For the past sixteen months the dedicated crew at Materialise have been working hard to build our store and our website that we hope you will find inspiring and uplifting.....
November 18, 2009
Check out our new Materialise website...........!
Go to www.materialiseyourlife.com and hopefully you'll see some really cool stuff that inspires you to materialise your life too!
Go to www.materialiseyourlife.com and hopefully you'll see some really cool stuff that inspires you to materialise your life too!
February 18, 2009
MATERIALISE YOUR LIFE........
and by that I mean; Make It Happen!......
Winston Churchill said ......
and I reckon he is right. I have lived by this mantra for the past three years and it has served me well - so it seems...
Sometimes we lose sight of what really matters...
I just watched the movie "Wanted" with Morgan Freeman (Cool As!), Angelina Jolie (Hot! & Cool!) and James McAvoy of Atonement fame (Hot, Cool and as Cute As! Whoa!)
The last two lines that James says in this movie really beg you to ask yourself some questions...... especially if you've been feeling a tad mediocre of late, or had a little crises or three, or perhaps you've just been a bit below par.....
Let's be honest..... It's all normal at some stage..
I know "Wanted" is just a movie but I think it's always good to be reminded of ways of how YOU can Materialise Your Life so YOU can make it happen because "whether you think you can or you think you can't! You're right!
So I say......
And most importantly.... Be the person that you want to be!!!!!
Because it really is up to you.
..... that's all Folks!
January 21, 2009
New Pictures from Paris.....
Check out the amazing array of beautifully styled photographs that follow courtesy of Stephane (Lilou et Zoe's uncle). Thank you Stephane!
Quilted Twins - half asleep... maybe/maybe not???
I love this photo.... I think the girls look adorable, such pretty little faces.
From the snow....
Lilou and Zoe.... Two little ladybirds take a nap. Their gorgeous little faces look so sweet.....So my quilts have found their home....
An amazing winter forest.
And because it'd be rude not to...."Mick Jagger in PAris
Thanks Stephane your photos are great!
January 09, 2009
........."new people"
Meet Lilou et Zoe. They are new people; well to this life anyway (who knows they may be old souls!)... How cute! My latest Liberty creation/s were made for these two very special little wild twin babies.... "just because all baby's should have a Liberty Quilt!... me thinks."
Lilou and Zoe live in Paris so I wanted to make a "new" style of quilt; something a little contemporary, but also well thought out and well executed. First off the colour palette could be exciting!... a little bit "rich" a little bit "full on" but also a bit "off" (if you know what I mean) and a little bit me (meaning my colour choice).
Secondly I decided to make the quilts a little bit bigger than the usual size of my cot quilts for two reasons: 1) So Virginie could use the quilt more like a baby wrap and wrap each baby snug & tight when taking them outside in the cold. 2) So as the girls got a little older the quilts would be a nice decorative coverlet at the end of their beds.
Here is a selection of the Liberty fabrics that I decided to use...
The pictures below show the finished product.... I hope you enjoy it. I had fun making these quilts, hopefully Lilou and Zoe will enjoy using them....
Both quilts measured approximately 115 x 140 cms & are made entirely of Liberty fabric - (back and front) so the quilts would feel delicate.
I used a super thin 100% cotton wadding because I wanted the quilts to feel like a soft hankie or well worn blanket. I machine quilted a random paisley design that I like, quite spaciously to create puffiness. Once I finished sewing the binding by hand, I washed each quilt in 'Softly' washing detergent "oh how I love that smell"..... in my front loading washing machine followed by a half hour in the clothes dryer. When they came out they looked great! A bit more mellow, not so "new" with that squishy feeling that I love.
After I gave them an iron to straighten them out again I took these pictures....
As I was outside in my back garden taking photos of the quilts in the morning sunlight I discovered this little bird's nest that had recently been made by a native bird called a "honey eater".
When I stood on a chair & peered into the nest I found these two cute little baby birds
I thought it was quite a special moment finding these two wild baby birds as I was taking photos of my quilts which uses the Liberty fabric "birdsong" as the feature fabric.... I love it when weird freaky things like this happen in life, it feels as though the universe is reaffirming your actions....
This back view of the quilt shows the Liberty feature fabric "birdsong" that I used. This fabric looks great in a full piece so it was perfect to use as the backing fabric.
January 08, 2009
"R" is for Rachael
Rachael another young student enjoying her holiday time also spent some time hanging out with me at Materialise this week and threw together this upholstered hat and bag rack for her bedroom! It's pretty cute...
These close up photos show the hooks Rachael has attached to her masterpiece for hanging school ties, ribbons, uniform bags, book bags & the like....
Well done Rachael, your fabric selection & composition is dynamic and awesome....!
January 07, 2009
"Incredible" is.............Isme & Inez
Like their mum Miss Shelley, Inez and Isme are two sisters who share a passion for beautiful fabrics, so the girls have been spending time in Materialise over their holidays and have learnt how to make an amazing array of cushions.......... using some divine fabrics they have been collecting over the past few months!
Inez made this seriously good looking cushion as a Christmas present for her Nanna.... who loves purple!!! By combining a rather retro selection of Liberty & Yuwa fabrics with a polished cotton sateen in deep purple and teal she created some rather superb cushions.
Inez watches as I demonstrate the technique she is learning.
Isme starts to design and create a European cushion to coordinate with her bedroom.
Always a fan of red and pink, Isme chose this big daisy for the back of her cushion...... Then adds some really cool quilting using a duck egg blue thread for contrast....
Isme completed this 65x65 cm cushion in a afternoon at the shop last week, leaving no doubt in my mind that this 12 year old is a quick study!
