I know I told some of you that there would be a big exciting announcement today but unfortunately it has to wait until next week – I promise – the suspense is worth it!

This Saturday we will be attending the Tamaki Christmas Market from 9am to 1pm – it’s their last market of the year and should be a goodie! It’s located out near Mission Bay – a great location for a sunny Saturday stroll. So if you’re looking for something to do, make sure to pop along and say hello (eftpos machines will be onsite)!

This week instead of a roundup I thought I would share an article that I wrote yesterday for Design Assembly. This topic is most likely very close to your hearts and would love to know what you think!

Have a great weekend!

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What makes design so hip and craft so unfashionable? Is design a term used just for the cool kids?

Craft, more often than not, has a bad reputation. If a stranger asks you what you do for a living – do you say that you’re a designer or a craftsman? Where do we draw the line? Most designers are both. They plan out a design and then execute the end product. So again, why does craft have a bad reputation?

Lucy Arnold is the founder and graphic designer behind Board of Design – she is also the founder of Felt, an online marketplace for handmade goods. Arnold has shared some of her thoughts on the matter, “ I’ve been thinking about craft pathways – how craft is so accessible but there’s no quick way to be awesome at it. Which I think is maybe part of the reason it gets a bad name. People want instant gratification, whereas craft is a long slow learning process. If you cut corners in that process, it shows in the end product – and with the internet now, we get to see the whole spectrum… it’s not selective.”

Justin McGuirk from The Guardian states, “It seems no magazine about material culture, from Monocle to Inventory, is complete these days without a behind-the-scenes story on a little-known clothing or furniture brand featuring people in leather aprons and workbenches strewn with chisels and offcuts. There’s nothing new about the kind of products these studios create. What’s new is the desire to reveal the process and not just the finished object. These are not-so-subtle messages reasserting the value of the handmade over the machine-made.”

Still unclear whether to call yourself a designer or craftsman? Maybe this video will help:

I am proud to call myself a graphic designer and a craftsman. I come up with ideas, sketch them, analyse them, and test the market. But I also work with my hands everyday (away from a computer). I take great pleasure in making things with my hands and get a certain satisfaction that can only be achieved when creating something unique.

Crafts are often associated with “arts and crafts”, which is often associated with goods of low quality or skill (kindy). However when you break those two words down “Art” and “Craft”, it speaks of a high level of skill. At the end of the day design is a craft. There are good and bad designers out there; those who are good at their craft, excel in their field. An Artisan or Craftsman is someone who is a master of their given skill.

Be proud of what you do and the skills you have.

We are super excited to announce our latest edition to the Toodles Noodles range – tea towels!  Offered in four different designs, these 100% natural unbleached cotton towels will bring sunshine into any kitchen. All towels are bundled in sets of two – perfect to give one away as a gift and keep the other for yourself!

These towels will only be available for this summer season and will be available on the shop as of next week!

As always if you have any questions regarding our products or would like to request a custom order, you can email us at hello(at)toodlesnoodles.com

A very happy Friday to everyone!

This week has just been a blur with the Gift Fair and meeting so many great vendors! We have some amazing new stockists on board from all around New Zealand and will be updating our stockists list as we go. Everyone seemed really excited about our special, limited edition ‘gold and black’ stay awesome tote bag! If you are interested in acquiring one of these fun totes for yourself please email us and we can make sure you get on the preorder list!

I promise to post pictures from the trade show, new summer tea towels and some yummy baking recipes soon – so stay tuned.

In the mean time I hope you enjoy this black and gold inspired roundup!

1. Tiered Lukas Pendant, online exclusive at Anthropologie
2. Fun sparkly stationery supplies from Inkkit
3. Saw so many amazing Meadowlark cocktail rings this week – want!
4. Make a statement with this geometric gold necklace.
5. Our limited edition ‘gold and black’ stay awesome tote (order yours today!)
6. Great everyday card by the talented Rifle Paper Co.
7. Wish these sparkly shoes came in my size!
8. Currently sporting this fun nail polish, great for parties.

There are a few new products and designs in the works and all will be revealed in the weeks to come! In the mean time, stay tuned here and our other social media outlets.

This Sunday we’ll be at the Matakana Market – a perfect school holidays activity! The market has amazing food, atmosphere, and vendors. If you come on by please do make sure to introduce yourself!

