I will be absent from my workshop from December 10th to 15th. I have been invited to join the weeding group that regularly attacks weed spread on beautiful Gabo Island just offshore from Mallacoota. The photo above was taken from our veranda looking across Mallacoota Inlet to Gabo Island in the distance. You can just see the pink granite lighthouse (second tallest in Australia at 47 metres) on the far right tip of the island. We mainly work in that area eliminating Mirror Bush (Coprosma repens) deeply rooted in the pink granite boulders around the lighouse and along the coast.
It’s a difficult time to be away from orders and pre-Christmas buying but, well, I couldn’t say no! The prospect of working amidst beautiful pink granite boulders, seal colonies and saltspray off the wild Tasman Sea was impossible to refuse.
Therefore, to ensure prompt delivery in time for Christmas, it would to beneficial to order before Dec 8th. Having said that, I will hit the ground running upon my return and Express Post to get Christmas orders out on time.
As a nod to Christmas, I have reduced the price of the entire Adult Long Sleeved T-shirts range to the same as short sleeved i.e. from $55 to $49.95.
I’ve just returned from 6 days on Gabo Island pulling and cutting 14,000 mirror bush with a team of 8 willing workers from Mallacoota. This invasive weed had a signficant embedded presence in the beautiful pink granite vista around the lighthouse and accomodation cottages. Over 5 years (with 2 frustrating years out because of covid restrictions) the team has managed to eradicate its visual presence on a significant section of the coastline and we look forward to following up and continuing this work in years to come. Apologies for the delay in responding to those who ordered while I was away. Internet reception on the island is very patchy and we also had to stay another day due to rough seas.
Gabo is just offshore from Mallacoota, on the south-east corner where Bass Strait meets the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea, and hosts a multitude of seabirds. Inspiration for my 2 new designs for spring/summer comes directly from Mallacoota Inlet where the migratory birds feed and Gabo where oceanic birds circle.
Introducing my first new design for Spring: Shy Albatross.
The ‘Shy Albatross’ is Australia’s only endemic albatross, breeding exclusively on 3 remote islands off the Tasmanian coast. Listed as vulnerable, threats include marine pollution, global warming & bycatch due to longline fishing. Food includes squid, fish, jellyfish and crustaceans.
WWF, CSIRO, Tasmanian Albatross Fund & the Tasmanian Dept of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment are installing artificial nests on Albatross Island in Bass Strait to assist breeding.
Donations will be made to this project from sales of this T-shirt design.
TABLE RUNNERS/ROD HANGINGS and CUSHION COVERS:
I have also created ‘Shy Albatross’ Table Runners/Rod Hangings and Cushion Covers.
My second new design, ‘Eastern Curlew’, is currently only available on Table Runners/Rod Hangings and Cushion Covers. This design will be available on T-shirts soon and I will send another newsletter when in stock.
The ‘Eastern Curlew’ design was created as a wall piece for an ‘Overwintering’ exhibition in our local Mallacoota Art Space. This exhibition focused on our migratory birds and motivated me to tackle one of my favorite birds, Eastern Curlew, sadly also endangered.
Through Covid and rolling lockdowns, I’ve been head down, printing. There are more new designs lurking but ‘Royal Spoonbill’ is the first one I’ve been able to resolve, print and stock.
New designs are very labour intensive. I’m thinking maybe I should just put myself in voluntary design boot-camp lockdown to get more done!
NEW FABRIC COLOURS:
Time for some new colours! I have had Maroon,Silver Grey and Pale Peach specially dyed. Most of my colours are dyed to match colour samples I provide to the fabric manufacturer, which is why they are unique to my range.
The designs below are now on these new colours (Palm Cockatoo and Cicada Flower on maroon; Dragonfly on pale peach and Superb Blue Wren on silver grey …and of course, the new design, Royal Spoonbill) all available in Adult’s and Ladies Fitted styles.
NEW DESIGN ‘Royal Spoonbill’:
Watching the large flock of Royal Spoonbills feeding in the inlet below me has inspired this new design. They use their amazingly adapted spoon-shaped bills to sift and filter the shallow waters for fish, aquatic insects, crustaceans, molluscs and some plant material. Watching them feed is mesmerising but so too is the eccentric wind swept plumes of the breeding males – like some fabulous feathered headdress. I adore the little patch of curved yellow above the eyes, the red eye and matching flick of red at the top of the head.
There are 2 colourways – Silver Grey and Jungle Green – each with a slightly different configuration of the design.
The Silver Grey background colour is one of the new colours specially dyed by my Melbourne fabric supplier. That back design of the male Spoonbill shouted out to be featured on a darker colour so I’ve created a slightly different version on Jungle Green. Clicking on the images below will take you directly to the ADULT T-SHIRTS page where they appear and the LADIES FITTED T-SHIRTS page.
TABLE RUNNERS / ROD HANGINGS:
My Table Runners sell well in our local art gallery – Mallacoota Art Space – so I’ve been encouraged to expand the range of designs and also supply hanging rods. This enables the buyer to hang them as a long, slender Rod Hanging instead of using as a Table Runner, if they prefer.
When you buy one in the Shopping Cart, you’ll be asked if you want your Runner supplied with or without hanging rods.
MASKS:
When Covid arrived and we all went into lockdown, I gathered all my remnant fabric to make masks for my local community as there weren’t any reuseable ones available. Eventually the local sewing group organised to make masks using donated fabric so I gave them fabric and returned to printing. I have since made more but this time for my regular website go-ers. There is a small selection now on my website on Page 1 of Adult T-shirts.
SPECIALS:
Don’t forget to check out the Specials page as I add discontinued designs throughout the year.
