*CHEERS!!*

This post is not about resolutions.. instead here's a tableau of favourite things that have seen Babettopolis through the past year..

I hate how time rolls on without bothering to check in on one who has goals they haven't reached by the end of the year..

And so I'll postpone most and discard others!

I'm glad things turned out the way they did for Babettopolis.. I just hope there's enough in it/me to keep both going for years to come..

Roll on 2012 .. I'll cram the life out of you oh-dreaded-year-to-come!

x

*don't forget to place your orders for anything handmade, one-off and made-to-measure early this year to avoid having to listen to my disappointed voice over the phone*

'Tis that season*

I must warn upfront.. we're the kind of people who only recieve/display one or two christmas cards and pass them for decoration. I come from a family with average christmas spirit and tasteful christmas decor but it never really caught on with me; and now that I moved house I still do not feel the need to decorate.

(below: two nice cards from friends .. we do not need more.. having just two a year has become a feature in itself)



however, despite my palpable lack of seasonal spirit, my nanna took pity on our empty house and passed on to me some pretty old paper decorations and for these I made an exception. I just taped them to my bookcases in the hope that they'll make it back down, at least, before my birthday in March.



My friend Alex who knows I'm of the FOWERZ>COCOLATE disposition brought me some fresh flowers some two days ago.. they're holding up and that's a good thing since I think they compensate for the lack of 'all the rest' .. including some LED lights for which I bought no batteries.



I focus on decorating vintage shoes and hats instead.. I find it's way more spiritually and aesthetically rewarding.

(below: a pair of beautifully cut black leather shoes to which I added a pearly bow-affair in taupe felt
and even below that: a grey felt hat which I changed from a porkpie crown with a sad leather band that had seen better days to a cloche shape with a black feather and pearl band. This hat was picked up from a vintage/charity store by the lady-with-a-discerning-eye behind 'Hey Birdie-pie!' and she'll have it displayed at her next stall/event)

Otherwise Entangled ...

I am here to proclaim my love for Sailor Knots.. and to promise more of the same.

This is a knotted affair from a year ago or so..



and this is another knotted commissioned piece I've just finished and can't stop looking at as it hangs up to dry..



I'm taking orders for Christmas gifts or anything else really but I'm warning you in Maltese ... qed nhoss ir-rih tal-bidla xx

Shoe WIN

My fetish with perfectly fitting shoes started early.

I always preferred Cinderella's working pair of black flats over the revealing and demanding glass pair.. so simple and obliging were those painted-on flats.

They completed her figure's perfect lines.. they waited obediently by her bedside.. they made it to my top ten childhood memories just by being flat, sculptural and plain but so damn perfect in fit.

This simple moving image/symbol is pure fetishisation .. my experience with the well fitting, understated-in-line shoe has bore this influence eversince.

I dream of seamless structures and weightless frames now. I choose to believe it has done me a world of good.



I suggest you immediately skip to 3:07 till 3:16 if you hate fan over-dubs as much as I do and would like to check what I've been going on about for yourself.

This ere link!

Below is my sorry excuse for the perfect flat black pair.

The creases in my tights ruin the look, the leather of the shoe does not mould itself around my foot when I descend the stairs, I sometimes leave them behind me when I'm running to catch the bus and they sometimes chafe at the back of the heel as well.

It's one of life's great disappointments.

Patches aftermath .. (fowtows?)

This blog post is bound to prove one thing if any.. that the best of intentions is never enough to get a job done. I wanted to document this year's Christmas edition of Patches thoroughly .. I even charged the camera's battery.. I had intended to take photos of every purchase on its new owner! guess what I did.. I left my stall for 15 mins right after I set up.. ran about to say 'hi..ello!' to close friends for 5 mins.. took photos of their stuff and mine.. checked on the SPCA stall and took some photos of that, then I went back to my stall because the market was officially open .. after that in a flurry of paper bags, big smiles, hot soup and 'biznizz' cards I forgot all about my camera.. silly silly me.

Still.. here goes..

Carla's Rita Cholita stand!



This is Sarah's The Secret Rose stand!



and this is my Patches neighbour Alexandra's illustration and screenprinting stand!



These are the only 2 pitiful photos I took of my stall! *disaster!



And this is my mum.. who brought me egg and ham sandwiches and green tea and helped me wrap things for people throughout the day! (*and just in case she sees this, I must ask her to not ask me in turn to put this photo down.. instead she should be happy I didn't put up the one in which she appears to be making fun of my pearly fascinator hat!)




For a decent picture of myself I must direct you to Ramona Depares' blog post and Denise Scicluna's proper photo documentation of the event!

someone always does it better hehe

This Patches event was a blast! The soup was super good, the cookies super crunchy and my last stolen visit to Lara's new vintage clothing wing 'Hey Birdie Pie!'(*sans camera of course!), just the treat I needed after a whole day on my poor legs! I wish Patches happened in two parallel dimensions where I could mind my stall and roam about the market simultaneously!


PS: as from today my wares will no longer be hidden away underneath my sewing room french bed.. they are currently on display and for sale exclusively at The Odd Spot in Labour Avenue Naxxar! x

also.. I am currently asking (/begging) for photos of you wearing the stuff you purchased from my stall! it'll be a lovely reminder of the event and a memory aid for me to rely on when I need to know what went were and with whom! x

This is what I'm bringing to the table boss!

Ok I lied. I didn't immediately leave my desk to start packing.. I just had to post again with some of the latest items to be added to my Patches box of goodies. I have half an idea to fit in another hat by tonight but I might not make it.. let's not stress.. let's have tea and go through our 'to take' list.

To be honest I'm a bit worried about creasing stuff on the way there, about squashing the elaborate hats in.. but I guess these are common pre-gig gitters or a sign that I should participate more often so as to eliminate this feeling entirely!

Can we say this enough? NO

And just cos I simply cannot say this enough.. here's all of my Patches 9th edition propaganda in one blog post.

Setting up and preparing sufficiently for such a market is not a piece of cake so it'd be nice (triple plus good!) to see your lovely faces there on the day.
'the day' meaning tomorrow from 10 till 7! .. and now i'm definitely off to pack!