Christmas ideas

Surfacing at last

Clever Zebra Designs has had a quiet spell over the winter. Now that spring has arrived I am keen to get back into creating and crafting and attending markets once again. It was a wonderful day at the Wynyard Tulip Festival on Saturday. We had  a great response from a wide range of people. It was great to get some feedback on the clipboards and new range of Alice in Wonderland notebooks and sketch pads. Thank you to all those lovely people who came by.

Lost in Oz

Every now  and then we need a little inspiration to get us back on track. Last week I discovered some wonderful new papers to inspire the creation of these new notebooks. There is something of the child in all of us and these designs made me stop and think about my childhood and all the wonderful old movies we used to watch.

Winter warmers

Clever Zebra Designs has been in winter hibernation of late. Things have ground to a halt on the creating front due to a number of other busy commitments. It has been a time to stop and reflect about how quickly the year is slipping away. It has also been a time to think of some new designs, creations and ideas. This weekend we will be at the Mummy Made it Market in Devonport, from 9.00 am - 1.00 pm. It will be wonderful to meet some other mums who are busy creating away. I will look forward to being inspired by their creativity, enthusiasm and knowledge.

Return from the market...

A wonderful time was had at the Apron Design Market last weekend in Launceston. The weather was clear and cold but the rain stayed away which was great. The mulled wine helped on the Friday night and the sunshine got us through the Saturday. It was lovely to see so many people out, and about and especially the return of a number of cutomers from the last market in April. The children's notbooks, clipboards and pencil sets were the big sellers at this market. It was the first time I had sold the clipboards so it was good to see they were successful. There was a lovely Christmassy atmosphere in the air and great to see so many people entering in to the spirit of the Christmas Decoration competition.

The vintage travel journals and brown paper notebooks were spotted by Amanda from The Vintage Rose in Launceston at the market. She is now stocking them in her beautiful shop in Tamar Street which is just wonderful.....

Off to market....

Choosing our words carefully...

I have been thinking a lot about journal writing..........of course......not just because I am making them, but why we have them. We record out thoughts, our lives, our dreams, our pain, and then what happens to them when we are no longer there tending to them, or guarding them under lock and key.
I was recently listening to an interview about the late Manning Clark by his biographer, and he was talking about the history that Manning created through his own journal writing. His biographer seemed to be saying that unless we burn our journals and therefore our thoughts they are left behind and read and in some cases, like Manning's, used to perpetuate his history. He thought Manning's journal writing was a well crafted and carefully constructed history that had been left behind for people to read, He seemed to indicate that it wasn't necessarily the truth, but the truth wasn't going to be told in what would eventually be such a public piece of work.
I had not given a great deal of thought to all those journals containing all my thoughts ever being read by someone...when I go. My journal writing is not something that is constructed for anyone else to see or know about, but one day it could in fact be just that (I'm not suggesting my biography will be written!)...but. will my daughters sit and read them when I''m gone and does that worry me if they do? I probably need to ponder that a little more...will it change the way I write and pour my thoughts on to the page knowing that they will share them. It's a bit of a confronting question in many ways.

People and paper inspiration

This week I have been inspired by these wonderful replica papers of old newspapers and advertisements. They make very quirky notebooks to record present day memories and those of long ago. One of my recent customers purchased a notebook giftset for her dear friend who is extremely ill, and is journaling her life. I felt honoured that this lady felt the notebooks were a fitting place to record her friend's memories. Once again it is heartening to hear where the notebooks end up, and more importantly what their purpose is. It is stories like this that keep me making more and more.........

Encouraging boys to write.....

Creating journals and sketch books for boys is a great passion. I am encouraged by the many requestst that I have for notebooks for boys....................wonderful to see the art of journaling is so alive and well.

The joy of Journal Writing

The art of journal writing is something to treasured and encouraged, especially with little ones. This was brought home to me yesterday at the Burnie Farmer's Market, where I had a record number of purchases of children's notebooks. Whilst a number of mums and nans bought them as presents, quite a few children also buried into their purses to pay for them themselves. One little girl bought a vintage travel book, even after her parents tried to sway her to buy a more traditional child's journal. It was obvious she had made up her mind about the one she wanted and was clearly not going to change it. She looked to be bursting at the seams to get home and write in it.What is wonderful is the fact that children want to write, create, sketch and keep their ideas in a precious place.

