Update: Yes, I know it's well overdue!

Well.  There's been a world of happenings here at AFD HQ.

They are as follows:

Re-branding of AFD and new website/blog 

This is been a 6 month undertaking but I'm nearly there.  

I have been 'finding myself' left right and centre and making myself a new look.  I have a fabulous team helping me with all this and all should be revealed  in the next few weeks.  

That does mean that the blog will have a new home as well as a new look and I will be able to put into place many of the new things I learnt from my recent Blogcademy Course I attended last month.

Blogcademy (Auckland)
Holy.  What a information-fest.  For those of you not in the know this is a blog school run by three pretty dynamic birds - Gala, Shauna and Kat from Gala Darling, Nubbly Twiglet and Rock n Roll Bride respectively.  A powerhouse of blogging talent they certainly passed on oodles of info.  It was also an amazing weekend connecting with some pretty awesome bloggers from all over this country.  So the timing has been pretty good for this new branding lark and most defiantly inspirational - especially Shauna.  She was a wealth of knowledge and has got me lining up many ducks.  Watch this space (well maybe not this space as a NEW blog will be up and running in the new year).  Yip!

Megan Morton's The School (Auckland)
Yes, another trip, and another hot weekend of learning, meeting amazing people and generally just mixing with like minded slashies (and Australianism for a person that does much and many - Thanks Megan for this term, is tres useful!)  I think I won most attended course but I wanted to make the most of it all - only because I knew that it would ALL be good.  I also got to hang with my new design assistance (YES I JUST SAID THAT).  More in a sec.  I did want to say a heart felt massive yummy thank you to Megan Morton, Sophie The, Kara Rosenlund, Simone Madigan, Stephanie Somebody and Brooke Holm.  Find more about them here.  They all rock the planet.  I learnt all and much.

Sophie Jensen (My Design Assistant)
I know right!  This is very exciting and a little scary if I'm honest.  Oh the responsibilty - not just myself to think of!  Sophie came to me back in June this year as an Intern - she emailed and asked to come and work for me for free.  She drove all the way down here to Blenheim and found accommodation all off her own initiative.  She was a wee ray of sunshine to have in my world and I was very lucky to share that week with her.  NOW she's back as my employee and I have big plans for this little lady.  I'm hoping to bring you a bigger and brighter world of me with Sophie's help.  She is super enthusiastic, colourful and smilie, oh and did I mention talented, crafty and designery?!  She will fit in oh so well!

Dulux Ambassador
Yes it's true!  Starting with my wee stint as a guest judge on the Block NZ this year, Dulux contacted me and asked if I would consider a role as their interior design ambassador.  Ahhhh OK!  Dream role!  Colour, colour and more colour!  My first official role was to help launch the 2014 Dulux forecast which I will post in detail (to follow).  What an honour!  I got to speak to designers and specifiers all over NZ and talk about the new colours that are coming through in interiors.  It really was fun to be apart of.  Next year things will continue and there is going to be some amazing collaborations.

Home Rennovations
Yes as well as working with many inspiring projects this year I am undertaking my own interior change.  Currently we are re-doing a very old and tired ensuite and making it a bathroom that joins our two daughter's rooms.  I've already sneaked/peaked you into a little of what's happening via my instagram feed (here) #afdgirlsbathroom.  It's very excited but has started some huge 'builders creep'. BUSY!

General stuff
Because of my new Sophie coming I got very excited - even to the point of considering moving to a real live retail space.  This was ambitious on my part, I think I just got a bit excited my the thought of having an extra set of hands BUT what it did do was to help me work out what I need to do next.  A retail space is a great idea and maybe for the future but right now I got some other i's to dot.  All in good time.  You will notice (soon) that there is an AFD store link on my new site and that will be coming in 2014.  Baby steps but still exceptionally exciting.  So I've been organising and re-jigging my current studio space to make room for Sophie and to be able to accommodate more crafting, DIYing, creating and stock.  Hooray! 

