NZFINCH

LANEWAY FESTIVAL

2012-01-24T15:14:00.000-08:00

We will be selling here on Monday! See ya there x

Now Stocking...

2011-11-10T18:47:00.001-08:00

The super cool Manu Design Store in New Plymouth :)

Dream dream dream....

2011-09-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

We've been having fun making some jewellery this week to sell at The Little Big Markets
in Mount Maunganui. Dream catcher necklaces. Leather bound metal ring with vintage doily and a mix of feathers, natural and dyed. Come along and say hi, we'd love to see you! x

The Little Big Markets

2011-09-25T12:38:00.001-07:00

We are here this Saturday!

crème de la crème

2011-07-17T21:59:00.000-07:00

Wallet

2011-07-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

To add to my love of leather:) I've been working on heaps of fun things lately including mens satchels and this new black leather vintage doily wallet, available soon! This one is my fav with its scallop edged flap. The gorgeous miss Becky Low is in town this week too which means photoshoot time! Here's hoping the crazy weather doesn't stop us.

Leather love

2011-07-05T16:56:00.001-07:00

I am just loving working with leather, the smell, the look, the feel. And it is all upcycled! Perfect! I always test drive my products and this little gem has had loads of good feedback which is always so encouraging. This clutch is available on ETSY and you'll be able to see more of the same at the lovely Yellow Brick Road Boutique in August.

Upcycled beauty

2011-06-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I locked myself in my sewing room and created my favourite item yet! It wasn't planned, it just kind of happened. It was originally meant to be a doily cushion cover but when I saw it folded in half on the side of my desk waiting to be completed I got the idea to turn it into a bag. Everything has been upcycled, the fabric , doily, zip, buckle, magnetic clasp and the leather.

I'm all inspired now to make some more.

ETSY treasury

2011-05-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

not all who wander are lost

quote: Alexander Smith

2011-05-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Good

2011-05-24T23:16:00.000-07:00

The lovely Holly Jean Brooker, owner of Urbanmac has done a feature on FINCH for Good magazine's online blog. It's a great little insight into why we do what we do. Hope you enjoy it :)

From something old to something new

BY HOLLY JEAN BROOKER

Tanya Gordon is a Kiwi girl with an eye for fashion and a heart for reducing waste through transforming used materials into unique and inspired pieces. Her label, Finch, includes eco bags and satchels made from discarded coffee sacks, as well as screenprinted pillows crafted from pre-used blankets. Wallets, scarves and necklaces are also on the list and feature unique eco-surprises such as lining made of satin nightwear.

Tanya sheds some light on how Finch came about:

Our story starts when I began my studies at Auckland University doing a Bachelor of Visual Arts. The first year was such an eye-opener into what art is and can be. This, combined with being a poor student and working at the local video store for minimum wage, led me to look at using found and secondhand objects within my artwork. Trash yards, emporiums, inorganic collections and thrift stores became my playground, changing my outlook completely. My love for reusing and recycling also comes from being sentimental – enjoying the history that an object has and the story that it tells.

What kind of 'raw materials' do you look for?

The business started with a gorgeous secondhand purple tartan wool blanket, bought for $10 from the Salvation Army. I made it into a cushion and appliqued an image of a deer onto it. Since then, we have been largely focused on using secondhand fabrics and reworking them into something new. Tired woolen blankets make great cushion covers, and discarded coffee sacks are remade into bags and wallets.

Our own wardrobe isn’t off limits either! Old denim jeans get cut up and made into cushions and cute purses, lined with gorgeous soft satin from a pair of pajama pants. Nothing gets thrown out before it has been stripped of everything that can be reused! Buttons, zips, pockets, fabric, and even old dresses are reworked into scarves and necklaces and it is such a welcome challenge to have to find a creative way of reusing something.

Is there a real trend towards living green?

It’s working in our favour that vintage and secondhand goods are in fashion, and there are definitely people out there who are more likely to buy our products because they have been ‘upcycled’. At the end of the day we just love breathing new life into old things, and if our work can inspire someone to go home and do the same, well, that would make us so happy.

Kiaora Papamoa

2011-05-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well it has surely been a busy (and super stressful) 4 weeks but we have finally made the move and settled into our new home in Papamoa. I have a whole room to myself now purely for creating and no longer have to share a space with all Phils music gear as he now has his own music room.

We are both looking forward to getting our groove back on now that we can settle back into 'normal life'. There are a few new ideas we are working on that we cant wait to share with you.

