sausage dogs

oh crap it's father's day!

Well in Australia it's this Sunday. My parents aren't massive on big mother's/father's day gifts (it's a commercial conspiracy etc), they prefer a more personal gesture. I'm thinking I'll get my dad one or two of these things, and make him cinnamon scrolls.

Does Tim qualify for a father's day present yet? 

Clockwise from top left:

Coffee by Rewind: 100% purely for the awesome packaging. I've seen it stocked at Leo's Supermarkets in Melbs.

Opinel Knife: Frenchy AND practical. Available at the fancier outdoors shops.

The ubiquitous socks: my dad actually has a thing for fancy socks. I love the colours of these Country Road ones.

Popular Penguin: Ok, so it'll look like I got it free from work (I did) but Dad loves Dracula, he used to retell parts of it to us when we were little - terrifying!

christmas presents for the blokes in your life.

Why are men are such a bugger to buy gifts for? They don't seem to like that much stuff. Below is a list I've compiled -mainly of things that I've bought Tim that he's seemed to like. I hope this helps you demystify buying a Christmas present for your gentleman caller.

1 Stonemen horse undies $35  2 DeLonghi Citiz pod coffee machine $370  3 key bottle opener $19.90  4 Crumpler messenger bag $100  5 Tivoli model one radio $299  6 Pig chopping board (£25 from the UK)  7 Icebreaker merino wool tshirt $108

design made trade.

As mentioned, I went to Design Made Trade on the weekend, which is basically a fair or market showcasing Australian designers, in the areas of textiles, furniture, craft, jewelry, lighting and more. The standard was very high, and there was a lot of talent and enthusiasm going on. 

All the brands are relatively small - some more established and well known, but others I've not seen before, so it's a great place to stock up on original finds. For this reason it's particularly good for presents. 

Here are some of my top picks, with links below.

Aegis Made
Felt laptop, iphone and ipad sleeves (I bought matching for my iphone and laptop)

Cloth
The cloth brand is quite established now, and for good reason! Their prints are beautiful.

Dick & Dora
No, i don't need to see yet another bird badge.. Or maybe I do because these ones are particularly great.

From Woop Woop
According to the website "non cringe-worthy Australian gifts", and I couldn't agree more. I wish I had these printed place mats to give as gifts whilst traveling! Striking Australian flora motifs, with clever "puzzle" design which has pull out coaster and trivet pieces, all flat packed into a handy cardboard folder. 

Harvest Textiles 
Childrens clothing and softies kits. There's a lot of softies kits going around, these ones are particularly good. And they had very cool onesies too.

Keep Cup
I bought these for the designers in my office last year. They look great and they actually work: a year later they're still going strong. That's a lot of disposable coffee cups saved.

loot.

I had my birthday whilst we were traveling, so I thought I'd managed to avoid the birthday-related fuss. Not so, I came home to some very lovely presents from friends and family. Way too spoilt.

Clockwise from top left: Inside Out magazine subscription, 18th Century French plate mum found overseas, sausage dog toy, bowl from Wilkins and Kent (update: which is by artist Samantha Robinson)