+ Harvest Textiles +

tied up

2012-05-21T09:49:00.000+10:00

I have been in a complete macramé frenzy since attending Andrea Shaw's great class at Harvest Workroom a couple of weeks ago.
We are currently in the process of fitting out our little retail space - Harvest Storeroom - so naturally I have decided to put my new found macramé skills to good use. I just can't get enough of that fluoro pink!
Fancy becoming a macramé maniac too?? Due to popular demand Andrea will be running another macramé class - YAY!
All deets and booking info can be found here!
xxx Jess

pom pom steed

2012-05-19T20:08:00.003+10:00

This week at Harvest Workroom local Melbourne artist, writer, curator and mother Tai Snaith filled the Pop Craft window with a majestic and colourful portrait of her recently deceased horse, Nazif, and the pompom bridle that he wore in a dress-up session preceding his death.
Nazif had been Tai's horse since she was a child and when she began having dreams about his impending death she decided to celebrate the life they had spent together by fitting him with handmade costumes and a photo shoot with her friend Jo Duck. The results are stunning and made all the more emotional when Tai mentions that this was the second last time she saw her beloved horse.
When I got up close to the bridle there were still horse hairs attached and it sent tingles down my spine thinking of this special horse. Luckily Tai had brought along her mini-sidekick - her 2 year old son Leo who lightened the tone of the whole affair by sharing the contents of his pint-sized suitcase that he carries around and joining in the action of installing the artwork. The work will hang in the window at Harvest Workroom for one more week.
Tai's work is a definite head turner - catching most folks eyes as they trundle past on the tram. Loads more pics of the window here and an interesting interview with Pop Craft here.
Make sure you also look out for Tai's first children's book called The Family Hour that will be launched on July 5.
Em x

nocturnal printers

2012-05-17T22:29:00.000+10:00

Our current group of Screen Printing Intensive students printed their own repeat pattern designs last night - aren't they gorgeous?
The students I mean! And the designs are great too. Some very intricate patterns there.

There were many cups of tea drunk and yummy dinner smells wafting through our studio. It is really nice having the same folk attend workshops over many weeks - they become so familiar and comfortable in the studio.
Next week we will start preparing their screens for the photo exposure component of the course. I can't wait to show you what they come up with.
More pics from last night here.
Em x

owl know how at harvest workroom

2012-05-14T11:24:00.000+10:00

If you have walked past Harvest Workroom over the last two weeks you would have had the privilege of seeing Cat Rabbit and Isobel Knowles fantastical window installation at Pop Craft featuring characters from their new children's book - OWL KNOW HOW.
All of the plush little owls and rabbits are made from felt and live in a cardboard city that Cat and Isobel have crammed into our front window. The installation also features their award winning animation.
I couldn't help but take some of the little creatures for a wander around Pop Craft and photograph them playing in the colourful yarn. You can see some pics of the interior of the cardboard home here.
The book is available at Pop Craft and is a very sweet tale of Cornelia Rabbit using her owl know-how to save her cloud city from falling into the treetops.
The installation will only be in the window for another couple of days to make way for a new installation by Tai Snaith. Come and have a peep.
Em x

popped up

2012-05-07T13:34:00.003+10:00

Pop Craft set up last week at Harvest Workroom coinciding with a cold snap that has well and truly got the punters madly clacking away on their needles. We love having all of the colourful yarn to ooh and aah over whenever we find a spare moment and a few personal projects are already underway.
The first round of knitting workshops will begin this Thursday...it will be a very productive 4 week course that enthusiasts will undertake using unique pattern designs from Pop Craft. Find out more about the workshops here.
If you can't sign up for a workshop this week- don't fear. A second round will begin in June.
Hope to see you there.
More pics of Pop Craft here.
Em xo

forget me knot

2012-05-06T22:50:00.000+10:00

Thanks to the impossibly lovely Andrea Shaw I am now officially obsessed with macramé.
Andrea is the super talented lady behind Stampel Studio and she spent the day at Harvest Workroom teaching us the basics of macramé - it's trickier than you might expect!
I'm pretty sure that I drove Andrea crazy with my inability to master the basic square knot but in the end we all managed to produce gorgeous plant hangers - thanks again Andrea!
More pics on our flickr.
xxxx Jess
p.s. Andrea is running another class in October! Book in quick xx

