Time for a maxi dress.....

My two daughters wear their maxi dresses all through summer - they are such a versatile wardrobe staple around here.  When you need a bit of flair, they look great with some fancy accessories, yet their simple style will suit any occasion.  I thought it was high time that nicobelle design came up with our own maxi style, so here is the first:

The Mollie Maxi Dress in Fresco

I added a small curve to the hemline front for a bit of interest and the lovely thin straps can be adjusted for a great fit now and later.  Currently offered in sizes 6 and 8, with 10 available for order, there will be more Mollie Maxis in different fabrics coming soon.  

Fiona  x

New design: Eliza Flutter Dresses

What beautiful weather we are having in Brisbane at the moment!  Sunshiney skies and light breezes to cool the days down - such perfect beach weather.

With summer in the air, I recently designed a new style and it has been flying out the door!  The Eliza Flutter is a cool, carefree design which is an easy pull-on, pull-off dress for girls aged 2 to 8.  The flutter sleeves are so sweet - just enough sun protection for the shoulders, but not restrictive in any way, so the littlies can jump, run and flutter to their hearts' content!!

Here are the currently available colourways:

       

 

All so fresh and cooling for summer!

These will all be going to the Billycart Markets in Sandgate tomorrow.  The first two are on my website and if you click the pictures, you will be taken directly to their pages.  The last three will be added to the shop once I'm back from the Markets.  If you would like to purchase any before they flutter off tomorrow, just email me with your request.

As with all my stock, once a particular colourway is gone, it's gone!!  Because I sell at various markets around Brisbane, I like to keep my stock fresh and new, so make one set only in each colourway in sizes 2-4-6-8.  This ensures exclusivity of all my designs and keeps my stall looking pretty with lots of colour ;)  The two middle designs are available in sizes 2 and 6 only (Hot pink Fireworks design) and sizes 4 and 8 only (Aqua/pink design).  Levels are also starting to run low on the top two designs.

I hope you all have a very pleasant weekend wherever you are in the world!

Take care,

Fiona  xx

Market time

On Saturday 24th September, Nicobelle Design will have a stall at our first Billycart Market in Sandgate!  Set in the grounds of the Sacred Heart Primary School, 92 Brighton Road, Sandgate, there are many, many gorgeous stalls to visit.  The gates are open between 9am and 2pm, so bring the family along for a wonderful day of hand-crafted fashion, homegrown goodies and lots of fun.

Fiona  xx

Winter stock reduced

All the stock in my Winter Collection is now reduced by 20%!  This means that most skirts are now $28, my gorgeous Julia Tunic dresses, which have been a huge hit at markets this year, are now all under $39.  I have just three Juliette 3/4 sleeve tops left - of course these are all 100% cotton and can still be worn for months to come.  Team the Julia Tunics with leggings and boots and the Juliette tops with jeans - such a gorgeous look!

Of course, the skirts can be worn all through the year - try the Kristie Winter Sky skirt with a hot pink T  or the Rosie Twirl in indigo blue with a crisp white T on a summer's day - lovely!

Hurry into my web shoppe - many styles only have one or two pieces left.

Happy shopping!
Fiona  xx

At Portside tomorrow!

Come and visit our stand at Brisbane's fabulous Boutique Markets at Portside tomorrow. The Markets open at 8am, run until 1pm and feature a wonderful selection of local talent.

I will be showing current winter stock and will feature my new spring/summer style as well as my ever-popular knot dresses.

 

See you there!

Fiona
x

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

We are now back from a wonderful holiday to the UK, relaxed and refreshed and ready to show you some new styles!  I will blog soon about some fabulous aspects of our holiday, such as our two weeks on a narrowboat cruising the canals, but for now I will introduce my first new style for this Spring/Summer:  The Millie Sundress!!  Here she is in gorgeous fresh shades of lime and pink:

and in lovely cool aqua and pomegranate:

The Millie Sundress is made from beautiful pure cotton designer fabrics and features two tiers for extra twirl, long straps that can be tied with a knot or bow and a sweet frill on the bodice, just so she can look extra pretty!

Of course, until the weather warms up, this dress looks gorgeous with a t-shirt underneath or a little cardy for extra warmth.  It's a great style that will see your girls through many seasons, depending on the accessories you choose.  These styles are available in sizes 4, 6 and 8 - and 10 by request.  Please just email me if you would like to place an order for size 10.

