Thursday, August 28, 2008

Hiccups wall stickers - butterflies


Wall stickers have been a popular addition to the Hiccups range. Here are our new butterfly stickers; catch some for your bedroom wall before they fly away!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

In a country garden

We had a great day photographing the new Hiccups collection with some local girls. Some volunteered happily and others needed a little bit of encouragement once the camera was turned on! I don't blame them!



Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Birdie inspiration

Sweet birds have always been a favourite design motif of mine. Here are a few images I have collected over the years.


A vintage postcard from France


Note paper from the Sukie stationary box set


Post card from Cavallini Papers


Embroidered card from Elena Deshmukh

Monday, August 25, 2008

Melody - printed bed linen for girls


Here is 'Melody', our new Hiccups printed bed linen design for girls. Blue birds and butterflies flutter amidst floral bowers in this vintage look design, trimmed in a pretty toile butterfly design.


'Melody' pillowcase


'Melody' printed sheet set


'Whimsy' applique throw


'Serenity' vintage flock print cushion, and 'Tweet Bird' cushion.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

A country garden

A few photos from a beautiful and relaxed country garden near Colbinabbin, which we used as the backdrop for the new Hiccups girl's collection.




A northern Victorian farm yard

Here are a few photos of my family farm, including one of the rather annoying farm cat 'Tick' who tried to slink his way into every shot. Since these photos were taken some rain has finally fallen, so things are looking a little greener these days - a big relief!




Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Painting the tractor

Sometimes my job description as a textile designer can involve some quite varied activities. To prepare for the photo shoot of the new Hiccups farm theme collection I decided that my great-grandfather's Fordson tractor could do with a bit of sprucing up. Enlisting the help of a few family members, sandpaper and quite a few cans of paint, I think the finished result looks pretty good!


Before....


After...a shiny new coat of paint


The photo shoot


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Snuggle up with our 'Farm Vehicles' coverlet

Another component of the 'Field Days' boy's room theme is our quilted coverlet and pillow sham, featuring all of the important vehicles and machines that farmers rely on when working on the land. Boys will love the fresh blue and green colour combination!



Trucks, motorbikes, tractors, and even the Aussie ute feature on the coverlet.


Ever-reliable working dogs are an invaluable friend to sheep farmers. You can find one in action on our 'Round-em-up' cushion.


Here is our fun tractor shaped cushion, photographed on a not very comfortable horse-drawn plough seat. I bet the farmer using that particular seat probably wished he had a comfy cushion too!


And finally, here is 'Gus' the sheep dog poised ready for action on the boy's 'Pick up Sticks' cotton rug.

Hiccups in Harvey Norman catalogue



Here are two of the new Hiccups bed linen designs featured in the Harvey Norman 'Lifestyle' catalogue: 'Field Days' and 'Melody'.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Bob the Dog and Rosemary the performing Lamb

Here we have a few photos illustrating the difficulty of trying to get a happy-go-lucky border collie sheep dog, an inquisitive and disobedient lamb, and two little boys to all perform and look at the camera at the same time. An impossible task, but a very funny one to watch at the time. If only the lamb would stand still!




Take a trip to the country with Hiccups!

The latest Hiccups collection will be arriving into Australian linen retailers in the next few weeks, so it's an exciting time for us to hear customer's reactions. This season's themes were inspired by my rural upbringing in northern Victoria, Australia. I grew up on a farm outside a tiny town called Colbinabbin (population 120), basically one street with large silos dominating the surrounds. And a general store, school, footy ground and most importantly, a pub....
The new Hiccups printed bed linen design for boys is called 'Field Days' and features a variety of brightly coloured tractors performing various tasks on the farm - sowing, harvesting, ploughing and hay baling. I did have to ask my Dad and brothers quite a few questions to get the design right, as growing up I was more interested in helping mum with cooking, (painting and drawing in my spare time) then learning the ropes of farm work.
All of these photographs were taken at my family's farm which was settled in the 1870's, so there were plenty of vintage machines, odd bits of junk and sheds to choose from, as nothing gets thrown away there. You never know when that piece of rusty wire from 1953 will come in handy!


Field Days bed linen


Bed linen detail


Field Days canvas


Tractor fleece throw and cushion


Gus the sheep dog and Lambert Lamb hanging out on the Pick up sticks rug

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Off to the country


Over the next few entries I will be posting about our new Hiccups collection. And this time we are off to the country. Enjoy!

Friday, August 15, 2008

The Cats' Pajamas by Frances Brundage




'The Cats' Pajamas' by Frances Brundage was originally published in 1932 but is now reissued by Green Tiger Press. It is a whimsical little story about a fashionable cat and her two little mischievous kittens.