Design Portfolio 2003-2008

Seeing as in my last post I mentioned that eventually I will have an online portfolio documenting all the various things that I do, I decided to create a link to my most recent design portfolio, which showcases work from 2003 - 2008.

It's a combination of work I collaborated on during my first two years working in the design industry, as well as some projects completed for my degree.

Have a nosey if you like, just click the 'portfolio' link to the right and it should take you to it!

Blogging Anniversary... Sort Of

I just figured out that I've missed my 1 year blogging anniversary by 2 weeks... I have officially been blogging for just over 12 months. Crazy!

I haven't really got any give-aways or anything like some organised bloggers do - so just thought I would acknowledge it and say thanks to everyone who comments on some of the random things that I put on here, and to the others that I know read quietly. That's all good too! Over the last 12 months I've met some really awesome people through blog land and reading all the happenings on your blogs makes me realise that I'm not as alone in my head as I once used to think. It's also unbelievably inspiring, I love surrounding myself with other creative minds, even if it is through cyber-space!

I started this blog as a way to keep sane, as I was freshly moved to Aussie and un-employed. After having followed a few other blogs for 6 months or so prior to starting my own, (BobbyRobin I think yours was the first!) I noticed that you didn't have to be the likes of the fabulous Design*Sponge to participate in this world. If anything, it's the seemingly most insignificant posts that people comment on.

Another reason for my blogging is to slowly build up my self confidence, and in the long term help to establish my place in the design/art/craft world. That's still the plan, eventually once I'm back in NZ in a year or so, and more importantly when I decide what exactly it is that I do, I'll make things and sell them and have my own little enterprise. My blog will go hand in hand with my online shop and my portfolio. In the mean time, you all just get to see the random wacky world of Nikki, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

OK, spiel over, back to whatever it is that I do.

Thanks fellow bloggers, I look forward to 'catching up' with you every day :)

Bedrock bracelet

I made these beads so long ago, I only just today got around to stringing them into a bracelet.

I feel like i've walked out of the Flintstones wearing this, but it's kinda fun.

The beads are simply made from white fimo with a clear glaze over the top, threaded onto tiger wire with a basic clasp.

'Rodney' the Redback Spider

This is 'Rodney', the redback spider. He moved in some time over the last day or two. We've been having words, because as much as I get a little lonely in this house on my own while C's away, Rod turned up, uninvited.

And to make matters worse he's moved all his shit in with him. He's taken over the corner of my laundry, down by the back door, and he's leaving half eaten flies and other bugs all over the floor. Not to mention I found his web in my shoe.
I tried to explain to him that if he had been in there when I went to put my shoes on it could have turned nasty, for both of us! But he's hanging around and he's making me nervous.

Here he is hanging around in his web like a lazy bugger in a hammock, legs in the air, and completely ignoring me with my camera up his butt. Typical.

UPDATE: Rodney had an unfortunate run in with the vacuum cleaner....

Packing Dry Run: Number 2

To all you lovelies who suggested after my last dismal packing attempt that I roll my clothes, you obviously all know what you're talking about. And the 'shake well after packing' method suggested by Jacqui? Brilliant.

I culled a lot of clothes this time round, because to be honest, I don't think I'm going to need 10 singlet tops in Canada in March/April!

 This round of trial packing has seen a massive improvement since the last one;

Ease of access & method of packing: Good
Weight: 11 kilos, yes you read that correctly, 11 kilos
Not included: Another pair of shoes, wopping Lonely Planet book
Now includes: Clothes, toiletries, socks & undies, shoes, and even my sleeping bag!
Result: Very Good

I think I've nearly got it sorted.

Blog Poo

Hello regular followers and any new visitors - just a note to say I have well and truely stuffed up my blog HTML, stupidly saved the changes without saving my old template, and though I have now realised I am going to have to start re-building it all from scratch, I'm still having trouble getting anything to change on the blog. So that's why it looks very strange, and some of the links don't make sense... I knew it was bad when I actually welled up with tears when I realised how royally it was stuffed.

