The littlest 'Baby Beatnik' and I just devoured a delicious smoothie from an organic Greengrocer I keep driving past and meaning to check out. It's called New Harvest Produce and I'm so glad I finally had a looksy as it's full of yummy organic goodness - fruit, veggies, eggs, bread, coffee and heaps more.
They are hosting a New Harvest Food Swap tomorrow so if you live close by and have an abundance of homegrown you would like to trade off, I highly recommend checking it out.
I certainly will be popping in more, and driving by less now I have seen what's on offer!
Images of Anna Bond's work of Rifle Paper Co. get me all giddy every time. I just lOve the whimsy of her designs. Another plus is the Eco friendly efforts put into their production such as the use of FSC card stock and enviro friendly inks. Her stationary and floral prints are just sOoo beautific!
They also do custom designs including invitations.
'Bosky' an old English term that means 'Small Forest' This is where uber cool boskke derived their business name from. 'Boskke' create innovative and stylish gardening wares to incorporate plants into urban living, and with an Eco sensibility. They are famous for the clever and cool 'Sky Planter'. An ingenious upside down hanging planter with a water conserving system.'Boskke' have also designed a planter produced from recycled plastic and a range that would suit any space. Looking to greenify your concrete jungle? Maybe a small ceiling forest might be the answer!
Meet 'Florence, Ethel & Glady', they are my ladies. I love them I do. Turns out these Hens are being held hostage...by my... parents - true! Recently the 'Beatnik Crew' moved house. We were hoping for a tree change up in the hills, so we could spread out a little and escape our usual burb dwelling. It was part of our vision in our quest for a more Eco existence. Space, fresh air, trees surrounding.
The town we fell in love with appears to have a thread of like minded people weaved through it AND... happens to be a stone's throw from many flower growers in the 'Flower Captial' of Victoria. Floral bliss!
After searching high and low for the right pad, and with no success, we had to unfortunately postpone our tree change and continue our burbness a little longer.
During this burb move our Hens made themselves at home at the wary yet obliging 'Grandma and Grandpa Beatniks'. A temporary hensitting arrangement was made. Of course just as I was, the G's were in no time besotted by these feathery lovelies. Enjoying their yummy eggs, sipping cups of tea and coffee with them under the trees in the backyard and listening to their gorgeous babble.
'Grandpa Beatnik' got super chook keen and built a pen fit for queens, eggs were layed and lasting relationships were formed. The ladies have been so accommodated for they have developed a sense of belonging. The G's even attended a local chicken keeping course to learn more about taking good care of them.
So I have now been made redundant and currently suffering from empty nest syndrome. Boo. Temporary has turned permanent, I can see it in their beady little Hen eyes. My ladies have been Henknapped and not coming back!
So looks like it's Hen hugging and egg collecting at the G's ... for the time being that is, until I negotiate shared custody. I think I could have a real battle on my hands!
'Monsanto' is corporate evil at it's worst. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) are harmful to the earth and to our health. I was introduced to the horrific goings on within our food system, GMO's and 'Monsanto' some time ago when I watched the film FOOD INC.
Since that rude awakening I am trying to be more aware of, and looking to educate myself more about GMO's. It seems like a lot to get your head around although worth it, as I now have learned, it's an ugly subject that can afford no ignorance. Trust me, I am no expert but this GMO stuff is risky business on so many levels.
The 'David Suzuki' Youtube below, I find, explains the subject clearly, bringing to light the MANY aspects and effects that are involved within this pertinent issue.
I am enraged by the actions of 'Monsanto' and was inspired to attend the recent March Against Monsanto, and with the 'Baby Beatniks' in tow, joined many other concerned people who disagree with GMO and 'Monsanto's' actions and motives. Here also - I Say NO to GMO!
A little while back the 'Baby Beatniks' and I took a train ride to visit Fed Square which was where The SustainableLiving Festival was being held. It was a fun filled day with lots of eye opening and helpful insights into leading a more sustainable and eco way of life. The 'Baby Beats' really got into it as there were lots of fun things to do! Highlights were the utterly delish organic coconut ice cream, the Bike 'n' Blend experience and meeting Costa Georgiadis. Who I have to add, was super busy yet kind enough to take the time to meet and chat with us. He was very interested to hear all about our veggie patch, worm farming and the goings on of our newly acquired hens 'Florence, Ethel & Glady'. 'Mr Beatnik' the gardener is a big fan, and the little people were bursting with excitement to tell him all about their chat with the famous 'Costa' upon coming home.
At the end of the day we walked away inspired by all the passionate people involved with the festival as well as lots of new ideas to do with sustainable living. We also had some realisations and revelations about the systems of the world we live in today and how we as individuals can make a difference.