When Covid hit, I spent the initial lockdown time making masks for my community out of leftover printed fabric pieces that I’d kept over the years. Then when they were able to gather again, the local sewing group had mask workshops and I gave them fabric and got back to work.
As Covid and mask wearing seem to be our new normal for a while, I’ve bespoke made some masks to sell on the website.
They appear on page 3 of Adult T-shirts HERE.
Amidst these covid times of uncertainty, I hope I can adorn you in a little visual joy with an original design reborn and more things moved into Specials.
Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus): Originally printed on a Jacaranda Blue background and discontinued, I have just reintroduced this design to the range on a deeper Ocean Blue background. View this new colourHERE.
Spring Specials: Specials now span two pages on the website. It’s where I move designs that I’m discontinuing. I have to keep making room for new things! Check out all Specials HERE.
A New Colour Design to celebrate 3 years in Mallacoota – a great move both personally and workwise. The photo above was us preparing to head out of Wallaby Gully 3 years ago today – June 19 – to a new start in Mallacoota. Some new customers have only known me as a Mallacoota local but I worked for 25+ wonderful years in the big red shed in Wallaby Gully in the Hunter Valley. It was three times the space but I have easily adapted to my smaller studio space here and happily producing the same amount of work.
There is a fabulous Mallacoota local who only wears black. He loves my designs and enthusiastically encouraged me to try the Wedge-tailed Eagle design on black. So I did…and here it is.
Last newsletter I shared our survival through a catastrophic bushfire that ravaged Mallacoota at the end of 2019 into 2020. Now all of us are dealing with a worldwide pandemic and restrictions pertaining to Covid19. 2020 is definitely NOT the year we all anticipated but somehow we must stay safe, make the best of it and hope jobs and the economy are restored.
Mallacoota was just beginning to rise from the ashes to reclaim all that visitation and tourism attention we are so blessed with at holiday times. Folks were planning to flock to our wilderness-rich corner of Victoria for school holidays and Easter, ready to spend much-needed $$$ in our beautiful town. In fact, the campground on the edge of the inlet was already totally full with folks who had arrived early! The 2nd ever Wild Harvest Seafood Festival was planned for this very weekend that I am writing to you. The organisers were hoping to build on last year’s inaugural success and begin to heal some of the town’s wounds of fire affected businesses.
Then Covid19 struck and travel restrictions were imposed. The campground closed and all visitors were asked to leave. The Seafood Festival is now postphoned until September. Mallacoota is quiet now with locals staying inside between essential journeys for food, business and exercise. We check up on each other and deliver to those self-isolating.
With the enforced lack of visitation, the natural environment seems to be taking a huge deep breath. Trees are resprouting, slowly wildlife is returning post-fire. Everything took a hammering in the fire but signs of recovery are everywhere. The removal of destroyed houses that once were homes but now look like flat packs, is underway. We all hope Covid restrictions don’t hold up this process. People who lost their homes need to feel they are moving forward.
Having a home-based workshop means it is business as usual for Alison Green Designs. I am busy printing, catching up on stock and filling orders. Post offices remain open as essential services so orders are going out as usual.
Max busy building his own shed now that AGD workshop is fully-functional.
My heartfelt wish is that you all stay safe through 2020. Cheers, Alison
I ended my Christmas newsletter sending heartfelt thoughts to all in fire ravaged areas, little knowing that it was to be Mallacoota’s turn on Tuesday Dec 31! Our New Year became a blur of property protection and chaos. Then we faced a similar fear on Saturday Jan 4 when the sky again turned black, then red, as smoke from other East Gippsland fires swept through on a wind change.
Our house and workshop emerged unscathed, twice! Not much ember attack in this part of town but areas backing onto bush were badly impacted and houses were lost – around 100.
In the collage of images at the top of this email…starting from the left: 1. Checking messages and emergency app with fire gear on waiting for fire to hit. 2. Broken water bowl at my friends’ garden. They lost their house but birds are still visiting the bowls of water we’ve put out amidst the devastation. 3. We got some sleep overnight and woke to a brief dawn that turned quickly and progressively to pitch blackness as thick smoke and ash descended. At 7am it was like nighttime, as the fire devastated houses on the edge of town. 4. The sign outside ‘Salt’, a shop in town owned by Courtney and Mark, who lost their Banksia Mudbrick Units and home. 5. Don the magnificent! Not only does he love my Sooty Owl T-shirt but he used to be props manager for Opera Victoria and has been running the evacuation/relief centre at the community hall, co-ordinating sound, set-up, supplies and aid. When Max and I turned up to help, he said “We are the glue! We just connect people to people, services and goods”. Onya Don, it was a privilege to work beside you for 2 weeks. 6. At the relief centre post-fire, we suddenly realised the sun had emerged! First time thick smoke had dispersed since the fire. Was blissful to feel the sun and breathe clean air again!
We lost power for 2 weeks but electricity has been restored via generators until the road is open from Melbourne for big trucks to replace power poles. Alison Green Designs is up and running again – business as usual. Thank you to everyone who has ordered and have been waiting patiently for Aust Post to restore service, which is not far off.
Please note that any orders received now will be packed straight away but may take a bit longer than usual to arrive. Things are slowly returning to normal and I expect to be able to post in a week’s time.
A recovery committee is forming that will involve a cross-section of community members to facilitate the rebuild and resurrection of Mallacoota, which will emerge stronger than ever. Love this community. Loved it before but totally love the resilience and kindness I have witnessed since the fire. The People’s Republic of Mallacoota salutes you!
Cheers and good wishes for 2020 (the year of good vision!) Alison
