nic and clay...

Mecca Cosmetica...

2011-02-12T20:39:00.002+08:00

I just had to make a post about my beloved Mecca Cosmetica, a store I could not live without!

I first discovered Mecca Cosmetica about 10 years ago in Melbourne. It was the luxe stores and quality products that first drew me in, and I still can't help but admit that I'm hooked.

(image source: Mecca Cosmetica)

My first Mecca purchase still replays vividly in my mind . It was a curl serum for hair by Bumble & Bumble and I'd never come across that brand on Australian shelves before. I had only read about it in some overseas editions of some high end magazines. I remember thinking that I had stumbled onto something very special, almost secret among a select few. A privledge even. And that was just about the buying experience. The actual products too were as amazing as their reputations had lead me to believe!

(image source: Mecca Cosmetica)

With exclusive brands like Stila, Nars, Darphin, Philosophy, Diptyque, Kiehls, Bumble & Bumble and Kit it's THE place to shop for cquality cosmetics (for women and men), makeup, fragrances, hair care and bathroom products (like the gorgeous scented candles from Diptique).

(image source: Mecca Cosmetica)

Mecca Cosmetica can be found in stores all over Australia (except in Tasmania and Northern Territory) and online at www.meccacosmetica.com.au. Here in Perth there are stores at Booragoon Garden City, Claremont, Karrinyup and St Martin's Arcade Perth City. Enjoy shopping...

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011!

2010-12-23T11:49:00.000+08:00

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Vintage treasures...

2010-11-30T21:00:00.000+08:00

(image from Winifred and Bance.com.au)

I love Vintage shopping. It's the thrill of the chase. You never know when you'll unearth a rare or unique piece.

What I love most about vintage and antique finds is the idea that the items have history. I love to think about who owned it before me? Where they bought it from? Was it a favourite or particularly special item to them? Of course, I'll never find the actual answers to these questions, but I love to let my imagination run wild...

(image from shag - melbourne)

This brings me to share some of my favourite Vintage stores on the Perth Vintage scene -

The Ginger Fox
Winifred and Bance
Bluebird Vintage

Ecoya...

2010-10-05T10:21:00.001+08:00

(image by topnews.net.nz)

I love candles. I love the way they smell, the way they set a mood and that they are a great excuse to turn the lights off and be eco-conscious. I've just discovered Ecoya candles and have fallen in love with their Lotus Flower Natural Soy Travel Candle. I burn it whilst practising my Yoga poses on my lounge room floor. It helps me get one step closer to Zen...

(image by www.newmoonstore.com.au)

Envirosax...

2010-09-21T10:07:00.006+08:00

(image by inhabitat.com)

I have completely fallen in love with my new Envirosax reusable bag. Not only are they eco-friendly by helping reduce the use of plastic shopping bags, but they are so chic and stylish I often use mine instead of my handbag. They fold up to a compact size when not in use, so are perfect to carry in your handbag for unexpected shopping, and fold out easily to bag that can carry up to 20kgs worth of shopping - thats a lot of fruit and vege's. And with heaps of funky patterns, designs and colours your sure to find one to suit your taste.

(image by bagaholicboy.com)

I can also sing the praises of Envirosax's Aqua Water Bottles, with are stainless steel and also sport colourful designs. They are BPA free and reusable, therefore aiding in reducing the amount of plastic water bottles used in the community. Stylish and easily portable they also keep your water colder for longer as the stainless steel acts to insulate the water from the outside temperature.

(image by www.ihcdstore.org)

Another reason to love Envirosax is that it's an Australian company run by a couple who imbrace an ecologically sustainable lifestyle in Currumbin Valley, Queensland, Australia. Envirosax also donates a percentage of its sales to charities and non for profit organisations dedicated to the preservation of the environment. Gotta love that...

(image by www.envirosax.com.au)

Nic and Clay's Etsy launch...

2010-08-19T13:50:00.010+08:00

(image from Etsy.com)

Nic and Clay is now on Etsy! We have just launched our site and have posted our first two items for sale. Follow the link to our store:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/nicandclay

(image taken by nic and clay. Wine Glass charms by nic and clay.)

Our first items for sale are our hand-made Wine Glass Charms. These Wine Glass Charms have evolved from the ones I hand-made for our Wedding. Everyone was so impressed with our themed Drink Charms so I just had to make more.

(image taken by nic and clay. Wine Glass charms by nic and clay.)

