Tuesday, March 16, 2010

shop love: little sparrow shop tour & giveaway!



i've mentioned the little sparrow shop in north caulfield previously on draw! pilgrim, and i wanted to dedicate a post to this awesome local shop so you can all see why i love it so much! oh and there's a giveaway so you can share the love too! hip hip hooray!


little sparrow is run by the completely lovely shelley davies, who has used her crafty knowledge and experience with her own children to build a shop filled with inspiring creations and the materials to inspire you to create something yourself! the combination of toys and handwork (craft) supplies might seem odd, but in the context of little sparrow it makes perfect sense.



inside little sparrow, the majority of store fittings are recycled & built by shelley's husband who is a set builder


through her two children, shelley has been involved in the steiner education philosophy (or waldorf as its known in some countries), that focuses on the importance and quality of play and creation. many of the toys sold in little sparrow are wonderfully crafted and have multiple uses leaving plenty of room for a child's imaginative interpretation.



toy bees
steiner/waldorf bee toys

while little sparrow is steiner inspired, its certainly not dogmatic, i'm not really a follower of any philosophy other than 'do what feels right', but the importance of play in steiner philosophy really speaks to me. i was lucky to have a mum with discerning taste in toys, so rather than have a ton of cheap throw away tat that broke after one use i've been able to pass on cherished toys to my son that i thoroughly enjoyed. what better investment than a child's development?


Little Sparrow Toys and Handwork Supplies



felt bird mobile
hand stitched felt bird mobile

i think it would be hard to go wrong with any purchase from little sparrow. aside from beautiful one-off handmade softies and felted toys there are wooden trucks and cars, handmade children's clothing, art and drawing supplies, puzzles, books, dolls clothing, hand embroidered mobiles and shelley's own special friends dolls.



from bushfire to blocks


little sparrow is a celebration of good work, and shelley strives for it to be a place that caters to buyers and also the makers who craft her stock. a lot of the store's produce is made by shelley's friends, and hearing the stories behind each object just makes for such a richer shopping experience. i think one of the most moving things was hearing of a man who lost his home in the devastating black saturday bush fires. from the wood salvaged from his property he began making bags of play wood pieces, kind of free form building blocks. each piece is cleaned and rough parts are sanded but mostly the wood is left as natural as possible. its just like the bits of wood kids bring home from the park, but its cleaner and the journey it's taken is very special. the innocence of children at play gives this bushfire survivor a new life. how's that for a feel-good purchase?!



pure wool felt


i also really love the range of handwork supplies stocked at little sparrow, many of which are environmentally responsible. organic wools and yarn, delicious pure wool felt in loads of colors, wooden buttons and notions, hooks and needles of all varieties, pure wool stuffing, trims, ribbons, and kits for all sorts of projects! my next purchase is going to be a flower loom, which i've been dying to try for ages. and if you're after the best wool, check out the range by woolganic yarn available at little sparrow. its such a pleasure to work with, none of that nasty squeaky action i get with acrylic yarn. i'm pretty much a convert and can't wait til the last dregs of acrylic yarn are used up!




all these supplies are all well and good if you know what to do with them, but what if you're a novice or just an in-between crafter? little sparrow is good for that too! throughout the year there are various classes run after hours: you can make your own steiner/waldorf doll, stitch a felt brooch, learn to crochet, or try felting, embroidery, and toy making.



handmade toy owls

colorful owl softies





to share some little sparrow love, i'm giving away a $50 AUD gift voucher for use in-store or online.

to enter the giveaway, leave a comment answering: what would use your $50 voucher to buy from little sparrow (click to see what's in store)!


this competition is open to everyone in the world! winner will be randomly drawn (using random.org) and announced march 25th! good luck!






23 comments:

apparentlyjessy said...

Again, your blog has me wishing I lived in Melbourne! One day, one day!
This store is gorgeous, I love so many of the toys on offer on the online store.
I instantly fell in love with the magic dragons, but alas they are sold out :(
So my next choice is between the spinning top (I had one as a child, loved it to bits), or the pink polka dot tea set!
Thank you to you and Little Sparrow for doing such an awesome and generous give-away!

