Hello,
It has been a long time since I have been in this space and a LOT has happened, one year ago we welcomed our first baby, our beautiful girl Ada into the world! Wow, motherhood has been such an amazing journey, so much so that I have found myself soaking up all my days and nights with our little one, not wanting to miss a second of this amazing ride! Everyone always told me that things would change, I just didn’t want to believe it! I kindly nodded and thought to myself ‘not me’. I would find the time to be creative, to continue Little Jane St. But of course things changed….silly me. Everything changed. The things that once mattered no longer did and a different world was opened up to me brimming with opportunity. A new beginning. I always planned to take time out to care for our little one, and as the months quickly slipped by I found my passion for Little Jane St slip away with them. At first it was a little frightening but being able to stop and reflect was a great gift. This was not only because I had became a mama, looking back I realised I wasn’t happy with the direction I was heading creatively. Little Jane St had always given me so much joy and freedom but I realised it no longer did. I felt within my heart it was time to take a risk and embrace a new beginning!

Last year I was lucky enough to work alongside one completely amazing lady named Hailey Bartholomew. Hailey had an idea for a book that she wanted to bring to life! I jumped at the chance of working on this exciting project that I am so SO excited to tell you all about very shortly. This was something I had always dreamed of doing. Sharing in this amazing project (which has been in the making for 10 years!) and working with this inspiring family also lead me to take a look at a new direction in which I could travel my own journey. I decided it was time for me to take a leap of faith and close down the online shop and business I had built over the last 5 years to embark on new adventures and follow my dream of becoming a children’s book illustrator along with being able to pursue whatever other creative projects came my way without the limitations of a small business.

Phew! It has been so hard to say goodbye to Little Jane St. I have loved every minute and feel so very blessed for all the experiences I have had but more importantly for all the beautiful people I have met along the way, many of you are now my closest and most dearest friends! Thank you so much for all the support you have given Little Jane St and me personally and I hope that you will continue to follow me on my new adventures… whatever they may be!

Our online shop is now closed and will redirect through to my new website! Please do take a little peek and let me know what you think. Over the next few days I plan to begin changing over all my social media names from 'Little Jane St' to Alarna Zinn, (in case you are wondering who this strange Alarna Zinn is!)

Take care and I hope to see you in my new space!

Alarna x

This is me...

Yep, this is me right now... 35 weeks pregnant!! Not long now until the two of us will become three. As I have quickly moved into the last stages of my pregnancy I have also come to the realisation that the time has come to rest, be peaceful and prepare to welcome our sweet little bundle into the world. So very, very surreal and exciting!

I always knew that I would need to take a break from Little Jane St and although I still have no idea of what that means exactly, I figure the best way is to take things as they come - no rules! From today, I am officially taking a little break, but for how long I am not sure. This does not mean I won't be popping in to this little space from time to time, and our shop will continue to run as per normal.... It simply means things will be slowing down for a few months.

Although it has been a little quiet on this blog since we closed the store at the end of last year I have been busy working in the background on some few exciting projects and new products! Some of these will be unveiled very soon, and some may just be pushed back by a few months, like I said no rules or deadlines for now as someone may have other plans for me! Either way, I cannot wait to share with you all!

So for now it is on to my next big adventure! Wish me luck and I look forward to introducing you all to our little lady!

Take care sweet friends!

LJS in a book!!!

That's right! A collection of photos that I have taken for Little Jane St were published in this amazing book! I have never been in a book before so I am feeling a wee bit chuffed right about now. The book 'The Crafter's Guide to taking great photos' was written by Heidi Adnum and is full of gorgeous pictures of pretty crafty products and filled with great tips and techniques on how to take great shots of your handmade creations! Pop on over to Heidi's website for more info...

A fun filled weekend!

Hello lovely blog friends!! I hope you have had an amazing weekend...

We have been keeping very busy these past couple of months on some very exciting projects that I cannot wait to share with you! This weekend, I was very lucky to spend some time with the super talented and equally lovely Hailey Bartholomew on an amazing Little Jane St photo shoot, and what a HUGE day we had!! This was the first professional photo shoot I have ever done for our products and I had such a great time! I am still so excited I could almost burst:)

The shoot was held in our little home, due to the fact I am currently 32 weeks pregnant and can't waddle around too much without needing to sit down! There was a team of 6, yes 6! of us, and it was all hands on deck to help pull together the sweet little stop motion film that we have been planning for weeks. We had spotty balloons, super gold glittery papier-mâché hearts, peacock feathers, vintage dresses, tea cups, paper clouds, floral umbrellas and giant bear heads! By the end of the day, the house was in complete chaos, we were all a little pooped and I got to meet some lovely new people.

