareth will be up the road at Rose Street Market and probably thinking he wants a nice present just for being him. Seeing it will be his six month birthday a couple of days beforehand (does anyone actually celebrate these??) it wont hurt to get him something nice. Gareth has some A Skulk of Foxes cuff links that he is pretty much in love with, so I am sure this t-shirt will be welcomed with open arms into his wardrobe.

What about you, what are your favourite market purchases?

Cards we will never make

2011-05-17T17:50:00.000+10:00

So this morning we were reading the news story about an Australian singer holding hands (how very Lennon/McCartney!) with a rather young and famous musician from the US. Although this friendship is totally legit it got us thinking about those celebrity relationships that are obviously created by a publicist and a few vodka martinis to help boost their clients star power. I would love to listen into a power deal between two publicists when organising such a union and I hope they say things to each other like:

"let's set off this love juggernaut into space and watch our stars twinkle"

"She must get spotted buying groceries. Specifically the ones he endorses, a budget mouthwash and orange juice concentrate"

"It's going to be the hottest romance of the week, maybe even month"

"She can touch his the palm of his hand and his wrists, but not the back of his hand, his face and specifically not his hair"

"If we can capture the scent of the X factor romance they have we can sell it as a perfume called romatickles"

21st Birthdays

2011-05-16T18:07:00.000+10:00

It was a long time ago that I celebrated my 21st Birthday. It was a very low key affair compared to most, a house party in Ballarat with the guest of honour being my 15 year old brother. We called him Birrell (after the non alcoholic beer) but he drunk his body weight in Fruity Lexia that night. The speeches were made on a single bed in our lounge room and I think I spilt my wine all over the bed while standing up on the bedhead most likely screeching non sensicles to a bemused audience. Now I understand why my parents left around 8pm leaving a cask of wine and a hope that my sharehouse would remain upright. Thank god we didn't decide to do a goon yard glass. That would have been a disaster!

This card is now available on Etsy. DO NOT suggest a goon yard glass if giving this card to someone, you know what kids are like these days. Exactly what we were like at 21.

Old Sketchbooks

2011-05-12T15:37:00.000+10:00

Here are some images of some of my sketchbooks from university. This sketchbook was called the magical utility sketchbook and I found it in the art supply shop at uni. Despite it being the cost of my weekly food budget, the bright yellow cover sucked me in and it was mine. I'm not sure why I thought it was magical, but I have written that on the cover, although with an odd drawing of a banana.

The first image is a drawing I did when I was in South Africa in 2002. I was on a camp/retreat north of Cape Town. It was a bit of an arty farty retreat where we slept in tents and spent the days drawing and talking about life and stuff. A little dog followed me around the day I spent drawing and I decided to call it shadow. I realised after spending the day with her the best type of dogs are the ones that look and act like cats.

The second image was just some random drawings that I think look a wee bit Able and Gamesque which is funny to look back on and see little ideas and drawing that were perhaps little seeds waiting to germinate.

The third was done on our boat holiday in Gippsland, I think that is my Mum sitting at the table and the date is the 4th of January 2002. Just after I finished University and was living at home and about to start work in a vegetable packing factory. One of the more glamorous times of my life!

Farm Life Part Two

2011-05-11T16:37:00.000+10:00

I arrived back in Melbourne today from my little trip back to the family farm. It has been a busy start to the year after coming back from Scotland as we seemed to go straight from Valentine's Day into the Trade Show and then Mother's Day as well as all our markets. To add to this we also had the stress of buying our first home and shifting both house and office. I'm grateful the process is over because our weekly dealings with estate agents and researching properties was wearing thin. Everything is finally falling into place so a nice few days away with my parents looking after me was just what I needed to start fresh after all the big changes.

Yesterday I had the day to myself and went on a lovely long walk down to the lake. I like walking on my own but at one point in some long grass by the lake I realised if I found a snake I could be in trouble. I once had an encounter with a tiger snake when I was about four or five in the old tree stump in the bottom right hand photo above. The lake has risen a lot since the mid '80s and the hollow stump was just on the waters edge. I was playing inside as a baby tiger snake slid past by head, which didn't scare me as much as it did my Mum when I told her, and my Dad when he found the little thing! Lucky for me there were no snakes around yesterday despite it being super sunny and warm. I think this time I would have been pretty scared if I found one.

