About us
Craftlandia is an inclusive, calm space of small classes, informal crafting groups and inspiring discussions.
Whatever your creative passion, you’ll find your community with us!
Hi, I’m Philippa Burne, a novelist and screenwriter based in Daylesford
After publishing my first novel, Fishnets, I became a television writer, working in Australia, Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, The Netherlands, Iceland, and the USA. In 2013 I returned to Australia and began teaching screenwriting and creative writing at the Victorian College of the Arts, part of the University of Melbourne.
After completing an MFA in Creative Writing in London, I’m currently working on my PhD in screenwriting (which is somehow involving a lot of embroidery and watercolour painting), writing a feature film script as well as short stories and a novel.
My passion for crafting comes from a childhood spent learning from my mother and grandmother: sewing, spinning, weaving, knitting, dyeing with seaweed and leaves. No wonder it’s now creeping into my creative PhD work!
Hello! I’m Samantha Menzies. I teach sewing classes @ Craftlandia
My passion for sewing and clothing started back in the 80s my mother taught my sisters and I how to make bubble and ra ra skirts. In the 90s I started making leggings for an Anarchist book shop and realized I needed some further skills. This led to me studying Fashion at Mc Cabe Academy of Dressmaking and Design in Melbourne, then to designing clothing for the next 20 years. Labels I designed for include Black Betty ( PVC corsetry), Stereotrash (streetwear) stocking @ Alice Euphemia (designer fashion collective) and Outskirts (Artist T- Shirt collective).
I moved to Daylesford 10 years ago and started sewing again and decided to teach sewing classes. The Sewing Salon was born at the beginning of covid and brought so many people together during a time of isolation. (Covid safely of course!)
Today, I’m so happy to be a part of Craftlandia. A craft space for all crafts, for people to gather and learn and form community and learn how to do things with our hands. In this time of uncertainty and technology taking up more and more of the human landscape, I think people becoming skilled in making and DIY is more important than ever.