Well, feast your eyes on this!

…So I was recently scouted to participate in this wonderful project run by RAW Artists International.

RAW promote up and coming artists and give them a global platform – Millie will be showcasing on the runway this FRIDAY 12th August.

Above: my sewing table and inspiration wall…

The theme of my collection is Harvest & Preserve // In times, not so long ago, when there was a glut of any one thing in the garden, it was preserved, packaged away and kept for weeks, months, years, decades in a cool, dark pantry. We currently have a huge glut of over production in the textiles and fashion industry // it is one of the most wasteful industries and with consumer driven demand for cheaper // faster // better clothing the amount of textiles ending up in landfill is rapidly increasing. With food waste and garment waste contributing an insane amount to environmental damage it is time for a shake up, starting from the ground up – LITERALLY!

>>> Wear what you grow, grow what you eat and preserve both! <<<

Above: veggie chip print turned into overalls…

I truly believe ANYONE can get hold of soil, sun and water and grow a portion of their own food!

It is time for us to all to start shopping ethically for both food and clothing and become truly conscious of where we are buying from, who it supports and take the time to preserve our food and our wardrobes. Millie intends to make sure we look freaking awesome while doing so!

The collection is built from textile designs created with watercolour, collage and inks, all reflecting different ways of eating or preserving our home harvest. There are green smoothies, marmalade, tomato sugo, sweet violet syrup, drying herbs, rhubarb champagne and dehydrated veggie chips.

All the clothes are made in my own size so I can practice what I preach and where what I grow! Garments can be custom ordered // email info@milliemosca.com to inquire.

Ticket sales end tonight at 5pm (Click HERE to buy one)

Xx MM

Yesterday I had the rather lovely task of coordinating a little brooch making workshop alongside Plan International Australia and the Three O’Clock Collective. It was one of many little events run alongside the gallery’s current exhibition A Girl’s Place.

The exhibition is the culmination of Plan Australia’s recently conducted survey into the sense of safety for young women in public places (read more below) and 10 female artist’s interpretation of girl’s taking ownership of urban space and create more welcoming cities.

The workshop was aimed at celebrating where we feel safest and to create mementos that could be worn as amulets of protection. Our little crafters (and their gorgeous mamas)  had a fabulous crafternoon sesh with beads and felt and glitter glue up to our elbows!

There is something inherently lovely about participating in a craft circle // it is a practice as old as the hills and as such feels like you are tapping in to an ancient flow of tradition. Group crafting and sewing circles are definitely seen as a female past time but there is a strength and unity found in sharing and making together that simply can’t be found elsewhere. From my time spent at Three O’Clock Gallery I can see that this is exactly the type of strong community atmosphere Kim De Kretser is hoping to build and it was an absolute pleasure to be a leading part in creating that yesterday.

Because I am a Girl Exhibition Statement:

Worryingly, almost one third of Australian girls aged 15-19 agree “girls should not be out in public places after dark.”

In early 2016, Plan International Australia and OurWatch surveyed 600 Australian girls about personal safety in public spaces. Responses suggested a significant percentage of girls report feeling unsafe in public places, especially after dark. These findings are not just Australia specific – the result is similar to findings of surveys of girls conducted by Plan International around the world.

Although research tells us girls are generally less safe in their own homes than in public places, they are continuously told by adults, the media and police that public spaces, particularly after dark are not safe for them. These warnings mean that girls often choose not to access public spaces such as parks, public transport and parts of the city. Ultimately this means that girls feel less connected to their cities, feel less ownership over public spaces, and feel that they do not have the same rights as their male peers. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Through this exhibition we want to investigate the question, what would it look like if girls could design safe, welcoming cities?

I’ve had a couple of lovely things happen to me in the last two days!

Firstly: I had a visit from Alvin the Pomeranian and his darling fur-mother Emma who is one of the sweetest and most BOSS humans I have the pleasure of knowing! So to celebrate I made them this slice (below) from the old trusty Women’s Weekly Cakes & Slices book.

Secondly: I heard back from an interested potential stockist – as in my first real stockist of Millie Mosca goodness. It’s baby steps but I think this whole deciding to be proactive in making Millie happen thing – means it’s going to be a good month 😀

Especially now I have an overflowing Tupperware container of delectable slice in the fridge!!