Also incase you missed it, earlier in the week we shared a super delicious recipe for some Chocolate Chip Cookie bites! The recipe contains no flour, eggs, sugar, oil or butter – so really they’re guilt free cookies!

Have a great weekend everyone!

1. Love this scarf handmade by DarkPlum.
2. These unusual vases can be hung or free standing, is ideal for air plants or general decoration.
3. Beautiful handmade pouring bowl made with love in North Carolina.
4. Modern yet classy earrings coming from over the ditch.
5. Super cute kids top – wish it came in my size!
6. I little obsessed with the packaging and product…
7. Fun textiles handcrafted by Belljar in Australia.

This Saturday is the Auckland Art and Craft Fair – quite possibly the biggest fair I do every year! It’s held at the Aotea Centre from 111:00am – 3:00pm and is always full to the max with talented local artists.

Being as I have done a quite a few fairs (markets) now, I thought I would share some of my tips and tricks.

• Be organised. I have 3 specific bins that I always take with me to my markets. One is full of display material, the other packaging (brown bags, etc) and some more display props, and the third is only products to sell. It is extremely important that after setting up not to mix up your bins. It will make restocking and finding those bags for sales much easier and stress-free.
•  Have emergency supplies. In my boxes I also have a little container full of “just in case” stuff. That includes a ball of string, scissors, pens, washi tape, little wooden pegs, white dot stickers, and penadol.
• Don’t forget your float. If you sell your of products in increments of $5 like I do, make sure to bring along as many $5 bills as possible.
• Display is key. You may have some amazing products but if it’s not displayed well, people will just walk by. It is important to put yourself in the buyers shoes and wonder if you would stop at your stall. Height is key to creating an eye catching display.
• Keep hydrated. I try and take with me the big 1L water bottles to markets as it keeps me drinking. Also remember little snacks to get in bits of energy and avoid those headaches.
• Lastly, smile and engage. When a customer finds out the story behind a product or design and how you made it yourself, they will relate to it more and in return be more likely to purchase. It can be hard, but it’s important to not just stand behind your stand (especially with crossed arms).

I hope you found this helpful and look forward to seeing some of you this weekend!

Haaaaappy Friday!

So sorry I’ve been a bit MIA these past two weeks. I have been down in Christchurch working on a big exciting project in relation to the city rebuild.  I would love to share more but as you can imagine it’s all hush hush.

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to attend my first ever Semi-Permanent, a creative platform spreading art and design inspiration, that consists of a two day conference full of slideshows and inspiration presentations. Hands down my favourite presenters were the two illustrators: Sandra Dieckmann and Kelly Thompson. It was so amazing to hear abou how they started, where their art has taken them, their processes and the stories behind their work. The biggest message this year at the conference was collaboration. The benefits in growing your business, your profile, your skills – it was really enlightening. So needless to say, that will be a goal this year!

Also in case you missed it, we are currently having our first giveaway! As a big thank you for reaching 1200 likes on Facebook, Claudia from For The Love Of French Antiques is giving away one of her beautiful French Linen tea towels! Make sure to check out the post on how to enter!

This weekend we’ll be busy getting ourselves ready for the Auckland Art & Craft Fair coming up at the end of the month. Can’t wait to display our latest products including some new prints and cards!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend with some relaxation and good food.

1. Handmade leather necklace from Italy.
2. Elephant and Bird have amazing handmade products and such a pretty logo!
3. Mmmmm gold polka dot linen clutch - yes please.
4. Set of bangle bracelets inspired by delicious and tasty rainbow sherbet.
5. Fun clothespins are sure to make any fridge or desk festive.
6. Eco friendly jotter from Happy Day Bits – love everything in the shop.
7. A hand knitted cloud pillow – just too cute!

Happy Friday everyone! I am so sorry the weekly roundup isn’t ready! I’ve been in Christchurch all week working very long hours on a special project – what a fantastic city! It has so many amazing nooks full of beautifully designed gems. Not to mention the food down there…oh wow. You can see some of my images from the trip here.

Today we’re off to Semi-permanent, a two day design event! Super excited for two full days of inspiration.

Hope you all have had a great week and stay tuned as we have the new monthly wallpapers coming and a very exciting give away!

Oh and don’t forget today ist the last day to participate in the 15% off your purchase sale over at the store using the coupon code ‘KIWILOVE’.

Till next time!

We have some pretty amazing stockists and we wanted to share them with you! What better way then turning the tables around and asking them some questions.

