Monthly Notes : July

I'll be honest ~ I needed a nudge this month. My default is to push hard, even when it's to my own detriment, and the application for Melbourne Fashion Week landed just as Melbourne Design Week was wrapping up, when I had nothing left in the tank. It was Miles, my partner, who said the thing I couldn't see for myself ~ slow down. If he hadn't, I think I'd have signed straight up and kept pushing through. So this is an issue written from a slower gear than usual, and I'm learning to be happy about it.

WHATS HAPPENING

I've decided not to apply for Melbourne Fashion Week this October. I'll admit there was a real fear of missing out in that the festivals have, in a way, felt like they legitimise my practice, and they're a genuine way to reach new people. But I keep coming back to how good it feels to keep the second half of the year a bit tighter. It's easier on my cashflow, it's so much less running around and planning, and best of all ~ it means I can actually focus on designing and releasing the new work rather than wrangling another external event. So instead of a festival, I'm going to host something small at the atelier to launch the new pieces ~ and I'll bring in a few collaborators to make it just as special as always, only this time in my own space rather than someone else's. [MFW also happens to land on my birthday, so a smaller, warmer thing suits me just fine!]

CURRENTLY MAKING

I've started sketching the new pieces I’ll be releasing in October, though I haven't landed on all of them yet ~ and I'm trying not to rush that part. What I do know: the Uovo wallet [you might remember her as the toad prototype] got such lovely feedback on her shape that I'll be making her in my bovine leather for certain. From there, I'd love to explore something slouchier ~ a hobo, or perhaps a bucket ~ in the same leather, though that one will take some real exploration before I know if it's even possible. And I reallyyy want to revisit the Nurture series and add a baguette silhouette with the same blackwood feet. That one will be so cute!

BEHIND THE PROCESS

I'm newly part of a program that matches fashion students with small businesses, and I've been lucky enough to be matched with Emily Lake, a recent high school graduate who has taken to photography and videography so naturally. Together we're making a photo and video series called the hands behind simétrie ~ we've filmed Kim Ryan and Simeon Dux so far, each working on their craft that contributes to simétrie, with my own atelier and a visit to JVS [the strap factory] still to come. The series will go up on the journal and on socials soon. Stay tuned!

WITH SIMÉTRIE

A new episode of with simétrie goes live alongside this newsletter, and I'm so happy about this one. My guest is Sarah Godden of Soft Focus House. I chose Sarah partly because we share a heritage ~ she's part Maltese too ~ and partly because I admire her aesthetic and her warmth so much. It's less an interview, more a conversation, recorded casually over a call, where we wander through upbringing, creative process, how you come to recognise your own aesthetic, and plenty more.

There's one thing Sarah said that I haven't stopped thinking about. She talked about teaching her daughters that, as creatives, our point of difference ~ our actual magic ~ is that we're unlike anyone else. No one else has lived what we've lived or thinks the way we think, and the work that comes from those places is the best of what we have to give. So when comparison creeps in, the answer isn't to look harder at everyone else ~ it's to turn inward. It's a hard lesson to learn, and an important one, and it's the one I most needed to hear this month ~ because choosing the small atelier over the big festival was, in its way, me practising exactly that ~ turning inward. You can watch the conversation on YouTube now.

SIMÉTRIE SCHOOL

The Make a Baguette Bag course is now sold out for all the remaining dates this year ~ thank you, truly. If you missed out and would like to make this design with me in 2026, you can add your name to the waitlist here. If there are a few of you waiting, I'll look at opening one more date.

If you'd like to make something with me sooner, there are still a few places left in Make a Card Wallet on Saturday 8 August. It's an intermediate course where, over four hours here at the atelier, you'll choose your leather, hand-cut the panels, saddle-stitch and finish your very own Pisces Card Wallet to take home ~ all the materials, tools and a simétrie school certificate included. The class is kept small, so you get plenty of my attention. It's $185, 9am to 1.30pm, here at 7-11 Dawson Street, Brunswick. You can book your place here.

FROM MY BENCH

Here are a few of my favourite pieces at the moment. If something here catches your eye, I'd love to make it for you. Current lead times reflect the reality of a small atelier making everything by hand ~ smaller pieces take 2–4 weeks, bags 4–6 weeks, and totes 8–10 weeks. A few pieces are ready to ship now if you'd prefer not to wait.

Thanks for being part of this journey, Simone xx

PS. My conversation with Sarah Godden and this month’s simétrie school students has given me a real sense of community this month ~ which makes me want to remind you that it really is just me over here, and I read every reply. If something here stirs anything, please get in touch and let me know!