We are Hosting a Clothes Swap!

You’re invited to come along to our Clothes Swap! Come along and trade in your old for a new!
Whether it be a dress you haven’t worn in a while, a handbag that’s been sitting in the cupboard for a year or a shirt that just didn’t fit right, I bet someone else will love it.
Held of June the 6th, from 6pm bring your beloved clothes and a sneaky bottle of wine (it’s BYO) and all your girlfriends and have some fun on a weeknight! Held at the lovely Era Gallery (19-23 Wellington St, Chippendale) it’s a pretty groovy warehouse space!

The rules are simple.

Bring one or more pieces of clothing to swap. They cannot be damaged or dirty in any way. (No one wants to get something they don’t like!) for each piece of clothing or accessory you get one ticket. At the end of the night, you can exit with and exchange your ticket for the item of clothing or accessory that you want. You may bring more than one accessory or clothing item, and you must forfeit ownership of the item once the trade begins.

All items left over at the end of the night will be given to charity… Great! The coolest part is you leave with something new!

All welcome! Small snacks will be provided and its BYO alcohol.
Email us for any enquiries at teaspoonofsugaremporium@gmail.com

The Week Wander In & Around Sydney

I like to call it, something along the lines of May-Mayhem! So much to do, so much to see! It’s not the time to be a Uni Student and have assessments this week. Alas, and a lack.

Vivid Live has begun, and the opening day crowds could not have been bigger on the weekend! An array of lights over our beautiful city have even gone so far as to “stop the nation”. That may be case for myself, a self-obsessed Whovian, when Doctor Who will take over Customs House on Saturday night. From 6.50pm on Aussie and NZ fans will get a rare treat, in celebration of the Doctor’s 50th year. Special screenings of the first episodes of Season 7 will be showing at Dendy Cinemas in the City. More info can be found here.

A call out for all creatives out there, my favourite part of Vivid, is Vivid Ideas. It’s a bunch a specially designed events by people who are excelling in the creative industry host workshops and talks. You better snatch them up quick smart, as they will be fully booked before the event. Details can be found here.

My pick for the week (and this is very much on the down low), is the special pop up store, the Peter Pan Op Shop! Opening from 29-31 May from 9:30am-3pm on the Corner of Oxford St and Oatley Road, Paddington, the store showcases all items of clothing and accessories around the Peter Pan theme. The best part is all the funds raised go to the Barnado’s Charity. Shopping for a cause, it doesn’t get better than that. Well, it may, as it’s rumoured that Sass & Bide have donated over 28 boxes of clothing to the cause. See you at the opening (I’ll be the first in line)!

East is East Markets is on again! The first Saturday of the month, artists, designers and crafters take over Randwick and put on a good spread! From 10-4 at 199 Anzac Parade, Kensington, we will be there selling our terrariums, crochet blankets, jewellery and bits and pieces! Come say hello!

For all the book-a-holics out there, who want even more after Sydney Writer’s Festival, Gayle Forman will be speaking to Melina Marchetta on the release of her book, Just One Day. It’s boy meets girl, with a Shakespearean twist, and a whole lot of page turning. On Tuesday night at Kinokuniya Sydney from 6:30pm, the event is free but you must register (here).

Mother’s Day Gifts

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and I think it’s really nice to just buy something nice for your Mum, or even make her something handmade. I am making my Mum a shell crochet blanket and am still deciding on one more little treasure.

Online shopping can be kind of daunting. There’s a ton of little stores out there and sometimes you just don’t know where to look. We’ve put together a little list of Mother’s Day gifts that are unique, handmade and will make your Mum feel extra special and all under $50.

Squink Studio is a Sydney based candle designer who you may have seen around the market trail. Her mix of classic, royal beauty and delicious scents make their candles very popular. You can purchase two different sets and a range of fragrances and all can be found on their website.

A great idea for those creatively minded Mums is a pack of Spoonful zines. The little book of happiness companions are on sale for Mother’s Day and have been specially selected. Featuring issues filled with fresh flowers, walks through mountain woods, cups of tea, & wondrous ponderings dangling amidst the branches of beautiful Oaks. You can buy them online at their website here.

We are having a sale on our crochet goodies! Teaspoon of Sugar Emporium is having a sale on our warm and cosy crochet blankets. For 30% off our blankets only just use the code crochetsale at the checkout! It’s all on our Etsy store here.

Amazingly cute designer Pannikin yesterday announced they’re closing down. So you’ll have to snatch up Mum’s gift quick (and maybe one for you too!). The Tasmanian designer really knows how to capture cuteness in her accessories that will really make you smile. Her Etsy store is a real treat so make sure you visit it here!