For those of you who are asking 'What's Etsy?" allow me to explain (and ask where have you been hiding?). Etsy is an online store that allow individual sellers to post their handmade, vintage or art and craft supplies for sale. It's a fabulous growing commumity of artistic and crafty people. Etsy is one of those really cool website I can get stuck on for hours browsing all the clever and interesting items that you will never find in your mainstream shopping centre. Common items include art, photography, clothing, jewellery, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. These are a few of my favourtie things...

(image taken by nic and clay. Wine Glass charms by nic and clay.)

Can you judge a book by it's cover?..

2010-08-03T09:45:00.017+08:00

(image courced from Meet me at Mike's)

You may have seen these gorgeous covers in your favourite bookstore recently. Penguin have re-released some of their classics in this beautiful hard cover series. Titles include the ever popular Pride & Prejudice, Great Expectations, Sense & Sensibility, Little Women, Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland and through the Looking Glass and Lady Chatterley's Lover. The colourful and patterned covers were deigned by Coralie Bickford-Smith and are a matte foil design and clothbound.

(image sourced from Design Sponge Online)

I've always meant to start a collection the classics, and now I have my eye on collecting the whole colourful series. They would look great sitting in my bookshelf! (and I can't wait to finally read Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence)...

(image sourced from Penguingroup.com)

Nic and Clay tie the knot...

2010-07-28T13:15:00.027+08:00

(Frangipani's lined the path to the alter)

Last week saw us arrive back into the country after our 5 week holiday to Bali and Vietnam for our much anticipated Wedding and Honeymoon. It's official - Nic and Clay finally tied the knot!

(Nic and Clay)

(Flower petals for the ceremony)

(My hand-made pearl jewellery made myself)

(Hair and Make up)

(Maggie Sottero Gown)

(Just married)

(Bouquet and parasol)

Our Wedding was the most magical, most wonderful day of my life. It was held in Ubud, Bali at The Royal Pita Maha, with our ceremony right by the Agung River with about 20 of our nearest and dearest as witness. Our reception was held in the courtyard of the venue's Royal Convention house. A long table dressed in white linen to seat 22 was decorated with Candelabra's, feathers, gold Balinese plates and many of my self made hand-made pieces. Near perfect weather, an indescribably beautiful venue and our amazing friends and family made it a day that surpassed all of my wildest dreams.

(Precession to the Reception)

(hand-made wishing tree made by myself)

(Reception table)

(Reception table and Balinese dancers performing)

(Reception Venue)

(Dancing in the light rain)

Enjoy the Photo's...

My DIY Wedding Projects...

2010-05-24T18:35:00.005+08:00

Apologies for my absence of late, but I have been a busy little bee!

(source: www.weddingbee.com)

With only 1 month until our wedding in Bali I've been thrown into the chaotic world of wedding planning and hand making some one off pieces of the big day. We have chosen to run with a theme for the wedding reception, and it will be loosely based on the 'Alice in Wonderland' mad hatters tea party. Picture a long table with white linen, set with gold place settings, candelabras, drink charms adorning the glassware, flower and feather centrepeices, Apothecary glass jars with colourful candy and the table scattered with 'Alice in Wonderland' themed charms. A fairytale...

With such a fun idea we wanted my hand made items to carry this theme. Here are some of the DIY projects so far...

Boutonneries for the Groom and Best-man...

These are my favourite project so far. I am so happy with the end product. I made them from some leaf skeletons, latte coloured Ostrich feathers, a spotty feather, a drinking straw wrapped in green and black ribbon, a silver flower, a brooch backing, some green beads and to top it all off a clock hand charm from the charms I had ordered from My Vintage Charms (to keep with our theme)...

(Hand made Boutonneries)

I bought the feathers, ribbon, brooch backing and skeleton leaves from a local craft store (try Lincraft or Spotlight), and the charms from myvintagecharms.com. I had the beads and silver flower from some old jewellery I had. Another DIY item to check off the list. Tick...

Wishing Tree...

This is an idea I fell in love with very early on in the Wedding planning. I was searching the web for some inspiration and came across the Guestbook/Wishing trees. There are beautiful examples at Here comes the guide and The Wise Bride's Guide.

(Wishing tree source: http://www.herecomestheguide.com/blog/detail/wish-for-a-better-guest-book/)

(Wishing tree source : http://theyoungbridesguide.wordpress.com)

The wishing tree will be made in Bali, as I thought the logistics of trying to get a 'small tree' from Perth to Bali nigh impossible...