Xx MM

Healthy Honey Muesli Bars:

1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds

2 cups toasted muesli

2 cups of rice bubbles (in a pinch I used Kellog’s Guardian – don’t judge)

½ cup coconut

1/3 cup pepitas toasted

125gm butter

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup peanut butter (I always opt for crunchy mmmmm)

1/3 cup brown Sugar

Line a 23 x 23cm brownie tin with greaseproof paper.

Combine sesame seeds, muesli, cereal & pepitas in a bowl.

Combine butter, honey, PB & sugar in a saucepan over gentle heat until all is melted and sugar dissolved. Bring to the boil then reduce heat & simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add PB mix to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Pour in to the prepared tin, refrigerate until set before cutting.

Keeps for 1 week (probably less if you like sharing with your favourite peeps and fluffy pals)

Hello again lovelies!

This weekend I decided to take the plunge and start damn-well making use of my blog! I have been putting it off and telling all and sundry I am not disciplined enough to be a blogger but the truth is – I AM!!

I’ve been reading this ace book The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell your crafts locally, globally & online by Kari Chapin and a posse of other awesome crafters – I read it on my way to and from a visit to my Grandmama’s house (who is one of the most prolific crafter/artist/knitter/sewer/botanical illustrators I know) and this wonderful feeling bubbled up – I just felt so inspired! Some sweet combination of the book and my amazing Grandmama’s company created this flash of creative energy, so I immediately started writing a list of all the things I have going on that I can write about – the truth is – there is a heck of a lot of material raring to go!

So I wrote a pros and cons list to help me knuckle down:

Pro – it gives me a chance to focus on the what, where and why of Millie and to commemorate all the successes and failures of my progress. Otherwise I won’t analyse what I am doing and bumble onwards without holding myself accountable.

Pro – I can start to build a craft community around me – or tap into the already well-established ones which I am becoming increasingly conscious of my need for. It also gives me a chance to float ideas to an audience that will tell me what-for if I am on the mark or not!

Pro – I will have to focus on what I am doing and enforce a discipline to sit down and make writing and reflection a part of my daily routine.

Con/probably Pro too – I will not be able to binge watch anywhere near as much television as I currently do (sorry Arrow, Fresh Prince & Longmire – it’s not you it’s me!)

I’m pretty sure the pros win!

You’ll be seeing a lot more of me my darling Moscas

Xx MM

This wearable art piece was inspired by my time spent living in Mexico and the constant and joyous celebrations I witnessed when I was there.

Handcrafted using a traditional Japanese Kumo Shibori technique, the resulting ‘stars’ were hand painted in the Mosca rainbow – echoing the shape, colour and texture of the exuberant fireworks displays so common in Mexican celebrations. Underneath sits a giant crystal-clear pinata inspired under skirt, filled with pompom fluff (aka the off-cut fluff left behind when pompoms are hand shaped), glitter, confetti and toys.

Having been exhibited in the 2016 Fred Hates Fashion x VAMFF exhibition in March, this piece is hopefully destined to travel to Mexico later in the year as part of the 10th International Shibori Symposium in Oaxaca (for which it was designed and made!).

Photography: the extraordinary Rod Pilbeam Photography

Model: the gorgeous Carmen Li

It’s motherflipping 2016 already!

I am so thankful for everything that came to pass in 2015, it hasn’t all been rainbows and butterflies but what would life be like if it didn’t have a few hurdles anyway?!

2015 was the first year I got semi-kinda-almost-mainly serious about Millie Mosca  becoming a proper money making business – more so than ever before.

I also met and got engaged to my future husband who is so 100% behind what I do and who I am and wants nothing more than for Millie to kick it. What’s more we are plotting and planning our world domination combining our skills to create our own little business empire in the not too distant future! Go check out his instagram page @farmerdom1983

I have written the usual list of do’s and dont’s, affirmations and chastising, dreams, goals and plans of attack for 2016 :::

eat more vegetables

dont’ drink so much

but do drink more water

cut back on watching so much television

cook at home more

try more restaurants

practice mindfulness and thankfulness daily

lose some kilos, exercise, get fit and strong again

get my drivers licence before I turn 30 in September (yeah I’m still on my L’s)

but the very biggest one of all ::: to make Millie into the biggest, bestest boldest, brightest, most beautifullest beast I can this year!

