To Wordpress or not to Wordpress

I'm in the process of looking into creating a Wordpress site, I want to be able to easily upload new posts and products but it seems a little - fiddly.

Any suggestions or advice?

Sara xx

Harvest Textiles Screen Printing Workshop

Last week I had the absolutely delicious experience of working with the Harvest Textiles ladies at one of their workshops. The courses are incredible value, even with flights and accommodation in Melbourne.

The Autumn Screen Printing School involved learning how to screen print using stencils. A really effective and easy way to achieve a printed fabric.

Part One: A basic over view of how to print. Starting with pre-cut stensils and ready mixed inks we had a play and familiarised ourselves with the process.

We then spent the afternoon designing our print for the next day. A three layer print created from three hand cut stensils.

Part two: We learned the basics of mixing ink, to create different properties of the ink and colour mixes.  We were mainly working with Permaset inks which came in a range of really fantastic colours. I had purchased a colour of colours in Sydney to play with later in the week

With each flood and pull you could see the results getting better and better. The afternoon was spent learning to set up a design for a registered print. This involved using the lightbox to create a layer design, one for each colour.

Part Three: Printing our tea towels was pretty exciting, we choose our inks and set up the first layer, we would print four towels and then come back and print the second colour on top when the first was dry.

The glow (neon) magenta went of really nicely, especially on the white cotton, I was really surprised at how little ink was wasted. The copper was the next colour to go down, a really awesome metalic, not too glittery just a gorgeous sheen.

I had a little trouble with my first four, the bottom of my screen got some ink on it and because the towels were over the edge of the table I didn't know it was marking it until the end. I was really luck that on the last day we had some spare time and I got to re-print some. A very limited run are available online. 

The afternoon was again spent cutting the design for the next day. We also learned how to do a special repeat pattern which was worth the entire course alone. So clever and worked perfectly -  I now officially had the bug.

Part Four: Printing our repeat patterns in the morning was loads of fun, I had bought some leathers from NSW leather and was super keen to test them out. They are going to be used in my neutral & neon leather products which are almost ready to expand into Ipad cases. Exciting.

The pink glow ink turned a darker red colour on the skins but it didn't matter - it was a nice surprise and I am planning on making them into cushions for a boys room. The copper went down perfectly and can't wait to create a little copper surprise for the insides of my purses.

I also got a chance to repeat the stensil I used on day two which was great.

The best part about the course was how open the girls were with information, how they created their table, which products were the most beneficial to purchase and ways you could substitute if you didn't want to spend heaps of cash. Such an awesome week I really didn't stop grinning the entire time.

For more information on the courses or to contact the amazing ladies that run it, please follow the link or head to: www.harvestworkroom.com.au

Dubbleyou Developments

I'm not going to lie to you, we're friends, but I got a bit emo-devo-stateo when all my images from my blog got wiped. Some of them were only stored on here (my fault) and others are so far lost on my hard drive it would have taken the best part of a year to find them all. 

But I'm back.

And the blog is going to work a little differently. As I'll explain later on I am starting to slim Dubbleyou down, just trim the fat if you will. I get so excited by new materials and new ideas that I have gotten a little carried away and I need to focus on the most important products and making them beyond amazing.

My letterbox, swing, clocks, tea towels, purses duvet sets and cushions are going to be the core products that I produce, and here, the blog— will be a venue for DIY projects and small, limited design runs. I'm super excited about this part. I'll be helping you create easy design projects in your home and also offering up the range that I create for sale. They will come with full instructions for creating your own product (including illustrator files if needed) which will range from jewellery to wall hangings, tissue box covers to lamps. 

On the regular Dubbleyou front a few exciting developments have been progressing over the last few weeks. Leather for my new dude-vet (duvets for dudes) set is purchased and looks like cosmic leather heaven. I have acquired the beans for my new doggy-day beds, made from high quality outdoor fabric. I have launched the new neutrals and neon range of clocks on my store and found the perfect copper thread for my leather purses and bags. It may not seem like I'm streamlining things in prep for our big adventure*, but I am. Truly.

*In August the boyfriend and I will be heading out into the wild and wonderful world to have a proper look around. Starting in South America we will weave our way around through New York, Reykjavik, Scotland, Mumbai, Kathmandu then all the way through Southeast Asia back home. 

Letterbox, fancier than ever

Letterbox from Dubbleyou has had a tiny make over. Now made at a legit manufactures (still local, of course) it is stronger and shinier than ever.

The only teensy tiny sad part is that now it is only available in the colours below. A cool white and an ever cooler grey.

Get 'em here.

I wrote a book

In other news. I wrote a book, find it in the itunes store search "Better Me" and looks under books. It will look like this:

Coming Soon: New Store

More changes at Dubbleyou, good ones though. Not rough ones like a price rise at your ice cream store.

I have decided to swap ships when it comes to my online store. From the beginning of next week I will be hosted by Shopify. What does this mean for you? Hopefully a nicer shopping experience! In terms of how you will find the shop, just keep doing what you are doing.

Either search: Shop Dubbleyou
Or link from the site

Here is a little look at the new site.

Introducing: New Products at Dubbleyou

Well, I have actually been rather busy at Dubbleyou in the past few months. Gott say I got a wee bit disheartened by the blog spontaneously combusting on me. But I am back with a whole lot of new images to share with you of new products and designs. Cooleo.

First up: Polaroid Frames

I use to be a bit of a Polaroid feind —nicely proportioned frame, instant gratification. The perfect mix. And then it got crazy expensive then it was stopped completely, then a new range came up and it all got too boring and too hard to keep up with. Like the Kardashians.

