GORMAN : CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

Gorman : Choose Your Own Adventure 

Today is the launch of the Choose your own Adventure Campaign. Gorman has collaborated with 21 global creatives to customize a pair of sneakers in the name of charity.  With a bright array of designs all of them are so very lovely unique works of art. To view the lovely pair of sneakers visit http://www.gormanshop.com.au/collections/adventure-sneakers.html

T2 NEW PRODUCTS

                         
                               

                            
                                

I spy these cute T2 new products. I came across these and love the very cute colours and designs. T2 has adopted a magical bunch of big, small, furry and slippery friends! Yuchi the panda, Montell the monkey, Babi the elephant, Alba the owl, Kirra the cat, and Ebi the fish AND have come from all over the world to make T2 their home. You can find the T2 Tea Tails range in T2 stores and online.

NICE PACKAGING AND CONCEPT BODY AND EDEN

           

There's nothing more than I like is minimalistic design and a cleaver products design.
This product is both, founded in February 2012 Body & Eden's Beautifully Bottled 
Elixirs and Tonics.They combine whole fruits and veggies, nourishing, high-nutrient green super foods such as spirulina, chlorella, and barley, and stabilizing herbal infusions to give their tonics the highest possible nutritional content. They work closely with a hands-on herbalist to create safe, balanced herbal combinations that support your body so it can function more optimally.

Packaging

The drinks are packaged in glass bottles that can be returned on-site for 10% off your next order. Body & Eden uses Pristine Hydro reverse osmosis, a 7-stage filter, to ensure the best possible base for our products.

About

Body and Eden was formed by two college best friends who aim to use seasonal and sustainable products whenever available.

MOSSER TERRARIUM'S

 

I happen to be obsessed with plants, flowers, home keeping and everything else that my nomadic life cannot really contain... I of course, got a terrarium, you know... .. I found The Mosser yesterday and I'm oh! so smitten with it. The Mosser is a small glass terrarium filled with a simple round moss ball. The Mosser comes with a glass mister bottle used to feed your plant. They are very easy to care for and only need to be sprayed once every two weeks with filtered water. How good does that sound, fellow plant killers? AND makes a perfects gift for anyone.

DC * STUDIO

 

I came across the lovely and very cute work of DC Studio. I love the use of colours and the way they have photographed there products, makes me want everything. Their tumblr is worth a visit to find some inspiration and definatily inspired you for some craft 
DIY. Visit  DC Studio at http://dcstudio.tumblr.com and all their cute cards, plates and pillows are available at http://www.darlingclementine.bigcartel.com

NOT TUESDAY

                        

I came across this brand my the name of Not Tuesday while i was in the shop the other day. I love colour combinations so bright and vibrant.Perfect for Spring/Summer .Not Tuesday is designed by Rachel Wightman .Creating harmonious and sometimes unexpected combinations for her necklaces. Each necklace is made from a selection of polymer clay beads which are all handmade and colour mixed by Rachel, making each one unique.

Her  background is in magazines where she has worked as an interiors stylist for over 10 years. She is a mum and maker .And very creative always making clothes, jewellery, artwork, cards, cushions, etc etc. Primarily for myself though, and more recently for her daughter. For a while now she has been making her own necklaces but never been able to source beads that she really loved. The solution of course was to make her own. A failed experiment with resin led her to polymer clay, with which she started mixing different colours and creating different combinations of beads. And that is where Not Tuesday began.

                          

KIP & CO

Kip & Co began as the little dream of Melbourne girls, Alex, Kate and Hayley to create bright and beautiful. It’s their first range and to celebrate they’ve called it Confetti Storm SS12. Bringing new colour and energy to our bedrooms for summer. It’s a colourful range, with explosions of bright neons and sharp patterns that can be mixed and matched. Kip & Co designs have been inspired by unique, wild, and brave art and nature, soaked up on backpacking adventures around the globe and flea markets down the road .I love how they have mixed the bright modern prints with the velvet quilt covers – clever! A new quilt cover and a couple of cushions can change the look of a bedroom entirely.

BEC WINNEL MULIEBRITY

 Muliebrity

Bec is a self taught artist. Her art practice has changed from a young girl who drew realistic horses over and over, to exploring digital art whilst studying graphic design, then back to traditional techniques and mediums for her current personal work and incorporating digital techniques for commercial illustration. 2012 is her first year as a full time artist and is showing her first solo show.