Pearl and Beaded strings for the wishing tree...

Now these I have pre made! I've made 22 strings in total, all differing in composition of beads/pearls and slightly different lengths. I used fishing line to thread the beads/pearls onto and used charms to hang from the bottom of the lengths. I love that all 22 of them are different. I've also cut the paper for the guests to write their wishes onto, and punched a hole into the top and threaded some ribbon for guests to tie them to the tree. I will clip photographs of our parents and grandparents weddings to the tree as well...

(Hand made Pearl and beaded strings)

Swing tags and various wedding stationary...

In keeping with our 'Alice in Wonderland' theme, I printed the swing tags to hang around the Bomboneries (small glass jars to fill with candy), glasses, parasols and Apothecary Candy jars...

(Hand made Swing tags)

(Hand made various wedding stationary)

Candy Bar...

We loved the idea of having a Candy Bar at the reception, so we ran with the idea with these beautiful Apothecary Glass jars. The 3 jars will be part of the table centrepiece. They will be filled with colourful Candy, one containing blue, green and white sugared almonds, one containing Licorice Allsorts and the other housing multi-coloured conversation love heart candies...

(Candy jars, candy and Bomboneries)

Garter...

I searched and searched for a garter I liked, but couldn't find one. I think because I had exactly what I wanted in head I didn't want to settle for anything else, so when I couldn't find it to buy, I made my own. Using lace and ribbon from the local fabric store I used my sewing machine to run it together, then adding the blue bow and pearl cluster in the front...

(Hand made Garter)

'Alice in Wonderland' inspired Drink Charms...

These were so fun to make. I ordered the charms from My Vintage Charms. Once I had the charms I purchased the rings from the local craft store and then threaded the charms on with a pearl on either side. They're cute hey, and similar drink charms are available for sale on my Etsy store...

(Hand made drink charms)

Guests Welcome Bags...

I have made up 'Welcome bags' for all the guests attending our wedding. I used brown paper bags and printed a welcome message on the front. Also for inside the bag I printed an Itinerary, map of Bali and an invitation to the Bucks / Hens night, and I will add to bag a tin of mints, bottle of water, fan, sarong, soap, tissues, sunscreen, bottle opener and a t-shirt all purcahsed in Bali when we arrive. We then plan to leave the bags in our guests Hotel rooms as a surprise for when they arrive...

(Hand made welcome bags)

Hand made Bridal Jewellery...

Inspired by a post on Style me Pretty I hand made my own pearl necklace and bracelet. I love the rustic eclectic look of these pieces, and the thrill of making my own jewellery for my wedding. I have an exact replica of both my necklace and bracelet for sale on at my Etsy store...

(Hand made Pearl necklace)

(Hand made Pearl bracelet)

(Hand made Pearl necklace)

Hand made Wedding and Engagement Party invitations...

Last but not least, here are both our Wedding and Engagement Party Invitations. We purchased our paper and envelopes from Starfish Lane, and printed, cut and stuck them ourselves...

(Hand made Wedding invitation)

(Hand made Engagement Party invitation)

And as for the bird cage veil... it is slowly coming along. It's actual next on my list to complete, It's the one I've been saving til last...

Thanks for reading. If you have and comments I'd love to hear from you...

ADDIT: I had so much fun hand-making these pieces that I've re-made some for sale at my Etsy store. Follow the link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/nicandclay/

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes...

2010-04-15T09:38:00.003+08:00

(My wedding shoes, Belle, from Georgie's, Perth)

I'm sooo in love with my wedding shoes! I bought them from Georgie's in West Leederville.I try them on every other day just to sneak a peak before the big day. They are sooo comfortable too, they really feel like slippers (think cinderella). I can't wait till the big day so I can swan around them all day! My favourite part is the bling on the toe that matches the beading on my dress.

I'm also very in love my dress, but I can't share the dress with you all as my hubby to be may see, and we all know it should be a big secret to him (but I assure you it's gorgeous. Think grecian godess)...

It's March...

2010-03-15T14:06:00.005+08:00

(photo courtesy of LMFF blog)

March means many things to many different people. Ask my fiance and he'll tell you he thinks of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix (held in Melbourne), but me, I think of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. However I have a little problem getting there this year as I'm in Perth (do I detect a little homesickness creeping in?). Oh well, there's always their blog to ogle at...