A lovely lady who had a stall in the 'Green Market' section explained to us how harmful plastic toothbrushes are to the environment, and how sustainable and affordable Bamboo is the way to go. I've never really thought about it, but zillions of toothbrushes made out of plastic are going into landfill taking forever to breakdown. So off we went with some new bamboo toothbrushes, along with some of my fave natural soaps and a few other cool eco knick knacky bits. Best of all though, the 'Baby Beatniks' absorbed some really invaluable knowledge on ways we can live sustainably.
So who else made it to The The Melbourne International Garden and Flower Show this year and soaked up all the inspiration on offer? I get a real kick out of the vast variety of different designs and styles on show, mainly because it's so totally pleasurable and inspiring to view! Just like last year I was attracted to the displays that had sustainable elements. Floriography grabbed me with their super cool rustic playground which was constructed out of recycled materials. The eco conscious Sinikka wooed me again this year as well. This time with AMAZING cork balls, hanging hills, pops of pastel and neon and a STUNNING garden wall piece. Then it was The Floral Art Society of Victoria that impressed me with their fresh crisp white backdrop detailed with shredded paper, that was up teamed with their clever minimalistic presentation of gorgeous Australian natives. Outside the weather was perfecto once again and the gardens were bursting with eye candy. It was a day filled with gooing, gaaing and absolute awe!
During a little holiday in sunny Queensland we had the fab experience of attending The Eumundi Markets. Eumundi is a charmer of a town with an amazing market full of yummy food, stunning artworks, natural therapies and loads of gorgwaa boho things!
Another impressive element of the market is the communities commitment to reducing their impact on the environment and creating a sustainable shopping experience. They have a well promoted recycling system, are plastic bag free and stallholders use compostable packaging. They even have a worm farm managed by the local school to deal with all the waste of the many market goers and tourists that trapes through this divine place.
Who's met CLARENCE ? Or even better who's met 'Bobilee Shahine'? A sister in the hood of bloom loving doing it for herself! During last years flower school day trip out to the 'Gerb' farm yes I've uttered the 'G' word again, we stopped by 'Clarence'. A deliciously unique florist in Healesville that gets me all giddy with excitment just reminiscing about it! Clarence has a mix of amazing blooms, unique arrangements and gifts combined with vintage finds - insert elated opera sung aAAAaaah here! Owner 'Bobilee' is a a great example of the type of floral designer I like. Fab taste, full of personality and kicking commercial blah to the curb! Total shop crush!
The images below are of the shop front and some of their stunning wedding work. Swoonalicious!
Happy day of commercialized love. Any excuse for a floral fest is super ok with me! Although, I suggest ditching all the TAKKA-RAR-MESS wrapping and accessories and opt for just simply stunning blooms in recycled paper or a reusable vessel. Is there really need for all that OTT anyway? Flowers are so gorgwa all by their pretty selves don't you think? It's sweet to be kind to your loved one AND to the environment. The amount of waste caused by today's love whoohaa is horrendous. Get your romance on but do it thoughtfully I say smoochers ♥
Cheers to a fresh new year! I am super excited to shake off 2012, and keen to start a brand spanking new year, hopefully full of - fun, lOve, health, good times and creativity!
The Beatnik fam's first project this year in our quest for a more Eco existence, was cranking up the worm farms we have had sitting in our backyard untouched for goodness knows how long! The stunning summer weather has encouraged us to get out into the garden a bit more and give it some much needed attention. Whilst doing that I found a nice little stash of worms in a pot plant. That find prompted me to start up the worm farming process that I had been putting off for far to long.
After briefly familiarising myself with the instructions I learnt that you need about one thousand worms to begin the farming process. Wow - that's a lotta worms! So the pot plant collection along with a poke around our compost bin didn't quite make the worm quota. With that it was off in search of worms we went!
Turns out you can buy the little squirmers from 'Bunnings' and similar outlets. Totally off the shelf, in a box and all! This information was super weird news to me, and as well as that I also discovered during my worm shopping experience they were a tad on the expensive side.
Surely there must be some super cool Eco dude farming them in his backyard I thought. After a little online research - I did discover a super cool Eco dude farming them in his backyard - win!
His name is 'Leon' from 'Browns Compost Worms', and he is a very passionate and informative worm farmer! Leon's super healthy worms are fresh as Daisies and nearly half the price of the boxed version from 'Bunnings' etc! I was much more comfortable supporting this 'super cool Eco dude' rather than buying them off the shelf.
