Sunny Side Upside Down

I have been in Melbourne for the last 3 weeks and have started to get organised.  The city is so beautiful with lots of trees and sunshine.  There are so many people though, it's a shock coming from the Highland’s open spaces into the hustle and bustle of a big city.  The cafe culture is huge in Melbourne so I'm enjoying my endless cups of coffees and brunches.  Luckily we missed the weeks of extreme hot weather, when we arrived it was to 40oc degrees which has passed by and now the days are sunny but not too hot.  I adore the feeling of walking around at night without need of a jacket!

I have a studio now, which is so cool and hipster - I feel out of place!  It's in a warehouse with different creatives all working on their own businesses, but allowing everyone space with communal areas for playing table tennis and having meetings.  My own space is bigger than anywhere I've had before.  I have a huge cutting table - an absolute dream for any pattern cutter! and I have some industrial sewing machines set up. 

My daily routine has started with me setting off from the sleepy treelined suburb I live in.  I walk to my closet train station with the morning sun greeting me, it's only a short journey to my destination which is the cool side of town with a hippy vibe and artistic graffiti on street walls.  The nearby cafe is friendly and the owner knows my name so I feel like a right local. I am debating about getting a bike and cycling to work, I have lovely visions of cycling with a basket full of flowers to work…(Flowers? I know a little strange right?) something I wanted in Scotland, but everywhere had hills and it rained so much!  So I might take the plunge and get a bike…

I've been creating a collection for my Melbourne audience, which will be previewing at The Rose St Market in Fitzroy over the month of March.  It'll be great to meet a whole new audience and to do some market research on tweed in Australia.  I will be including tailcoats and kilts with a summery Melbourne twist, as well as offering a bespoke service to clients.  I've incorporated denim and velvets into the range too.  I just love working with different fabrics and can't wait to start meeting clients directly.  Really excited to be sharing my work over on the other side of the world!  So for the next couple of weeks I will be organising my collection to showcase then will be taking orders. I have started planning a photoshoot with some very talented photographers and a styling team soon, so stay tuned…

L x