beneath the sun

2012-05-04T16:03:00.000+10:00

Leah Bartholomew of Beneath the Sun has set up a 3 days only popup shop at Harvest Storeroom.
Her happy demeanour is bouncing off the walls and all of her lovely goodies just make you want to smile.
Come and say HI.
May 4th - 6th, 510 Lygon Street, East Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia.
Em x

pretty porcelain

2012-05-03T19:12:00.001+10:00

As promised some of the student's work from Abby Seymour's fantastic Embellished Porcelain Jewellery workshop.
The photo session was cut short by my inquisitive 3 year old as I was wary of having him close to these delicate wares but the pieces I managed to capture are just lovely. Well done to everyone and thanks so much Abby.
Abby will host another workshop later in the year so if you are keen to get involved stay tuned to our blog or join our mailing list.
A few more pics of some other pieces can be found here.
Em x

abby seymour at harvest #3

2012-05-02T22:21:00.002+10:00

After a busy weekend hosting an open studio/exhibition/popup shop Abby Seymour has carefully packed up her delicate goodies and ended her April residency at Harvest Workroom.
We have so enjoyed seeing her process and know that during her time at Harvest she had many ideas on the go that will no doubt come to fruition over the coming months - we can't wait to see how they all pan out.
Abby kept a fantastic record of her time as our artist-in-residence over at her blog.
There are five entries in total - here they are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.Go have a peek.
The last session of her most recent Embellished Porcelain Jewellery workshop will be held tomorrow night. We look forward to posting some pics of the student's work over the next few days.
Em x

abby seymour at harvest #2

2012-04-27T13:43:00.001+10:00

Stop by Harvest Workroom this weekend and take a glimpse inside to see the fantastic work being created in our vibrant studio environment by Abby Seymour.
Open for sales and viewing Saturday 28th 11am - 3pm and Sunday 29th 11am - 5pm.
Go here to see more pics from the residency.
Em x

abby seymour at harvest #1

2012-04-24T07:43:00.001+10:00

Our April artist-in-residence Abby Seymour has been settled in to the studio for a good week or so now. She has really made it her own space right down to bringing in her own gorgeous little hand-painted flower pots. Her exquisite drawings line the walls and her calm presence is oozing all over the studio as she sits and paints each and every fine line onto her porcelain pieces.

Abby is a passionate illustrator/printmaker/bookbinder/ and jewellery designer. Her mission is to breathe life into age old trade crafts and to make work with an apperception and a parallel to the attention to detail.

During her residency a body of work will be created combining her skill sets and love of printed matter, jewellery and homewares. All of her works will be based around a methodology of applied illustration. As the former co-founder of Golden Ink Collaborative Abby is now pursuing her own practice and embarking on creating her very own label.

You have recently finished up with GoldenInk Collaborative. What are your plans now? To focus on my own little label and trying to make it a little more cohesive as we tended to make so many different individual items as Golden Ink and it sometimes became a bit confusing. I am wanting to bring together my illustration aesthetic and the materials I work with into one product so that in the end everything feeds off each other a bit more.
The collection will still be porcelain-based jewellery and homewares with a little bit more of an emphasis on the printed form - by that I mean a range of prints and cards.
How are you going working solo after a partnership? It is very recent…I am still getting used to not having the dynamic of playing certain ideas and concepts off another person although having said that after collaborating with someone for so long we did manage to find our own ground so I still have that to work with. You know after a few years of setting up certain techniques and processes it is comforting knowing that is it not back to square one and slightly liberating that I can take a different direction that is more appropriate to my skill sets.

Can you tell us a little about your art practice?I start with a lot of illustration and drawing in my journal and then go back through the illustrations I've done. I print them out or cut them out …I spread them out and look at them as a body of work to base a particular product on. I then generally cut it into a lino or paint it onto porcelain. So I try and combine exisiting and off cuts of prints with all of my different techniques.