It has made me stop and think about the place that notebooks have always had in my life. From the age of 9, when I received my first diary for Christmas, I have always recorded my thoughts. I now have a small cupboard filled with an assortment of well worn notebooks containing what is essentially my history. From my childhood dreams, to my teenage angsts, to my loves, hopes, travels, joys - they are a record of both good times and bad. I have used them to record the little joys, the huge milestones and the every day gripes that I know no one else wants to hear and know about. Everyone once in while a look back and have laugh or cry and more than often think - did I really do that?... I can't remember that.... and as time slips past I imagine they will be the only record of what my memory fails to keep.

Little treasures

Clever Zebra Designs has been working away on a collection of notebooks for little ones: journals, sketch pads, travel books, and matching pencil sets.

Creating away....

The cold winter days are a great excuse to stay inside and create more and more notebooks. As the house is now bursting at the seams it is time to get to a few markets and sell the latest wares. This weekend  (June the 4th ) I'll be the Burnie Farmer's market, followed by the Made with Love market on the 11th of June. I hope to showcase these French inspired notebooks at both markets.

New designs

Life has been quiet on the market front these past two weekends. It has been good to have a break and concentrate on working on some new designs and notebook ideas. I have been moving towards some vintage styles of paper which work well. For all those recipe horders I have created a few recipe notebooks in which to stick all your favourite recipes or create and write your own. For those needing little shopping list notebooks I have added a few smaller notebook style pads to the range.

If your not into recipe writing and shopping lists I have also created another new range of vintage notebooks - these are particularly suited to little ones. The designs on the papers are very sweet and they would make gorgeous journals or memory keepers.

Happy market days...

The weekend was very busy, but also wonderful. The Circular Head Shopping night on Friday saw a great turnout and it was so good to see local ladies supporting the market. I had lots of positvie feedback, particularly about the new range.

 On Sunday I was at the Burnie Coastal Art Gallery launch and Made with Love market. It was another fun day -again with steady sales, positive feedback and the chance to meet some really nice people and reconnect with people from the past. The children's range was selling well - the small pencil sets were a big success. It is always great to hear where the notebooks are going to end up - 2 were off to Thailand, one to England... two were going to be used as sketch pads and one delightful little girl is going to design all her new Barbe outfits in hers!

Busy days.....

Clever Zebra Designs has been really busy creating and making a huge range of notebooks. Last weekend was the wonderful 'Made with Love Market' in Wynyard at Artscape. It was a great premother's day market with lots of people out and about shopping for their lovely mums. I launched a new line of notebooks at this market - the lovely brown paper with black imprinted style. It is a huge change from Clever Zebra's usual colourful style of notebooks, but it had a good response and sold well.  I am madly getting ready for two markets this weekend. Friday night I'm off to the Circular Head Shopping night - which promises to be a fun night for ladies in the area. All the proceeds from this market go to Ronald McDonald House in Hobart. On Sunday we are having a stall in Burnie at the Upper Burnie Coastal Art Gallery from 10.00 am until 3.00pm.

Clever Zebra Designs: Clever Zebra Designs Notebook range

Clever Zebra Designs: Clever Zebra Designs Notebook range: "Individual rectangle notebooks"

Clever Zebra Designs Notebook range

Individual rectangle notebooks

Clever Zebra Designs

Clever Zebra Designs photographed at the Apron Design Market in Launceston on the 1st and 2nd of April. These photos of the stall were taken by Photobat.

Clever Zebra designs

Clever Zebra Designs is a small business that handcrafts a wide range of beautiful notebooks. These individually handsewn books are made using a wide range of papers that cater for both the young and young at heart. They can be used as journals, sketch books, recipe books, address books or memory keepers.
They can be bought individually or as part of a giftset - with a small and large matching notebook.