The front of Isme's second cushion showing the quilting detail she has used to highlight the bird in the centre.
The back of Isme's cushion makes good use of this lively Anna Maria Horner home decor fabric.
January 04, 2009
You "win" some, you "lose" some......."The turning point"
Looking back at pictures of quilts I've made it would be fair to say that I've made the best quilts during the most painful and troubled times life in my life..... the more pain endured the better the quilt seems to be.
I suppose it's my way of escaping reality and going on a journey where I walk around in a dark space looking for some light or some sense of order that results in a beautiful butterfly being born....
"The turning point" in my life was when I lost my best friend, my beautiful mumsy when she died from non-hodgkins lymphoma in October 2006. She had been sick for a little while and had gone through rigorous radiation therapy, chemotherapy and stem cell treatment which had no effect whatsoever. During the time she was going through all of this I had found out about a quilt competition held in France. The theme "Fashion, The Reflection of an Era" immediately caught my attention; I thought how cool to combine the two things I love the most: fashion and quilts.
This photo of Mum and I was taken in India four years earlier after we went trekking in Nepal through the Himalayan Mountains. We finished our trip with a visit to the Taj Mahal.
I started to formulate ideas and collect the Liberty fabrics to make the quilt I had in my mind. Mum was really helpful and although she wasn't a quilter she had sewn all her life. She made all her clothes as a teenager right up to when she had us kids. Because I needed a selection of older Liberty fabrics to make this quilt Mum wrote to her best friend in NSW and asked her to send some pieces that I might be able to use in my quilt. Mum would come and sit with me as I was making the quilt and just watch me as I worked away sorting through fabric scraps, deciding which piece should go where.
Here is a selection of the vintage Liberty fabrics that Teena (my Mum's best friend) sent to me.
I used pieces of each of them in the quilt however I also kept some because they are so special for me and I really love them, especially the one at the bottom left, the colours and the design are truly unique.
I started making the quilt in February 2006 shortly after having an operation on my lower back. A herniated disc pressing on my sciatic nerve had to be scraped away, my lower back and right leg were still highly sensitive after the operation and I was in quite a bit of physical pain. I had to elevate a table to sit at chest height so I didn't bend forward at all and I had my sewing machine at this height too so I didn't have to keep sitting then standing.
Each day that I went to work at the patchwork shop that I worked in at the time I couldn't wait to get home to start working on my quilt. I was like a women possessed....I would drop my bag at the table and immediately start arranging and rearranging fabrics until I was satisfied that I had found exactly the right piece. Sometimes I would sort through hundreds of scraps that I had generously been given by so many kind women who keenly and lovingly supported my vision. I would often work from 6 pm to 4 am on the quilt, reluctantly going to bed because I either had to work in the morning or because my back was too sore to continue.
While I was making this quilt Mum was often in and out of hospital having chemo. So I would stop at the hospital each night on my way home and we would sit together chatting about all the things we always talked about while we played scrabble. She was always the winner! Even in her darkest hour I found it hard to beat her at scrabble. Much to her disgust she would even let me cheat and look for words in the dictionary. We laughed & we talked about everything and we bonded even more, as I tried to keep her spirits up and as we both tried to pretend that everything would be alright.
She was so fucking brave and dignified and through it all it just broke my heart. One day when I came to the hospital she told me that she had asked the nurse what happens when you die? The nurse told her that your body just gets weaker and weaker until it finally gives up..... It makes sense really but until you watch it with your own eyes it really doesn't hit home......
So somehow through all Mum's torture and all my pain I managed to finish the quilt and I sent it off to France for the competition. I was sewing right up to the last moment before it had to be sent so I didn't even have time to take it up to Mum's so I could show her the finished product. I'd even neglected to take any good photos of it before sending it because I was so over seeing it that when I looked at the quilt I thought to myself
"This is absolute crap Soph, I can't believe you ever thought that this was good...."
I remember the moment and the look on my Mum's face when I went to the hospital to tell her that my quilt "Tribute to Dior, Homage to Liberty" had won the competition. The look of pride and achievement on her face was beautiful. She was so chuffed and so proud of me, it was priceless......
So the"turning point" for my work happened for me when I won this competition. Not only did it give me a sense of confidence but it gave my work recognition within a professional forum.
A couple of weeks later my Mum was told that she had stopped responding to the treatment they were giving her and that it was just a matter of time before she would die. She lived for three weeks after that.......
Some days I feel sorry for myself because I miss her a lot and I miss what we had together. (I'd give anything to touch the soft skin on her delicate hand just one more time) Most of all I feel lucky and grateful to have been given the greatest gift of all; an extraordinary mother. Who had the grace to share herself and really spend time with me teaching me the important things in life.
December 31, 2008
"Get It Together"
Often when I'm working on a project (or four) toward an end goal, things can get in a bit of a flurry in either my mind, body and err soul......So I have a little jingle that I say or rather sing to myself. Mostly as a reminder that things are coming together and that significant progress has been made and also there's usually also a storm waiting there for you; to be the calm.!!!!!! "Get it together"
This photo of the front window was taken during construction and shows rows of fabric bays waiting to be filled with gorgeous new fabrics. The project I was currently working to "Get It Together" was the creation and conception of my new fabric store that I have called "Materialise"..........
Materialise - the name
For years I have agonised over suitable names for either a shop, a label and at this particular time; a blog site . A name needs to relevant. Quite accidently I stumbled onto Materialise as I sat brain dead in front of my computer staring into the ether trying to define what I actually do when I make stuff!!!!! I figured out I design and create useful things and often simple things that enrich people's lives by being practical, yet serviceable, sturdy and good quality while still being a bit beautiful too. So once we had the name the logo came & I love it, I Love It, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
