Future Shelter

Spaceman

2012-02-10T17:46:00.000+08:00

Every kid wants to be an astronaut when they grow up (or at least that was one of my dreams!), but it doesn't always happen. So how about the next best thing : a Spaceman tshirt. Available in mens medium, large and x-large. The most special element of the tshirt is....the Spaceman is flocked! It's almost like stroking a kitten (and you know how everyone loves doing that). And for the ladies that wanted to always be an astronaut, there is always the Spaceman wall decal to adorn a surface as a reminder of your childhood dreams.

Hello Friday

2012-02-03T17:37:00.000+08:00

Hello Niina here!

You may have seen me working in the shop on a Friday or Saturday, I help put things together and keep the shop in working order. As you know from the previous blog post, Jane and Adam are busy making new things and going on new adventures. So to help ease the load, I'll be making new blog posts every Friday (if time permits!) to make sure all of the Future Shelter fans have their appetite for good design satisfied.

Now you all know our cheeseboard, hardy yet stylish with laser engraved designs ranging from geometric shapes to birds and trees. The wood we normally use is Tasmanian Oak but in the workshop the boys have been experimenting with Jarrah.

They used the always popular Bird Tree design as well as the very sweet Teacup design to engrave on the boards. The photo doesn't do them justice, the colour of jarrah is very hard to capture! And here are a couple of close ups but to get the full effect come into the shop and have a gander.

February News

2012-02-02T13:29:00.000+08:00

No we haven't gone anywhere, we're still busy making things! We've been doing a lot of planning and thinking over the last few weeks and we're really excited about this year. So far this year we've written and illustrated a new book which is still in progress, we've survived the school holidays and the Perth heat wave, we have introduced new cheese boards in sheoak and other native offcuts, we've created some new kiddy size lamp bases and have some new illustrated baby suits in the making.We will be doing a call out for all your old photos and stories around the Angove Street area to help create a special illustration for the Angove Street Festival which is scheduled for 1st April.We also have an exhibition coming up at FORM in Port Hedland mid April. We'll be flying up in Feburary to be inspired by giant machinery and vast landscapes.Finally we'll be refitting the shop area to bring some of the workshop into the shop space so you'll see us making things.So we may have been quiet but we've had our heads down working hard getting lots of new ideas finished as well as looking after 4 month old baby Ben :)Jane and Adam

Billion Dollar View 2nd Edition - Limited Edition Artwork

2011-11-24T15:35:00.001+08:00

For anyone who hasn't passed by the store recently we now sell the Billion Dollar View print issued as a second edition featuring some of the extra sights seen on the lampshade version. Slightly smaller but longer than the original it is an edition of 200. The demand for the first edition was very high so if you missed out then this is your second chance! They are going quickly though.

'Boom' - cranes building cranes building cranes... but what are we building?

'King's Park" a print version of the mural we created for Aspects in King's Park

shown here with our Diver wall decal

LA - a view of the Getty Center

'Paris City View' inspired by the architecture of the building and the view from the Eiffel Tower

We now stock PLUMEN designer low engergy light bulbs

2011-11-24T09:54:00.001+08:00

How great are these? We thought they are the perfect accompaniment to our lampshades. These bulbs are low energy but sooo cool! They fit all Australian light fittings and are $38 each for 8000hrs of light!

Puzzling ornaments - festive entertainment

2011-11-21T13:29:00.001+08:00

I have to admit being inspired by my younger sister. She was well known for being very honest and sweet at the same time. To her, Christmas cards were boring and presents were exciting so why not stop people getting bored with the card by adding a game or two inside! The kind of thing she would do is create an anagram of your name, a dot to dot or a word search inside a Christmas card to make them more interesting and prevent boredom setting in while you wait for the presents.

So, we now offer our Christmas ornaments presented as a puzzle! We give you some clues on the back of the card as it is very tricky. Creating the design this way also means we minimize waste while providing you with entertainment and some beautiful ornaments for your tree. Why not create a festive mobile using a couple of old branches?

There are 14 designs altogether created out of a 20cm square and they fit perfectly with our large jewellery tree as a space saving alternative to the full Christmas tree.

Puzzling ornaments on our jewellery tree. A perfectly postable present.

We're in the new Print and Pattern book!

2011-11-18T10:54:00.001+08:00

Christmas in production

2011-11-17T18:46:00.001+08:00

This looks puzzling!... a sneak peak at our new ornament puzzle. New screen printed ornaments available in walnut, oak and transparent red.

New Christmas Ornaments

2011-11-15T21:28:00.001+08:00

A sneak peak at the new Christmas range in the shop today.
These designs are available as individual ornaments also in walnut and Tasmanian oak veneer.
Screen printed and made in our workshop.

New Future Shelter Baby

2011-10-23T14:21:00.001+08:00

For those not on Facebook who have been wondering why it has been a bit quiet on the blog recently, here is a photo of our newborn baby Ben Coffey, the youngest member of the Future Shelter team! Pictured wearing a lovely little baby suit purchased at the Perth Upmarket from Pixie Kids.

