AUSTRALIAN DESIGN STORE

Bike Madness on Design*Sponge

2010-09-14T04:34:00.002+01:00

Great feature on today's Design*Sponge about Bikes, there are so many beautiful products that I may just be inspired to polish up the cruiser and go for a ride.
Polli's gold Cycle pendant was included in the roundup (number 2).

Images above: 1. Alexandra Cassaniti Bike Bag, $120; 2. Polli Cycle Necklace $51; 3. Girard Circles Bike ; 4. Bike Print Socks, $12; 5. Nutcase Helmet, $50; 6. Bicycle Stamp, $8.95; 7. Pylones Bicycle Bell, $19.50; 8. Quick-release Wicker Basket, $39.99

To buy online in the UK visit www.avantgardejewellery.co.uk

Polli on Daily Imprint

2010-09-03T05:04:00.001+01:00

Daily Imprint is one of my favourite blogs to read each morning for some inspiration before starting the day. Natalie Walton is the deputy editor of Real Living magazine, has impeccable taste and knows a huge number of creative, interesting people. Today her interview is with Polli, Tess and Maja not only design beautiful jewellery but they are two of the nicest people you could ever work with.

polli jewellery designers

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 01:00 PM PDT

Jewellery is not something I'd expect industrial designers to turn to as a career path. (I used to work for an industrial/product design company in London - and it was very male and very much about male-type toys.) But that's what Maja Rose and Tess Lloyd have done. They met over ten years ago at the University of Technology Sydney and have since formed Polli, which uses many of the principles of industrial design - and just applied it to fashion and homewares.

Which five words best describe you? Busy, happy, busy, creative… busy.
What was your first career/job and what path have you taken since? Out of uni we were both working in competing design consultancies. Polli was very much just a hobby we started so that we could still work on something together. We never anticipated it would become a business. It took about six years for us to realise that our little baby had grown into a demanding child – wanting more time, energy and attention!
What’s the best lesson you’ve learnt along the way? The beauty and benefits of a well balanced business partnership.
What’s your proudest career achievement? Opening our own studio – it’s a beautiful converted ginger beer factory with lots of salvaged timber, natural light and high ceilings. We look onto a wisteria filled courtyard at the front and a beautiful gum tree at the back. It’s a very inspiring place to work.
What’s been your best decision? To take the leap to work full time on our own business. We’ve never looked back!
Who inspires you? People around us – our parents were all designers and big influences in our lives. But also our husbands and friends.What are you passionate about? Sustainability, our growing families, great food and good design. Also Maja is a passionate knitter – creating beautiful clothes for all the babies we know.
Which person, living or dead, would you most like to meet? We’re big fans of the paper cut artist Robert Ryan – his work holds sweet messages.
What dream do you still want to fulfil? We’d love to export to more countries and really enjoy travelling together to promote our brand. We’ve been to Europe, the UK, and the US regularly but we’d like to see Polli in Japan.
What are you reading? Tess - Ten Frogs by Quentin Blake, it’s a book of cardboard pages and pictures I read to my daughter each day. Maja – Baby Love, Save our Sleep… about half a dozen books about babies. [Maja has just had her first baby!].

images courtesy of polli
via Daily Imprint

New friends

2010-09-02T08:49:00.000+01:00

On recent travels to Australia we have made some new friends which will be on their way to the UK shortly. Called DINGaRINGS these gorgeous 3-in-1 toys (soft toy/teether/rattle) are so adorable.
We will be introducing our new furry friends individually in the coming weeks.

here is Babyology's review

Dingarings – Homegrown teething toys

Just when you thought teething rings only came in the standard plastic variety, along comes a unique Australian designed product that combines old-fashioned craftsmanship and quality. Byron Bay based company OB Designs creates these gorgeous chartacters and they are made in Indonesia. These DINGaRINGs are part toy, part rattle and part teether, with a wooden ring that’s perfect for grabbing and chewing.