Looking forward to sharing with you all what we have created in a little while, but in the meantime you can see more snippets on facebook or instagram, where I spend a lot more of my time these days.

Little Jane St ~ xmas cards unwrapped!

Be sure to stock up on all your favourite Little Jane St greeting cards in time for Christmas!!
To view our collection take a peek here.

the big news...

I wanted to share an extra special piece of news with you all today, that we are expecting a new addition to our family very soon! I am pregnant with our first baby! We are all so very excited and cannot wait to welcome our little girl into the world:) I am now 5 months along in the pregnancy and loving this amazing journey, the growing bump, the tiny movements and all of the adventures that still await us!

There has been much reflection and change over the past months and now - with our little store closed, I am feeling relaxed and at peace and hope to have the time for both my family life and creative work life to look forward to. Wish me luck!!

crafty find...

I was SO excited when I stumbled upon these hand carved wooden stamps in Kingscliffe! Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the store but it was beautiful and they had 3 big bowls containing different sized stamps to drool and ponder over... They even had bigger sized yardage style stamps that would be great for stamping material and making special treats - perhaps for xmas pressies?? I plan to use my small collection to make xmas wrap and tags.

weekend adventures...

Ahhh, long weekend! You are just what I needed... I have been very lucky to have just returned from an extra long weekend away in Northern NSW. Gosh I love this spot.

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Brisbane Finders Keepers!

It is that time again!! The Brisbane Finders Keepers Market is on this weekend! I was initially upset, thinking I was unable to make this event, however make the markets I can - and I will be there with bells on or at very least pockets jangling with loose change to buy special xmas treats! I will be sure to report back on what loot I discover:)

Have a happy, sunshine filled weekend!

LJS Christmas wreath in Frankie!

Did you see our Xmas wreath in the latest Frankie Magazine? So exciting!! The festive season is just around the corner now, I think maybe a mere 6 or 7 weeks?? Do you have any crafty plans for gift or decorations? Make sure you take a peek in Frankie for some great wreath ideas from Pip Lincolne, Catherine Campbell and Beci Orpin - so fun and inspiring! There is also a cute article, featuring a collection of Christmas sweaters from around the world!

home sweet home...

I just wanted to say a BIG thanks to all you amazing people for visiting, emailing, facebook-ing and tweeting such lovely messages of support on the shop front closure! You are the sweetest.

It has been just over one week since the big move and my time has been spent with good things mostly. A bit of rest and relaxation, a trip to the beach, catching up with family, baking bad things to eat, working on projects that I enjoy, along with a few boring things such as being bed bound due to icky illness and procrastinating over setting up/moving the contents of my shop OUT of our sunroom! All in good time....

Overall, it has been a very happy week and I think I made the right decision. I like it here, and I can't wait to get back into the swing of things!

farewell... sort of

Hello lovely blog friends and LJS customers,

Today we have some rather big news to share with you all... Little Jane St have decided to close the doors to our retail space in Winn Lane, Brisbane. It is a little bit sad to be leaving but mostly a happy time as we take the next step to grow our little business.

We have all heard about the effects of the 'recession' within the retail world, and let me tell you for someone with limited experience in retail other than the fact I once worked as a check out chick in coles, it has been tough! As a result I have found myself quite honestly completely out of my depth!! In turn I was faced with a difficult decision of priorities. I soon took on working in the shop 6 days a week at the cost of my creative self, family, friends, sanity and ultimately the side of the business I was most passionate and personally fulfilled within soon suffered. So you see, in the end for me my shop was not something I was passionate enough to keep going at the cost of my creative journey, nor at the cost to my collection or wholesale business. It was soon clear that I had mixed up my priorities.

In saying all of that, although I did eventually realise I was on a separate path to my heart, this was in fact a VERY hard decision for me to make because I just adore my little shop, and more importantly the community that exists within Winn Lane, Fortitude Valley. We started as the first little shop in this laneway beside the popular Flamingo Cafe and have eagerly watched this space morph into something really special! With all the building complete you will now find 5 amazing retail shops including vintage fashion and handmade jewellery, a hairdresser, cafe and art gallery. Local Brisbane people out there who complain that our city is boring compared to other states... you're simply not looking hard enough! Now is a crucial time for these small businesses and they need our support! Where possible please support local business and local artists because it is this diversity that makes us who we are, we shouldn't be trying to emulate what people in Melbourne have but rather supporting the little guys out there who dare to take the risk and in turn ensuring the growth of a great, culturally diverse city. It has been a privilege to work within and contribute to one of the many upcoming creative precincts within Brisbane.