Can you tell us what you have been doing at Harvest the past week and how you will spend your time that you have left?I've spread out some illustrations and from that I have hand moulded some homeware pieces and some earring studs which are all in the greenware process at the moment and I am painting them. So the next step is glazing them, firing them and then I will finish the silver fittings over the next few days. And then finally I might have time to think about the packaging.

What can people expect if they come and see you at Harvest this weekend? There will be a bright new body of work that includes a small collection of colourful earring studs, small vessels and prints for sale. There will also be some Golden Ink stock available. There will also be the chance to get behind the scenes with the processes that I used to create this particular body of work.

Thankyou Abby.
I really recommend that you stop by Harvest Workroom this weekend and take a glimpse inside to see the fantastic work being created in our vibrant studio environment.
Opening launch Saturday 28th 11am - 3pm.
Open for sales and viewing between on Sunday 29th 11am - 5pm.
Abby has also been hosting a workshop in Embellished Porcelain Jewellery at Harvest - we will keep you updated with the works produced by the students over the next few weeks.
Go here to see more pics from the residency.
Em x

dell stewart at harvest #4

2012-04-15T09:10:00.003+10:00

Above is an animation that was made by Dell Stewart during her residency at Harvest. If you put it on a loop and make it full screen you can stare at it for hours.
Below you will find some of the animations made by the children at the recent Design Depot. They spent one day learning animation techniques with Dell and this was some of the work they produced. (How cool does the Harvest raindrops fabric look in the animation below by Lenny?)
You can find more animations from the day here.
Enjoy.

autumn print school pics

2012-04-12T22:29:00.001+10:00

A great crew came and settled in to the studio for 4 days for this week's Autumn Screen Printing School.
Many of them had travelled from interstate and so were in full holiday mode which lent the atmosphere a super-relaxed kind of vibe.
They conjured up all sorts of gorgeous prints and were so prolific printing tea towels, tote bags, lengths of linen that you couldn't find a spare spot to put down a cup of tea in our very large studio space all week! I only had the camera out on the last two days but you can get a fair idea from these pics and the others at our flickr of what they got up to. One of the students, Nani Puspasari, has also blogged about her week with us here.
If you are keen on immersing yourself in the print room like these guys you might want to consider signing up for our Winter Screen Printing School. Otherwise we will be announcing all sorts of new workshop dates over the next week or so.
To stay tuned of all of our news join our mailing list.
Em x

design depot debrief

2012-04-09T22:04:00.002+10:00

Last week was an absolute hive of activity at Harvest Workroom with a fabulous group of young creatives taking over our studio space. We hosted our inaugural 4 day school holiday workshop series for 9-16 year olds called Design Depot and it was a huge success.
Each day was led by a different local designer - Harvest Textiles, Dell Stewart, Emily Green and Evie Barrow of Handmade Romance and there was no end to the children's enthusiasm for the projects.
As you can see from the pictures we all had fun and although it has to be said we were pretty pooped by the end of the week we had a great time getting to know these young folk.

Day 1 - "Print and Go" with Harvest Textiles
Students designed and printed their own tote bag and length of fabric in a fun day of printing.

Day 2 - "Scrap Paper Animation" with Dell Stewart
Dell introduced students to the art of old school animation using collage cutouts and printed paper elements in a traditional multi-layered glass set-up. Because of the Easter holiday Dell has yet to upload the animations online but we will post the link on our blog for you to see what was achieved once they are ready to view.

Day 3 - "Colour Crusade" with Emily Green
Emily filled her day with colour exploration including creating colour palettes, screenprinting on paper and making with fimo. Students wore their own colourful brooches, earrings and pendants home.

Day 4 - "Think it, Draw it, Stitch it" with Handmade Romance
Under the deft hand of Melbourne’s doll doyenne the students designed and created their own character drawing and then turned it into a soft toy, learning basic hand-stitching, construction and embellishment techniques.

