the real pocket carnival studio

Lara Cameron wrote on her blog a couple of days ago about the pressures we put on ourselves (and subsequently each other) to present a perfect image on our blogs. Not necessarily a perfect photo (although that helps!) but an idealised version of our craft, art, business & lives.

Her post very much sums up a lot of what I've been thinking and feeling lately. It's so incredibly difficult to stay motivated and keep on top of every single aspect of a business, especially when you work largely by yourself & from home. Argh. It can be super fun, but stressful too, obviously! I spend a bit too much time looking at other peoples blogs and imagining that if I was just that much neater, or the owner of that pretty chair or painting, etc etc, that my life would be so much more complete.

I'm sure lots of us do that!

I always do feel it's important to present a good image of Pocket Carnival, and myself. Obviously it's important to keep a clean & tidy workspace, and organisation is crucial. However clean, tidy & organised does not mean ready-to-be-photographed-for-a-magazine!

Usually when I put photos of my studio on the blog I spend ages rearranging everything and making it all picture perfect. Which is pretty unrealistic.

Generally whenever I want to take photos or have a general cleanup, Mr. Cardboard Box will be utilised. Oh dear.

I'm not 100% sure of the point of showing you my daggy old cardboard box (on my equally hideous grey carpet), but I guess it's just as a reminder to myself and others that behind every ideal looking house, studio or blog post, is very much likely to be a cardboard box, wardrobe or secret room full of mess, or undesirable furniture.

Perhaps just pop over to Lara's blog where she says it all so much more succintly, but I suppose this post is my response, and also my reminder to myself to stop worrying so much about it all!

I thought I'd finish with this wise old kitten - this is a peek at a new design. Kittens!

Whenever things are a bit quiet and I am not working on so many orders I try and get some designing happening. I find I go a bit whacky when I'm in design mode - it's hard!

Hope you like! Pencilcases & coinpurses soon!

studio, in purple & teal

Lately I've really been leaning into the purple, teal & lime green colour scheme. I don't know how it happened! But here it is.

Plus a renewed appreciation of pattern. Love my chevron woven basket... awesome op shop find!

This is why you should pre-wash fabric. I washed my curtains and they shrank! Oops. Oh well, they're still pretty.

The owl in the plant pot is courtesy of The Storybook Rabbit. So lovely!

Oh, the fabric pile. These are all the fabrics I'm supposed to be working with at the moment... Hmm. Never ending pile of sewing.

More creative spaces here.

billboard potential

I think I'll get this as a 20 foot billboard somewhere in the city. No? Oh well.

Toys in the shop, here.

panic stations!

This is what my kitchen table looks like. Pretty & peaceful.

This is what my work table looks like. Argh! Finders Keepers is very very soon, so I'm busily sewing up some last minute things. I have a heap of stock, but I must be prepared. What if, you know, someone wanted 10 loveheart purses but I'd only made 8? Distaster, right?

I think at some point today I'm just going to have to accept that the world won't collapse if I don't have 1000* purses or some other over-large number. At that point I will go back into the lovely, peaceful kitchen, make a cup of chai, and relax.


*Okay, that's not actually how many purses I want to make. It sounds impressive though!

Edited to add
P.S. Please come introduce yourself if you're at the market (if you want to)! I am always so scared when I introduce myself to people whose blogs I read, but it's so nice to say hi!
P.P.S. I have figured out what to wear both days! At least if I have no purses, I will look nice.
P.P.P.S. Our stall is next to Lightly! I think 2 days of not spending money there may be quite tricky.

my creative space: hoot!

Cutting lots of fabric - usually I tear the fabric I use for lining, and then snip away with this handy template!


Check out this fabric. Found in an op shop, I know it's rather hideously 80s, but the colours are perfect with my new Owl Forest orangey colourway! I kind of love using an overscale print in a tiny purse, it makes it a bit dreamy. And hooray for finding a way to reuse that fabric, amiright?

The owl purses have been flying out the door (pun very intended), so have been sewing a bunch more. The orange ones will be online soon.

A box of goodness delivered to lovely Bec at Little Shop Of!

Zippers! Hopefully this boxful will last until after the big C (that's Christmas to you & me).

Checkitout - lovely Shannon found me these gorgeous vintage fabrics. They're destined for lining more purses!