You may or may not have noticed it has been very quiet on the Little Jane St front of late and now you know why! However as of this Friday (which is our last day in the shop) things will hopefully change, and let me tell you there are some BIG changes on the horizon for me which I will tell you all about a little later! First up I will start creating again, lots of dreaming and designing. I will make big messes, have less stress, more time for friends and family, have my weekends back and enjoy what comes next! No pressure.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of Little Jane St, popped in for a visit, supported our shop, purchased cute things - we have made so many new friends and I can't wait to see where this adventure leads us! Remember we are only closing our shop space so you can still find our range of Little Jane St goodies online and from our fantastic stockists throughout Australia.

in the studio...

Today I have been planning our next range of Little Jane St products! We have a new website and blog in the works and I figured I might as well add a few new treats to the range while I am at it! These sweet cloud garlands were such a hit when we first used them in our shop window display, I thought they would be a perfect fit - what do you think? Should they become a regular LJS fixture?

In the shop...

New in the shop... are these amazing GIANT polaroid prints by very talented local photographer Hailey Bartholemew! I just adore this lady and her work, and I am finding it very difficult to refrain myself from taking 3 out of the 4 images home with me:) These polaroids are a special limited edition run of Hailey's very popular 365 grateful project. Hailey took a polaroid a day for 1 whole year of moments in life that she was grateful for.

Do pop over to Hailey's blog and website to see her other fantastic work, and also take a peek at the next installment of the project at 365grateful. Truly inspirational work!


Images via you can't be serious blog.

packing the kiln...

A relaxing day spent packing the kiln... Lots of lovely fresh magnets and garden labels on their way to the shop this weekend:)

LJS a Brisbane 48 hot spot!

How exciting!! Our little shop made it amongst the Madison's top 48 hot spots in Brisbane! Along with a bunch of other lovely Brissy places such as our friend Michelle at Nook.

image via madison blog

a new collection...

At our place, we recently made a decision to have a no TV zone. It has been a few months and I must say we have barely even noticed a void. It is a lovely feeling to fill the spare time with baking, reading, music, walks, chatter or whatever else we feel fit!! Last night I thought it would be a nice idea to pop onto eBay and take a peek at what was on offering in the board game department. Wouldn't it be great to fill a cupboard with a collection of retro board games and puzzles, as an alternative for the time once spent in front of the box. I was so excited by all the options I found, some familiar games and others I had never heard of. Scrolling through the pages brought back many childhood memories, as we made our choices for our new games cupboard.

What is your favourite board game?

All board games and images above found via eBay.

Well winter is well and truly here, so of course I was most excited to nab what I now consider possibly my BEST op shop purchase ever. The sweetest little green crochet leprechaun slippers, for $2!! I think these might just find a spot in the shop for chilly winter afternoons.

Stay toasty!

Beginning Boutique Photoshoot...

One of the things I LOVE about our little laneway is all the lovely visitors that pop by each day! The place is always a hive of energy and activity! Our little store has had a few lovely folk drop by lately to do some fashion photography.

How sweet is the above shoot with Beginning Boutique, who were kind enough to send some of the shots they took our way, makes stationery look rather glamorous doesn't it?

images via Beginning boutique.

Our wedding in Frankie!

Have you seen our little wedding in Frankie magazine this month? so EXCITING to be a part of!!
This very sweet Frankie feature includes four weddings, with the cutest photos ever, take a little peek:)
Thank you Frankie!

New in the shop...

Take a peek at some of the new papery treats in the shop this week! So exciting:)
New books, zines, pens and pencils and the sweetest little key rings!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter dear friends!!
Have you had a wonderful break? Full of much relaxation, chocolate eating and lounging/digestion time from said chocolate eating?

We have had a bunch of fun over the past few days, escaping from the shop for a wee bit to stuff our faces full of naughty food groups, bake cakes, play Easter egg hunts, picnic in the sunshine, laze by the pool and visit family! It is amazing that we crammed all that in really!

I am back to work in my little shop today - do pop in for a visit if you are searching for things to do on the last day of holidays:)

Granny Squares!

I am so very excited about these little granny squares that are being stitched up by the lovely Thea, my talented new found facebook friend who is awesome on the crochet needle I must say! Thea agreed to help me make up these sweets to adorn an outside portion of the shop, MORE colour, exactly what we want:) I will be sure to let you know how it turns out!

If anyone is interested Thea also holds 'crochet your granny' classes. Check them out here.

LJS in the press!

So very chuffed to see our paper heart garlands in the Autumn edition of Shop 4 Kids!
Lots of other lovely treats to be found in this magazine too:)

Papery treats!

Today.... I am very excited to have received these papery treats, some new Little Jane St postcards to pop in our packages and bags! It's the little things:) Have a great week everyone!