Giveaway - Friends for Felix

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree, how Friends for Felix are your branches...

Today, dear readers, you are very lucky indeed, for the generous and wonderful Mel from Friends for Felix has been oh so kind, and has offered up Christmas treats to make you go 'Squeee!'

There are TWO felty, loveable, wonderful Christmas Decoration packages up for grabs!  Thanks Mel!!
Each pack contains three decorations of your choosing, (there are five designs to choose from.) 

Here is just a little taste.....

To figure out which ones you love the best, head over to the Friends for Felix facebook page and have a peek at the Christmas Range Album.

Once you have it all worked out, leave your comments below this post.  The TWO winners will be drawn this time next Friday by random.org

If you are on the Coast this weekend, you can also see all of these, plus many, many more of Mel's wonderful little creations on Sunday, at the Burleigh Arts and Crafts Markets, so head down, say thanks to Mel, and show your support in person, I am going to be there for sure!

Good luck everybody!

Hatch ..xx

In their own words - Friends for Felix

This week is all about the wonderful little felty treasures made by Mel from Friends for Felix.
Today we share an interview with her, find out about her passion for crafting, her inspiration to create and her dreams for the artistic future of the coast.

Thanks so much for sharing with us Mel.

If you want to see the real life Friends for Felix goodies, you will be able to find them, this Sunday, at the Burleigh Arts and Crafts markets

How long have you been in business, and what was the lightbulb moment that made it all begin?
since mid 2010. After my son was born I was trying to think of someway that I combine my love of craft and the love of my son! (I teach drama classes with children by trade and was missing that creative outlet)

My lightbulb moment was in the baby changeroom at a local shopping centre at Burleigh where they have mobiles over the changetables. Seeing my son's enjoyment made me decide that that was what we needed at home. From there I realised that I could also create stuffed feltie toys for him. At the time he was little enough that I could sew while breastfeeding (no way I could do that now, he would want to join in!!!)

I had friends and family members tell me that I should sell my work so I got up the courage to make myself a facebook page. This weekend I am taking the next step and having a market stall at the Burleigh Arts and Craft markets.

What has been the most rewarding experience so far?Recieving orders from strangers and having people trust my craft enough for me to create custom orders for them. Getting positive feedback is very rewarding and witnessing other babies playing with my feltie toys is magical!


What are your favourite materials to work with? Where do you source them?
Three top materials are felt, ribbon and embroidery thread. Felt by far is my favourite. It is really forgiving, great to cut and no hemming!!  Good old spotlight at the moment is the source of a lot of my goods.

 I wish that there were some great local craft stores around my area. I also love to upcycyle/reclycle old fabrics. At the moment I am working on some stuffed toys created from old business shirt sleeves (still a work in progress)!

Describe who you imagine a buyer/lover of Friends for Felix goodies to be? I would love those who appreciate handmade goods, love all things cute, and be of any age. I would love for someone to buy a feltie or a mobile for themselves, not just for the children in their lives!

When did you last create, and what was it you created?
Things have been so busy of late in my house with our little man teething, my 'real' job, getting organised (and anxious! ek!) for our market stall and life in general that I haven't created any new pieces for a while. Last night I finished a new mobile. It is by far my favourite piece and given me a bit of a new lease on my Friends for Felix life! A mobile consisting of four little clouds, a smiling sun and a hot air balloon. Which got me inspired and then I made some little icecreams stuffed feltie toys that I finished this morning.

What do you wish for the future of art, creativity, and culture on the Coast? 
There are so many talented artists and musicians on the gold coast, it would be wonderful to see it become more and more popular. For more people to support local talent, there is so much of it on the Coast.
I would love to see a handmade-only store on the gold coast, wouldnt it be great to see somewhere like james st in burleigh? A kind of collective where artists could display their works for sale, maybe with a coffeeshop using local produce and supporting local live original music, a space for workshops with local artists - wouldn't that just be amazing! I can dream!!!

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Mel and the Friends for Felix loveables can be found in the following places

friendsforfelix@gmail.com - for orders etc
www.facebook.com/forfelix - to check out what is currently on offer
http://friendsforfelix.blogspot.com/ - if you want to read about what goes on behind the scenes in the Friends for Felix household!!!
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Head down to Burleigh beach markets this weekend and show your support for Mel and her little felt treaures, and don't forget to come back tomorrow for your chance to win some handcrafted special little Christmas treats from Friends for Felix!

Showcase Wednesday - Friends for Felix

Well hello there!  After a somewhat lengthy hiatus in which the Internet became a worst enemy and lots of curse words were thrown about, Showcase Wednesday is back! Hoorah!

This week, The Hatchling Society would like to introduce you to Friends For Felix, and the lovely Mel who is the bringer of life to Felix's friends.

Mel had always been a crafter extraordinaire, and when her darling little son Oliver Felix came into the world, Mel thought 'Wowee, I could craft like crazy, and get to spend my days with this little guy instead of trudging off to work and missing all the fun!'

 What a brilliant idea! And so, Friends for Felix began.

Mel hand crafts the most gorgeous, squishy, loveable little felt creatures as buddies for her little babekin, like this fine fellow....

and these little guys...

She also creates beautiful mobiles with birdies, and planes and all things whimsical...

If that is not enough, inspired by The Toy Society and Spreading Random Acts of Kindness, Mel packages up some of her little creations and hides them places for other people to find and take home and love all up.

