Creatures of the Deep

Date: 21/8/10 - 9/9/10

Where: Shop 4, 58-60 Carlton Crescent, Summer Hill NSW 2130

Benconservato is the alias of Emma Kidd an artist / illustrator.
She is drawn to the sea, the strange creatures that live
(or could live there), the mystery and depth of it.

Featured Artists And Designers

This is a selection of the ever growing list of talented Artists And Designers who feature their work within Sweets Workshop. Be sure to check out our Featured Artists And Designers Page for more information about them.

Benconservato Exhibition 21/8/10

Date: 21/8/10 - 9/9/10

Where: Shop 4, 58-60 Carlton Crescent, Summer Hill NSW 2130

Gelato? Yum!!

We had the pleasure of welcoming Clay Australia to our ever growing list of featured Artists and Designers over the weekend. Our current window display showcases their beautiful Gelato range. The framed prints of which compliment Clay Australia's work are by the talented illustrator Anais Taylor.

Clay Australia is a Newcastle based studio, with works designed by ceramicist, Kim Long. All pieces are hand made and created with beauty and simplicity found in nature in mind. Clay Australia creates unique pieces that compliment everyday living.

We have in stock selections of their Gelato range which includes mugs, tumblers, espresso cups, sugar bowls, bowls, fruit bowls, vases and spoons.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

A few months ago now we sat down at the Ashfield & District Historical Society rooms to do a bit of research into the history of our shop and the Penalt building. We didn't come up with much there but left with the idea that some of the shops in our building were once part of a chemist and/or doctors surgery.

This is a great Article about the building from the Electricity Bulletin, published by The Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation Limited - Suppliers of electric service in the municipalities of Ashfield, Balmain, Leichardt, Newtown and Petersham dated January-March 1940, which is framed and hung in the foyer of the building.The article details the opening of the "Modern all electric building, erected opposite the Railway Station at Summer Hill.... (with) the ground floor possessing seven attractive shops constructed with a very fine proportion of modern design and convenience."

The building was erected by Jones Bros and was officially opened on November 28th 1939, by the Hon. Athol Richardson, M.L.A. who stated that "As State Parliamentary Representative he was particularly pleased to see such a fine building erected in such a locality. Because it was situated in the main shopping centre and in such close proximity to the Railway Station, he felt that the new block would be greatly appreciated by local residents. Experience had shown, Mr Richardson said, that shopping centres, as apart from isolated shops, met with the approval of shoppers. The tendency was to increase the size of a shopping centre in order that the convenience of residence might be met by having a great variety of shops concentrated in a small area."..... guess not a lot has changed then.....

My Goodness My Gocco

Date: 20/7/10 - 30/7/10

Where: Shop 4, 58-60 Carlton Crescent, Summer Hill NSW 2130

What is My Goodness My Gocco? A small exhibition dedicated to the Print Gocco Machine, featuring the artwork of John D-C, Emma Jane Illustration, Benconservato & Ghostpatrol.

For those of you that don't know Gocco (プリントゴッコ Purinto Gokko, Print Gocco) is a self-contained compact color printing system invented in 1977 by Noboru Hayama.

Gocco became immensely popular in Japan and it is estimated that one-third of Japanese households own a Print Gocco system. The name Print Gocco is derived from the Japanese word gokko (ごっこ), loosely translated as make-believe play.

Come In We're Open!

These are some photos from our Grand Opening last weekend. We had such a fun time peeling the butchers paper off the windows and opening the door of our dream project to the world for the first time.

A very big thank you to everyone who helped out along the way and to all our friends, family and our talented feature artists and designer who attended and made it such a bright, happy and special weekend for us both. Also a big thank you to Anney B. for bringing her camera along and taking some photos.

-John & Emma

Our Regular Trading Hours Are:

Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 10am – 5.30pm
Thursday: 10am – 6.30pm
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Closed: Sunday & Monday

Sneak A Peek

These are some images of our first window display. We put it together to visually reveal what we are all about and also to be a showcase of the wonderful work of our very talented feature artists and designer.

Just a reminder that our shop will have its Grand Opening this weekend we will be open Saturday the 17th of July 10am-5:30pm and also for this week only on Sunday the 18th of July 11am-2pm come in and check it out and say hello!

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String....

We spent this weekend unpacking our beautiful stock ready for the Sweets Workshop Grand Opening this coming weekend. We cant wait! The store will be open Saturday the 17th of July 10am-5:30pm and also for this week only on Sunday the 18th of July 11am-2pm.

Sweets Workshop Window Signage

This is the window signage we have created for the Sweets Workshop shop front.

In designing the signage we had (among many other considerations) to take into account that our building is a local council heritage item and that the signage should harmoniously reflect the general aesthetic of the building.


With this in mind we selected the typeface Neutraface in the design of the window and awning signage for our shop. We believe this display typeface to be a classic example of the graceful, stylized and geometric shapes used in the typefaces of the latter Art Deco period, which in turn tastefully and historically complements the architecture of the Penault Building in Summer Hill.

Space Launch Party!

Thanks everyone for coming along to our Space Launch party and making it a fantastic evening, we had such a blast. See you when we open for business in a few weeks.

Space Launch

Date: 5/6/10

Where: Shop 4, 58-60 Carlton Crescent, Summer Hill 2130

Time: 6-7pm (Drinks afterwards TBA)

After many months of hard work on our shop, its launch night is in sight.

As designers, our dream is quite simple: to have a space that allows us the freedom to be creative and support fellow independent artists and designers.

Our new gallery and shop will offer something original, sweet and within reach - every time you visit.

This night is about launching the space, and unveiling our name, website and social media presence. If you can’t be with us to celebrate, we’ll send you our website after the launch so you can see what we are about.

Hope you can join us.
Emma and John

Final Countdown!

Just a few photos of Sweets Workshop, after adding the final touches to the fit out and display just before the Space Launch.

Finished Desk

This is our our great desk all finished after those "Few Repairs" mentioned earlier. As you can see it now has a walnut top and lemon interior.

Is It A Door?.... Is It A Table?....

With a little bit of love, a little bit of rose coloured glass and a whole lot of sanding we were able to transform this old door into a decorative display table for Sweets Workshop.

It's In The Bag

This is an image of a little gift bag we put together to give to our friends and family at the Space Launch exhibition opening.

It contains all kinds of Sweets Workshop marketing propaganda as well as a small canvas to take home and decorate.

Stamps

Our stamps got delivered this morning, nice and early at 8:00am.... sigh

Shop Plant

This is our new shop plant which we potted this afternoon. It is a Spathiphyllum, Peace Lilly which we have taken to calling Madge.

Greetings From Sunny Sweets Workshop!

This is the artwork for our store postcard we have designed for Sweets Workshop. Emma created the beautiful image of the exterior of our shop with a pencil, tissue paper and a touch of gingham. We love it so much we have used it on our brand new About Us Page.

Business Cards

We set ourselves a fun little project: To create 4 different typographic and illustrative treatments of our logo and apply them to the design of our business cards.

#1 Basic Black
#2 Water Colour White#3 Red Weave#4 Stamped Box Board