Susannah Low Studio

Home
Australia
Merimbula, NSW
Susannah Low Studio

Treasure maker, collector of all sorts. Artist and Book Designer - Susannah Low https://linktr.ee/susannahlowstudio

21/08/2026

Giving a little talk as part of the Ephemera Society Symposium this year ❤️

15/08/2026

I haven’t had much reading time lately with another exhibition deadline looming, but my book stack has grown in readiness for some downtime! I think I will be well prepped if we ever have some kind of digital blackout 😳

Making the most of the free/cheap Vinted postage over the past month to celebrate its launch in Australia (I am having way too much fun 😂) and some good finds at my favourite Savers (what else is new!). I always discover things I have never heard of or seen before when perusing secondhand book stocks. It’s very cathartic too. The lovely ‘book guy’ at our local Savers (hi Michael!) always has the shelves well stocked. It’s rare I don’t walk out with a book.

Speaking of bookshops have Melburnians seen Kinokuniya is opening in Melbourne Central!!! Dangerous! (No need to go to Sydney anymore….KIDDING!!)

‘Cats Rule the Earth Tarot’ (wrapped new in box so no bad vibes) I could not resist a squiz at the card designs by Brazilian artist Thiago Correa. Also can never resist a bargain. (My excuse is always ‘my girls would love this’ 😂)

‘Light and Love: The Extraordinary Developments of Julia Margaret Cameron and Mary Hillier’ Kirsty Stonell Walker, a gorgeous fully illustrated book I cannot wait to read. Julia Margaret Cameron (d.1879) is a famous victorian portrait photographer and I have long been captivated by her images.

‘Nothing New: A History of Second-hand’ Robyn Annear

‘A Room Made of Leaves’ Kate Grenville. Again the blurb sucked me straight in. Historical fiction, the imagined memoir of Elizabeth Macarthur.

‘Destroying the Joint’ Various, edited by Jane Caro

‘The Ophelia Girls’ Jane Heale. With a blurb that says: ‘In the summer of 1973, teenage Ruth and her four friends are obsessed with pre-Raphaelite paintings…’ it went straight in my basket!

‘The Mistress of Paris’ Catherine Hewitt. A biography of Valtesse de La Bigne a celebrated nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan.

‘May Gibbs: Mother of Gumnuts’ Maureen Walsh. I already have this one in a boxed set but was bamboozled by it being a different format/size and cover.

14/08/2026

A recent purchase, this fun little Victorian book, ‘The Querist’s Album and Autograph Book’, only small at approx 90x120mm and published in Glasgow by David Bryce & Son c1890.

Features an extensive 36 questions per entry starting with “what virtue do you most esteem?” and finishing with “my confession”, all answered anonymously.

I’m having fun reading through this one! A real snapshot of the era with a lot of focus on who to marry. My favourite question is “Your favourite amusement” with answers including: ‘counting the stars’
‘roller skating & dancing’
‘flirting’
‘sewing and fancy work’
‘reading and gardening’
‘football and cricket’
‘talking to children’
‘looking at houses’
‘teasing people’
‘playing at cards for kisses’
‘waltzing with the one you like best’

Purchased from the UK.

07/08/2026

Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos spotted in the Melbourne Cemetery a couple of weeks ago. Just a stones throw from the city! With an appropriate scientific name ‘Zanda Funerea’ (thanks Steve!).

06/08/2026

A couple of weeks ago now Rohan Durrant and I had a few hours to pass in the city so we stopped by the Melbourne Cemetery, a surprisingly calm peaceful place to wander, full of birds and full of stories and only a stones throw from the city centre.

I had thought we had missed the Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos this year, but we could hear them within 5 minutes of walking through the gates. It was getting a bit dark to get many good snaps but the sound of 50+ birds simultaneously plucking huge grubs from under the bark in the trees was something wild. Creaking and snapping and a wee bit creepy if I am honest!

27/07/2026

I will forever be a music, design and ephemera nerd, and yesterday we got to attend a guided tour of ROCK POSTERS in Thornbury as part of Open House Melbourne . My music loving gang often drive past and comment ‘that must be such a cool place to work’ and it did not disappoint!

Fabulously informative and interesting from both a design and functional perspective we enjoyed every minute! Great to see the giant UV printer in action. Such a cool factory warehouse space, walls layered to the roof with rock and roll history. We did a lot of reminiscing.

Thank you to all who made it happen and the staff who graciously answered all our questions! 10/10 way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Would recommend 😍

09/07/2026

In my pursuit to learn about various ways Victorian women passed the time, I came across this gem.

Lessons in Flower & Fruit Modelling in Wax
By J.H.Mintorn modeller of flowers in wax to the Queen
(published by George Routledge and Sons, c1870)

A craft that blended art with the natural science, a perfect fit for the nature obsessed Victorians! Realistic blooms and fruits were meticulously sculpted using beeswax.

Middle and upper class women often had a lot of time in their hands so master the time consuming ‘parlour art’ of waxwork was deemed appropriate. The flowers and fruits were often displayed in parlours under glass cloches. Magical blooms that would never wilt or rot.

The book contains comprehensive instructions on how to make a variety of blooms in realistic detail, and even includes a list of the cost of supplies. It looks difficult!

I have also been collecting vintage and antique paper flower construction booklets for an intended project, but wax flowers definitely seems a little more complicated than crepe paper!

It’s a very attractive little book, with detailed black and white illustrations. While flicking through the pages out slipped the paper cutting ‘Grains of Gold’ and tin type photograph of a young g girl (pic3)
What a lovely little bonus. Collecting ’things found in books’ has become a fun side quest!

29/06/2026

‘My White Trousseau’ (series)

I am always looking for ways to give imagery in my collection new life. While researching for this exhibition, hiding in a 120 year old volume of Girls Own Paper, I found these crudely printed intriguing early photographs. Photographed against a dark background the white garments really sung, the mannequin disappearing into the darkness causing the clothing to almost float. After some manipulation to bring the images back to life I created new negatives and printed them by hand using the cyanotype photographic process. It’s always a little bit of a thrill to see the image appear once the unexposed formula is washed off the paper. I think these images really lend themselves well to this technique.

A little more info about the original source: Girls Own Paper (1907) article series called ‘My White Trousseau and how I Made it’ by Kathleen aided by Rita.

Each week would see details printed in a chatty conversationalist manner accompanied by photographs and patterns outlining how to sew another piece of ‘under linen’ or ‘white clothes’ for your white trousseau, a collection traditionally gathered by a bride for her marriage and honeymoon. Other similar terms: Hope Chest, Glory Box, Bottom Drawer.

The first entry begins: ‘I always thought the dowry chest of olden days a most interesting feature of the times when the needle was a woman’s weapon par excellence and much of her time was spent in fine stitchery and embroidery.’

You can see these four images and many more on display at Loft 275, Ivanhoe Library & Cultural Hub until July 12.

14/06/2026

Fabulous opening for ‘The Lady’s Realm’ on Thursday night! It was like a big warm hug ❤️ Thank you to all who came and helped us celebrate! I am really proud to be exhibiting my series of Cyanotypes alongside 4 incredible artists who I am lucky to call friends.

If you couldn’t make it, the exhibition is open until July 12 (Loft 275 in the Ivanhoe Library & Cultural Hub during library hours). There are works available for sale if you’re looking for a new treasure, and there are lots of lovely cafes nearby if you want to make a trip of it!

Address

Merimbula, NSW

Website

https://linktr.ee/susannahlowstudio

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Susannah Low Studio posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Susannah Low Studio:

Name:

Email:

Message:

Want your business to be the top-listed Photography Service in Merimbula?