The exhibition is being held at Just Another Agency Project Space as a sideshow to the Semi-Permanent conference Melbourne. So anyone who is going to be in Melbourne this Friday night or going to the Semi-Permanent conference, go along.For more details on the show @ Just Another Agency HERE.

MAKE TODAY HAPPY

Kikki K New Collection,14 Day's of Happiness. Just a little something to make you happy as well as other people around you. What a good idea and how could you
resist with such bright colours and cute designs.

BENEATH THE SUN NEW RANGE

                          

Exclusive sneak peek of the new range from Beneath the Sun. How Pretty are these colours? Can't wait to see all of their new pieces. Love the use of colour.

PROJECTS OF IMAGINATION

 

 

 

          
           Design by Projects of Imagination .POI is a multidisciplinary design studio based in Melbourne .

Chin Chin is a restaurant serving no-frills, quality Asian cuisine in a dynamic and fast paced environment. The brand was created by Projects of Imagination. The graphic identity reflects the tongue-in-cheek, youthful pop-culture attitude and POI developed multiple communication touch-points, from the ever changing rock-poster wall to the 'Adults Only' wine list, to the neon signage throughout. POI also recently developed the graphic system for Chin Chin's sultry basement bar, 'Go Go'.I love the clever approach to this brand and how open Chin Chin was to making these changes which have surely made them stand out from the rest. 

             

ART WORKS ON PAPER

Art Works on Paper are exclusive one-off marbeling prints.

Handprinted by Pernilles Snedker Hansen. 

http://snedkerstudio.dk/

PEACHES + KEEN BLOG

Peaches + Keen is the fluoro duo Lily Daley, a graphic designer, and Lucy Hearn, a gold and silversmith. When they are not lusting over plants at Garden World, Lily and Lucy combine their names, skills, and love of all things bold and bright into the creation of tactile, one-off items that make people smile.

Lucy Hearn and and Lily Daley are two friends who share a mutual love for design and jewelery. Together they are Peaches + Keen and their upcoming exhibition in Richmond is a collaboration mapping a celebration of colour and cheer, jovially laced together with jewelery design, art and leafy delights. 

No secrets I love fluoro (I even know how to spell it correctly, funny that), so I obviously love the current work by Peaches & Keen for Craft Victoria.

LUMIERE ART + CO

   

Lumiere Art + Co

[Emma] I started Lumiere Art + Co a year ago. Before I had my son Lenny, I was teaching art full-time. After nearly ten years of teaching and doing the whole exam thing, when I had time off I realised I was sick of talking about [art]. Having students feed off me and giving and giving was draining. I needed to make. I started making things with vintage paper and selling them at markets. It was heartbreaking – I didn’t sell anything! Then I met Julia [surname Green, Director/Stylish of the appropriately named Greenhouse Interiors].

Julia used my work for shoots and the more commercial work I was doing for her, the more excited I got. Three weeks ago I took the plunge to give up teaching part-time and committed full-time to Lumiere Art + Co. It wasn’t actually that much of a risk – I’m really happy and feel good about how my work is going. It helps if you change what you produce every six months or so and are thinking about markets and trends. [Emma releases a new series of work every  six months and works collaboratively with retailers and stylists to provide what is wanted in shops - I see her very much as a perceptive and outward-looking artist].

What you are working on now?

Deco is a purely decorative collection strongly influenced by linear symmetry and resolved forms. I like to have meaning behind my work. This collection is a reference to the Art Deco period and  represents elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity. The look of this collection is created using Shibori - a traditional Japanese dyeing technique, relief printing and hand-folded paper. Each piece is individually dyed, printed by hand or produced through the use of a traditional printing press. Deco is the binding of all these ideas. I’m also in the process of printing a brightly coloured series of pillowcases.

What do you think the appeal is of Lumiere Art + Co?

I like to create pieces directly from the source rather than creating a representation. I use a printing press which has a massive steering wheel and looks like something from the seventies! It’s more labour-intensive than screen-printing but it creates an individual product that you can tell is hand-done. We’re so saturated with photography at the moment, and instant art, it’s nice to creative something that takes a bit of time.