Leon gave us a tour around his huge veggie patch, as well as the 'Crib Point Primary School's' Eco garden that his property backs onto and he has voluntarily assisted with. Leon happily donated some of his worms to the school which they are farming inside an old bathtub. He proudly told us that the 'Crib Point P.S' have received a sustainability award for their amazing Eco garden. The Beatnik clan spent about an hour with him talking about gardening, growing veggies, sustainability and of course worm farming.
Then it was off with the worms we went, not just the worms though...also a bag of complimentary fresh tomatoes from the garden. What a sweet man!
One of Leon's (aka super cool Eco dude farming worms in his backyard) tricks for healthy worms, is to add a little horse manure with their food scraps. Conveniently on our little road trip to his house we spotted some for sale roadside. So it was eyes peeled for that horse poop on the way home.
Funny thing is, we were in my tiny car so those two giant bags of horse poop we bought at a dollar each did not go down to well with the 'Baby Beatniks' on the drive home! Being a hot day it was not ideal to be carting horse poop around in a hatchback with two kids who were clearly unimpressed with our purchase, hehe! So it was all windows down and lots of complaints flowing! Next poop pick up it's BYO nose pegs, haha!
So the worm hunt was a success and now it's the actual farming I am yet to master. The 'Worm Tea' they produce is meant to be gold for the garden and the way Leon's garden is thriving I can't wait to get a load of that gear!
Sunday morning whilst still recovering after a fun filled night with the gals... I found myself weary eyed and in a frantic navigating pickle in Footscray. I was in a mad, lost frenzy on my way to do the 'Perfect Posy' workshop at Colour Box Studiowith Emily from NorthSt. Flowers. Finally, after a few wrong turns...okay a lot of wrong turns, I made it to the studio. Thankfully they had kindly waited for my arrival, and the sight of stunning Peonies brought me a sense of calm dissolving my stressed state.
'Colour Box Studio' is a new pop up art space run by a bunch of creatives to showcase some of Melbourne's amazing arty peeps and crafters. So far they have held a pop up market and are also running a range of workshops. The space is an ever changing one, heavily influenced by the diverse range of artists involved within the community focused project.
As I mentioned in a previous post 'North St. Flowers' created a stunning display at the 'Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show' and were deservingly awarded for their work. The opportunity to do a workshop with the very talented Emily was one I was not going to miss, and well worth the 'lost my sense of direction meltdown' I had in the car!
The class and I arranged a mixed bouquet whilst picking up lots of great tips to create the 'Perfect Posy'. Emily let us in on a few of her floral ways including her commitment to enviro respectful floristry. She consciously chooses to lean on her expertise to create arrangements and utilises a variety of reusable and recyclable vessels avoiding the use of floral foam (Oasis), which is quite toxic and harmful to the environment.
North St. will be opening a store in the next few days and I can't wait to see what Emily comes out with in her new retail space where she will also be running workshops from soon.
'Colour Box Studio' used recycled materials for their fab looking shopfront fit out
Emily, her floral enthusiasts and our perfecto posies
In relation to my previous post I am back from a couple weeks of roadside pouncing. The treasures of the curb have kept me super busy amongst everything else that life involves. I have come out of the last couple of weeks wounded and weathered by the carelessness of some people. I own the face of a vintage heroine and hoarder. Have you seen that television show 'Hoarders'?! It's a scary thought that my fate might be on along the lines of that existence. Do you know what's even scarier though? The wasteful world we live in and how excessive consumerism is our way of life!!!
Sorry to say it but we are a bunch of brainwashed wasteful mofo's! So much of our ignorant lives are spent acquiring 'things' and disposing of them. The amount of thoughtless waste I witnessed on the roadside was a disgrace. What's the excuse? "We don't have enough time to give a hoot?" Is that because you are working your guts out to buy more 'stuff'?! Let me ask you ...if you saw $100 on the side of the road, could you prioritise and find the time to take it to the bank, or spend it at the shops? Hmmm... I think you would.
As I witnessed the crusher of the rubbish truck smash to smithereens perfectly fine things, I couldn't help but get depressed about all the time and energy put into producing those things. The cost to our environment and in turn to us as dwellers of the earth. I thought of the design process, the materials, the manufacturing, the likely and unlucky person in a third world country that had to take part in it's production. The distribution and miles travelled, packaging, the toxic byproductsthat were about to be dumped into our earth, and theconsumer who may be wracked with credit card debt to pay for all this 'stuff'.
I can understand that we need to dispose of items from time to time, but I can not understand and support outright and ignorant waste. The price of excessive waste is payed by ourselves - wasteful mofo's. It is up to us as individuals and communities to wake the hell up and give a damn about our buying and disposing practises.
There IS a positive perspective and that is, that there are so many ways, big and small we can make adifference.