A few photos of the document case in production

2011-10-23T14:06:00.001+08:00

Here are a few workshop photos of our document case that we designed exclusively for the CHOGM commonwealth leaders. We printed the Fraser Avenue design with eco-friendly water based inks onto linen/cotton for the inside and used an industrial fabric for the outside. Screen printing and laser cutting of the fabric, padding and labels was all completed in our workshop in North Perth. Sampling and final stitching was also wholly made in Perth. Final photos to come soon... delay due to new baby in the family!

A glimpse of Kings Park....

2011-08-31T15:23:00.000+08:00

Here are a few photos of our installation in the windows of Aspects, Kings Park.

Boom! - Outskirts Festival 24th/25th September

2011-08-31T15:19:00.002+08:00

We are taking part in the OUTSKIRTS festival at the end of September. We are creating a two day pop-up shop and installation based around the theme "Boom! town" featuring Lampshades, Coasters, Upcycled objects, Limited Edition Prints, Clothing, Stationery and Jewellery.

ENTRY ADDRESS: 89 James St, Northbridge.
ENTRY FEE: A smile
TIME:10am - 5pm Saturday 24th and 10am - 4pm Sunday 25th September
EVENT WEB LINK: www.onwilliam.com.au/outskirts

We love engineers.

A giant wall of Lampshades....

2011-08-17T13:37:00.001+08:00

If you haven't been in the store for a while you may not have seen our full collection of lampshades. We have a catalogue of designs in store. We have 4 sizes available and can also create custom colourways. If we don't have it in stock it takes 2 weeks to make a shade to order... all printed and made in Perth... what could be better :)

We also have a small range of refurbished lampbases and our own range of woodturned lampbases. If you are looking for a tall standard lamp they are hard to find and so they sell very quickly. We usually have at least one or two in store.

Yay! The plywood is here - Jewellery Trees back in stock soon

2011-07-25T14:58:00.000+08:00

Thanks to all of you who have been paitently waiting for our Jewellery Trees and Owls to be back in stock. Wait no longer, we have received some much awaited for plywood. We will be frantically making trees over the next couple of days and start shipping back orders on Wednesday.

A view of Western Australia

2011-07-20T09:40:00.002+08:00

We have a new boxed set of 6 coasters inspired by Perth. Developed in conjunction with Tourism WA to represent the different regions of Western Australia. We were asked to illustrate some of their favourite views of the region. I think my personal favourite is the whale shark!

There is nothing wrong with a little bit of aeronautical engineering inspiration....

2011-07-16T10:12:00.007+08:00

Top: New badge set
Bottom: New magnet set

I think all these engineers based in Perth are having a positive effect on our inspiration... this time from the aeronautical section. I love all those dials! Our anonymous aeronautical consultant informs me if these were the readings from your dials while flying, your aircraft may be banking just a little bit too much, your revs are too high and you are travelling at maximum speed.... we like to push the boundaries :)

Sophie in our new designs!

2011-07-14T09:46:00.003+08:00

Well a new and old design... the Butterfly hoodie is actually a design we did for Pumpkin Patch that I found in their store last week but goes nicely with our new Crane and Giant Biscuit T!

New design from Sophie...

2011-07-11T15:01:00.007+08:00

Well maybe not a design just yet but a lovely picture of mummy and daddy. I'm the pink one on the left, Daddy is the bluey purple. Proudly exhibited next to our new drawings of cranes on our new theme of "boom!!!!"... more on that theme to come later.

We will be at Made on the Left - Sunday 10th July

2011-07-09T13:41:00.005+08:00

We will be showing our latest products at Made on the Left tomorrow. We will be taking over a HUGE room at the new one40william building on the corner of William and Murray St right in the centre of town. There are lots of smaller independent designer-makers that you wouldn't see at some of the other bigger markets.

View Larger Map

There are also some discounts available in some of the permanent stores in the same building and a chance to win an ipad2 here.

Rebecca Baumann

2011-07-04T09:56:00.002+08:00

We don't just make our own products but we also make components for architectural models, jewellery designers and this example of components for an installation piece by Rebecca Baumann. We laser cut each of these coloured clock pieces that rotate... and yes that takes quite a bit of time! The result is stunning.

www.rebecca-baumann.com

Squarepeg Home - mmmmm Danish furniture

2011-06-28T14:27:00.004+08:00

Anyone who loves Danish Modern furniture needs to take a trip to Fremantle. Not only Danish classic designs but also locally made furniture contemporary furniture designed by Ben Savage. They are open on Sunday so we took a trip down to have a look at the beautiful designs.

At the back of the store there is a magic portal where you can see into the workshop where the locally made furniture is designed and made so we drooled over the machines too (well the engineer drooled, while the designer picked out what pieces would be prefect additions to our home and little 3 year old Sophie danced outside in the rain!)

So exciting to see more local workshops producing contemporary furniture and products in Perth!

SQUAREPEG HOME
17b Blinco Street, Fremantle.
Wednesday to Sunday 10am - 4pm

New things in the shop this week...

2011-06-27T16:27:00.005+08:00

New "Giant Biscuit" Long sleeve T for boys - featuring
Perth cranes doing some heavy lifting with a giant biscuit.

