Last week I was lucky enough to visit The Strawberry Thief, Australia’s largest distributor of Liberty of London fabrics in Perth, Western Australia. I have been a huge Liberty fan since I started DIY Daisy and being able to explore the warehouse was like a dream come true. The small team welcomed me into their space and even let me work remotely at my job from their office. I loved looking around at the beautiful rolls of fabric, hearing about what’s coming in the new year and getting a peek at Robyns vintage Liberty collection.

From left to Right, Max, Jennie, Emma, Keegan, Robyn, Tanya, Daisy and Gala. The Strawberry Theif team and Daisy stand in front of a wooden cupboard filled with Liberty of London fabrics. — Max, Jennie, Emma, Keegan, Robyn, Tanya, Daisy (me) and Gala! Thank you so much for welcoming me into your space <3

Robyn and I have been connected via Instagram since I moved back to Australia during lockdown (in march 2020) and I have always wanted to visit Perth to meet up in person. She face timed me one day to explain crocheting with fabric and I could already tell she was a cool woman. When I booked my trip, she was one of the first people I thought of and she invited me to stay with her. I stayed in the cutest little loft apartment above her garage, right by the beach in South Fremantle. There were patchwork curtains, exposed wooden floors and of course, there was a Liberty quilt on the bed. Her home felt familiar to me, it was like a combination of my own and my Auntie Carolines in Auckland, where I lived for 6 months. The walls and surfaces were covered with interesting heirlooms, paintings and nicknacks. Each had a special story. The kitchen felt like my own, her husband was/is a chef (like my mum) so It had this feeling like it was a creative space. It was used and people spent time there. That’s how my kitchen feels at home. We spent the nights yarning away, drinking ginger beer and occasionally being interrupted by one of her 5 cats. Her husband Graeme cooked us beautiful dinners and we even braved the cold wind and ran across to the beach to watch the sunset. It was the perfect way to wrap my trip to WA and I can’t wait to visit again in the new year.