Peppermint Mag Feature

I am very pleased to announce that Berlinski has been featured in Issue 4 of Peppermint Magazine!! (http://www.peppermintmag.com/). Yay!! Berlinski is in the Limelight section…right above a write up on Nudie Jeans (and a photo of a few men in undies…perfect!!)

Peppermint mag is such a fun, inspiring, green mag…definitely worth a read! What a thrill!

I have been so slack with up-dating my blog recently…but I have some pretty good excuses! I have never been so busy with Berlinski! A couple of weeks ago I got a HUGE wholesale order which was very exciting! The problem was that it completely diminished my stock and so I have been madly sewing to get ready for Magnolia Square (http://www.magnoliasquare.com.au/). Here is a photo of some new leather clutch bags that I am making for Magnolia Square…

Some other Berlinski news…my sister is doing an amazing road trip around Australia at the moment and she recently found herself in Port Elliot in South Australia. She took a look at Little Bird in Port Elliot…a stockist of Berlinski pieces! She took lots of great photos. Here are just a few…

Thanks for the great photos Lauren and Eve!! We miss you xx

My gorgeous sister

My gorgeous sister went to a wedding last weekend and she looked so divine! She took her custom made Berlinski clutch that matched her outfit perfectly! How stunning does she look...

Magnolia Square Blog

I’m very excited about being featured in the Magnolia Square blog today!

Check it out! http://www.magnoliasquare.blogspot.com/

I can’t wait for Magnolia Square in November but the nerves have definitely kicked in after seeing the blog today! I am slowly realising exactly how much work I have to do before then and the weeks have just been whizzing by! It is just sewing…sewing…sewing for me at the moment! Exactly how I like it! I have recently started using leather in my work and am going to launch this new range at Magnolia Square. Here is a sneak peek of some new leather Berlinski clutches…

Pretty Paper Things...

Today I found my new favourite shop! Paper 2 on Crown Street, Surry Hills, Sydney (http://paper2.com.au/). Apparently it has been open for a couple of years but I haven’t had a lazy day strolling Crown Street in so long…I have missed it! Paper 2 has the most beautiful range of paper products I think I have ever seen in one place! They have gift wrapping, cards, invitations, stationery and many more goodies! I bought 3 beautiful posters by Kareena Zerefos (http://www.kareenazerefos.com/art/) and a box of divine little stickers of birds, eggs and nests! Gorgeous! Take a look…

Kareena Posters

Bird Stickers...

I made some little gift tags with the sickers...

The Lovely Dawn Landes

I just found this clip of the song “twilight” by Dawn Landes (http://www.dawnlandes.com/) and HAD to share it! She is so divine and this clip is beautiful! Dawn is from Kentucky and is a bit alternate country...she has the most gorgeous soft voice and writes such lovely lyrics. A friend of mine introduced her music to me when we were travelling together and her Fireproof CD become the theme of the trip for me! The day I got back from the trip I looked her up on the net and…would you believe…she was playing at the Basement THAT weekend! The BEST gig ever! I love her!!!!

Have a look and listen....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xd9Twbgd84

Beautiful Finds

I found these to-die-for things while browsing the web…as I often find myself doing. I had to share them with you! I just love this vintage Thai fabric scarf and these light shades…divine!! These pieces are from the great Plumo web shop (http://www.plumo.com/). I think they have just started to ship o/s…very exciting…or very dangerous!!

I have recently made some belts with little pieces of vintage Thai fabric…

The Show...

Wow…what a crazy couple of weeks it has been! The Stitches and Craft Show was brilliant! I had such a great time…spending all day surrounded by such fun, talented, interesting, inspiring people! My ruffle clutch bags sold like hot cakes. I accidentally sold the one that my sister desperately wanted for a wedding…oops! I have to make her an extra special one so she will forgive me!

The clutch in question...

My stall set up...

The absolute highlight of the show for me was meeting Kate from Little Bird at Elliot…a shop in Port Elliot, SA that sells beautiful indie designed pieces. http://www.littlebirdatelliot.com/. Kate has made an order with me and soon my bags and belts will be in her gorgeous shop…just in time for Spring! I am so flattered, amazed and super excited about it!

Over the next few weeks I will do a write up of all the beautiful stalls that really inspired me from The Stitches and Craft Show…stay tuned!!

The first inspirational stall holder I will feature is Lisa from "The Red Thread" http://www.theredthread.com.au/. Lisa had the space next to me. Her set up was beautiful! She was selling the most gorgeous vintage inspired doll kits and hand printed fabric pieces you have ever seen! Lisa also creates quirky, one of a kind art works that are just DIVINE! She has a great blog too… http://theredthreadblog.blogspot.com/ . I highly recommend you check it out!! Thank you Lisa for our lovely chats, your great advice and making the week extra fun!

The Red Thread's stall set-up...gorgeous!! (sorry about the not so gorgeous photo!)

Sewing up a storm!!

There is only 1 week to go before the Stitches and Craft Show and I have been sewing up a storm! I have been in a total lock-down-mode…not going anywhere…just sewing sewing sewing…while watching my old favourite movies!! It is actually so much fun...a bit sad really!! Here is a glimpse of what I have been making…

Embroidered bird wall hanging...