Finally, what is Mother’s Day with a beautiful handmade, letterpress card. Follow Store, the creators behind Finder’s Keepers Markets, have a range of cards that any Mum would love to receive. With over 20 to choose from, you can find them on their website here!

Ladies: A Call to Arms! Pin Up Perfect Eyebrows

I don’t know if you have noticed, but there has been a trend starting. I noticed this when I met a lovely friend of a friend, who was ultra hip and just so happened to be a fashion designer with the most beautiful and perfect eyebrows I had ever seen.
Not too long after, another lady graced me with immaculate beauty skills and the most perfect eyebrows as well. You must now know I am describing the new trend of immaculately groomed and beautiful thick eyebrows. It’s very vintage, very 60s and very feminine.

Here’s how you can achieve this look (via Pin Up Passion)!

1) Outline the bottom with eyebrow pencil of your choice

2) Outline the top

3) Fill in leaving the inner part little bit blank

4) Using an angled brush fill in with a matching Matte eyeshadow

5) Remove excess of product on your brush and brushing upwards gently fill in the blank spot for a “natural look” (or use a clean mascara wand to brush out your eye brows and get rid of excess product)

6) Using a concealer brush clean the edges with a little bit of concealer

7) Blend in the concealer and you’re done!

Lonely Kids Club

Yep! Those cool cats did it again with a sick T-Shirt comp and a kick ass party with music, live art and cider. Design a shirt with one colour and about the word “lonely” they said and cool creatives around Sydney did it. They produced super designs, fresh graphic works, hand drawn pieces and all a tad sad.
As per usual, the hip, cool, red or pink or purple haired came running to the gallery space at Oxford St Design store. By seven, it was body to body, a pumped up chatter brewed as everyone looked at the favourite design. A simple hand with smileys and a saddy face, very cute, and a sure winner.
Little Napier put on a good show and got everyone groovin and Jasmin’s live art was far too good for my wall sketching to comprehend.

Any way you look at it, Lonely Kids Club are way too cool for school and are a sure fav of mine! Each party they throw is wild, ridiculously cool (so plan a week ahead what you will wear and get a new haircut) and bring your wallet because you’ll want to buy them out.

Check out more of the Lonely Kids Club collection here.

Drop It Like It’s Hot

The lovely Emma from Dear Pluto is hosting her first pop shop this Saturday and Sunday at 106 Pitt Street, Redfern.

With our common love for quality vintage, we are super excited to see what new things Dear Pluto have in stall for us. We sure know that by all chance Emma will pull together a sweet ol’ weekend with the occasional lemon lemonade and swingin’ tunes.

One things for sure, there will be bargains! Vintage all under $50 is too good to miss. All one of a kind’s once it’s gone it’s gone. So make sure you get there bright and early.

Rob Ryan is Rad.

Nation State Presents the Rob Ryan Collection

In spirit of You Crafty Bastard, Teaspoon of Sugar Emporium have gone above and beyond to find the most radical designs possible. A few weeks ago, I landed myself in the humble city of Perth for business pursuits and I stumbled into the underground indie scene that spread through the inner city suburb of Northbridge. An excess of delightful, funky hip shops stocking the latest wares and trends of local and international designers flooded the terrace lopped streets and I found myself in a boulevard of wonderful desires.

These desires soon turned to needs as I found a stellar design by a swanky man named ROB RYAN. With You Crafty Bastard in mind, I fell in love. I fell deep and straight down, until I returned home to Sydney and finally could not live without this groovy piece to add to my collection. I mean, if everyone else is doing, who is to stop me from being square.

Mad hatter style, I found a snazzy website that stocked Rob Ryan. Who doesn’t shop online these days are so far behind the eight ball, plus I love the mystery of a parcel arriving at my door. In my pursuit I landed on a killer stationary website called NATIONSTATE. Being a ridiculous, overzealous and overexpended stationary fanatic, I was glowing and shiny with excitement for a decent site that stocked brands like Moleskine, as well as specialised stationary designs, homeware products and every heavenly stationary delight known to man.

Rob Ryan’s collection of ceramic plates are whimsical, cultural art pieces which you can eat off, store up high away from pesky, playful kittens and stare at for days because they are just so damn cool! The London based designer has talent, and sure is making great impressions in the international cool kids club.

You can view the Nation State Collection here!

You can view the Rob Ryan Collection here!

You’re Mine

Love Lace Exhibition – Powerhouse Museum – Sydney

No finer thread, a girl could fall in love with, Love Lace exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum sung a sweet song to my heart strings. Pure creative genius works of art are on display with a wide range of mediums and purposes. From the stock standard, lace and embroidered dress pieces to objective lace art installations to film and photographic pieces. An array of work, styles the museum and inspires the Sydney folk to Make Lace, Not War.