More great pics from the week here.
Em x

knitting up a storm with popcraft

2012-04-05T11:56:00.003+10:00

As the nights get cooler and the days get shorter you have probably been wondering whether or not Pop Craft will be making another appearance at Harvest Workroom this year.
The answer is YES and how excited are we to have their wonderful world of colour and texture heading our way.
As part of the residency Pop Craft will be hosting knitting workshops to be held over 4 evening sessions in which students will knit their own designer wrist warmers and another project of their choice (either a bag, scarf or vest from POPCRAFT’s unique designs – see pics for more details) whilst taking a journey with POPCRAFT into the fabulous world of fibre, yarn and textiles.
In the leadup I asked Pauline Tran-Cecil of Pop Craft a few questions to whet our appetite for what is awaiting us in May/June 2012 at Harvest.

Can you give us a description of what your plans are this year for Pop Craft? Pop Craft will re-emerge this year in a completely different aesthetic incarnation. Nonetheless, it will still keep its original concept of serving multiple functions such as a retail space for yarn and knitting/crochet accessories; a platform for textile artists to showcase their creations and a curated gallery space in the shop window.
Pop Craft continues in its endeavour to inspire and encourage people to become enamoured with the fine arts of the textile world. There is also a strong emphasis on sharing knowledge, discussing projects and providing high quality supplies and materials.
How long have you been working as a textiles designer? After graduating from RMIT Textiles I started concentrating on my lifelong fantasy/indulgence - Pop Craft. It allowed me to have design control over all aspects. Firstly I was able to design and make some of the stock. Then I had to create a structure in which to set up the business so that it would serve everyone involved equally. Designing the shop space last year proved to be a very enjoyable introduction to interior decorating. Also my mission was to create a strong and vibrant identity for Pop Craft so the task of buying a cohesive and inspiring range of yarn and supplies was extremely important.
Project managing and designing at the same time - what a (stressful) dream!

Finally curating the exhibition space and collaborating with textile artists was definitely a highlight for me.

Where do you draw your inspiration from? Colour, Nature, Happiness and other (passionate) people.

Can you give us an insight into what students will learn at your workshops? The workshops will encompass all aspects of the knitting culture. Firstly, students will be introduced the wonderful world of fibres and yarn so as to give them an understanding of the different properties of fibres. This will be followed by presentation of examples of awe inspiring textiles art projects which will serve as inspiration.
In the rest of the workshop students will be taught techniques to realise a sample composed of 5 types of stitches to start off their stitch library. The sample will be one wrist warmer. Students will then invest some of their own time into making a second one to complete a pair.
In the final weeks students will be working on a project of their choice and will be individually assisted. They can choose from a selection of unique Pop Craft designs - a vest, a scarf or a bag.
Finally and hopefully, a lifelong passion for textile art.
No prior skills are required and all materials will be included in the workshop cost.

Thanks Pauline - we can't wait to have you back.
Pop Craft will be open from the 1st of may to the last day of June. Opening hours will be Monday to Sunday 11am - 5:30pm. It is a small window of 2 months so don't be shy...come and get cosy!
Em x

dell stewart at harvest #3

2012-04-04T12:53:00.001+10:00

It's been a big week!
I have done a lot of wood cutting, and have experienced a bit of the pain of scalpel claw. I have also printed some wood pages for my book. I have lots of elements for animating with; a woodpile, dots, faces, seeds and some paisley is on it's way.
Hopefully I'll be animating all day today. Fingers crossed I'll get a few seconds of usable animation to show you soon!
Dell

Dell Stewart is our March artist-in-residence. (I know it is April but we have asked her to stay a little longer!) Dell has chosen to spend her time at Harvest Workroom working on printing for both a handmade book and an animation. Both will feature collages of found objects and hand printed paper. You can see some more images from her residency here.
She is also one of the super talented artists presenting workshops for our 4 day school holiday program - Design Depot - this week. She hosted her animation workshop yesterday and we will post some pics for you to see the work of the young animators as soon as Dell has worked a bit of editing magic!
Em x

print posse

2012-03-25T18:37:00.004+11:00

Fran hosted the workshop last weekend - I am just posting the pics - but these guys look like they had a really great time together at last week's Design and Print Your Own Fabric workshop.
That is the thing about our workshops...people obviously get to create beautiful designs but they also get to connect in a creative space which is such a rewarding process. It is the whole reason we started Harvest Workroom so it a very satisfying feeling to see such tangible results of our goal.
Em x

