Our February Favourites: Local Designers and Makers
This month is all about love here at Bowerbird, and sharing some of our favourite local designers who are producing products we can’t get enough of! As you may have seen, we are starting brand new workshops this year, allowing the Bowerbird experts to teach you all the knowledge behind the business. You can read all about these on our blog post here. Creativity is a wonderful gift, and it’s twice as nice when you can share the love and learn from your surroundings. At Bowerbird, we have always maintained our passion for sustainable design and ethical production. It is fundamental to our practice, and it comes with years of dedication to the skill. This also comes from soaking in our surroundings and seeing wonderful ways in which other local makers are driving forward their business. Having said this, it makes sense that we turn our attention now to those designers, people whom we admire and appreciate. Bowerbird Collections has always been a Brisbane based company, with most of our products being assembled right here in our own Paddington store. This year we are even focusing on providing workshops to the community, sharing our years of knowledge as local designers. We believe in the importance of supporting Australian made products! It is fundamental to us to make a conscientious effort to source our materials ethically. As this is something we hold so dear, it makes us extra happy when we
Local Makers – Bespoke Bags and Sustainable Design With Kim from Oxlade & Heart
It’s no secret that we are a fan of local maker Oxlade & Heart and the wonderful work they’re creating! Founder Kim Regan is a close friend and inspirational local maker with who we have had the pleasure of collaborating on a number of pieces. However, Oxlade & Heart's range extends far beyond our collaborations and is a wonderful local brand focusing on bespoke items with a zero-waste initiative! How great is that? I wanted to know more about the brand, its humble beginnings, and what the future looks like. Kim Regan happily sat down for a chat about what Oxlade & Heart means to her. Hi there! Who is the creative behind Oxlade & Heart? I'm Kim Regan. I grew up in a creative family; my mother was a potter and my dad was always making or building something. So making was my norm. There was always an emphasis on creative freedom, if you had an idea you made it. At school, my first job was in a beautiful textile store. After school, I studied Interior Design in Brisbane and then traveled the world as a textiles wholesaler. In 2001 I was working in Chelsea Harbour in London within the interior design industry. Chelsea Harbour is the textile hub for textile suppliers from around the globe. The handbag inspiration came from all the beautiful textiles from around the globe. I feel so many of these beautiful textiles weren't able to be appreciated by
The Bowerbird Catch-Up: All About Workshops and Our Brand New Gallery Space!
We're back and ready to jump into 2021 with a whole new list of exciting projects here at Bowerbird, including WORKSHOPS and a brand new GALLERY SPACE! That's right, the girls at Bowerbird have manifested the perfect space for their creative expansion and we are ready to bring it to you just in time for 2021! We have so much exciting news to share with you we don't even know where to begin, so let's just dive right in. Why Workshops? Here at Bowerbird, our creative practices are constantly expanding and changing. We love discovering new skills, experimenting with interesting ideas, and pushing the boundaries of our faithful toolkits. As our loyal readers will already know, we are passionate about creativity and sustainability, and marrying these two passions to create something beautiful that is made to last. Not quite sure what we're talking about? Check out our blog post dedicated to introducing our practice here at Bowerbird Collections. Some of our wonderful collaborations with local makers. Not only are we passionate about creativity and sustainability, but we are also dedicated to the idea of a community that shares its knowledge. We surround ourselves with other like-minded local makers. We collaborate on products with makers such as Blue & Grae, Oxlade & Heart, and Alexandra Matthews. It is so important to us to be involved in a community that is driven by the same goals and inspiration. Naturally, with two creative minds ready to share