Take care,
Fiona
x

Up, up and away!

These last few weeks have been a bit of a blur!  In between my children's school commitments and assessment, I've been sewing up a storm!  The winter stock we've been taking to the Boutique Markets in Portside every second Sunday has been snapped up by a gorgeous Brisbane crowd of shoppers!  Thank you all for the wonderful feedback - happy customers make my job seem all the more worthwhile.

We'll be missing the next few Markets as we're scooping up the children to head overseas and visit family, who we see too rarely.  Fear not; we will return to Portside at the end of July to bring you more Nicobelle Design goodness, then in August, the 2011/12 summer clothes previews will begin on the blog, website and at the markets.  I have some wonderful designs planned and cannot wait to show you all! (Can't believe I'm thinking about summer when the winter chill has just started here.....)

Please note that any orders placed on the website will not be fulfilled until our return in mid-July.

I look forward to catching up with you all soon - the laptop is coming with me and I've already organised wi-fi access for our time in England, so fingers and toes are crossed that we are successful with the wi-fi hotspots and I can post about some adventures over there!

Take care,
Fiona

New stock and the boutique markets

With amazing weather again, we had a fabulous time yesterday at the Boutique Markets, meeting so many lovely new faces and catching up with friends.  I have to say a big thank you to everyone for such sweet comments about my clothes - although my website has been operational for a while, it is wonderful to also have the opportunity to display my range in a handmade market environment.  On a website, it's just not possible to always capture the magic of a piece of clothing - the colour, its fall, the twirl factor and of course the tactile quality of the gorgeous pure cotton fabrics, but in the flesh, customers can see the colours and feel the softness of the clothes - and it makes such a difference!  So when I hear wonderful, positive comments from children and their parents, it feels that what I am doing really seems to be on the right track!

These new styles are all now available in sizes 4, 6 and 8 for ordering on the website.

Emily Knot Dress in Rainy Days:

Emily Knot Dress in Blue Meadow:

The One-of-a-Kind Alyssa Dress (size 8 only): 

Rosie Twirl Skirt in Fanfare Teal:

Enjoy browsing the latest styles!  If you have any queries about a fabric you would like transformed into another style, or an item which has sold, please email me.  I do create custom orders and am happy to discuss any requests you may have.

Take care,

Fiona    

First market day

Last Sunday was our first ever Boutique Market day and what a wonderful time we had!  Although a shower or two were predicted, the sun shone and the weather was gorgeous.  Thank you to everyone who visited Nicobelle Design - I met some lovely new customers and fellow stallholders but unfortunately was too busy to make any of my own purchases this time (a big plus in hubby's eyes!!).  With a P&O ship in dock, Portside was abuzz with tourists and visitors all morning and the Markets had a really happy vibe as people browsed the beautiful, and very tempting, wares on display.  Here are a few pictures of our stall before opening time:

Our pom poms seemed to attract the crowds - everybody wanted to buy one!

Winter dresses and tops

Winter skirts

Our knot dresses, which proved to be a big hit

I am already looking forward to the next Boutique Market day - if the first was any indication, we are in for a fun-filled year!!  Sewing has already commenced and I'll provide some sneak peeks of our latest stock soon.

More winter designs

Two more dresses have been added to our winter line.  The Gemma Tunic in Raspberry:

This dress features ruffles at the base, topped with golden ric rac, butterfly sleeves and a feature ruffle from the neckline to add a bit of zing, and is designed to be layered with leggings, long-sleeved Ts or jeans.  The two fabrics are simply gorgeous together and would match a multitude of basics in her wardrobe.  It's a style that would look sweet all year round, not just in the cooler seasons.

The second item is our Sasha Swing Dress in Sunflower:

What a happy dress!  Again, this has been designed for winter layering - how sweet would it look with a turquoise or brown T and leggings?  As the straps are adjustable, this dress will grow with your girl - in a couple of years, it will be one of her most comfy tops!  Last year I made a Swing dress for my 8 year old daughter and her 13 year old sister occasionally borrows it to wear as a top - all you need to do is re-tie the straps and it will continue to fit for years!

Happy browsing!

Our first winter collection is live!