I took a little video of the pig and goat just so you can see how funny the pig is. The goat looks pretty nonplussed about everything but he is also super cute and loves being fed grass and scratched behind his ears.

Farm Life

2011-05-10T14:51:00.000+10:00

Look at this little odd couple! I'm back on the family farm on the Gippsland Lakes and got to meet little piggy, the new addition to my Mum's pet collection. She has had the Goat for a few years and little Piggy arrived at Christmas time. My brother had to buy a gift for my Mum and he asked me for advice on what to buy her. I told him something really nice that she wouldn't normally buy for herself and for some reason he thought a pig fitted this description. As Gareth and I were in Scotland for Christmas we didn't get to see the presentation of the pig, which would have been worth it for the look on my Dad's face. A mixture of WTF and LOL-OMG!

Having spend no time around pigs I have to say they are totally crazy. The little thing doesn't do cute oinky noises but screams and squeals with such ferociousness you would think she had never been fed. Goatie is not a fan of little pig girl, he gets a bit heatbutty with her when she gets too loud and comes too close which is basically all the time. I don't think Moreland Council or the people in our apartment building would like it if we got a pig and a goat as a pet, but we can dream can't we?

Look what we did two years ago

2011-05-04T17:04:00.000+10:00

I made this little video two years ago to show one of our cards being made and I thought it might be nice to put it back up on the blog again. If you're thinking wow this music is pretty freaking amazing then you would be correct. If you want more info on Ben Shaw you can go to his website.

We still have our Dad Chose Well card available on Etsy and we will be at the following markets in Melbourne this weekend:

Saturday 7th May

ROSE STREET ARTIST MARKET
When: 11am - 5pm
Where: 60 Rose Street, Fitzroy

and

BOUT 2
Victoria Roller Derby League
When: 4.30pm - 9.30pm
Where: Melbourne Showgrounds
Grand Pavilion Epsom Road, Ascot Vale
Tickets available through Moshtix

Sunday 8th May (Mother's Day!)

ROSE STREET ARTIST MARKET
When: 11am - 5pm
Where: 60 Rose Street, Fitzroy

An Ode To TV Mothers - Lucille Bluth

2011-05-03T14:19:00.000+10:00

I think Lucille from Arrested Development is one of my favourite TV mothers because any mother will look good next to her. There are not many scenes of her on the internet, but if you've not seen the series I'm sure you could easily find a friend with a copy you can borrow. And with the movie rumoured to be in the works now is the best time to invest in learning some of Lucille's unique parenting skills.

When I thought of the card her children (not including Buster) would give her I thought this one below fitted the bill. I can't imagine her ever actually cooking a meal so they might buy this one to make her feel a little guilty. Although if you watch the hot ham water that Lindsay cooks it doesn't look like the apple fell far from the tree.

An Ode To TV Mothers - Barb and Denise Royle

2011-04-29T18:10:00.000+10:00

With the Royal family in the spotlight today we thought it best to feature the Royle Family. And also because Stacey from Sheeps Clothing said Barb Royle was her favourite TV Mum. It makes me wish I was back in the UK eating jaffa cakes and drinking copious amounts of brew.

We think this would be the card our Denise would give Barb because I'm sure she has some difficult days with Little David, who doesn't have ADHD he just can't be bovved!

An Ode To TV Mothers - Betty Draper

2011-04-28T11:59:00.000+10:00

With Mother's Day just over a week away we thought we would do an ode to the TV mothers in the lead up to the big event on Sunday the 8th of May. Like most kids who grew up under the soft glow of the television, I feel the television Mum is something special.

We are going to get things started with maybe the most glam TV mother, Betty Draper. We are happily drinking the Mad Men koolaid and have enjoyed watching Betty's parenting over the years. With the show renewed for another three seasons I'm looking forward to her daughter Sally hitting her mid to late teens and giving Betty a total run for her money. I'm also hoping for a spin off show called "1973 - The Year of Sally".

