What an exciting beginning to the year it has been! For four fun-filled days tiny & little stopped by the NGV Children’s Festival with our friends at Meetoo for a paper craft adventure of our own with little ones at our workshop, Paper Threads. Today I’d love for you to come for a peek inside the workshop.

Over four days we saw hundreds of fantastic creations by children as they explored fashion and design using paper. For those who didn’t make it or would love to give Paper Threads a try at home, today we’re giving you a peek inside the workshop!

Miss Piggy and Kermit, Natalie from tiny & little’s childhood toys, joined the Paper Threads workshop inspired by Jean Paul Gaultier’s Nana / photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

The Paper Threads workshop was inspired by Jean Paul Gaultier and his first muse, Nana, who wears an early design by Mr Gaultier fashioned out of newsprint. Understanding the connection that children have with their most cuddly toy, often named and viewed as a special friend, we wanted to encourage kids to experiment with fashion design. The workshops provided materials that children could easily have access to at home and allowed them to creatively express the style of their most precious toy, or one of our teddies for those who hadn’t brought their cuddly from home.

Paper Threads layout in The Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria / photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Fun for the young…

For those who weren’t able to come along to the NGV Children’s Festival, or those who came and would like to play again, it’s easy for children to enjoy this activity at home. With child-led play being the intention, we laid out glue, tape (clear sticky and masking), various types of paper (tissue, crepe and wrapping), feathers, pipe cleaners and paper covered floral wire in the middle of each table.

Inspiration was provided by Kermit, Miss Piggy and Teddy wearing outfits at the entrance each day, and once at the tables children were free to explore the colour, textures and design in their own way. The response was varied and fantastic with hundreds of creations across the four days.

Jean Paul Kermier, Piggy and Teddy sat at the entrance of Paper Threads as inspiration for our young designers / photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Jemima receives a mermaid makeover by her five year old friend at one of the Paper Threads workshops / photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Capturing the moment a teddy walked the red carpet was popular during the workshops / photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

One of the highlights of the Paper Threads workshop was the red carpet created by the NGV’s design team. Featuring a roped off red carpet and sparkling gold background, it was a drawcard for children as they finished their fashion creations. Throughout the workshop, Meetoo and tiny & little captured photos of almost all designs on our red carpet. You can see our highlights below and view the full gallery here.

Red carpet backdrop at the Paper Threads workshop / backdrop design: National Gallery of Victoria; photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Highlights of day one of the Paper Threads workshop, January 23 2015

Highlights of day two of the Paper Threads workshop, January 24 2015

Highlights of day three of the Paper Threads workshop, January 25 2015

Highlights of day four of the Paper Threads workshop, January 26 2015

Fun for the young at heart…

One of the lovely things about this workshop was that it wasn’t just for the kids, with lots of parents getting in on the fun too. Here at tiny & little and over at Meetoo, we joined in and each day brought along our own childhood cuddlies in different outfits. Miss Piggy and Kermit put the call out for costume ideas throughout the workshop, and for those who missed them, we caught them on the red carpet too…

Miss Piggy, Teddy and Super Kermit on day one of Paper Threads / backdrop design: National Gallery of Victoria; photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Jean Paul Kermier, Teddy and Miss Piggy on day two of Paper Threads / backdrop design: National Gallery of Victoria; photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Dorothy Piggy (red shoes in hiding!), Teddy and Kermit the Merman on day three of Paper Threads / backdrop design: National Gallery of Victoria; photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Miss Piggy wore an itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini on day four of Paper Threads / backdrop design: National Gallery of Victoria; photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

Kermit wore his team colours on day four of Paper Threads, until one of our designers made him a cricket uniform because it’s cricket season / backdrop design: National Gallery of Victoria; photography: Natalie Barnes for tiny & little

A big thank you from tiny & little to all those who came to visit us at the Paper Threads workshop! We had an absolute ball. Coming up on tiny & little we’ll share some how-to ideas for creating fashion with paper at home with little ones. Stay tuned!