The year that was - 2019

January

This space look a little familiar? Well, that's because we shot our Terra Collection at my place! Super convenient? Yep! As hectic as any other photoshoot? Of course! Especially considering we did a mini house reno the week before to get it camera ready, which saw the walls pulled down to replace with panelling, the lighting redone throughout, a fresh lick of paint, custom shelving and tiling (sorry again, tradies).

Worth it? HELL YEAH! What a massive 4 days for the crew (and my poor family who had to live through all the chaos) - they powered through extreme heat and an even more extreme run sheet. And I thought Jan was supposed to be chilled out?!

February
I kinda live for trade fairs... We exhibited with the superstars over at Greenhouse Interiors, renting a party house in Bondi and giving it a weekend-long makeover with our latest collection and art galore. It was all business during the day, but when the sun went down we screamed our lungs out to all the good ballads of the 70's, 80's and 90's.

Fair to say we were absolutely sleep-deprived by the time of our departure and subsequently zero help to Mr. Twiggargerie (also Dad), who had to drive the whole way home from Sydney to Melbourne solo. Well, it was either that or I fall asleep at the wheel, which we all know never ends well. Soz Dad.

March

Guys, our first feature cover, EVER! This is the stuff my sweet 25 year old dreams were made of... Back when the whole Sage x Clare brand first sprung to mind and I wrote the most innocent, naive business plans that I now look back on with a mixture of *oh bless* and embarrassment. But y'know what I did have on the top of the dreams list, even then? To make cover of a magazine. Not only did we do that but we did it in the big smoke of the U S of A... Not gonna lie, a little happy, celebratory tear was shed when this happened... before I pulled myself together and that self-flagellating voice in my head said, "ok, enough fanfare now, get a grip girl". Origin Magazine

AprilYes it was only April but yes I very much felt like I needed a holiday - the first 4 months of the year were nothing short of cahrazy. So holiday we did, taking off to the Daintree or FNQ (which still cracks me up by the way), steering clear of the crocs and jellyfish and the 100's of other species up there that seem to be hellbent on killing you. 

The Artist Beach House at Wonga Beach was home for ten days... Exactly the rustic, quirky beach shack of my dreams. Loved every minute and realised, possibly for the first time ever, that we really do live in the "Lucky Country".

MayIf you could team up with the funnest crew on the 'gram, who would you choose? We'd pick Jumbled ANYDAY! And thus our Jumbled + Sage x Clare Nudie Rudie Bath Mats were born, and these babies flew straight outta our doors as soon as we birthed them! I mean, what a fun bloody bath mat!? This was such a joy to team up with the cool guys up in Orange! Which gets me thinking... what's next!?

Design Files. SERIOUSLY, RIGHT!? Where do I even begin here...  This was probably one of my biggest dreams come true, to actually have the TDF team come to our humble home and to feature it on the blog (how and WHEN did we ever get that cool!?) I mean, we're actually not cool *at all* and had to do some serious faking cool while they were there. They either politely grinned at our pathetic attempts or sort of bought into the whole deception. We're going with the latter.

July

One place I'd love to get back to again very soon, Rae's on Wategos. We were very fortunate to be able to shoot our SS1920 Soleil Collection up there in Byron Bay, and my gosh - talk about FAB-U-LOUS! Julia Green and I stumbled upon this place in late 2018 and decided WE HAD to shoot there. No if's, but's or maybe's. THIS was the place. And oh boy did it not disappoint! Not to mention we also got to stay and use their super luxe bath tubs and Marvis toothpaste and supremely divine smelling bath salts... This place is paradise.

Our shoot went for 3 days. 3 days filled with chaos, a visit to the emergency department and copious amounts of tea and coffee were consumed. But was it worth it!? 100%. Read alllll about it here.

August

Thankyou, no seriously, THANKYOU/SAGE X CLARE became a thing, like a REAL big thing. I literally had to pinch myself when this opportunity of a lifetime came about, I mean WHAT.A.DREAM! My love for this ah-mazing brand became borderline stalkerish when Jude was born and I would hunt down their newborn nappies at every shopping centre until I found them.

Finding like minded brands to collaborate with doesn't come around often, so we jumped head first at the offer and look at what we have achieved so far! To say I'm absolutely stoked about this colour bomb of a collab is an understatement. And P.S there is more amazingness to come. (You can also purchase this very useful hand wash here)

SeptemberHOLY ROLLIE! We did shoes!? Who woulda' thunk it hey? Rollie by Sage x Clare is ANY fashion lovers dream, I mean, if I wasn't in the linen biz, then fashion it would be! So when the opportunity arose to collab with these absolute superstars, the answer was obviously a HELL YEAH! And oh boy did you guys really get on board! Wearable Sage x Clare? No brainer! Who knew that little ol' Sage x Clare would be rollin' with the big guys!? 'Cos I sure didn't think this was on the cards for us. I am super humbled that we were ever considered for such a big project and so incredibly excited when I look down at my feet and think... we did this!

October
We moved? Again!? YEP! We sure did. Hit a PB of 5 times in 6 years because clearly I do not plan ahead well. Or at all.

And guess what, the BIG move was literally less than a KM down the road... so we are still in good ol' Baysy but with a much bigger space (about bloody time!).
Renovations at HQ started in full force and we really started to 'tsjuz' the place up!

Okay, now you know me and my love for anything vintage is pretty g-darn obvious... so any excuse to buy a blush Featherston 12 piece pod modular set is deemed 'extremely necessary' because the team need somewhere to sit, right!? With the pinkest of colour palettes (which I am already planning my next colour change) we really made this space our own, and we FINALLY have office space that's not a tiny square of a warehouse packing table. Everything's ampin' up over here (including the bills, which aren't so fab)

November
Our Soleil stock FINALLY arrived, which much anticipation and we were not disappointed! Giving us all those summer vibes when we REALLY needed them down here in Melbs, extended winter - not so fun! We also launched our Soleil Mid Season collection, which was shot at our very own Peachy's house (you can check the 'Behind the Scenes' journal post out here for all-of-the photos and fun times).

December

ALAS! Our NEW limited edition Xmas Nudie Rudie Bath Mat (yes, a mouthful and a half) was born! HOORAY! Now not to sound biased or anything, but this is probably my fave bath mat thus far. And perhaps yours too, because our lead up to Christmas looked a lot like me enlisting every. single. man. and. his. dog. to help pack, pack, pack. Oh yes, no winding down for us. 

I keep reminding the team that they're like little Christmas elves spreading the Christmas cheer. They all look back at me with a mixture of enthusiasm and disdain. My suggestion of Christmas carols pushed them all too far.

In saying that, it's probably my cue to get back to packing orders in this 43 degree warehouse with the rest of the team. Because it probably looks like I'm just sitting over here twiddling my thumbs...

Well, It's been REAL 2019. Really real. 

Wishing you all a fabulous holiday and we'll be back very soon...

With love
xx