Welcome to the weekly Feature and Giveaway! Every Monday, we’ll be featuring a lovely craftsperson, artist, or  artisan – and every week you’ll have the chance to win something from their shop!

This week we welcome Sam, from the gorgeous Matou en Peluche!

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Where do you live?

Sydney, Australia

Where do you do your work?

At the dining room table!

What’s your favourite place in the world, and why?

Favorite place in the world: Sydney’s pretty hard to beat – but London or Venice come a very close equal second!

Tell us a little bit more about yourself! Your ‘day job’ or business, family, hobbies…

I’m an English language teacher by day. Every other spare moment I spend drawing or at least thinking about drawing!! I’m also quite fond of taking long walks on the weekend with my partner in crime around the beautiful parks, bushland and beaches of Sydney.

il_430xN.74154614What did you want to be ‘when you grew up’?

I wanted to be an artist!

How did you first get into your craft/art?

My Mum was an incredibly creative person – and both my parents were forever taking me round the art galleries of Sydney on the weekends so, I grew up in an arty house and was very encouraged by both of them to draw and create from a young age.

What do you make?

I draw charcoal and pastel gals and birds mostly and sell them as prints. I also have a range of greeting cards.

What are you most proud of making?

Gosh! I think I’m quite proud of the body of work I’ve built up over the past year and a half on Etsy.

il_430xN.88038365What do you like the most/least about selling your wares online?

I love the interaction with the people who stop by my shop. I love the Etsy community and the blogging community – I had no idea that that was one of the perks of opening an Etsy store! I also love being able to put up a new drawing in my shop and get some feedback more or less instanly. I also love being in control and not having to go through gallery curators in order to sell and get my work seen.

I can’t think of one downside to selling online!

I love…

cats, shopping for art supplies, drawing, fine spring weather, the online community!

It drives me crazy when…

People make a big deal about standing in a queue at the post office and sigh very loudly and breathe all over my neck!

What’s your favourite word?

Thank you!

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Visit Sam Online!

Shop: http://www.matouenpeluche.etsy.com
Website: http://www.matouenpeluche.com
Blog: http://www.matouenpeluche.typepad.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/matouenpeluche

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Wow – Sam is being super-generous to all my lovely readers this week! She is offering the winner of this giveaway their choice of five (yep 5) 6cm X 10cm (4″ X 6″) small prints from her shop – this is worth $25.00. I have a few of Sam’s prints, and I can tell you that they are top quality and just lovely to look at!

To Enter:

1. Visit Matouenpeluche, and come back here leaving a comment about your favourite pieces from the store.

2. For additional entries, leave a comment saying that you: followed or subscribed to Epheriell Designs (or already do); have Twittered about the givewaway; have shared the giveaway with friends on Facebook, or; you have written a blog post about it.

3. Entries close next Sunday night, the 13th of September, at 12pm Australian EST. Winners are announced the next day as part of next week’s Feature and Giveaway post.

Remember to leave me a way of contacting you.. and Good Luck!

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Well, as you all know, I’ve been sick this week – and I’ve also been preparing like crazy for the Brisbane Indie Designers Market (tomorrow, eep!).

I woke up this morning and I’d had enough! I felt I needed a mental and physical break from the work I’ve been doing – I am supposed to be on holidays, after all!

I also had been feeling the need for a new pair of boots, as the sole of one of my old pair is being partially held on by blue-tac – great look, I know.

However, before I could set out on my journey, this arrived…

Jacked Wrapped

What is it? Well, earlier in the week, as I blogged about, I received my copy of Peppermint in the mail. I read a great article about an eco-friendly small clothes designing business in New South Wales (that’s one of our states here in Australia, for my international readers). Their clothes sounded great, and when I turned over the page, I saw one of their jackets and fell in love with it!

So I e-mailed Kelli, who is the owner of PurePod, and asked if they had any stockists here in Bris. She said she had a jacket there and she could post it up to me to try! How good is that! I also scored it significantly below RRP, as it was a sample jacket.

It is made from a mix of hemp, wool and lyocel, with a hemp/soya bean lining, which was hand-printed in Byron Bay. All their workers are fair wage, the fabrics are grown without pesticides… in short, they’re a fantastic small eco-Aussie business.