The exhibition features 130 pieces from 134 different artists, and is fortunately running until April 2013. Take the express to the Powerhouse Museum and fall in love with lace all over again.

Lonely Kids Club

Imagine. You’re find this super cool construction dude, who has a passion for T-shirts and clothing. If that’s not a rarity enough in itself, then imagine, he starts a wicked clothing brand and collaborates with talented artists to create a niche indie clothing brand.

Since 2010, the Lonely Kids Club have been artistically moving into the fashion world and making some sweet cotton threads for all us youngens. Last Friday, we celebrated the launch of their 2012 Winter Collection at the Backroom, King Cross.

The event packed in the Backroom with no space to spare. Creatives, cool kids and clothing in common, we all had a blast with cocktails and conversation alike.

Favourites Fishing & Polographia, both Sydney duos, electrified the night with their psychedelic beats. The crowd was ecstatic to see the boys play.

Fishing brought their melodic madness of electronic rifts to the decks. Overlapping repetitive sounds, mixed with bird songs and a young MC, Fishing’s sound is very unique and in a good way. To describe them, I could only come up with this; the sound of a warped record player plus a fun-punch xylophone and with a dripping tap. A personal favourite, I was absolutely effing psyched that they were also playing at the Lonely Kids Club Winter Launch. 

Polographia take psychedelic to the next level. Most famous in the indie scene for their tune “Sunsets” they are going to be making waves around you soon. Even cooler, their EP is available for free download. Not only are they generous in sharing their awesome grooves, they were kind enough to hang around and have a chat after their set. Kind and humble, they were very shy when complimented on their works. Two thumbs up for Polographia!

If you missed the collection of cute Cecil’s you can head to their online store here!

Secondly, you can read their rad blog here!

Talking Bout Our Generation

A beautiful Sunday spent at Dear Pluto in Surry Hills. The monthly Summertime market is set in a cute little courtyard filled with local creators and their crafty bits and pieces.

The shop hosts several events like this each week. One of my favorites is Monday night film night. This week the shop is screening Who Framed Roger Rabbit. With free popcorn, lots of cuddles off the house cat Milly and friendly faces it’s the ultimate Monday night.

Teaspoon of Sugar Emporium had its first market here today and it was lovely. Other than the occasional clothes rack falling over and the jewellery blowing away, I wouldn’t let anything ruin my day.

Lonely Boy

Stash and Treasure Craft Market- Marrickville

A cute little market in Marrickville Town Hall brought together craft lovers and hoarders. The concept was to clear out all your bits and ends from your craft closet and sell for dirt cheap. And that’s exactly what happened.

Buttons, quarters, hankies, stickers, massive boxes of cotton, tables and tables of laces and ends of rods of fabric. It was a delight!

For the next market, follow their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/stashandtreasurerecyclersmarket

After the market, we decided to take a trip around Marrickville. Being my first time in the town, not being an original Sydney sider, we decided to grab some lunch, visit a local grocer market and grab a coffee. 

We had lunch at Marricville Cafe. I ordered a lovely banana bread with ricotta and honey. My girlfriend ordered the special, corn fritters. Both were scrumptious! The best part of the meal however, was their coffee. You can definitely taste when a barista knows how to make a fine cup of coffee!

Here Comes the Sun

There seems to be a market everywhere. A favourite weekend activity, I love a good browse. I am not one of those people who just walk along and look down the brim of their nose. No, I get in there, have a keen eye for unique, odd creations and have a nack for purchasing more than humanly possible to keep in a studio apartment.

Nonetheless, my well developed hoarding abilities have lead to a nice collection of antiquities, vintage clothing, bric a brac, even retro cool cutlery. My house is bonanza of collectables. A happy place of wonder, you could spend a day troving through my treasures.

Alot of people say to me, I don’t know how you do it! I never find anything good. Well firstly, you must have a good nose with no aversion to perusing items that smell as old as they are. Secondly, you must be willing to spend the time trawling. Most of my pieces were collected by digging through a massive heap, or by looking into the back corner. It does take time and practice, otherwise you may be paying too much for something worthless or broken.

Another thing is knowing where to go. I have a list of my favourite op shops to hit, markets to stroll and environmental centres that I love to visit. It was my Aunt who taught me my skills. From a young age, she inspired me to create unique pieces of dress and to present myself well. Having twenty years plus experience on me, her collections are far more vast and extravagant!

A few of my favourite markets to visit are….. (I don’t know if I should be sharing this with you dear blogging world)

Glebe Markets

The hipster’s paradise, a small mix of new and old, funky and weird, trash and treasure, a Canadian tuxedo too and a lot of asymmetrical haircuts. It’s known for it’s coolness, and on a Saturday it is the market to be at.