In the meantime here's some photos :)

love

2011-03-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

For no other reason except that I L O V E this photo.

A New Year

2011-02-20T12:06:00.000-08:00

Last year there were lots of rumours going around that 2010 was going to be THE year for most people. Well in our house we are all about 2011! This is THE year for FINCH. We have loads to keep us busy, tonnes that we want to achieve, and many new things that we want to create!

That includes more painting! One of the last paintings I did was a wedding gift for some friends several months ago. I think I might make some more variations.

Exhibit

2010-11-22T01:17:00.000-08:00

This morning I spent a few hours over at The Goldie Room on Waiheke hanging up a bunch of paintings in their Restaurant. I was so extremely un-organised and even missed the ferry home by literally 10 seconds (we didn't sprint fast enough), which made me late home for work! eek!

In fact the whole morning was such a shambles I think I'm lucky to still have a boyfriend.

However we managed to hang everything, and I must admit it looks rather great. The artwork will be up over summer and is all for sale. So if you're on the island why not pop in for some lunch, enjoy some wine, and check out the sweet art:) Oh yes, and soon there will be some FINCH wine bags and cushions available in their tasting room too!

The Silent Evolution

2010-11-14T15:50:00.001-08:00

This is amazing! I love anything that encourages growth and gives back to the environment.

The Silent Evolution is an incredible, one of its kind underwater art installation that involves 400 life-size human sculptures installed 9 meters below sea level off the coast of the Isla Mujeres in Mexico. Created by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, the sculptures are made from materials that will draw sea creatures towards it and eventually form a coral reef.

http://www.psfk.com/2010/11/an-artificial-reef-made-from-human-sculptures-pics.html/an-artificial-reef-made-from-human-sculptures-2

market

2010-11-14T00:46:00.001-08:00

Saturday 13th November

2010-11-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

Hello! How have you been? Enjoying the loveliness that is Spring I hope. We have been making the most of the delicious sunshine and all the social events that come about this time of year, needless to say we have been away from the market scene for a while. However Christmas is fast approaching and we have been sewing our little butts off with the help of a brand new sewing machine that is well and truly being put to the test. Finally we can return our borrowed machines to our respective mothers, much to their delight.

There are a few exciting things coming up for us, one of which is an amazing market that you WILL NOT want to miss. The busy ladies at Craft Revolution have organised a sweet market at Te Tuhi arts center Saturday November 13th. This is a fantastic opportunity for us, and also for you to get in early with some christmas purchases. We will have a huge range of upcycled wool cushions and coffee sack bags perfect for summer time! So come along, say hi, and enjoy the huge range of local crafters work. The Te Tuhi Cafe will be open as well, voted best cafe in Pakuranga by Metro for the last 4 years running, ( I used to work there:) .

So, have a safe Guy Fawkes! Enjoy your week, and we'll see you there. xx

Music

2010-09-04T01:56:00.001-07:00

I am not good with words, I wish I was, so I could never explain just how amazing this lady is. You'll just have to listen for yourselves. If you get the chance to see her live then take it. She is so bubbly and infectious, and I am glad to call her my friend. 'See you soon' is my favourite song, and AMAZING to see live. Her name is Janine Foster. Remember it.

Material girls

2010-07-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling really flat lately, inspiration wise, so I went to visit two lovely ladies Liv and Toni who are Material Creative. They do some incredible work which is inspiration enough, just check out their site. I have spent all afternoon perusing some beautiful books that I borrowed from their library, and my goodness I have inspiration coming out of my ears! I feel like I have been completely revived and with all the possibilities I don't know where to start! I love drawing and am convinced now that I need to start a drawing project. Something I have always been awed by is Portraits, and the skill it takes to capture the essence of a person on paper. I drew this portrait last night. The dimensions are wrong and my eyes are too far up my head, but it was a fun experiment none the less, and as I keep telling my class, "practice makes perfect!" So in the mean time I will keep practicing, and keep you up to date with my progress. I would love some feedback too, as I know fresh eyes usually see things that may have been missed by the creator. I hope you are all enjoying the end of July. Bring on Spring!

Art Safari

2010-07-27T01:43:00.000-07:00

The company I work for, Fine Young Artists, usually runs an art programme for 8 weeks of each school term focussing on local and international artists. Working with kids aged 6-13 years it made sense to run a holiday programme, so, these past school holidays I spent several days at the Auckland Zoo as part of an 'art safari'. This wasn't just a muck around at the zoo with paint kind of thing, but an intense drawing programme, and it was SO much fun. My class turned out some amazing pictures and I couldn't resist doing some quick sketches of my own. Burma the Elephant was my favourite! I had so much fun that I am going to go back to the zoo and do my own little art safari.