My work is also very commercial. Julia [from Greenhouse Interiors] is really good at knowing the world of retail. The colour pallete I use, the easy-to-frame size and the white background of the Mandala pieces [from the Sanskrit world meaning 'circle'] are appealing to the eye and easy to look at. The circles are also resolved and centered. People like that. It’s decorative rather than having an art context. People can interpret it in all different ways.

You focus on using reclaimed materials. Why is that important to you?

There are two layers to this answer. First, as an art student and then an art teacher, you learn to be savvy with materials and respect them rather than wasting them. Second, I am drawn to things people discard. It breaks my heart to see beautiful, handmade items that are no longer considered fashionable being thrown out. I like to transform things using fun and colour, like the doilies and lace that I used for printing my Mandala series.

Where do you go for inspiration?

I went to the Venice Biennale last year which gave me a kick in the bum and opened my eyes that art doesn’t have to be localised.

I also went to the Milan Design Expo which was incredible. It pushed me to use colour in my work. The Italians are very good with colour!

And locally, Hut 13 is a confetti whirlwind of colour! [Owner] Luce Mora is a huge support to emerging local designers. [The shop is often a first step for local artists to get their work noticed commercially].

When are you at your creative best?

All day [I know, I was also taken-aback to hear that someone who is switched on ALL the time actually exists. Emma soon revealed her secret: smart time-management]. My day is based around Lenny so I work madly for the two hours that he sleeps during the day, as well as at night and on weekends when my partner is home. Lenny also joins me when I potter round with deliveries, which is most days.

What are your favourite artistic pieces in your home?

 I have two huge Spacecraft artworks hanging in my home. Stuart Russel is absolutely amazing. He uses layered image and pattern – his pieces are divine.

I also love these two wooden, bright blue chairs that I found in a market in Rome. They are only 20cms tall and must be 50 or 60 years old. I love the change in scale they give.

And I have a beautiful fruit bowl that is bright yellow and looks like it has been melted upside down. It’s from Lightly in Melbourne.

Lastly, describe your style in three words.

Eclectic, meaningful and fun.

http://getinmyhome.com/2012/07/21/meet-the-luminescent-emma-cleine-of-lumiere-art-co-getinmyhome/

PONY RIDER

Pony Rider is about celebrating the beauty in the ordinary everyday things

Biting into an overripe plum.

Cracking the top of a creme brulee.

A pot of freshly brewed tea.

Curling up on the lounge to read the the weekend paper.

Using the "good" linen for the everyday...

I came across this brand and wanted to introduce you to one of my favorites as a source of inspiration and home wares labels, Sydney based Pony Rider. In their own words, Pony Rider is all about "celebrating the beauty in the ordinary everyday things" .Their latest campaign entitled 'Aztec Highway' doesn't disappoint, and I love the stylistic choices of the brands look-book of it's new collection .With colourful pom pom garland used throughout the campaign, such a sweet touch along side stick teepees.Emphasizing the brands laid back style. 

 

Pony Rider is a brand new collaboration between Sydney friends Kelly Searl and Jacqui Lewis. All their lovely textiles and soft furnishings are designed in house, and then hand screen printed and sewn in Sydney.I do love a story about creative collaboration between friends with varied backgrounds and demanding day jobs .Kelly’s background is in textile design and development (she’s worked with Sass & Bide, Oneteaspoon, General Pants and many more), whilst Jacqui is a PR whizz with her own communications agency!how talented indeed, and very inspirational.

Ponyrider also has such a beautiful website? Love the simplicity of the layout and clean, crisp photography. You can buy Ponyrider cushions, tea towels and napkins here very reasonably priced and there blog is also worth a look.

RACHEL CASTLE

CASTLE was founded in 2008 by Rachel Castle with a small range of bedlinen made for friends and family. Considerable interest ensured CASTLE quickly became a commercial venture. The brand represents a love of beautiful, often handcrafted or handprinted, pieces for the home.

Rachel Castle has spent the past 20 years working in the homewear industry both in Australia and abroad. Prior to CASTLE, Rachel was joint founder of London-based branding and design agency, The Nest, and before that, worked for The Conran Shop in the UK. She regularly styles and writes for Australian lifestyle magazines, and currently lives in Sydney.All handmade artworks are sewn by Rachel Castle and her very patient and loving mother.

Question & Answer

Tell us a little about your background – what path has led you to what you’re doing now?

