books and libraries

HOT: Janet de Neefe at Books for Cooks, Rice Queen, 2/231 Smith St, Fitzroy

December 7, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

I’ve written previously about the great author events that specialist cookbook store Books for Cooks run. They are becoming so popular that they’ve started moving certain events out of their store – too many books and people to fit into a small space! While the non-store events are generally not free, the great thing is [...]

HOT: The Design Files Open House, 40 Little Napier St, Fitzroy

December 2, 2011 ⋅ One comment

What’s better than a pop up shop? A pop up house! Melbourne design blogger extraordinaire Lucy Feagins has brought her blog The Design Files out of the interwebs and into real life. With the help of The Project Agency’s Esther Navarro-Orejon, Lucy has turned a swoon-worthy Fitzroy warehouse conversion into an even more swoonworthy display home [...]

The Casual Cyclist’s Guide to Melbourne Giveaway!

December 2, 2011 ⋅ 49 comments

I am a big fan of Melbourne-based bike rental company The Humble Vintage and the limited edition hand-drawn maps coming out of it called Melbourne for Visitors and Casual Cyclists. Now author and entrepreneur Matt Hurst has written The Casual Cyclist’s Guide Melbourne, a book bringing a fresh perspective to cycle routes in Melbourne interspersed with articles on cycling tips, [...]

HOT: Adriano Zumbo at Books for Cooks, 233-235 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

October 26, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

We’re so lucky to have Books for Cooks in our city. This independent book store in Fitzroy is Australia’s only retailer specialising in books on food and wine. The five rooms of an old Victorian terrace typical of the area are filled floor to ceiling with densely packed books, from the popular to the obscure. [...]

HOT: Dressed for Murder: Fashions from the World of Hitchcock, Melbourne Writers Festival, BMW Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne

September 7, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

Melbourne Writers Festival is over for another year and we’re in the middle of the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week – so this post straddles the two events nicely. One of the events I attended this year at the Melbourne Writers Festival (along with the Jonathan Franzen Q&A which was really enjoyable – he’s the guy [...]

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 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 Chat: Owen Thomas of Hipside Guides

October 22, 2010 ⋅ 6 comments

I liked the idea of Hipside Guides as soon as I heard about them – a city guide written by a local to help visitors and locals find the the cool, hidden places of Melbourne. Kind of like MEL: HOT OR NOT, in map form! Today’s HOT Chat is with Owen Thomas of Hipside Guides [...]

HOT Spots Winter 2010

June 11, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

Once again the City of Melbourne have produced a free pocket-sized booklet full of lots of ideas to inspire you to get out of the house and enjoy winter in Melbourne. This is a post to bookmark! I sat down with a cup of tea and flicked through the booklet, which you can pick up [...]

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