WIN WIN WIN

2010-04-19T00:50:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, the awesome girls at Green Eyed Monster have done a wee feature on us. We have made some sweet wine bags and if you would like one, for free, just go here and leave a comment. Thats all. No strings. Go on now, wave your mouse over the funky green letters and click.

Bigger and Better

2010-04-19T00:24:00.001-07:00

Hello lovelies, we have taken our most popular design and made it bigger and better. Whatever you like to call them; shoulder bag, messenger bag, laptop bag.... we've added MORE space, a button close, AND a super convenient zip up pocket to keep your goodies safe and secure.
Check them out here, and here.

News

2010-04-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

So last week Phil was featured in a side article in the Timeout section of the New Zealand Herald! Pretty sweet really. He was on page 6 right behind Justin Beiber, Opshop and Metallica. Some of you will recognize the sweet photography by Coralee, and a lovely little shout out about FINCH too!

The article was just in time to promote the fantastic EP release of The Bayonets which rocked on Friday night at the Rising Sun. The boys were on form definitely their best performance yet. An awesome effort by Amy, too, who helped out with backing vocals. If you haven't seen these guys yet keep an ear out for their next performance and make sure you are there, you will not be disappointed!

we are FINCH

2010-04-02T23:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a photo shoot with our amazing friend Coralee
She took some great shots which she has posted on her blog, and these are just a few of our favs. We thought you might like to get to know a bit more about the people who make up FINCH, and see who we are. As well as being creative artistically and musically, we also love to go riding. Phil is a dedicated fixed gear man, whilst I enjoy breezing around on my cruiser. Credit to Phil as he found my gorgeous 'freespirit' online, a sad rusty heap, and with a tonne of elbow grease brought her back to her former glory, adding a custom made Rimu box onto the back. It made a great suprise for my birthday last year!

Our FIRST online sale!

2010-03-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

Yes! On Friday we had our first sale through our Etsy store! This cute wallet is off to America with a complimentary purse as a THANKYOU! to our first online customer.

Music

2010-03-17T23:33:00.000-07:00

Half of FINCH (ie Phil) is in a band called the Bayonets. They have an EP release party on April 9th at the Rising Sun on K'rd.It is well worth checking it out and at only $10 door entry why wouldn't you? Pay an extra 5 bucks and receive your very own copy of their music.
You can get a sneak peak here http://www.myspace.com/bayonetsmusic
have a listen!

<3

Bones

2010-03-13T23:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a few paintings I've been working on recently. For quite some time I was obsessed with painting waves.
Now I'm loving skeletons!

Wine Bag

2010-03-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some funky wine bags I've made. They carry 2 bottles or several cans. Great to give as a gift with someones favourite inside, or just to use as your own. They are super comfy to wear. Your arm fits snugly between the bottles when worn on the shoulder.

stitched

2010-03-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

So whilst at art school I become absolutely obsessed with doilies and souvenir spoons, as some of you will already know:) I love them so much that I had one permanently etched into my skin. Love or stupidity? I don't know. Either way these finely crafted fabrics have managed to make an appearance in almost everything I do. This is what I'm working on right now. I'm not sure what it will be, but I'm loving it!

pre-loved

2010-03-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

One of our favourite things to do is breathe new life into old things. Here we've used some pre-loved denim to make super comfy bean pillows. EDWIN and LEVI have both had a long and adventurous life here in New Zealand, whilst CELLO has made her way here to us all the way from Los Angeles.

goldwater

2010-03-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Some beautiful friends of ours are the new co-owners of goldwater estate on Waiheke Island.
It is such an amazing and special place. They got married there in 2008, and it was one of the most intimate and stunning weddings I have ever been to.

A taste of whats for sale

2010-03-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

Here are a few things we have up for sale @ http://www.etsy.com/shop/gypsybandit

A new beginning.

2010-03-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

Welcome to FINCH!
Here we hope to share with you all our creative doings, things that inspire us, projects on the go, and other interesting bits to keep you up to date with where we're at.

Right now we are working on a range of bags and wallets using upcycled coffee sacks and vintage fabrics. We're loving working with this fabric.

Another thing we're loving right now is the band Mumford and Sons. Check them out here: http://www.myspace.com/mumfordandsons