OCTOBER 2008 NEWSLETTER : ABFAB SILK NEWS

Hi there everyone! I hope this finds you all healthy and happy.

Don't you love the handpainted silk habotai scarf I'm wearing? Hot pink and orange - I've been wearing these colours together for 30 years, and it's so nice to see fashion has finally caught up with me :-)

I've been going through the hundreds of photos I took on my trip to Paris last June - we visited a silk dye supplier (one of the stops on the Silk Painting Adventure) - and these DUPONT SILK DYE colours were just too gorgeous to ignore.

These are French dyes handpainted onto silk Habotai - what a great way to keep a colour chart in your art studio!

The squares on the silk were drawn with gutta ("goota), allowed to dry, then painted to show the amazing variety of shades available in these dyes.

October's been and gone, and suddenly everyone is scrambling because it's getting close to you-know-what (on 25th December) and we're all panicking - YIKES! Where did this year GO???

It seems like the days are zooming by! In Australia we're having a weird spring/summer after a long weird winter, and it's delicious to see all the different shades of new green leaves on the trees bursting with life and vitality. Sydney is beautiful this time of year and the middle of summer (December) will bring hot, humid, steamy days and nights, with an abundance of flowers, shrubs and trees with extraordinary colour displays ... ahhhh beautiful, and such inspiration to paint.

This reminds me that Christmas is just around the corner, and I'd better start thinking about gifts to buy and make - yikes! I have great intentions EVERY year, and some years I cut it a bit too close for comfort :-)

Trinket boxes with silk designs on lids

I'm going to surprise some girlfriends with my new trinket boxes - all I have to do is order them from my store online, so that's easy! I've added new ones too ... The giftboxes are wooden, 5.5x5.2 inches (14x14cms), lined with velvet, and have white ceramic tiles in the lid which show off my silk designs beautifully.

Trinket Box : Paris Dreams I painted this in June earlier this year (Click photos)	Trinket Box : Purple Flower is the inspiration for the first of my new handpainted silk cushion covers	Trinket Box : Shiny Amoeba - is some fun I had on shiny silk Habotai - it looks like it's MOVING!

In the 3 trinket boxes above, you can see some of the designs, at left you can see a sample of the velvet-lined box which comes in either black or mahogany.

My online store shows close-up photos with all the details >>

Beautiful fabric trims from Paris

I've been having a look at some beautiful trims I purchased near Montmartre at one of the Molini stores, and they're so gorgeous I just have to share them with you. I'm thinking of adding them to the necks of a couple of silk or cotton tops - they're fun and oh so colourful!

A silk artist friend in Paris told me she thought they might originally come from Morocco - ooooh so exotic!  This photo doesn't do them justice - the colours are SO bright.

New silk scarves!

I'm soooo pleased to let you know I am now painting on gorgeous new silk chiffon scarves - perfect little pieces of unique art to wear around your neck, as a bandana, around your hat's brim or to tie onto your handbag.

21x21 inches / 54x54cm : light as a breeze : lets air through the loose chiffon weave - here's one in hot pink and lime, below:

These square scarves are SO easy to wear, no complicated way to tie them, simply tie a wee knot at the back, and slide to the side of the neck if you like for a dash of panache :-)

I love silk chiffon for hot summery days and evenings - the open weave allows the air to flow through very easily and they float on the breeze. (The tighter weave of the shiny silk habotai is more suitable for colder weather with its tightly closed weave.)

I've started painting in other colour combinations:

hot pink and lime (shown above)
hot pink and orange
hot pink and purple
turquoise blue and lime
turquoise blue and purple
lime and purple
and others which will also be available.

I will be giving you - my Silk News subscribers - first offer at a pre-launch discounted price very soon - stay tuned!

Soft and sumptuous silk charmeuse cushion covers

I've started the new designs on the silk charmeuse cushion covers (with zippers), and the finished silk is so soft and sensual - oooh I love it! I'll be shipping them with or without the cushion (insert).

This one has a turquoise background, and purple petals - all handpainted by brush using fibre-reactive dyes and the outline I created with white cold wax:

And yes - there are other colours available.

