winter with inaluxe

It's cold this winter - colder than usual. It's the time to hibernate, eat hot soup, enjoy roast dinners, drink plenty of red wine, and keep those toes warm.  We are feeling it - and as much as we are enjoying it, spring is in the air -  and we say YES to spring: bring it on.  We are smack bang in the middle of new work, a shop re-vamp, blog and web fun, and NEW larger print sizes.  It's a long process really, and we appreciate everyone being patient while we find the time to make these things happen! Slowly but surely.  

Kibi - the only hibernating inaluxe team member. (doin' it in style!)

Flora Shopper At Blue Q

Happy weekend everyone! Jason and I have both had colds over the last week, have had our backyard re-vamped with trees chopped, trimmed, and some (sadly neglected) turned into bark chips.  We are both looking forward to the much anticipated spring. One of our trees is already in blossom! I should take photos, but it's been raining almost constantly for the past two weeks. 

But the really exciting news? Our Flora design is now a sexy shopper! Brought to you by the fabulous  folks at Blue Q! See it here ---> Flora Shopper  Made from  95% post consumer material, it's tough, weather proof, looks smashing and also helps support the environment.  Can't ask for more than that ha?! 

to be or not to be...

Quotes. Everyone has at least one favourite quote. They make us laugh, think, change our perspective, enrich and sometimes they even delight!   And with that, we have to say we are so excited about the release of the new Blue Q "Quotes" pencil case, designed by yours truly.  Big yays all round. The colours came out so well - we are really thrilled with it, and as always, loving Blue Q!  They are such a fabulous group of people to work with.  The case is a gorgeous size - perfect for pencils, but not just pencils! Fabulous for bag and home organisation too - ACES!

inaluxe at Kate Spade

Hot off the press - here is the limited edition inaluxe print we did for Kate Spade  as part of the Artists Portfolio of Prints, and the Year of Colour.  Our print is August, and the colour is Blue. It's a lovely idea to have one colour and print for each month of the year.  We're in the Fall range sitting alongside two other gorgeous prints -  July is by Christopher David Ryan and September is by Marie-Klaara Gonzalez. Lovely! I have to say I'm really pleased with how the gold foil came out on our print. Big thank you to Kate Spade, and in particular Meghan from Kate Spade. There is a fabulous feature on Felt & Wire  about the prints, with a little insight into the work by the artists. Sami Jensen put it all together so well. A great read! Images below via Felt & Wire

our print - August

Christopher David Ryan - July

Marie-Klaara Gonzalez - September

everyone loves a giveaway!

Earlier this year Jason and I were frantically working away on 8 card designs for Earth Greetings.

It was pretty nuts around here - there were birds hanging from the ceiling (read: paper painted ones) four million books on Australian Flora and native wildlife, and our dining table was no longer for eating - it was all paint, paint and more paint. We had a blast - and these are the designs that came out of it all. (Plus a wrap paper utilising the design in the second card from the left top row).

Aside from the great fun we had with the design process, we are really thrilled knowing these are printed carbon neutral, with vegetable dyes, on 100% recycled paper, and they are made in Australia. And Earth Greetings made it all happen! These are now available - for stockists, please see the Earth Greetings website.

But wait - the Giveaway!  One of our favourite blogs "notes to a further excuse" is one year old! and celebrating with a giveaway!  One random winner will recieve a super Earth Greetings pack, which includes the 8 inaluxe card set below, wrapping paper, and 4 gorgeous screen printed notebooks. To enter just use this link here -  g i v e a w a y    Happy Birthday "notes to a further excuse"  x

the owls - a limited edition collection

We had so much fun putting this collection of our owl together, from the ground up design aspect to planning the lovely inaluxe folder that houses them all.  We love this collection - it's perfect for sharing the love. Keep one or two for yourself, give one to a friend, or loved one... and framing these darlings is easy as! This is a limited edition of 4 owl prints - they are printed on A5 paper size, and each one is signed on the front... There's little red owl, the lesser sooty, hopeful sooty, and of course - the springtime owl. Going to hit our online store any day now! There's a mystery free gift with the first ten orders too - surprise surprise!

inaluxe + kate spade

I'm not sure where people find us, but they do! and we're so glad they do! So it happened with Kate Spade. We recieved a lovely email from them asking if we'd like to be part of their "Year of Color" and of course, we said Yes! The year of color is 12 artist prints (one print for each month). The prints are limited editions, and come in sets of three. January February and March are here and look fabulous!

