In my family I’m generally the one coffee a day person. So suffice to say that I’ve come a long way from the days of instant brews to grinding my own beans and savouring the drink produced. Mark & Judie Fairweather of Australind Coffee Roasting came to our attention about three years ago when
Sometimes I have enquiries about why I use sodium hydroxide (or caustic soda) in my soaps. It is indeed a troubling thought for many due to the fact that it is such a corrosive substance! Often associated with its cleaning and stripping properties (think of greasy ovens, bbqs, paint strippers to name a few), it
India Flint has been featured in the current issue of Organic Gardener (Jan - Feb 2017). Below is my blog post from 2013 after attending an India Flint eco-dyeing workshop. She has been and continues to be the primary influence for my approach to cloth and colour. It is a continuous learning process for me
Meet Kylie Bartholomew -a key craftperson and collaborator at handmadeandmarina. Sometimes crocheting upto 8 hours a day, she certainly deserves the title of Bunbury's crochet queen! I first met Kylie selling her exquisite crocheted stuffed toys at the Stirling Street Art Centre Flea Market. Getting to see her work was a boost to my ongoing
There are probably as many definitions as there are proponents of "handmade". What constitutes as handmade for me are these main elements : using raw materials that can be accessed locally, creating items with my hands which may or may not manipulate tools and machinery, items that are not mass-produced but individually created, which
As the year draws to a close, I'm pleased to say that I will now be a regular at the Busselton Foreshore Markets (Signal Park) every third Sunday of the month from January 2017. I attended the November one to a great start and was very impressed at how it was being run by the
24/10/16 I wrote this post a few years ago in my old website. Since moving to my current one, I feel the need to reaffirm the message in the post. It still spells the approach to my small cottage based business. Before I even knew that there was something called the "slow movement" (aside from
{17-10-2016 .........Since I moved my last website handmade-and-marina.wordpress.com to my current one handmadeandmarina.com.au, I've reblogged some of my old posts and this is one of them. I'm expecting a few more of my mother's handwoven scarves in the near future and they should be available through my stalls and online shop. } This post
My association with this special silk began while growing up in Assam, India. I've always known it to be a traditional Assamese silk with memories of my dad having a shawl draped around him on cold wintry days. It was light and warm and provided an alternative to the heavier Naga shawls that were also
There have been quite a few developments since my last post. First of all, you'll have noticed my new look website which I am really pleased about. I know I tried to soldier on single-handedly in this area but ultimately I am so glad to have had some professional help - namely Axel Keifer from