Saturday, December 11, 2010

You'd better put the kettle on.......

Next time you visit l'uccello the entrance may look like this.... I know it's a bit like an old episode of Prisoner, but for the time being we have to live with it. So you'd better put the kettle on, we have a bit to get through in this post.
Yesterday the young man from the City of Melbourne insisted that it be closed as a safety measure, another man at the same council has said that may not be the case, however the first young man seemed to think it was essential, so until the men at the council decide which it is we must endure heaving this big old door to enter the lovely l'uccello.
However the most remarkable event yesterday was the safe arrival of our dear friends' little son so all things considered it was a blessed day. 

So don't be afraid when you arrive, if you're feeling feisty let yourself in, otherwise ring the bell and we will come and give you hand, especially if you have a pram etc, (of course the first customer to come in after this happened had to be a poor young woman with a sleeping baby in a pram!)

Press firmly, it's a bit spongy, we will be there in a second, it's so magic far away tree!

However once you make it inside there are all these great new treasures that have just arrived, including at last lots of gorgeous things from the prestigious French haberdashery and embroidery company Sajou. I'll make the tour as quick as possible...

Our own range of festive bunting, hot off the press is now available for sale by the meter, an eclectic mix of fabrics including lots of French General.

More French General books and beautiful table runners made from antique French linen and vintage crocheted doilies, they look gorgeous layered with the antique French linen laundry cloths.

Divine new antique lace, seriously beautiful.

Fabulous new buttons, art deco Bakelite cubes, 1930s Czech glass, mirror back filigree and some very glamorous rhinestones.

Amazing 1920s beret, crocheted with fine rayon thread and embellished with little celluloid leaves, in great condition, and we found this lovely hat pin holder.

Photos just do this beautiful piece if hand embroidered ribbon justice, the colours are much more beautiful. It is an Indian piece of silk ribbon beautifully hand embroidered, probably Victorian in age, it is one of the loveliest pieces in our ribbon collection.

Boxed sets of Valdani hand dyed colour fast 3 ply cotton floss, yummiest colours ever!

Now for the Sajou, we have a few of these pretty kits to embroider and then put together to make these lovely little tins for pins, buttons or other odds and ends. They come beautifully gift boxed and only require a small amount of thread to complete.

We also have these sweet little pin cushion kits too.

These lovely scissors are reproductions of Palais Royal designs made from resin, they are made in France, even the tassel!

 Soooo pretty!

Fine quality assorted needles presented in these charming vintage reproduction cards, all of the Sajou range is so beautifully presented, thay are the perfect gift for stitchy friends.

Finally their gorgeous thread winder cards, such a great way to keep stranded cotton tangle free and so lovely, we have a few designs left (most have sold out already) we hope to get a new delivery in by Wednesday.

Well that's it for now, if you have made it all the way, well done and thank you. If you have already been to store despite the big door issue Thank You, if you are planning to come in don't be put off, we are right here to help. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks there is some really, really special things on the way.




Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Christmas shopping hours

l'uccello Christmas opening hours
Monday - Friday 10-6
Saturday & Sunday 10-4

We will be open every day until Christmas to make gift shopping a little easier, don't forget we can do mail order, just give us a call, and we always offer complementary gift wrapping.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Midnight magic

You may have heard about our Christmas Market, Marche Rouge.... it starts today at 10am, so many fabulous gifts, come to Level 2 of the wonderful old Nicholas Building. We have all been working away like Santas elves to have lots of lovely things ready, it's after midnight and everything looks a little magic. I am so the kid that never got bored with Christmas, I love the decorations and fairy lights, anything a bit glittery and sparkly.
It's too late to write much and we have so many lovely new things to photograph, I will have to do that next post. So for now here is a little midnight magic.













Saturday, November 27, 2010

Too beautiful

It is looking rather beautiful at l'uccello, our delivery of Sophie Degard handmade accessories arrived today, it is the most exciting parcel we have ever unpacked. The colours are just breathtaking and they are so beautifully made, mostly very fine crochet in either very soft wool or linen.

This handbag is so stunning, there is also a scarf in this design and colourway.







We sold almost half our shipment on the first day so if you see something you love give us a call.

How lovely are these antique lace making bobbins?

Lovely old rayon crochet thread still in purrrfect condition

Perfect for this steamy weather we are having, these fans keep you cool and glamorous at the same time.

