Places

Thread+Colour 2 and KPC Yarn Pop-Up in Sydney

If you are in Sydney Saturday, May 20 please pop into the Thread+Colour 2 and KPC Yarn opening events. There will be daily workshops, textile artworks and yarn for sale during the 10 days that I will be in Sydney… May 19 – 28, 2017 during Wool Week Australia.

See details below:
3:30pm – 5:30pm.
Join us as Jacquline Fink, Meredith Gaston, Julie Gibbs and Indira Naidoo talk about the healing power of stitching, growing and creating in our daily lives. There is a $15 entrance fee that goes to The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and tickets can be purchased here

5:30pm – 7:30pm
We invite you to stay on and celebrate the opening of our textile exhibition Thread+Colour 2 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. Enjoy bubbly and nibbles in the company of several of our artists.

Look forward to seeing you all. xx

Image credit: The super talented Liz Payne

Shopping event with get.give – 8 December 2016

Join me on the 8th December, 2016 from 2pm – 6pm for a shopping event at Kate Jones’ fabulous store get.give in Po Tuck Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. I am co-hosting this event with Kate and Laura Egloff from Velveteen where we will help with expert gifting advice, free gift wrapping and some very special offers.

Hong Kong Insider’s Textile tour

HONG KONG INSIDER’S TEXTILE TOUR – OCTOBER 18 – 21, 2016 – three nights/ four days hosted by Ingrid Keneally and Natalie Miller.

Having lived in Hong Kong for over 18 years, and seen this glittering and at-times overwhelming city go through some profound changes, I have turned my mind to introducing my Hong Kong to those curious for more unexpected travel that balances learning about textiles with shopping secrets and guidance for great eating destinations. I can wander and gaze for hours on end looking through antique shops for that perfect overlooked vintage dress, or a beautiful object in an unknown laneway. I liken it to a human pick-me-up and I have made it my job. Styling and sourcing is what I love to do. This year I will be teaming up with architect and fibre artist Natalie Miller for a three-night /four day Hong Kong Insider’s Tour exploring the colourful garment districts and gaining insight into where you can source all your DIY project needs to continue your artistic practice at home. Think leather, rope, ribbons, cotton, silk, buttons, trims, silver and so much more. We will also be allowing plenty of time in the schedule to guide you to some seriously amazing lesser-known shopping destinations, that I visit in my everyday life for work!

About Natalie Miller: Natalie enjoys her time in Hong Kong, maybe it’s because, after her numerous working visits to Hong Kong, including her most recent to create and install the stunning macramé chandeliers for Chinese New Year’s Eve at Pacific Place, she has fallen in love with this city. Apart from being a very gifted architect and fibre artist, Natalie is an experienced educator who loves to talk all things weaving. Natalie brings an artist’s eye to this trip. Learn more about Natalie here. For further details and prices please email me at ingridkeneally@gmail.com

KPC Yarn pop-up in Sydney

Leading yarn brand KPC Yarn has collaborated with 19 established artists whose work offers up a new take on the traditional world of textiles to showcase an exhibition called Thread+Colour. Contributing artists include architect turned latest ‘it’ weaver whose work is featured on the April 2016 issue of Home Beautiful Natalie Miller alongside other major weaving talents, Brooklyn based Maryanne Moodie, Genevieve Griffiths, Nikita Sheth, Erin Barett of Unwoven, sisters Lauren and Kassandra Hernandez of Crossing Threads and Natalie Jones; extreme knitter Jacquie Fink; Elizabeth Pawle, whose delicate neon wall hangings bring with them a soothing gem-like air; artist Katikart who turns crochet portraiture into something unexpected and quirky; the inspirational Cath Derksema of Prints Charming; contemporary hand-stitcher Liz Payne; sculptor and fibre artist Harriet Goodall; maker of exquisitely playful collage works Alex Falkiner; knitting artist Stine Leth; artist and author Meredith Gaston; creative maker and founder of B for Brain Haily Tran; weaver and fibre artist Megan Bogden Shimek, and ceramicist and fibre artist Alison Fraser.

As the creative coordinator behind the project I have a passion for showcasing the unique style and talents of each artist. The ten-day pop-up will start with a conversation with Jacqui Fink about her fascinating process at 4pm on April 23, and from there an opening night gathering, which will include canapés and wines from Mondo Imports will begin at 5.30pm. There is also an area reserved in the space for daily workshops (for details and workshop bookings read on) and informal discussions during the week.