First step? My online store is actually truly really becoming a reality 😀

Happy New Year Moscas, lots and lots of love

Xx MM

It’s funny how motivation seems to come in waves and troughs. Since the Craft Hatch market I’ve been barely able to bring myself to enter my studio – other than to water my house plants and occasionally throw more things on my desk that don’t fit in the rest of the house.  I keep writing myself lists of things I should be making and then poking my head into my studio full of good intentions….then closing the door and walking away again. I’m not sure exactly why. I love making, I love sewing and cutting and painting and plotting and planning and playing and yet…I just can’t get myself in there and activated!

Something even stranger has happened! As my creative motivation wanes my fitness motivation is now at an all-time high. I have been attending regular personal training sessions and downloaded the NIKE trainer app, I’ve been attending classes and making sure to exercise 4-5 times per week. The pinnacle of this sudden fitspiration came when my partner and I signed up to run 10ks in the Melbourne Marathon on October 18^th.

Big deal right? Well For someone who refused to run the cross country in high school and has only really run to catch public transport since, it is a massive deal. Maybe it’s because I am turning 29 next month, or maybe it’s because my dad has just had some rather startling news about the condition of his heart and I’m feeling determined not to let myself end up in the same boat, either way I’m feeling determined and focused on getting to that finish line.

In the mean time I need to find some middle ground so Millie gets the attention she deserves and the online shop I started making a couple of weeks ago can get some traction! If anyone has any pointers, or even some pointy shoes that can be used to kick me up the bum and get me back in the zone, feel free to unleash on me!

PS the featured image is of my wonderful Grandma and I, looking at her amazing water colour botanical paintings. Grandma is one of the most prolific artists you could ever meet – if only it were hereditary!!

Xx MM

This coming weekend I am going solo for the first time ever with a stall at Craft Hatch!!! Yippee/OMG/squeeeeeeee

I have been sweating it out in the studio for the past few weeks trying to get myself market ready: I’ve had fabrics, flyers and stickers printed and I’ve been painting and cutting and sewing and pompoming and cussing and laughing and crying ever since I received the news that I was accepted as a stall holder and now it is almost show time…so if you are free this Sunday I would so dearly love to see your face at 1000pound bend ::: come support some local makers, and I know the coffee/food is really good!

Craft Hatch:

Sunday 9 August 2015
10am – 4pm

361 Little Lonsdale Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000

I headed on down to my childhood home of Tasmania last Friday to spend some time with the Fam and see the beautiful sights of the North East coast.

The whole thing came about as mum suggested I do the Bay of Fires Art Market with her on the Sunday. So I pulled together some Millie bags and kitty necklaces to sell and decided why the heck not!?

we ate, we drank, we walked along pristine beaches and we laughed a lot! The fresh air and good company were just what this little city slicker needed 😄

Now I have had a loving relationship with shibroi for quite some time.

I remember the first time I tie-dyed a t-shirt at ‘camp’ back in the pre-teen years // yes we ARE talking rainbow spirals in the early 90’s!  I loved it, and begged mum to re-create the magic as soon as I got home – thank fully mum has a full dye studio so of course we could twist up t-shirts in rubber bands and squeeze dye all over them with ease…lets just say Christmas that year was every wanna-be hippie’s delight (and most family member’s awkward grimace)

Shoot forward to the Arimatsu Shibori festival in Japan 2013 – there mum and I were, trawling the market stalls for super cheap kimonos and learning dye resist techniques from the Shibori masters. So when I see little articles like this I of course want to share it with the world – because everyone needs more natural indigo and traditional Japanese textiles in their life! So embrace the tie dye, and if you want some in your life let me know and I can recreate some for you, because I can’t get enough of it myself!!

So today was a bit disastrous: queue emotional breakdown and pass the tissues!

SO those of you who know me will be well aware of the fact that I am a self confessed cat lady – I love them – often not mutually – I will cross a busy street to try to coax them into a pat – it doesn’t matter how late I am running I always have time to try to woo a kittie into a bit of crazy cat lady lovin (this often involves talking to them gently so I apologise if you have ever walked past me doing this and it makes you feel uncomfortable).

This is a little bit sad because those who know cats realise such attempts of friendship towards stray felines is usually futile – even tame felines – heck even my OWN feline who I feed twice a day (and sometimes more because I shower him with so much love and I also know he will trip me over and go for my jugular if I don’t).

