THIS IS HOW WE

Forwards backwards upside-down; by MüCKE

 Senorita, brooch; by Emma Grace

From the FRONT: Forwards backwards upside-down #2; by MüCKE When 2 becomes 1; by MüCKE Study of Drapery in Silver, neckpiece; by Emma Grace

From the FRONT: The New Power Generation, neckpiece; by Emma Grace Study of Drapery in Gold, neckpiece; by Emma Grace 1 + 1= a jumpsuit; by MüCKE

I planned to rattle on to you about how magical the whole experience has been for me.  but no.  instead I thought I'd just offer you some visuals.  leaving a little to your imagination.  and. hoping that you'll get to see the show in the flesh. for your own little eyes. possibly invoking some kind of response. from you. from the outside.  and. if not. that is ok too.  regardless. I can confidently say. 

I am happy.

All jewellery and clothing was made using reclaimed materials.
Wearit is on at Stockroom in Kyneton Victoria until Sunday 3rd April 2011

Only open Wednesdays...(part 2)

A picture of the finished dress you ask for... here is a 'not quite there yet' version.  Bit of work yet to be done to make it sit beautifully on the body, but at this point I am loving the shapes just hanging there on the wall (yes a front view Julian!!...but the back is well, dull at this point in time..and I can't hang it sideways)  The one on the right is using the same concept only it's made from recycled men's shirts.  This one is also fun but needs some jigging...I got it on...just.. but got a little stuck trying to get it off..yes awkward..and a little embarrassing...thankfully no-one else was in the studio at the time, so I got to experience that little moment

alone

Only open Wednesdays

 I booked in to do a workshop a few weeks ago.  It looked interesting.  A lady from the studio recommended it too me, said the guy was AMAZING.  So I did. it.  Here I am 5 days later still blown away by the power of such an experience.  Julian was, well, much more humble than his promotional material had lead me to believe.  In fact I was empowered by his openness and willingness to share his ideas.  This doesn't normally blow me away, in fact people have said the exact same thing to me when sharing the secrets behind my work.  But Julian managed to remind me, that by sharing our ideas, we are pushed to find more.  In being pushed to find more, we challenge ourselves.  And that's a good thing right.  I do preach the idea of not fearing this offering, but at times I'm not sure that I entirely trust in it.  It would be true to say that sometimes I loose faith in this mentality.   But I reckon that Julian has managed to make it stick this time.  Lodged it in a place it hasn't been before.  Somehow I feel like he has allowed me the confidence to trust in that idea.  I really do feel it.  Without this mentality as designers  we can hold ourselves back.  Without this mentality we can loose trust in the world to provide us with a playground for learning and interacting and growing better within ourselves. Without it,  there's no reason to be brave and to move forward.  

As I said, Julian appears not quite so humble on his facebook page (!) but in real life he presents a truly inspiring picture of someone purely driven by the desire to inspire, push boundaries, challenge convention (and ourselves) to dig below the surface.  His philosophy goes well beyond the limitations of a designing a dress.  That's what I love about his work.  You could spend hours perusing his site.  Thankfully it's only open Wednesday's.  Yep, one day a week between 10am-8pm, so I can't.  Just Wednesdays.  That way only those who truly want to know what he's up to will bother setting their alarm not to miss it!  Apologies I'm posting this a bit late, you'll have to wait till next week now.

Incredible.  I love a bit of unexpected inspiration.  It's mind blowing.  Hard to put into words. 

Now here's some visuals to help disperse the intensity of all the text...

Haven't you heard?

I have exciting news.  I've been keeping it a secret but word is getting out, so I've decided to fill you in.

I've been working on a show with the gorgeous and talented Jeweller Emma Grace.  

We are quite excited.

In just over 3 weeks we will be launching Wearit, an exhibition and workshop series, run by Emma and myself.  Have you ever wanted to learn how to make your very own MüCKE shirttop, or perhaps you've got a stash of jewellery that's just been lying dormant in the hope that you will one day invigorate new life into it.   Well, that chance has arrived and with a total of 8 workshop dates and times you'll be sure to find something that suits.  That is of course, unless you're in Sydney.  Tell your Victorian friends and before long you may even find us in Sydney offering you the very same gig.  Spread the word.  Share the 'make it yourself' recycled love.

Thanks Jacqui @ a novel idea for fixing up our flyer and promo material.

We L O V E it!

Sweet somethings

Talking about less stuff...I've got a lot more tshirt scraps than I know what to do with so, how about a lovely pair of these to add to your collection?...and help me make some space in my studio.  Its nice to do good things for people and they wont clutter, but they might just stutter sweet somethings in your ear.

Images 1 & 2:  Recycled t-shirt scrap earings.  Waste-tee donut earings
Image 3:  Recycled t-shirt scrap earings. Waste-tee small hoops
Available here and here

de cluttering

I'm of the mind that less 'stuff' makes for a clearer mind.  yet I've never quite been able to achieve, well either of those things really. moments of clarity, sure.  but not a totally

clear

mind.

this year I'm on a  mission to increase THOSE moments.  

so far I've been handing old clothes over to the op shops, cleaning up my computer files and discarding of the stuff that I can't justify holding onto any longer. ie the shoes that I loved for so long that, when I wore them I was walking on the pavement instead of the sole...I dearly hate throwing this stuff out. stuff that I see still has potential.  and is perhaps not quite 'dead' all over, but my head has really run out of S P A C E for the things i know I will not ever get around to 

fixing/reusing.  

  this month i have also started to de-clutter the studio.  after 5 years of, 'maybe that item of clothing will come in handy'  i've begun to move things on to new homes.  i also bought this plant

asplenium australasicum critatum

or 

crested bird's nest fern

-an australian native-
and this op shop plant. 

can you tell me what it is so i can make it happier?

i'm finding them rather inspiring

 as you can see from the pics, the de-cluttering has not yet begun in my office area.

take it one corner or drawer at a time they say.  hopefully in the next pics of my studio you will see clear spaces and less 'stuff'...

cars, bikes, sustainabilty, yasi & another New Year.

Today.  

It's the first day of the Chinese New Year. 

Year of the Rabbit, hippity hop... 

Some of you might feel like you'd like to start the year again.  

I've had good feelings about this year, 2011.  

Double 1's after all.  

Such balance, visual greatness in numbers like that!

  We've already had 1.1.11 and 11.1.11, and how about 11.11.11 yet to come.

Regardless of all that, I still think I had a false start to this year.

Four days ago a car crashed into me,

on my bike*

I was lucky, 

VERY

lucky

to escape with just bruises,

bumps

and some grazes

minus 1

bike.

So, today is a New Year and I'm back at work

again

but I'm not yet feeling 

100%

I doubt whether all the people in Queensland who've lost their homes, or part thereof, to the floods or Cyclone Yasi, will feel its an ideal time for a New Year either.  The list of natural disasters could go on.

Some perhaps will just be thankful to be alive.

I'm definitely thankful, there is no doubting that,

still, 

I think I'll wait and see

how I feel in March.

 Begin the year with the Tibetans perhaps.

Any takers?

. 

*head to this here festival if you're baffled as to why I might be riding my bike around the city in the first place!