retrovision

Just sharing a couple of photos that I took for our Retrovision store. I've found it a little harder getting back into work mode, after a splendid holiday break...

summer

 

family + bach + holidays spent swimming at the beach + togs drying = great summer

the rubbish trolley

 

This supermarket trolley full of rubbish appeared at top of our street. It sat there undisturbed for almost 2 weeks (I guess no one wanted to clean it up.)

 

I was intrigued with the question of who was responsible for the rubbish? the person who put the rubbish in the trolley of course - but when they abandoned it in our street, who became responsible then? the residents in our street? the Council? the supermarket trolley owners? I waited and watched...

 

a contractor for Pak-n-Save came to claim it early one morning by simply tipping all the rubbish into a heap on the grass verge and taking the trolley away. He was reported to the Auckland Council and had to return and remove the rubbish... question answered!



road fish

our street has been tagged by an anonymous person who loves to draw fish. The latest fish (pictured) is drawn on the road. Wonder how long it will be before the artist realizes that fish need water???

stonefields

 

 

 

Stonefields is a 5 minute drive from Panmure where I live. It's a new urban village set on approx. 110 hectacres with 2500 dwellings to house around 6500 people (although I think it's probably more residents than that.) Of more interest is the fact that this development is built on what was once known as the Winstone Quarry as well as historical Maori occupation site. It's such a complete contrast to Panmure in every way - that I thought it might be worthy of exploring this over the next few days in photos...  

unlocked

 

A few years back, this blog was the subject of unwanted attention. I encountered some very unpleasant behavior from certain individuals who should have known better. All due to the fact that a family member didn't agree with their view - so to them that meant that stalking and harassing me in an effort to intimidate this family member was fair game. As a result, my enthusiasm to blog went completely south and I struggled to keep this blog going.

Fast forward... no need for details but things have changed dramatically... so now this place is unlocked and ready to go!

lunar eclipse

Here's a shot of the moon pre-eclipse. Didn't have any luck taking photos of the actual lunar eclipse last night. I got a glimpse of the blood moon then it disappeared behind the clouds. By the time I had grabbed my camera and waited a while the moon only managed to peek out from the clouds, nothing more.

holidays...

 

We had a lovely holiday break at our bach. Apart from 24 hours of non-stop rain, we enjoyed the best of Coromandel weather, kayaking in the bay and celebrating the arrival of 2014 with a bonfire and fireworks. The holidays are over now and it's back to work. I miss the feel of the salt water beneath my feet and the sand tickling my toes...

Good Morning 2014

Happy New Year everyone. Hope 2014 is a great year for you all!

Cornwall Park

 

 

Last Saturday, while Miss 6 was attending a birthday party at the Cornwall Park kiosk, I kept myself busy with camera in hand, checking out the park itself. The park is centered on a dormant volcanic cone called One Tree Hill which has many geological & historical features. It once had a Maori pa (fortification) built on the cone. 

 

It was a beautifully sunny day and there were plenty of photo opportunities...

new workroom

 

I haven't been around for a while as I've been busy setting up a workroom for Miss 17 & myself. We found local premises with a very reasonable rent (5 minutes walk from home) and have been moving in. Here's some preliminary pictures of what our main workroom space looks like. The pattern & fabric cutting table was sourced from a garment manufacturer liquidation. We had to enlist Mr B, Sydney and Sonny to carry it up 2 flights of stairs and then they put the table together for us.

 

Our upstairs workroom has a main room (which you can see in the photos) and then 4 rooms off it. We're still moving all our sewing stuff in (there's literally many metres of fabric plus habydashery to transport). I'll post more photos when we're fully set up.

 

Happy weekend folks!

