Australia

HOT: L’atelier de Monsieur Truffe, 351 Lygon St, East Brunswick

August 8, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

Three words to cheer up your Monday. New. Chocolate. Shop! Collingwood favourite Monsieur Truffe has opened bigger and brighter establishment in Brunswick East and it has all of the charm of the original plus more. Thibault Fregoni, the ‘mister’ of Monsieur Truffe, has set up his own old-fashioned cocoa bean roaster and bean press, which [...]

HOT Chat: Greg Ferrington of Westgate Community Initiatives Group Inc and LoveLuvo

August 5, 2011 ⋅ 4 comments

Regular readers will know that I love finding out about social enterprise businesses in Melbourne (such as STREAT, Charcoal Lane and The Social Studio) and recently I was told about LoveLuvo, a retail store with environmentally friendly products for the home and body (as well as a manufacturing business) which provides employment for those with [...]

HOT: Third Wave Cafe, 189 Rouse St, Port Melbourne

August 3, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

As many of you know, I’m not a coffee-drinker. What’s even stranger in a coffee-town such as Melbourne is that many of my friends are not coffee-drinkers either! Which means that there is a bit of a hole in my reviewing repertoire. Thankfully, my coffee-drinking friend M has returned from overseas and is a ready [...]

HOT: Pho Chu The, 264 Victoria St, Richmond

August 2, 2011 ⋅ 6 comments

Victoria Street Richmond is somewhere I only venture with a recommendation. There are just too many restaurants to choose from and life’s too short to be eating bad pho. My most reliable source of Vietnamese food recommendations is my Vietnamese friend J, a prolific eater-outerer and an excellent home cook. Since she got a car [...]

HOT: Roll-Up

July 27, 2011 ⋅ One comment

No, we’re not talking about those nasty fruit rubbers! Roll-Up is a new bicycle valet parking service which is launching at State of Design. Instead of locking your bike up to the nearest lamp post, cyclists can get their bike valet parked for free by the fun-fair themed Roll-Up crew. It’s a great initiative as [...]

HOT: The Everleigh, Level 1, 150 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

July 26, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

When I first moved to Melbourne straight out of university, one of my favourite bars was Jet Bar on Gertrude Street (anyone else remember it?). It was quiet, intimate and had a super-comfy red velvet chaise lounge near the front window. Hanging out there, listening to soft jazz, felt grown up. I don’t know what [...]

HOT: Cupcake Central, Level 2 Melbourne Central Dining Hall, cnr Swanston and Latrobe Sts, Melbourne

July 25, 2011 ⋅ 6 comments

What would you do if you lost your job tomorrow? Sheryl Thai used to be an IT consultant. Then during the GFC two years ago, she was told that she no longer had a job. Not one to cry into her keyboard, Sheryl decided that it was time to fulfil her dream of owning a [...]

HOT: Made to Measure – Treadlie Handmade Bicycle Show, Design:Made:Trade, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton

July 22, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

As you all know by now, the theme for this year’s State of Design Festival is ‘design that moves’. So it’s fitting that part of Design : Made : Trade this year is an exhibition all about bikes. Specifically, Treadlie magazine contacted bicycle builders, from professionals to amateurs, and put together an exhibition of eighteen [...]

HOT: Design Made Trade, Royal Exhibition Building, 9 Nicholson St, Carlton

July 21, 2011 ⋅ One comment

My favourite event during State of Design is Design : Made : Trade. It’s a showcase and market for small manufacturers and designer / makers, some local and some from interstate. Lighting, furniture, jewellery, stationery, ceramics, household goods – it’s all there. Some of my highlights this year: Karton. Living with a cardboard box never [...]

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 [...]