Therefore it is not at all surprising looking back at my photos over the past 5 months of Europe adventures – that there are many MANY cat photos! I apologise, not all of them are very good quality.

Anyway – enjoy

Xx M

First of all Happy New Year and all that jazz! There is a fair bit to catch up on since last I wrote…

(if you hover over the photos then you should get a little bit of info about where and what they are about)

I have just spent an entire weekend in bed and may or may not have eaten a whole tub of ‘Billionaire’s shortbread’ ice cream (seriously google it if you don’t know what it is – it will change your life!)

This is not because I’m sick – I’m not! It just boils down to the fact that Nottingham does not really have anything enough to entice me out from under  the warmth of my blankie – this town depresses me greatly in fact and I honestly try to spend as little time as possible out there in the wilds – in case I almost step in human faeces again (that actually happened) – but that is all neither here nor there as I am down to my last fortnight in Notts and there are so many other far more exciting things to write about! Such as Edinburgh – Berlin – Antwerp – Barcelona – Lisbon – Marrakesh…the list goes on and the inspiration from my non-Nottingham time has been endless!

I think it’s time to embrace dot points for the sake of efficiency:

– In October I went to Edinburgh with the gorgeous Annabelle, a fellow exchange student from the Antipodes (New Zealand) Edinburgh was amazingly picturesque and offered up many culinary/sightseeing/art gallery/museum/hill climbing in heels/cutest ever B&B delights and a long weekend just didn’t feel like long enough to explore!

Then I went back to Nottingham and did a little more school work

– In November I headed to Berlin and I totally fell in love with it – even just on the short bus trip from the airport to the château Megarry in Kreuzberg. I ate the best doner kebabs ever, went to the Bauhaus Museum, saw the immense collection of Picasso and Matisse paintings at the Berggruen Museum  and drank lots of delicious super strong and cheap beers, bought some fabulous prints from a tiny independent gallery and PAAAAARTIEEEEED at Berghain (seriously the most amazing club in the world) with the divine Jess who along with her partner in crime Dave, played the most gracious of hosts.

Then I went back to Nottingham and did a little more school work

– In December I embarked on an epic adventure with the parentals touring about Europe. We started in London and stayed in East Croydon which was not that great a place to stay (our Airbnb host has Gerbils in his kitchen – no joke) but we did see some fantastic things:

– We had ludicrously expensive cocktails at the Ritz Carlton and saw the Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! Exhibition (which included McQueen’s graduate collection – so dreamy), we spent hours at the V&A and saw a free runway show put on by Meadham Kirchoff (which actually made me cry a little bit in excitement), I bought 5 pound boots on Portobello Rd and we ate the best laksas of all time in Shoreditch, Mum met her long lost cousin and we had some lovely family times, we saw Klee at the TATE and AUSTRALIA at the RA and boy did we pound those pavements!

– We caught a train to Antwerp and got there just in time to ride the Ferris wheel as the sun set and drank delicious Belgium beer and ate loads of cheese and cured meats, we went to the Happy Birthday Dear Academie!  Exhibition curated by Walter Van Beirendonck  of the Antwerp Fashion Academy students work – it was so inspirational and Antwerp so gorgeous I could happily live and study there (though I may need to learn more Dutch than “een biertje, alstublieft”)

– We got on a plane to Barcelona where we stayed for 6 beautiful days, we saw Picasso and Miro, ate paella and a motherload of delicious seafood, we had our haircut for charity and saw more Gaudi than you could poke a stick at and despite all our time there we barely scratched the surface!

– We moved onto Madrid where we joined a bus tour with 31 other people – let’s just say if I never go on another bus tour for the rest of my life it will be too soon!!! We coasted through many beautiful cities (and some incredibly unenticing ones) yet barely did our feet touch the ground before we were hustled along to the next location! It was one of the most frustrating times of my life and I definitely have to go back to visit most of the places we passed through at some point in the future!

– By far my favourite part of the coach trip was Morocco. It was so far from anything I have ever seen before yet familiar in so many ways! The countryside was amazing, the culture vibrant, the hustlers incredibly good at hustling and surprisingly for a predominantly Muslim country the beer and wine were exceptionally good. New Years in Tangiers was bought in by a wonderful Dabka Oriental Orchestra and an open bar and mum and I stayed up until the very wee hours of the morning dancing like a couple of crazies!

