Feeling generous....yes it's a giveaway

Ok, I'm feeling a bit interior design oriented today, maybe because I spent almost 40 minutes blabbing about me yesterday at the Creative Women's circle. BTW big thanks to all who came to listen and for all the positive feedback.

So I thought I'd give you, my dear reader, an opportunity to join in some design love of the interior and architecture kind. I'm giving away a copy of......drum roll.....

"OPEN DOORS. Fresh thinking in Australian Architecture and Interiors." From indie publishers Ripe off the Press. Yes, it's a publication in which my interior design work is featured. Goodie. So if you'd like a copy (RRP is 50 buckeroos, so it's worth it baby) then you can do one of the following to enter this little giveaway:

1. Sign up as a follower of this fabulously interesting and well written blog....ha.
2. Subscribe to my ALL NEW (and fresh thinking!) email newsletter by sending me an email via dearne at mainichidesign dot com.

Easy. Then I'll randomly draw a name on the 1st August and the fresh thinking shall be yours to peruse at your leisure. So get cracking, you have till midnight (Aussie time) on the 31st July......Good night, sleep tight.

I came across this amazing jewellery on Flickr made by "Reware Style" an artist by the name of Emiko Oye who is based in San Fran. Using Lego she has recreated iconic pieces of very expensive jewellery. I think it's so clever and so well executed. She also has a shop on Etsy selling smaller items made from new and used Lego.

Creative Women's Circle Meeting

Melbourne's Creative Women's Circle is meeting again on the 11th July, and guess who's speaking? Yes that's right, it's moi!! Pssssttt I'll tell you a secret....I'm a bit nervous.

Anyway here are all the details and I better get cracking on that presentation.

Might see you there, please come and say hi.

Oh and if you do plan on coming please give me some hints on what you'd like to hear about! Leave me a comment......please.....

Saturday 11 July

10am - 12 midday

Guildford Lane Gallery

20 Guildford Lane, Melbourne CBD (off Queen St, between LaTrobe and Little Lonsdale streets. A short walk from Melbourne Central Station or Elizabeth St/Latrobe St trams. Parking lot nearby)

RSVP tess(at)tessmccabe.com.au

Robot Cake

For the last two days I've been on Creative Mum duty and so to quote the character himself "taa daa".......this is what I've been busy creating. A cake dedicated to that cute robot Wall-E. The boy loves Wall-E so I couldn't resist. I made our version of Wall-E from a square flourless orange cake iced with orange flavoured icing, used licorice straps cut into thin strips for the text and his garbage compactor flap, and a chocolate cake with chocolate icing for his eyes, arms/hands and wheels.

My (almost) two year old boy loved it, although he had to check it at every stage during assembly and icing and begged me for cake at 7am this morning!! We lit the candles today with all his playmates, but his big day is tomorrow, the 4th of July. I'm reminiscing about what I was doing on this date two years ago (labouring with TENS machine attached to me) and lamenting that our beautiful home birth experience may never be repeated (see this post). *Sigh*

To celebrate this occasion some more we're taking him on a nostalgic steam train ride through the Dandenongs outside Melbourne....should be fun, and cold, with 14degrees (Celsius) predicted, hopefully the rain will hold off for us. Hope you all have a great weekend, whatever you are up to!

Update on a teaser

Ok I posted a teaser here as a work in progress back in May, and here's the rest of the creation - but for your eyes ONLY! I created this number especially for the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery Contemporary Wearables '09 exhibition entries call. I find out this week if they deem it worthy.

This piece is a combination of my leather stitched medallions in an eliptical shape, similar to my Nuimasu necklaces and some hand dyed bamboo beads, glass chips, recycled metal washers (that Dad saved from Plasma TV boxes!!) and a bunch of various thicknesses of hand made rope created from a big spool of thread I salvaged from a skip in St Kilda.

Hold onto your hats, because in upcoming weeks I might post a short tutorial on the rope making, it's such fun, and was something I was itching to start messing with, and then I went to Melinda Young's workshop at Craft Vic, which I raved about here, and voila, rope making here I am.

I'm thinking about another project based around the rope making. Apparently I have ropemaking in the blood, a Mr James Sharp, ropemaker in Malvern, is quite a few generations back on my Grandfather's side. I think it could be interesting to explore the link between family history and my current crafty exploits, what do you think?

WHAT? No more homebirth

Ok, I usually reserve this blog for all things crafty and design related. But this I just had to post. And in theory it IS to do with creating...just the human being kind.

Homebirth is no longer just under threat in Australia, if two new bills introduced on Tuesday to parliament by Health Minister Nicola Roxon are passed, then Midwives will no longer be able to attend home births and will be deregistered if they do, and those women who engage a midwife to attend a homebirth will run the risk of a fine ($30,000!).

How can we take away that choice from the very small percentage of women who choose to birth their babies at home? It seems crazy to me, especially since I can tell you first hand what a wonderful experience it is to have a natural birth with no unnecessary medical intervention, in the comfort of your home, with loving family support around AND the knowledge and experience that private practice midwives bring. And studies throughout the world have shown that birthing at home is one of the safest places for Mum and baby!

I had two midwives in attendance at the home birth of my son in 2007. My waters broke early and I had a very slow start to labour. Three and a half days later, after acupuncture treatments for induction, lots of time on the fit ball and encouragement and support from my partner, my mother and my two midwives, I delivered a beautiful, healthy, 9lb 2oz baby boy. In contrast if I had been in the medical model at a hospital, my labour could have been hurried along artificially (and do you know where they obtain that hormone from, I hear it's not from humans!) which can be just the beginning of a whole array of interventions.

Don't get me wrong, if you feel safer birthing at a hospital then that is your CHOICE, unfortunately some women don't and it should also rightly be their CHOICE to birth their babies at home with the aid of a skilled, privately practicing midwife (or two!). I fear for those women who feel so passionately about this they will birth at home anyway, without the aid of a midwife.

So I ask you to please join in the cry from many women in Australia who feel the sadness and dismay that this proposal brings. Write to your local paper, lobby your local members, inundate Minister Roxon with your emails, and tell them all that WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA IN 2009 DESERVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE WHEN IT COMES TO BIRTHING THEIR BABIES. Nobody should be telling us who we can and can't engage to help us care for our health.

You can read about Nicola Roxon's announcement here and her email address is nicola.roxon.mp(at)aph.gov.au

See some more about home birth at this website.

And there will be a rally in Canberra on the steps of Parliament House on the 7th September 2009 more details are here.

And should you need more convincing please go and hire the DVD of Ricki Lake's documentary "The business of being born", it may be about America's health system but it's totally relevant to what is happening here in Australia too.

Thanks, down off my soapbox now. I'm going to give my boy a hug.

Cool for cruizin'

How ACE is this Airstream caravan (aka trailer in America speak). Loving this thing so much I had to share it with you. Now THIS is the kind of stylish cruizin' holiday an interior designer could imagine taking......how cool is that interior....I can see where Marc Newson gets some styling inspiration.

My Dad (fan of all things automotive and vintage) was recently telling me about Australia's equivalent to these, the old Ansair Clipper buses are quite popular kitted out as mobile homes for the "Grey Nomad" set. So I've thrown in some awesome vintage shots of those for you to enjoy too. Photos courtesy of this site.

The Airstream is courtesy of Dude Craft's blog here. Thanks Dude Craft, hope you don't mind me appropriating this. Go visit him for all things blokey and crafty cool.