Book on weaving flax flowers
Weaving Flowers from New Zealand Flax
contains detailed instructions for weaving
fifteen different flower and foliage designs plus different variations of several of the designs. Many of the flower designs can be woven from a single flax leaf, and are very quick to weave once you’ve had a bit of practice — even quicker to weave than the flower shown on my Weaving Flax page.
The book also includes examples of floral arrangements for each of the flower designs and various flax foliage ideas for floral arrangements in addition to the woven foliage designs. All the instructions and arrangements in the book are illustrated with large colour photographs.
After you’ve woven a few flowers, you’ll find it easy to arrange the different designs into beautiful, eye-catching floral arrangements that make ideal gifts or decorations in your own home.
Flax flowers add a touch of colour in any number of settings — in a vase, bowl or buttonhole, as a table display, wall display or bridal bouquet, or as a decorative element sewn onto a kete (bag) or other large piece of flaxwork. Flax flowers also mix well with cut flowers or dried flowers, and — like dried flowers — the nice thing about flax flowers is that they last indefinitely
Although most of the designs in the book are made from a single flax leaf, a few designs or variations are rather more elaborate, and one or two — such as the lotus shown on the left — require several flax leaves and joining techniques, so you’ll be able to extend your weaving skills step by step.
More illustrations from the book are shown on the blog post that announced the release of the book, Weaving Flowers from New Zealand Flax. The post also includes comments from people who have bought the book.
Weaving Flowers from New Zealand Flax is a book of 115 single-sided A4-size pages printed by inkjet and bound between covers in a plastic-comb spine which allows it to open out flat for easy use when following the instructions. It is written, printed and published by me, and available direct to the public at NZ$25 plus postage, bubble-pak packaging and (in some cases) transaction costs. The book is also available at the same price to libraries and booksellers (see notes below).
Shipping-inclusive prices
The total price for mailing a book to an address in New Zealand is:
• NZ$31 for payments by internet direct credit or cheque
• NZ$33 for payments made by credit card via Paypal
• NZ$34 for payments made by visiting a bank branch in New Zealand
The total price for sending a book by overnight courier to an address in New Zealand is:
• NZ$35 for payments by internet direct credit or cheque
• NZ$37 for payments made by credit card via Paypal
• NZ$38 for payments made by visiting a bank branch in New Zealand
The total price for airmailing a book to Australia is:
• NZ$40 for payments made by credit card via Paypal
• NZ$38 (plus your bank's fee) for payments made by bank draft
The total price for airmailing a book to all countries in the rest of the world is:
• NZ$53 for payments made by credit card via Paypal
• NZ$51 (plus your bank's fee) for payments made by bank draft
If you are ordering two or more books to be shipped to the same address, see the pricing information below.
Buying the book
Use one of the payment methods below and then let me know your shipping address by email. (If you’re paying by cheque or bank draft, include your shipping address on a separate sheet). If you live outside New Zealand, check a currency converter to find the cost in your own currency. Books are generally shipped within two days of receiving payment. I will email you to let you know when I’ve posted your book.
Paying in New Zealand by direct credit online
Pay into my bank account 03-0823-0516382-00. It’s important to include your name in the payee boxes — information in the payer boxes will not appear on my bank statement. There is sometimes only a limited number of characters allowed in the payee boxes, so you may not fit in your full name, but please include your surname, or most of it, and then email me with your shipping address.
Paying in New Zealand by cheque
Make the cheque out to Ali Brown and post to me with your shipping address, email and contact phone number on a separate sheet. Allow 5 days for cheque clearance.
Paying in New Zealand by visiting a bank branch
You will need to visit a Westpac branch to make your payment. Fill in my bank account number 03-0823-0516382-00 on a deposit slip. Also, fill in the 6 spaces in the reference box on the bottom left of the deposit slip. This reference box can only be filled in with numbers, not letters, so when you fill it in, pick any numbers you like. Take a record of the numbers you filled in and email them to me with your shipping address, so I'll know which bank deposit relates to your email and shipping address. Incidentally, the additional cost of $3 for payments made by visiting a local bank branch is because the bank account number above is a special electronic account to avoid the risks involved in putting my main bank account number online. My bank charges me an additional fee of NZ$3 for each manual transaction on this electronic account.
Paying in New Zealand — or outside New Zealand — by credit card online
You can use your Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card to pay through Paypal. Email me with your order and shipping address first and let me know that you’d like to pay through Paypal. I’ll request Paypal to send you an invoice. If you don’t already have a Paypal account, you will need to log on to Paypal using your email address and a password. Once you’ve activated your account and paid the invoice by credit card, Paypal will send you a receipt for your payment. They'll also advise me that you’ve made the payment and I will put the book in the post to you.
Paying outside New Zealand by visiting a local bank branch
You can pay by bank draft, but unfortunately this is a rather expensive option for you. In addition to my price, your bank will charge a hefty fee for creating the bank draft. If you decide to pay by bank draft, ask your bank to make the draft out in New Zealand dollars to Ali Brown, write your shipping address on the back and mail me the draft. Allow 5 days for clearing the draft.
Two or three books to the same address
If you want to order two or three books to be shipped to the same address, work out the shipping-inclusive price from the following breakdown, or email me for the price:
• The base price is NZ$25 per book
Add the postage and packaging:
• NZ$9 for 2 books to a New Zealand address or NZ$10 for 3 books
• NZ$20 for 2 books to an Australian address or NZ$26 for 3 books
• NZ$39 for 2 books to the USA or NZ$53 for 3 books
• NZ$43 for 2 books to the rest of the world or NZ$58 for 3 books
Then add the transaction cost, if applicable:
• NZ$2 for payment made by credit card via Paypal
• NZ$3 for for payment made by visiting a bank branch in New Zealand
Discounted prices for bulk orders
The following slightly discounted prices are available for bulk orders shipped to the same address. Email me with an order quantity, shipping address and preferred payment method, and I will quote you a shipping-inclusive price.
• The base price for 5–9 books is NZ$24 per book
• The base price for 10 or more books is NZ$23 per book
Notes for librarians
If the finance department in your organisation requires delivery before payment — as many, if not all, local councils buying for libraries seem to do — then you could purchase copies of this book through a library supplier. So far, I’ve sold to the following library suppliers: Academy Book Company, All Books NZ Ltd, Auckland UBS, South Pacific Books and Total Library Solutions. If you have a preferred library supplier that I haven’t listed, you could perhaps draw the book to their attention.
Notes for booksellers
Weaving Flowers from New Zealand Flax has its own ISBN number (978-0-473-14165-3) and barcode. I don’t recommend a retail price for bookstore sales or accept returns on unsold books. Also, please bear in mind that the book is printed by inkjet and bound in a plastic-comb spine although it does seem to be rugged enough to last indefinitely but I don’t know whether it will be as resistant to shop soiling as a book offered by a traditional publisher. However, you may be interested in learning that Auckland University Bookshop ordered 15 copies shortly after the book was released in February 2009, sold out and re-ordered within the first two weeks, without encountering any problems stocking the book.back to top