 I originally studied Communications at RMIT and moved straight into the PR department at Country Road doing all the marketing for the Homewear brand. From there I moved to London to work with Alex Willcock at The Conran Shop in the buying department, and ended up heading the branding division responsible for all the printed material for the shops and restaurants worldwide. From there Alex Willcock, myself and Russell Pinch set up our own branding agency called The Nest which we sold 7 years later to St Lukes in the UK. From there I started having babies and re-engaging with my love of hand-making anything I possibly could.

You have spent the past 20 years working in the homewares industry both in Australia and abroad…. What prompted your move into interiors styling and writing for magazines?

I guess the freelance nature of styling and writing is perfect for stay at home mothers. We need to work in little snippets of time and so a day on a shoot and then writing 2000 words at your own pace is a real luxury.

How do you find a balance your freelance editorial work with designing your gorgeous line of homewares and artworks for CASTLE? How do these two roles complement each other?

With difficulty at the moment. CASTLE is taking up more and more time, both the bedlinen and the artworks, and so I’m finding I do the odd house here and there at the moment, rather than a consistent amount of work.

How would you describe your interior decorating/styling aesthetic in your own home? How does this compare with the aesthetic you bring to your commercial styling work?

My style at home is very ‘abundant’ or as my fussy architect friend calls it ‘chaotic’. It’s a lot of stuff everywhere in a big white backdrop. I love clutter I must say, it makes me feel at home. I do however, like to have a specific spot for everything. This is where the jugs go, this is where all the chopping boards belong, this is where the cookbooks stand, this is where the sugar bowl sits. I tidy the house to within an inch of its life every Friday afternoon and Monday morning, without fail.With the clutter comes a need to make everything else as neat and tidy as possible. On a shoot I will ALWAYS make the bed, set furniture at right angles, be careful to put everything in its place. 

Which designers, artists or creative people are you inspired by?

There are just so many. David Band, Gemma Smith, Paul Rand. I love Jonathan Adler, he is hilarious. You should read his book, I laughed out loud it is so funny. I remember as a child my friends mother, Annamieke Mein, was an embroiderer, and I was very inspired by her workspace. I like to sit in my ‘making’ room surrounded by my ‘making’ stuff, probably just like she did.

Where else do you find inspiration – ie books, magazines, your environment, travel, your family and friends?

I feel really inspired by work itself, by the process of retailing, even if it is online I still have interaction with my customers who are just so appreciative and delightful to deal with. If I just had to sit and sew or screen print all day every day I would go potty. The mix of making and selling is really a perfect balance. Oh and I read every magazine known to man and just as many blogs. 

What does a typical day at work involve for you?

Sewing, there is always sewing, wrapping parcels, pleading with my bedlinen manufacturer to PLEASE let me have just 15 metres more of our cotton fabric, then pleading with our lovely printer to print me another batch of spots yesterday, and then I spend the other half of my day at the Post Office. My Post Office people are so lovely because I spend my entire life there.

What are you looking forward to?

Time to make some new embroideries and do some new screen printing. Ask me what I’m not looking forward to… our house renovation where we have to move out for 4 months.

You favourite fossicking spots in Sydney for unique furniture and home accessories?

I would have to say Koskela. All Australian design, everything from furniture and rugs, to pottery and exceptional aboriginal weaving and paintings. They are lovely, lovely people.

What and where was the last great meal you ate in Sydney?

Spice Temple in Sydney on my birthday.Where would we find you on a typical Saturday morning?On the side of the road arguing with the sat nav somewhere in Pymble driving Cleo to netball.

Sydney’s best kept secret?

I adore the Sydney Opera House. It is my favourite building in the world. It is an unbelievably beautiful piece of architecture inside and out, and I feel a serenity and peace whenever I am there. On any given day there is music and ballet and caberet and theatre and tours and things for children, so much going on. It is a very special, sacred, magical place that I visit often.

GORMAN S/S RANGE 2012

 



S/S RANGE RELEASE

Gorman is set to release their new Spring/Summer range shortly. With sneak peak photos released via Gorman's Facebook page and on Instagram. It's hard not to fall in love with all its new pieces. With bright electric prints, blocks of colour and accents of neon. Following the current trend's Tribe/Aztec and colours of the season, Gorman has a unique aesthetics take.

