FK chats to Melinda about her love of weaving and gorgeous label Fizzy Lime Creative, based in the Hunter Valley, NSW. You can find these clever and creative wares at our Sydney AW14 Market in June!
Tell us a bit about Fizzy Lime Creative and what we can expect to discover.
Fizzy Lime Creative was set up to showcase and sell my work with the motto “Live your life in full colour!”. As a multi passionate creative maker/artist, I’m aiming to make things that bring joy into the lives of my customers – and to my own life too! At the moment I’m working with wool and weaving home wares like lamp shades and banners. As I go along I plan to bring in new elements and explore different mediums to create new and exciting products.
What is your creative background and how did it lead you to where you are today?
I was a bit of a late bloomer creatively speaking. I dabbled in creative endeavours and had some success at local art competitions. It took a long time to realise just how important being creative was to my happiness, by that time there were three kids to raise and our own painting and decorating business to run.
In 2013 I went to the Big Hearted Business Conference in Melbourne run by the inspirational Clare Bowditch and everything changed. I finally knew what I had to do and how to go about it. From there things evolved quite quickly. I got a lot of support and feedback from some amazing people I had connected with via Instagram which helped me to develop my ideas. I cleared my schedule, set up a new routine to ‘do it all’ and started Fizzy Lime!!
What do you love about living in the Hunter Valley?
I love the fact that we are so close to everything and we are spoilt for choice! It takes less than an hour to get the beach or the bay for a relaxing day by the water. You can get to the vineyards in under an hour for beautiful food, gardens and wine. There are heaps of shops and cafes in every direction and so many excellent local ones! The Newcastle and Hunter Valley region also has a great creative community with loads of different markets to visit and we have the best art galleries – especially the Maitland one! Did I mention all the shops…?
What is your workspace like? Tell us about your creative process?
My studio is in a newly renovated back room of our house and is shared with the office. My grandma’s old sewing machine has a permanent position on my work bench and I’ve nicknamed her Betty! There are lots of shelves and cupboards to stash all my bits and pieces in but it gets chaotic pretty quickly!
The creative process always starts with pencil and paper. I have a growing collection of notebooks and sketchbooks where I jot down any and all ideas and inspiration. I also like to work out basic designs and problem-solve a little on paper first – it helps to get it all out my head! I like to have all my materials in front of me when I’m creating as I’m a very visual person and I kind of figure most things out as I go which allows the work to evolve organically.
What do you love about hand weaving? What are some of the challenges?
I guess with hand weaving I love the sense of connection it gives me. As such a traditional and long running art form it makes you feel like you fit into the bigger picture somehow. My grandparents on my mother’s side were also avid tapestry weavers in their later lives so there is a connection there too.
The challenge with the weaving I do is in working without a pattern and having to work within the square count of the wire or base. It can be quite constricting to develop a pattern this way and more than once I have had to pull work apart because it just wouldn’t fit! I also have to be careful about the size of the shapes and individual elements especially with the banners because otherwise the wool tends to make it bow.
What can we expect to see from Fizzy Lime Creative at the upcoming Sydney Markets?
I’m so excited to be coming to the Sydney markets!! Lampshades and Lamps are my big focus at the moment and I’m working on lots of different styles and colour combinations. I will also have banners and wall hangings available, again with lots of different styles in the works! I’m developing some new products too which I won’t say too much about yet, but I’m hoping to have some big and small things… something for everyone. My feather and diamond ‘tails’ will be there, along with my ‘mini x’ bunting. In short there will be loads of colourful woven goodness and I’m looking forward to meeting a heap of lovely new people to share it all with!