We decided to channel some Betty Draper glam with our Mum The Magnificent. The card is a special one because my Mum came up with the copy for it and is part of our range of cards available for Mother's Day.

In just over two weeks...

2011-04-21T16:34:00.000+10:00

.. it is Mother's Day in Australia and North America. We have been busy making lots of new cards to add to our range. Did you know three years ago I made some little hand drawn cards to sell at Rose Street and it was the Thanks For The Lift card that kinda started the ball rolling for Able and Game? I thought it was too good an idea to waste so made a whole card business based on that one idea. I also wanted Gareth to work along side me and although he was a little hesitant (hello queen of disorganisation!) he know works full time on Able and Game with me.

When I think about stuff like that wish I could go back in time and tell myself things will work out. It always seems like you're chasing something, but when you get something you want you have moved onto something else. I guess that is what keeps us motivated, but sometimes you have to stop and smell the Mother's Day flowers! The card above is available on Etsy, as well as Rose Street market this Saturday. Rose Street wont running on Sunday because of Easter.

Love of the gift shop

2011-04-18T17:42:00.001+10:00

Image from http://www.banksyfilm.com/

I was just looking through our stockists and realised we have a few art gallery gift shops stocking our cards. I think museum and gallery gift shops are my favourite place to browse. In fact I may be guilty of rushing through an exhibition at the NGV because I knew the gift shop was waiting for me at the end. Talking of gift shops, I was looking up Banksy's film the other day as I wanted to see what Margaret and David gave it, turns out they both gave it three and a half stars each.

If you live near any of these gift shops you can find our cards in them, amongst all the pretty art books.

Warrnambool Art Gallery
26 Liebig Street Warrnambool

National Portrait Gallery
King Edward Terrace Parkes

Dunedin Art Gallery Shop
30 the Octagon Dunedin

Heidi Museum of Modern Art
7 Templestowe Road Bulleen

New Desks

2011-04-12T17:21:00.000+10:00

So we are well and truly shifted into our new office and are in the process of making it a nice place to work. We are probably a good week away from getting it just right but with a house move tomorrow (yes we are totally addicted to moving) things are taking a wee bit longer. Stress levels are a bit higher that usual, the desire to drink a whole lot stronger and home cooked meals a distant memory.

I've got a lovely new desk (thanks to Ocelynx for the lift to Ikea!) which I'm going to try and keep a little bit more tidy. I've got a few little pretty things on it already, including a terrarium I got from Rose Street which I managed to kill off a few months back. The people who made it said they would remoss it for me but after returning from Scotland over summer it had somehow come back to life. As you can see it is well and truly busting at the rim, I'm sure I'm meant to cut it back but I want to see how high it will grow. I'm hoping for at least a foot!

No More Pyjama Power Meetings, I've Got A Real Job Ma!

2011-04-05T18:49:00.000+10:00

Things have been a little quiet over here on the Able and Game blog as we spent the last week moving our office. For the last two years we have run Able and Game from a spare bedroom and we decided we had enough of the Power Pyjama* meetings at 1pm and fact that our dining room went from normal dining room to warehouse in the space of a few months. We now have a lovely city view and I'm looking out at the sunset thinking the two flights of stairs we hauled everything up might have just been worth it.

*Gareth was good and never attended a Pyjama Power Meeting in his Pyjamas.

Finders Keepers Melbourne

2011-03-28T18:30:00.000+11:00

Well, the weekend just gone was a big, busy blockbuster weekend. We took part in Finders Keepers Melbourne down at Shed 4 Docklands, a whopping 16 hours of markety goodness. I was there on my own as Gareth was holding up the Rose Street fort so I was on my own and didn't get to have a good look at the epicness that was FK Melbourne. I did get a wee treat for myself, a Sarah McNeil brooch from Corky. I was very happy with my purchase, perfect for jackets in winter.

If you came by the market and had a chat, laughed at the cards or even purchased a card, thank you! We really do love seeing people's response and Gareth and I sat with the TV paused for a good hour last night telling each other stories of fun/interesting/lovely conversations we had with people over the weekend. Even though laughs wont pay the mortgage they really are the best thing about doing the markets!