dell stewart at harvest #2

2012-03-23T12:40:00.000+11:00

I like to sort things. Firstly colours or patterns then by other more random categories. I love a chance to work intuitively and play. On the first day I started out playing with buttons and ended up drawing around them to create nice organic spots as I'd like to print some patterns while I am here. Spots, wood, argyle etc. I drew faces on the spots while on the phone to Adam. Wonky emoticons. Then it was official, they would be characters in some animation, the offcuts of a paper stencil to print with. I like things to have uses, even the offcuts and the scraps. Hence the scrap paper animation workshop for design depot. I want to make use of some of these things!
Some phone photos from the first few days around the studio.

Above clockwise from top left: Welcome to Harvest!; A wonky Argyle stencil; Wonky spots; I love Paisley.

Above clockwise from top left: A passionfruit flower and a bee out in the alley. They have always
amazed me. I wanted to pick it, but it was the only one, and it had a bee on it; Buttons! Harvest have even more buttons than I do, and that's saying something; A collection of woody things on my table. I drew this woodgrain onto my leather Penelope Durston purse; Button Smiley. The very first thing I did.

Above left to right: Some mushrooms and pine cones found on the ride to the studio; My woodgrain obsession continues. I still want to print more wood.
Dell x

Dell Stewart is our March artist-in-residence. Dell has chosen to spend her time at Harvest Workroom working on printing for both a handmade book and an animation. Both will feature collages of found objects and hand printed paper. Dell plans to eventually have the animation set up in our window for passers by and will add to it as her residency progresses.
She will also be one of the super talented artists presenting workshops for our 4 day school holiday program - Design Depot - in early April where she will host an animation workshop for 9 - 16 year olds. The program is filling up so if you are keen for your young ones to experience a terrific week of making get on board here.

dell stewart at harvest #1

2012-03-22T20:07:00.000+11:00

Lucky us. We get to spend the last two weeks of March with Dell Stewart as our March artist-in-residence. Dell has chosen to spend her time at Harvest Workroom working on printing for both a handmade book and an animation. Both will feature collages of found objects and hand printed paper. Dell plans to eventually have the animation set up in our window for passers by and will add to it as her residency progresses.
She will also be one of the super talented artists presenting workshops for our 4 day school holiday program - Design Depot - in early April where she will host an animation workshop for 9 - 16 year olds. The program is filling up so if you are keen for your young ones to experience a terrific week of making get on board here.
An interview with Dell follows.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. I have been making things as long as I can remember. I studied Fine Art – Printmaking and Drawing – in North Queensland. I then moved to Melbourne and studied Animation and Interactive media. I have been exhibiting regularly since art school, everything from drawing, installation and photography to animation, clothing and textiles. I tinker in design purely as a means to make more and different things to entertain myself and hopefully others. Collaborative projects are always a learning experience and help me to focus. They are usually more fun as well so I have a long history of collaboration with other artists, designers and film makers. I am currently working on a handmade book, a series for 'Group Work' at Mr Kitly, ceramic sculptures for an exhibition at West Space later in the year and a series of animations to music for the band.
Where do you draw inspiration from? Everywhere! I look at things a lot, I read a lot, I'm surrounded by clever people. I go to galleries most weeks. I have a few personal obsessions that recur and mutate. I'm a sucker for patterns, colour and nature and very well-used things. I have a very talented bunch of friends and feel lucky to be a part of a busy community of artists and makers. Another big one is music and I have an ever-changing list of gigs to see and soundtrack to accompany me.
If we are speaking of actual publications I only wish I could afford half the books/magazines I covet in Mr Kitly and Perimeter Books. And then on the internet: I have lots of favourites including Intelligent Clashing, Patternity, I'm Revolting, and more. I try to keep a library of relevant links and favourite finds on my log blog and I'm inspired pretty regularly by life. I try to keep track of that on my other blog.
How long have you been working as a designer? I don't really consider myself a designer, though I have always made things and am currently designing a new product, so perhaps that's my own delusion? I feel most of what I do falls into my art practise somehow even if it also sits in design – I do like blurry edges. I did my first screen printing in primary school and went home and asked my Dad to help make me a screen. I have been printing t-shirts ever since, occasionally making a living that way. My family have a well worn archive of old Dell t-shirts which would be embarrassing to uncover, considering how long I've been doing this! I have always made a lot of my own clothes, and plenty of things for friends too. Some things (brooches, necklaces, t-shirts, clothing and scarves) have been stocked in various shops around town but I struggle to stay interested after the initial excitement of making things. That's something I hope to work on!
What is that children would expect to gain from your Design Depot workshop? An experience in the slow and joyous art of old school animation using beautiful collage cutouts and printed paper elements in a traditional multi layered glass set-up. This technique and set-up makes the most of texture and colour and allows for simple movements in a short time. Perfect for accompanying music or voice. The animations will be published online after post-production for participants to see and link to.