Balloning - New Girls Long Sleeve T
The ultinmate in travel options - Hot air and bicycles

Magnet sets - Writers, Owl Forest, Tea Party and Boys Toys

Night Owl Ts for girls size 2, 4 and 6

Wooden Hair clips and Vintage Laminex Hairslides

More new things!

2011-06-26T00:00:00.001+08:00

Walnut display boxes

New Woodturned lampbases made in Perth to suit our small lampshades... we also have a slightly larger version. We're still building up to the full floor lamp but we're not quite there yet! We have a few vintage tall floor lamps but we sell out very fast so if you are looking for one pop in soon!

Photos from the shop today

2011-06-23T13:45:00.004+08:00

We have a lovely lady, Eleanor Jones (Year 10) on work placement this week from Perth Modern School. She is really interested in photography so we gave her the brief to take some photos of the shop today... here's what she came up with... aren't they great? She found the leaves and we lasered some letters out of them to create a display.

First comes Love (then cake, then marriage)

2011-06-09T10:31:00.006+08:00

First Comes Love is an alternative Bridal Fair happening on the 18th/19th June at the Oxford Hotel in Leederville. For more info see their facebook page. It costs $5 to enter which they state is less than two cups of coffee.... or one cup of coffee if you live in Boomtown Perth :)

Check out these GORGEOUS letterpress invites from Mitchell and Dent, this set up from Hire Society and these teacups available to hire from your special day from Antiquitea.

New magnets - coming to the Perth Upmarket!

2011-06-07T17:14:00.005+08:00

Inspired by some writer friends we have a new magnet set. If you haven't noticed the rise in writers festivals and fringe festivals in Perth recently you should go along to Barefaced Stories happening every last Tuesday in the month at The Bird in Northbridge. Inpsired by The Moth storytelling that started in New York, different people stand up and tell true life stories without notes that usually leave you laughing or crying! More details here. Their poster features this bear too so they must be cool :)

Sleepy Owls

2011-06-01T13:06:00.002+08:00

Have you seen our lasercut sleepy owl? Can be supplied flat pack to send to those lovely people overseas. Available online at www.futureshelter.com. Shown here with the Pirate canvas and our small jewellery tree.

Workshop Tips

2011-05-28T17:05:00.002+08:00

Running a workshop means you are often quoting old phrases and things you might hear your Dad saying... like "measure twice, cut once" and "a bad worker blames his tools". The first saying we made into a leather engraved keyring as part of our new workshop inspired range. A perfect pressie for all those aspiring DIY Dads, Husbands and of course, Ladies!

Mummy Hippo and Baby Hippo

2011-05-23T15:48:00.004+08:00

Our latest new wall decals this week... Mummy and Baby Hipp o now available in three sizes. Shown outside our shop. Also new Love Birds below.....

Confession time....

2011-05-23T14:29:00.005+08:00

We are geeks (Adam more so being an engineer and web programmer of course) and we are podcast addicts! We read and listen to a lot of debates on the environment and the economy. Sometimes we have been known to listening to geeky podcasts while crocheting. Here's a little of what we have been listening to this week....

That ABC National recorded this great lecture from the Sydney Writers Festival this week "You have been warned" and for more details see....here and here

We regularly listen to Planet Money, This American Life, storytelling from The Moth, Future Tense and Radiolab

I know. So geeky. But you might find them interesting :)

Spotty Dotty - new wall decals

2011-05-19T14:12:00.003+08:00

After many requests we can now offer some sheets of spots and dots in lots of pretty colours so you can mix and match. Transform your playroom or any room into a fun place to be! Sheets are $10 each so you can pick lots of colours to fill a wall space. Here's where we put them in the shop today... I love seeing these colours all together... its like being in a lolly shop!

The Craft Revolution! New Lampshades for 2011

2011-04-16T11:54:00.003+08:00

I've been secretly crocheting with a group of friends we call the "Cotton Club". We're a mixture of designers and people who spend far too much time at a computer and so delight in sitting around a table (usually cake is present) with crochet stick and wool in hand. So this inspired our new collection of shades. There are a few more designs in the making but I thought I'd show you these latest designs in store. We've also been very organised and created an instore catalogue allowing you to see our full range and all the colours options available. This makes it much easier to see what colours and sizes we can do!

New lampshades inspired by Engineers

2011-04-14T09:03:00.004+08:00

How could we ignore all the fly in fly out engineers that live in Perth? Our new collection is inspired by engineering drawings and constructions. Just for them we have been inspired by fixings and cranes. Here is a first view of this new collection....more to come! Available on our website next week.

Beautiful Bunting and William Topp

2011-04-12T10:57:00.007+08:00

Anyone here at the weekend would have spotted our beautiful bunting. I would like to say that I made it myself.... but I have to admit it was lent to us by a good friend and fellow shop owner Kate from William Topp.

Thanks Kate!!

If you haven't been to William Topp it is a very cute shop at the top of William Street. It sells all the best examples of independent designers from Melbourne, Sydney, the World AND Perth of course. We only wholesale to a few stores in Perth and we love this shop so much we just wanted to stock there...