Made with non-toxic materials, DINGaRINGS come in a cast of quirky characters with their own names and hilarious descriptions, including ‘Emma’ the owl (a truck driver who loves country music and surfing) and ‘Craig’ the crocodile (a dentist who enjoys hot rock massages and barbecues). Friends or family overseas? I think the cute koala and galah would make the perfect newborn gift. Now if I can just prise the penguin from my daughter…

Gorgeous new goodies in Melbourne

2010-08-18T14:33:00.003+01:00

At the moment we are taking a 'working holiday' in Australia to catch up with everyone and see all the new lines that we will launching in the coming months. I didn't take many photos as I was overexcited and overwhelmed by all the amazing new products and interesting people that I met.

Firstly MOZI, how gorgeous is the new range 'the way to my heart', it's so whimsical and girly, I can't wait to cover our house in it to address the male / female balance a little. In addition to the new designs there are fabulous new lines including the quilts and matching pillowcases (love these so much!), door stops, hand wash and ceramics.

I was lucky enough to spend the day with Claire from Flourish, the most amazing florist I know and a very good friend. We ran into each other on Polli's stand and said at the same time 'I've been meaning to tell you about Polli'.

The creativity and energy of the Polli girls is an inspiration and the new designs took my breath away. I can't wait to be wearing the gold leopard and the leather collection - kangaroo leather no less!

I should have been taking photos all day but I was too busy talking, it's actually taken me a whole week to recover!

Inch Blue Shoes

2010-08-01T03:33:00.000+01:00

One of the things we love at Australian Design Store is meeting all the other brands at the tradeshows, there are so many clever people making beautiful products here in the UK.

We met recently Rhiannon from Inch Blue and she asked if she could use our clothes for their new Winter catalogue. The photos are so cute and I can't believe how perfectly the shoes work with both Rock Your Baby and Oobi.

Here are some of our favourites:

Old skool tshirt and hat with Inch Blue Aviator shoes

Oobi owl dress with Inch Blue Owlie shoes

Rock Your Baby Blue Polka Wrap Dress and Inch Blue Freya Rose shoes

Oobi Red Birds shirt dress and Inch Blue Mocassins

Oobi Carmen Dress in Buttons and Inch Blue Red Buttons shoes

Rock Your Baby Mod Boy tshirt and Inch Blue Mod Navy shoes

Paris here we come!

2010-05-21T15:45:00.002+01:00

What a perfect excuse to spend a few days in Paris in July! We will be showing Rock Your Baby at this season's Playtime show and we can't wait. If you are going to be there please come by to say hi.

Dresses for gorgeous girls

2010-05-21T15:32:00.002+01:00

We have just started supplying a new website called Dresses for Gorgeous Girls who thought that Oobi would be a great addition to their new site.
Look at these gorgeous photos of their girls decked out in their Oobi dresses. I particularly love the one in the bluebell wood, the wellie boots finish the outfit beautifully.

It's Bubble time again

2010-05-12T03:01:00.001+01:00

We are in denial that it is May already and it is time for Bubble again next month.
Hope to see lots of you there, we will be in the same place as January, upstairs on stand C41

The Audrey Dress

2010-04-08T03:42:00.001+01:00

Just in case you haven't already seen this dress in shops or magazines I thought I had better share it with you here before it has been and gone. The Audrey Dress is the most gorgeous pinafore dress and how cute are those red polka dots?

Like all Rock Your Baby 'frocks', the quality is fantastic with lovely piping detail and ruffles.

Available online.

Look at these little Easter bunnies

2010-04-08T03:01:00.003+01:00

Look at these adorable 'Rock Your' babies, wearing our gorgeous new snakeskin tights and Sid & Nancy playsuit. I think the bunny ears completely set off the outfit!

I've got to stop looking at these photos or I will want another one!

Come have some fun

2010-01-20T01:58:00.000Z

Bubble is just around the corner...

2010-01-18T04:25:00.001Z

Every tradeshow we do I promise myself that we are going to be more organised and I thought we were doing quite well this time around. That was until I realised that the show starts in two weeks - today!
It will all come together in the end and it could never be as bad as one show we did where we had 2 stands at the same show and were at Kinkos at 3am with a 2 month old baby.
Hope to see lots of you at Bubble, we have some gorgeous new stuff to show you. Check back here for a peek in the next few days...

Mozi in the press

2010-01-15T05:30:00.001Z

Mozi had some good press in the last few weeks. Easy Living is always a huge fan but it's also lovely to be in Elle Deco again.

