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Sunday 24 March 10:00-5:00pm
Yarra Valley Design Market

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Thursday 2 May 5:00-9:00pm
Friday 3 May 10:00-5:00pm
Saturday 4 May 10:00-4:00pm
Magnolia Square

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Sunday 26 May 10:00-5:00pm
Markit @ Fed Square

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Saturday 7 September 10:00-2:00pm
Made ‘n Thornbury Market

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Friday 18 October 4:00-9:00pm
Made ‘n Thornbury Market

i work from my studio at home, a busy bee, either working on orders, running errands, preparing for markets, taking photos or one could say, phaffing… productively of course [!] and for the most part, on my own. attending markets gives me a chance to meet you, the customer, chat about my products, listen to your feedback and i get to meet the most talented of stall holders. it’s a wonderful balance.

so, yes, markets…. ’tis the season! christmas is just around the corner. please consider the environment, buy local and handmade [with lots of love], come to a market, meet the designers and makers. you’ll be ever so happy you did!

hope to see you before the new year.
mx

my stall… m2matiz t.lighthauses, luMiereboxes, blocks, gift cards, gifts tags and notebooks.

it was a gorgeous afternoon with my mr, my girl, my brother, a and his beautiful children h and a. after a bite to eat and a glass of wine at café vue, then onto a wonder through ‘less is more’,  it was then i realised how
perfect heide is, for both adults and children. a little culture, lunch and wine for the adults and much play for the kids made for the perfect afternoon for all.

as much as i wanted to, taking photos of the exhibition is, of course, not permitted, so here’s a peek at our afternoon on the outside and the beautiful grounds of heide’s moma.

h, a, a m and m…

my girl, m and my mr, m..

after two full days in the garden last weekend and another full day this saturday, we were definitely smelling like dirt [and chickens maybe]. i worked so hard, i could bearly move for the rest of the week but it’s the kind of work
i love. weeding, pruning, digging, transplanting, planting seedlings, vegetables and a general tidy up.

the first of september, twenty twelve – it was as if someone had turned the ‘spring’ switch on. it was a glorious weekend, an amazing start to the season. it would have been a waste had we not spent it in our garden, in the sunshine, soaking up those warm rays, feeling alive again.

in the middle of it all and in between piles of branches, twigs and dirt, i grabbed my camera to capture what will change in the next few weeks, as the earth wakes from its slumber, as leaves unfurl, flowers bloom and vegetables grow.

i hope the first weekend of the season you’re in was as beautiful as ours.
mx

i can’t believe my boy, j, will be 18 in just a few weeks. time has flown, really flown. my heart is always full of love for him, full to the brim.

he’s never been at ease in front of the camera, so i was overwhelmed with happiness when he asked me to take photos of him this week. thankful for our time together and feeling blessed to have captured these moments.

i love you to the sky and back j.a.k.

‘birds and their feathers I’, pictured above, is one of four new images in the earthly series.
this month’s giveaway is a t.lighthaus©, gift card and set of 8 tags valued at $43.00 [pictured below]. i hope you love the beauty in its simplicity.

simply comment below to be in the running. dead easy to enter don’t you think?! please share on your
facebook page, get your friends to like m2matiz and/or repost on instagram. please spread the giveaway love!

entries close and the winner drawn and published here on tuesday 21 august.

thank you for visiting and good luck!
mx

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22 august 2012

it’s my birthday month, so, i decided at the last minute to have a second and third prize.
2nd and 3rd prizes are a t.lighthaus©, each from this series.

all your names were put in j’s hat and with his help, three names were drawn.

…. the winners are

1st prize ~ Dee [t.lighthaus©, gift card and set of 8 gift tags]
2nd prize ~ Stephanie [t.lighthaus©]
3rd prize ~ Eileen [t.lighthaus©]

please email me your postal address to receive your goodies!
i hope you like them.

thank you all so very much for entering and for your lovely comments.
stay tuned for the next one… mx

m is for mariana. m is for mama. m is for melancholy. m is the 13th letter of the alphabet.
m is fortysix today, 13/08/2012. that is to say, her 46th year has been.

self portraits were easier back then. one decent shot could be found in ten, maybe fifteen taken. this time, she struggled to find one in eighty. she feels as if she’s aged 15 years in the last two.

worry, stress and tears no doubt contributing to the process.

she is not one to verbalise or write about her thoughts and feelings at the best of times. for some reason she feels compelled to do so now, here, if only briefly. call it birthday braveness.

on the outside, she has it all. on the inside, her heart slowly crumbles. a constant battle between the two.

the last few years have been an emotional roller coaster. she realises challenging experiences are relative but for her, it’s been a few years of living in a dark tunnel. she knows the light is there, she just can’t see it.

she often wonders how she got to this place. it’s not the place she imagined. was it a past life experience that brought her here? what could she have changed in this life? she shakes her head to be rid of thoughts that cannot be answered.

she’s alone, often, not by choice, just how it has come to be, just how it is. she’s ok with it, for the most part.

her overwhelming desire to see and capture moments in the every day, every day, has kept her from drowning, from falling deeper into the black hole she finds herself on the edge of, almost daily. her eyes wide, constantly stumbling onto beauty, the beauty of simplicity.

she and he went to the market yesterday. he needed ingredients to make kylie kwong’s white-cooked chicken with spring onion and ginger sauce, spotted in today’s ‘sunday life’. they walked with charley.

she captured moments.