Photos from the weekend - Angove Street Festival

2011-04-11T17:56:00.004+08:00

Thank you so much to everyone who came and gave Angove Street a visit this Sunday. We were offering to "make your own badge" and we had a queue of young (and older) creative people wanting to create their own masterpice. Here are a few photos!

Did you know we also donated the background graphics for the poster? We created this pattern using icons representing all the different cool things about living in North Perth!

New addition to our home

2011-03-09T10:48:00.004+08:00

Fabric from Svenskt Tenn, Lampshade by us!

Framed letterpress print by Julia Rothman for Hello Lucky available here.

It's taken a long time to get round to cover these retro chairs with this Josef Frank fabric but we are so pleased with the result. For more info on Josef Frank go here. We bought the fabric quite a few years ago on a trip to Stockholm from a shop called Svenskt Tenn. What I like about it is it's boldness, there is no holding back with colour and no conforming to interior "trends" although this fabric is a trend in itself now.

This particular pattern called Teheran was designed in the 1940s but not printed in Sweden until 1991.

The Svenskt Tenn team all believe in quality crafts in the same way as William Morris. Local production and high standards of quality result in their products being design classics with a unique feel. Have a look at this film showing the printing process. Very inspiring!

Why Isn't This Taught in ECON 101? | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters

2011-03-04T13:50:00.003+08:00

As you've probably guessed we're into sustainability. This is one of the best illustrations I've seen demonstrating the point of unsustainable growth... a giant hamster... pure genius!

Why Isn't This Taught in ECON 101? | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters

A trip to the Zoo

2011-02-12T17:16:00.004+08:00

I have to admit I've not really been a fan of zoos in general, I'm not sure about the animals in cages thing. However I never realise how important they are in the conservation of so many animals. It wasn't until Perth Zoo asked us to do a Future Shelter for Perth Zoo badge range that I really learned all about what they do to save endangered species.

After drawing tigers many many times for kidswear it wasn't until I started researching into Sumatran Tigers for the drawing the illustrations that I realised there were only around 400 left. We have lost 97% of the tiger population this century with only around 3,200 left across all the subspecies.

This was such a shock to me as when you think that there are way more images of tigers than real-life tigers. What are we going to say to our kids when we have to explain that the tigers died out in our lifetime especially after we made them wear tiger costumes, tiger t-shirts and read them so many story books about tigers? An the same goes for so many jungle animals we've grown up with through our childhood.

I then had to research all the other endangered animals and was shocked to learn how many creatures are on the brink of becoming extinct, including our very own Numbat who has lost most of its territory due to landclearing. And it's not just all about loosing the major rainforests but all the last remaining pockets of forests in our local areas. We all need to be aware of where our paper comes from, choosing Forestry certified suppliers and recycled where possible. When buying furniture make sure you are not buying a piece of valuable rainforest OR local forest - as long as we keep buying it, they will keep chopping it down. Believe it or not IKEA is one of the leading major companies working with the WWF to only use wood from approved sources.

You can adopt a tiger and many other animals via the World Wildlife Fund or Perth Zoo also have an adopt a tiger program.

On a lighter note, I also drew some Little Penguins of which are not endangered but important all the same and very cute. In WA you can see them on Penguin Island near Rockingham.

Montage Collective - pop-up store from 8th Feb

2011-02-07T10:07:00.006+08:00

There is a great new pop-up shop happening in Fremantle over the next few weeks. Montage Collective are opening 7 days a week from the 8th Feb to the 25th Feb.

Go to www.montagecollective.blogspot.com for a full list of designers and links to their websites. And for those who social network via the internet they have a facebook page here

Talented interior design friends

2011-02-05T16:59:00.005+08:00

It's very handy having a mother's group full of very talented interior designers! Luckily for me Megan let me take photos of her beautiful home in North Perth to display our wall decals.

It's very handy having a mother's group full of very talented interior designers! Luckily for me Megan let me take photos of her beautiful home in North Perth to display our wall decals. Here is her daughter Bella wearing one of our Love Dog T-shirts!

Guide to love

2011-02-05T14:29:00.005+08:00

I have to admit that Valentine's Day in our house is all about making the other half a present or card of some sort. I'm not really into buying your loved one a new Ferrari or a diamond watch. For me there's nothing quite like a hand made card of any standard, its the time that's gone into it that counts. Usually we turn it into a product of some sort, last year resulted in the pop-up numbat card which we then put into production. And for those with screen-printing husbands you may be interested in this.....

For those who shy away from the making things bit don't worry we have lots of little treats to give away (or to give to yourself). Let's face it sometimes the other halves struggle a bit to remember things like Valentine's Day, I think the perfect answer is to buy yourself something that you really like and then they can pay for it.
Wooden & white heart decorations $12 for 6

New signs

2011-02-04T15:52:00.001+08:00

There is nothing quite like a glistening sign to attract the attention of the passer-by. We couldn't resist a little bit of shiny silver on our new sign! We have now taken down our old sign (Little Design Horse) to make way for Future Shelter. Little Design Horse was our original design studio where we designed for other big brands and we always wanted our products to be separate and hence we had to find a new name.