There are some great market blog posts with more photos over at MEL:HOT OR NOT, Meet Me At Mikes, Betty Jo and Radio Carly and this Saturday we will be at the first Sisters Market for the year at Brunswick Town Hall.

Birthdays

2011-03-23T21:41:00.000+11:00

I was almost born on the 29th of February 1980. Almost being a week later, but a week in births is pretty close as far as I'm concerned. If I did end up being born on this day then I would have only had 7 actual birthdays. A bit sad really considering I would make missed all the big milestone birthdays. I'm not going to count the sweet 16th in 1996 because I think that was spent home sick and I made myself a giant pancake. Despite not having Anthony Michael Hall asking me out, I did enjoy my giant pancake complete with maple syrup dripping down my arm. Our new birthday card above is available on Etsy and will be making its debut at Finders Keepers this weekend. Avoid the loud car noises and come free your ears at Shed 4 Docklands!

Who rocks?

2011-03-22T10:43:00.000+11:00

We have started getting into the Mother's Day frame of mine with card designs and what better way to do that than spending the weekend with your Mother.

My mum managed to do these rocking things this weekend:

-get up at 4.15am on Sunday morning to help me with a stall at Camberwell market.

-helped me drink a few bottles of white wine (over the weekend...not in one sitting).

-ironed loads of fabric to sell at the market.

-tell me stories about the silly things I did when I was little.

Our new My Mum Rocks card is on Etsy and we also have a boy version. And if you're from North America and you're confused as to what a MUM is, no fear we do MOM versions as well.

Jane Eyre's byronic lover!

2011-03-16T12:18:00.000+11:00

I knew a new Jane Eyre film was being made, but I was reading on Emily from The Black Apple's blog that it is coming out very soon. Having had a wee bit of an obsession with the book last year and trying to watch as many film/tv adaptations as I can it is nice to know it might be only a few months away.

Here is a sneak peek at the trailer, it has got me excited!

And just to add to my obsession I made this card a few months back as a little tribute to the Rochesters and Heathcliffs out there. I am sure there are still a few running around 200 years later.

Finders Keepers Melbourne

2011-03-11T19:14:00.000+11:00

Finders Keepers is on again in Melbourne in 2 weeks time and we will be there selling our cards. They have a really great line up of people and as always they make a great day of it with food, music and other projects.

Here are all the details:

Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th March
FINDERS KEEPERS MELBOURNE
When: Saturday 26th March
10am - 5pm
Sunday 27th March
10am - 5pm
Where: Shed 4 Docklands
Victoria Harbour, North Wharf Road, Docklands.

Human Buckaroo

2011-03-08T23:55:00.000+11:00

We have had this card above for quite a long time but always felt a little guilty because we knew it was coupleist, as in, if you were not part of an 'us' then you couldn't really give it to someone.

So after months of saying we need to get one made we finally have our 'me' version complete with human buckaroo. Gareth wanted vom/wine/pee stains on the guy but I thought that might be taking it a little too far. Just because we drink too much and lose all self control doesn't mean the people buying our cards have to live the same lifestyle.

The 'us' version and the 'me' version are both available on Etsy. And this Thursday night we will be at Revolver Design Market selling cards and giving lessons on how to live that debauched lifestyle, complete with beer and wine stains.

Things I Almost Got You For Your Pregnancy

2011-03-02T23:29:00.000+11:00

We are at the age when everyone we know is getting babied up. Babies babies everywhere! One of my favourite things is finding out what name people choose for his or her offspring. You are always hearing those funny Ladasha/La-a stories and often it is just the alternative spelling that make me giggle so we wanted to give a nod to all the Ghahryths and Annehers out there in our new baby card. I'm not sure if there is actually a whole book on alternative spellings but I like to think there is. Our new card is available on Etsy and if you have heard of some funny baby names we would love to hear them!

Game on Game: sugar

2011-03-01T22:50:00.001+11:00

'sugar, sugar' by Bart Bonte.

Who doesn't love wasting time on someone else's dime? Game certainly does, but he is often not able to.