Creating my own Birdcage veil...

2010-02-20T10:39:00.000+08:00

(Drew Barrimore from the Grey Gardens Premier)

After vanishing into the deep abyss of Wedding planning for the past few weeks (which was well overdue mind you), I have returned back to the everyday, inspired to create my own one of a kind pieces for the big day. Maybe it's just me, but there seems to be a whole lot of 'crap' to choose from when looking for bridal accessories. Cheap and nasty and oh so tacky!

(Drew Barrimore from the Grey Gardens Premier)

So being the creative type who knows exactly want she wants before even laying eyes on it, I'm headed to the fabric store to find the magical ingredients to create my own one of a kind bespoke birdcage veil...

Funky Fob Watches...

2010-01-21T11:13:00.008+08:00

(Nursing Fob watch from medshop)

Aren't these cute! I bought them from medshop online. They come in soooo many colours there are just too many to mention. A perfect way to spice up my boring Nurses uniform! Can't wait to wear them. Sometimes I just love my job...

(Nursing Fob watch from www.medshop.com.au)

Off to market...

2010-01-08T09:39:00.003+08:00

The Perth Market @ The Perth Cultural Centre (31/10/09)

I have found loads of inspiration and creative endevour since relocating to Perth a few months back, and the markets have been a popular haunt for me so far. Perth has some great markets to explore such as The Perth Market @ The Perth Cultural Centre and The Perth UpMarket. Both (as pictured above) are a great place to find some really unique pieces whether handmade, re-invented or vintage and both are highly recommended as a great way to spend a weekend morning.

The Perth Market @ The Perth Cultural Centre (31/10/09)

The Perth Market @ The Perth Cultural Centre in Northbridge is held between the WA Art Gallery and the WA Museum both Saturday and Sunday each week, and is unfortunately the only regular market of it's kind in Perth. The Perth Market is where I first discovered The Ginger Fox, a great place to find some quality vintage treasures. This is truely a great little market that deserves Perth's support to keep us market lovers busy.

Perth UpMarket @ UWA (15/11/09)

With more emphasis on handmade goodies The Perth UpMarket held quarterly and has recently moved to it's new home @ the beautiful location of Winthrop Hall, University of Western Australia (UWA), which in my opinion is worth a visit on it's own. The Perth UpMarket offers heaps of beautifully handcrafted pieces from clothing to bags to badges to toys to anything and everything these clever and talented people create. As the market is only held once every few months I'm hanging out till the next one which I believe is March 28th 2010. See you there...

Happy 2010...

2010-01-05T17:29:00.004+08:00

I miss the feeling of creating something I'm proud. I used to make all kinds of handmade goodies - clothing, childrens toys, T-shirt designs, jewellery etc. I indulged as a creative hobby and even sold the odd piece from time to time to friends or at the local market. It was a great creative outlet and the satisfaction from completing a piece from the conception of the idea to the finished product was truly satisfying.

My inspiration/mood board

Now that I'm anchored to one spot again after all my travels (well for the moment anyway) it's time to drag out my creative tools. My sewing machine, sewing box and camera have been dusted off and are ready for action and I've started an inspiration or mood board (as pictured above). It is my news years resolution to rekindle my creative side and all thats needed now a trip to the local fabric store and we're in business. BTW I'm loving Etsy for inspiration at the moment. It's a tresure trove of all things handmade and gorgeous. Happy 2010 all and all the best with your resolutions this year...

Preamble...

2010-01-05T11:53:00.005+08:00

Hi all and welcome to the official blog of nic and clay. I have created this space to pour out my mind’s scramble for the world to read and decipher, and to share my passion for all things creative, art, handmade, travel, style, food, culture, design, fashion, vintage, music, sustainability, photography and our Wedding in 6 months time. This is also a place to recognize and appreciate other designers who provide me with so much inspiration (see the list of bloggers we love). I also make it my mission to reconnect with my creative side, unpack my camera, dig out my sewing machine and 'make things' this year...

I have just relocated to Perth with my Fiance after a 1 year stint in back Melbourne (my home town), 2 years based in London UK and a whole lot of travelling in between. So as a Perthonian newbie I have made it my mission to discover the heart and soul of Perth and all it has to offer. So join me on a journey of discovery, creativity and inspiration in a new city far far away...