Mocking Bird » Shop Shop

The Missed Society Inc

Amanda — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:00:28 +0000

I’ve wanted to visit Sibella Court’s Society Inc store for the longest time so it was a must on my “Need to Visit in Sydney” list. As you can see from the outside, it’s picture perfect and so utterly quaint that you just want to snuggle into the chair out the front with a book and a blankie.

I could have looked through the windows for hours, but of course was itching to get inside. Unfortunately for my companion and me, nobody seemed to be home. Next time I’m in Sydney, I’ll have to ring ahead and make sure they are open before swinging by. There were shelves and tables full of glorious trinkets that were calling out to be brought home. I love the idea behind the store – valued pieces of eclectic curios found whilst travelling and exploring. Sometimes I come across a place that I feel was created just for me. Do you ever feel that way? Such a glorious little slice of Sydney culture.

You can find The Society Inc in Paddington, Sydney.

Reasons I Love Record Stores

Amanda — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:00:45 +0000

Reasons I love record stores:

The endless possibilities of new music to discover.
There’s something special about loving a record that has already been loved and shared with others before you.
The anticipation of stumbling upon that longed for 7 inch vinyl that you’ve scoured many record stores for. There’s always the chance that this could be the day.
The people who work in them actually know about music. Unlike the majority of people who work in places like HMV and Sanity (insert local big brand chain music store).
Music and concert picks hand written on cards on the walls. I love the intimate nature of the way the information is displayed. It’s like a hand written letter from a friend telling you to check out their new favourite band.
The one dude that lives and breathes music. There’s always one older guy working in these stores who is passionate about music and knows a ton about music. The Barry of your Championship Vinyl. Not that Barry was older, but you know what I mean.

Awesome record stores:

Zulu Records, 4th Ave, Vancouver
Easy St Records in Seattle
Amoeba Music in Los Angeles
Red Eye Records, King St, Sydney
That one awesome little whole in the wall store in Temple Bar, Dublin. I don’t remember the name but they sold way more U2 vinyl than I’d ever seen in my life.
Championship Vinyl- ok, so it’s fictional but you know it’s awesome. TRAX can therefore also be included.

And yes, I smacked the hell out of shooting wide open in those photographs.

Taken with Fuji Natura Colour 1600 film from Japan.

Anthropologie Opens Its Doors in Vancouver

Amanda — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:00:59 +0000

I was very lucky to be invited to attend the Opening Night of the brand new Vancouver Anthropologie store last night. I have had a love affair with Anthro since I first discovered it in Seattle back in 2005 and have longed for a store to open in Vancouver since I arrived here. I didn’t have to wait too long and now I live in an Anthropologie city and that makes me ridiculously happy.

The store is not as large as stores in the States but is actually bigger than I imagined it would be after seeing the Edmonton store last year. It boasts 2 floors and the design fits in with the Canadian West Coast beautifully with its reclaimed wood finishes and flooring. I love the wood on the outside of the store. Very understated and beautiful.

I was surprised how many of the products I have been coveting were available in the store and of course there are some bonus art pieces by local Vancouver designers. The pieces that stood out to me were those gorgeous wooden hand mirrors by local artist Alex Henderson. I was also happy to see that the prices didn’t seem to be higher than the US prices. Woop to that!

The night was so lovely with champagne, fancy shmancy hors d’oeuvres and a table full of fruit and yummy treats from Butter Baked Goods which is another gorgeous Vancouver talent (and store I’d love to shoot on film). I was actually quite overwhelmed with all the prettiness, people, food and trying to shoot some shots for the blog and therefore came home empty handed. I am already planning a trip back when the store opens tomorrow. I have my eye on several dishes, a couple of tops and those gorgeous hand mirrors. Anthropologie, you are going to be the death of me!

Thank you to Amanda in the NY office for putting me on the door! I had a lovely evening in Anthropologie land. Vancouver people, get thee to the store as soon as you can. It won’t disappoint.

You can see a full gallery on my facebook page and more of my images featured on Decor8!

p.s. There wasn’t a lot of natural light so I had to work with what I had and shot digital! Gasp!

The Impossible Project’s PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ Film

Amanda — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:00:44 +0000

So I just dropped in to to say hi and to tell you to go get some Impossible Project PX 600 Silver Shade UV+ film. I’ve just tested my first pack and I am smitten. It has me so excited about the future of instant film and improvements are still coming. Apart from the little mushroom at the top of the shot and a couple of teeny white dots, every shot I’ve taken so far has turned out without any problems. And the tones, oh the tones. The sepia look of the original film is gone, and we now have a truer black and white that is just so beautifully creamy. I am SOLD! I’ll be adding more of my shots to flickr, but also keeping some for the book, so you’ll have to wait for those.

*****

I am so excited about all the people who have taken Twelve on board and have joined the group on Flickr. It’s such a delight to see so many gorgeous photos in the pool already. You guys are awesome!

Lastly…I am super excited because ANTHROPOLOGIE is coming to Vancouver this year! I am one very happy lady.

Alrighty, Pola camera users, go get some of that film!!

Gift Ideas For The Camera Junkie

Amanda — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:00:41 +0000

Hello for another week, all. I thought I’d share some gift ideas for the camera junkie in your life as the season is fast approaching. Photography lovers are so easy to buy for because there is always something we need whether it be equipment or accessories.

I’ve had these 2 camera bags in my sights for quite some time now and yes, they are designed for women but there are lots of great bags out there for guys too. Photography books are always a great idea for camera lovers. I found this Polaroid book by Chloe Aftel at Blurb but there are literally thousands to choose from in your local bookstores and on Amazon. Do a search for ‘Polaroid’ on etsy and hundreds of items will appear. I’ve had these post it notes in my favourites for a while now.

