Little Red...

Today I'd like to welcome a new designer to the Bonbi clan: Little Red!!

April Mawhinney is the lady behind the label and we have some of her sweet purses in the store for all your money holding and card keeping needs. Made from reclaimed fabrics, the purses have a variety of appliquéd critters in pretty patterned fabrics and are fully lined with contrasting cotton.

You can see and shop all of the gorgeous Little Red purses HERE!!

So, an update on the dressage: It seems the training from my last post paid off even though I did get a complete soaking in the horrible summer solstice rain! I have been out competing the last 2 weekends and have managed to do very well indeed, qualifying both my own big horse and my mum's little horse for this summers regional championships! Hurrah!! the champs are in 4 weeks time and there is quite a bit of training to do before then...I'm very excited!!

I have also just realised what a busy month July is going to be...I have some new tee designs I want to get made, including a new design for Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, plus my Heart Art (which has taken a bit of a back seat lately) and lots of other bits n pieces...I'd better get on it!

Jewellery up!

Well I did get a complete soaking at my dressage training yesterday, I haven't been that drenched in a long time!! I was so wet I had fingers that looked like I had been in the bath too long even though I was wearing gloves, and I forgot to roll my hood up and it got filled with water and slapped and sloshed against my back as I rode around... My poor Lauder horse was pretty sodden too, though he soon cheered up when I took him back to the horsebox and gave him some sugar lumps and a nice big net full of hay!

Today has been very miserable and grey too (so much for the longest day of the year, the clouds are so dense it will be dark very early!), so I have been sat in the warm and finally added all of my new jewellery to the store...hurrah!

I have made a selection of lovely lockets, mismatched earrings, sparkles, shapes and colours and you can see and shop all them all HERE!!

Tomorrow I am off to a dressage competition for the day, wish me luck (and fingers crossed for good weather)!!

Mushrooms and jewels

I had a delivery yesterday of lovely squishy cushions from Custom Made. The Lil' Matryoshka Cushions are now re-stocked, and brand new to the store we have these adorable Mushie Cushies!! They have the sweetest print of smiling mushrooms and are available in blue or pink...See them HERE!

I nearly have my new jewellery ready to go in the Emporium too. Just a few tweaks and touches here and there and it will be in store tomorrow...yay!

Here's another peek: Lockets and bauble balloons galore!

I'm off dressage training this afternoon as I have a competition on Sunday...I was getting quite used to the sunshine and now it has gone and been replaced by a horrible miserable grey day. I think I may get quite a soaking later on...Waterproofs at the ready!!

NEXT BIG THING!!!

I have been itching to tell you this for what seems like AGES, but now I can: I am one of Fred Flare's NEXT BIG THING winners of 2008!!!!

The contest is open to designers from around the world and they selected my Lovebird Heart Art canvasses out of nearly 1000 entries (that is where that batch I posted about before disappeared to!). Everyday in June they are revealing one of the 27 winners and on the 2nd of July you can go and vote for your favorite and help them to have the chance of winning $1000 dollar dollar bills y'all, and if you like (and I would like you to like) you can vote for l'il old me!! I will be posting a reminder when the voting booth opens....

So yes, go to HERE! and you can read my interview!!!

Yaaaaaaaaayyaaaa!!!

Eclectic Cat Fluff...

Ok, there's not really any eclectic cat fluff lying around here, but I have been adding new items from Eclectic Eccentricity, Cat and Bang and Fluffstuffs to the store over the last couple of days and I like to play with words...!

From Eclectic Eccentricity we have lots of previous very popular items re-stocked for you and some brand new items too, lots of them with a romantic love theme and also these wonderful Round and Round My Carousel Earrings below. They actually move like a proper carousel and everything!! see all the new Eclectic Eccentricity jewellery HERE!

I have also added a massive update of beautiful new items from Cat and Bang to the store!! We have necklaces, bracelets and earrings with a sea and summertime theme which you can see and shop HERE!

Fluffstuffs kawaii brooches and earrings have long been popular in the Emporium and we have a few new ones in stock now as well as some very lovely pouches and sweet bags too, all with the Fluffstuffs trademark brand of VERY cute!! See all of them HERE.

The new Bonbi jewels are nearly ready too and I will hopefully have in the store by the end of the week, yay!

Compare and contrast

This week has turned out to be a much fun week indeed!

After the loveliness of the sparkling beach on Monday evening, myself and a few good buddies headed down to Penryn's Miss Peapods (A wonderful windmilled eco building over looking the harbour...) to go and see a weirdo psychedelic band called Sunburned Hand of the Man. I have seen them there once before and have to say that I enjoyed their previous performance much more. It's not entirely my cup of tea but their crazy antics were still very entertaining when they covered all their equipment in tin foil and started waving polystyrene heads about on big sticks! They were supported by a local Cornish band called Rosemarie Band who I actually enjoyed a lot more. I neglected to pick up their EP (slap wrists Lee May!) and was hoping to find some of their music on Myspace, but while they have a profile they have no tunes on there as yet. You can find it HERE and I am hoping it will be well worth a bookmark for a listen when they do get some material on there...

Then yesterday I took most of the day off work for some horsin' around in the morning and then an afternoon with my wonderful friend Miss Natalie who I haven't seen in AGES!!

