pop up

Hi All, a friend of mine in Sydney is having a little pop up shop, she has amazing and eclectic taste, so I can't imagine what kind of delights will be there, wish we could go, but as we can't you definitely should.

Here is some more info*:

KASPIA | Ph: +61 (0) 424576382 | www.kaspia.com.au

 Local intrepid stylist and travel blogger Kaspia brings the hippie trail to famous Yellow House in Sydney.

Pop-up shop & gallery KASPIA’S CARAVAN opens on November 29th at the YELLOW HOUSE, 57 Macleay St, Potts Point.
Between 1970 and 1973, the Yellow House was a piece of living art and became a canvas in itself, with every wall, floor and ceiling part of the gallery. Residents of the building included artist Brett Whiteley and filmmaker Peter Weir who directed the films Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Truman Show & Master and Commander.
For three months, Australia’s first multi-media performance space and gallery in the Yellow House will be transformed by Sydney designer and stylist Kaspia who is collaborating with Afghan Interiors. KASPIA’s CARAVAN will feature a unique collection of tribal home wares, rare furniture, rugs & jewellery, sourced over two decades in remote areas of Central Asia.
Kaspia’s popular travel blog documents her extreme adventures, many with her young children, in places like Uzbekistan, Guatemala and Iceland, while simultaneously exploring the world of unusual interiors, tribal styling and adornment. Kaspia is particularly interested in Central Asian interiors, which is proving increasingly popular in Sydney. ‘Back in the late sixties and early seventies, thousands of British and European young people came to Australia via the overland trail through Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. There is a resurgence of interest in the aesthetic of that time, the romance of it,’ says Kaspia.
Kaspia remembers staying in Pashtun villages on the Afghan border just months before 9/11. ‘My memories of sitting on rope bed charpoys watching locals crowded on tribal rugs and giant kilim cushions recite poetry in the firelight can’t be forgotten. There are plenty of baby-boomers who were on the trail in the 1970s who have similar recollections and who want to bring those memories to life in their homes. Our living environments and personal adornment is all about evoking, about connecting us with great memories and beauty.’
Kaspia says, ‘The Yellow House is the perfect venue for KASPIA’S CARAVAN pop-up. We’ll be holding regular workshops and talks by leading artists and designers, which I hope will restore some of that creative magic the Yellow House was once all about.’
www.kaspia.com.au
Contact publicist
BENJAMIN GILMOUR | contact@benjamingilmour.com | Ph: 0404789442

 

* this is by no means a paid post, just doing it out of love and wanting to support awesomeness. 

Building

I was just talking to a very dear and darling friend about our build, about all the decisions that need to be made, dreams that are selected, others that are set aside, we talked about the sweat, the outdoor camp kitchen, the joys of baking cakes on a bbq (oh yes it can be done), the fact that we feel like the town carnies what with shredded blue tarp and an upside down hills hoist as backyard features and we talked about the fun of it all. Some of you might know these darling friends Annie, Genevieve, Olive and Oscar from ole Bega town and may have read all about their own building adventures, in stunning straw bale no less. They are absolute inspirations and definitely raise the bar in self-sufficiency in every which way. It has been a journey seeing what they have created, against many odds, the way their minds are alive with so many crafty, clever and wholesome ways of living and being. It has been an inspiration to pick little bits here and there from not only them but from countless websites and episodes of Grand Designs. Trawling through websites doing research, reading reviews, asking, asking and more asking and then sometimes making mistakes. We did originally play with the idea of straw bale or hempcrete  as our material of choice but for a variety of reasons neither won out. However Scott and I still continue to swoon over both materials, who knows, maybe one day we will get to have a play with them. Ah, the negotiations and compromises of building. But it is all okay, we are delighted with what we are creating, our intentions and our vision (think food forest, a big verandah for many people and even more instruments, soft candlelight, delicious feasts shared with loved ones, water tanks, solar hot water and one day solar electricity (when the battery prices come down), so many dreams float around our heads, it is really all very exciting.

So yes Scott, Poe, Ilo and I (and a few helpful builders and friends) have started the extension to our home, we have gone through moments of aghast when we saw the size of the hole and then were able to breathe again when we factored in the verandah, but still... We have had many people comment on how buildings grow and shrink over a build, I absolutely get it now. Scott and I have been assisting the builders, oiling timbers, cutting timbers (local blackbutt from a guy named Dave's property, just out of town), sanding, hammering, using the dumpy (oh yeah), measuring, basically getting totally involved and loving it. The kids meanwhile, as you can see, have been getting thoroughly and delightfully muddy, they have been loving exploring and creating new and wonderful games and cherishing their new bunk beds (the last photo is of Poe at night, weaving).
The completion date is said to be the 24th December, hmmm, I guess all we can do is wait and see.

oh so very ... absent

It's not because i don't care, it's just because we have been building our home. To distract you I am going to place in front of you two little film clips Scott and I have whipped up, yes amongst building and stuff. Crazy, maybe but fun yes. Both were filmed a while ago (we are not that crazy to be running around and actually filming film clips amongst all this). The first is from the last album and the second is from the new album which is currently being mastered, oh my goodness, so very exciting.

I promise, promise there will be house photos soon. xxxx

a very quick catch up

 Hello out there, I am still here, albeit a bit wearier, kind of a bit wiser and a lot more overwhelmed. But, the end is in sight, for the first bit anyway, this weekend we move into our new home. I am kind of excited but honestly feeling more daunted by the move than anything. Anyway, deep breaths and all that, yes, deep breaths and lots of help.
The whole process has been wonderful as a whole, as I have mentioned previously both Scott and I (and a few friends) have been learning many new skills and have been working muscles that were previously redundant. We marvelled at the wonder of filling in the gaps in our lining boards, gasped at the beauty of our oiled floors (think very rough industrial looking, yes so rough that mess will not even be noticed) and furrowed our brows and drooped our shoulders as our paint turned out to not be all that we had wished and hoped for (any little bump takes the paint right off, argghh).
It is looking beautiful.
But it hasn't all been hard work we have been having little moments of loveliness in between (despite the fact that our brains are totally consumed by our renovations). We have celebrated Ilo's 5th birthday and Poe's 8th, danced around the maypole at the Spring festival, dined and danced with beautiful new friends from Victoria, loved up the gorgeousness of Circus Oz, met a new baby who has chosen the best parents ever, tapped our toes at the Bangalow Bluegrass Festival, caught up with some big cousins in Brisbane, went to a perfect little pool party, got into Shiny Shiny, watched Ilo blossom at Little Kindy and photographed Katie Noonan and Jack Carty  for our local, 5 Church St.
Do you all feel semi caught up now? Kind of a little loved? I hope so. And if not, I send my sincerest apologies but I can't give much more at the moment.

nb. the above description may or may not be totally aligned with the photos that follow, I trust that you lot are clever enough to join the dots though. xx
x i also want to apologise to two very dear and important friends who are still awaiting (handmade) birthday gifts, you know who you are and it ways heavily on my mind but they will be done, i can't wait. xx