– After the hellish coach tour we started another smaller and more intimate (private guides and tailored tours) journey through Venice and Verona which lasted a mere 4 days but god damn we ate soooooo well! We saw Murano glass blowing and Burano lace being made and spent a day drifting around Valpolicella and Soave wine regions and then, after 5 weeks of being subjected to triple share rooms it was time to bid the folks adieu and head back to Nottingham to get back to the uni grind.

And here I am – gearing up to finish off my uni project and bail on this little town for good!

One more stop in Florence for the Pitti Filati yarn trade fair before I hand in my final garment and skedaddle down to London and then on home to the last of the summer sunshine.

My Mama shared this little gem with me today – Zandra is a textile design heroine to the both of us so why keep her inspirational words to our selves?!

Buen Provecho!

So whilst I have been busy living, travelling and learning I haven’t been doing a whole lot of blogging and there is quite a backlog of events both trivial and exceptional to put out there to the world… so over the next week I’m going to trickle as much out as I possibly can. No promises though – as in anything requiring any kind of self-discipline on my part (including but not exclusively relating to eating entire blocks of chocolate in one sitting and studiously ignoring homework despite my best intentions and planning at the beginning of the day).

Starting today with LONDON which was a wonderful day trip – depressingly however it was a month ago!

I really wanted to go to the Knitting and Stitching Show in London as I had heard amazing things about it so I booked – spur of the moment – and I was NOT disappointed!

I did have to wake up at 4:30AM to get to the train station in time for my 6am departure – arriving at St Pancras with plenty of time to take a little detour to Covent Garden for breakfast where I watched the Meseras setting up outdoor tables in the main square and the market slowly unfurling before throngs of people arrive for the day.

OH NOOOO! Someone lost their gold pants and shopping trolley in Covent Garden…I did get a rather peculiar look from a man who stopped and watched me photograph this… “yeah whatchu lookin’ at – do gold pants get abandoned every day around here huh?!” or maybe they were his and he was too embarrassed to claim them whilst I was watching…

A beautiful clear morning in the square.

After that I headed to the Knitting and Stitching show out at the spectacular Alexandra Palace which has the most wonderful vantage point looking out over London from the top of a gorgeous rolling hill. I felt like I could easily have been the youngest there…and was rather out of place without my perm perfectly set and magic silver white lavender hair!

The grand exterior of the Palace

The beautiful dewy morning view looking out over London

There were some truly inspirational artist’s galleries – including the ever amazing Jan Beanie and Jean Littlejohn who are both so incredibly prolific , their books have graced the shelves of both my Grandma and Mum’s studios ever since I was knee high! Another stand out was Tilleke Schwarz who creates beautiful vibrant embroideries that are extensions of her sketchbook pages…incorporating hand and machine embellishment in commentaries on both current events and the mundane.

Jan and Jean’s work for sale – so tempted!

Tilleke’s work – my favourite colour too!

Excerpts from her sketchbooks – showing where she draws inspiration – anyone who is inspired by Nyancat is ok by me!

I signed up as a student member to the Guild of Machine Knitters which sounds incredibly fancy (or maybe it doesn’t to a non-knitting-nerd) but the reality is far daggier. I also helped myself to a Selvedge Magazine subscription and a book on how to knit Meerkats – because one can never have enough meerkats in their life! I poured over the wonderful hand spun and dyed yarns and all the fabulous book stalls – although like any such event – for every fabulous stall there were 10 covered in vileness and tacky kitsch – not even cute kitsch but vomitous kitsch!

BEADZZZZ – I can never resist, and these were so beautifully displayed!!

Still so early in the day that it wasn’t bumper to bumper at this point – still enough grannys around to get bulldozed a few times though!

Pompom jewellery at the Selvedge stall

Next on the menu was the V&A – it took me half an hour to find A. the bathroom and B. the cloak room but I eventually managed to find my way to the fashion exhibit, taking in ‘From Club to Catwalk’ on London fashion in the 80’s in which some of my fave designers were featured – Viv Westwood, Galliano and Zandra to name a few. Then the Jewellery collection, costume and set design, the Asiatic and Middle Eastern collections, the British historical collections – sculpture, silverware, portraiture miniatures – so many treasures and yet I still didn’t see everything. I can see why so many designers spend time there on the hunt for inspiration!