Since my last post, I have been as busy as a bee making all of Nicobelle Design's winter stock and am SO excited to start sharing it with you!  It has been a great journey - there is nothing I love more than designing a piece of clothing, firstly in my mind, then on paper, and seeing it come to life in fabric and colour.  Often along this journey there will be alterations to be made until the perfect piece arrives, but the whole design process is very exciting and engaging!

In our very first winter collection, there are dresses, tops and skirts, all designed to be worn with your daughter's favourite wardrobe basics.  Team our skirts or dresses with a long sleeved T, leggings and winter boots and she will be set to discover new horizons! Our styles can easily be dressed up for a fancy day out, and are so comfortable, she will think they are also perfect for a quiet day at home with friends.

The Julia Tunic in Sea Green

Our tops have 3/4 sleeves and look simply divine with a pair of jeans and boots; they are roomy enough to pop a long sleeved T underneath as well.  

The Juliette Top in Autumn Floral

As with all our winter clothes, the skirts have been made with the deeper and richer colours of the season in mind, so that when she selects her favourite hot pink or dark red long sleeved T from the wardrobe, it will match a multitude of our styles. 

The Kristie Skirt in Winter Sky

The Ellie Skirt in Geranium

I hope you enjoy browsing our latest range.  There are more styles being added to the website almost daily, so please check back to see more.  If you have any queries, just send me an email from the link on the right.

I'll be back soon with some more news!

  

And the highest bidder is..............

jaynec!!!  Congratulations on winning the auction for my skirt.  What a wonderful bid of $60 - thank you so much for your generosity!  And thank you to all who placed a bid through the week.  This amount will be added to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and along with all the other donations received so far will help to make a difference to those affected by the devastation.


Even though most of the handmade auctions have already ended, the RAFFLES on Toni Coward's blog will be staying open until midday on Wednesday 26th January.  For those of you who were hoping to win a handmade auction and missed out, click here to see the master raffle list.  There are some gorgeous pieces of handmade goodness still available, as well as some books and patterrns - just click the links on that page to go to the individual blogs for details of their raffle.


Once again, many many thanks to all who bid on my skirt.  I am so proud to have been a part of this much larger group of handmade auctions and will be back later in the week to announce the grand total of all our auction and raffle fundraising efforts.

Auction for the Qld Flood Appeal

Edited to add:  To bring myself into line with the other online auctions, I will now be ending the auction for my skirt at 9pm Monday 24th January (local Brisbane time), rather than midnight.  As many of us moderate comments, this change means that we can update and keep current any late bidding, without the necessity to stay glued to the computer until midnight. ;)  At 9pm, I will announce the successful bidder!


Over the last week, the world has watched as devastating floods engulfed much of our beautiful state of Queensland.  Lives and homes have been so sadly lost, but one consolation to have come about, in the wake of all the flooding, is the willingness and tirelessness of people to provide support to those in need.  Recent images of people helping complete strangers in Brisbane's affected suburbs can't help but give us all an increased faith in the human race.


As with all natural disasters the clean-up has begun and people all over Brisbane and Queensland desperately need help.  Toni Coward, the Australian designer behind Make It Perfect patterns has launched the Queensland Flood Appeal with her sister Carli.




As a contribution towards this Appeal, I am holding an auction on this blog for the skirt below:

This is a double layer twirl skirt made from 100% cotton fabrics by designer Heather Bailey. The underskirt provides added body and twirl and the skirt features lovely trim detail with an elastic waist for comfort and ease of dressing.  In gorgeous sunshine shades, it is sure to brighten up any little girl's wardrobe.  It is a generous size 6 (so will also fit a small size 8).  Waist measurement is 58cm (23 inches) unstretched and length from waist to base of skirt is 46cm (18 inches).  This item is brand new, lovingly hand made and has not been offered for sale before.  On my website, this skirt would have a retail price of $40.


This auction is open to everyone - I will pay postage to anywhere in the world for this item.  Payment is by donation to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal - for details on how to donate, please visit the website.  This is SUCH a worthwhile cause - please donate generously, especially as your postage will be FREE!!!!


How this auction works:
1.  Bidding will start at $30 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please ensure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone.  Postage to anywhere in the world is FREE.
5.  This auction begins NOW and will END at midnight on Monday 24th January 2011 (Brisbane time).
6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please ensure your bid comment includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email.  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post the skirt to you.
7.  Thank you for participating in this auction - happy bidding!!