I wasn’t sure how to start this post. But perhaps it is just better to keep it short and simple. For those of you who have been reading along these past few months since I moved to Hong Kong, you would have noticed that I haven’t sewn a thing for quite a while. Instead I have been drawing, and painting – and loving it!

I have been “One Red Robin” for over 6 years now (time has flown by so quickly!). One Red Robin started as a place to share my crafty experiments and discoveries, and soon it became a label through which I designed, made and sold mostly soft toys and dolls, sewing patterns and fabric. It has been an AMAZING, AMAZING six years being One Red Robin and I am so grateful for all the people I have met, the friendships that were formed, and experiences I have had through this blog.

But it’s now time to move on. My focus has changed, and I think it’s time to stop being “One Red Robin” and to just start being me. So I hope you will join me at my new website and blog over at Jhoanna Monte Aranez Design + Illustration.

This blog will still be around for a few months but I won’t be updating it anymore.

So it’s good bye to One Red Robin, but hello to a new adventure. Hoping to see you at my new ‘home‘!

I have always loved to draw – I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that numerous times before! When I was in High School 20+ years ago and it was time to start applying for Uni courses, my parents encouraged my creativity as a hobby but advised it was better to study business or information technology in order to build  stable future. And like a “good Asian” daughter, I followed!

Since moving to Hong Kong 18 months ago, I rediscovered my love for drawing and illustrating. And although I didn’t want to admit it – I’ve realised that I DO love it more than sewing and making soft toys. And it’s something I want to invest more time in and develop – and more importantly, I’ve realised that it’s something I want to learn more about.

With encouragement from hubby, I decided to apply for a course in illustration (even though I have no formal qualifications in Art whatsoever!). I looked at options here in Hong Kong but the ones I wanted to do were taught in Cantonese. So I looked at distance learning courses (part-time) and applied. And guess what?

I got in!! I AM SO HAPPY AND SO EXCITED!!! And I start next month! With family life and work and other commitments, it means I will have to be SUPER organised but pursuing something I love is worth it! I have one simple goal, and that is to be a better Illustrator.

And I am excited to be able to share some snippets of my progress on this new adventure with you :-)

Other snippets of life here in Hong Kong recently:

The Mid-Autumn festival is close (end of this month) and the decorations in public places are up, like this amazing lantern-inspired scene that can be found at Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade:

Butterscotch brownies from Awfully Chocolate in Mong Kok (so good!):

And growing my collection of Sonny Angels. They are like a lucky dip where you don’t know what’s inside the box when you buy one. I’ve been wanting the Owl one but still haven’t found it yet!

THIS BOOK HAS NOW BEEN SOLD.

I literally let a out of squeal of happiness when I stumbled across this book.

SO MANY cute embroidery patterns influenced by Scandanavian design – Moomin, teacups, kitchen utensils, iconic furniture, woodland creatures …. and that’s not all of the patterns you’ll find in this little treasure trove.

It also has sewing patterns for a few home and personal items like slippers, bags, book covers, cushion covers and a tea cosy. This book is written in Chinese (Mandarin) but includes easy-to-follow illustrations on how to put the projects together.

This book is now out of print and I only have one copy, so if you love Scandanavian design, this is a fantastic craft book to add to your collection!

More information on the book:
Paperback: 88 pages
Publisher: Reascend (2007)
Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
Book Weight: 300 Grams
Condition: Brand New

It’s now in my etsy shoppe here: Love Small Nordic Scandanavian Style Embroidery (Out of Print) – Chinese Craft Pattern Book SOLD!

It’s no secret that I love craft books! I have a huge collection of all kinds of craft books back in storage in Melbourne and – let’s be honest – another ever-so-slowly growing collection here in Hong Kong :-) I do spend quite a bit of time in bookshops in Hong Kong and I have come across some fantastic craft pattern books. Yes, they are in Chinese (Mandarin) but just like the awesome Japanese Craft Patten books many of you are familiar with, these books also have very easy-to-follow illustrations and photos.

What better way to share the love then make some of these books available in my etsy shop. So from time to time – when I come across really awesome craft pattern books – I’ll put a few books up in my shoppe.

The first of these is “Lovely Small Felt Mascots“.

This book has the patterns for 30 super cute, animals, sea creatures, people and fruit! All are made using felt and require simple hand-stitching, some glue and a little bit of fibre-fill/stuffing.

Here are a few pages to give you an idea of what you can find inside the book.

They are small, which makes them an easy project for kids and adults. If you’re keen to learn about how to make softies, these small, felt projects are a great way to learn about simple form and construction as a basis for making larger softies.

Other information about the book:
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Arts Ippudo (2007)
Author: Chen Chun-Chin
Language: Chinese (Mandarin)
Book Weight: 300 Grams
Condition: Brand New

Please note that I have only found one copy of this book (it was published back in 2007) – so if you do want it, snap it up quick!

