Hi ho, it's off I go!

Super quick one - I'm off to Melbourne tonight! I've arranged leave from my family & will squish the trip around work to visit Melbourne's State of design festival. Can't wait! Loads of markets and catching up with a long lost friend for dinner.

Why the train? Everyone has been asking. Two words - carbon footprint. Flying is a lot of fun, but if you don't have wings, it's not overly planet friendly.

Back is packed, now it's off to work....

mmm, smells like honey....

How's this for a tidy bit of innovation. Straight from New Zealand to our studio desk is a big fat box of Honey Sticks. No, they're not colourful lollies, they're fantastic stumpy, chunky, colourful beeswax crayons for the arty underagers in the home. Pictured is my daughter's playtime with the newest product for our store. Built for small hands. Stumpy = harder to snap. Nice work. The wax is a by product of the new Zealand honey industry and draws beautifully. (I reckon there's the chance of drawing on fabric and then ironing it in to set - if you try this, make sure to put a piece of paper of the new artwork so you don't have a permanently coloured baseplate.)

Boxed set of 12 available shortly!

R&D

A great deal of what I do is research and developent. (An offical way of saying, finding stuff, using our family as test pilots to see how it performs, collating feedback and if the product ticks all the boxes, stock said product!)
As you're all aware, there are many companies out there with fantastic copywriters. Trying to make us think that we really, really need (at least) 1 of whatever they're selling. Great for them, but it has to work both ways.

I get really excited when I've found something I deem appropriate for Eco Depot. Take this flat pack bowl for example. Designed by a great guy. But it is still undergoing it's trial. Minimal waste, minimal packaging, but a tiny bit on the delicate side. There are no screws and no adhesives - that's part of its beauty. Also, the sculptural form is fantastic. My daughter loves turning it in and out of jigsaw mode. My husband thinks it's a little delicate (if you plop a piece of fruit etc. into the bowl, a ring bounces off it's shelf.) For my money, I love it on our dining table .

Any opinions?