Well this will teach me for fiddling, if it ain't broke then don't fix it, right? Hindsight is a blimmin' marvellous thing I tell ya..

Knit It

After checking out the weather websites for Vancouver I discovered that March and April up that'a'ways will see me cooling my tootsies off nicely in 10 - 15 degree weather. Ahh yes, that's a bit more like my good old NZ temperatures!

However seeing as I haven't seen those kinds of temperatures since 2008, I no longer own a hat or gloves, which I am guessing, if we get the outdoor volunteer work we are hoping for, I will be needing.

Well, the easiest thing to do would be to just go out and grab a cheap beanie somewhere for my wee noggin but noooo, why would I do that when I can use this opportunity to acquire a new crafty skill! Knitting.

I have vague memories of my Grandma teaching me to knit when I was quite young, but I also remember that she did all the casting on and off, I just did the bits in the middle. And I also remember that my patience for scarf making (the obvious easiest project to begin with) seemed to wane at about the 250mm length mark, where I would then get Grandma to cast off, and Barbie and Ken would get a new, extremely 'cool' woollen blanket for their Barbie bed. Of course.

But for a while now I have found myself rather envious of my Grandma's ability to spend an afternoon in front of the tennis on tv, whipping up a nasty, scratchy woollen  jersey, complete with animal face on the front.

So I went for a little trip today to good old Spotlight, and bought myself some needles, wool, and a 'how to' book.
I am going to knit a hat! And to make it easier, (and a lot more practical for me with my long tressses) I decided it's not even going to be a hat, but one of those wide head band type things that your hair can come out the top of. (OK so if I had a picture you would get it, it is a lot cooler then it sounds.)

It took me a while to get started - talk about all fingers and thumbs, I think my winter jersey will be a wee way down the track, but my hat? Well I think, no I hope I can make it to the end. I no longer have barbies or pets to relegate the half assed attempts to, so there really is no excuse to not finish. It's looking a bit of a shambles at the moment, firstly because my tension is all over the place and secondly, because I knew the tension would be a problem, I bought the type of wool that goes from thick to thin and has the odd bobbly bit in it. It's all about faking it til I make it, I reckon.

I'll keep you posted on how it turns out!

Peggy Sirota Photography

Want to see some fabulous photography work? Check out the site of Peggy Sirota, one of America's top celebrity photographers.

In fact, you've probably seen quite a bit of her work without knowing it, as her work appears everywhere from print advertising and magazine editorials, to film and t.v.

I actually decided to take a closer look at her work after lusting after the gorgeous Vanity Fair Twilight cast shoot, (at the top... the photos, not the cast members, I swear! hehe)  and fell in love with her unusual, yet very natural photography style.

Find these images at Rolling Stone, Pixel Brush, and Vanity Fair.

Kikki-K Love

I have fallen in love with Kikki-K and their wonderful world of stationary. Included in their many ranges of goodies are travel wallets, bag tags, journals, stamp sets, stickers and travel organisers!

Problem is, like all nice stationary I acquire, it's all so nice I'm always too scared to use it, and so it just sits on my shelf where I can gaze at it longingly... the thought of tarnishing the smooth, crisp smelling pages with my scrawly hand writing makes my stomach turn!

Lomo LC-A+ First Development

I got my first film developed from my LC-A+ camera this morning, and my goodness the level of anticipation I felt to see the results made me feel like a child all over again!

There were certainly a range of hits and misses, as everyone told me to expect.

My first reaction was, 'Oh no, none of them look any good!' but as I looked through them again and again I started to realise I have a really nice collection of snaps highlighting my second summer in Perth.

My brain has become so conditioned to seeing perfectly focused, coloured and zoomed photos from a digital camera, that I will endeavour with the next lot of film photographs to look at them for what they are; pure, un-edited point and shoot snippets!

* I noticed that a few of the photos seem to have been cropped or elongated, not sure if the camera did this or the people who developed them...?