she is a soul in search of light, in search of strength and a mended heart. she hopes her 47th year is the giver of all three.
xoxo

and a nest i found a while ago.

i’m feeling melancholic. wishing you all a blissful weekend. mx

s is a film director, from san francisco originally, i met her via my brother’s long time friend t, here in melbourne. it was by chance and good luck to have caught up with s in LA. she’s currently in ireland working on a movie with t, a film producer. shooting started a couple of months ago, so they’re right in the middle of it. the girl’s last movie in 2010 [i think] won them an oscar nomination… i have friends who’ve been to the oscars!

it was so lovely to see s and meeting her ever so helpful and friendly roommate was a treat. they were both so keen to help us see the best of LA within the time limits we had. google searches, map print outs, glass of wine, cheese, crackers, chat, glass of wine… we were set and within an hour, our day was planned. i was so grateful c was happy to drive us here, there and everywhere… and then, s mentioned she would re-schedule her appointments and be our tour guide for the day! i was secretly hoping we could spend more time together… so yay!

after a lovely evening of catch up and planning, c, m and i drove back to our hotel room for a much needed sleep!

we drove back to s’s house the next morning for a coffee before we all jumped in the car with s as our driver and tour guide.

s’s house in the hollywood hills. 

gorgeous deck/courtyard area.. and so in love with the cantilevered home in the background!

view from the courtyard..

first stop to the park and the best view of the sign… which, of course, was a must!

c at venice beach..

our soul sister paste up at venice beach.

s, c and m.. and it was getting warm!

only in LA! 

we went on to lunch at the bloomingdales restaurant [top floor] and i can’t believe i didn’t get my camera out. while c met with her cousin for a coffee, s, m and i wandered around… in and out of shops. m bought some make up at saphora and we did a spot of shopping at anthropologie, one of the most beautifully styled stores i’ve seen.

m, c and s…. rodeo drive

window shopping…

by early evening darkness, we made our way to chateau marmont. i was so wishing we could stay for a drink but unfortunately it was fully booked. if you’re not familiar with this amazing hotel, do take the time to read up on it… from my sneak peek, the bar/dining area is truly atmospheric, the interior dark and moody, it enveloped my soul and is every bit how it is described here..

“And when the dusk of evening settles, put on some smoky jazz and get lost – sink into the aphrodisiac of the deep couches, take your paramour on an elevator ride – at night everyone comes to Chateau Marmont – this is the pageant and parade that evening brings, they come for the martini, for the sex appeal, to make the deal–naughty or nice, everyone is your darling.” 

we’ll get there next time..

the evening drew to a close.. back to the hollywood hills to pick up c’s car and more sad goodbyes. i didn’t think i’d like LA so much. having the beautiful s as our tour guide for a whole day and into the evening was amazing and i know i loved LA for that reason. thank you so much for a fabulous day s. i hope to see you and t back here in melbourne very soon! i owe you one! mx

a restful sleep was had at the hotel.. and just one half day to go in LA.

K24 [kitchen open 24 hours.. the pink logo of a couple at a table] 

i have never had so much food [and drink] put in front of me in all my life! .. i had it on good authority to get a bloody mary, so i did. that was HUGE.. i happened to order a soy latte at the same time.. the cup was HUGE, in fact, it was a bowl with a handle. the K24 breakfast was, needless to say, HUGE! delicious but HUGE! i couldn’t finish my bloody mary, soy latte or my breakfast. m is a bit of a sweet tooth. she had waffles with cream and strawberries and an orange juice. what did you have c? i can’t remember…

bloody mary close up… mmmmm.

left our soul sister paste up next to jimi on the streets of LA.

m and c.. in search of some goodwill/op shops..

homeward [SF] bound..

‘fast food’

it was a 7 hr trip in 5.5 hrs!

…..so, that was LA in 36hrs [in a nutshell] and dare i say it, i was a little disappointed we didn’t see a famous anyone!
thank you c, my sss, for driving from SF to LA and back again, for the special moments and the beautiful memories i will never forget.

i want to go back. mark and i are desperate to see the case study houses. sooner rather than later, please and thank you.

stay tuned. in and around san fransisco is the next and final post of our january 2012 US visit.

our day was planned. our mission was, of course, to visit the LA County Museum [LACMA] to see the eames lounge room set up and mid-century exhibition. quite fortuitous really, it was grey, wet and cold, perfect for a museum visit. as mentioned, k lives about an hour out of LA. we drove in, m and i in k’s car and c in her beetle.

c in her beetle.

…and welcome to LACMA. c was pretty amazing and got us straight there without a hitch. we had a fantastic afternoon. we walked, talked, laughed and admired. we had a bite to eat at the musuem café. it was all perfect, with only one minor disappointment, ‘no photographs permitted’ at the eames lounge room but you can see it here. someone [i won't mention any names] did, however, manage a sneaky ‘click’ though… shame it wasn’t me!

take a look at the grooviness that is LACMA. my favourite of all the museums we visited whilst in the US, no doubt because of the mid-century vibe on that day.

me, k and c. the bathroom reflection

want!

my girl, m

the gorgeous c

the beautiful k

my girl, m

‘the angels’ c and k

late afternoon darkness and the end of our most memorable day. it was really sad to say goodbye but we will catch up again soon k. k drove home and we [m, c and i] were to spend the night in an LA hotel.

we visited s that same evening, a gorgeous friend i actually met here at home [melbourne] through my gorgeous friend t! s was in town, coincidentally, at her home in the hollywood hills… her job finds her travelling the globe but more about that later. mx