Lisa Gorman launched her label at a fledgling boutique in Fitzroy, Melbourne.The instant success of that first offering was the beginning of something special, and in the years that have followed the Gorman label has become an iconic part of the Australian fashion landscape and will also show this coming September at Melbourne Fashion week.

Visit Gorman at : http://www.gormanshop.com.au/

KELLY SMITH FOR COMPANY MAGAZINE

Today i came across the new work of Kelly Smith for Company magazine in the UK.Illustrating the uber cool runway looks that have trickled down onto our high streets; namely Mary Katrantzou's gorgeous florals, Louis Vuitton lace and pastel,and Giles' metallic cat-eyed temptresses.No doubt you've all picked up on these trends as the Spring stock rolls in. I personally can't get enough of pastels,so pretty and tempting since the colours such as pinks, mints and lilacs becoming predominate I'm also quite partial to lace and floral also and why not something like Aztec to mix it all up.

BLACKLIST STUDIO RELEASE NEW COLLECTION

Blacklist Studio New Prints

This time next month Blacklist studio will be release its new collection. This collection is definitely for the young hearted, not the faint hearted ,which i can't wait to see. Blacklist Studio Prints are created by dreamer for dreamers... By people who love a lazy sunday, a long lunch, turning houses into homes, friends into family... and never ever bothering to keep up with the Jonses.

Their current collection is amazing with some unique prints. They have also created a lovely video that makes me want to buy everything in it! Their latest collection, To The Sea (which includes wall hangings and cushions as well), is no different. It’s about “falling in love, following love and most importantly: staying in love.”

 

BECI ORPIN CRAFT DESIGN AS A CAREER

 Craft Designer Beci Orpin

Every Thursday until Craft  Design as a Career, Craft’s Annual Seminar, The Craft Blog has been featuring one speaker to give you all a little taster of what is to come at one of our biggest and most inspiring events of the year.

This week the craft blog visited the colourful studio of one of Melbourne’s most famous illustrators, Beci Orpin. One of Australia’s most flourishing freelance designers, Beci has blossomed swiftly since graduating from Textile Design at RMIT in 1997. From selling work in niche retail outlets to designing for worldwide companies such as Burton Snowboards, Universal Music and Dark Horse comics, Beci’s signature aesthetic is everywhere.In between juggling the design of her new book (coming out in November) and motherhood with sons Tyke and Ari, we felt pretty honoured to be slipped into Beci’s fun but busy schedule…


LET’S MEET BECI ORPIN

If you’re at a dinner party and someone asks what you do, how do you answer?
I always find it tricky to describe what I do in one word. My work is not technical enough to be graphic design and then often it is a bit too designed to be strictly illustration and then I make other things too.  I tend to use the blanket term of “designer”, and then provide more info if prompted. Luckily most dinner parties we go to happen at our house so I don’t have to explain myself.

What inspired you to make craft and design your career?
My gran was very crafty – always making rag rugs and quilts and things. I think she might have gotten me interested in making things. I always loved drawing too and knew from a young age that I wanted my job to involve drawing. It took me a while to figure out how I could combine illustration and fabric. Textile design was the perfect solution for me!

What do you love most about working within this industry?
As my work is a bit all over the place, I actually don’t think I’m involved in any industry in particular. Within my work I do seem to find myself surrounded by like-minded and inspiring people – that is a pretty great thing.

What’s the best piece of professional advice you ever received?
Work hard. Both my parents are hard workers so they showed me good work ethics. My lecturers at uni also loaded us up with so much work, and when we would complain they would tell us that that is what it is like in the real world. They were not wrong! It was good preparation.

You’ve become a Queen of collaborations in the past few years. In your wildest dreams, who’s next?Oh gosh! There are so many people and companies I admire and would love to work with. Something furniture-based would be amazing – I love local company Jardan. Others on my dream list would include APC, Baggu, mt tape, Marimekko, Mina Perhonen, Kirra Jamison and Apartmento Magazine. 

Craft and Design as a Career
9am-4pm, Thu 16 Aug 2012
Clemenger Auditorium, NGV International, 180 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne
$90 / $40 Craft Members and groups of 10+
BOOK HERE or call us on 03 9650 7775

All photos by Beth Wilkinson.Interview  : http://www.thecraftblog.org.au/lets-meet-beci-orpin/