Apis Mellifera

When my Dad asked me a few weeks ago if I would draw a honey bee for him to use on the Wellington Beekeepers' Association certificates, I thought 'sure, should be easy'.

Yeah right. They are so organic and fuzzy and made up of lots of little parts and if you draw it slightly wonky it looks more like a little alien then a bee!

I worked myself up quite a bit in frustration trying to draw it, and I'm still not entirely happy.

I feel better knowing the drawing will be shrunk down teeny tiny to go in the corner of the certificate.

I think I'll steer clear of bees from now on, both in the real life and the drawing sense.

Angus & Julia Stone: Mango Tree

A summery feeling song with a summery feeling video for a summery feeling Saturday.

Lost in the Paper Work

During this whole process of planning to travel, I think I have identified a hole that needs to be filled in the internet world.

There needs to be a site, ONE website, that specifically helps young, first time travelling New Zealanders and Aussies to work out all the different things that they need to get where they want; visiting visas, work visas, entry and transit requirements and applications through America, appointments for biometric scanning, money order certificates, Youth card applications, banking details etc...

Maybe it could even include packing tips and tricks and suggestions?

Who am I kidding, there is probably already a site like this out there, I'm just so blonde I haven't found it. Instead, I've spent hour upon hour going from website to website, gradually figuring this all out for myself, bit by painful bit, sorting through the current and up-to-date and the not so up-to-date information. That's the key phrase, 'UP TO DATE'! Am I the only one who has ever noticed that there doesn't seem to be ONE place with all the information on hand, or at least links to the certain government websites that you need to visit?

I think there has to be a smarter, easier way. There just has to be!

Self Portraits

I have been thinking a lot lately about how much my face has changed and aged in the last couple of years.

I don't know about you but when I was younger I was much happier to sit for photos then I am now, in fact it's probably up near the top of my 'most avoided' list these days! So I decided to have a go at taking some self portraits that I'll be happy to look back on a few years down the track.

These are my favourites, I can live with these!

*cough, poser, cough*

Happy Australia Day

Sun Time

Kids here in Perth learn to swim and enjoy water pretty quickly, they don't really have a choice with 40 + degree summers!

Here are a couple of photos I snapped of my aunties grand kids in the pool last weekend. I love that they try every means possible to stay in the water, wrinkled and prune-like, long into the evening, well after us adults have shivered our way out of the water... 'Just 5 more minutes nanny, just 5 more minutes...!?'

Packing Dry Run: Number 1

Today we are officially 50 days out from heading off to Canada, so I thought (whilst in the midst of a cleaning blitz) I would try my hand at a packing dry run, just to see if the things I thought I wanted to take would fit in my pack. Here are the results.

Ease of access and method of packing: Poor

Weight: 16 kilos (4 kilos spare - not that I want to be carrying the maximum weight!)

Not included: Shoes, toiletries, socks and underwear

Result: FAIL

Doh! Top tips anybody? I have heard it suggested that if you tightly roll each individual item you can fit in a lot more then initially thought. Perhaps I'll give that a go...

Ticket to Adventure

My UK Visa arrived today and I'm unbelievably excited. I'm just one step closer to the next adventure, can't imagine where we're going to end up and what we'll be doing, but this little piece of paper in my passport makes anything possible!

Back to Basics

I've spent the afternoon peeling, chopping and stewing... mmm some yummy stewed apple and rhubarb coming my way...!

Indonesian Textile Stamp

My dear friend Krista gave me the most beautiful present for my birthday - it is an old Indonesian textile printing stamp.

The pattern is made from flat strips of copper to form the outside edges, and hundreds of tiny pin like strips of copper to fill each shape. It is so intricate, and very delicate, apparantly it would have been used in the 1940's somewhere in Indonesia. It would have traditionally been used to dip into hot wax, print onto fabric and then the bolts of fabric would have been dyed, leaving the waxed pattern behind. In other words, batik.

I'm very tempted to try printing with it myself, but am so scared that the paint and water would damage its already flaking edges. It makes a beautiful ornament just as is, propped on it's handle.