First up in the new “store interview” series is the adorable shop The Bread and Butter Letter. Started by two friends who met each other through their boyfriends (who played together in a band) and a shared love for vintage and handmade.

Store Name: The Bread and Butter Letter

Your Name: Rose Howcroft

Job Title: Co-owner / Buyer

Location: 225 Karangahape Road, Auckland, New Zealand

How did the idea of the store come about? My business partner, Sarah “da babe” Firmston, found a rad place that was really cost effective, and she wanted to turn it into something special. Once she got the idea for the shop, she asked me to be involved and I quickly agreed as it was such a neat and unique idea – and a fantastic way to flex my creative muscles!

Why the name? Sarah read the phrase in an antique etiquette book! It is the name of what someone would send to the host of a party as a note of thanks. It’s weird, and everyone thinks we are a cafe, but we like that it is really unique and fun to say!

What kind of products do you sell? We sell vintage clothing, locally made tea, and gifts! Beautiful hand-made, local gifts that have a ‘crafty’ feel to them. It is a cool mix of items, and there is definitely something for everyone!

What are the best and worst things about owning your shop? We love hearing people laugh and gush over products in the store! It is so neat to make people happy! If there was a down side, it could be that there is so much we want to do and never as much time and money to do them. You’ll get that with any labour of love though, I suppose.

What’s your favourite creative outlet? For me, it would be anything that makes something from nothing. Sewing and knitting is great for this! What a thrill it is to create and be able to boast of it. There is no feeling like it, I think! I also make music.

What are your top 5 websites/blogs at the moment and what makes them stand out? There are 5 blogs I enjoy for the same reason; that they stimulate my creativity in a massive way, as well as that they are a great way to find out about what is new from designers and artisans alike that I may have never been able to hear about otherwise. Oh, how I love you, The Internet.

- The Frankie blog

- A Beautiful Mess blog

- Pinterest (follow me!)

- The Man Repeller blog

- Fancy! New Zealand Design Blog

How do you find new designers / products to stock? We either find people online or at craft markets, or our suppliers find us and present their stock to us in an email. The latter has happened a lot and is really neat as we now stock such a variety of peoples products because of it. From grannies to graphic designers!

What song or album are you currently playing in the shop? Real Estate – Green Aisles (lucky it wasn’t Katy Perry this time! Phewf!)

Where can people find you? Please come and say hi to us at 225 Karangahape Road, or check us out at www.breadandbutterletter.co.nz. We sell most of our goods online if you can’t get to us in R.L (real life)

This Sunday you can find us at the Ponsonby Central market from 10-3 where you can buy great Mother’s Day gifts! We’ve also signed up this week for the next NZ Gift Fair in September so stay tuned for more information!

I’ve been on the hunt for a new iphone case. There are so many options out there that I thought I’d do a little roundup of some good ones I’ve found (do you see a colour theme??)

Have a great weekend everyone and hope to see some of you this weekend!

1. Kate Spade – Kaleidoscope Silicone Case
2. Ban.do - classic heart case
3. Rifle Paper Co. – Forest Flowers case
4. Tony Burch – Kelsey Perforated case
5. Kate Spade – Soda Bottles case
6. Marc Jacobs – Julio case
7. Rifle Paper Co. – Spanish Rose case
8. Kate Spade Saturday – Windowpane case
9. SwitchEasy – Blossom case

So sorry for the delay everyone but better late than never! Here is this months free desktop and iphone wallpapers!  Another new design release – yay!  Hope you like it. This design is now available on tote bags and as prints! x

Desktop Wallpaper Download sizes:

March (Widescreen 16:10) 1920×1200
March with calendar option (Widescreen 16:10) 1920×1200

March (Fullscreen 4:3) 1600×1200
March with calendar option (Fullscreen 4:3) 1600×1200

To simplify things I’ve only made two sizes of the design but it should work on most screens – just use either the “centre” setting or “fit to screen” if it doesn’t look quite right.

iPhone Download sizes:

March  - iPhone 4 640×960
March - iPhone 5 640×1136

The formal bits:

All photos, desktop wallpaper art, and designers are copyright. The use of this wallpaper is free and strictly for personal use. Sharing of these images on Pinterest, Facebook, or any social media is welcome, as long as you source and link back to Toodles Noodles.  If you’d like to blog about this post, feel free to, as long you credit and link back to this post and/or Toodles Noodles. Thanks so much for reading this boring but necessary bit!