Summer Issue 62
Our new Peppermint Pattern is here! Meet the Pasadena Rara Skirt • Mess and magic with our cover artist Jess Bird • Lottie Dalziel shares her Banish journey • Holly Neilson from Paper Hands • Yarrenyty Arltere Artists • A posy pocket patch DIY • Colourful yarns with Hive & Gobbler • Garden goodness with Connie Cao • Homewares with heart by Kip&Co • Cool kids on the crochet scene • The push and pull of polyester
Buy nowA print magazine about style, sustainability and substance
We The Makers Prize Celebrates Innovation in Sustainable Fashion
There’s a song of change in the air in Geelong, Australia’s first and only UNESCO Creative City of Design and...
Read more
Food For Thought: How Feast For Freedom Creates Hope And Connection
Sharing a meal is a way to strengthen connections, forge new friendships, and perhaps even see the world through different...
Read more
Wearable Art: Petra Börner x Marimekko is a Collaboration in Joy
If you love bold prints, joyful colours, and the kind of design that makes everyday life a little more artful,...
Read more
Big Bowl Energy: Robert Gordon and Cardigang Is a Match Made in Maker Heaven
There’s something soothing about the rhythm and flow of knitting – the ASMR click of needles, soft pull of yarn,...
Read more
Dirty Secrets: Meet The Aussie Brand Helping to Shift Stubborn Stains, Sustainably
Bloodstains and oil smears and socks (gross and sweaty)… What’s that on your sweater – last night’s spaghetti? Just a...
Read more
Power Up: This Company Is Here to Help You Switch Energy Providers
Want to change power companies, but even the thought of swapping drains your battery? The thing is, switching to a...
Read more
join our mailing list
Brighten up your inbox with our not-too-frequent emails featuring Peppermint-related news, events, competitions and more!
JOMO: Get Ready For A Big Night In!
Does the state of life, the universe, and everything make you want to turn into an ostrich? Forget FOMO and...
Read more
Creative Escape: Artist Debra Meier’s Guide To The Central Coast
Have you ever watched the sun rise over a secluded beach, the sky unfurling in soft pinks and golds, while...
Read more
Studio Sounds: Five Creatives Share How Music Boosts Their Work
If we had a CD for every study done on the powerful effects of music on creativity, we’d have a...
Read more
Belle Gibson: A Spoonful of Vinegar
Accountability can be uncomfortable. But I can tell you what feels worse – living with an apology you’ve held onto...
Read more
Sew, Share, and Win: Join The Spotlight Sew Challenge Today!
Cotton and linen and muslin, oh my! As many Australian sewists will attest, Spotlight is a veritable playground of fabrics...
Read more
It’s a Ruff Story: Turn Up The Romance With The Valentine Ruffle Top!
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of an event invitation (like, say, a date) must...
Read moreWe all look for the ‘great’ people to rise, when it’s often just everyday individuals that have the courage to stand up and do something.
LOTTIE DALZIEL, ISSUE 62
hang out with us on instagram
Calling all sustainable designers! 📣
There’s a song of change in the air in Geelong, Australia’s first and only UNESCO Creative City of Design and once known as the ‘wool centre of the world’. A new generation of designers is working to combat fast fashion’s culture of overproduction and disposability, proving that the future of our favourite threads doesn’t have to be wasteful; but innovative, ethical, and sustainable instead… And the @NationalWoolMuseum’s We The Makers Sustainable Fashion Prize is leading the charge.
This biennial award, now open for entries, is Australia’s only dedicated prize for emerging designers pushing the boundaries of sustainability. The competition invites designers from around the world to submit a single, original ensemble that reflects their design aesthetic, material innovation, circular design principles, and groundbreaking business models. Winners will take home the National Wool Museum Designer of the Year Award ($10,000) or the UNESCO City of Design People’s Choice Award ($2,000). In 2023, Canwen Zhao’s striking work, ‘35 Life’, won the Acquisitive Prize and became a permanent part of the Museum’s collection.
We The Makers gives emerging designers a platform to challenge industry norms and redefine how fashion is made – and consumed. Head to our website to read more and find out how to enter! (Link in bio)
📸 @StayVain_Official
#WeTheMakersAU #NationalWoolMuseumGeelong #UNESCOCityOfDesign @CityOfGreaterGeelong #SustainableFashionPrize #SustainableFashion
Sharing a meal is a way to strengthen connections, forge new friendships, and perhaps even see the world through different eyes… No wonder everyone always ends up in the kitchen at parties! It’s the heart of the home, no matter your background. And in a world that feels so devastatingly off-kilter, perhaps the kitchen is where we should start rebuilding hope, reaching out and coming together over food.
Feast For Freedom invites you to do exactly that. Host your own Feast this April, and you’ll help raise funds for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre @ASRC1, providing food, shelter and health services to over 7,000 people seeking asylum in Australia each year. Once you register, you’ll receive a host kit filled with recipes gifted by refugees – helping you plan your Feast, experiment with delicious new flavours and make a real difference. Registrations close 31 March so jump on it now, and then you`ll have all of April to host your gathering.
