Invitation to a machine knitting party
Tai in the Sky
Your reputation as a “connector of people precedes you, from where does this sociability stem?
I guess originally from my dad. He is a very passionate rare-breed, grass
fed beef farmer and possibly the most chatty/sociable old geezer you will
ever meet. They do all the farmers markets and slow food community stuff and
stock many Melbourne restaurants and chefs and I’m pretty sure he just does
it for the chats. I really do like talking to people and introducing people
I already know to new people they might like. I get genuinely excited about
a lot of things from many different areas, this helps.
Also, your love of animals is very apparent in your work, do you often see them in your dreams?
Yes! It’s funny you ask that. Last night I dreamt that a good friend of mine
Simon Griffiths (he is amazing if you don’t know him- a wonderful human.
He’s about to start this exciting new bar called Shebeen
http://www.shebeen.com.au/about.asp) and he had adopted a giant orangutan
from Borneo and brought it back home. It wore a suit and followed him around
and was called ‘Willing.’He went to all of his business meetings and made
polite orangutan conversation, which Simon deciphered (he knew some of the
language). The dream ended with me and Willing on the couch watching a movie
and eating popcorn.
I often have these kind of dreams about animals and people. I also have a
little almost 2 year old boy called Leo and every morning my partner and I
asked him what he dreamed of last night. He always says ‘animals’ and then
lists them off ‘crocodiles, snakes, worms, lions, etc.’It’s very cute.
Introduce us to your book which is coming out on the 5th of July.
It is called ‘The Family Hour’ (published by Thames and Hudson) and it is
for kids under 8. It introduces you to 15 Australian animals and their
families and something they do together. It is all based in true facts, but
presented in a kinda of crazy, more interesting, almost human way! For
example, the Echidna mum is a single mum on the run and she feeds her baby
pink milk. This is true. Baby echidnas are born with low red blood cell
counts and so the mother Echidna makes extra hemoglobin in her milk, making
it look pink. So the picture is of a hot mumma echidna with pink lipstick
and pink nails and a little puggle on her back drinking a pink milkshake.
There are also heaps of other really cute families featured, like the gay
dad swans, the commune of peace and treat-loving Sugar Gliders and the
family rock band of Tassie Devils.
What is Tai’s holy trinity of influences/inspiration?
Old books and magazines, the world of nature, my friends and family.
What is your favourite crochet or knitting stitch?
Ha ha. Believe it or not I only learnt how to knit last week! I made a
little brown owl and stuffed it. I’m not even sure what the type of knitting
was called! I do love free-form embroidery though. I am currently darning
and embroidering a zebra skin I inherited from my grandmother for a show
that opens next week at West Space.
Describe your most adored piece of textile.
I have a beautiful tablecloth that my Nanna and her mother (my greatgrandmother) made together way before I was even born. It is on raw linenwith coloured wildflowers embroidered by my Nanna and edged in handmade lacystuff made by her mother.
Tai’s work will be tin he Pop Craft window until Monday, come and see if you haven’t already.
Good bye owl, hello horsey
Big cheers for Isobel Knowles and Cat Rabbit for sharing their “Owl know who” house with us. They will be running “make your own creature workshops at the Harvest Workroom in july. Good luck in Tasmania ladies!
Pop Craft is once again very humbled to be exhibiting another local legend, Tai Snaith.
Tai Snaith is an artist, writer, curator and mother. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2002 and has received numerous funds and awards to create large art projects and residencies locally and overseas. Tai has held many solo exhibitions and also been commissioned to create site-specific work inside private homes and restaurants. Tai writes serious art and architectural stuff for a number of magazines including Un Magazine, Artichoke and Houses magazine. She also conducts a regular Visual Arts review on Triple R fm (102.7) in Melbourne.
Tai has two exhibitions coming up in June 2012 West Space (May 31) and at Craft Victoria (June 14) , both in Melbourne. After the birth of her son Leo in 2010, Tai has been revisiting her childhood love of drawing animals and researching their fascinating private lives and quirks. Her first children’s book called ‘The Family Hour’ (published by Thames and Hudson) will be launched on July 5 this year.
Her striking and colourful installation will be at Pop Craft until the 28th of May.
Fresh from the mill
A batch of pure new australian wool has landed in store for the Pop Craft knitting kits. For those of you who have bought a kit, a special photo shoot will be organised next month to document your knitted pieces. We’ll make it a little “kit” party. Please stay tuned for upcoming details.
Kit of the week: Braided scarf... many have new found inspiration for knitting. Hopefully, many more will fall under the woolly spell.
Thank you, thank you, thank you…
Pop Craft would never have looked so fine without the contribution of generous and skilled family and friends. 24 hours of intense concentration was all it took.