The name originates from our first collection of T-shirts and cushions we designed. Our T-shirts all have an environmental theme and we liked the idea that a T-shirt is a form of shelter from the world. Shelter is one of our very basic needs together with food, water etc. But then we also like the idea that our homes are also our "future shelter"... and we design for both! The themes of the illustrations were all very simple based around the idea of shelter.

shelter in the trees
shelter from the sun
Solar power

We choose T-shirts that are designed to last longer with excellent quality cotton, our products are well made and designed to be passed down to future generations and their own "future shelters".

What & where will your Future Shelter be?

Happy New Year & a week in the bush

2011-01-11T16:40:00.003+08:00

We don't often take photos of ourselves. This is a picture of us camping near the beach over the Festive season. From our faces you can see we were having a good time.

Adam had a chance to do some woodchopping with his swedish axe and I took the opportunity to recycle a good friends favourite (but badly worn) jumper by unravelling and recrocheting into a new beanie. We loved living the simple lifestyle for a few days especially the wood fires in the evening and successfully baked a gluten free banana and date cake using the fire coals.

Its back to work and we're making our plans for the year ahead.... lots of new things, lots of organising to do and a webshop to expand.... stay tuned!

Christmas and New Year - closed until 8th January 2011

2010-12-24T11:52:00.009+08:00

Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year from all the Future Shelter team. We have soooooo many ideas for next year! The Angove St shop and online store will be closed from 3pm today (24th Dec) until Saturday 8th January 2011.

As our Christmas gift to you, we off you some advice from the 1885 Edition of "Workshop Receipts for the use of Manufacturers, Mechanics and Scientific Amateurs". Christmas is often a time to relax and take some time to explore a new or old hobby. Can we suggest taking up drawing? Here is advice on sharpening your pencil and finishing your drawing....

"Let him always work calmly"
For the final cleaning of the drawing, stale bread is suggested... there's sure to be plenty around over the holidays. Maybe a glass of wine to help you be calm.See you in the New Year! (with your new drawings)

Jane and Adam x

Christmas sack - reprint

2010-12-18T13:35:00.003+08:00

In the future people will be trading these Christmas sacks as they are as precious as gold :) We reprinted them and we have a limited amount so don't wait around if you missed the first run. This run is made of 100% Cotton, printed with eco-friendly inks and is Made in Perth.

Also... just a reminder that we open tomorrow from 9am to 1pm so if you have left things a little bit later than what you would have hoped and you don't want to be squashed at Karrinyup, pop by and we can offer a smile & air-conditioning. We would offer a glass of wine too but it might be a bit early on a Sunday morning....

New coasters - Kings Park Edition

2010-12-15T14:05:00.003+08:00

All our coasters are pressed, printed and sanded in our workshop and have our laser engraved logo on the back. Here is a new set of 6 inspired by our mural for that we developed for Aspects in Kings Park.

Christmas Opening Hours - open this Sunday!

2010-12-11T17:27:00.003+08:00

Scenes from the studio today.

Extra Opening Hours up to Christmas
Sun 12th Dec - 9am - 1pm
Thurs 16th Dec - 10am - 8pm
Sun 19th Dec - 9am - 1pm
Thurs 23rd Dec - 10am - 8pm

Other things organised neatly

2010-12-07T11:40:00.004+08:00

Inspired by Meet Me At Mikes blog post about the Utensilo wall mounted organiser I felt the need to share ours! We get so many comments from people who come in the store and love it. Here are a few photos of the design studio at the back of our store. And our industrial revolution sign located over the door to our workshop... we feel we're part of the new industrial revolution of small scale, local design and workshop manufacturers.

Things organised neatly....

2010-12-07T11:00:00.002+08:00

Subi Upmarket - Thursday 2nd December 2010

2010-12-02T11:18:00.009+08:00

If you are stuck for presents for your partner this year - why not flatter your loved one with this cheekly engraved trophy "World Champion - the best at nearly everything" or "First Class - really good" or myabe "Definitely the Best - so far". They'll be flattered but not too much that it will go to their head. In the world of being politically correct this is the trophy for you. You are not saying you are the World Champion of anything in particular. You may be the Best at something but only up to now.... hehe

We'll be showing our Christmas range at the Subi Street Festival today. If you haven't been before this is a great night market with and a good start to the festive season.

When: Thursday 2nd December 2010
Time: 5pm-9pm
Where: Lower end of Rokeby Rd between Hay St and Roberts Rd

Melaleuca - New lampshade design

2010-11-23T18:05:00.004+08:00

Inspired by the Melaleuca Elliptica native to the South West of Western Australia and originally drawn as part of the illustration for Aspects windows. We also have a dark chocolate and vermillion red colourway. Available in 4 sizes of shade and soon as table lamps.

Christmas Babushkas!

2010-11-23T18:01:00.002+08:00

Our christmas babushka decorations come as a family - pack of 3. Available from our webshop or from a friendly face in our Angove St shop.

Days of change T shirt - Perth needs your help!