So, in comes this little perspex, locally cut, frame from Dubbleyou, turning all your pictures into toes rad Polaroids.

Get 'em here.

So Devo.

So it seems that all of my images have decided to delete themselves from my blog.

Gutted.

I'll be trying to fix the missing links over the next few weeks - but in the meantime I apologise for the aggressive - !

—Sara

New & Young

Young Republic are re-launching this week at www.youngrepublic.com

For the first week at the new look site you can get 20% off all Dubbleyou Products. Offer ends September 2nd.

Just enter the code NEW&YOUNG at the checkout.

Shop the new site here.

The story behind the product: Tea Towels

I thought it would be quite nice to give you a little bit more information about each of the products I produce.

The Tea Towels were one of the first things I designed at Dubbleyou. I had lots of ideas for graphics but wasn't sure what the best way to produce them was. I was thinking of physically making each product (oven gloves, peg basket etc) but had trouble justifying it because of the materials I would need to make them out of. I wanted something that wasn't going to be too harsh on the environment and could be made locally.

100% cotton tea towels turned out to be the way to go. I source the tea towels from a Brisbane supplier and I have them screen printed here in Sydney.

Allan my screen printer has been a bit of a rock through the whole experience, he is incredibly supportive of what I do, even going to the trouble to hand deliver each order. I have him to thank for being able to get Dubbleyou off the ground.

So there you have it, when you purchase a tea towel from me, you know you are not only supporting Australian/New Zealand design but also local Manufactures. How cool.

Week One DIY with Dubbleyou

Hello my lovely people, here is the first in the series of DIY with Dubbleyou —so much fun.

In this step by step we are going to make a ca-uute little hanging basket. Now the trickiest part of this is finding the right rope or string. I actually ended up getting bird toy string because I liked the colours. You can buy it here.

Only thing I would say is that it is a little thicker than I would have liked. But anywho.

You need:

—A jar or container of some kind

—Scissors

—Six time 1.5 lengths of rope or string

The first step is to cut your rope into six 1.5m lengths and tie them together.

The Second step is to divide them into three groups of two pieces of rope, tie the two pieces together about 4cm from the main knot so you have three knots.

We are now going to tie the pieces together again, so take a piece of string from each pair and tie them together, imagine you are creating a basket, they need to link together.

Your jar should fit into the "basket" you have created, hold it between your knees and repeat the previous step around the lid of jar, this is your third knot—the picture below should help you if you are a little lost.

Fill your jar with whatever you would like, flowers, herbs, pencils, anything you can think of. Have fun!!

DIY with Dubbleyou

Hey!

So for the month of August I will be posting DIY tutorials each weekend.

Week 1:   DIY Concrete Vase
Week 2:   DIY Hanging planters
Week 3:   DIY Felt Bow Tie
Week 4:   DIY Geometric Tissue box holder

Cool.

Hunting For George*

Can't say I am not absolutely chuffed with this. Cause I am.

Read the full story here.

Have to Blog about this—

SO.

I have had the best 12 hours ever. Let me take you through.

10.52 pm last night. It happens, a childhood dream comes true.

Childhood Dream 1: Get a word published in a dictionary.
A dictionary not the dictionary. I'm counting it.

So there it is, my first piece of published writing. Is there more to come? I guess you will have to wait and see.

11.11pm (not spooky) Hello Poppy (one of my all time favourite online boutiques) gets back to me. I emailed in November last year and after accepting the fate that they obviously hated me and that I was a failure. They had discovered a group of unread emails including mine! Hurray they don't hate me, my incessant need for people to like me is once again filled! 

So with any luck I will hear back from them in a few days with a wholesale order. Fingers crossed. 

Go to their site again and look at all the loveliness. 

5.46am. Marc. Johns. Emails. Me.

Freakin' hyperventilating. I had asked him if he would mind making another print of Lightning Face. (below) and he said yes. Did you read that. Yes. Not no, not no response. Yes. Far out brussel sprout. 

Anyways I told him that I would send him some tea towels. He may have said that he "loves" them but you no no biggie. Its huge actually. Huge.

I do hope that you Fridays are going similarly. 

Love, Sara. 

I'm feeling that way inclined today. 

You're Halfway!

So in a few months I turn 25. Which I am not thrilled about. But want can you do.

You can make a card!

I always like to tease by telling people how old the are halfway to. Now this card can do it for me. You just colour in the appropriate number.

Available from 6 August (to ensure I am not given one...)

Dubbleyou has a BRAND NEW Website

www.dubbleyou.com.au

It's live everyone!

Check it out...sneaky peek:

Finders Keepers tomorrow

Tomorrow will be a big day. Because it is going to begin at 5pm tonight. 

My list of thing to do:

- Package the remaining extra tea towels arriving this avo (160)

- Final coat on display letterbox

- Fit clocks together

- Make grassy mats (round & door)

- Collate collateral

- Decide what to wear (!)

- Make 100 mini cupcakes

- Ice 100 mini cupcakes

- Pack

And that is even with being relatively organised. But it OK because I have 25 hours. Minus half and hour for the block. 24 & a 1/2.

Totes doable.

So if you have nothing better to do tomorrow evening come and see a stall run by a girl on little to no sleep. Because watching her count change will be a hoot.

Finders Keepers is held at Carriageworks, Redfern. Doors open 6pm Friday 2st June.

Be there.

Cash or Pay Pal only—Cheers

Exclusive to FK

How my study looks.