Little Castle

Little Castle Books and toys
made in Australia

Found another use for our wooden knives made from spatula offcuts: scraping stubborn baked goods from trays without taki...
19/12/2024

Found another use for our wooden knives made from spatula offcuts: scraping stubborn baked goods from trays without taking the teflon or oil seasoning along for the ride. Mmmm teflon bits = _not_ delicious!

We've made a few more of these surprisingly versatile treen, alongside many cool spatulas and such-like, for this weekend's markets.

Come and buy ethical prezzies by supporting local makers and farmers! :)

Back at   and   this weekend, with groovy new aus hardwood treen, leathercraft and greeting cards, like this Corymbia gu...
19/12/2024

Back at and this weekend, with groovy new aus hardwood treen, leathercraft and greeting cards, like this Corymbia gummifera (red bloodwood) serving board, and more one-off pieces! Huzzah!

damian for scale.





Feeling super unwell today and don't want to share with anyone so we won't be at  this morning. Don't worry, we'll be ba...
14/12/2024

Feeling super unwell today and don't want to share with anyone so we won't be at this morning. Don't worry, we'll be back next week!

spotted gum log; bowl or mortar? hmmm...decisions...Eitherway, this treen will not be knocked over. Perfect for peeps li...
10/12/2024

spotted gum log; bowl or mortar? hmmm...decisions...

Eitherway, this treen will not be knocked over. Perfect for peeps like damian, who breaks ceramic bowls just by looking at them -_-*

Should be ready for our stall at this sunday :)

the spooky candle is a nice touch, eh?These Lost Gods probs deserve their own post. Also a sneaky little chimera creepin...
07/12/2024

the spooky candle is a nice touch, eh?

These Lost Gods probs deserve their own post. Also a sneaky little chimera creepin in there (nerd time; gargoyles have water spouts, chimeras do not).

Now available on recycled, unlaminated aust-made greeting cards, which double as nifty little prints for those fans of dark fantasy.

Available at our stall at , and on our site once we feel up to wrangling with the Dark Magiks of Wordpress. WooOOoooo!

More fey folk are joining the menagerie at our stall! Critters like this cottage harvest thief and these mysterious fair...
05/12/2024

More fey folk are joining the menagerie at our stall! Critters like this cottage harvest thief and these mysterious fairy faces can now be purveyed on ethical, aus-made greeting cards (that double as nifty prints) at our and stalls. 

Once we come to some peace agreement with our net gremlins, they may go up on our website too. Mabe! =/


Our new Oz-made greeting cards have arrived, and phew!, just in time for our   and   markets this weekend. With shy womb...
05/12/2024

Our new Oz-made greeting cards have arrived, and phew!, just in time for our and markets this weekend. 

With shy wombats, rock wallabies and a family of story-loving antechinus (our threatened little mouse-shrew) these illustrations were watercoloured and inked by hand, and printed on unlaminated (no microplastics!) recycled Envirocare paper. The paper was pioneered in Austria, where they have decades - if not centuires old - traditions in sustainable forestry, including investing in & developing progressive paper pulp methods. They even bring in aspiring young scientists for paid internships (something our own industries could learn from!).

We've also added some of Damian's spookier artwork, for those wanting something dark and whimsical, or who've been requesting prints.

We were worried end of year loads would overwhelm the printers, but have come through once again! If you need a reliable local print service, we couldn't recommend them enough. :)


An oldie, but still as applicable as ever.Bit of a segeue; I often overhear folks saying something is a "good price", i....
04/12/2024

An oldie, but still as applicable as ever.

Bit of a segeue; I often overhear folks saying something is a "good price", i.e. a euphemism for "cheap". A shirt, a fridge, a mug, whatever.
It's worth noting that if an item or service is underpriced, then someone's labor is being ripped off.

And you can bet it won't be upper management taking a cut...

Our new REF Environmental merch is 20-40% off at our Redbubble store!Get caps, shirts, singlets, even mugs, mouse mats a...
02/12/2024

Our new REF Environmental merch is 20-40% off at our Redbubble store!

Get caps, shirts, singlets, even mugs, mouse mats and aprons with the REF black, white, or coloured logo, as well as a White-Bellied Sea Eagle Over Mangroves illustration. LINK BELOW

- The white-bellied sea eagle patrols the coastline of the local mangroves. Fly the REF colours and help to fund the team that runs Bush Care & Clean Up events, educational sessions, and much more, by purchasing this watercolour design of the Deception Bay coastline by local artist Damian Castellini. -

https://www.redbubble.com/people/ref-enviro/shop

Huddled around Poppa, the little marsupials call for their favourite bedtime story: “Grandad Versus Mr Meow-Meow!” Despi...
21/11/2024

Huddled around Poppa, the little marsupials call for their favourite bedtime story: “Grandad Versus Mr Meow-Meow!” Despite knowing how the story ends, the wee critters sigh with relief when Poppa outwits the feisty feline. He still carries the battle scars to prove it, too!

