Sweet William is one of my favorite shops because I adore their prints and handmade goodies and really like the illustrative characters, patterns and colorways. My current favorite is the print of the chairs on notebook paper shown below, it’s the best! I bought some things from them over a year ago as gifts for some friends in Germany and they loved their Sweet William pouches and prints! I kept a print for myself and cherish it so much. I really get the sense that all of these nice things were created in love and it makes the purchase feel good because the items come from a happy place inside of one’s soul — produced out of passion and a genuine love for handmade craft.
Sweet William is a very small company formed by sisters Shelley Gardner in New Zealand and Paula Mills in Australia and though they live thousands of miles apart they share a connection through Sweet William, “We share a passion for all things creative, we make, draw, sew and collect lots of lovely, sweet things and we are so excited to share them with you.”
Above there is another print that I like in addition to the hand drawn chairs, it’s with a girl and an elephant (I happen to love elephants) and it says, “When choosing friends one should be wise.” This is a very good reminder even when you are all grown up! We often tell children to choose their friends carefully but it’s equally important that this pattern continues into adulthood because friends can really make or break our spirit. I was watching a TED lecture recently (do you watch TED? I barely have time but try to when I can) about social networks and how we can impact one another negatively or positively and why it is important to consider who we call our friends for this reason. I don’t believe in dumping friends when they are going through hard times simply because it could be hard to deal with — but I do believe in distancing myself from those with whom I am not close to through years or blood if I sense that the friendship is weakening me in a way that begins to negatively impact my life. Online this can happen in the social networks we form and so it’s a good idea to watch how certain interactions impact your health and well-being. It’s tricky sometimes isn’t it? But this sweet print is a nice way to remind us of how vital good friends really are.
If you like what you see above (I know you do!), you can also follow Shelley and Paula on the Sweet William blog.
(images: sweet william)
May 13th, 2010 at 5:16 am
Hi Holly!
I was curious. Which TED lecture were you referring to? Thanks for sharing your voice and your findings.
xoxo
Lydia
May 13th, 2010 at 5:42 am
oh these sure are super lovely and delicate..wonderful!!!
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May 13th, 2010 at 6:00 am
i love sweet william!
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May 13th, 2010 at 6:04 am
I love them!!!!! They’ve participated in one of my STICK ME series!!!!
Here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/45743406/stick-me-number-5-collaborative-sticker
Congrats LOVELYSWEETWILLIAM!!!!!
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May 13th, 2010 at 7:45 am
Such lovely prints
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May 13th, 2010 at 8:37 am
Sweet William = instant love. Thank you for sharing them with us.
And also thank you for your toxic friendship insight. It can be a very tricky situation. The print is a beautiful reminder.
May 13th, 2010 at 8:40 am
lovely prints.. the layering and textures are great.
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May 13th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Wow, beautiful work…love it all! Thanks for sharing and I love the TED talks btw… I always learn something new and seriously it renewed my appreciation for lectures and talk presentations. Through my school experiences, I had to sit through a lot of boring and dull lectures and I always wondered if they could ever be good and useful! With TED it’s proof that talks can be great, not all lectures are boring…really depends on the topics and the speaker :)
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May 16th, 2010 at 5:25 am
Thanks Holly, we are so flattered. Regards Shelley and Paula xx
May 16th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Thank you Holly for your kind words – we are blushing pink….. Its so encouraging when someone can see what makes Sweet William tick. It gives us courage, confidence and hope. Thank you all those who left lovely comments.
May 17th, 2010 at 10:38 am
I love Sweet William. One of my favorites indeed.
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May 17th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
these are great! that elephant is amazing with that light print in the background!
May 19th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Wow these prints are just lovely and whimsical. I love the colors and style used and would love to have a few myself. THanks for sharing this wonderful etsy store…QB
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