The Great Escape

                           Image: Alexandre Bailheche via Coco + Kelley

Have a wonderful weekend.......

Love is all you need......

Happy Valentines

Cards and photo block from Alicia Bock Photography.

Mondays Child Pyjamas - Bushfire Donations

We have been trying to work out how best to help with the Bushfire Appeal, knowing that they really need money. We have decided that starting Monday 16th February until Friday 20th February, we will donate 100% of all profits made at Mondays Child Pyjamas. So if the kids need new pjs or you are looking for great birthday presents or gifts, wait until Monday and them jump onto www.mondayschildpyjamas.com.au to help out.

Little Home - Shop 4 Kids

As promised here are the pics of Little Home featured in the current issue of Shop 4 Kids.

Little Home

Congratulations to Renata at Little Home. Her beautiful cushions are featured in Shop til You Drop this month. Renata's cushions are also featured in a photo shoot in the current Shop 4 Kids. I'll post those pics tomorrow. You can purchase Little Home cushions exclusively at The Enchanted Closet.  

Lucky Escape

My uncle sent through this photo yesterday, with a pretty courageous story from the bushfires over the weekend. My cousin received a call from a friend, who needed help keeping his house safe from the fire that was raging near his home in Callignee, Gippsland. My cousin and a few mates headed out, but once they had arrived, realised there was no way they could save the house due to the ferocity of the fire and speed of the winds. By this stage however, they were too late to leave, so their only choice was to find somewhere to shelter. So the four of them jumped in the water tank, which you can see near the pool, and took turns over an hour and a half period, lifting each other up to the top to get air, as by this stage the water tank had filled with smoke. It's amazing that they all survived. The hardest thing to comprehend is it looks like this fire may have been deliberately lit. So far 12 people have died in the Callignee area, with this figure expected to rise. 

MadeByGirl Jennifer Ramos

                                      MadeByGirl designer Jennifer Ramos

                                                         ABC Girls Print

                                                    Pop Butterflies Card

                                              Love Print in Candy Lemon

                                          Love Print in Candy Grapefruit

                                            I love you, blogs and Tea Print

I was lucky enough to interview Jennifer Ramos, the Las Vegas based designer of MadeByGirl. Jennifer's blog www.madebygirl.blogspot.com is hugely popular and has been featured in a number of magazines, including Australia's Real Living. The Enchanted Closet is very happy to announce that we will be stocking Jennifer's designs later this year, but for now you can purchase MadeByGirl via www.madebygirl.com or Jennifer's Etsy shop. 

Jennifer's Interview

Tell us a bit about your business, MadeByGirl?

MadeByGirl is a paper goods company. We sell a full range of fun & colourful cards & prints.  Currently all the products on Madebygirl are designed by myself. The business began with the idea of spreading Environmental Awareness to everyone who purchases- by encouraging people to recycle the cards instead of just tossing them. We also donate a % of our profit to Global Green USA & Stop Global Warming. 

Where, what/who do you draw inspiration from for your designs?

My inspiration comes from many sources. Life, love/relationships, books, magazines, clothing, fabric designs, home interiors, colour trends etc.  Sometimes I even get inspired by other artists. My designs are all about colour, so arranging colours that work well  together also inspires me to come up with new designs....

You have a fantastic blog. How do you keep it fresh and inviting to readers?

Thanks! I think it's important to model yourself after those you admire. For instance, if there is a blog that is successful, try and find out why. What makes people want to visit them and come back for more. Look at the design and the way the blogger communicates with his/her readers.  Figure out how you can create your own blog with your own style and be just as successful. As for my blog, I thought of always maintaining a certain amount of colour, because colour touches people's emotions. I think when readers come to my blog, they feel good vibes. I keep it fresh by always adding new items on the sidebars and creating posts that are vibrant, with photos that are pleasing to the eye. I am honest & down to earth; I try to convey that to my readers when I post. 

What's your favourite place to shop?

I'd have to say this little shop near my home called Fashion Q. They have so many cute tops in so many different colors! They are very inexpensive. I also like Urban Outfitters & J Crew, even though they can be a tad bit pricey.

Your favourite T.V show and movie?

I love Sex & the city re-runs, Flight of the Concords, The BIG Idea with Donny Deutsch and Anderson Cooper 360. As for movies, I love 'The Notebook'. 

What are some of your favourite blogs?

Foreign:

http://delikatisssen.wordpress.com/

http://karina-elbeso.blogspot.com/

http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/

USA :

http://www.bloomacious.com/

http://cocokelley.blogspot.com/

http://www.mixedplateblog.com/

http://decor8blog.com/

http://www.creaturecomforts.typepad.com/

Finally, what are your design predictions for 2009 and what will you be buying?

Design predictions.... butterflies, balloons, garlands, flowers and lots of colour I hope! 

I will be buying lots of ornate frames, oil painting, art , fabric and silk flowers for my home. 