Clare Tea said...

Oh, such an easy question! I'd get some pure wool felt, to supply my crafty needs...

thanks for telling us about this shop, and for this great giveaway!

le.paradis.found at gmail dot com

KELLY ROBSON said...

wow so cute :), and I am getting addicted to cute little things, my sister just had a little baby girl and I already love being an aunty and wanting to buy her things. If I won the voucher I would buy the tea set -http://www.thelittlesparrowshop.bigcartel.com/product/teaset its absolutly perfect for her

xx

Sara said...

Damn you Melbourne and your bountiful boutiques. YAY for online shopping though! Also a YaY for giveaways!!

What a lovely store Little Sparrow looks like, I love the philosophy behind the products too. Hugs for everyone. Next time I'm in town will you take me there?!

Those stockmar crayons make me want to get out a roll of butchers paper and draw forever and ever. The woolganic yarn is rather eye catching too.

Sarah said...

I would either buy the stockmar crayons or felt! Just so I can make beautiful things as well :)

Fran / Blue Gal said...

The rare sheep wool yarn and the shipping to get it to the USA!

Lovely shop, so sad it's so far away.

alix said...

I love it allllll! But despite the fact that there are so many amazing little toys and goodies I think I love the crayons!!! Is that weird?? I love those wax squares and Stockmar crayons. They look so cool and sculptural. Also, Wolfie likes markers better than crayons for some reason and I'd love for him to play around more with these waxy lovelies.

What a rad giveaway! I think Modern Kiddo needs to tweeet about this!
xo

Deb (Two Cheeky Monkeys) said...

Pilgrim, you always have such wonderful blog posts and highlight such fantastic Melbourne stores (I love living in Melbourne)!

Very hard to choose what I would like if I won. Probably the pure wool felt and some felt toadstools and wooden animals - it's all so amazing!

AJ Bindel said...

What a charming shop & a wonderful write up! I would love to get some wool felt and a tea set for my daughter. <3

Ruby Star said...

what a cute little shop. I'm with Jess, that dragon is adorable but i'd have to say my other favourite is the enamel dinner set.

Unknown said...

Wax crayon blocks! Or play food! ...Or maybe big fat knitting needles?! YUMMO!

Allison said...

okay - this is tough ... but I'm a sucker for wooden animals so would have to buy a collection - and perhaps pick up some felt whilst I'm there - those colours are stunning.
Alli

Domestic Diva said...

I'd get the Stockmar Crayons.

ikkinlala said...

It doesn't look to me like they ship to Canada, but I'd love to buy some Woolganic yarn for a knitting friend in Australia.

Chrissy said...

Ooohhh...what a lovely shop!!! I'd love to get the wax crayon blocks for my daughter!!!!

Unknown said...

Would love to have the crayons!!! All the colours look so nice!!!!

Wini said...

Thank you for introducing this beautiful store and for the generous giveaway!! I love owls so would go for one of those gorgeous owl softies, as well as a few balls of the woolganic yarn for my crochet project! :)

Q Tea Kits said...

goodness what wouldn't I buy???
Some of those gorgeous face painting crayons to start with, some felt, some wool and maybe just maybe some little handmade clothes for our waldorf dolls!
Gorgeous interview - love it!
Jxx

Mitzi Curi said...

Oooh, what a lovely little shop! If I had a $50 voucher I would snap up a colorful assortment of wool felt for my crafting adventures. It looks divine, as do all of your photos of Little Sparrow.

petapledger said...

I would use the voucher to buy the wooden 'blocks' fashioned from the remains of the 2009 Bushfires in Victoria.

Unknown said...

My wife has been bugging me for those crayons (purportly for my daughter, but i know better)... arrggghhhh!!! the headache... give it to me so i can pass it to her and be sane yet again...

Ana Star said...

Felt all the way for me!

Love your blog and Little Sparrow, just beautiful.

Pilgrim Lee said...

thanks to everyone for entering! you're all very deserving :)

this giveaway is now closed. a winner will be announced in a new post shortly.

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