art and design

HOT: Look.Stop.Shop, State of Design 2011, Melbourne

July 20, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Look.Stop.Shop, a popular event from State of Design 2010, is back again this year with more looking, more stopping and more shopping! To refresh your memory, Look.Stop.Shop is a free, self-guided tour of window displays and in-store installations of some of Melbourne’s favourite retailers, from the flagship Melbourne Myer store to little independent boutiques hidden [...]

HOT: Chasing Kitsune, State of Design 2011

July 19, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Winter in Melbourne can be pretty grey, cold and miserable but it does bring with it some joys – festivals galore! One of my favourite festivals is State of Design, Victoria’s annual design festival. So get ready because from 20-31 July I’ll be bringing you lots of State of Design related blog posts. I’ve got [...]

HOT: The Art of the Brick, Federation Square, Melbourne

June 5, 2011 ⋅ 12 comments

For a grown woman, I get inordinately excited by Lego. Witness me lining up whilst 8 months pregnant to get into Brickvention, Australia’s premier Lego fan convention. So as quickly as you can say ‘Lego Technic’ I hit the purchase button for tickets to The Art of the Brick, an exhibition of large-scale Lego sculptures [...]

HOT Chat: Benjamin Roberts of SKAPA BILDA

May 27, 2011 ⋅ One comment

I recently visited the Portobello Bride Boutique Wedding Market with two of my about-to-be-wed friends and was enraptured with the work of SKAPA BILDA. Who knew you could create such gorgeousness with paper! Todays’ HOT Chat is with Benjamin Roberts, one of the principals of SKAPA BILDA. Thanks Benjamin! Benjamin, tell me a bit more [...]

HOT: Lost & Found Hotel Room, Level 2 at Captains of Industry, 2 Somerset Place, Melbourne

May 12, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

The most coveted hotel room in Melbourne is back for its second season. The Lost & Found Hotel Room is a pop-up hotel room which is open for 3 months from 1 May to 31 July. It’s in the heart of Melbourne, upstairs from gentlemen’s outfitters and cafe Captains of Industry (who also provided the [...]

HOT: Fitzroy Market, Fitzroy Primary School, cnr Napier & Chapel Sts, Fitzroy

May 11, 2011 ⋅ One comment

As if Fitzroy didn’t have enough markets already, on the first Saturday of every month the carpark of Fitzroy Primary School sprouts the Fitzroy Market. What makes this market special? Well, it is small enough to enable dedicated browsing at every store and it has a lovely chirpy community feel to it. The market also [...]

HOT: Grandfathers Axe, 171 High St, Northcote

May 3, 2011 ⋅ 11 comments

Regular readers will know that I have a penchant for 20th century vintage furniture. What used to be a mild browsing interest has turned into a mission with a purpose as I’ve just recently moved into an Art Deco apartment which deserves to be filled with furniture that, for once, doesn’t come in a flat [...]

HOT Chat: Emma Leonard, illustrator

April 29, 2011 ⋅ 3 comments

One of the fun things about going to crafty, artisan markets is that you get to meet all sorts of interesting creative people. On my recent visit to Finders Keepers markets, I was drawn to the delicate, ethereal work of Emma Leonard under the label Belafonte. Today’s HOT Chat is with the lovely Emma – [...]

HOT: Finders Keepers, Shed 4, Victoria Harbour, North Wharf Road, Docklands

March 28, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

I thought it was amusing that the Finders Keepers markets were actually quite hard to find in the nether regions of Docklands. Once you did draw up to Shed 4 after a bit of searching, there were lots of treasures to be found at the handmade, crafty, designer market. Out of the 120+ stallholders in [...]

HOT Chat: Chanie Stock of Genki

March 25, 2011 ⋅ 6 comments

Melbourne loves its fashion and one of the most beloved labels of the city is Genki. I first visited Genki‘s Cathedral Arcade shop when I arrived in Melbourne way back in 2003. I immediately fell in love with the tiny colourful shop and the adorable aesthetic of their clothing and accessories, especially their ‘I love….’ [...]