The Bergamot book based on The Moonlight Seedling’s name Bergamot competition entry is FINISHED! I cannot tell you how glad I am to be able to cross this one off my to do list, I’ve felt really guilty on taking so long but I think the finished product is a great start for Bergamot’s adventures and I am looking forward to drawing more now.
The book tells the story of how Miss Bergamot Bunny came to have her name and make her way from her home in an English Earl Grey tea factory to Australia.
I have a hardcover version of the book coming in the next few weeks which I can’t wait to show you guys but for now, you can download the PDF version (optimised for iPad viewing too!) by clicking the link below or you can view it in the gallery below too.
I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it and a HUGE thank you to The Moonlight Seedling for her original competition entry 😀
In relation to that, I thought it was time that Bergamot got her own website! She now has her own tumblr which will be filled with Bergamot related drawings, comics, free downloads and other fun things (hint hint, I’ll be introducing her friends soon!). If you like Bergamot please go check out her new site!
While we’re talking about Bergamot make sure to check out the Bergamot shop too, it’s full of all kinds of pretty jewellery and charms 😀 I’ll be adding more next week as well!
So today is a day for celebration I think ^_^ and Because of this…
I’m holding a Bergamot themed competition!
The winner will get:
1 item of their choice from the Bergamot store OR a custom phone strap in their choice of colour.
1 handmade Bergamot plushie.
How to enter:
Leave a comment on this blog entry or the Youtube video I’ll be posting on my main channel tomorrow telling me what you want to see next from Miss Bergamot. It can be anything from a story you’ve written to an idea for one of her friends, having her own facebook page, or some kind of merchandise you’d like to see her on, be creative!
Terms:
1 winner only.
1 entry per person.
Open internationally where legally allowed.
Entries are judged on creativity.
Entries must be posted on this blog post or on the corresponding video (link when it’s uploaded tomorrow).
Entries must be received by midnight AEST on the 20th July.
Winner will be contacted via email so make sure you leave a valid one.
The time is finally here, the Bergamot Etsy store is finally open!
Such a relief to finally have something online! The store will have several more options added over the next few weeks but at the moment it has:
Cell phone and bag charms
Bracelets
Earrings
Plain charms that you can use in your own craft projects
Miss Bergamot herself:
It’s been a really bumpy ride trying to get this up and running, working out margins including several currency exchanges and percentages has reminded me several times why James and I are considering moving overseas >_<
I’m so proud of how this batch of charms has turned out and it’s made all of the hard work worth it! The next step is definitely still getting the plushies into production but my negotiations on that level are still going on and until I can get the costs including shipping under control without me having to lay out many thousands of dollars in advance it’s slow progress. But it is progress so it’s something else to look forward to!
In the mean time I will be putting a couple of the handmade Bergamot plushies up for auction!
I’m so happy to be able to keep crossing big projects like this off my to do list! Next step will be the Bergamot book and the pattern books 😀
Remember I was filming stuff a while ago for a TV show?!
It’s airing today and it’s Tokyo Kawaii International 😀 😀 😀
I am so beyond excited and honored to have been asked to appear on the show, especially one about handmade kawaii fashion!
You can watch the episode online on the NHK World website below so check your local timezone for listing time over here, it’s being played several times today! I’m on at the very end, but the whole show is amazing so make sure you stay tuned!
I can’t put into words how excited and grateful I am for this opportunity… being awake many hours before usual and not having had a cup of tea probably doesn’t help so I will write more about the experience when I am a bit more coherent!
I wanted to give an update on the Bergamot progress because it’s been so long!
Firstly at the moment having stuffed toys like my original Bergamot looks like it’s going to take a while longer because I need to save up the capital to actually order them. The factories have quite large minimum orders so it’s going to take me a while to save up. Sewing them myself just isn’t an option because the amount of work that goes in means a huge amounts of time. That said I do have some which are already completed and I am going to be using them as prizes in competitions coming up so please look forward to that!
Now in the mean time I have found some other options!
A lot of you mentioned in the original survey that you loved the design but didn’t have a use for a stuffed animal so I’ve been looking into some more practical ideas 😀
First off, soon there will be Bergamot nail decals through one of my partners!
Secondly at the moment I’m sifting through order forms to get cell phone charms, necklaces and key charms made up. I should be receiving the samples of those very soon so I’ll finally have something concrete to show YAY!
I also promised that I would illustrate the original story that the lovely Moonlight Seedling wrote. I’ve had a lot of fun breaking out my watercolors again for this so I’ve decided that it’s going to be a series 😀
Of course I’m getting a head of myself there again already haha! So this post isn’t completely a text wall, please enjoy looking over some photos of the first coloured drafts. Obviously these are just super quick photos of them but you can get an idea of the style ^_^
And once again THANK YOU to everyone that reads and supports me through this site, you are all amazing and I am so lucky to be able to do things like this!
I’ve felt a bit like I’m spinning my wheels lately, working hard but never finishing anything so it’s really nice to be able to put up a project I promised almost a year ago *_*
I’ve wanted to implement downloadable version of tutorials with print out patterns for ages but it’s something that’s so time consuming it always gets pushed to the back burner. I’ve managed to get the first 10 of them done now and updated the corresponding posts so I hope you enjoy them!
Each download features cleaned up and re-edited images, simpler instructions and a comic style layout. If you have any suggestions on how to improve future versions please let me know! Some people have suggested arrows or numbers to show which order to read the boxes in so if you think that would be easier leave a comment.
Feel free to add these to your Pinterest or Tumblr. Being able to easily add them to craft to-do lists is one of the main reasons I wanted to use this format as it can be hard to keep track of stuff you want to do from multiple websites while trying to remember the tutorial urls!
As I continue working I will be adding other extra information to old tutorials too such as patterns you can print and cut out too as well as launching my Etsy store which will have a lot of new content. So more stuff to look forward to ^_^
Click the image below to be taken to the large version or click the title to see the original tutorial post.
So as I mentioned the other day in the Round Up post, James has officially launched his shop on Etsy selling photography prints. YAY!
The reason I say YAY is that it’s something he’s wanted to do for years and he’s finally had the time/money/etc to do something like this for himself… so YAY!
He’s starting with mounted 6×4 prints for now and will be moving up into other sizes, tryptichs and other matted versions (not just mounted) soon depending on how popular it is. He’s even talking about setting up at some local markets with a stall ^_^
And at only AU$10 a piece 😉
I couldn’t help wanting to post a couple of the shots of them on the easels because I was so excited to actually have printed copies we can display around the house XD They look amazing in person, so enjoy!
Hope you enjoyed looking at them as much as I enjoy them in my living room 😀 Oh and also congratulations James!
Illustrator. Strong tea, knitting, watercolours, and making a video game called Moonlight in Garland. Living with her adorable husband Jimmy, fluffy puppy Miss Lottie and Bergamot Bunny in Melbourne, Australia.
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