On my birthday this year I had the pleasure of meeting Christine. That was back in March, and today is her 50th birthday. I have had the great pleasure of getting to know this wonderful woman through the process of creating her wedding dress - never before have I had a client give me complete creative freedom, and because of this I maintained passion and motivation during my pregnancy and first weeks with a newborn. From concept to construction, not once I felt like I was working. Christine and Andrew married yesterday (30th November 2013) - here is a little snippet of the making of - 

so its been almost a year since my last collection was released - the large gap was unintentional and unfortunately it will still be awhile before I am able to get my next collection out and available. But this doesn't mean I haven't been designing and sewing, in fact I work everyday on pieces for my individual clients. Its a little harder now, finding time between feeds and sleep, but I am motivated and inspired more than ever. My plan is to re-launch my entire label in the new year, and in the meantime produce one offs - like this cotton jersey jumpsuit with vintage sleeve fabric from the 1960's

Our world has became our daughter, and what a wonderful world it is! Mummyhood required a more suitable chop - Sahana was getting fed up with my hair in her face all the time, and its easier to take care of, which leaves more time for the important things: kisses and cuddles

For almost 4 months I was convinced I was pregnant with a boy, so when the nurse told me otherwise, I asked if she could please check again. Now with my tiny little daughter in my arms, just over 2 weeks old, I could not imagine a more perfect being to come into our life.  During my third trimester, with my own collection put on hold, I busied myself sewing mini versions of all my favourite pieces (plus some handy baby bibs) Sahana is far too tiny to fit into any of her collection, but we are in no rush, and enjoying every second observing the world unfold to our precious baby

8 Months pregnant with my beautiful Sahana. Pregnancy and motherhood is nothing what I expected and I know my journey is uniquely my own, and what a magical life fulfilling one it is These photos were captured by Kacey of Love Always Photography

A few weeks ago, on a windy winter day, Saci and I took the girls (her gorgeous step children) for an adventure at Kerry Green near Cape Schanck - its such a striking place to see. Tame rolling hills covered in tall grass, that reaches out to the wild ocean that cuts away at the shore making steep unstable cliffs. The climb to the bottom is well worth the effort, with clear blue rock pools teaming with life forming amongst the sharp rock beach. In my ninth month of pregnancy, not much fits but this beautiful silk dress by Californian brand - Daughters of the Revolution more pics  →

Baby showers are the kind of events you either love, or avoid. Baby talk and no booze, I tended to favour the latter. Great food was all I could think about when my sister began organising my babes shower - cupcakes, pumpkin pie, chocolate brownies, cake pops, cheesecake, berry tarts, caramel popcorn, lemon slice, eclairs, raspberry muffins - and thats just for the sweet tooth. I could not even imagine how fun the day could be, and I really understood the "shower" in baby shower, as I unwrapped gift after gorgeous gift - my lovely lady friends really made me and babes feel so special and loved.

my dearest friend celebrated her 29th birthday this week - begging the 'gift' question. Just about all the most beautiful things I own were gifted by this girl, whom has exquisite style & taste - so when I was browsing one of my fav blogs, Kayture , and saw this image and the striking royal blue coat, my hand went straight to paper. I have no idea where said coat is from, but I found the most gorgeous cashmere wool blend felt at Tessuti's and constructed this jacket from eye just in time for birthday Daniella's party. Happy with the result I may have to construct a pattern and add this to my next collection framed sketch & coat - thats a (gift) wrap!

 In just 6 months my twin sister Saci will be tying the knot with her beau of 5 years. We are in the midst of wedding fever designing and making her wedding dress - which I have to admit has been the most of fun in the sewing room I've ever had. Heavily pregnant now, I rely on her more than ever, as everything takes that much longer and any baby kicks have me instantly forgetting what I'm doing. A couple of weeks back a work colleague of Saci's set up a casual shoot with Saci as a model, and I provided the garments, i.e this mock up wedding dress I made a few years back, seen here   here & here . I snapped some of these candid pics outside during a break

This weekend we celebrated the first anniversary of my best friends wedding. Undoubtedly one my biggest highlights for 2012 - the memory might be a little hazy (thanks to the traditional liquor Rakia free flowing throughout the 3 day event) but the feeling of Love still rings loud. Here's a little highlight of that beautiful day 1 year ago (bridesmaids dresses by Rada Priya Designs ) Daniella and Tomi's Wedding from Shaun Herbertson Visuals on Vimeo .

