Wee Birdy

Wee Christmas finds: Jonathan Adler's tree decorations

I'm yet to own a precious piece of Jonathan Adler's modernist animal ceramics (one day, one day I shall start my collection) but his holiday collection of animal tree ornaments isn't a bad place to start.

Each unglazed white decoration starts at US$24, and is beautifully presented in a blue gift box, making them fantastic presents for those few people on your list who have left you stumped. As well as the squirrel, dachsund and cat (above), there's also a hippo, owl, elephant, poodle and seahorse.

I'm also loving the new pop menagerie ornament collection (see below), featuring a lovely lion with bright splashes of geometric colour, stylised peacock with golden swirls and an elephant adorned with a turquoise paisley design. Each glossy white piece comes in an utterly gorgeous matching gift box and is priced at US$28.

Sydney shopping: Finders Keepers market

Phew. I'm a bit puffed. We moved into our new place last weekend and I've been trying to conquer the seemingly expanding mountain of boxes (I think they're breeding) while dealing with a 27-week baby bump and an ever-growing list of utterly mad pregnancy maladies.

But I was so delighted to take a break on the weekend and finally delve into some Australian independent design, in the form of the brilliant Finders Keepers market at Eveleigh's CarriageWorks.

It was my first visit to CarriageWorks and my first real foray into Australian independent design since returning from London. And after covering so many design markets in London (including Bust) and seeing the best of UK talent, I wasn't really sure what to expect. After all, when I left Sydney in February 2007, there wasn't an awful lot happening with local design and craft, but the scene has really taken off since then.

And joy, oh joy, Finders Keepers was an absolute treat! I was not only impressed by the high standard of work but also the diverse and beautifully collated line-up of 75 exhibitors, spanning furniture, fashion, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and stationery. The carefully considered mix of designers offered a new surprise at every turn (my head was just about spinning), neatly avoiding the trap of 'samey-ness' that can sometimes plague design markets.

CarriageWorks itself is a wonderfully cavernous and light-filled industrial location to hold a busy Christmas design market on a humid Sydney weekend, complete with an excellent bar and cafe.

Here are some of my Finders Keepers highlights, with more posts to come over the week. Overseas readers can also purchase some great Australian design by clicking on the websites, which link through to contact details, blogs and online stores.


Super-sweet rabbit characters adorn The Storybook Rabbit's collection of vintage plates.


Loved the 'Noice' biscuit tea-towel at Materialistic's stall.


Sophisticated simplicity from Mr & Mrs White's range of homewares and furniture.


Charming handprinted stationery at Write to Me features adorable vintage motifs.




Cory Child's beautifully pleated fabric necklaces.


Loving Bride and Wolfe's Scandi-inspired circle wall shelves - perfect for collectables and displaying children's figurines.


Vintage fabric and a whimsical timber panel illustration combine to make a gorgeous and unique handbag at Oktoberdee.


The Missing Piece's handcrafted stools feature beautiful organic design and unexpected pops of colour.


The most splendid pre-loved vintage books have been repurposed as journals, photo albums, diaries and sketchbooks at Rebound Books.


'Scratchie' cards, advent calendars and beautiful graphics at TMOD.

Adorable handcrafted creatures (think pugs, owls and foxes) and whimsical embroidery at Cat Rabbit. (Nice website, too.)




Lox+Savvy's brilliant installation of a paper metropolis and eye-popping collection of stationery.

Finders Keepers markets are bi-annual events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Visit their website (and check out their brilliant blog) for more information about the next event.

For more photos, click here for my Flickr set.

Birdy (and Xmas) pick of the week

Just found some more Christmas stocking (and birdy) joy by way of South-east London design company Roddy & Ginger's range of homewares, bags and prints. Scandi and folksy-inspired birds and owls are hand screen-printed across a collection of the loveliest natural linen homewares, including tea-towels, cushions and Christmas stockings. Beautiful and affordable gift ideas!

From above, large Roddy the Owl Christmas stocking, £16, Bird Christmas stocking, £12, Happy birds cushions in teal and turquoise, £25 each, adult's apron in blue or pink, £20, owl cushion in yellow, £25, and pink bird cushion on white linen, £26, from Roddy & Ginger's online shop. 

You can also purchase from their Etsy shop, and read their blog here.

Wee Christmas finds: Gifts for him

Some of my favourite wee finds for blokes, including some good blokey present cliches, like socks (but look, they're Happy Socks!), chocolate (but look, it's shaped like a penknife!) and shaving stuff (but look, it's beautiful old school English stuff!). How did I do?

1. Chocolate Swiss Army Knife, £2.75 each, from Pedlars (ships internationally).

2. Taylor of Old Bond Street Manicure set in leather case, £49.95, from Selfridges (ships within UK only).

3. Handy Dad: 25 Awesome Projects for Dads and Kids by Todd Davis, £11.89, from Wee Birdy’s Amazon book store (ships internationally).

4. Hand-crafted wooden micro radio, £150, from the V&A shop (ships internationally).

5. Music Balloon speaker for MP3 players and phones, £35, from Pedlars (ships internationally).

6. Hand-crafted wooden desk set, £75, from the V&A shop (ships internationally).

7. Taylor of Bond Street Sandalwood shaving soap with wooden bowl, £16.95, from Selfridges (ships within UK only).

8. Lazy Oaf for Selfridges Fats Dom T-Shirt. £28, from Lazy Oaf (ships internationally).

9. Five-piece chocolate bar library, £27.50, from Fortnum & Mason (ships internationally).

10. Mustache on a stick, US$36, from Something’s Hiding Here’s Etsy store (ships internationally).

11. Five Colour 01 socks, US$10, by Happy Socks (ships to selected countries. Sydney readers can find Happy Socks at Incu).

Wee Christmas finds: Gifts for birdy lovers

Thought I’d kick things off with the first in a series of present ideas for Christmas. But rather than just another bloody Christmas gift guide (yep, I can just about hear the multitude of groans), it’s really my way of catching up on Wee Finds, which I’ve been feverishly collecting over the past six months.

You’ll find that a lot of the stuff I like is UK-based, but my goal is to make Wee Birdy more global going forward. And as time goes by, I’ll endeavour to slip in more Australian products and designers.

Anyway, let me know what you think. Has anyone finished their Christmas shopping yet?

1. Sparrow pegs, designed in Australia, AU$15, from Design Dispensary (ships internationally).

2. Hand-made bone china birds nest plate, £20, by Donna Wilson (ships internationally).

3. Aubin & Wills swallow print silk underwire bra, £39, and silk briefs, £29, from Net-a-porter (this links to the UK store, so be sure to select your own country before purchasing).

4. Swallow necklace in turquoise mirror, £42, by Tatty Devine (ships internationally).

5. Bird in a Nest magentic paper clip holder, £5.95, from Muji (ships to mainland Great Britain, the EU and mainland United States and Canada).

6. Birdcage cushion by Sydney artist Binny Talib, AU$29, from Lark (ships internationally).

7. Bird black iron candlestick holder by Swedish illustrators Bengt & Lotta, £92, from SCP (ships to the UK and selected EU countries).

8. Bird bottle stopper, US$18, by Jonathan Adler (ships internationally).

9. Birdy walk scarf, £38, by Donna Wilson (ships internationally).