Vintage linen bird clutch bag...

and many many more...

If you want to check out these goodies in person…come and visit me at the Stitches and Craft Show at Rosehill Racecourse, 19 – 23 August. I will be in the Incubator section, (on Level 4) with many great exhibitors, including one of my absolute favs…Trove (www.trovedesigns.com). Trove is a label that makes the most beautiful resin jewellery you have ever seen!! Hope to see you there!!

www.berlinski.com.au is now up and RUNNING!!!!

I am very excited to announce that Berlinski’s official website is now up an running!! YAY!!!!!!!!It took a while to get it all together and I am so happy with how it has turned out!! Check out: http://www.berlinski.com.au/.

Local Rag...

A couple of weeks ago I found myself in a local rag...it was about Berlinski being in the Stitches and Craft Show! It feels pretty funny to be in print…but pretty nice too! They got my name wrong, but I quite like “Alison Berlinski” so I don’t mind!! Take a look…

Sneak Peek...

I have finished my first 2 clutches for the Berlinski Bridal range…and I thought I would give you sneak peek before you can see more at the Stitches and Craft show!! I am really happy with how they have turned out! It really is hard to go wrong when I am using such good quality beautiful fabrics!! They are so much fun to make!! Here they are…

New Etsy Listings

While taking a break from all the sewing I have been doing to get ready for the stiches and craft show...I thought I would let you know about a couple bags that I have recently put up on etsy!

I found the vintage kimono silk, that I used in the top bag, at the Rozelle Markets in Sydney. There was enough fabric for me to make about 5 bags and some belts...I am all out of it and this is the last bag! I will miss that fabric...it is just gorgeous!

The Kimono silk used in the bag below is divine! I have used quite different areas of the fabric for each side of the bags so it actually looks quite different depending on which way you wear it!

Anyway...better get back to sewing!

Glenbrook Markets

My trusty old suitcase!

Mama Duck's super cute bibs

This weekend was a Glenbrook market weekend…yay!! The Rotary Glenbrook Markets are on the 3rd Saturday of each month and it's a surprisingly great market. There are heaps of stalls with so many talented local crafts people selling their products...the organic fruit and veggie stalls are also very tempting! It is such a relaxing, friendly market! I have to say, my stall is in the perfect possie for the warmer months…but on Saturday morning I don’t think I have ever been so cold! Apart from my frostbitten toes…it was still a great day! I have a few regular customers that I love seeing each month and I eagerly await to see the latest creations a few of my favourite stalls have up for sale! My absolute favourite stall is Mama Duck by Alison King http://www.mamaduck.com.au/. She creates a range of gorgeous accessories (rings, earrings and hair clips using vintage beads and buttons) and babies products (super cute bibs, singlet’s and dummie clips). My favourite piece in her range at the moment is a girl silhouette singlet…I just wish I could fit into it! So if you’re ever heading up the mountains on a Saturday I would strongly suggest taking a quick detour off the highway to check if it is the Glenbrook market weekend!

Shopping...shopping...shopping

I had such a great day today doing one of my favourite things…fabric shopping in Surry Hills! I had the day off work and was able to potter around for as long as I needed, with no one hurrying me along…perfect! I went to all my favorites…G&M Greenfield http://www.emgreenfield.com/ (all the staff were in good moods which made my day extra pleasant!), Tessuti http://www.tessuti.com.au/ (they were having an amazing sale…fun!), The Fabric Store http://thefabricstore.com.au/ , Chee Soon & Fitzgerald http://www.cheesoonfitzgerald.com/ and many more along the way! I found some beautiful pieces to start "Berlinski Bride". When I got home, Frida (the cutest black dog ever) was, as always, very interested in my purchases! What a great day…wish they could all be this good!

Bridal Clutch Bags

My recent finds of stunning vintage silver woven braids and beaded braids have inspired me to start work on a bridal clutch range, which I have been thinking about doing for ages. I think the Stitches and Craft Show in August http://www.stitchesandcraft.com.au/sydney is the perfect place for me to launch the Berlinski Bridal Range!

I discovered the vintage silver braids in a mind-blowing antique shop in the Southern Highlands. They actually have real silver woven through them giving them an incredible shine. The intricacy and detail of the hand-woven work is incredible…they are just so beautiful!

The silver and white vintage beaded braid was a lucky score at a recent Lawsons action (http://www.lawsons.com.au/). I had my very first successful bid…YAY!! The auction was for the closing down of a famous costume design business. They had huge amounts of fabrics, braids, ribbons and costumes up for sale. I put in bids for lots of pieces and ended up getting just one…lucky for me it was the one I really, really wanted!

The incredible detail, uniqueness and quality of these braids are exactly what I’ve been looking for to start this range. I think they are absolutely perfect for bridal accessories!

Weekend Finds...

I had one of those relaxing weekends where I was able to find time to explore my local op, retro and antique shops. I stumbled upon these divine hand embroidered linens. It always amazes me how people had the time to sit and hand embroider things like hand towels…I love the idea that people cared so much about their home to create such beautiful pieces to use for everyday items! Stay tuned to see what bags, clutches and belts these beauties get turned into!