Our print in the series will be coming out later this year, and we can't wait to see it! We'll keep you posted. So much fun to work on - really awesome people! Here are some Kate Spade faves! I absolutely love the Kate Spade dresses and jackets, and could easily own them all!

inaluxe + blue Q

We're excited to share the new inaluxe zipper shoulder tote, and pouch are now available through Blue Q. Woo-hoo! We were thrilled when Blue Q approached us to design these, as they are made from 95% recycled material, are ethically manufactured, and Blue Q are just so wonderfully cool! We love that they donate to the The Nature Conservancy, care about the quality of their products, how they are made, and have a wonderful sense of fun throughout the whole process!

a little bit complicated

While working on this, I kept thinking "it's a little bit complicated" and that's not so much a good or bad thing, but more a fact. Jason likened it to a butterfly, which I rather like, but it has no name yet... just a glorious burst of colour, and a layering that's still something I'm enjoying - alot.

inaluxe on vacation

Gosh, can you believe it? It's nearly the end of the year! We're both stunned at how this month has just flown by. So much to do, and soooo little brain energy. I think the coffee consumption at inaluxe HQ has tripled - which might explain why I've been so manic. (Just kidding - I'm always manic!)  So the skinny low down on what's happening? Well, we are going to close both etsy and bigcartel stores today (re-opening around the 15th of January 2011) and use the next two-three weeks to hopefully relax, unwind, and paint the house, do some decorating, I'll hopefully do some sewing (which I miss) and I think Jason will be writing a fair bit. There's also the plan of exploring  our local  area, which we are still very much getting to know - country drives, visit the many small towns around here, and of course, watch christmas DVD's. I'm also going to make some last minute decorations to hang from our kitchen ceiling... absolutely loving the decorations below.  We'll be posting on our blog over the break too... xo more soon...hope you're all having a fabulous week!

make your own decorations - apartment therapy

Blue Q + inaluxe

I'm so excited I may end up waffling, so I'll keep this post short, and sweeeet! In late July we were approached by Blue Q to design a zipper shoulder tote and a zipper pouch. And presto, just like magic (well, loads of drafts, drawings, designs, emails etc...) beginning of September they were finished! Due for launch in January 2011, we are thrilled and excited! I have to say it was such a pleasure for both Jason and myself working with everyone at Blue Q. They are absolutely amazing, fun, supportive, inspiring, and well, just really really awesome! We love them, and we love what they do! They make such amazing things, and they produce their products in an ethical, sustainable fashion with a flair you just don't see often enough! Their passion and approach to working with people is really something else! Have a looksie here :)

Here's one of the initial draft designs... it's nothing at all like the finished work - we will post about the finished design in January when they have been launched! Promise.  Yeeeeahhhhh!

donkey days

Here's a new illustration - the first inaluxe (not yet finished) donkey. Still needs some detailed little brush work here and there, but, by and large - mostly done. This is also the first collaborative piece between Jason and myself, and our donkey is all about festive fun, holidays and good times! More on donkey and us soon.   Have a great weekend!

pink connection

Pink Connection... it's all about connection, of course! And pink ones only. Oh, ok, you don't have to be pink to connect! Thank goodness the weekend is nearly here. Over here, we need to paint the house, plant the vegetable and herb garden, go to the markets, bake something nice and sweet in the oven, and connect! I'm totally certain that we won't achieve all of the above... maybe half of it would be nice! If you're going somewhere exciting, exotic, seeing something great - please let us know, equally if you're going to lounge around and laze, well, we like that too! Now available in our store so that you too can have a little bit of pink connection fun! :)

viking fleet at rest

We are in the name zone. I worked on this new piece yesterday, and then we did a test print and looked at it for a while last night (in between episodes of Twin Peaks!)  The name is there somewhere... I think Jason has it on the tip of his tongue. It's a hand painted gouache mixed media piece.  So many thoughts, but no name - yet!

