Our Italian shoe makers are putting the finishing touches on the Autumn Winter 2012 collection as we speak! (Yes - they are working through Christmas to make up for some lost time caused by a leather delay).

Normally I would be there during these final stages, but everything was progressing very well last time I visited (in November) and so I took the opportunity to stay at home and open the Chapel street store. Consequently, there has been a lot of skyping and photos being emailed back and forth. Here are a few they just sent of the hand painted styles with brogue punching detail.

Although it’s pretty hot in Melbourne right now, I’m already thinking about all the winter wardrobe possibilities of this group. I'm not wanting to play favourites, but the “Juggler” chelsea boot is my secret pick of them at this stage!

(They’re available to purchase in Feb/March. Sign up to the newsletter on the home page for exact dates.)

Week one in our latest POP UP shop has been a goodie.

Its been wonderful to re-aquaint myself with good 'ol Chapel street, and discover that a few other newies have moved into the strip lately too (Life with Bird, ksubi and Top Shop).

We're a stones throw from Scanlan, Zimmerman, Gorman, Saba, Arthur Galan, Collette, Sass & Bide .... and next door to the always lovely (and uniquely Melbourne) Bisonte!

So if you're in the neighbourhood please drop in to say hello ... and if you've got a man attached to you, tell him we've got a 'man chair' with daily sports pages in the shop especially for him!

 .... plus the amazing 'carmella' range of pony skin bags by Sarah Conners are available in our store too!!

589 Chapel Street - South Yarra.

(3 doors down from Country Road). 

At the moment I’m travelling to our workrooms in Italy about four times a year so have really refined my ‘travel essentials’ list. It’s taken a while to get to this point, so I thought I may as well share my findings.

Here are my top 5 best travel buys.

My ‘business class’ days are a distant memory (now that I’m my own boss), but my Bose noise cancelling headphones go a long way to bringing a bit of ‘business class’ serenity into the back of the bus!

My very clever husband gave them to me and I thank him every time I turn them on to block out the engine roar, a snoring neighbour, an unhappy baby or more often all of the above!

 “... a solid investment for anyone who appreciates the sound of silence!” according to choice mag!

Buy them here.

I didn’t think I’d ever get the hang of sleeping upright, so these pillows have a lot to be proud of.

Forget about those inflatable jobs … you can’t beat the squishy bean bag variety. (Very handy for preventing an embarrassing falling-asleep-and-dribbling-on-your-neighbour situation too!)

Find them here.

You cannot fully appreciate the joy of a 4-wheel suitcase until you’ve tried one!

A big step up from a 2-wheeler, because “pulling” becomes “guiding” when it comes to this genius luggage concept. Very handy for airport halls, but down-right incredible when you’ve traversing no less than six train station platforms as I do each time I visit Italy.  

I hate stopping to buy water when I’m travelling, so I think I’ve found the solution to this problem with my Vapur water pouch!

My friend put me onto these recently and I’m sold I tell you. They are foldable, flexible, collapsible, reusable, and are BPA (Bisphenol A) free!

Get hold of them here.

Nothing much needs to be said on this subject. I’ve been known to get through a pack of them before the safety demo is complete.

They’re great for sorting out a mid-flight sugar craving too … if they make it that far into the journey of course.  

So, if you’re heading away on a long haul flight for the holidays ... or just somewhere groovy near-by, like Mildura for instance, I hope you have a happy and safe trip! xx

November was a great month as it's the one month of the season that we're not either out selling to stores or designing/making. So it's the perfect opportunity for me to stop and collect my (personal) marbles ... And try to focus on some big picture habbot stuff.

Here's what I've been up to …