It’s now in my etsy shoppe here: Lovely Small Felt Mascots – Chinese Craft Pattern Book

I’ve been buying t-shirts from Threadless.com for a few years now – the choice of designs are fantastic and the quality of the t-shirts are great, holding up after many washes. Ever since I bought my first t-shirt from Threadless, I’ve been hoping that one day I would be able to see one of my designs on their t-shirts too.

And now I have a chance!! :-) I submitted my illustration “A Moment’s Reverie” to Threadless and it’s now up on their site ready for scoring!

Here’s what it would look like:

If you would like to see this as a t-shirt too, please do vote for my design! The more votes and the higher the average of scores, the better chance it will have to be printed. To vote, you will need to login to Threadless, or sign-up if you don’t have an account (and it’s really quick to sign-up too!).

Thank you so much to those of you who have already voted! If you haven’t yet voted but would like to see this design as a t-shirt, please consider voting if you have a spare moment :-)

To cast your vote, please click this link: A Moment’s Reverie by JM Aranez on Threadless.com

We recently returned from celebrating my husband’s birthday in Phuket, Thailand. It was our first time to visit Phuket. And in all honesty, it was the kind of holiday where we just wanted to ‘do nothing‘. Work has been somewhat stressful for both of us these last few months so a ‘do nothing’ holiday was just what we needed.

As we expected, the weather was both hot and rainy, but thankfully we got a few good sunny breaks – enough to enjoy Bang Thao beach, which is right next to the resort we were staying at. One of our goals on the holiday was to help our daughters get over their fear of the ocean. And yay – mission accomplished!! :-)

We managed to snap up a really good deal on accommodation and stayed at the Dusit Thani Laguna Resort in a pool villa. It was so, so lovely! It was so nice to have so much space (admittedly the villa is as big as a small townhouse back in Melbourne, but given our usual tiny living quarters in Hong Kong, it was like a mansion, haha!).

The top floor had a small private pool which was perfect for the girls to practice swimming.

The resort was wonderful, with really helpful staff, great range of spa services, and delicious Thai food. It was perfect for a ‘do nothing‘ holiday.

We also managed to spend a day at the Splash Jungle Water Park, which was AWESOME! We were having too much fun to take photos but definitely would recommend the water park if you have kids.

Love ‘do nothing‘ holidays!

If you are thinking of traveling to Phuket, I highly recommend:
Dusit Thani Laguna
390 Moo1 Srisoontorn Road,
Cherngtalay, Talang
Phuket

Splash Jungle Water Park Phuket
65 Moo.4 T.Maikhao A.
Thalang, Phuket

There are moments when I am absolutely gobsmacked by the opportunities that pop up unexpectedly – this is one of those moments.

Back in March, I created an illustration featuring clothing from awesome Aussie fashion label, Gorman, just for fun. The wonderful peeps at Gorman stumbled across the illustration and put it on the front page of their website! I was so stoked and so grateful for the opportunity!

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I received a request from Gorman to create an illustration to promote their Summer’12 collection. How could I refuse?! The collection was released this past Friday, and you need to go over to their website (or pop into their stores) to see it, if you love patterns and colour.

I couldn’t wait to start working on the illustration!

And I’ll be posting some more sneak peeks on my Instagram (@oneredrobin) stream and on the One Red Robin Facebook page.

Very excited to be sharing the progress with you!

I think I’ve posted up this drawing before of Little Miss Mushroom and the Owl. I’ve found some time to convert it into a print.

You can find it in my etsy shoppe including all the details about the print and shipping HERE.

By the way, if you are on Facebook or Instagram, you can follow One Red Robin there too – where you’ll find me posting up works in progress.
The One Red Robin Facebook page is HERE.
And you can also find me on Instagram as @oneredrobin.

A German magazine – kleinFORMAT – about design for kids have featured my illustrations in the current issue of their magazine!

Here’s the feature on myself and One Red Robin (in German), and illustration from my sketchbook:

And here is the paper doll illustration I contributed (which I had SO much fun doing) in their cut-out-and-keep section:

I am so thrilled to see my illustrations in a magazine! This magazine is full of wonderful independent artists and designers and I’m truly humbled and grateful to be included (I just wish I could understand German!). Thanks to Michi and the team at kleinFORMAT!

Thanks to those who entered the giveaway for two copies of the “Hand in Hand: Crafting with Kids” book! It was fun reading through all of your favourite crafts as a child. It brought back good memories as well as providing lots of ideas for crafts to do with my girls :-)

Thanks to Random Number Generator, we have two winners!

Congratulations to Deb and Fiona!! I will both be in touch with you shortly to get your mailing addresses.

I’ve been able to fit a little bit of time to do some drawing and recently picked up a set of chalk-pastels. These were my favourite medium to draw with back in high-school and it feels good to be re-acquainted with them again. Currently in-progress:

I can’t believe it’s Easter already! I love the message of Easter – of hope, of new beginnings, of death and of new life, and victory. Wishing you all a happy Easter!