2010-11-06T16:52:00.012+08:00

The Australian Conservation Foundation's Sustainable Cities Index ranked Perth as 19 out of australia's 20 biggest citys. The cities were ranked in order of comparative performance from 1 (most sustainable) to 20 (least sustainable). So 19 is not good. However, it does mean we have the opportunity to make the most difference.

Being sustainable is about one thing - preserving the environment for future generations. It's not about becoming a hippy, wearing no shoes and tie dyeing (although you can do that if you want). It's actually a very conservative choice to be sensible about the amount of impact be have on our world so that our kids don't turn around and say to us "why didn't you make changes sooner mummy?".

Days of Change is an online communtiy of people trying to make simple steps to help Perth climb the steps of sustainability. They have given us the chance to design and print their new T shirt design, printed with our eco-friendly water based inks on 100% organic cotton. This is a limited 1st edition T-Shirt and is only currently available in Mens/Unisex Medium and Large and Womens Large. Please contact us to register your interest in other sizes.

Every purchase helps to support Days of Change.org.

Christmas cards 2010

2010-11-03T14:01:00.004+08:00

All our cards are printed in Perth onto Elemental Chlorine Free FSC Mixed Source paper with 40% Post-consumer recycled content. We also consider the amount of printing ink used and try to keep it to a minimum without compromising on the design. Our envelopes are 100% recycled.

We have also designed a Christmas card exclusively for sale in Aspects of Kings Park.

Christmas is here.... well nearly

2010-10-30T13:29:00.002+08:00

We have finished our new christmas tree for this year. Made in our workshop on Angove st and uses FSC approved walnut veneer. It comes in two sizes and is available as flat pack to send overseas or overland. We have a new range of Christmas decorations - more photos to come!

New lampshade designs

2010-10-23T17:19:00.003+08:00

Here's a glimpse of our new shades this week We have a few more that I will blog later in the week. We have the new structured geo and the design from our Aspects installation as a table lamp and small pendant. These will be for sale in the online shop soon!

New sausage dog onsies & giraffe Ts

2010-10-19T17:44:00.003+08:00

New onsies in the shop. The fabric is by Liberty and we have limited amounts so get in fast if you want this pattern. Due to many requests we also have the giraffe on Organic cotton in Womens sizes.

Recycling - our new engraved trays

2010-10-16T14:52:00.001+08:00

Our new illustrations on these retro trays giving them a new lease of life!
We have lots of different sizes and they are all signed on the back.

Anyone lost a hippo?

2010-10-14T12:08:00.001+08:00

Someone left a hippo in the shop last week - if it's you, don't worry he's made friends on our shelf and he can stay here until you collect him.

Dino Roar T

2010-10-13T14:19:00.002+08:00

We now have a new Dino Roar T in size 2, 4, 6.

Engraved wine cooler

2010-10-13T14:14:00.003+08:00

The Banksia and the Wattle bird. Our new laser engraved winecooler with illustrations from our King's Park intstallation.

All hail the numbat!

2010-10-13T13:55:00.002+08:00

It wasn't until I visited the zoo that I realised how small the numbat actually is. In my head he was kangaroo size.... to my surprise he was as small as a squirrel. Maybe in time long ago there was a giant Numbat, I like to think so. Here is the little Numbat in his pop-up Numbat forest living with his "Tawny Frogmouth" friend. Made by us in our Angove St workshop.

Paris City View - new Tote bag

2010-10-09T14:01:00.002+08:00

Here is our latest Tote bag. Printed with eco-friendly inks in our workshop on Angove St and made in Perth. Drawings inpsired by our own photos taken from the Effiel Tower.

Illustration installation at Aspects, Kings Park

2010-09-25T12:51:00.006+08:00

We were asked to create an illustration for the windows of Aspects in King's Park for the wildflower fastival. Its should be up until Christmas.Here are a few photos

Things to find include:

flowering gum
black swan
city of perth
red and green kangaroo paw
yellow kangaroo paw
black kangaroo paw
melaleuca elliptica
everlastings
banksia
tawny frogmouth
golden wattle
DNA Tower
black swan
geraldton wax
sturt desert pea
western wattle bird
grey fantail
kookaburra
Quairading banksia
Lotterywest Federation Walkway
australian grass tree
weebill

See us at Semi-Permanent - 24th September 2010

2010-09-16T10:59:00.003+08:00

We will be speaking at Semi-Permanent in Perth on Friday 24th September. For those who have recently discovered us we set up our design studio in 2005 as Little Design Horse selling textile design to clients worldwide see www.littledesignhorse.com. We are now focussing on our own product range which are the Future Shelter products you can see here www.futureshelter.com.

So for those wishing to learn how we got here and why we are doing this come along!

Museum of Modern Art - Christmas Card Design 2010

2010-08-23T11:24:00.002+08:00

The Christmas Card we designed for the Museum of Modern Art in New York is now for sale at www.momastore.org

Our new online shop is now open at www.futureshelter.com

2010-08-22T13:15:00.006+08:00

Yes it's finally here, after a long wait we have opened our online shop at www.futureshelter.com. We will be adding our T-shirt, Limited Edition prints, magnets & card ranges over the next few weeks so keep checking back if you don't see what you are looking for. There will still always be a few more products in the Angove shop that are short runs & limited editions.

