New from Petit Batik, and a new obsession

Super-cute kids' pants from Petit Batik

I’ve posted about these lovely and unusual clothes for kids before, but they have a new range out – just gorgeous. Available from the still-excellent Collector Store.

And I’m in the grip of a new obsession with traditional crafting techniques from all over Asia (but particularly Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam). I’ve been scouring the markets for clothing, fabric and soft furnishings made from batik and intricate cross-stitching lately, because there’s something about these story-rich pieces that has me enthralled… I’m presently cooking up projects to make from them, or ways to incorporate the techniques into my own work.

On my Asian travels in my early twenties I often picked up special traditional pieces, but never as many as I would have liked. This newfound zeal might be a form of nostalgia for those footloose & fancy-free days. Interesting how the mind works, isn’t it?

On your bike

Babies love their happy pants

Traditional Thai cross-stitched fabric bag

Beautiful batik