Thursday, March 11, 2010

Festoon is taking a break

For a little while now we have been rethinking the Festoon brand and store, and have some new and exciting ideas and visions for the future. We had always planned to do more than just bunting (hence the 'and more' in our store tagline)... and now, with a house move on the horizon and a whole lot of upheaval ahead, it seems like a good time to temporarily close the store, to focus on other things, and clear the decks for a relaunch later in the year.
We've loved 'chatting' to you here and thank you all for your welcome comments along the way - it's always nice to know someone out there is listening!

Look forward to introducing our bigger, brighter, more fabulous products to you later in the year.... but for now, cheerio and good luck in all of your own wonderful endeavours!

Jenny x x x

"Hmm.... I definitely think Festoon Bunting needs to be unraveled!"

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Cupcakes and stars

Festoon has been so busy this past couple of weeks that this poor blog has been sadly neglected... and we're still not out of the woods yet!!! While time for blogging is short, I didn't want to go for much longer without posting something, so here's a little pic of one of our recent customised creations made for a little cupcake fan - her Mum ordered this to go with her hot pink bedroom. I hope she likes it!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Festoon in the media

We were soooooo excited and proud to see a double-page article on Festoon in the Herald Sun Home Magazine last weekend - whoop whoop!! For those of you who didn't see it, here is a piccie - of course, it's too small for you to read ... I haven't quite worked out how to get it any bigger (help anyone??)... but at least you can see all the gorgeous photos they took!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Bunting for weddings

One of Tom's lovely preschool teachers, Jess, got married recently in a gorgeous setting down by the waterside, and used simple white fabric bunting to mark out the perimeters of her ceremony. She hired large parasols to attach the bunting to, and it really looked so effective.

Bunting is such an cheap yet beautiful way to create that special wedding ambience and we can do simple white styles such as this - or can come up with something individual to match your personal wedding colours or theme.

Congratulations to the very happy couple!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Mini Bunting from vintage seed labels

I saw this mini bunting today on the lovely Tea for Joy blog (UK) - isn't it sweet!?

It shows a Cork pen pot from Papermash (£9.95), styled with mini bunting made from vintage seed labels from Burgundy Brocante (from £6.) So simple, yet so lovely - and recycling at its best!

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Festoon - a definition

I was perusing the internet this evening when I happened to fall upon the Martha Stewart Living Radio blog. One of her pre-Christmas posts talked about the definition of the word 'Festoon', and I thought I'd quote a little of what she said here as it really defines why we chose this name for our company in the first place...
"Festoon is most commonly used as a verb meaning “to decorate” in a general sense. But a festoon is technically a specific kind of decoration. You’ve seen those long, chainlike decorations that are suspended from the ceiling, high on the wall, or across a corner. Some blaze a message across them, such as Happy Holiday. They’re all called festoons. It’s kind of like bunting meets a banner.

A festoon can also be an architectural detail, like a chain ornament carved into a wall, as if imitating the other festoon. This festoon is very similar to swag. The primary difference is that swag is always hung with fabric. The Romans hung plenty of swags and festoons in the public square. During the Renaissance, they made a comeback. We’ve unfurled them on any special occasion ever since. Perhaps the real difference between swag and festoon is that festoon began as a festival tradition. Yes, there’s a reason why festival and festoon sound so similar. Both words come from the Latin festa, which was the word for holidays. And what did they do on holidays in ancient times? The one thing that remains that same is a celebratory feast. Yes, feast is also related to festoon, which is fitting, because both are integral parts about being festive..."
I love the word Festoon - knowing that our company name derives from the words 'festival' and 'feast' brings warmth to my soul!!! Let's hope people continue to unfurl swags and festoons on special occasions for many years to come...

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Let's ring in the bells for the New Year!

Festoon has had a long, long Christmas and Summer holiday but is now back in full force for 2010, refreshed and raring to go, with lots of new designs and ideas in the pipeline. We sold so many of our Christmas buntings with their little bells, and had such a lot of positive feedback, that we're going to offer bells on buntings as an add-on option on our shopping cart in the future.
The bells would particularly make a lovely addition to our wedding bunting - can't you just imagine hanging the bunting in an outdoor setting, a gentle breeze making the bunting waft and the little bells jingle?