Thanks Dell...we will be sure to update you on Dell's residency as it unfolds. Keep your eye on our flickr for visual updates on her work. And for anyone who, like me, is addicted to Instagram type in harvestworkroom and follow our feed!
Em x

exposed and shaded

2012-03-15T12:48:00.001+11:00

Last night our Screen Printing Intensive students exposed their repeat pattern screens and did a test print before next week's class when they will print lengths of fabric using their own photo exposed designs.
I must say I am looking forward to the results!
They also made up lampshades from some of the fabric they printed at the beginning of the course.
It was a busy and productive evening!
Em x

kirra jamison at harvest #3

2012-03-13T15:31:00.002+11:00

The very talented (and prolific) Kirra Jamison packed up her things this week after a very successful few weeks spent as artist-in-residence at Harvest Workroom. She spent her time with us preparing for her window installation titled TOTAL CONTROL that is now showing in the Flinders Lane window at Craft Victoria (pic above).
Before she left I asked her a few questions about her time with us.

How did you come to be at Harvest Workroom as the artist-in-resident? Last year I booked in to do the nine session screen printing intensive course on my return to Melbourne after spending some time in Tokyo. A few months later I was lucky enough to be asked by Harvest to be their artist-in-resident for March.

What was it about the screenprinting intensive workshops that prepared you for this stint? I had no knowledge of screen printing prior to the course so it really taught me everything I needed to know to tackle this project on my own. It was the ultimate learning experience to be guided through the basics by someone with lots of experience and then to really have to face the rest solo. And obviously having the Craft Victoria show deadline meant that I really had to battle through my inexperience pretty savagely to get the work to a point where I was happy to exhibit.

How has the process as a screen printer been for you? How does it compare to your regular practice as an artist? It’s incredibly different and I’ve really enjoyed indulging in the test-running and premeditation. I was pleasantly surprised how painterly a medium it can be. Screen printing is just a really flat way of putting down paint as opposed to a brush where arguably you have less control.

Will we be seeing more screenprinted works from you in the future? Definitely. I love it! I’ve used vinyl in conjunction with painting for the past seven years and I’ve found screen printing to have similar qualities that vinyl has. Pattern and repetition are never far from my work and screen printing really speaks to these ideas.

Anything else you would like to add about your time as a screenprinter or at Harvest? Thank you for having me! You guy’s are the best. It has been an amazing few weeks. I have so much respect and admiration for Harvest Workroom and Textiles. Fostering an environment for sharing knowledge is such a generous and rare thing and I think all industries creative or otherwise can really take something from Harvest's example. It’s great to have such pros keeping the spirit of craft alive and relevant.

Thank you so much Kirra and congratulations on winning the Yen Magazine Young Australian Art Award - a very prestigious award - hooray! Also swing by the Design Files today for a sneak peek into Kirra's wardrobe as part of a fashion week feature.
This lass sure does know a thing or two about colour and composition. See more pics of her time spent with us here.
Em x

