Blog

_

25th Mar, 2024

FREE Easter Ibis Puppet Workshop

The response to our craft activities at the Summer Hill Social was phenomenal! So much so, we are running a FREE Ibis Puppet Workshop on Easter Saturday 30th March. 

Join us from 11am - 3pm and we'll help you create your dream rainbow Ibis. We will have a little designated crafting space for you to create your masterpiece. No need to book, walk-ins welcome. You can walk your Ibis home, or add it to the colony displayed in the window.

All ages welcome.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to all of the community who came by to participate at the Creative Village for the Summer Hill Social.

We  were so thrilled to see so many kids big and small proudly walking their Ibis Puppets Home, or contribute them to the tent to create a colony of Ibis.

We have School Holiday Workshops coming up
Check them out here

____________________________________________

4th Mar, 2024

The Creative Village is back
for the Summer Hill Social

Come together to celebrate Summer Hill’s community culture with a day of delicious food, accompanied by grooving tunes and  FREE activities for kids. 

Over the years, we (John & Emma) have had the amazing opportunity to work with Inner West Council to put together the Creative Village. This year we'll be hosting a FREE craft workshop for kids big and small. We’ll take you through creating your own fabulous Ibis puppet, made with plastic free recyclable materials. We will also have a chill out colouring in activity celebrating our terrific Summer Hill Village. 

We are looking forward to seeing our wonderful Summer Hill in the spot light!

SUMMER HILL SOCIAL
Sunday 10 March 2024
11am - 5pm
Smith & Lackey Streets

Find out more about the event here

____________________________________________

24th Dec, 2020

Merry Christmas, see you in 2021!

While it's been a challenging year for us all, we hope that you all have a safe and happy Christmas and a better New Year! We would like to thank all of our clients and customers for your ongoing support throughout the year and we are looking forward to seeing and working with you all in 2021. 

Take care and Merry Christmas 

From Em and John (Sweets Workshop).

____________________________________________

20th May, 2020

Online Shop Open with FREE Inner West Delivery

While the physical shop doors are closed, we spent a big part of 2019 updating our website and online shop and we are still taking online orders. We have also implemented a 'FREE Inner West delivery service' to replace our usual 'pick up in store' option. We are also working to include more locally produced pieces from the shop to our online store. Stay tuned to social media for updates.

____________________________________________

10th May, 2020

Art Interview with John D-C

Recently our very own John D-C sat down to have an in-depth interview with art blog The Aither. The interview really digs deep into the archives and follows John’s artistic endeavours through the years. It’s a great read, especially if you fancy a break from mindlessly scrolling the pandemic news. The Aither is a Sydney based art blog that aims to illuminate international art and culture underground - from toys to religion, art, graffiti, music, philosophy writing and more.
https://theaither.com/2020/03/23/art-talk-john-debono-cullen-aka-john-d-c/

____________________________________________

13th May, 2020

Our Graphic Design & Illustration Services
are available during lockdown

A large part of what we do at Sweets Workshop is our freelance Graphic Design and Illustration services, which we are continuing to work on. We are still available to provide graphic design services as well as custom illustration to creatively compliment any brief. Send us through an email if you have any questions or you would like us to provide a quote. We thought we’d take the time to detail a few of our most recent projects for you here.

John D-C recently illustrated an album cover for Sydney based, psych-rock band, Frozen Planet.... 1969. It’s called 'Cold Hand of a Gambling Man'. The album is the conceptual sequel to their 2018 album 'The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition' that he also illustrated. The artwork follows the tale of an ever eccentric medicine man and grand showman Doctor A. E. Berner and his band of merry misfits. The story told through the illustrations features everything from secret societies, barrelhouse murders and gold rush fever to of course one miraculously amazing herbal elixir. The album is out now on the band’s Bandcamp page and is also getting a limited edition vinyl release on clear and gold coloured vinyl later this year. https://peppershakerrecords.bandcamp.com

Emma Simmons (EmmaJane) has been slowly but steadily completing several illustration commissions over the last little while. With the current climate, people are finding a new appreciation for home life as well as sentimental places with happy memories. She recently finalised an illustration of 'The General', a delightful cafe in Dulwich Hill for an anniversary present. Emma has also produced a FREE downloadable colouring in stencil of Banana Joe's Foodworks in Marrickville to commemorate it closing its doors for the last time after 30 years in business, you can download the stencil here. Emma has a few projects up her sleeve and looks forward to revealing them in the next few months.

____________________________________________

6th May, 2020

Our 10th Year in Business

2020 is actually our 10th year of business in Summer Hill and being a very small business in the creative industry we see this a huge milestone. The gallery has been a platform for many local emerging, artists over the years. We’ve hosted countless exhibitions, groups shows and workshops. We had plenty of things planned to celebrate and were booked into participate in a record (for us anyway) number of events in the upcoming months. Needless to say these plans and events are now all indefinitely off the table. We find ourselves brainstorming exciting new and creative ways to navigate forward. We feel Sweets Workshop’s original vision is now more important than ever. We will continue to champion and support local artists and their locally produced art and beautiful, creative objects.