The Antechinus is a little-known Australian marsupial, resembling a cross between a mouse and a shrew, and is 100% adorable. They live in tree hollows, heaths and grasslands, along with rainforests and woodlands, and are adept at catching insects, spiders, small reptiles, and even feathertail gliders!

An endangered species, their biggest threats are land clearing and introduced species, specifically cats and foxes. They can also be susceptible to rat traps.

To best give our Antechinus inhabitants a fighting chance, always keep your cat indoors, and use a live trap when catching mice, so your local Antechinus can live to one day tell their own story!

---

Almost finished, and soon to be printed as cards in Australia on recycled paper for our stall at , along with our website :)








Like dolphins and live in Moreton Bay/Quandamooka? Come along to hear Dr Levengood share her experiences and research ab...
14/11/2024

Like dolphins and live in Moreton Bay/Quandamooka? Come along to hear Dr Levengood share her experiences and research about the behaviour and health of this species at the Hub.

Bonus points if, like Stefan the raptor bird presenter, she finds a way to bring in a fishy friend ;)





aaaaalmost done. Two more to do, then off to the printers in melbourne to be made into cutesy lil recycled paper greetin...
07/11/2024

aaaaalmost done. Two more to do, then off to the printers in melbourne to be made into cutesy lil recycled paper greeting cards in time for the hols ;)

Space treeeeees!A part-magnolia wood satellite created to further test the viability of this sustainable material in spa...
05/11/2024

Space treeeeees!

A part-magnolia wood satellite created to further test the viability of this sustainable material in space (cork is already commonly used). The material can reduce the impact of increasingly dangerous space junk accumulation, as well as pave the way for tree-planting in future colonising ventures. Much better use of resources than shooting a stupid sports car into space... -_-

The tiny satellite built in Japan will test the suitability of timber as a renewable material in space.

Working on new greeting card illos for our market stall at  markets.Portaying the xmas season's kinder themes while avoi...
05/11/2024

Working on new greeting card illos for our market stall at markets.

Portaying the xmas season's kinder themes while avoiding coca-cola santa, snowmen, and other tropes irrelevant to australia can be surprisingly challenging. Thankfully we have far groovier animals than reindeers, like wombats and rock wallabies!

A new-to-us addition to our workshop, the Performax drum sander! It's taken some getting used to, and now helps to ensur...
01/11/2024

A new-to-us addition to our workshop, the Performax drum sander! It's taken some getting used to, and now helps to ensure a crisp flatness to dressing our boards (typically with 1-2mm).

This was Damian's 40th bday present (along with a new-to-him Lenovo laptop for writing), and demonstrative of our small biz ethos: start simple, buy upwards only when it's earned, avoid debt, avoid cheap disposable tools, and buy secondhand whenever viable.

This saves on OS transport resources (i.e. freight diesel, plastic padding, etc.), ensures we don't over capitalise, and that we spend our money on what we need, not want.

Our house, studio, car and workshop all follow these ideals, though sadly we have to compromise at times, particularly when it comes to repairs. Can't fix things when there's no parts, nor people with the skill to repair them!

Today's garden harvest. Five years ago we began turning our regular-sized front and back yards into an edible and native...
28/10/2024

Today's garden harvest. Five years ago we began turning our regular-sized front and back yards into an edible and native garden, slowly flipping over the turf and adding loads of mulch, and 100s of metres of drip irrigation during any spare time we had, and on a super low budget. We had no idea what we were doing.

It's worked out rather well, and we're learning more every day :)

No good wood wasted ;) These avo/cheese kernifs are made from the offcuts of spoons and spatulas. Any bits too small or ...
23/10/2024

No good wood wasted ;) These avo/cheese kernifs are made from the offcuts of spoons and spatulas. Any bits too small or cracked join our firewood/mulch pile, and even then, are still worth picking over for new treenware ideas.

Slowly working up to kitchen knives. Maybe another year or eight.

Chipping away at red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera) to prep cutting boards with blood moats and home-forged iron handles...
22/10/2024

Chipping away at red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera) to prep cutting boards with blood moats and home-forged iron handles.

Bloodwood for the brisquette gods!

I'm having waaaay too much fun with this :)




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Deception Bay, QLD
4508

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