The last thing
I really wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and happy new year.  Instead of stressing myself silly about posting over the holidays - I'm just going to not.  I do have one more post about Dulux but that will be the last for my good friend Blogger.  I will also post a link here for the new blog site so please come and join me on my new adventures.  I love you guys and what started as a journal of me and what I love has morphed into something quite unexpected.  As corny as it sounds, I really could not have done this without you lot.  You make a massive difference and I appreciate you being there (I know you are!)

See you in 2014.  All colourful-like.

Up Skill: Megan Morton's The School, Auckland

Yup - you read that correctly.  Megan Morton and her band of merry special guests (as part of The School) will be winging their way to Auckland for a weekend of stylish, design fun in November this year!

As your know, I was very lucky to get to meet Megan last month at her Sydney based school and got to attend a class on Shibori with Joanna Fowles.  I was one happy bunny.  It was amazing, inspiring and I left over flowing with design ideas.

In November this year Megan will be coming to Auckland and teaching her Secrets of Styling (SOS) Masterclass - I KNOW!

The program goes as follows:

Friday the 1st Nov 6.30pm - 9.30pm: Kara Rosenlund Vignettes ($120 AUD)

Saturday the 2nd Nov 10am - 4pm: SOS Masterclass with Megan Morton ($450 AUD)

Sunday the 3rd Nov 10am - 4pm: Photoshop for Beginners and Bloggers ($280 AUD)

Sunday the 3rd Nov 5.30pm - 8pm: Stephanie SomebodyInstagram Debunked ($150 AUD)

Monday the 4th Nov 9.30am - 1.30pm: Brooke Holm Photography 101 ($250 AUD)

You can book any or all of these classes on-line here at The School's Website.

All classes will be help at the new Mildred & Co Showroom, 5 Gundry St, Auckland

See you there!

Visiting: The School, Sydney - Shibori Class by Joanna Fowles

In my last post I spoke about stars aligning and this order of events was one example.

While in Sydney, it was on the list to visit Koskela out in Rosebury.  I had seen it in many design post, pinterest and print media.  I needed to see this Nirvana myself.  

Koskela itself is another post - but while their I instagrammed Megan Morton's door to her School saying I was too shy to knock.  
Well bowl me over, she contacted me and said that next time to knock and she would answer!  How could I resist such an offer from one of my design doyenne's!  I have admired this women from afar and now I was going to meet her.  Not only that but I also saw that the incredibly talented and super nice Joanna Fowles was doing a Shibori class while I would be visiting.

Oh my stars... they were all in a line.

I booked and look at the magic that happened.
(I also managed to drag my banker friend Kath along - she was skeptical but ended up LOVING it - and making the scarf-o-the-day)

Shibori is a Japanese term for several methods of dyeing cloth with a pattern by binding, stitching, folding, twisting, compressing it, or capping. 

It's a complex and beautiful process that yields amazing end results that are literally infinite.  Variables come from your resisting techniques as well as time spent 'dyeing' the products.  Results also differ depending on the type of fabric used.  It's just lovely.

The indigo turns the cloth an amazing shade of green until it's exposed to air, then changes to a shade of blue

The speed shiborist - Sophie

I loved meeting some amazingly talented individuals as well the pure joy I get from making things with my own two hands.  It's one time when I can honestly say that I don't think of anything else but what I'm doing.  That's a treat in my busy world.

The most insane Lamingtons from Flour and Stone

Joanna is a shibori whizz who has the patience of a saint with an abundance of talent.  I had first seen her featured here by The Design Files.  

What made this day even better was that Megan and her right-hand-main lady Sophie the Stylist also did the course.  It was very amusing to witness Sophie's manic style of 'shiboring'.  Her energy was infectious and by the end none of us wanted the day to end and we were shiboring anything we could get our hands on!  It was with a heavy design heart that it ended.  

Many many thank-you's to Megan Morton and her team.  If you do get a chance to do a class - any class of Megan's, then DO IT.  You will come out a better person.