FREE SHIPPING WITHIN AUSTRALIA!!!!!! Yeow

Mixtape Issue 13 in store now!

2010-08-18T20:53:00.004+08:00

I have ventured into a new world of writing recently... see my article written all about my "Billion Dollar View" illustration for Melbourne based zine Mixtape. We also have the new kids issue in stock now.

Kyle Hughes-Odgers - Turner Galleries 13 August - 11 September

2010-08-07T14:11:00.003+08:00

Don't miss Kyle Hughes-Odgers solo exhibition on at the Turner Galleries, Northbridge from 13th August to 11th September 2010. Kyle's work has been shown regularly in New York, Sydney and Melbourne. We can't wait to see this exhibiton of all his latest works.

Paris for your pocket

2010-07-31T14:20:00.008+08:00

Our new Future Shelter business card holder or mini wallet or bus pass holder. Made in our workshop in Perth. Lines with organic cotton/hemp.
The illustration is a view from the Eiffel Tower.

Angove St - fresh flowers for a fresh start to the week

2010-07-31T11:33:00.007+08:00

We have a new flower market happening here on Saturdays on Angove St with some lovely ladies selling some beautiful flowers. For those who havn't been to Angove St recently there are quite a few new shops and a new restaurant opening soon on the corner near our shop. Here are a few photos from this morning. I particularlly like the petrol pump and flower composition!

The flower market

The Pantry Door. This is all about freshly baked cakes and lunches. Ranging from your traditional banana bread to freshly made salads, frittatas and new york style sandwiches. They also use locally roasted Fiori coffee.Milkd is perfect for coffee and quick service too.

This cafe can get busy but you're never disappointed!

Pimp your bike - Trio have used some of the beautiful stripey fabric they sell to spruce up an old bikeTrio - have these beautiful deckchairs out the front of the store.

For more Angove St people & shops see links to the right >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

As for the online shop I daren't even mention it... just as we were to open this week we had a technology melt down... on our computers all seemed to fall over at the same time, our internet connection dropped out, our car broke and even our TV broke... it was finally finished off by Sophie (our 2 and a half year old) coming into the shop and swiftly managing to lock the key to till, inside the till! eeek! However next week will be a fresh start starting with finally, after all this build up, the online shop opening.

Ok! - new diver wall decal

2010-07-24T14:52:00.003+08:00

Part of our new mini people series you can now have the pleasure of this diver on your wall!

State of Design Festival

2010-07-07T11:37:00.011+08:00

We are taking a little holiday and going over to Melbourne for the State of Design Victoria's Design Festival.

The Angove st shop will be closed from Tuesday 13th and reopen on Wednesday 21st July.
Sorry for any inconvience. However, we will make it up to you... our webshop will open soon!

Fraser Avenue - new table lamp

2010-06-29T22:10:00.001+08:00

We've created a new table lamp with our Fraser Avenue design. This is larger than our standard table lamps to show off the detail in the design.

Anyone getting married?

2010-06-23T15:07:00.004+08:00

We have many people ask us if we do wedding stationery... unfortunately not! However these girls from Studio Bomba otherwise known as Mitchell and Dent have launched a range of wedding stationery. Here are a few of our favourite designs....

Inspiration to keep drawing

2010-06-09T17:23:00.004+08:00

We all need a bit of inspiration to keep us drawing. Good back ground music helps too. We get quite a few emails from students asking for advice and I always say keep a sketch book and draw lots!!

Tim Knol - When I Am King (HD) from SubmarineChannel on Vimeo.

Wooden brooches

2010-06-01T11:56:00.002+08:00

Ok we're finally getting ourselves organised! Here is a few new wooden versions of our brooches.

Days of Change - we've made a pledge

2010-05-15T14:19:00.004+08:00

We have pledged to continue to increase the sustainability of our business. To track our progress visit daysofchange.org/littledesignhorse. This a really useful tool to make us think about how we can become more sustainable. We are very focussed on family life here in Perth.... let's help preserve the environment for future generations.

My favourite teapot & cup

2010-05-15T13:49:00.003+08:00

I love this teapot! We love finding retro ceramics from second hand stores
and giving them a new life. We don't find it hard to contribute to our "Days of Change" pledge to "Buy secondhand" (for Days of change info see right and above)

Sophie and her first designs!

2010-05-12T18:10:00.001+08:00

Last week we bought Sophie some great finger paints and a draw-on-your-own-mug kit from Ball and Skittle (down the road in Mount Hawthorn). She had such a good time we pretty much used all the paint in one sitting! The mugs worked out great and made a perfect Mother's Day pressie for Nanny!

Swap to Fairtrade

2010-05-04T11:09:00.005+08:00

Photos from Little Design Horse

2010-04-29T15:45:00.007+08:00

A snapshot of the shop this week. The door to the workshop is hidden behind a wall but in case you can't read it - above the door to our workshop reads "industrial revolution"!

