New Year, New Blog!

Hello there! Well it's been a bit of a slow start to the blog for 2010 as we have been busy little bees in Dandi HQ and have some new and exciting products headed your way! In other news, we have now integrated our blog into our website, so this will be the last blog post on on blogspot. Please head over to our new blog here. We have loved being part of the blogspot community as we discovered what blogging was all about and made some lovely blogging friends along the way, so please stay tuned on our new blog and leave us lots of comments! We love those!

Giveaway Time at the Dandi Online Store

Caroline's Christmas Table

Caroline had an early Christmas celebration this year and decked out her table Dandi style to get the mood happening. A plain dyed tablecloth and holly berry napkins were used to set the scene.

Berry red ribbon on simple elegant paper lanterns add a touch of drama to the occasion

Edible napkin decorations - yummy plump cherries to accentuate the red.

They even had matching cocktails courtesy of our favourite Dandi model, Nadine. Recipe for these to follow!

DIY Dandi Christmas - Free Download

Click here to download the pattern

Christmas Wishes

Mindi was the lucky recipient of a very special housewarming present from the rest of the Dandi ladies when they came over for some dumplings a few weekends ago.

These gorgeous butter knives are still in their original silk lined case and what is even more special is that the card from the gift giver is still attached!

The card reads: "To Muriel, with love and all good wishes, from Mabel - 25/12/1925

Pretty special huh?!

Summer Trends

Welcome Summer! To kick off the start of the party season we have compiled two different looks from the our range which both capture the essence of Summer entertaining - what fun!

Our Gum Leaf pattern is so elegant and calming it will cool even the hottest of Summer days! Try the rick rack range of placemats and table runners for easy outdoor entertaining and picnics.

Bold, bright Bloom is the perfect statement pattern this Summer. Whether you're after a tote for the beach or an oilcloth tablecloth for a fuss free Christmas table, this range will turn heads for all the right reasons. Team the tablecloth with plain dyed berry or wisteria napkins to create a nautical inspired look.

Mindi's Birthday

Yesterday the Dandi ladies all celebrated Mindi's Birthday! We sampled two different types of cake, Chocolate Mud and Orange and Almond flourless, as well as delicious cupcakes from My Little Cupcake (courtesy of a friend in Cairns - how cute!).


We also sat down to the traditional Dandi birthday lunch of yummy sushi and present unwrapping....


Two pressies! + a gorgeous handmade card by resident dandi Artist, Manny


Pressie number 1: The very cool new book by Sydney chick Kelly Doust : The Crafty Minx

Some projects from the book: Top: Beach Bag - a summer essential! Bottom: Elegant clutch? Yes please!

Pressie 2: Speaking of elegant clutches... how gorgeous is this Organic Cotton clutch from aussie company Apple & Bee? Now Mindi just needs to go shoe shopping for some killer heels to match!

Magnolia Square - This Weekend in Sydney

Last night the Dandi girls (sans Manny who had her exciting exhibition opening which will be featured next week) went Christmas (and personal) shopping at the fabulous Magnolia Square market at Randwick Racecourse. We saw lots of yummy things and made quite a few purchases which we will show you over the next week. The first feature is from a cute art print brand call Printspace.

Printspace are a Melbourne based Husband and Wife team who also run a graphic design firm. Mara and Nicholas collaborate on the Printspace artworks and we love the result.

Caroline purchased the print above from the Printspace stand - it really is too cute!

The above image was a postcard freebie from their stand - good enough to frame don't you think? Thanks Printspace for coming up to Sydney and enlightening us with your artworks!

Magnolia Square is on from now until Saturday 21 November. Don't worry if you can't make it though as we will post some goodies all next week and you can check out more stalls on the Magnolia Square website

Plain Dyed Love

Wedding Details: Professional Shots

We've mentioned before about all the effort and attention to detail that Leezar put in to making her wedding day that little bit more personal and unique. To round up all the romantic posts about Leezar's big day here are some of the professional shots taken on the day of all the handmade details which Leezar came up with and made herself (with the help of her 6 bridesmaids and husband!). The order of service (above) featured the apple tree motif which was part of the theme of the wedding, along with the phrase 'The Apple of My Eye'.

The above image is of a place setting, each guest received a CD of Corey and Leezar's favourite songs and a Dandi Fabric Origmai Treasure box filled with heart shaped chocolates. We like how the photographer chose to shoot 'Nan's' spot! Cute!

The pin board which Leezar put together to match in with the chocolate and red theme of the wedding. Guests left their messages on the board for Leezar and Corey to keep, the cards were kept in the cute apple container.

Tall vases of apples for the centre pieces on each table, looks like someone had a taste sample of this one!

And finally here we all are dolled up. Caroline, Leezar, Mindi and Manuela
Say cheese!

New Stockist: Kelani Fabric Obsession

Dandi are thrilled to be newly stocked by popular Australian online fabric shop, Kelani. Kelani Fabric offers a great selection of fashionable fabrics suitable for home decorating, kid's decor and crafting and sewing projects.

Fabrics come from all over the world, in particular gorgeous fabrics from Japan, Europe and the US have a large presence on the site. However, Elissa from Kelani is also very passionate about promoting Australian designs too! Dandi are joining a number of other special Australian designers such as Sprout, Pippijoe, Lara Cameron and Kristen Doran.

Dandi also love the Handmade Inspiration Gallery on the site which showcases finished products made by satisfied Kelani customers. (Image above from Kelani)

You can shop online at Kelani Fabric now, or even Subscribe to their newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest from Kelani.

Retailer Watch: Home at Last, Milton NSW

On a recent weekend on the NSW South Coast Caroline stopped in for a visit to Dandi stockist Home at Last. Situated in the picturesque town of Milton in the Shoalhaven area, Home at Last stocks a beautiful array of gifts and homewares and is well worth the visit if you are in the area.

Pretty potholders hanging around

The Dandi range looked great amongst the bright red kitchen shelves in the store, and our bold printed Paper Napkins tied in nicely with the other homewares on display.

The beautiful product displays carry on through the entire store. It's easy to see why so many locals and tourists alike love the store. Dandi are thrilled to be present in the historic town of Milton and highly recommend it as a place to visit!

As Seen In: October Home Beautiful

This post is a little late to reach you, however we thought it was a goody to share as it describes the Dandi design process and also showcases our lovely Caroline. An extract from this interview with Virginia Jen of Home Beautiful Australia is below.

"Our contemporary, graphic approach celebrates our natives landscapes, we take inspiration from the environment but aren't too literal with it. It could be the use of colour from a landscape or the shape of leaf that starts of a design.

Each design and product comes to fruition in an organic, collaborative design process. We all start sketching. One of us may start the design and then someone else jumps in and adds their bit. It's not about one person's individual talent - we work off our strength as a team. We Never stop designing - our studio walls are covered with ideas for future ranges, the hard part is deciding which design is ready to be set free. "

As Seen In: The West Australian

Dandi table runners, placemats and fabric napkins were recently featured in The West Australian 'Habitat' lift out. Click on the image to enlarge it and read our article.