design depot artist profile - evie barrow

2012-03-12T23:02:00.003+11:00

Our Design Depot school holiday workshop series for 9 - 16 year olds is fast approaching and we wanted to share some extra information about the super-creative talents who will be hosting the classes.
Today we will feature Evie Barrow of Handmade Romance who will be making soft toys with the children from their own drawings.
Evie has a BA Graphic Design degree and has worked as a designer for over 10 years.
She has a love for character design and in February 2011 exhibited a collection of hand made, soft doll characters in Craft Victoria's enCounter titled The Travelling Circus.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Having worked as a graphic designer for over 10 years, in roles that are heavily computer based I've found myself wanting to create with my hands more and more.
In 2008 I started my blog Handmade Romance as a place where I could share and meet like minded people who also had a love for hand made.
In 2010 I set up an online store where I started to sell some of my handmade pieces. The items in my store also expose another love — character design — something that I really wish to explore further.
Luckily I also love learning and making so this may just happen, although I often feel the days and nights are far too short to fit everything in!

Where do you draw inspiration from? All over. An idea might be sparked from an over-heard conversation, people-watching, movies, old photos, books, blogs, op shop finds, markets, a colour or pattern, magazine or news story.
Anything that catches my eye and stays with me long enough to lend itself to something further.
How long have you been working as a designer? I have worked as a graphic designer for over 10 years but I have been a maker of things for much, much longer!

What is it that the children can expect to gain from your workshop? Time exploring their imagination and thinking of ways fabric can bring their drawing to life. And then making that happen!

What is it that you are most looking forward to in the workshop? Meeting a bunch of great students and seeing what wonderful, crazy, kooky characters they come up with!

We can't wait to see the characters too! Thanks Evie.
Design Depot will be a creative and active way for children to spend some of their school holiday time. Plus it will allow parents to get on with work they might need to do!
For bookings go here.
Em x

print stint

2012-03-12T10:25:00.002+11:00

We had a creative start to our long weekend here at Harvest Workroom with a Learn to Print in a Day workshop.
Amazing results for a whole class of absolute printing novices.
Take a look at our flickr for more pics.
Em x

design depot - 4 day school holiday workshop series

2012-02-27T15:14:00.002+11:00

Time to announce our latest exciting workshop news.
We have handpicked some of Melbourne’s most exciting makers for an exclusive 4 day school holiday program for young artists from 9-16 years. It is called Design Depot and will be held at Harvest Workroom in the fast approaching Easter Holidays (2,3,4 and 5 April 9.30am - 3.30pm)
Design Depot includes Emily Green, Handmade Romance, Dell Stewart and Harvest Textiles. Participants will work side by side the artists and gain the full benefit of 4 intensive days spent in our creative space at Harvest Workroom.

An overview of the program is as follows:
"Think it, Draw it, Stitch it" with Evie Barrow of Handmade Romance
Join Melbourne’s doll doyenne and create your own soft toy. Students will design and create a character drawing of their own and then turn their drawing into a soft toy, learning basic hand-stitching, construction and embellishment techniques.

"Colour Crusade" with Emily Green
Emily will fill her workshop day with colour exploration including creating colour palettes, screenprinting on paper and fimo. Students will get to wear their own colourful brooches and pendants home.

"Scrap Paper Animation" with Dell Stewart
Dell will introduce students to the slow, joyous art of old school animation using collage cutouts and printed paper elements in a traditional
multi-layered glass set-up. Animations will be published online after post-production for participants to link to. See some of Dell's past animation work here, here and here.

"Print and Go" with Harvest Textiles
Students will design and print their own tote bag in a fun filled day of printing.

What an amazing opportunity! The series has limited places so if you are keen get on it. Bookings here.
We will be filling you in with blog profiles of the participating artists over the next week or so - stay tuned!
Em xo

concrete poetry

2012-02-26T17:41:00.000+11:00

In celebration of Forever Young: 30 Years of the Heide Collection we ran a special tea towel printing workshop for Heide Museum of Modern Art today. Drawing inspiration from Concrete Poetry works in the exhibition such as Sweeney Reed’s Flowers (1976), Alex Selenitsch’s daisy-train (1976) and Alan Riddell’s Radial Plea (b) (1969) student's created their own visual poetry artwork and screen printed them onto linen tea towels using the stencil method.
It was a successful printing day for everyone and great to work with the terrific folk at Heide.
Happy 30th Birthday to a cultural icon...I think I might just have to take a visit out there very soon - it is always such an inspiring way to pass the time.
Em x