The street style photo features the fashionable sisters from the blog 'fashionoxygen' wearing my Rada Priya Designs blouse, showcasing its versatility and chic style. 'Run' feat Radapriya SS11 Blouse 

Jeans are already hard enough for me, let alone adding an ever expanding baby bump to the equation. For 6 months Ive been able to get away with body con dresses (when I'm not in oversized nighties or mother Hubbard dresses), but this cooler weather + the energy I've got back now that I'm in my third trimester, means legs free for striding. I searched for maternity jeans online and stores I could find down the Peninsula way, but all were more shabby than chic = DIY These are a pair of my old favourites that I whipped up. Converting them was a simple as overlocking the top of the pockets out (incl waistband) and stitching in some good quality elastic banding. et te voilà! [in the background is some samples of the completed/yet to be photographed AW13 collection....sssh]

  Instagram has been stealing the limelight more and more nowadays - the pic feed provides me with constant visual refreshment. Overlayed with fun filter apps there are so many available, but i'll take a second to plug my friends app - Instablend . My twin sister esp loves this app, so I thought I would share a couple of my images she has been playing around using this app, aswell as her handy photoshop skillz - most of you will recognise the base images from my first Spring collection  Thank you to my facebook fans for all your support and  ♡  more than 400 fans 

Finding out I'm carrying a girl was not only thrilling, but a real surprise. For 4 months we have been calling our bump 'him'- so convinced that a son was growing I have 4 of the most beautiful nieces (& 4 nephews) which has given me years of practice designing and making mini Rada Priya Designs. Just a day after my 20 week scan, my creativity is running wild with ideas for my very own daughter Pregnancy has, and is a constant adventure providing a sense of peace and purpose that I have never known before. It's a beautiful thing

The lovely twins of FASHIONOXYGEN have been showcasing pieces from my AW12 collection on their blog recently. I love these girls style, and its so exciting to see posts pop up with my designs. Based in Spain, they are 6 months ahead of us in fashion realm, however because I produce my collections here in Australia, my Autumn Winter 2012 collection is their AW13. Be sure to check out their blog

A little post and pre show photo log of what my lovely twin sister wore to the L'Oreal Fashion Festival Red Carpet event. Most in her comfort wearing bohemian style clothing, I added a little chic with two pieces from my collection - the silk top is from the Autumn Winter 2013 collection, and the palazzo pant is from the recent Spring Summer 12/13 collection. The rest of the styling is all her own - including the hair jewellery that she bought on one her many trips to India.

This year the L'Oeal Melbourne Fashion Festival Red Carpet event was all about the ethereal bride. Hosted by Harper's Bazaar Brides, the show was opened by my favourite Australian, Collette Dinnigan . Her signature exquisite lace and hand beaded gowns in youthful feminine silhouettes glided down the catwalk, the models concealed by delicate face veils. Akira followed, pleasantly surprising us with loosely fitted shapes that seemed to float around the body. Gwendolynne , the only designer to specialise soley in the Bridal field, delivered what the bride-to-be's in the audience came to see -  the crowd erupted with coo's of admiration, and the gasps and murmurs of delight and the applause did not cease through Rachel Gilbert or Aurelio Costarella , until the final gown by  Toni Maticevski , with its veil the length of the runway and needing 3 groomsmen to assist - I, along with with everyone else was left speechless. A triumph of inspiration

 'what i wore' post to proudly show off some Rada Priya originals - my AW13 Cobolt blue jersey peplum tucked away my baby bump happily, and pops of colour in my makeup and accessories put the fun in the look - thanks to the lovely girls of the L'Oreal powder room make over 

A little bit shagadelic, a touch of chic and a whole lotta 80's - Famous for Fashion Chapel st runway was not just eye popping, but purely entertaining  We shot the entire L'Oreal fashion event using the new Samsung Galaxy camera , edit and all - including the upload and post to the blog. If you follow me on instagram , twitter or Facebook , the instant upload from runway to media on the HD super clear screen is very smooth Thank you to AMPR Melbourne for having us -another fabulous event to mingle with our peers. Saci and I both wore samples from my Autumn Winter 2013 collection - available soon right here 

Sex and the City marathon! What a better way to kick of this years L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival than a complimentary night out with the girls - Sex and the City style! Chadstone The Fashion Capital , is currently holding the incredible New York Style exhibition featuring our favourite gowns the 4 SATC stars wore in the first movie. The exhibition was curated by the great Patricia Field herself. We were treated to cupcakes and champagne, and an exclusive screening of the extended version of Sex and the City, the movie.

My favourite month - March means Autumn, my birthday, and the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival. I've absolutely loved the recent images coming our of Paris, London, Milan and New York - Fashion Week has once again supplied me with endless inspiration - some of it here to share Tommy Ton , Jak and Jil and Candice Lake are my go to for the cleanest images

Happy Autumn! What a summer it has been - although half of it was spent in the wintery Italy, the last month has been simply beautiful down on the Mornington Peninsula - not to mention the excitement of expecting a baby! Before I welcome my new collection, I had to show the final look from my Spring Summer collection. You might already recognise - I wore this Banksia ensemble to MSFW Runway 2 show late last year. Instagram and facebook fans helped me choose the pattern clash - both signature Australiana banksia flower prints in simple shell top and pin skirt. You can view the full collection in the tab above