Tooooo cute

We are starting to get all the Christmas decorations out, so pretty.



Gift ideas for kids and grown ups.

Great gifts for kids and grown ups, Crafty Cards are little kits containing vintage treasures to make into unique gift cards

Also fun are these Cutie Doll Kits, we have a Christmas variety too that includes holly and a halo. They come with instructions for making her outfit and she would look so cute on top of the Christmas tree.

These sweet children's books are French and are in perfect mint condition, they are originals and are around 50-60 years old.

Also great for presents, old fashioned paper dolls, with lots of outfits in each book.

Vintage ephemera kits for scrap booking, collage or altered art projects.

Don't forget Marche Rouge is on next week



Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Out and about

I am a bit behind with the blog because I have been out and about, preparing decorations for the Kleins Christmas window that is going in tomorrow, finishing off Kozminsky's Christmas tree, packing more kits for wholesale orders  and sorting through a mountain of new stock, including a huge collection of vintage silk millinery veiling. I've also managed to squeeze in RMIT's 2nd year students end of year parade, thanks to Mia. Add a quick visit to the countryside to do a little pop up shop at an embroidery and patchwork group's Christmas party and a couple of paper patch worked reindeers for our installation in the Journal windows to promote our upcoming Marche Rouge Christmas shopping event. To say it's been a frantic week is an understatement

It was a fabulous show, with so many talented designers, very inspiring
Also inspiring was this lovely quilt, beautiful colours and gorgeous 19th century reproduction prints. It was one of many lovely pieces of work exhibited at the Christmas party event that we were invited to, where we set up our pop up shop. It was a lovely day with a great group of ladies, special thanks to Miss Gillian, Lady Margaret and Shirley.

Another gorgeous quilt!
How gorgeous are these roses from my mum's garden? There is no end to her talents!

 
The sky was this classic summer blue that goes on for ever today, I took this in Collingwood waiting for a tram.

 Here are the patchwork reindeers at Journal cafe in Flinders Lane, they are to promote our upcoming Marche Rouge Christmas Market. The patches are made from postcards,images, ephemera and fabrics from all the people involved, including Buttonmania, Pigment Gallery, Harold and Maud, Kimono House and of course l'uccello.



Exciting news, our delivery of Sophie Degard scarves and necklaces are on their way and should be in store next week. We are so excited to be stocking this exquisite range and can't wait for it's arrival, I'll post pictures as soon as the delivery arrives.

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Christmas is coming....

Sorry to scare you, but it has been all about Christmas this week.... lots of new stock arriving, installing Christmas windows and decorating Christmas trees for my clients, making lots of Christmas cutie doll kits, scented pillows, Christmas Stockings and all of our other l'uccello products and taking photos of our muse (shown above) for the Marche Rouge "'Deck the Halls"' Christmas Market postcard....crazy but fun.

This is what I made for Kozminskys Jewellers of their Christmas windows, there are two of them one for each of the front windows. I wanted them to be whimsical, charming and hopefully fun to stop and look at. 

You have to watch those l'uccelli they love a bit of bling!

The reflection makes it hard to photograph, the colours look much richer and lustrous than the photo suggests

We had a delivery of fabulous vintage bobbins, great new colours and shapes.



Soooooo excited about our new range of pure wool felt from Europe, beautiful quality and we have 45 colours, I feel a softie or two coming on.

So many yummy colours!


We now have this great series of paper doll kits, ranging from early 19th century through to Chanel  and other mid 20th century designers, too cute.

Very special deliveries, late Victorian sewing and lace making tools, including this gorgeous vegetable ivory pineapple shaped measuring tape in perfect working order. Lovely carved bone lace bobbins with pretty glass spangles and delicate mother of pearl thread winders. We also received the lovely glass container with silver engraved lid, it contains 3 old crochet hooks and would be perfect for storing a collection. The lady cameo is a lovely vintage glass button.

Our neighbour Buttonmania is have a fabulous sale starting Monday 15th November, not to be missed!

The MARCHE ROUGE "Deck the Halls" Christmas Market will be on the 3rd and 4th of December, we will post all of the details in the next few days, mark it in your calender it's going to be great fun and there will be lots of affordable Christmas gifts on offer.

Thanks again for comments and welcome to new followers of our blog.

Have a truly splendid week.