Handmade Upcycled Rugs and Planters

I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many talented people.

People who can see something useless and a little bit ugly and turn it into a work of art.

A useable piece of art.

Karen our lovely local artisan makes, weaves or crochets, mats, bags, planters, wall art out of old sheets and doona covers... recycling them and making them new again.

As all pieces are made from cotton recycled sheets they are machine washable! I know you love them even more now don't you? We have so many of Karen's pieces in stock, she really has an amazing eye for colour and I can't believe the combos she comes up with.

I have two of Karen’s mats at home, one at the back door and one at the front. You can imagine they get pretty dirty. Every week I throw them in the wash, hang them out to dry and boom back they go into place.

So many of you already own one of Karen's lovely pieces and I have seen them on bathroom floors, kitchen floors and Living room walls. Really how could you not fall in love?

Colours and styles are all one offs. Its time to own your own piece of art ..

Karen isn't on social media, Trevallan is the only place you can get a piece of her talent!

Check out her rugs here

Check out her planters here

Art Before Housework

A Chance Encounter is the Art Before Housework Pointillism art piece I have at home.

I have loved Art Before Housework for years but I never connected the dots... I was actually gifted one of her original pointillism (lots of tiny dots) arts years ago, before I met her in person, and it hangs pride of place in my kitchen, where I smile at it all morning.

Andrea Baumert Howard, is an artist living and working in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. She says her art comes from a physical need to create.  She has always loved drawing and doing crafty projects which usually ended up as gifts for friends and family or decorating her home.

She mentions that doing crafty projects helped her out of some dark times in the past and has been a way of positive meditation.

In 2010 Andrea began taking her art seriously after illustrating a children’s book for the charity Local Adoption Support Group.  “Run Like the Wind – how Brik found his family”

Since 2010 she has exhibited extensively both locally in Ipswich and in Brisbane and has won several awards.

Example of Art Before Housework’s Gift Cards

Her style is still evolving and she enjoys using different mediums – different images work better in certain mediums.  

About four years ago she started working with recycled paper that she had made from dyed office paper and junk mail. She then puts prints of her original pointillism drawings and watercolour art on her handmade recycled paper and sells them as A4 artworks or cards. The cards are so special I have a few of them framed at home.

Art before Housework's art comes from a physical need to create.

She prefers to do Art Before Housework!

So come on in or head over to our shop and get yourself one of these beauties so you can smile every morning at her artwork too!