It was over 3 years ago that Kim and I road-tripped from Brisbane to our first Syndey Finders Keepers.  I wish I could find the photo — Kim and Greg looking disheveled at pre-dawn, me preggers and off caffeine, and the little car dragging under the weight of the ceramics and artwork that filled it to the brim.  We are getting ready to do it again, only this time we aren’t driving.

I’ve been perfecting rings, framing prints, folding cards, and trying to figure out how I’m going to pack all this effectively into my checked baggage.  Kim’s been hard at work on her ceramics as well as our exclusive collaboration, and of course the dreaded packing.

I am confident we, and all our handmade goodness, will make it to Sydney just fine. It’s bound to be a great time!  Hope to see you in Sydney on Friday 31 May – Saturday 1 June.

I am honoured and excited that Wombat has been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia’s 2013 Crichton Illustration Award for New Illustrators.

When I first began developing the story, being shortlisted for an award was the last thing on my mind.  (To be perfectly honest, not embarrassing myself was probably the very first thing on my mind and getting published was definitely closer to the last..) 

There are so many gorgeously illustrated books being published in Australia, and I am humbled and honoured to be considered amongst the five other beautifully illustrated books on the shortlist.

The talented and lovely Kim Wallace has been hard at work in her new studio on the Sunshine Coast creating our new line of collaborative ceramics.  Our first collaboration features the Australian scrub wren and a few sneak peeks are below.

The range includes plates, cups, and several different sized bowls decorated with little nests, footprints, feathers and, of course, the little bird.

She’s still working out the details and fine tuning the transfers and ceramics, but we expect to launch the entire collection soon.  Visit us at Finders Keepers Sydney in May to see some of this exciting new work!

The Big Design Market is on next weekend, December 7/8/9 at the Royal Exhibition Hall in Melbourne.  I’ll be sharing a stall with Udessi, so in addition to my illustrations, you will find a big selection of Australian-Made ceramics and art.

Gorgeous ceramics by the talented Kim Wallace of Udessi.

Kim and I will have our new collaborative brooches available and I will be unveiling two just out of the studio Tea Cozy illustrations.  (Sneak preview below.)  Both originals and prints will be available at the market.

Sneak Preview of my newest pieces: Tea Cozy Laughing Kookaburra and Tea Cozy Boobook Owl

Stop by and say hi if you are at the market!

I am cleaning up the studio and have a collection of ornaments that I consider ‘seconds’.  Each ornament I make is slightly unique, but these fall just outside of my standard range.

22 (Slightly Imperfect) Little Bilby Angels Available

No one but me (and you) will probably ever guess these are ‘seconds.’   They just a tad bit imperfect because they either have a little ripple on the surface or came out just a shade darker than my standard ornaments.  I can’t bring myself to recycle them because they are still lovely and useful (and my tree is already laden with a lovely collection of seconds).
They are all half price and you can check them out on my Etsy site.  Only a limited number are available.

I hate admitting it when I make a mistake… but, (here it is) I made a mistake.

I printed a batch of brooches and necklaces with a cyan ink that is not waterproof.  So, when exposed to even a tiny bit of moisture, the cyan runs.

Normally you can run these puppies through the washing machine and nothing happens (ok, that’s not entirely true, the plastic really doesn’t like a lot of water, but the inks hold tight).

So, you may have a bad brooch or necklace if you purchased it at the 2012 Finders Keepers in Melbourne (October) or Brisbane (November). 

It’s easy to test, just put a little dab of water on your brooch or necklace and wait a few minutes.  If the blue ink runs, then you need to send it back to me and I’ll replace it.

If you have a piece of affected jewellery, just email me at Renee.Treml[REMOVE]@gmail.com and I will send you my postal address.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you!

Just a note to let you know that I now have a brand spankin’ new wholesale website, created by the very talented Greg Wallace of 46 Digital Marketing.

The site is password protected and I am in the process of creating accounts for my current stockists.  Please drop me a line if you have not gotten yours yet.