I'm offering you - my newsletter subscribers - a pre-launch discount! The cushion covers will retail for $US60.00 each (plus shipping), and the price for you is $US50.00 - that's over 15% off!

I'll send you an email with the special pre-launch link over the next few days!

Shipping extra.

Cushion insert extra (overseas shoppers will probably prefer to buy their own locally).

SILK ADVENTURE IN PARIS

One of my other loves is building websites (that's right - left brain / right brain ... and who thought I was unbalanced? :-)

So it was only natural that I would create a website about my love of Paris, where I can add photos and tell stories of all the great places I find, food I've tried, things to do all year round. If you've got time, and feel like stepping into 'my' Paris, pop over and have a look :

Silk painting in Paris >>

PLUS SIZE FASHION IN PARIS

Announcing my new adventure in Paris!

Come with me as I show you all the fabulous plus size stores in Paris.

Spend a week with like-minded adventurous gorgeous Goddesses.

Read all about the fun we'll have and sign up for the mailing list to be kept up-to-date with all the news!

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SILK CLASSES
SYDNEY
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If you're in Sydney, I have a range of Silk Painting Classes all year round, for example:

Handpainted Silk Cards
Handpainted Silk Chiffon Scarves

Please contact me for more info on the Silk painting classes >>

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BLOGALICIOUS

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If you haven't visited my blog yet, now might be a good time - my ramblings about silk, fashion, travel and whatever else takes my fancy.

Latest blog post:
http://Abfab-Art-Studio.blogspot.com

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Did you say SHOES?

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I'M SOOOO excited!  I've been designing some women's shoes - my SILK paintings are being printed on them!  I know, sounds impossible, but it's true - here are the first samples:

Aren't they wild????  I love them!

I'll be selling these on my website very soon!!

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NEW WEARABLE
ART CLOTHING
DESIGNS
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Ohhhhh my brain has been conjuring up all kinds of fabulous new clothing shapes and designs, and I'm in the process of finding a couple of people who sew-by-the-piece to help me.  If you know of anyone in Sydney who loves to sew silk or cotton as a piece-worker, click the Contact link and let me know - thanks!

Read more and see previous sketches on the blog:
New silk clothing sketches

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SILK SCARF WINNER!!

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CONGRATULATIONS to Angelo Lipari in  New Zealand! You've won a 21x21 inch / 54x54cm handpainted silk chiffon scarf by signing up for my newsletter - please send me a photo of you wearing it, to add to my next newsletter. Enjoy!

PS - The silk scarf at right is in delicious floaty chiffon too, and is 35x35 inches square (90x90cm).

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That's it for this issue of the Abfab Silk Newsletter, and I hope this finds you all happy and healthy and enjoying the beauty in every day.

PS - you can now post Comments on the Silk News pages of the websites, so wherever you see the Comments link appearing at the bottom of web pages, post away! I look forward to hearing from you!

Ciao for now,
Teena!

PS - If you haven't subscribed to the Abfab Silk Newsletter, click here to get started - you will be in the draw each month to win a fabulous handpainted silk scarf by me - Teena Hughes!

Feel free to post a comment!

I love to get feedback, ideas, questions!

Please click the ADD A COMMENT LINK  below to type your feedback >>

Comments:

• December 2, 2008, 3:24 am - Bette Kerrigan

•  

  Teena,

  I've just finished the first newsletter from you. What a wonderful way to communicate with everyone.

  
  It is so packed with newsy stuff and the colored photos are a great addition. Since I am more visual than most other senses, I do appreciate your time and effort in putting this letter out to all of us.
  By the way I was in your country 3 years ago and loved it. Even rode a camel.:) Ate beer bread, and tasted the wonderful new foods I was introduced to.
  Good job gal, aloha, Bette

  Hi Bette!

  Thanks sooo much for your kind words - it's lovely to know that someone likes what I write - don't hesitate to ask questions, I'm happy to help you as best I can.

  My goodness - sounds like you had a fabulous time in Australia - riding a camel, indeed! Now that's something I've never done - not a lot of people would know that we have herds of wild camels in our deserts in the centre of Australia.

  Aloha!
  Teena

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