Costumes designed by Leigh Bowery – considering the glittering codpieces  involved this was not at all surprising

A Dame Edna Everage creation

If you have NEVER wanted a silver bowl tree in your house I don’t know what is wrong with you! I want all the bowl trees (I’m sure that is the technical term!)

A sneaky selfy – just proving I was there tis all

A child’s Mantua, oh how I dreamed of making myself a Mantua in highschool – a normal and well adjusted teenage ambition I’m sure!

An exquisitely embroidered and beaded jacket, such incredibly fine and detailed work (unfortunately my camera does not do it justice)

After some respite in the fabulous Arts and Crafts decorated food hall with a giant scone, jam and whipped butter I decided to head to Liberty London for a bit of a retail pilgrimage. Oxford Circus, as ever, was a total madhouse!! There was some sort of Zombie flash mob happening and a huge throng of people seething round the entrance of the subway so I just had to go with the flow and allow myself to be buffeted along the street up to Liberty. I fell in love with their Haberdashery department and found the interior delightful – the wonderful staircases with gargoyles carved into balustrades and beautiful atrium surrounded by wide balconies in the traditional department store style allowing shoppers above to view the shoppers below perusing the vibrant scarf hall.

The rather promising exterior

One of the beautiful staircases

After so many hours on the road I found myself completely exhausted and as one who generally cannot stand crowds I was at that stroppy point of the day where the thought of being rammed one more time by one more careless passerby I might snap and get all Killbill on their arses… So in order to preserve the Queen’s peace I headed back to St Pancras and spent the next hour waiting for my train at the Champagne Bar…tough I know!

Assessing the day’s haul

The Champagne diagram – perfect visual explanation of the different champagnes on offer for those such as myself who require diagrams to understand!

Next time I get back to London I will definitely spend the night and squeeze in the TATE, Saatchi – seek out some Pho and find some markets to while away the hours…

Goose fair – home to cheap thrills – hot donuts and mushy peas & chips with mint sauce

So it really has taken me this long to write a blog post – SOZ ABOUT IT!

A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks:

–       I turned 27

–       I met long lost family in London

–       I was shown around London by my amazing newly found family members (thanks John and Joan)

–       I moved to Nottingham

–       I was scared by the university “fresher” culture in Nottingham

–       I sussed out some of the copious drinking establishments in Nottingham

–       I got bronchitis because of getting a little too excited about said drinking establishments

–       I found a wonderful Victorian terrace house in the suburb of Mapperly

–       I have an attic bedroom with a skylight in said house

–       I started classes and realised that I had already covered what they were teaching

–       I changed courses to Fashion Knitwear

–       I love fashion knitwear

–       I went to the GOOSE FAIR (see below)

–       I saw my bestest friend in the whole world and we went to Dublin together (love you Fran)

–       I stayed with the most wonderful Irish lass in the whole world (thanks Sheila)

–       I went to Birmingham on a day trip

–       I bought a lot of things in Birmingham

–       I have missed my beloved friends and family (and little grey fur baby)

–       I am currently working through an addiction to Friday Night Lights (watch at your own risk)

Tomorrow I am venturing to London on a day trip – Yay – Unfortunately purchasing cheap tickets requires me to get up at 4:30AM – Boo –

I am going to the Knitting and Stitching Show and also (all going according to plan) going to hit up the V&A FINALLY – that’s right folks, my lifelong dream of seeing the V&A collection is soon to be a reality!!

I will try really hard to blog sooner – probs to let you know what Trent university life is like and also to rub in your faces how awesome the V&A was!!

Xx

Bobbies on the beat – seriously they look exactly like on The Bill!!

Throw a dart win a large stuffed wild feline

Guinness related art – everything seems to come back to drinking in Ireland and I am definitely OK with that!

Guinness at the Guinness factory – lets just say it is an acquired taste we are yet to acquire!

An ivy covered facade in Dublin – such a quaint and beautiful city despite all the turmoil it has seen over the years!

Above: the rainy view of Paris from Montmartre  close to the Sacre Coeur (and my hostel)

I literally felt I could be violently ill at any second for the two days before I left Melbourne. A combination of nerves about leaving my gorgeous friends, my darling handsome man, my indifferent little silver fur baby and of course my wonderful family as well as anxiety as to whether I was even capable of existing on my own – having always been terrible at keeping and enjoying my own company…well, thanks Paris, I am now that little bit more confident in my ability to find my way around another country. Especially one where the locals may very well know how to speak English but refuse to do so and all the words are pronounced nothing like they are spelled!