Ball and Skittle! - new kids store opening next week

2010-04-28T11:46:00.008+08:00

Seriously - how long have we waited for an inspiring kids shop to open in Perth? Thankfully for us the new Ball and Skittle shop is not far away in Mount Hawthorn. Ball and Skittle are having a grand opening from 6th - 8th May.

EVENT DETAILS:
Where: The Mezz, 148 Scarborough Beach Rd, Mount Hawthorn

Thursday 6th MAY 3-5pm
Balloons, cupcakes and prizes
including a Wishbone 3-in-1 Bike, Little Nutty helmet and Ball and Skittle store vouchers

Friday 7th MAY 3-5pm
Fire engine rides

Saturday 8th MAY 9am-5pm
Face painting and balloon-twisting 9-11am
Balloons, cupcakes and silly straws ALL DAY

www.ballandskittle.com.au

New coasters

2010-04-22T19:12:00.001+08:00

Happy new coaster designs!

The Future

2010-04-22T18:24:00.004+08:00

The future is here.... the laser in action!

The surprise accordion!

2010-04-20T16:14:00.004+08:00

During a photo shoot for our coasters our friend Ali pulled out an accordion. Not many people can say they have an accordion laying around their house!

Mixtape & free walldecal!

2010-04-13T12:21:00.002+08:00

Good News! We now stock Mixtape magazine. And to celebrate we are offering a free little bird wall decal to the first ten issues bought in our shop! Yipee!

We make things.....

2010-04-10T14:20:00.000+08:00

A glimpse of our workshop

Hello George

2010-04-07T13:10:00.003+08:00

We have a new Future Shelter pet wall decal in the shop - George the Giraffe.
He is 150cm high and likes eating leaves.
All the removable wall decals are made by us in Angove St.

Sophie and the tool shop

2010-04-06T10:34:00.004+08:00

We're training sophie early and teaching her all about tools - she spends a lot of time watching us make things! I bought this pretty dress from the Perth Upmarket from Petit Cupcake.

Easter drawing

2010-04-04T14:14:00.000+08:00

Do some Happy Easter drawing with this great website!

Two Little Banshees

2010-04-02T19:59:00.004+08:00

I bought this little person as a gift for a friend from the Upmarket last weekend. It was so cute I was very very close to keeping it all for myself! It really makes me smile! It's from Two Little Banshees... the colours she uses are gorgeous! Checkout the little sausage dog too.

new apple T

2010-03-27T14:08:00.006+08:00

Sophie poses in her new Future Shelter T - the apple. Sizes 2, 4 and 6 available at the Upmarket tomorrow or in our shop. Sophie also says sorry about her face in the first picture but she got hungry during the shoot and had to eat a Vegemite sandwich and a plum - she refused to be airbrushed.

Pictures from Little Design Horse

2010-03-23T15:59:00.003+08:00

Today I noticed these scrolls on our building above the shop. No need to travel to Europe to study the architecture - you can find it all on Angove St! Well, maybe not but I thought it was interesting they thought to add this detail.

Perth Upmarket - Sunday 28th March 2010

2010-03-18T14:41:00.004+08:00

We're building up to the next Perth Upmarket. As usual we see it as an excuse to make a new product.... mmmm what will it be?

We're looking forward to the new venue which worked out really well for the Junior Upmarket. For anyone who hasn't been to this market yet it's worth a visit to see all the creative indie makers who are usually hiding away!

Sunday 28th March 2010
University of Western Australia, Winthrop Hall
10am - 4pm

Billion Dollar View - upcycling

2010-03-10T12:19:00.000+08:00

We have Billion Dollar View lampshades in stock. 32 x 36cm - why not upcycle that old lampstand in the garage or nanna's house and make it into a piece of art! Price $240. We take telephone orders and can ship anywhere in Australia... cool!

Coffee & our new "Keep cup"

2010-03-04T22:29:00.004+08:00

Most people know we really like coffee... we only usually have one a day otherwise we get too wired. This means we spend quite a bit of time deciding when to have that "one". However in a conscious effort to reduce our studio waste, we invested in one of these beautiful cups. It's plastic so it won't break and it washes easily and looks nice... we got ours from a new gourmet coffee shop in West Perth - Pony Express O, 21 Mayfair St. If you are into coffee it's worth a visit.

Mitchell and Dent

2010-03-02T21:54:00.003+08:00

Do you ever see something you really really like and you really wish you'd created it yourself? I bought this notebook for my mum but it didn't seem to get sent and before I knew it I was using it myself.. sorry mum! From local designers Mitchell and Dent (Studio Bomba). They also have their own letterpress machine and print their own cards....

Unwrapped - Saturday 6th March 2010

2010-02-27T12:30:00.004+08:00

We're venturing south of the river to take part in Unwrapped in South Perth next Saturday as part of the City of South Perth Fiesta Festival. We're a bit worried about going "south of the river" but people say the water tastes different so we're willing to give it a try! (Only Perth people will understand this rivalry between North and South of the river!)

Saturday 6 March 2010
1:00pm - 6:00pm
Sir James Mitchell Park
South Perth Foreshore,
Between Mends and Coode Street Jetties
South Perth