W: It’s pretty crazy and busy but I love it. Windfall has taken on some really cool projects and custom orders leading up to Christmas and I’m really flattered people are giving Windfall to their loved ones.

I’m not really sure where to start… I have always worked in fashion but always loved accessories and jewellery over apparel. I have always wanted to create my own clothing label but never really had the passion to design clothes. And I think its just an amalgamation of all of those things. My husband and I went to India and it was a real eye opener and made me realise I’m wasting a really cool opportunity living in Australia, to do what I want to do. And one day I just thought, fuck it; lets do this.

The journey has been amazing. It’s been so much fun and has forced me into taking some leaps I normally wouldn’t have dared do before and I’m so siked about it all.

How about the the idea for the name ‘Windfall’?

I love all things nautical so it was only fitting that my label had a nautical term.WINDFALL means: An unexpected stroke of good luck.
“A sudden unexpected rush of wind from a mountainous shore which allowed a ship more leeway.  Some English landowners were prevented to either fall or sell timber as this was reserved for building ships for the Royal Navy. However, this did not apply to trees which were blown down. Hence, a windfall became a financial blessing”

Many of the pieces look like they would have been very fiddly and quite complex – do you have any particular metal-work skills or is it just pure talent?

Yeah some are pretty difficult , fiddly is the perfect word! I have done courses in Silver-smithing but I like to think it comes down to just pure natural talent haha.

How long does an average piece take to create from the initial idea to the final product?

It depends on the complexity. People have asked me this a few times and I really don’t know how to answer it because I have never really started one project from start to finish without having a few others on the go at the same time. I like to have a big work load at all times!

I find your tagline ‘Uptown elegance with a downtown edge’ really interesting and based on the collections; appropriate.. Do you draw inspiration from any specific areas or does it just come fluidly?

I don’t think there is anything specific that I get inspiration from, its just everything around my life I suppose. Melbourne is a pretty rad place to keep your creative juices flowing. But I suppose the meaning behind that tagline is pretty self explanatory, I like creating high quality jewellery with a street feel to it.

Do you have any particular marketing methods or do you just rely on your own steam?

I have no marketing methods haha. I haven’t invested any money into marketing, everything has just happened from me pushing my brand and how passionate I am about it. I have made the brand come this far because I love it not because I have put money into marketing. Having said that, 2012 is going to be a big year for Windfall and I am probably going to have to develop a marketing strategy. Maybe.

What tools are required for creating a piece/What does your work desk look like?

Tools: I couldn’t live without  my craft knife, drill and sand paper!

My desks look like: One wooden drawing desk, one long, wooden trestle work bench and one wooden pedestal table

What is in store next for Windfall?

We are shooting a fashion shoot for the Rattlebones Collection and we will drop our 2nd collection in early 2012. It’s going to be a rad year for Windfall.

And a couple of not-so-formal questions…

Which celebrity/icon’s style do you really appreciate and why?

None. I don’t really follow that stuff.

What was the last book you purchased?

Life by Keith Richards

Where is the last place you traveled and what for?

Malaysia, India and Thailand in April. For fun.

What does an average day entail for Lani Williams?

Hang out in my studio. Walk my bulldogs. Hang out with my husband. In that order.

What are the last five web pages in your browser history?

Facebook, Google: Dog Breeds, Dogue de Bordeaux, Facebook, Wikipedia. How boring.

Solid Tooth Pendant or the PMA Ring.

See you in 2012.

Pieces featured from the top: Positive Mental Attitude Ring with packaging, Riblet Pendant, Rams Head Street Range, Scrap Metal Rings.

See more of the collections and the upcoming range on Windfall Jewellery’s Facebook, Big Cartel and Etsy. You can also see it in store at Designers Boutique, 416 Oxford Street, Paddington, Sydney.

Realising there was a void in the t-shirt market for a range of quality, minimalist and attention-grabbing collections, two brothers, James and Blair began what is now Sly Guild. With no business intentions, they reluctantly sold the first few tees which led to setting up shop out of the boot of their car thus creating a demographic confronting store for Sly Guild and the stores wanting to sell their collections.  To quote the boys “We now see ourselves selling nation wide here in New Zealand, in a bit of  David and Goliath battle, staring multi million dollar companies in the eye with budgets we dream about.”

 Having invested a lot of their time and money into the quality of the garments, everything is 100% hand made in New Zealand and produced without constraint – allowing Sly Guild to grow under its own steam. Despite having had countless opportunites to increase revenue and manufacture offshore, they continue to support the local economy and employ members of the community.

 “We don’t see Sly Guild as a ‘brand’ or ‘label’, we see it as a lifestyle. Whether you are an artist, designer, athlete/rider, musician, or behind a desk during crunching numbers during work hours we want Sly Guild to be worn by everyone. “

 Drawing inspiration from things such as the outdoors, yesterdays luxurious designer wear, 70s surf and skateboarding culture or vintage American sportswear, they offer clothing and accessories from conservative buyers to a more forward approach.

“At the end of the day, we just want to wear affordable timeless pieces that you can hold onto and age with, we feel our quality in the garment is true to this. “

SLYGUILD ONLINE | STORE | BLOG | FACEBOOK

Das Monk cite that their inspiration feeds religiously on large amounts of music, record covers, the surreal and the dreamy, film noir, tribal motifs and alchemy – which is easily identified by only catching a glimpse of a few of their pieces.

Having recently broadened from t-shirt production to sweatshirts, tote bags and art prints, the Das Monk team also run a pretty dope (and not to mention, eccentric) blog which contains a bunch of left-of-field, international and art-related posts (the last post was a trailer dubbed “a soft porn musical with heart”).

Stocked in over 30 leading stores throughout Australian, Japan, USA, Canada and New Zealand and worn by such artists as The Cool Kids, Busy P, Lupe Fiasco and even Ron Weasley. I doubt it won’t be too long until your local clothing store will be showcasing their unique and prodigious collections.

Check out the Das Monk website & FaceBook

[Photo Credits: Das Monk/Jon Attenborough]

When I’m not scouring the interwebz for whatever is taking my fancy at the moment, I can be found spending my money on whatever is taking my fancy at the moment, eating eats (and good eats at that), walking the BNE City streets with my delicious man-beef and usually talking about how much I want to be covered in puppies (the animal kind).

If you have any suggestions or know someone who deserves props, chuck me an email on thngmtc@gmail.com

Keep watching..