Thanks again Jennifer. Your blog and Anna Spiro's Absolutely Beautiful Things were inspiration for us to start our own blog!

WOW...what a surprise, that's a great compliment. Thank you. 

Victorian Bushfire Appeal and the Australian Red Cross

It has been a horrific weekend in Victoria, with the worst bushfires ever seen in Australia's history, devastating townships, homes and families. Our thoughts go out to all those people who have been affected by the fires. If you do want to help, the Red Cross is asking for cash donations and you can donate by calling 1800 811 700 or donate online by clicking here. 

                                                Image: Kathy Mexted

It is going to be about 43° here tomorrow. I'd rather be here. Have a great weekend.

Kim Selby - Photographer

We'd like to congratulate our friend, photographer Kim Selby, who has been named a finalist in the Heart of Gold International Photographic Awards. Kim's photo of baby Elsa Mae, has been nominated in the 'Hope' category. Kim is a fabulous local photographer, who we met when she did our Spring/Summer 08 catalogue shoot for our kid's pj brand, Mondays Child Pyjamas. If you would like to see more of Kim's beautiful work click here. Good luck Kim xxx

Cachemire et Soie

I love the French blog Cachemire et Soie. It's a little bit whimsy and a little bit quirky. And check out this gorgeous calender and daily planner that you can download free from Cachemire et Soie. If like me, you are a philistine who does not speak French, make sure you click on the translate to English button.

Kid's Rooms

I am contemplating redecorating my son's bedroom but he's at an age where planes, trains, trucks and animals are too young but he's not quite a teenager, so I'm kind of stuck for ideas. But I did find these beautiful shots of kid's rooms for inspiration. Makes me wish I was decorating a girl's bedroom though, or maybe I should just redecorate my own room.(All images: Domino Magazine)

The Rock

It's nice to be back in Victoria, the 40+ degree days, bush fires and power blackouts. Seriously though, one of the highlights of being back is the gorgeous scenery of the Macedon Ranges. With this in mind I thought I'd post a few photos of the beautiful and mystical Hanging Rock which is about five minutes away from home. These shots were taken by freelance writer, Kathy Mexted, who is lucky enough to have this view from her dining room window!

Congratulations are in order!

We would like to send out congratulations to our neighbour, Stephen Ryan, for the fantastic job he did on Saturday night hosting his first episode of Gardening Australia. Well done!

Enchanted Closets

                           Carrie's old wardrobe before Big built the new one

                           Heather Kerzner's lovely closet

                  Eva Longoria 

                   Mariah's wardrobe 

                          Mariah's shoes!

                          Nicky Hilton's classic closet 

                                 Mariah Carey's luxe robe

This post is dedicated to my sister-in-law who is hankering after a beautiful and organised closet. She gave me the idea for a post featuring lust worthy wardrobes. Some are designer closets, some are celeb closets, but all are gorgeous. For now I'll have to make do with my old built in wardrobe.

The best little chemist in Australia

I have never visited a pharmacy that stocks Missoni, but this week I found one. The Bangalow Pharmacy is not your average chemist. With it's wood-lined shelving and hardwood floors, it stocks all of your everyday pharmacy paraphernalia along with brands such as Missoni, the full Aesop range, Savon de Marseille, Fragonard, True Grace candles and Dr Hauschka.  It makes shopping for lotions and potions a very special experience.

Riverview Guesthouse Bangalow

Here's a couple of pictures of the gorgeous guesthouse we stayed at in Bangalow. The Riverview Guesthouse is run by Pia, an outgoing and welcoming woman, originally from Denmark, who has made Australia home for 21 years. She bought Riverview about a year ago and set about decorating a space that is warm, luxurious, a little bit girly but still remains true to the federation style this home was built in, in 1902. The home was originally a maternity hospital and we stayed in the original nurse's quarters. Riverview is situated on the Byron Creek(home to platypus) and the grounds are spectacular. The homemade breaky in the morning with fresh crossiants, stewed fruits and Byron Bay organic coffee, capped off a fantastic stay. Riverview is located at 99 Byron Street, Bangalow 02 6687 1317 or visit http://www.riverviewguesthouse.com.au/

Madame Butterfly - Beauty Bar Byron Bay

My sister in-law and I headed off yesterday to stay in Bangalow, located in Northern NSW. Before we hit Bangalow, we detoured to Byron Bay. Byron was chaotic and has changed so much over the past 15 years, most noticeably the chain stores are popping up everywhere. So it was a nice surprise to find Madame Butterfly - Beauty Bar tucked away in the Feros Arcade. This shop has been open for about two months and the owner, Sevegne, has done an excellent job with both the shop fitout and the products she has chosen to stock. She has a great mix of well known names such as O.P.I, Burt's Bees, Model Co. and MOR and cult brands such as Lollia Life, Smashbox, Crazy Sticks, Gianna Rose Atelier Soaps and Pure Fiji. Madame Butterfly can be found at Shop 11 Feros Arcade, Byron Bay 02 6685 8077.