We had a chat with ASRC founder and CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis over on our website to find out more about @Feast_For_Freedom – and we also have a delicious Aloo Gobi recipe from Hero Chef Jane!
👉🏼 Link in bio
#FeastForFreedom #ASRC #AsylumSeekerResourceCentre #RefugeeRights #SeekingAsylumIsAHumanRight #Refugees #HumanRights #AsylumSeekers
We like old clothes too! 🙌🏼
From @LagunaVintage:
“Cricket, The Magazine for Children, January 1975, this illustration by Marylin Hafner”👖
#Preloved #VintageFashion #SecondHand
It’s Slow Down Sunday (we’ve just decided this).
From @LaunShae ✨
“so happy to get my hands on the yummy Peppermint Magazine and flip through all the beautiful pages full of colour, style and good sense 👗✨ i was surprised to see there was a little blurb written about me, it makes me sound like such a fun person! 😂🌈
thank you so much Peppermint for including me in your awesome magazine! it’s some crazy honour to be inserted on the same page as @madebylondon, @TatayKatelyn, @EllaEmhoffLikesToKnit and @KJCardigan 😱💖😱🌈
🌷 THANK YOUUU 🌷
*end of acceptance speech rant”✨
Grab the print or digital version of this issue from our website!
#PeppermintMagazine #CrochetersOfInstagram #Crochet #MakeItYourself #HandMade
Another incredible make from Lilli - wow for sure! 😍
From @FrocksAndFrouFrou:
“Look, I am really proud of myself for this dress. Like, invite-me-somewhere-fancy-I-want-to-wear-this-dress proud of myself for this dress. It’s probably the most complicated pattern I’ve sewn, and it’s definitely the project with the biggest “wow!” factor.
A couple of months ago I spotted this “tencel linen” fabric on Etsy and fell pretty hard for the delicate print of koi goldfish and mimosa wattle.
When the fabric arrived I unwrapped it in excitement only to discover that it wasn’t like any tencel linen I’d encountered before. It had a distinct opalescent shine, an almost twill-like directional weave, and it was SHEER. Almost chiffon levels of sheer. Definitely too sheer for the project I’d planned for it, but PERFECT for a floaty, ruffled party dress.
For the skirt I used the wonderful #PeppermintPasadenaRaraSkirt from @PeppermintMagazine, and the bodice is the #cnshay from @ChalkAndNotch with a slightly raised neckline. The lining on the bodice takes care of the sheerness of the fabric, and used I the same @WeAreTheFabricStore cotton poplin on the underskirt. I love seeing the shifting layers of fabric through the uppermost tiers, and the plain base skirt is entirely hidden.
The project was not without its challenges: I had to sew the bodice twice because a big patch of the fabric dissolved under a too-hot iron when I went to press it. The fabric was shifty and difficult to hem, the waistband a late addition, and the first time I tried to try the dress on the zip popped open. I nearly threw in the towel at that point (I was only one-tier in) but I managed to get the foot back on its grooves.
With its fitted princess line bodice, deeply scooped back, nipped in waist and fluffy flared skirt it’s basically the party dress of my dreams. And I made it. Myself. From scratch. Right down to the best invisible zip I’ve ever managed.
Now, who wants to invite me to a party so I can wear it out?
#PeppermintPatterns #40PlusStyle #PlusStyle #SustainableFashion #CurvyAU #FashionOver40 #PlusStyle #CurvySewing #Sewcialists #CurvySewingCollective #MidFatSewing #MeMadeWardrobe
Well. That was a time wasn`t it? We`re back, but only just. We all made it through mostly ok – albeit with power, phone and internet outages, minor flood damage and various other small bits and pieces. Our heart goes out to those who didn`t fare so well – we know personally and deeply the trauma that comes from losing everything in a flood.
We all need to go easy on ourselves right now – the aftermath can take a while to subside, whether you sustained damage or not. The emotional toll from spending four or five days on extreme disaster alert can linger for a long time. As cortisol drops, there are many emotions and physical feelings that can take its place. Take it slow. If you`re in the position to help others, it can be the small things that matter. Try to listen to what they need, but also know that during these situations there are SO MANY DECISIONS to make. The overwhelm is real. Try to limit adding more questions when often your recipient won`t have the answers. If "what can I do" elicits a blank shrug, drop around some baking or lunches, or even toilet paper. And remember that empathy doesn`t begin with `at least`.
We`ll be a bit slow as we get back into the swing of things – once we remember what we do again. If you`ve emailed, we will get to you as soon as we can. And thank you for all your lovely messages. 🫶🏼
These words are from @Hummingly.Co and their Cards For Calamity set – they`re the perfect way to provide thoughtful support for communities, colleagues and loved ones impacted by disaster. (link in bio)
#CycloneAlfred
Hello, this is us calling from the past!
We scheduled this before the cyclone hit, in the likely chance that we may have lost power and internet. So if you`re seeing this, it means future us haven`t been able to get online at all. We probably won`t be able to answer emails for a few days or send any orders.