It is 3.30pm, you are still riding the sugar high from stuffing all the Kingstons in the newly opened Connoisseur collection into your mouth before anyone noticed. What to do with all that sugary energy in your system? Use it to deftly draw lines directing sugar from heaven into the needy cups below. Just a few levels more, and before you know it, the dinner whistle has blown and it has been an afternoon well spent.

If you have a suggestion for a 3.30pm time waster, please comment below.

Shop Profile - Nook

2011-02-28T19:24:00.000+11:00

NOOK

19 Browning St
West End, Brisbane

When we were up in Brisbane last year for Finders Keepers we got to visit Nook in West End and it would have to be one of my favourite shops. Firstly there is a kittycat there called Pedro so that just made very happy. Secondly the shop is FULL of all your favourite Australian designers and makers so looking through the shop is really fun. So if you're in Brisbane I'm sure you know all about it, if you're on a trip to Brisbane we say go visit. We asked Michelle a few questions about her shop:

What do you sell in your shop?

Loads of cute things! Paper goods, jewellery, t-shirts and home wares, with an emphasis on eco & independently designed goods.

What is a great place to go to eat in the area?

Sol Breads organic sourdough bakery. Their vegie calzone and banana cake are particularly delicious. The vegan peanut butter cheesecake at The Forest is pretty darn spectacular too.

Best thing about running a shop?

Being able to class reading blogs and scouting for lovely things all day as 'work'. Spending the day with my little cat Pedro and meeting nice people all day long.

Like, Sydney!

2011-02-23T23:10:00.000+11:00

We are back from a busy week in Sydney participating in Life Instyle. A pretty swish four days where we get to meet with lots of lovely shop owners and look at loads and loads of really lovely products. Sydney is a bit of a magical place in my eyes because you know so much about it, especially in film and TV (Lantana and Love my Way are two that stand out) that when you go there all this stuff you know from make believe is around you in real life.

I got to stay in a very lovely place in Paddington that had a cat and a herb garden as well as spend time with creative, interesting and inspiring people. I also had a wee celebrity spotting and can offer this advice: when going on the "hunt" for a celebrity don't discuss your spotting plan while they are sitting in front of you. You will sound like a bit of a dick. I wish I played it cool like the guy in our new card above that my sister came up with. He wouldn't have even cared if he saw someone famous.

Bunk With Me

2011-02-09T21:19:00.001+11:00

Imagine meeting a guy and then going home with him. He doesn't live with his Mum and Dad which is a bonus. You get to his house and he gives you a glass of Chardonnay. You'll forgive him for his poor choice in wine because it's better than the Fruity Lexia he was buying you at the bar. Then he changes into his pirate PJs and invites you to his room and says "love is on the bottom of my bunk bed baby!"

This card is now on Etsy and our upcoming markets.

Every Saturday
ROSE STREET ARTIST MARKET
Time: 11am - 5pm
Where: 60 Rose Street, Fitzroy

Every Sunday
ROSE STREET ARTIST MARKET
Time: 11am - 5pm
Where: 60 Rose Street, Fitzroy

Thursday 10th February
REVOLVER DESIGN MARKET
When: 6pm-10pm
Where: Revolver Upstairs
229 Chapel Street, Prahran

Boys are lovely too you know

2011-02-08T22:44:00.001+11:00

Did you know that Able and Game just turned two. I've heard stories about the terrible twos but I think turning two is pretty exciting. Two years ago I made our You're All Sorts of Lovely card and it has been one of our most popular cards. We really felt after two years she needed a wee friend, a companion boy card, so we got to making one after all these years (can you refer to two years as all these years, it feels a little too short to be an "all these" just yet??).

We often get asked if the boy or girl should buy the card featuring the boy or girl when we have the option. We like to think there is no special rule and people should do what feels right but we find most of the time the girls will buy the cards with the girls on them and the boys will buy the cards with the boys on them. I wonder if lovely boy and lovely girl would love one another? I certainly think our lazy eye girl wouldn't go anywhere near our lazy eye boy, she probably doesn't even have a real lazy eye, just a bunch of mascara stuck in it, so he is far too good for her anyway!