For opening night please go to Thread+Colour event page to let us know if you are joining.

Lovers of punk and bold design will be very pleased to see a very select collection of woollen sweaters from Kaylene Milner of Wah-Wah. Founder and designer of Sydney-based French knitwear label Marcelle & Clo Claudine Guerin will also have her patterns available for sale. My input is a fun collaboration with KPC Yarn and visitors to the exhibition and pop-up are invited to hand-sign in thread the giant 1.4 metre embroidery sampler, located at the ten day pop-up.

This vibrant collection combines a wealth of talent and strong international influences, and will be on display in Sydney at The William Street Gallery, 14 William St, Paddington, from April 23 – May 1, 2016. All of the range from KPC Yarn will be available as well as the original artworks and hand-made one-off designs and wares such as Jacqui Fink’s Little Dandelion range will be for sale throughout the week. If you are interested in viewing any of the artist’s pieces before the opening, please email me at ingridkeneally@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you there!

KPC WORKSHOP TIMETABLE:

Saturday April 23 12 pm – 3pm

Learn the embroidery technique of mark making with thread – with Cath Derksema of Prints Charming. Once you’ve moved through a host of stitches, a lesson in embellishment, on a Cath Derksema hand-dyed indigo cushion cover will be introduced. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Prints Charming

Sunday April 24 10 am – 1 pm

From little things…Learn the basics of knitting with Pauline Keneally, who as a former professional potter has years of experience in many crafts. Walk away with the skills needed to cast on, cast off and finally get that knitting project started. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings visit stylebriefhongkong

Sunday April 24 2 pm – 5 pm SOLD OUT

The wonderful world of weaving with Natalie Miller using KPC Yarn. All materials supplied. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Natalie Miller.

Monday April 25- 10am – 12pm

Learn the decorative handicraft of Chinese knotting with Natalie Miller. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Natalie Miller.

Monday April 25 2 pm – 5 pm SOLD OUT

The wonderful world of weaving with Natalie Miller. All materials supplied including a selection of KPC Yarn. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Natalie Miller

Tuesday April 26 10 am – 1pm.

Secrets of successful silk-screening with Cath Derksema of Prints Charming. Light snacks and refreshments provided. For bookings and more details visit Prints Charming

Tuesday April 26 2 pm – 5 pm

Crochet gets its groove back with Ingrid Keneally and Fiona Cheung – Find out how to give your granny square edge with all needles and thread supplied. Light snacks and refreshments provided. For bookings visit stylebriefhongkong

Wednesday April 27 10 am – 1pm

Learn the art of indigo and natural dyeing with Cath Derksema and KPC Yarn. Hand-dye your very own wool – enough to start a small project. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Prints Charming.

Wednesday April 27 2pm – 5pm SOLD OUT

Be one of the lucky few to learn from founder and designer of Sydney-based French knitwear label Marcelle & Clo Claudine Guerin. In this three-hour class, participants will learn how to re-interpret an enchanting piece from the designer’s latest collection. Samples from the KPC Gosyp chunky range will be supplied.

For bookings and more details go to Marcelle & Clo.

Thursday April 28 10 am – 1 pm Seats still available

Introduction to drawn thread-work with Alex Falkiner. This class teaches you a few mark-making tricks essential for making your embroidery projects stylish and contemporary. Lights snacks and refreshments will be provided.

For bookings and more details visit Alex Falkiner

Thursday April 28 2pm – 5pm

Friday April 29 Seats still available

10 am – 1pm Learn the traditional basketry technique of coiling with Harriet Goodall using KPC Yarn. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Harriet Goodall.

Friday April 29 2pm – 5pm

Workshop to be confirmed

Saturday April 30 10 am – 1 pm SOLD OUT

The wonderful world of weaving with Natalie Miller using the incredible range of KPC Yarn. All materials included. Light snacks and refreshments provided.

For bookings and more details visit Natalie Miller

Saturday April 30 2pm – 5pm SOLD OUT

Introduction to drawn thread-work with Alex Falkiner. This class teaches you a few mark-making tricks essential for making your embroidery projects stylish and contemporary. Lights snacks and refreshments will be provided.

For bookings and more details visit Alex Falkiner.

For information, inquiries or assistance with booking please email ingridkeneally@gmail.com or contact KPC Yarn.

