You’ve Got Mail
- Words by Peppermint
Nicole Golland, former chef and mother of three, found she was sending envelope after envelope to school filled with notes and money and wanted a more sustainable solution. So what’s an enterprising mum to do? Start her own business of course, making reusable envelopes from organic cotton produced through a fair trade organisation in India. After sending her children to school with the new product, the requests for more starting flooding in, and Lopees Envelopes took off.
The business has grown steadily, gathering many awards along the way, including winning the Australian Business Awards 2009 Best Eco–Friendly Product, Australian Business Awards 2010 Best Environmental Sustainability and being placed as a finalist in the Keep Australia Beautiful Awards. Nicole loves that her products are teaching children that “small changes in our life can make a positive change to the environment.” Over the past three years, the company has developed ten different sizes and styles of envelopes which are now used in many schools and also as an internal mail system in businesses. Library book bags, CD bags and custom-made reusable shopping bags have also been added to the Lopees range. Stationery and sustainability? We like.
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NEW PATTERN ALERT 🎉
She’s giving comfort, she’s giving style, she’s giving palate-cleansing sewing. There’s nothing quite like an easy breezy dress that’s not only a dream to wear but a delight to sew, and the NEW Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress delivers!
Cute, classic and cool with a touch of retro: the Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with sleek lines and elegant curves. Bust darts are in play for shaping and spacious pockets to hold all your treasures. Top-stitching detail around the neck and armholes invites creative contrast threads and the keyhole loop closure at the back neck begs for a feature button (or a tie closure!).
Myrtle cuts above the knee with options to customise the length. Don’t think she’s reserved for hot weather either: try a heavier-weight fabric to turn your Myrtle into a pinafore-style garment for layering.
For our fabrics we chose two from @Karmme_Apparel – the bold Rottnest Stripes in a lightweight, soft-drape cotton, and the quality linen in the handpainted Mexico Collection. Karmme also stocks darling tassels so we popped a hot pink one on as a closure!
The love child of Imby Langenbach, Karmme Apparel (fittingly pronounced ‘calm’), is a haven of boho apparel sewing patterns alongside complementary fabrics steeped in tradition with modern iterations from Jaipur, India. Hand block-printed and digitally printed soft cottons produced by Indian artisans showcase rich colours and designs from Imby’s travels, perfect for showing off me-made masterpieces.
Our dresses were superbly stitched by our sewing manager @Laura_The_Maker, and modelled magnificently by Shannon @Pins_And_Tonic and Serah @SerahSews. And that perfect pink wall was courtesy of the good folk at @ShareTheDignityAustralia, an organisation that aims to bring dignity to women, girls and those who menstruate who are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and period poverty.
Get making the Myrtle – the only question is, can you stop at just one?
Link in bio 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Sewist: @Laura_The_Maker
Patternmaker: @GarmentaApparel
Models: @SerahSews and @Pins_And_Tonic
Fabric: @Karmme_Apparel
#PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress #PeppermintPatterns
Connection 🫶🏻
Such great ideas from @GrowWithColby:
“A common theme I noticed in 2025:
Everyone is craving more connection.
Use these friend nights to make it happen in 2026.
Send this to the people you want to do these with.”
#Connection #Friends #Community
No bull - these pants are the cat`s (or cow`s) pyjamas...
Jenny from @RhubarbSundays:
And they are done! My @PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintFernPleatedPants made using a gorgeous fabric from @IndyBindyFabrics! I absolutely love this fabric! It’s soft and drapes beautifully. And the best thing about it is that, from a distance, it looks like an abstract print and then you look closer and theres a curious bull looking right at you. 🤣🤣 🐄 🐮
Really happy with the end product. They are very comfy! I didn’t make many changes to the pattern. Just a touch more room in the rise and a little bit off the waist. I’ll post some closeups of the details tomorrow when I actually take them off. 🤣 "
Grab the pattern from the link in bio!
#PeppermintPatterns #IMakeMyOwnClothes #ClothesThatFeelLikePyjamas #SewersGonnaSew
Missed issue 64 at the newsagent?
Grab a digital copy from our website and read it whenever you like. 📱💻️
Link in bio! 💜
#PeppermintMagazine #YouBelongHere
🌤 Festival forecast: high creativity, with a strong chance of radical hope on the horizon.
If you’ve been craving a little colour in your calendar, consider this your sign. This May, the Sunshine Coast’s much-loved Horizon Festival is celebrating ten years of art, imagination and joyful gathering, returning from 1–10 May on Kabi Kabi and Jinibara Country.
For ten glorious days, beaches, streets, galleries and unexpected corners of the coast become places to wander, wonder and play. There’s music drifting on the sea breeze, performances that make you feel things, art you can step inside, and plenty of moments where you’re invited to join in rather than just watch. With 35+ events across the region (many of them free), expect live music, First Nations gatherings, immersive dance, family-friendly fun, writers’ talks, artist markets and more. At its heart, @HorizonArtFest is a celebration of people, place and shared imagination, honouring the first artists and storytellers, while making space for new voices and bold ideas.
Then there’s ‘Radical Hope Machine 2’: an immersive exhibition at Caloundra’s new Library+ that will fuse textiles, technology and storytelling. Featuring textile artist @Shaye_Hardisty, award-winning author Peter Carnavas and artist Sarah Winter, this series of events explores what hope looks, feels and sounds like to the Sunshine Coast community in response to the question: ‘how to solve the world’s wicked problems?’ We spoke with Shaye about tech vs textiles, magical garments and tiny joys.
Read more at the link in bio!
Photos: @HorizonArtFest
#HorizonFestival SunshineCoastEvents
Style, sass and simplicity: Miss Myrtle is almost here! 💕
Lay your peepers on the new Peppermint Myrtle Shift Dress – this sensational sewing pattern is going to be winging its way to subscribers inboxes this Sunday 1st March at 11am, so if you`re not a subscriber already, you know what to do!
We created this pattern with the support of @Karmme_Apparel – and how gorgeous are those fabrics! The love child of Imby Langenbach, Karmme Apparel (fittingly pronounced ‘calm’), is a haven of boho apparel sewing patterns alongside fabrics steeped in traditions with modern iterations from Jaipur, India.
Modelled magnificently by Shannon @Pins_And_Tonic and Serah @SerahSews, the Myrtle Shift Dress is a beginner-friendly make with sleek lines and elegant curves. You won’t be able to stop at just one!
Subscribers – keep an eye on your inbox on Sunday for your exclusive download code. Everyone else - subscribe now before Sunday so you don`t miss out!
Launch date: 5th March 💕
Link in bio 💕
Pink wall courtesy of the good folk at @ShareTheDignityAustralia, an organisation that aims to bring dignity to women, girls and those who menstruate who are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence and period poverty. 💕
Sewing and instructions: @Laura_The_Maker
Photos: @KelleySheenan
#PeppermintMagazine #PeppermintPatterns #PeppermintMyrtleShiftDress