It's not all been play however as I have been making stuff (which actually is play really, but don't tell anyone...!) and I have added the fabulous work of two brand new designers to the store: Design by Kanena and Pippin Designs! The work of these two artists really couldn't be more different and they have reminded me of the wide and diverse range of items that are now stocked in the emporium!

Californian Kanena Peters (who operates under the name of Design by Kanena) makes such beautiful jewellery. She fuses a wonderful array of Swarovski crystals, glass beads, gemstones and shell to create the earthy and unusual pieces.


The Abalone shell of the Amazon Babe Necklace has got the most beautiful shimmering colours. You can see this piece and more of Kanena Peters jewellery just HERE!

So the other designer added to the Emporium is Pippin Designs!! Rachel Young is the creator of these super felt plush brooches, which come in an array of cute n crazy designs ranging from pretty flowers, peas in a pod, fruity bits n pieces, cupcakes and teacups and a wonderful big breakfast complete with bacon, egg, sausage and beans!!


See and shop these cheerful accessories JUST HERE!

Making making!

I've been making some new jewellery which will be on the site next week! Lots of lovely long chains with summer time baubles and sparkling beads and bobs...

Here's a sneak peek:

First trip to the sea...

The weather is so scorching!! Yesterday evening I took my first trip of the summer down to our local beach with the beau and our friend Rob. The beach is in a little rocky cove about a mile away and whenever I go there I am reminded how lucky I am to live and work where I do.

We had a paddle in the sea and it was SO cold! I have never had an ice cream headache through my feet before...it was quite shocking!! I think I will leave it a month or so before I partake in any swimming.

Garden Walk

Oh I love the early summer!

Wet feet from morning garden grass...

The cats always like to follow if we do anything in the garden...! They hate to be left out of anything.


xXx

A Skin, A Night.

I had the loveliest surprise in the post yesterday! My lovely Mark had ordered me A Skin, A Night which is a film by Vincent Moon about one of my favorite bands The National!! I have been waiting for it's release for AGES after watching snippets of it on the internet about this time last year when the band released their album Boxer.

It came with an EP called the Virginia EP which is full of previously unreleased and live material and has a great live version of About Today, the song that made me fall head over heels for their sound.

I haven't watched the film yet as The Apprentice was on last night and I'm a bit addicted to the ball breaking back stabbers, but I will report back when I have seen it...I found this excerpt from the Metro website which makes A Skin, A Night sound rather good!!

Released as a double disc set with their new Virginia EP, A Skin, A Night sees the autumnal Brooklyn indie rockers collaborate with French director Vincent Moon for an evocative film far removed from the conventional rockumentary.

Recorded in the wake of the band's 2005 breakthrough album, Alligator, we're given a keyhole view of the protracted birth pangs of the follow-up, Boxer.

Moon's film challenges the viewer with dreamy, impressionistic techniques that are often revealing, such as his soundless concert footage focusing on the response of fans.

Just as his cryptic style suits this characteristically subtle band, Moon's flickering shots of New York – mostly shot in the similarly stark monochrome of the band's artwork – resonate with the lyrical imagery of frontman Matt Berninger.

This is really a film about the collective creative process and a band at a crossroads between underground obscurity and mainstream embrace. [Nadine McBay - www.metro.co.uk]

Lookie here: It's such a beautifully sad song, I love it when the intro finishes and the guitar melody really starts...

Time for tea...

Tea lovers and friends of tea lovers (that's me, I don't like tea...) rejoice! I have just added some greetings cards to the store that have a sweet tea break theme. They are made by I Like Pens aka illustrator Kate Seaward and feature her drawings of fine china, little birds and swirly floral patterns...Perfect as thank you cards or for arranging your next tea hook up!

As well as her tea cups and birds we also have some super sweet mini cards in the store now too. They are a great way to say a quick and thoughtful hello, much better than Facebook or a text methinks. My favorite is the "Marvin say's 'Hello' card" which has a little dog speaking a speech bubble of hello and there is a gap underneath so that you can write the name of the person you want to say hello to...Yay for greetings!!

See and shop all of Kate's cards in the Bonbi Forest indie Emporium HERE!

Uncommonly beautiful critters and cute...

I haven't posted in a while of late again, I had a super busy weekend of seldom seen friends, a surprise party (not for me but for another's birthday!) and sunshine and it has taken me a little while to catch up!

I have been adding new things to the store from two new designers! First up we have the very sweet creations of illustrator Gemma Correll, who has sent us a menagerie of little hand made plush monsters, brooches and badge packs.

I love their smiley faces and the DIY packaging! Shop all of Gemma's items by clicking just HERE!! and you can also visit Gemma's personal site HERE if you wish, for a perusal of some of her brilliant drawings and creations...

So also in the store we have some amazing new jewellery in from Kirsty Kirkpatrick who makes her eco friendly jewellery under the label 'Uncommonly Beautiful Recycled Accessories'. The striking pieces make use of waste furniture, broken clocks and jewellery and scrap leather from suitcases and the upholstery industry and they are as unique and unusual as all of the elements fused to create them.

The bold shapes and the mixture of different chains in Kirsty's jewellery is very refreshing and the pieces would look hip n cool whether worn as part of a party outfit in the evening or for dressing up jeans and a tee during the day...

See and shop all of Kirsty's wonderful jewellery HERE!!

xXx