2012 Newsletter n.1
Pop Craft grand opening this Wednesday 2nd of May at 11 am
Once again, this years’ yarn collections include Marta’s yarn with the amazing hand-dyed 8 ply Merino and multicouloured slubby (as pictured below), unusual fibres from Dairing and a fun and fancy mix from Avril. The colours in-store are even more vibrant in 2012 so please come in for some inspiration.
Pop Craft Knitting workshops at the Harvest Workroom
Knit your own designer wrist warmers and another project of your choice (either a bag, scarf or vest from POP CRAFT’s unique designs whilst taking a journey with POP CRAFT into the fabulous world of fibre, yarn and textiles.
Students will finish the workshop series with their knitted items, a knowledge of the history of the craft, a solid understanding of the qualities of the fibres they work with and a general overview of knitting as an art form.
All workshops are small and intimate with a maximum of 10 students.
No experience necessary, this workshop will suit anyone from beginner through to the knitting connoisseur.
All materials provided including the yarn and knitting needles to complete one pair of wrist warmers and the extra project of your choice.
4 x Thursday evening sessions, 6.30pm -9.30pm. Starting on the 10th of May.
For information and bookings, please go to:
http://harvest.bigcartel.com/product/knitting-with-popcraft
The first of the series of Pop Craft windows installation will be presenting the works of two Pop Craft friends: Isobel Knowles and Cat Rabbit.
You will be able to study up close the minute details from the handmade sets designed for their book “Owl Know How”. They have both dedicated enumerable hours creating intricately detailed rabbit and owl characters - everything is recycled material and the narrative is based on solving problems with help from friends and the community.
Both Cat and Isobel are award winning, internationally recognised artists and have a huge following in the indie craft and art scene. It really is a cute and quirky picture book!
“Owl Know How” workshop with the artists will be available, please stay tuned for the upcoming details.
Get ready to knit everybody!
Pop Craft 2012- May 2nd- 30th June
Icy winds from the antarctic tundra are whistling through our streets, but to the crafty amongst us they sing a message of joy - it is time to knit again!
Pop Craft will soon re-open its doors, offering shelter to crafty souls requiring sensational yarn.
The 2012 version will include stunning multicoloured hand dyed merino (as pictured above), pure new australian wool in 17 colours, and an exclusive collection from Avril, the japanese masters of experimental yarn. Also making their debut are the Pop Craft Knitting Kits, four original designs which come bundled with everything you need to finish them.
In the Pop Craft window, artists including Tai Snaith, Leo Greenfield, Isobel Knowles & Catt Rabbit, Dell Stewart, Lucreccia Quintanilla and Ilka White will be exhibiting their inspiring textiles creations.
It will be a delight to see all your friendly faces again as you embark on new creative adventures .
Pop Craft wrist warmer/ stitch library kit- 100% pure australian new wool comes in 17 colours.
Pop Craft braided scarf kit- 100% pure australian new wool comes in 17 colours.
Pop Craft vest scarf kit- 100% pure australian new wool comes in 17 colours.
Pop Craft bag/cushion cover kit-Cotton seine twine and english denim. This pattern can be knitted up as a cushion cover or a bag
with a leather strap.
See you soon on the fuzzy side.
A bientôt Pop Craft Shop…
Today is the last day of Pop Craft shop for Winter 2011, it will happily open its doors again in May 2012.
Thank you all so much for your support during this epic adventure.
The blog will remain active and a webstore is coming soon. Pop Craft will still spontaneously pop up in various incarnations around town so stay tuned… summer knitting in the gardens perhaps?
xxxp
Here is the last of the Pop Craft Window installations for 2011.
Thank you to all the artists who have exhibited their work; bringing inspiration and movement to Pop Craft.
Saffron Lily Gordon is a contemporary artist who explores a range of traditional textile techniques. She knits, weaves, prints, draws, dyes and crochets. Her influences include historical textiles, religious and medieval art, and myths and stories. Inspired by everyday objects and observations, her work is often narrative driven and characterized by her relentless and obsessive attention to detail.
In 2010 she was awarded 1st prize in the inaugural Moreland City Council Moreart Public Art Show for her intricate crochet work Don’t fence me in.
She will graduate this year from the Diploma of Art & Design (Studio Textiles) at RMIT with a major in Tapestry & minor in Experimental Textiles.
Pop Craft Children’s Scarf Competition Winter 2011
Pop Craft is blown away by the quality of the craftsmanship of the scarves. Each piece has so much spirit! Hopefully, they will inspire not only other children but also adults who have not yet dabbled in making textile art.
Pop Craft is extremely grateful and would like to thank those who have invested so much effort into the competition. This is just the beginning… the 2012 promises to be even more wonderful.
xxp