UPDATE: some hours later... We have a name! Say hello to the "Viking fleet at rest" and yes, it was Jason who came up with it. I love the name... all those ships front on, neatly positioned, and the super large sparkling stars. You can almost smell the sea air! If you'd like your own viking fleet print, check out our online store, we'll be adding them later today.  Limited Edition of 50 only.

I'd just like to take this moment to thank everyone who blogs about us, and everyone who comes and visits here too. We love the online community of blogging and the internet! We've been extremely busy the last month and a bit  (more on why soon) and have not been able to keep up with posts, and thank you's as much as we'd like. But we do care... xo

I love... christmas card

Well, this is called "maybe xmas..." maybe because whilst it was initially going to be a design for a christmas card, it kind of turned into something more self indulgent. Not sure if we'll expand on the text aspect of things, (will show my inaluxe partner when he gets home) but I am liking that tree quite a-lot!  This is the kind of card you'd give to the most bestest person in your life. The one who loves you no matter you've just made the biggest fool of yourself - you're still the apple of their eye!

Thanks for the question Carmel... The words say...

I love
the way you smell
your smiling eyes
sleeping in with you
your taste in music
your big bushy beard
the way you never laugh (loudly)
when I slam into glass storefront doors
the fact that even though I have the scariest morning hair
you still think I'm the most beautiful woman in the world.

Merry xmas sweetie.

light through fabric

Repeat pattern, and overlap... reminds me of my old net curtains from the 1970's... Have a great weekend everyone.  xo Hope you're loving whatever it is you are doing - or not doing.

fabric please

Thinking of texture and fabric... I'd like to see this applied in a function three dimensional capacity. Accessories, and home. But it's the first draft idea of hopefully further explorations to come.

august birds

August birds... are flying off to somewhere slightly warmer. Not too hot, not too cold... somewhere nice and in between.  New gouache bird work.

August Birds

The Owl and The Inaluxe, Mr. Inaluxe that is

Today mark's two events, the first ever Inaluxe post by Mr. Inaluxe, that's me, Jason. And secondly, we have now been at our new house-business locale, for two months.   The house still needs some work, and our studio space is not complete, yet we thrive and continue.

I've also started work on a new owl painting, which will hopefully grace the pages soon.  Why an owl?

Many years ago Kristina and I wrote a short story with an owl as a character (more on that another day).  When I grew up here there were a series of old dead-end mines to explore.  One large carvern (sadly no longer exists) used to house an owl that looks similar to the one I am painting now. A lot of the old shafts that were scattered across the town have since been dutifully filled in. In other words, what was once a magical wonderland, is now landfill. 

Speaking of local.... Up until my recent knee operation, our afternoon walks with our little dog were an interesting distraction from the more humdrum side of working at home, (although there is much fun to be had from a home studio), a break is great.

The area we live in is on the quiet edge of the semi-industrial side of town. To paint a picture - this is where old turn of the century miners cottages (re-configured into suburban homes) are one block from the last industry on this side of town, which leads into scrub, farmland and bushland. 

In the weeks since we moved, I wandered around a small radius of our local area, sometimes taking a camera to document what is out of our view, but still within very easy walking distance. Most of the following pictures were taken just a few minutes walk from our home.

And lastly, a shot from home:

Now, that's what I call office lighting.  J.

greeting cards + surprises

Yep, that's right - inaluxe greeting cards are here! The first of the new greeting cards are the Super Foxes. To celebrate these new cards, and our new big cartel shop, we are going to have a super dooper blog giveaway, and a few other possible treats too! For the what, when, and how, stay peeled, tune in, and you won't miss out!   Which fox is your favourite? We are torn between them all. Just love how they came out!