1. The Polalithic Era by Chloe Aftel :: 2. Polaroid Post It Notes :: 3. Digital Harinezumi Camera :: 4. Kolo Photo Books :: 5. *emera Quilted Camera Bag :: 6. Tokyo Dreamer Camera Strap :: 7. Kelly Moore Photography Bag :: 8. Fuji Instax Wide Angle Camera :: 9. Impossible Project Colour Push Film :: 10. Polaroid Notes

What’s on your wishlist? I’d love to take a peek!

Foodie Weekend

Amanda — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:00:44 +0000

Here is a sneak peek of something beautiful that made its way to my letter box last week. Come back later in the week to see my photographs and the story behind the gorgeous little boat and lace. I’m one lucky lady.

One thing I’m really loving about Vancouver is the love of the foodie lifestyle. I’m no adventurous foodie myself but I so badly want to be. Maybe that’s why I take photographs of food. Over the weekend, we moseyed around the amazing and very crowded Granville Island Market which is always filled with wonderful food stalls. There are fabulous bakeries, fruit stalls galore, fancy cheese stores and local fisherman selling their catch. I really love the atmosphere at the market and enjoy weaving in and out of the narrow halls gazing at the giant sized pasta and French baguettes. Photographs to come…

On my foodie expedition of the lower mainland, I also stopped in at the most fabulous bookstore. Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks is a bookstore packed to the rafters with nothing but cookbooks. It even has its own kitchen at the back for lessons and demonstrations. I have already eyed about 5 different books that I want to add to my very empty cookbook shelf.

I’ll be back later in the week to share more of that delightful gift in the Polaroid with you!

Let It Go

Amanda — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:00:31 +0000

I probably should have mentioned that I was taking a blog rest for a week but I never really like to commit to things like that so I went with the flow. The flow unfortunately did not direct me towards writing anything meaningful, so silent ole Mocking Bird sat.

My mind has been filled with all things moving, furnishing and decorating for the past month and my poor noggin is starting to spin. We will be moving in a month ( if everything goes to plan) and I can’t wait to share my new little place with you all once we are moved in.

In my never ending searches for items to make my house a home, I find I become obsessed with the hunt. Are you like this? Once I get an idea in my head that I want a cream coloured, ceramic utensils pot with a little circular detail, I don’t stop until I find it. Half the time I think I invent these things in my head. After much searching, I’ve had to settle on a white, ceramic utensils pot that has no detail whatsoever. Sometimes you just need to let it go. I mean, really, it’s a pot for holding spatulas and wooden spoons!

I did however find the most glorious, girly lamp that I’m over the moon about. If you’re ever in Vancouver and you have a penchant for French inspired white girly things, you must visit Stella Bleu. It is my absolute favourite store.

Here are some of the places that have had my attention captured for the past few weeks:

Apartment Therapy
Lovely Design
Maillardville Manor
The Happy Home
Whole Lotta Lovely

Home Decorating Mistakes

Rainbow Polaroid Cameras at Photojojo

Amanda — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:38:10 +0000

Want to get your hands on a limited edition Rainbow SX-70 OneStep Polaroid Camera? Photojojo to the rescue. The lovely folks from Photojojo have teamed up with The Impossible Project to offer 50 of these bad boys packaged up with 2 packs of sepia toned PX 100 film.

The cameras have been fully refurbished by The Impossible Project and are pretty rare as many of these cameras are not usually in working condition. You can read all about the TIP film that comes in the kit here.

The cameras go on sale today from the Photojojo store. Check out the link to read more about what The Impossible Project have done to restore the cameras and how you can use them with the new film. They’re so pretty!

p.s. Photojojo are also looking for a marketing guru in San Francisco if you’re interested.

Pentimento Love

Amanda — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:00:10 +0000

My love for stationery/gift stores knows no bounds. I could spend an entire afternoon peeking in and between shelves packed with notebooks and hand crafted ribbons. As I have shared in the past, books and pencils always stir up feelings of happiness for me. I’m not sure whether it’s a notion of childhood nostalgia remembering back to the days of the pure glee I got when receiving a new lined journal or whether it just makes me feel like a smarty pants to own diaries filled with hand written scribbles.

One of the stores that makes my heart skip a beat in Sydney is Newtown’s Pentimento. As you can see from the pictures, it’s filled with gorgeous trinkets and hand made wares. There are two walls dedicated to cards and notebooks from France and Japan, while the other houses arty books and quirky ceramics. Those milk bottles are made out of fine porcelain and oh so delicate. A friend of mine works there, so it’s always nice to pop in and have a chat too.

If you ever find yourself in Sydney, make sure you pay a visit to Newtown. It’s bold, colourful and full of gorgeous little stores like this one.

All pictures were taken with a Yashica FX3 camera using that crazy Natura 1600 film.

New Sydney Finds

Amanda — Tue, 04 May 2010 12:19:32 +0000

In my returning to Sydney discoveries, I’m loving:

Children’s store Seed now has a women’s range- gorgeous clothing and accessories!
Gorgeous homeware stores in close by suburbs.
Latest Frankie and Real Living magazines by my bed.
Peter Alexander’s new range in store.
Magnation store in Newtown.
Crust pizza (nothing new- just loving it once more).
Kinokuniya now selling Japanese masking tapes and ribbons.
Wearing Havaianas while everyone is complaining about being cold- for once I’m not the one feeling the cold!
Spending time with the one with the cupcake.

What are you loving at the moment?