Featured on Babyccino

2010-01-12T15:29:00.004Z

Babyccino is our absolute favorite kids blog so it was a lovely surprise to be featured by them today. Written by a group of cool mums that live in the world's coolest cities, they write about great new products and activities to do with small kids. It's read religiously here at ADS and their city guides are a must for anyone traveling to Amsterdam, Paris, London or Milan.
Thank you Babyccino!

click here to see the full article

Happy Christmas

2009-12-24T03:51:00.001Z

To all our lovely customers, thanks so much for your support this year, we have had a great year and it's all thanks to you.
We have some really exciting things planned for the new year which we can't wait to share with you all.
We are taking the chance to have a bit of a break over the next week but will answer any urgent requests.
We hope Christmas is filled with Christmas cheer and plenty of relaxation for you all.

The girls at Australian Design Store xxx

Spacehoppers are here

2009-11-11T21:22:00.002Z

After selling out within days last Christmas we have Oobi's spacehoppers in again.
If you haven't seen Sony Ericsson's Hopper Invasion ad, take a look here how much fun can be had! They used a flash mob of 500 people hopping around Barcelona to launch their new phones.

Oobi's spacehoppers come in Green, Red, Pink and Blue, price £23. Fabulous gift for young and old.

Oobi voted 'most loved kids brand'

2009-11-11T20:43:00.002Z

Each year the website KidStyleFile does an Annual Reader Survey and for the second year running Oobi Baby has won the 'Most loved kids brand'.

Angela describes Oobi perfectly -
What gives Oobi it’s universal appeal and unique look is Alex Rigg’s ability to blend nostalgic design aesthetics; think 1920s to 1950s shapes, and hand-made detailing, with modern sensibilities; retro-prints with a contemporary twist in easy-wear and easy-care fabrics. The result is effortlessly stylish and strongly evocative of the liveliness and vivacity of childhood.

You can read the full article here:
KidStyleFile article

Just wait until you see the SS10 range. The tuile skirts are sensational and I am loving the cowboy shirts and whale print jeans for boys! We will be showing the range at Bubble (31st January - 1 February) and it will be in stores from around February/March.

get some Xfactor big band style

2009-10-25T21:24:00.003Z

We loved Jamie's style on Xfactor this weekend, the hair, the voice, what's not to love. I particularly like the fact that his untied bowtie looked just like our uber cool United Bowtie tshirt, so perfect for any social event!

Sheffield loves Rock Your Baby!

2009-10-16T21:46:00.003+01:00

We have a wonderful new shop in Sheffield called Boo! which opened just last week. The lovely Michelle and Becky have done a beautiful job on the shop and we are delighted that Rock Your Baby has been so well received.

If you live nearby make sure you call in to see them at:
22 Abbey Lane
Sheffield

New delivery of Rock Your Baby

2009-10-11T06:50:00.002+01:00

We are eagerly awaiting our next Rock Your Baby delivery which is full of fun new designs and old favourites. We should have it in our excited little hands in the next couple of weeks but here’s a first preview of what we are getting in.

Mozi's Silk Road

2009-10-11T06:40:00.003+01:00

Just in time for Christmas we have received stock of Mozi’s new collection, The Silk Road. Inspired by travels to India, Persia and Damascus there has been heated debate in the office about which is our favourite.

I’m leaning towards India, mainly because I love the fragrance of Cucumber and Lotus but then again the blue and lime in Damascus is so striking and I am always a fan of pink (particularly in a household full of boys).

As always the products are beautifully packaged for gifts and just looking through the catalogue I am able to cross off most of my Christmas shopping list (for the girls anyway).

Get in contact if you want details about stocking the range in your shop or you can buy online at Mozi's UK webshop.

It’s been a long time coming….

2009-10-11T06:03:00.000+01:00

It’s about time that I tick off one of my goals for 2009. How can it be October and it’s the first time that I get my act together to spend a Saturday night doing this.
Hope you enjoy the blog, we’ll try to update it regularly as there’s is always plenty of news to tell you. We will be featuring new products, our favourite retailers and other bits of gossip. Hope you like it!
Sarah