New postcard

We have a new postcard!  


After having huge fun making new label tags for our applique slouchy tops I fell in love with the look of the font on my stamp printer wheelie thing (whatever it's called!) and so now that font is taking over!

I also now notice that my favourite pics that got on to the new postcard were all quite summery.  And it's still freezing here!  
[And we've had a huge earthquake!!!]

The great thing about this business is that it's either spring/summer or I am planning new clothes and looking at fabric samples for summer.  So check out the summer Belle Frock.  I have made a very few with hand stitched applique and they are stunning.  Of course the new fabric choices will not have this hand stitching.  But they will still be really cool (stylie) and cool (made of nice natural breathable cotton)!  

There's the pic of stamp printer wheelie thing - what would you call it???

You're so vain ...

I hope the title of this post means that you are now singing along to You're so vain by Carly Simon.  If you need more help here's the video:

So why this song?  It's for me.  Here is the Bad Photo that was in the local paper about this Sunday's market at Pataka museum in Porirua.  Soooo not my best pic so I'm desperately thinking "all publicity is good publicity".  Right?

The pink skirt in the Bad Photo is nearly out of stock but we have the new purple version ready and a couple of new reversible skirts.

And aren't you happy that the song is spelt correctly?  I love this photo!!

Vivienne Westwood said it better!

A few weeks ago I did a wee rant on how buying good clothes that you love and keep as long as possible was a great way to go. And hopefully Minnie + Ree's clothing would be on your list of 'keepers'.

Turns out that Vivienne Westwood has expressed this same view and being such a stylie woman she has said it so well:

BUY LESS
CHOOSE WELL
MAKE IT LAST

How great is that???

As I was looking around the web at this quote I also found some great pictures.  Here she is wearing my dream glasses, I have wanted some glasses like this forever!  Geraldine Booth, I hope you are reading this!!

And then I found some more wisdom from her:

"I think it is a good thing to buy less and choose well.  It's good for the environment and to be fair it's also good for me because my clothes are quite expensive."

So she's a style icon and a good business mentor too!

Another picture of the perfect specs!

What do you think?

Stay warm with merino

What's so special about this guy?

At the markets that Minnie + Ree regularly attend I am often surprised that many people from outside New Zealand don't recognise merino wool and all its wonderful properties.  Even when I am standing there toasty warm in my merino scarf and they are freezing cold!

So for all those people who don't know - here's the NZ sheep story ...

The first sheep were landed in New Zealand by Captain Cook in 1773. The overall sheep population grew to 70.3 million in 1982 but is now approx 43 million. There are only 4.4 million people in NZ.  The Merino is the oldest sheep breed in the world. It is thought to have come from Spain or North Africa. The Merino was New Zealand’s first sheep and today there are just over 3 million of them. Most Merinos are found in the rugged South Island hill country where they thrive on the high altitude pastures of native grass. Merinos stay in mobs and move quickly.  Despite a heavy fleece, they are fairly small and hardy which means they survive the cold.  

Merino wool is special because the fine fibre keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer.  It is also shower resistant and flame retardant.  Merino wool is unlikely to prickle or itch like other wool because the fibres are so fine.  It is well known in the sports industry because it doesn't stink like synthetic fabrics.  And you can wash your merino in the washing machine - just do a cold wash and hang it to dry naturally.  

The most famous merino sheep in New Zealand was Shrek.  He had escaped shearing for a few years and looked like this when he was found.

He was so famous he got photographed, after his haircut, with the Prime Minister.

And he got a coat to keep him warm, and then embarked on a new career of childrens charity work until he died at the age of 16.

The best way to keep warm with merino is to build up layers.  It traps the air and keeps you warm.  Also merino will keep you warm even when it gets wet.  We have recently made some Deluxe cowl scarves.  These are twice as long as our normal cowl scarf so you can scrunch it up or double it when you put it over your head.  Then you can wear it as a scarf, pull it up around your ears or pull it all the way up to be a hood as well. They are currently in this mushroom colour below, teal, a vibrant grass green and a winter white.

Stay warm people!