Getting wet

2011-02-07T16:21:00.001+11:00

On Saturday we went to Laneway Festival where it was a sea of gumboots despite it not raining once during the day. Those of you in Melbourne on Friday night would understand why, as it rained like the sky was being paid causing the South East to turn into a series of inland islands. Our house almost flooded and we discovered how good we are in a panic situation. Not good at all. At one stage I was kicking the water from our back door yelling "go away! go away!" On the 'how helpful was this' scale with one being not very helpful and ten being very helpful this would rate as a -7. Lucky our back yard unlakeified itself pretty quickly and only our laundry (stored full of stuff) flooded. It made me realise how lucky we were compared to QLD and how quickly water can fill up a pretty small space.

Back to the gumboots, I think I saw about 5000 pairs on Saturday and the only way to get them out of the system was to draw them, so I thought a music festival card was in order. I used to be scared of going to music festivals because the thought of watching a band you love play while another band you love is playing close by really upset me. Then I realised I was just being a bit of a dick and got over it.

I'm a tree, I'm a tree!

2011-02-02T16:00:00.000+11:00

You know when you're out dancing and your friend says "let's do some interpretive dance"? That is one thing that always makes me happy. These two dance lovers are pretty special, I love the guy and the way he is saying "you touch my heart baby" with his simple but elegant hand gestures. Classic romance that is.

These two are available on Etsy and we have both a boy and a girl version. Did you notice what the girl is wearing? Buffalo boots! I can't wait for the late '90s to come back in fashion again, the early '90s is so late '80s.

And we're back from our adventures!

2011-01-31T23:40:00.000+11:00

We have been a little absent from blogland for the last month as we spent 4 weeks over in Scotland with Gareth's family for Christmas. Although we had plans to blog while we were away, it is one of those things you intend on doing but you just end up eating, sleeping and drinking.

We planned our trip around Rose Street, leaving the Sunday night after our last market in December. We knew it was snowing in the UK, but we didn't think we would have any problems with Heathrow when we left. After sitting around Kuala Lumpur International Airport for 18 hours we realised we may have some problems getting to Scotland. So we took a bit of inspiration from one of our favourite TV shows and treated it like the Amazing Race. We were given the option to change our flight, so instead of spending a few days stuck in an airport, we got 24 hours in Rome.

We got to Italy with no luggage as it had gone missing. Although this sounds like a really bad thing, it saved us having to haul it around Rome and it all turned up in Scotland a few days/weeks later. We also learnt a valuable lesson on this trip: pack a few things in your hand luggage in case your suitcase goes missing.

We made the most of our day in Rome, walking from the Vatican to the Colosseum via a route than combined both site seeing and our ability to not read a map very well. I think I lost my mind when we came across Torre Argentina, a block of old ruins full of stray cats. We didn't know anything about it and we were super excited to find one cat then when we spotted a couple more we thought it was too good to be true. When we realised there was about 200 cats wandering around we figured something was up and discovered the underground part where they look after the sick cats. The crazy cat lady in me was pretty happy with that discovery and it was all at the place where Caesar was murdered. Turns out cat rule the interwebs and Rome.

We finally got to the UK only two days after we were due to arrive. Our little diversion saved us from another day or so in Malaysia plus a day stuck at Heathrow. I'm glad all those hours watching The Amazing Race were not in vain.

We arrived to a Scotland covered in snow and a crisp -8 degrees. While everyone was telling me how lucky I was to have a white Christmas I was wondering how I would cope with such crazy temperatures. But it warmed up pretty fast and by the time we left it was a balmy 8 degrees.

Gareth was looking forward to having his fill of traditional Scottish cuisine. Pictured here is Gareth with one of his favourites, Pizza Supper. Also known as DEEP FRIED PIZZA. The supper part means it comes with chips. Gareth always tells people he misses the food from back home, now you know why.

Now we have been back for a week we have been working hard getting lots of orders out to shops for Valentine's Day. We have also been working on new cards for the big occasion like the one below. I'm hoping the next Masterchef has someone making a gourmet version of deep fried pizza and serving it with Irn Bru. That would be worth watching!

that time of the year

2010-12-16T17:50:00.000+11:00

I just realised we have not blogged about a few of our Christmas cards. We made them back in October/Early November when it wasn't really the right time to start promoting them. Then the few weeks after that zinged by and suddenly it is a week and a half before Christmas and this little guy hasn't been getting the attention he deserves!