We`re hoping that future us are currently safe, holed up and eating all the snacks we stockpiled. We hope you are all safe too. Ya gotta have hope, right?
We`ve linked to an article in our bio that @DrRebeccaRay wrote for us in 2022 after the last QLD/NSW floods – `Navigating Personal Trauma in an Increasingly Traumatised World`. It`s to help you navigate forward with some tips for responding to trauma, whether it be yours, experienced by someone you care about or occurring for the world at large.
Many in our community will be needing help - please comment below of any organisations that others can support.
We`ll be back to the future soon - sending all our love. 🫶🏼
Anxiety sewing anyone? 🙋🏻♀️
From @QuietMindSewing:
“Sewing has come back into my life during such an anxiety heavy season. So much is happening so quickly. Every time I think things have totally gone off the rails they seem to plummet even further into complete obliteration. My mind cannot process every new and insane headline. Using my hands, problem solving and my creativity has been vital in keeping my mental health in check. Thankful for my skills and hoping to keep sewing and growing.
Pattern based off @PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintPeplumTop that I previously made, and love.”
#PeppermintPatterns #CycloneDistraction
The waiting is so hard, right?
Cyclone Alfred is now predicted to make landfall late on Friday. Most of us here at Peppermint live smack bang in the expected pathway - so anxiety levels are at an all-time high (especially after losing everything in the 2022 floods ☹️). We might be quiet for a while, depending on what we’re dealing with.
For updates, the ABC has a great live blog that gets updated continually (they also have an app). We’ll put the link in our bio.
Thinking of everyone out there in the zone, prepping, waiting… and to those who aren’t, be ready to help others! The last floods are still so fresh and raw for so many, and, well, add a cyclone to that…
Please stay safe friends - sending every scrap of love and hope and strength to you all. 🫶🏻
Posted from @abcnews_au
#CycloneAlfred
Empathy is dangerous. Let’s be dangerous. ❤️
Words and art from @BradMontague:
“It’s a confusing time to be a person.
I know this because I am a person. I have a heartbeat and emotions, and on my best days, I can successfully identify traffic lights in a CAPTCHA.
Things are changing rapidly. News moves quicker than my brain can process. But there’s one big thing changing and I cannot get over it:
Empathy. The basic human ability to understand that other people exist and have feelings.
The radical notion that other humans are not just background characters in your story but have their own hopes, fears, and interior lives.
The tiny miraculous bridge between one human heart and another that allows us to comfort a crying child, celebrate a friend’s joy, or, at the very least, not shove people out of the way in the grocery store.
Apparently, empathy is dangerous now. I’ve seen many posts and comments and articles. From people I know and love. It’s disheartening, discouraging and deeply troubling.
I have been writing about it and wanted to share. Love you all. As we refresh our little doom rectangles and get updates on the world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. It’s easy to get confused. But please:
Don’t get so confused by this confusing world that you convince yourself empathy is the problem.
If empathy is dangerous, let’s be dangerous.”
#Empathy
The Spotlight Sew Challenge! 🪡
Have you joined the fun? We`ve just taken a peep at the hashtag #SpotlightSewChallenge and there SO MANY fabulous entries! 😍
There`s only one week left to take part – to enter just whip something up using Spotlight fabric and post on Instagram, tagging @SpotlightStores and #SpotlightSewChallenge. The top five entries will be picked by Spotlight for the most creative designs, and then the public will vote on the winner. And what can you win, my friend? It’s a doozy! The winner will nab both an Elna HD1000 Heavy Duty Sewing Machine (valued at $575) and one Semco Basic Sewing Trolley Bag (valued at $50). How good is that?!
Head over to @SpotlightStores for more info and then get stitching folks – we can’t wait to see what you make! 🪡
T&Cs: AUS and NZ 18+ only. Commences 12/2/25 12.01am AEDT | 2.01am NZDT. Ends 11/03/25 9.59pm AEDT / 11.59pm NZDT. For full T&Cs, see @SpotlightStores for details. Creations for submission need to be made during the competition dates.
#SpotlightSewChallenge #Spotlight #SpotlightStores #PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintPartner #SewingChallenge #SewingCompetition #MeMade #SewistsOfInstagram
✨ Is your brand making a difference? ✨
The @CleanAndConscious_Awards are both a trusted resource for consumers seeking ethical, natural and sustainable products, and a glowing recognition of brands striving to operate with transparency and authenticity. 🌿💛
With entries closing on Wednesday 12 March, now is the time to celebrate your beautiful product and everything it stands for.
Head to the link in our bio to enter now!
Here`s just a few of the mindful brands that we featured in Issue 62 – it warms our heart to see so many wonderful individuals, brands and companies doing good in the world. 🌏✨
#CleanAndConsciousAwards
#CleanAndConscious #SustainableLiving #ConsciousBusiness #EcoFriendly #EthicalBeauty #SustainableBrands #GreenBeauty #SlowLiving #MindfulLiving #EcoBrands #BetterChoices #SustainableLuxury #CrueltyFree #OrganicBeauty #LowWaste #PlanetPositive #AwardWinning #CleanBeauty #SustainableInnovation