Here I am in my new jacket… Nick did take some ’serious’ photos of me, but this random one is much more entertaining…

PurePod Jacket Pose

And a close-up…

PurePod Jacket Close

So, before I ventured out I had already added to my wardrobe! Oh, if you’re in Bris, PurePod are stocked at Bliss Eco Wear in Paddington.

I then ventured off to the mall. I usually hate going to the mall – crowds and me don’t mix well. Mostly because I’ m a naturally fast walker… and most people, well, aren’t.

I have to say, I spent more money today than I have for a long time! I almost never go out shopping just for me, so I decided to go a bit mad today and treat myself.

I ended up with a lovely dusty pink frilly-ish shirt and grey knitted button-up vest, as well as a simple black cardigan from some cheapy women’s clothing stores. (BTW, do you know how hard it is to find a simple black cardigan?! I had to look in like 10 shops before I found one even remotely suitable!).

I also indulged in a few new pairs of tights to see out the winter – a semi-fishnet set in black, and another set in dusty purple. Oh, and a pair of cute black day-heels, and a new pair of black half-calf boots.

I ventured into Myer, and totally got lucky! One of my favourite brands, Basque, was having a 30% off sale on dresses – and I scored a gorgeous one. You’ll see me in it tomorrow if you’re visiting the market, otherwise I’ll have photos in a day or two!

My most expensive purchase was probably the strangest (for me). You see, I almost never wear makeup – I’m too lazy to bother with it, and I think I’ve always looked reasonably good without it. But my couple-of-years-old bottle of mascara was looking pretty sad, and I had no foundation to speak of, so I decided to venture into the world of mineral makeup. I find most foundations way too icky to wear – but this stuff is actually pretty fine!

The girl at The Body Shop sat me down and did a bit of a make-over on me – and it came out how I like it – basically so you can barely tell I’m wearing anything!

Here is my haul…

body shop buys

So, that should keep me going for at least the next three years :)

After the shopping spree, I moseyed up to The Full Moon Cafe – a gorgeous cafe/restaraunt/bar over at Sandgate – it’s up on the hill so it overlooks the bay. If you’re in Brissie, I totally recommend it – wonderful food and atmosphere! My friend Liz and I had a coffee and a chat, and then, much relaxed and refreshed, I headed home.

Now I must go and finish my preparations for tomorrow – beginning with cleaning out my car so I can fit everything in!

Wish me luck at the market tomorrow, and make sure you come down if you’re in Brisbane – St Augustine’s Church Hall, Racecourse Rd, Hamilton, from 9 to 2!

**Update – I finally checked the mail about 5, and found that I’d received my prints from Sam! Woot!

Mato Sam Pics

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I have been feeling sick this week – the dreaded holiday cold has taken hold like a insidious mucousy monster.. (sorry, too much information?)

Anyways, I was thinking I might indulge in some retail therapy to cheer me up…

So I went Etsy cruising. So many gorgeous goodies… other people’s jewellery, clothes, makeup, soap and bath products… but I decided that I needed some art for my soul.

In my last Superb Sunday I showed you this print by Sam from Matouenpeluche. Well, I loved it so much I couldn’t pass up her buy 2 get 3 sale (especially at only $5 each)! So all three of these prints – ‘Flying Kitten’, ‘The Interloper’ and ‘The Visitor’ – are now in the post on their way to me…

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Then, as I was browsing through my favourites list, I re-discovered Yellena. Her art is so ethereal – it just takes me into another world. Imagine how pleased I was when I discovered that she, too, was having a buy 2 get 3 sale (these ones were $20 each)!

It took me so long to decide which prints I wanted, but in the end, I settled on ‘Amble’, ‘Season’ and ‘Morning’.

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I can’t wait to receive these gorgeous artworks in the post!

I’ve also got another big goodie coming in the post… but I’ll blog about that when it gets here… :D

I’d love to know who your favourite artists are – especially any you’ve found on Etsy, Artfire, or any other online handmade venue. Please leave me a comment and tell me all about them!

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