____________________________________________

17th March, 2020

Gallery Shop Front Temporarily Closed
(online still open)

Dear customers,
In these uncertain times, we have made the truly difficult decision to close the gallery shop front temporarily. We have taken into consideration our customers, artists, the community and our own vulnerable family members that we need to make a priority at this time. We believe that we should shut sooner rather than later to help flatten the curve, giving essential services the ability to treat the sick without exhausting our health system.

We are working from home on graphic design and illustration work for our clients and are readily available, should you need us to do a job for you, just email us on info@sweetsworkshop.com. The online shop will remain open for now with free contactless delivery to Sydney Inner West Addresses.

Our hearts and thoughts are with those who have already been directly effected by the virus and hope that we all take care of one another and can get through this safely.

Thanks for your understanding,
Emma and John

____________________________________________

 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020

This is Not a Toy Scene - Opening this Friday 14th Feb in Melbourne

The first 'This is Not a Toy Scene' show for 2020 opens this Friday at VS. Gallery in Richmond Vic. John D-C (one half of Sweets Workshop) will be launching his new range of art toys for the exhibition. Fresh out of the mould are Rad Brains, a resin colour pop of 80's retro inspired goodness. John will also be releasing a range of hand painted one of a kind "Plastic Free Inaction Figures" called Wood Heads. To keep you in the loop, we'll be posting updates and snaps from the exhibition on Instagram and Facebook.

As the show is in Melbourne, we will be closing from the 13-19th Feb to attend. We will reopen on Thursday the 20th. Sorry for any inconvenience, we'll catch you on our return.

____________________________________________

6th December, 2019

Extended Christmas Hours in December

Good news! Throughout December we'll be extending our opening hours! We will now be open till 6pm through the week and will be open on a Sunday. That's 6 days a week to get your creative shopping fix this Christmas. Shop creative and local this Christmas.

____________________________________________

17th September, 2019

Creative Village Curated by Sweets Workshop
at the Summer Hill Neighbourhood Feast
Sunday, 29th September

Sweets Workshop will be hosting a special event for The Summer Hill Neighbourhood Feast. We have curated a Creative Village where people can sit, make, learn and have fun in. Throughout the day we will run a series of kid friendly workshops as well as some artistic presentations/talks by some of our local artists for big kids and adults. Local artist Andrea Smith also opens her exhibition of illustrations at Sweets Workshop to coincide with the event.

CREATIVE WORKSHOPS

With the fabulous ANNEY BEE From Anney Bee's Art Hive

Food Paper Hats - Kids/Families (Sessions at 10:45am & 1:15pm)
Colour, cut and create a festive food paper hat to wear on festival day, from hot dogs to fairy bread.

Create a Food Hero Cutout - Kids/Families (Sessions at 11:35am & 2:05pm)
Create, colour in and cut out your very own food themed paper Super Hero with moving head and arms.

Funny Food Faces - Kids/Families (Sessions at 12.25pm & 2:55pm)
Create funny faces using drawings of food, coloured and cut your way, served up on a paper plate.

CREATIVE TALKS

Introduction to Sweets Workshop (10:25am)
John and Emma introduce Sweets Workshop, and discuss their studio gallery, how it all began, what they create and how they have supported local and Australian Artists in Summer Hill for the last 9 years.

Andrea Smith - Artist Talk (11:15am)
On Festival day local artist Andrea Smith officially opens her exhibition at Sweets Workshop. She will be chatting to us about her current show (at Sweets Workshop) featuring her gorgeous original collages and prints and talks about her artistic practices, influences and Australian subject matter.

Gazebo Books - Visual Memoir (12:40pm)
Summer Hill local Xavier Hennekinne will talk about the story of Gazebo Books and about their latest release ‘Offcuts’ by Artist Patrick Hartigan - Part visual memoir, part meditation on the colours and contours of life’s events.

Michael and George - Design Talk (1:30pm)
Summer Hill local designers will present a talk about their beautiful Drew Pencil Lamps and their journey from concept to production, including their experience with kickstarter and on Shark Tank Australia.

CREATIVE COLOURING

From 10:00am there is an ALL DAY COLOURING IN Station for kids and families!

Join us on Sunday 29th September in Summer Hill Village for a full, fun day out at the Summer Hill Neighbourhood Feast! 

____________________________________________

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019

A Collection of Works by
Andrea Smith

Opening Sunday 29th September

Andrea Smith is an illustrator and designer whose charm-filled, hands-on work recalls a lost innocence rarely seen in today’s fast-paced times. Hers is a world rich in storytelling; each illustration drawing the viewer in to take a closer look, resulting in an unexpected (yet always welcome) ‘smile in the mind’.

With her exquisite attention to detail, skill and acute capability to bring any given brief to life, Andrea is highly sought after by a wide variety of clients. Her handmade collages are assembled from her large collection of vintage, painted and found papers, giving new life to forgotten tactile beauty.

