Visions of a legendary man

Pink Hairspray Breakfast Event!

The delicious pastries donated by St Honore Bakery in Mosman

Edwina, Amy and Melinda enjoying the festivities 

My friends and I started a group called Pink Hairspray last year. The aim was to raise funds to buy a wig for one of our dear friends who was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 27. Thankfully she's recovering steadily, enough to arrange the inaugural Pink Hairspray Breakfast, in order to raise money for this important cause.

The breakfast was a hit! Everyone had a wonderful time, soaking up the live entertainment along with all the scrumptious offerings for all taste buds. Raffle prize donations were made from Sony, MAC, Kenwood, Novotel Sydney, St Honore Bakery Mosman and my label - Love Atiara! I hand made a collection of resin bangles with the help of my dad, in the traditional Pink Hairspray colours of cream, mauve and, yes you guessed it Pink! The winner of the bangles is a fabulous local artist who immediately put them on, wearing the specially made collection with pride!

I did an impromptu photo shoot at Centennial Park with the bangles the day before, so I could show you guys the designs. I think I'll need to go back to the bakery for part 2 of the pain au chocolat's, they were so good!

'Pink Hairspray' Resin Bangles

My next collection titled... Illumination...

I've been back in the studio working on my next collection titled 'Illumination'. I was looking for a subject close to my heart, something to touch, inspire and bring a moment of joy. After a few trips to Maroubra beach to meditate on the theme, the word Illuminate came to mind.

It's a fascinating topic as one can feel it in many different ways but what does it look like? The images below begin to describe it. The colours of the sky, rays of the sun and the moon personify illumination in my world, along with the feeling of a kiss from another precious being. I'm uplifted, my breath taken away by the beauty projected... the combination of elements to produce natures light show, on the interior and exterior of the body.

The 'Illumination' collage with some of the many incredible images I found

Ionized gas in the Lagoon Nebula, a star forming region 5000 light years distant in the constellation Sagittarius 

A close up of my favourite images

Live Like It's Heaven On Earth

Artistic expression on the foreshore of our famous Bondi Beach

Searching for the perfect violet

The two main colours selected for the logo of my label are canary yellow and violet. After many revisions, we finally selected a yellow possessing depth without being too bright. The quest for the perfect violet was another story. My first point of reference was the Pantone book, familiar to graphic designers, artists and anyone in the printing industry.

After much frustration over trying out several 'violet' colours the infamous Pantone book had to offer, I decided a standard stock colour wasn't the way to go. After all this label represents the colours of the rainbow, the brilliance shining out from the sun, as if we would go with a standard colour! I was pointed in the direction of a brilliant website, my logo saviour =) The vast array of colours on offer was like a being a little girl in a lolly store, heaven! Check out www.colourlovers.com. I started off liking the first colour story below featuring the violet purple, then I came across the winner!

Color by COLOURlovers

Color by COLOURlovers

Kirribilli Street Art

Walking through the main shopping area in Kirribilli today shocked me as I saw the first piece of street art in the area! Perhaps Kirribilli is getting down with the artistic flow? Bring it on I say.

Date with Richard Branson!

Richard Branson is one of those people who ooze charisma. He's a self made billionaire constantly breaking boundaries challenging the status quo. I'm super excited to be attending the 'Ultimate Success Summit' being held over 2 days in September. Advanced success strategies will be shared directly from the world's leading entrepreneurs including the main man himself Sir Richard B. I've placed my tickets in a secret hiding place as they're worth gold to me, let hope I don't forget the location. I'm counting down the days until I'm in the same room as someone who believed in himself, overcame physical illness then went on to rock his world.

I'll follow up with a debrief of my learnings from the event. I'm sure there will be plenty!

Motivational Images - For Focus and Daydreaming...

These are some collages I have created around my desk at day job # 1. In order to make this dream come true I currently have 2 "official" jobs, yeah I'm a busy girl. My teams area is the brightest and most colourful I've seen around the company. I'm fortunate to have great colleagues who are each creative in different aspects, making life there quiet interesting. We have a magician, two artists, an innovation guru, budding photographer, shoe designer and then there's me representing THE crucial accessory of any wardrobe - handbags =)

My Love Story - some of the women who inspire me - Muccia Prada - Fashion Designer of Prada and Entrepreneur, Tamara Melon - Co founder of Jimmy Choo, Cathryn Wills - Creative Director of Mimco, Kim Michaelides - Creative Director of Spencer & Rutherford, Wen Zhou - CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim and John Haigh from Haigh Chocolates... I had a small gap at the bottom and their chockies are delicious!  

Piece of the week - Newtown, Sydney

As I was walking through the streets of Newtown, I came across this piece which stopped me in my tracks. It was off the main road King Street. The combination of colours and blending of the elements make this a standout piece of the week. There's something about the freedom of expressing ones art on walls which makes it so appealing. Stay tuned for more funktified street art from around the world. We're going international on this one, representing worldwide baby... yeah! =D

L'Inspiration du Jour - Inspiration of the Day

Striking clouds over the horizon. These were taken on the 30th May, 2010 from my balcony. We see the most amazing patterns created by the clouds from my place. As the sun goes to sleep, it's rays illuminate them in shades of pink, purple and orange. This moment lasts for a few minutes, never to be repeated again. Everyday brings something different. Sunset is my favourite time of the day =)

Independence Day

Sunday 4th July marked a major event in my handbag designing career, which was previously kept alive in my mind since 2006. It was the day my creations were manifested into actual samples to be featured in a fashion photo shoot, yay! The two weeks beforehand were a mixture of concept briefing, designing, purchasing of materials, pattern making, confusion, sewing, frustration, more confusion then voila - success! It was a huge relief to have 2 completed samples in front of me at 5am Sunday morning, 1.5 hrs before the shoot call time! Phew, I finished just in time! The shoot took place on the grounds of Centennial Park, Sydney, Australia.

                            

Reflections in the stunning grounds of Centennial Park

Dream Catcher Bag

The crew preparing the model

Super Stylist 'Pasion' on location for shot #1 

Priestess Luna Clutch, affectionately known as 'Lulu'

Textures on the tree trunks in the forest

Photographer Tiffany in action with our gorgeous model Gina Mendoza from Colombia