Lined by beautiful trees, it is a nice retreat from the city life. This is your first port of call if you are new to the second hand purchases. With a happy array of mixtures, everyone is sure to find something that suits them.

Rozelle Markets

Similar to Glebe Markets, more refined to it’s second hand treasure trove having strict principles of a limited amount of new stock, this is a more relaxed market suitable for everyone. Being one of the cheapest places I have found a lot of cool bits and pieces that I love. It is one of my favourite places to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon.

North Rocks Markets

An unknown wonder, this Rotary market is one of my favourites in Sydney. It is difficult to find anything cool because of the sheer number of people all looking for something different. Starting at 6am, the early bird definitely catches the worm, with all the good stuff going early. Most people do business before lunch time, so it is very important to get in early! Being a regular now and after having the honour of being guided by my lovely friend Maja and her family, I was glad to meet all of the stall holders and learn their story. It is a real community there and everyone is welcomed with a big cheesy grin.

A great plus about these markets are there is vast variety of pieces. Sometimes it astounds me as to what I find there.

A Day in the Life of Supermodel Samantha Harris

I was very excited to be spending the day with a lovely friend and Supermodel Samantha Harris. As many of you know, Sam has modelled for the likes of David Jones, Seafolly, Just Jeans, Forever New… The list goes on.

She is a star, with glowing brown skin, her eyes capture you in a sense of exciting safety,with a naturalistic beauty seen like no other. Being a representative of the Indigenous population, Sam illuminates a unique style and charm that’s one of a kind.

Her popularity however, has not tainted her kind nature. Sure, she has adapted to the city life, being a lot different to the coastal town of Tweed Heads. But her friendliness, humour and fun nature all reflect a true genuine person who is beautiful inside and out.

Arriving at Sam’s quaint one bedroom apartment in trendy Potts Point, I am greeted by Sam with a big smile and her two friendly cats, Pegasus and Sparticus. Pegasus took a kind liking to me while Sam and I were chatting about the day’s precedings.

The day was damp and wet, so the early morning training was cancelled. A day of lovely shopping and lunch was scheduled to both of our delights. Sam a natural beauty, insisted of putting of make-up and dressing in simple glamourous pieces for the special day. And just in case those pesky paparazzi decided to pounce! Being a supermodel does have its down side of having a small group of hiding followers trek behind your every move. I thought it was quite fascinating, the length they will go to for a quick snap, even in the wet weather. Sam even insisted on buying typical bug eyed glasses to conceal herself, just to walk to the shops.

We headed into the new David Jones complex in the city to spend the day at our leisure. Being a true fashionista and young woman, we headed straight to the shoe section, in particular Mimco. Sam had her eyes on a particular pair of navy zippered flats. In true supermodel fashion Sam did ask “Do these shoes make my feet look fat?“. We could not help but giggle.

However, to my dismay and use of my patience we walked around for approximately an hour in the same department. This was not a problem, as Sam is not just for one thing thorough and meticulous in her quest for the perfect set of flats. In my opinion its a sheer necessity in all girls wardrobes.

Being a busy girl, her phone was constantly a buzz. She did however, get a cheeky smile when her hometown sweetheart now fiance, Luke Hunt, called to see how the day was going.

So after a hard morning of cardio by shopping and following Sam around blindlessly, I was very happy to stop for lunch at the food court. A meal of sushi and dumplings was a delightful reward for all our hard shopping efforts.

The afternoon was filled with planning, organising, packing and tid bits needed doing. Sam was jet setting off to New York tomorrow for a photo shoot. As she said to me in a cool manner, “Oh yes, I have to go to New York for a few days”, like it was common nature to everyone to take five days off and travel business class international.

Spardicus was more than willing to lend a paw.

Luke arrives home after a long day at work and being a polite gentleman asks Sam to a romantic dinner, their last night together before she leaves.

The Opium Den, a local favourite of Potts Point, is the place for authentic Thai cuisine. Luke, willing to defy the odds, orders five plates and happily finishes all, plus Sam’s remainders. While Sam orders three plates, who knows where it goes?

One thing is for sure, this face and name will be a common household name in the next two or three years. Her cats also will be known for their adorableness. Luke and Sam’s future baby will be best friend’s with Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom’s baby. And they will all live happily ever after.

Today was wonderful. Not only did I get to spend time with my beautiful friend, I got a peek inside scoop on the inner workings of a supermodel. The take away message, being a supermodel isn’t for everyone, being famous isn’t for everyone, being a genuinely kind, warm person isn’t for everyone (thanks Mister Taxi driver for proving this one). But Sam happens to rule all of these domains!

Make sure you follow her on Facebook! She loves to post wacky stories on the goings on of the paparazzi, as well as the inner workings of shoots and international travel.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Harris/269271319792018