What a wonderful Mumma little Oliver has got!

Aaaand, this Christmas, she wants your tree to be the fairest of them all, for she has created a range of Friends for Felix Decorations which are just scrummy, yummy, delightful!!

Mel and all of her stunning little creations will be appearing this weekend, Sunday the 28th, at the Burleigh Arts and Crafts Markets, which you can find out about here so be sure to head along and support her and her stay-at-home Crafty Mumma dreams.

If you would like to contact Mel you can find the Friends for Felix Facebook here, the blog here, and you can contact Mel by email here.

Be sure to come back, as tomorrow we will share an interview with this amazing lady, and on Friday, a little felt birdie told me there might just be some festive Friends for Felix treats up for grabs! Wahoo!

Love
Hatch ..xx

Hungry Designs Giveaway Winner....

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 12 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations to H Sandery, three truly scrumptious Hungry Designs brooches of your choice coming your way very soon! ..xx

In their own words - Flat White Spaces

Firstly, may we apologise profusely to Dave Child and Jay Woods of Flat White Spaces. In a very unintentional error, we ommitted their names yesterday as the brains and brilliance behind the Flat White Spaces art project.  Oh whoopsie doo, how very amateur and embarrasing a thing to do!  Sorry boys! A big congratulations to you ALL for the marvelous endeavour that Flat White Spaces is.
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And now, in todays post you will find an interview with one of the three, (yes three) marvelous men behind Flat White Spaces, Dave Lydiard. 
Find out what their passion is, where they are headed, and how the Gold Coast is going to become a beautiful arts hub because of them.


What was the motivation behind starting up Flat White Spaces?
The motivation behind Flat White was to make the Gold Coast a more visually rich and cultural environment. The Gold Coast is home to some super talented artists who don't get the recognition they deserve, unless they up and move to another city or country. We hope that with time and the help of the community and other like minded groups to change all that.

Who do you hope will be influenced/inspired by what you are doing?Hopefully we can inspire artists of all disciplines to stay on or come to the Gold Coast to exhibit and progress their work. We also hope to help the general population accept and appreciate how valuable art can be to a their community and environment.

What do you find to be the most rewarding thing about working within the Arts spectrum on the Gold Coast?
The most rewarding part about working in the arts scene is seeing an artist who has worked really to progress their works get recognized for it. It also really encouraging to hear how pumped people are when we tell them about our plans for Flat White Spaces and the Gold Coast.

What is the most Challenging?
At this stage, the most challenging part of the project is doing all the planning, paperwork and behind the scenes boring stuff. It's really tough to sit down and do it when there are so many opportunities out there right now but we want to create a solid foundation for Flat White so the project doesn't just roll over and die due to poor initial planning.

Describe the art scene of the Gold Coast through your eyes?
Through our eyes, we feel that up until recently the Coast has been a bit of a cultural wasteland. Things are slowly changing though, with galleries like 19Karen popping up, arts collective Rabbit + Cocoon which will be opening in January and events like Swell Sculpture Festival beginning to get really popular.

What do you wish for the future of art, creativity, and culture on the Coast?
We hope for the Gold Coast to become internationally recognized as a place that accepts, supports, produces and promotes artistic talent...a bit like Melbourne, except with way better weather!

What about the future of Flat White Spaces?
Hopefully, Flat White Spaces can help the Gold Coast become the type of place described in the previous answer...we know the Gold Coast has the talent and people willing to work hard to make the region a cultural and artist powerhouse, and we want to be around when it happens! As for what Flat White Spaces will evolve into, we have our plans...but they are too top secret to say just yet!
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If you are a Gold Coast Artist, would like to find out more about Flat White Spaces, or have a 'flat white space' that might be perfect for filling up with local creative pieces, you can find them at:  
                        
                                                   http://www.flatwhitespaces.com/

Showcase Local Creative - Flat White Spaces

Have you heard about the Flat White Spaces project?  If not, it is certainly one that you should get invloved in and show support for.  Dave Lydiard, Dave Child and Jay Woods, the men behind it all have a passion for supporting and showcasing the talents of artists within the Gold Coast community.

For a long time, there has been a wide-held view that the Coast is devoid of creative talent, a myth which Flat White Spaces aims to dispel.  A wealth of artistic brilliance resides here, but without the means for exhibiting their work, and sharing it with the wider community, many artists struggle to get the recognition and support that they deserve, and many of them up and leave in search of places where they are able to do this.

"Flat White Spaces was established in July 2010 as a means for emerging and established artists to exhibit their work in under-utilized spaces around the sunny Gold Coast. It was born with the vision of helping the Gold Coast become a more cultural and artistic region with art being exhibited amongst the happenings of everyday life." - FWS 

Think, how streamlined and industrial parts of the Gold Coast landscape are.  Imagine the joy of discovery when wandering this landscape to find artworks hidden down alleyways, on otherwise barren walls, bringing brightness and colour to the aluminium and concrete surrounds.

Not only is Flat White Spaces an endeavour to support the artists of the Gold Coast so that they may remain living the 'beach' life, but also a fantastic project to bring richness and cultural delight to all members of the community.

If you are an artist with brilliance to share, or someone with a 'flat white space' which could be utlised, or perhaps just want to show your support and find out more, you can find the Flat White Spaces website here or contact them here