For more sneak peeks at totes creative peeps, visit Kootoyoo (yes, it's one of those sugary, windy, sunny, cloudy, funny days).

my creative space today

Today I am - stitching up the opening on the last 4 softies. (More softie fabric is on its way in the mail! Hope it arrives soon! I need softies for Finders Keepers market!)

Sorting through the rather red pile of fabric on top of my shelves - that's my need-to-make-these-into-purses-really-really-soon pile.

Punching gift tags...

Finishing more BFF pencilcases, for some lovely people.

Today the sun is shining and I feel happy, so hopefully I get all of this done! (Might take a break to re-watch the new Glee episode too!)

my creative space: let's get going!

It's September! Day 2! Time for a new product... more on this soon!

New purses! I had imagined a forest design for a long time, and I love drawing little owls, so in the end this design came about quite well!

Available on:
Pocket Carnival Shop - coinpurse or pencilcase.
Etsy - coinpurse or pencilcase.

This has been my attempt so far at a little Spring clean - at least my fabric is all very neat now, and I know which ones I need to re-order!


For more creative spaces, take a peek at the list on Kootoyoo!

hello, spring! it's time to get organised!

I've been super-bad at listing new products for sale online lately - today that will all change!

The camera battery is charging, then a photography session will commence!

Perhaps a little Spring-cleaning might occur as well? At least a little once over with the vacuum.

I'm excited as I've just found out I will have a stall at the upcoming Finders Keepers Melbourne market - I'm sharing with two lovely ladies, Emma & Susan!

The beginning of Spring, alongside the impending arrival of the market, seems the perfect time to finalise all my products for the rest of the year. So, watch this space!

my creative space

Mathilda's Market is this Sunday! Hooray!

I haven't done a market for awhile, so everything I need for my setup is scattered around, and my to-do list is rather long.

I felt like it was time for some new things - new gift tags! I'll list some in the shop when they're ready.

Still sewing purses - there will always be purses to sell. These are Beetle pencilcases and Flower pencilcases.

Stickers! These are just something little I use to make people's purchases look pretty (and to bribe small children to like me). They're not for sale!

And finally, cleaning and rearranging has been done! My parents were getting rid of this gorgeous dressing table, and I love it! It live in the loungeroom now.


For more creative spaces, take a peek at the list on Kootoyoo!

my creative space: studio shots

Just some photos - I got some bookshelves recently so everything is a lot more organised - one wall of my studio is now just shelves, which I love!

I've been trying to build up my stockpile of purses - it's much easier this way, I love having everything ready so when I receive an order it's all ready to go!

These are little fabric squares - I love the colours! They're a combination of new fabrics (some of my organic cottons, and some from fabric stores), recycled cottons, and vintage fabric.

And the result! I've wanted to make bunting for awhile, and am happy that I went with squares! I usually create designs based around the idea that a purse or pencilcase is rectangular, so the image needs to be 'framed' in the middle of the purse. Think this is naturally continuing to influence my design style, so I am happy to work with it!

Once I have photographed the bunting properly, I'll have a few for sale (hopefully today).

There will be many one-of-a-kind bunting for sale at Mathilda's Market in Hawthorn on August 22nd too!


For more creative spaces, visit Kootoyoo!


Edited to add: more photos!

My old sketchbook was filled right up, so I had to buy a new one. I actually bought two - the first one was rejected because the pages were scratchy. And a card to send to someone special :D

I finally bought more bobbins! Now every thread has a matching bobbin - this is exciting to me, no more doubling up of colours!

And a plant - I rescued this plant from my kitchen where it was having issues, mostly due to sitting next to the rice cooker. More bunting, awaiting pinning and sewing! I am not a pin-user, normally, but it's somewhat necessary for bunting.

my creative space

Hello! This week I've been trying some new things. First - new purse design! Hooray! I'll list these in the shop tomorrow, and I'll be sending some little coupons to my mailing list, so if you want on it, send me your email here!

I've also been baking - delicious lemon cake! It's vegan, lovely and moist and very lemony... the recipe is here. I put in a bit less sugar to make it seem healthier.

And finally... I have learned my lesson after the little debacle a few months ago when I designed some fabric for mobiles, AND had it printed without actually doing a test pattern first (oops!)

This is my little tester - it's an old screen print I had from my tote bag making days. This particular little bunny will be going to a super cute 6 month old (she won't mind it being wonky!) but watch this space for softies soon - they will be made of organic cotton and stuffed with natural fibres - perfect for hungry babies.

creative space: almost ready

I'm so very close to being ready for Finders Keepers... finally!


