Monthly Notes : June

This month felt like everything took longer than I expected ~ I think it's because I'm stretched. I've been moving more slowly than usual. Not carelessly ~ I still work with the same attention I always bring to the bench, and I wouldn't want that to change ~ but there's a difference between moving slowly with intention and moving slowly because your energy reserves are lower than you'd like them to be. MS TOAD was the clearest example of this.

I spent about seven days working on her leading up to the Melbourne Design Week opening night, and on the final day I had my assistant Jemma in the atelier with me. We were there for eight hours together, really hoping to get her finished in time. I was working on the back legs, which turned out to be the hardest part to figure out ~ for the front legs I started from the toes and worked upward, and that process worked beautifully, so I assumed the same would work for the back. I was wrong, and I went around in circles for most of those eight hours trying to work out which puzzle piece went where. By 5pm we had to call it and accept she just wasn't going to be finished for opening night. We dressed her in as much toad leather as we could ~ she arrived at her own opening in a full leather vest and long gloves on her front legs, but her back legs were bare. It was a little bit of defeat, a little bit of acceptance, and honestly ~ still just the urge to see her completed.

That feeling of working with care, even when you're stretched, has been the texture of this whole month.

Here are the pieces I made for the exhibition. Prices available on request.

ROTONDO TOAD BAG.

UOVO TOAD WALLET

MS TOAD [still in construction]

BEHIND THE PROCESS

I really enjoyed making new works from a new material and working with a new process, especially making MS TOAD. I have dabbled in sculpture in the past ~ anyone who has visited the atelier might have seen a Vienna bread loaf sculpture in kangaroo leather. To make the patterns for the toad sculpture, I taped up a 3D print of the toad, drew the pattern shapes in pencil on the tape, then cut them off the 3D print with a scalpel and mounted them all onto pattern card. Luckily the 3D print was symmetrical, so I only patterned half and mirrored them when cutting them out.

A fairly straightforward process, but it honestly took way longer than I expected ~ hence she's not finished yet. Now that the schedule is slowing down, I'll be chipping away at the last few puzzle pieces left to stitch into place. Keep an eye on my stories if you'd like to follow along.

CURRENTLY MAKING

As well as the toad pieces, I've been busy making online orders and a few wholesale orders too. If you're looking for any of my designs in stock, you're welcome to check out my stockists and give them some love. Their support keeps the production room busy, which is especially helpful when the online store is quiet.

But as always, all of my designs are available made to order, and waiting a few weeks or months isn't a long time when you consider the long life you have with them in your collection.

ON THE HORIZON

I am working towards a new release of work for September, and I should be prototyping already by now ~ but alas I am a little behind ~ that's a direct result of this month being so full. There are so many ideas floating around in my head at the moment, some sketched on paper, some still just ideas. A lot of them aren't necessarily brand new, but continuations of the Nurture story ~ ideas I've had to leave on the table in the past due to lack of time, money, or energy, and that I really want to go back and revisit.

In a traditional fashion business this isn't common practice. The cycle moves fast, and last year's theme becomes old. But I am still working out ~ and finally giving myself the permission ~ that I can do what I want here. I don't need to subscribe to the usual practice. If I want to revisit old ideas, I can. The hard part right now is making enough room in my head to actually play with them properly. Play is such an essential part of the creative process for me, and it's the first thing that disappears when the schedule gets too full. Watch this space.

SIMÉTRIE SCHOOL

School is in session very soon! At the time of writing, there are still places available for 2 students in the final Make a Baguette course for the year ~ the rest of the year’s courses are all sold out.

June 6th and June 13th [both Saturdays] 9am ~ 5:30pm in my Brunswick atelier.

GATHERINGS

Other than simétrie school, I am taking a deliberate break from in-person gatherings and events for a little while ~ not because things have slowed down, but because I need to make room for the prototyping work that the new collection depends on. Creative work needs a different kind of attention than event work, and right now I want to protect that space.

You are more than welcome to book a time to visit the atelier to meet me, see the pieces in person, and have a look at the Australian leathers I work with.

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 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.

Did you know, I send out monthly notes to my mailing list along with a lot of other exciting news, studio updates and other things you may miss that I don't share on here. If you would like to join this part of simétrie, sign up HERE.

As always, thanks for being part of this journey, Simone xx