I spent my first day exploring the thousands of stalls of knitted, printed and woven or non-woven textiles, yarn, leathers, furs (real and faux), diamantes, buttons and trims, as well as technology developments and processors at the Premiere Vision Textile Trade Show. What a mind blowing experience for a little girl who grew up in Southern Tasmania!!

I mean, I just walked right in to the Liberty sales stall where people were talking about $million purchases and popped my head in on Harris Tweed – the most famous woven material in the world – for goodness sake!! Realistically just being in Europe is pretty mind blowing but being in the largest Textile Trade show in Europe with people buying, selling, hawking, gawking, walking and talking at the absolute cutting edge of the dress textiles world – what an amazing atmosphere to drift into! It made me feel so very small and insignificant but at the same time confident that one day I too could be one of those amazing designers in the Indigo  section with their amazing swatches on display in the most inspiring textiles bazaar on the planet! With signs everywhere saying no photographs I was too scared to actually take even a sneaky snap inside – plus with all the best dressed Europeans flowing to either side of me as I drifted from stall to stall I was more than just a little intimidated by it all! I will say, that in typical style I was the most brightly dressed person I saw, and was rewarded by a few up and down glances, some sneers and even a roll of the eyes from one particularly haggard looking lady who reminded me of Patsy (of Ab Fab fame) except nowhere near as chic! Despite this it was truly one of the most inspiring experiences I have had as a textile designer so far!!

I then spent the next day exploring the city by foot with a gorgeous Brazilian girl – we went under the Arc D’Triumph, up the Eiffel Tower, along the Champ De Mars and the Champ de Elysee, through le Louvre (but not inside it) across the bridge of locks, past Notre Dame, along the Siene past the rather ugly Universite de Paris to the Jardin des Plantes et Managerie then up to the Bastille, past Montmartre and the Moulin Rouge (and the multitude of sex shops surrounding it) until we finally arrived at the hostel. What an exhausting day! Though like my first day – full of visual stimulation and joy at seeing so many wonderful landmarks that I have heard so much about and only ever dreamed of from afar!

Now I finally have time to write about it all as I am sitting on the train heading at great speed towards London.

Reflecting on the key points of Paris I would say:

1 – the people are really friendly as long as you aren’t in need of help or standing in their shop without a word of French to your name, then they are the opposite of friendly! (I did have several gorgeous people assist me with my unbelievably heavy suitcase including up the 5 flights of stairs to the hostel without even asking for it – too bad the man in the button shop in Montmartre didn’t have some of that helpful quality as if he had bothered to remain as excited as he had been when I first entered once he learned I couldn’t speak French then I might have bought one of his ludicrously priced buttons as a souvenir from Paris – as a general rule I’m just not that into souvenirs!)

2 – French people reserve the right to piss wherever they damn well want to! Including but not exclusively relating to the Metro which in every nook and cranny smelt like a men’s urinal that was continually used and then left to fester for a long time by cleaners that were on permanent strike….it was RIPE!! I also noticed a man casually pissing on a small sapling in a little garden off the Champ De Elysee – as no doubt – did the other 1000 or so people walking along the same world famous street at that exact same time!

3 – everything is Tres Grand in Paris! All the buildings are so old and regal looking, everywhere I turned I was greeted with lovely architectural features, statuesque edifices from days gone by – many many days – coming from a country where our architectural story is so young it is quite amazing to see a city where the buildings are so obviously belonging to an era from so long ago in history. This was particularly apparent when the city is viewed from the top of the Eiffel tower as the relative short and squatness of the city is so different to the other metropolises that I have visited in the past. You can see why it is considered the ‘city of love’ as the beautiful wrought iron balconies and wonderful stone details attest – however I couldn’t help but think the entire city looked a little tired. The facades were covered in grime, the streets and sidewalks were covered in cracks and potholes but the romance was still undeniably there.

I hope I don’t sound like I’m down on Paris – because I am definitely not – it was wonderful but I can certainly believe that Paris would be a completely different experience if visiting with the one you love as opposed to flying solo! Next time maybe…

And so here I am now sat on a train carriage full of precocious little Primary school children on my way to the next leg of my adventure – here I come UK – watch out!!