 

thank you

 

 Auckland's first pre-Christmas Fabricabrac sale yesterday was quieter than previous events - still we managed to sell quite a bit. It was the first time that our Retrovision store did a market. My previous attendances at Fabricabrac had been focused on reducing my personal stash. This time Miss 17 and I were selling retro and vintage textiles sourced through our estate clearances. We had a large pile of table linen & napery (beautifully embroidered with the odd stain or mark) that speedily reduced in record time.

 

Thanks to the Auckland Fabricabrac team for putting on a good event. Big thanks to all the wonderful customers we had.

 

Happy weekend!

a childs point of view

 

 Miss 6's class had to work individually on healthy living posters. Everyone except Miss 6 created posters about healthy eating. You'll see from the picture that Miss 6 had a totally different health issue in mind. I had a quiet chuckle to myself when this poster came home...

the graduate & other stuff

Copyright: 2011 Taylor McDonald



Miss 17 graduated from College yesterday. She received class prizes for: Fashion Technology, Graphic Design, Drama and Academic Honors. Next year she's off to Fashion Tech to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer. All very exciting stuff.

 

I'd love to say that I got plenty of sewing done - but I didn't sew a stitch. My life hasn't been very quiet lately... Miss 6 had ballet rehearsals galore and then 3 ballet concerts last weekend, Retrovision has been busy, attended an engagement party, went to 2013 Cult Couture show, Mr 14s musical evening where he played a drum solo and health clinic appointments as well as a whole lot of other stuff too boring to list.

 

Enjoy your week folks. I'm off to catch a breather before the next surge of busy life arrives.

mad men myself

 

A quiet afternoon spent sewing and doing laundry. Taking a break I checked out this cool Mad Men Yourself site. The above picture is the result. It was a fun place to take a break!

 

Fergus dressups

 

 

Fergus stayed home yesterday with our two teenagers. These photos prove that homework and studying wasn't all they did...

emerging designer competitions 2013

 

 

firstly is Miss 16's entry in the Sylvia Park Shopping Centre - emerging designers competition. Her dress is made up in duchess ivory satin with a lace overlay and features huge detailed ruffles made from 14 metres of organza.  It's on display for just under 3 weeks before the competition closes. Good luck to all the 100+ young designers taking part...



 

then next is Miss 16's entry in the Newmarket Business Association - young designers competition. Her dress is made up in a white cotton/spandex fabric and features a virtual garden of flowers made up of 11 metres of fabric. She burnt the edges of each individual flower. This is a heavy dress - probably weighs about 5-6kgs. Another great effort...

anything but quiet!

 

since we launched our RETROVISION STORE it has been anything but quiet! Despite the busy days and constant juggling, I even managed to do a little sewing with Miss 16's ball dress (which was a 6 hour sewing marathon the day before the ball) and Miss 6's pioneer outfit (which consisted of

a dress, apron and bonnet). I did take photos to post but sadly my camera kit was stolen. It's been a real pain having to sort out insurance for a replacement camera. When I get the chance, I'll post new photos of my latest sewing achievements.  



tree felling

For Queens Birthday weekend we travelled to the bach for some well deserved down time. The weather was beautiful (although a little chilly at times) and I managed to walk the dog on the beach everyday. Mr B and Sydney with the help of  our wonderful neighbours were able to fell the pine trees on our fence line. The trees were about 20 years old. They were dropping branches and there was a real risk of uprooting in high winds. It's not uncommon to see uprooted pines near our bach that are left to rot where they fell. 

The sleepout exterior is largely finished. The plumber, builders and electricians will be working towards getting their part of the project to completion. The adjoining blue shed now looks very shabby and rundown in comparison. Mr B will probably be inspired to keep tidying up once the sleepout is finished. 

more retro vision

our space is filling with some really great retro pieces. This formica cabinet was an exciting discovery. It will be a great space to display all those retro treasures. The picture was a find from the Salvation Army store. 

This retro dining suite travelled from Te Awamutu today. The table is in very good condition for its age and the red formica is nice and bright. The chairs have seen better days but are worth restoring to their former glory. A very nice set indeed!