Photo credits:

Natalie Miller, Cath Derksema, Marcelle & Clo and Claudia Smith

Artistic Adventure

Join textile artist Natalie Miller, nutritionist and yoga instructor Alexis Smith and myself for our second six-day artistic adventure at Ban Sairee, a luxury private beach front villa in Koh Samui, Thailand. There are now only a few spots left. Learn weaving and crochet with KPC Yarn, macramé, block-printing using eco friendly paints from Eicó, natural dyeing, skipping, yoga and more while nourishing the body with nutritious and delicious food. This six-day retreat is a learning experience and an adventure and most importantly it is fun and full of laughter. It is an inspiring vacation where you learn skills that are not only good for your health but good for your soul.

When: September 18 – 23, 2016

Where: Luxury private beach front villa Ban Sairee, Koh Samui, Thailand

Your Week Includes:

Six days, five nights luxury accommodation

All meals using only fresh whole foods free of processing, preservatives, colourings, flavourings and additives. Food likes, dislikes, allergies and sensitivities are catered for.

• Daily morning exercise class ranging from yoga to resistance bands, hill walking and skipping. All classes are tailored to suit all fitness levels

• 10 x three hour classes in weaving, macramé, block-printing, one-on-one crochet and shibori dyeing.

• Educational talks on all things health

• Cooking demonstrations

You also have full use of all villa facilities including swimming pool, kayaks and private tennis court. This is a prospective itinerary. It is subject to modest modifications, dependant on local weather and the desires of the group.

There are only 12 places and they are booking up quickly so don’t delay.

Please email alexis.smith@me.com with any questions or to request a registration form.

get.give

Without a doubt, everything at Kate Jones’ atelier get.give on 14 Po Tuck Street in Sai Ying Pun is to swoon over. Her terrifically clean-lined space in grey and cream hues has a whole host of swishy decorative tricks that could make a stylist happily rearranging and playing for hours. Jones also runs creative consultancy At Liberty which offers boutique creative strategy services with a focus on events, marketing and styling. Some of her illustrious clients include Landmark Magazine, Ellermann Flower Boutique, Krug, FilmAid, Hermès, Fendi Casa, Colour Living, Clinique and Miele.

However if you’re hankering after a considered design-focused buy, you’re in luck. Read on to learn more about the smart thinking behind get.give.

How would you describe your atelier get. give?

I started get.give together with my business partner (and cousin) Seanne Ducat. We wanted to find a way to provide a broader and more thoughtful offering of gifting that can be enjoyed every day. We’ve invested a lot of time to carefully curate a selection of products made by passionate producers that we believe recipients will cherish, most of which we’ve picked up during our travels.

We currently have two arms to the business: one is the retail store which will also be launched online in early October this year (very exciting). The second is our Gifting Agency where we work with corporate clients to pair them with like-minded businesses and create gifting strategies and collections that truly align with their brand ethos.

Later in the year we’ll be adding a third arm to the business which is our own collection of eco-friendly gift wrapping that we’ve created together with local artists in Asia.

The get.give shop and studio is where customers can come and really explore our family of brands. Everything that we’ve selected has a personal connection with both myself and my business partner Seanne. The store is where we can first hand relay these stories to the clients and really educate them about the products. We will do this with our online store, but we’re both a little old school and love to meet with people face to face.

Why get.give?

We have been frustrated for a while now by the lack of gifting options in Hong Kong and generally worldwide. We both feel that what is on offer is very trendy, gimmicky, lacking heart and ultimately dust collectors that end up in a landfill. I haven’t been able to find one great store that offers a variety of useful products from quality makers that suits both men and women across a variety of ages. get.give is our answer to this. We’re still early days so the collection will grow with us and our customers as we develop more of a relationship.

From the corporate gifting side, we found that some brands are doing themselves more harm than good with the items they are choosing to gift. We’d see gifts with large logos in bins post-events or found that everyone would gift the same thing – one year it’s a speaker, the next it’s a phone charger. So recipients end up with three or more of an item stacking up.

All this leads to what Seanne and I term ‘gifting guilt’ – that feeling you have when you receive something and instantly feel bad about the amount of packaging or the fact that it’s just another thing to store away or awkwardly try to give away. Our aim is for get.give to make ‘gifting guilt’ to be a thing of the past.