Travelling Update

A little while ago I posted a link to the new blog I was going to get started, dedicated a little more to our travels and everything that goes along with it. Well, I've been thinking really hard about it, and have decided that if I'm realistic, I'm going to have problems finding enough time, money and internet cafes to update this blog as it is. How on earth am I going to update two!? So I've decided to scrap the other one, that never really got started. It's called being honest with myself. Maybe that's something I will work on this year... So I think soon you will start to see some posts relating a little more to travel. Not that we've left yet, there's two months to go, but the prep has started. My 'To Do' list is growing, my nerves are escalating, my paranoia and uber-organisational urges are becoming hard to control. So it really is inevitable that you will see some posts about this. Coming soon, I think I will post about packing. Yes, I'm two months out, and already thinking, no, panicking about it. How is a girl who can never have too many clothes, going to pack for 10 degrees, coming from 40 degrees, and fit it all into a back pack? Really? More of that to come me thinks...

Just Rosey

I have been trying to find the patience to make these little rose earrings for a couple of months now. Every time I got started my fat, fumbly fingers squished the fimo and I'd eventually give up.

Yesterday, I got the determination to see it through, and I've made two pairs of the sweetest little rose bud earrings. They are made from a pearlised pink polymer clay and have a clear glaze over the top to give them a subtle shine.

Re-found

Oh I've just rediscovered an old sketch from about a year ago. I drew this sitting on the edge of the cliffs at Greenhead, WA. Now if only I was any good at watercolour I think that would top this off. Failing that, I might have a go with some acrylics...

Musical Confession

I have a musical confession to make; I am in love with Big Band music. I have been as long as I can remember. Maybe it was spawned by my parents playing Glenn Miller LP's when I was little, who knows. We are even thinking of having swing music at our wedding, I love it that much! C and I went along to a huge cd, dvd and book sale in Perth over the weekend, and I just about wet myself with delight when I saw all the jazz and swing music cd's there for $2. Phew, fess up over, here is some Benny Goodman for your ears, enjoy!

Everything In Place

My parents are flying over from NZ next week to visit, so I thought I'd better make like a lady and whip up some placemats!

I used left over pieces of my IKEA fabric, (geez that turned out to be such a good buy), and I layered some tetron/dacron/wadding in between this and some semi-coordinating yellow cotton fabric for the backing. I topstitched around each edge, and then again 20mm in to make a neat border.

We used to make these all the time at esdesign many moons ago, not sure if they're still whipping them up, but I remember they sold well!

Paradise on the Edge of the Indian Ocean

Hi everyone, I hope you've had a relaxing, peaceful, fun-filled Christmas and New Years.

I've just come back from a few blissful days away up north in WA. Going by the photos above you can easily see we did some fishing. We also did a bit of lounging around, reading, swimming, eating and drinking... but generally just a lot of fishing!

So now we are back in Perth, and back in reality. 2010 has already kicked into gear, and from what I can see there are lots of fellow bloggers with ideas and resolutions for the year ahead.

I'm not really a 'resolution' kind of girl, I think that if you're going to instigate changes in your life there's no reason to wait until January 1st to do so, there's no time like the present! Instead I think I'm going to keep on trucking with my plans for our travel later in the year, keep working towards new adventures, challenges and making new friends, and overall making sure I have a great time along the way.

Oh of course, there'll be more creating, making, dreaming and doing along the way.

Now I just wonder, where on earth I'll be for the next New Year, I really have no clue and JEEPS that's so exciting!

It's my birthday tomorrow - quarter of a century young. So I think I'll spend it like I've done the last few days. Doing a lot of not very much!

Nesting New Year

I've spent the last few days drawing a bird's nest. Why? Well, I'm not sure - crazy perhaps... just wanted something relatively mindless to get stuck into during this unsettled Christmas and New Year period!

It's turning out OK, however I woke up this morning with a very sore thumb and wrist and a crick in the neck. This drawing must have been a little bit too intense huh? I think I'll push through the aches and pains, just a little bit more shading required me thinks...