I decided to take along some little original illustrations. These are India Ink & Watercolour, I've photographed my two favourites, I was pretty pleased with myself for giving the Lion some snowshoes. Just call him Napol-Lion Dynamite. Yeah, sure.

The past few weeks I have been very focussed on the sewing & design side of things, so it's nice to do some actual drawing & painting which I love so much. So even though these aren't available online yet, if people like them I will definitely add some to the shop soon.

I also found this little box for my gift tags and covered it with some paper - I was so happy with it until Chris was all... 'can't you make it less... wrinkly?' So if you happen to come to Finders Keepers, just don't mention the wrinkles, okay?


For more creativity, visit the list of blogs at Kootoyoo!


And finally, today Pocket Carnival was featured in this super-fun article on the Etsy blog - check it out for a handful of brilliant labels from Australian designers! Thanks to lovely Mandi from Babyology for curating it!

my creative space: preparations

Hello! I don't think I've mentioned this yet, so here it is: I'll be attending Finders Keepers market in Sydney, May 7th & 8th! Hooray! First business trip to Sydney. So if you're in Sydney and happen to come along, please come and say hello!

I'm sharing a stall with wonderful Emma of benconservato and Sarah of flossy-p - they are truly amazing artists and I'm so excited to hang out with them for a couple of days!

I'm taking to the market many of my existing products, and a couple of new things. I've decided to take along just a little handful of original illustrations. The light in my studio is always so beautiful in the afternoon at this time of year, so I cracked out my inks & watercolours and have started a few of these.

Depending on the reaction to them I might do some more to sell in my shop too - when I used to make illustrated purses every one was unique and it was fun just to draw something crazy sometimes, which I miss. It's totally different to my design process which needs to be quite precise. So I'm sure there will be more, actually.

I also have to confess - whenever I go anywhere where they give me a paper napkin, I save it (if it's unused!) I have a huge stash now, they are so handy for cleaning the ink off the end of my pen.

I'm also going to take just a few frames covered in my fabric. They look great as props, and are lovely hanging on the wall too (I've been trying them out around the house to see how they look!)

I've also just finished up a bunch of purple bird purses, they'll be in the shop later today.


Too see more creative spaces with lots of awesome studio photos, visit Kootoyoo and click on the links!

my creative space: kitchen table

This is how my kitchen table looked at the weekend. Clean, full of cookies & tea... how cute is that little bird & nest? My mum gave it to me for easter!

This is how my kitchen table looks now... work in progress! I haven't worked on new fabric designs for a little while, sometimes it takes weeks or even months for ideas to incubate in my brain. If I start them before I'm ready I just end up getting frustrated and annoyed. But finally all the ideas are coming together! So maybe soon there will be some new coinpurses & pencilcases! The sketch-book contains a sneak peek at what might eventuate - better get my fingers drawing.

For more creative spaces, visit Kirsty's blog, Kootoyoo!


And thank you so much to ricebabies for blogging about a lovely package she received in the mail, which included some of my goodies!!

my creative space

This week has been lots more sewing, slowly building up my stock of purses (I'll show you a photo soon, I think you'll be impressed!) I've also been working on my new clutch purses - I love love love these hammer-in press studs, banging it is rather therapeutic!

Folded cards, awaiting packaging. You can tell Winter is coming by the fact that the light is so gloomy in the mornings!

For more creative spaces, visit lovely Kootoyoo!

my creative space: colourful mess

This is what my sewing table looks like most days... I wish it was a bit more orderly!

From front to back: new rainclouds fabric (for purses) plus some other purse designs, little pink cardboard template, a work in progress next to a half-finished cup of tea, zips and labels on (and around) my cake stand.

A better view - artworks on my pinboard from some favourite artists!

My zips kept erupting from my zip cabinet, I think I need something prettier than a cardboard box for them to sit in.

My storage for finished products is slightly less chaotic! The red box on top contains business cards, the wine coloured box contains gift tags, and the pink & white box contains bear to deer cards (elephant to rabbit are underneath). (You can buy everything in my shop, remember?)

And some works in progress, waiting to be cut out. How cute is that apple fabric? My friend Wendy gave it to me, it's from an awesome vintage skirt!


For more creative spaces, hop along and visit Kootoyoo!