Christmas cards are not easy to make, coming up with something that works takes about the same amount of creative brain power as 5 romantic cards. So when we do one we like we are all yippees and happy. And this one makes me happy because I like the idea of someone wearing a Christmas Tree. It would be funny!

He is available on Etsy and for all those peeps in Melbourne we have three more markets coming up before Christmas. We also recommend that anyone in Australia wanting to order online to do it by tomorrow morning so we can get it all in the post with enough time to make it by the following Friday (Christmas eve).

The Lovely Tea Towels

2010-12-08T18:00:00.001+11:00

This is our You're All Sorts of Lovely Tea Towel. When we had to choose which card designs we wanted made into tea towels the two that stood out the most were Zone Two and You're All Sorts of Lovely. The prints came out looking, well lovely! We got the screens done at All Australian Screenprinting Supplies and when I took them out of the paper I think I gasped a little. I've done a lot of screenprinting in the last 4 years, but all of it was hand cut or hand drawn stencils so it was nice to see my own designs on a real screen. The lovely tea towel is available on Etsy and makes a pretty nifty Christmas present for that lovely person in your life!

We will be getting more designs made into tea towels so if you have any suggestions on which card design you would like to use to dry your pots and pans, we are all ears!

On the weekend....

2010-12-06T20:00:00.000+11:00

Gareth and I just finished up a big weekend that started Friday and ended when we opened a bottle of Sav Blanc around 7pm last night. With Finders Keepers on Friday and Saturday and then Melbourne Design Market on Sunday as well as old faithful, Rose Street. It was a big weekend, one where Gareth and I had to bring our A game.

A few things I would like mention:

Baja Cantina on Glebe Point Road does lovely Mexican food.
Make sure you book return flights home on the correct date. Nothing is worse than arriving at the airport tired only to find the flight you booked was for the night before. There were tears, it was a little Amazing Race-ish and the lovely check in lady from Virgin made me feel a lot better.
Thank you to everyone that stopped by and said lovely things about our cards, it really was a lot of fun and Gareth and I often say the best thing about making the cards is seeing people laughing out loud at our market stalls.
Thank you to our friend Cain and my sister Eliza for helping out at Rose Street and Melbourne Design Market. Such a HUGE help!
Gareth is a star.

Now we have the countdown to Christmas with 7 more markets booked. If you're wanting cards or gift ware between now and then and are in Melbourne our website has all our market dates. If you're not in Melbourne or can't get to the markets, there is always our Etsy shop.

Tea Towels!

2010-11-30T23:58:00.000+11:00

We have finally put our tea towels online to purchase, mainly because I wanted to get decent photographs and I put it off for a couple of days, weeks actually more like months! But the months feel like weeks and the weeks feel like days at the moment. With a little event like Christmas coming up we thought we better get organised. We have two designs, the I'd Go To Zone Two For You and the You're All Sorts of Lovely. We will have them at our markets this weekend, Finders Keepers in Sydney on Friday and Saturday, Melbourne Design Market on Sunday and old faithful, Rose Street on both Saturday and Sunday. We are going to refer to it as the monster weekend.

PS The Roller Derby on Saturday was so much fun. Although we didn't get to see much of the action it was pretty special. The Victorian Roller Derby League organisers were so lovely, not only did they help unpack the car, they also gave us a goody bag of water, muesli bars and lolly pops. I saw this photo on Facebook and wanted to share it, so amazing!

I just sit around and draw kitties all day long

2010-11-25T11:10:00.000+11:00

As you know we have three calendar designs, but we will very soon be adding a fourth. This one took a little longer because we had to draw a few new designs including the one above. The calendar will be kitty themed and include some of our favourite cat cards as well as a bunch of new designs. So last week when people asked me what I did I got to say "I sat around and drew cats all day, it was pretty taxing". Actually that last bit was true, my brain hurt by the end of the day, it is so used to just watching cat videos that it forgot how to be creative!