A spotlight on some of the brands you are bringing to Hong Kong

We have exclusive artist edition rugs by New York based Artist August Krogan-Roley together with Kahoko. All hand woven in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

We also stock the most amazing hand-picked herbs from Greece by the brand Daphnis & Chloe. They also work with local farmers to help them get the most from their crops with organic farming techniques.

Los Poblanos is a family-run lavender farm and homestead in New Mexico introduced to me by great friends whilst on holiday this year. They make the most exquisite products from their lavender in the summer and chillies in the autumn … I ended up helping to harvest the lavender, learn about their processes and meet with the family. Now we have them in Hong Kong which is very exciting.

We are bringing in enamelware by Japanese brand Kaico and designed by Japanese design icon Makoto Koizumi and hand-made wooden household brushes and cleaning tools from Redecker, a 75-year-old family run business from Germany.

Deem – the next chapter

Debra Little is closing the doors on her beautiful atelier on Hollywood Road… Deem. Debra has a unique collection of furniture, accessories and one-off furnishings… so don’t delay if you want to buy any of her pieces. My firm favourites are her white and gold brass trays in a variety of sizes and her single candle holders with a second usage as vases are exquisite. Pop into her 252 Hollywood Road store in Sheung Wan this weekend June 13 -14 for refreshing spritzer and nibbles to celebrate Deem’s four fun and fabulous years. But do hurry as the doors will close in July. If you want to keep in the loop with what Deborah is doing next with Deem send her an email at info@deemlimited to find out more about their next adventure.

Artistic Adventure

Join textile artist Natalie Miller, nutritionist and yoga instructor Alexis Smith and myself for a six-day artistic adventure at Ban Sairee, a luxury private beach front villa in Koh Samui, Thailand. Learn weaving, crochet with KPC Yarn, macramé, natural dyeing, skipping, yoga and more while nourishing the body with nutritious and delicious food. This six-day retreat is a learning experience and an adventure. It is an inspiring vacation where you learn skills that are not only good for your health but good for your soul.

When: Tuesday November 10 – Sunday November 15, 2015

Where: Luxury private beach front villa Ban Sairee, Koh Samui, Thailand If you book and pay by August 7 you will receive a 10 percent discount

Your Week Includes: Six days, five nights luxury accommodation

• All meals using only fresh whole foods free of processing, preservatives, colourings, flavourings and additives. Food likes, dislikes, allergies and sensitivities are catered for.

• Daily morning exercise class ranging from yoga to resistance bands, hill walking and skipping. All classes are tailored to suit all fitness levels

• 10 x three hour classes in weaving, macramé, screen printing, crochet and dyeing.

• Educational talks on all things health

• Cooking demonstrations

You also have full use of all villa facilities including swimming pool, kayaks and private tennis court. This is a prospective itinerary. It is subject to modest modifications, dependant on local weather and the desires of the group.

There are only 14 places and they are booking up quickly so don’t delay.

Please email alexis.smith@me.com with any questions or to request a registration form

Toolss

Tucked away in Shek Kip Mei on Kowloon side, on the corner of Wai Chi Street, near mechanical workshops and hardware stores, is a new gem of a lifestyle store-cum-café space, called, curiously, Toolss. Stationary – that is the artful silk-screened kind and letter sets as well as a range of shoppers, magazines, washi tape, stamps, eclectic pencils and pens plus old-fashioned scissors and notebooks are available here which is wonderful and a definite first for this bustling area. The coffee, herbal teas and juices are available from an outside window for faster service and there is a range of delicious organic bites to choose from, too.

Shop no 2 G/F Fook Tin Building, 38 Wai Chi Street, Shek Kip Mei, Kowloon.

Cool Crochet

I’ve worked with designer Sarah Coates, in collaboration with KPC Yarn, on beginner-to-intermediate crochet workshops for May 2015. The classes are to be held at the Ap Lei Chau Inside store, Hong Kong, on May 5th and 19th and our instructors are experts in their fields. The first workshop introduces the fun, and simple, task of the classic Granny square cushion cover with colours from the 100 percent organic cotton Gossyp yarn range to choose from. We have all the tools you will need plus a pale-grey linen cushion cover and cushion for the squares to be sewn on.

In our second workshop you will choose from the 100 percent organic cotton Gossyp range again and master a Granny square mandala stool cover. We will again be providing all tools, including the stool. These are booking up fast so for more details please visit KPC Yarn.

Follow stylebriefHongKong