Andrea regularly features at Sydney Markets including Finders Keepers, Makers and Shakers and Etsy. She is an active commercial illustrator producing and licensing designs for international and domestic clients including Made 590, Campos Coffee, Earth Greetings, Albi Australia and the Makers and Shakers Market.

On Festival day local artist Andrea Smith officially opens her exhibition at Sweets Workshop. She will be chatting to us about her current show featuring her gorgeous original collages and prints and talk about
her artistic practices, influences and Australian subject matter.

Join us on Sunday 29th September from 10am, at the Summer Hill Neighbourhood Feast to get up close to Andrea’s artworks at Sweets Workshop and see Andrea talk about her work and processes at 11:15am in the Creative Village (Curated by us) at the Festival.

____________________________________________

John D-C at the MCA Zine Fair

The Makers & Shakers this Saturday 13th April

This Saturday we will be closed to take Emma Jane Illustration to the Makers and Shakers Market. We are very excited to be included in the April Line up. The market features many talented Australian makers all under one roof, from food proudcts, homewares to art.

Doors open at 9am at Marrickville Town Hall. $2 entry.
We will also be closed on Friday the 12th to celebrate our daughters 3rd Birthday.
(Time Flies!!!)

Hope to see you at the market on Saturday!
Em and John  

____________________________________________

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2018

Locally Published! Great Reads and Listens For Christmas

At Sweets Workshop we love supporting local and have a great selection of locally published goodies for everyone this Christmas. All these and more available in store now.

A. The Animator by Peter Warrington and Rachel Williams (Not Quite Newtown) - $30
Not Quite Newtown’s fourth street art book for kids is out now - and it’s a mystery novel! The Animator is set in Sydney’s Inner West. It features 30 street artists primarily from the area and atmospheric photos of Newtown and surrounds. It’s hardcover and 136 pages. Suggested age range is 9-12.

B. The Lovers by Catherine Rey and Published by Sydney Based Gazebo Books - $24.99
The Lovers is an arresting tale, a mystery with a slow burn tension, which revolves around the disappearance of Lucie Bruyère. The novel unveils the truth about her charismatic yet subtly controlling partner, the world-famous artist Ernest Renfield. The suspenseful story, both police investigation and multi-voiced Rashomon, ends in a dramatic and powerful illumination.

C. The Houses of the Ashfield District - Ashfield History No. 21 Journal Of The Ashfield & District Historical Society - $25
A new collection of articles written about homes of the Inner West “Some 16 individual homes are featured here: we have not only their architecture but also their gardens their contents their builders owners and occupiers even unexpected enlightening visitors whereby one by one they become a complex historical entity.”

D. Scratch ‘N’ Sniff by The Sticker Club - $15
Inner West based band The Sticker Club are making the toddler-friendly garage pop you didn’t know your kids needed. With healthy doses of clarinet, trombone and wah wah guitar, they’re ABC KIDS’ newest music superstars. Do yourself a favor and wrap your ears around their brand new album.

____________________________________________

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2018

Porteño Christmas Market

Sweets Workshop has a stall and the upcoming Porteño Christmas Market. Their last market was a cracking day filled with wonderful food and drink by Porteño as well as a collection a carefully curated market stalls all within the surrounds of their gorgeous venue. The Christmas Market is not to be missed - Mark Sunday the 16th of December in your Calendars. Come along to eat, drink and fill your Christmas stockings! The market runs from 9am-4pm.

____________________________________________

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2018

New Inner West T-Shirts! Available Online and In Store!

Our ever growing range of Inner West T-shirts are available now in Men’s, Women’s and Kids sizes. After launching them at the fabulous Inner West Music Fest last month they are now available online and in store at Sweets Workshop. Click this Link to view the entire range on our website.

New Art Prints By Andrea Smith

Lets Decorate!

Our Christmas Speech Baubles are now back in stock at Sweets Workshop. This year they are available in Glitter Red, Glitter Gold and NEW Chunky Kaleidoscope Glitter Acrylic. They are $10 each and available in store. Check them out in our Christmas window display.

____________________________________________

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018

Inner West Music Fest 25th Nov!

This Sunday 25th November is the biannual Inner West Music Fest, held at Pratten Park community Sports and Bowling Club in Ashfield. We are happy to be a part of the event and will be launching a few new t-shirt designs on the day! Come by and say hi and have a pre Christmas drink with us ; )

“Bring a rug, bring the family for a great day out with a smorgasbord of awesome music, fabulous food, artisan stalls, kids activities and a well stocked bar. This is a grassroots event with all profits raised going to charity, put on by community minded Inner West locals. $5 entry, kids under 5 for free. Bring your mates!”

____________________________________________

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2018

Summer Hill Square by EmmaJane Illustration

In Spring and Summer the charming Summer Hill Village Square is buzzing at twilight with families dining al fresco whilst children play happily in the square on the rainbow crossing with chalk, scooters and games. The Square is the subject of EmmaJane’s most recent illustration, completed in ink and watercolour then digitally collaged with found textures.
Art Prints are now available in store and online.

____________________________________________

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2018

We welcome Hunter Candles!