Watch the movie below, 'The Story of Stuff' and you will understand my gripe. Become aware of our impact, be open to and participate in change. October is 'Buy Nothing New Month' challenge yourself and give it a crack.(Don't know what that is? Check out the links below).Trust me it's a challenge! List your unwanted items for free on 'Ziilch' or similar websites or hey move your butt, support fellow peeps, and donate them to a charity.
This blog post is not a judgemental attack just simply a cry for awareness and resistance against excessive consumerism and thoughtless waste. I urge you to watch this movie and give an iota about this magical earth we live on. I invite you to join me in my quest to live a more eco friendly life. That is, if you are not already, and if you are cheers to that tree hugger!
A fab concept I heard recently was 'Buy experiences not things' That's one of the things I'm going to work on for this little Beatnik family in my aim for greener living.
A slow drive by, a glint in the eye... a hover in hesitance with a glimmer of desire, a roadside loitering of unknown fate. A dash of shame.. I think not, but a whim on treasure that might await! That is if one is so brave as to rummage through another's ah... apparently... rubbish!
Are you a junk collection snob or junk loving street crawler??? You can safely guess I belong to the crew of the latter! A total trash rat I am when it comes to rescuing vintage delights from facing landfill. So many amazing pieces are discarded, it really is quite criminal.
Some turn their wasteful noses up at this act with disapproval. A sad sort of snobbery that exists, although that leaves all the more lovely roadside surprises for us courageous and resourceful types! It makes me a little sick to the stomach the amount of waste that goes on with this method of disposal. So I say ditch the judgements, support recycling, and if it's a little to good to throw, why not donate it to the local op shop before you dump it on the curb?!
A favourite piece of mine from the roadside is a sideboard Art Deco circa that was just about on it's last legs. Mr. Beatnik kindly hauled it home in the back of the '64 EH wagon a little unsure of my sanity! Armed with a sense of vision, I applyed a little love along with a lick of paint and now it's been transformed into quite a beautiful conversation piece. Such satisfaction is felt from breathing back a little life into a treasure that was actually intended for the tip!
Fellow recycler, collector and lover of old things, friend Crystal, had me super jealous of her roadside loot when I visited her the other day. She discovered the most beautiful Bread Bin tin I have ever seen and rescued it before the doom and gloom of the rubbish truck! It's pictured below. I would have loved to have shared a few more of her vintage pieces as well, but she is currently in the middle of the disarray of a reno. So alas I will have to return for a super snappy snap when it's completed! Crystal has the most amazing collection and an untamed gorgeous style that she is totally unaware of. High fives to all you junk loving street crawlers out there, collecting treasures before they make it to landfill. That is until I bump into you along the sidewalk about to pounce on one of them, then it's free for all hehe!
The famous Dr. Seuss often comes off as crazy with his quirky style of poetry. As a child he engaged me with his play on rhythmic writing and imaginative illustration, and now continues to do so in my adulthood as I share his trippy tales with the baby beatniks.
'Mad' man or 'Rad' man if you dig deeper into his play on words you will discover some invaluable lessons in morality delivered in his stories. A viewing of the recently released Lorax film got me all warm and fuzzy and appreciative of his insightful take on the important things in life. Such as preserving our precious environment.
Penned many years ago the story of 'The Lorax' is forefront in it's validity today. 'The Onceler' character within the story derives from a shallow upbringing and carves a path of environmental destruction supported by thoughtless consumerism at a cost to the environment and the quality of life.
Seuss paints the ugly picture and outcome of a world fuelled by greed and disregard for the preservation of nature. An incredibly fitting message for the present world we dwell in today. Cheers to the unconventional Dr.Seuss for his much required prescription of environmental respect and planting the seed within our little ones minds to save the world one tree at a time!
The Wednesday just gone the baby beatniks and I went for a wondrous sticky at the Mornington Peninsula Main Street market. The weather was happily spirited and the street was booming with lots of holiday makers swooning over all the delights that were on offer. On arrival a feast of Poffertjes(a.k.a Dutch Pancakes)was priority number one and lucky for me the youngest kiddo needed a little assistance polishing them off....nom!nom!nom!
Here's some of the beautific things we came home with:
Gorgeous handcrafted jewelry. Ring from Bedros Designs.
The badges a welcome addition to my collection that I have attached to my recently handcrafted crochet doily cushion.
Also stocked up on my fave Aussie made botanical soap containing pure plant oil and all natural ingredients. Palm oil used is from accredited sustainable plantations. They are also petro-chemical and sodium lauryl sulfate free. My absolute fave would have to be the Lemongrass and Lemon Myrtle. Zesty fresh!
