Summer blogging

It’s summer and I am freezing.  Yes, really.  I am sitting here in my home in Australia.  We’ve run out of the gas that runs our central heating yesterday(Monday)  and it can only be delivered Thursday.  So here I sit-looking at the sea and wearing UGG boots and a shearling coat.   Hope everyone else on the other side of the world is warmer.

Cool… lights on sydney

I’ll be home in a month (yay!!) squeezing in a quick trip to Copenhagen before I head to Sydney and back to Europe once again afterwards.  But I haven’t forgotten where home is…and I can’t wait to see you….

Cool… jenny kee

As a teenager in the early 80s in Sydney, I used to love going into Flamingo Park- a design atelier in run by two amazing creatives: Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson.   One of the first groups of designers that really had an Australian aesthetic, they gained their inspiration from the colours and patterns of Australian flora, fauna and  the natural environment such as the bright flashes of colour from opals and the ocean.

Occasionally descending to tack (note Princess Di’s koala jumper- but hey it was the 80s and we also wore shiny lycra and headbands), the designs were bright, original and vibrant.  Flamingo Park at the top of the Strand Arcade was an essential stop in my shopping trail.  I even managed to buy a gorgeous Jenny Kee Opal scarf (when I was 13!!! I think my mum pitched in) which one day I will frame  and put in my atelier as a reminder of home  &  youth.

Anyway, I digress…Jenny Kee has released a new fashion collection for Australian Fashion Week and it looks as good now as it did 30 years ago-which just proves she was ahead of her time.   She has retained the wild patterns and contemporised them into great shapes and wild colours- as another blogger put it ‘waratah on crack’- love it!

Interesting facts about Jenny- she and her daughter are survivors of the Granville train crash- the worst rail disaster in Australia’s history and apparently ( according to Wikipedia) she had a brief sexual encounter with John Lennon.  Hmmm.  

Cool…greenhouse by joost

This cool installation only gets better when you find out that it was designed and built in the period from its inception on 23rd December to its opening on the 5th February.  Considering that most of Australia closes down for January, this is most certainly not only a feat of design but  a feat of project management.

Designed by Joost Bakker, a Dutch born designer, he is most famous for his vertical gardens- a trait he must have inherited from his family- a long line of tulip farmers.

Aptly named greenhouse, this installation was about designing a space that brings a connection between people and their source of life and livelihood.

Artichoke magazine put it like this:

The simplicity of the structure is based on a desire to assemble and dismantle, 
should the need arise – with the minimum of financial and energy expenditure. This is central to Bakker’s design philosophy. He wants the Greenhouse to be harmless and it’s eco-impact to be positive.

Taking this very seriously, he shows mind blowing attention to recyclable detail. Each component of the building – from the beer bottles to the use of galvanised steel screws for their ease of recycling – is a testament to years of intricate knowledge, development and the cultivation of the personal micro-networks necessary to support positive impact building.

Artichoke magazine, issue 31, May 2010

The result is a bold statement in the most beautiful of settings.

PS Sydney- I can’t wait to see you in April!

COOL…FLORENCE BROADHURST FOR KATE SPADE NYC

I was so excited to see the posters going up at the bus stops around Hong Kong for the collaboration of Florence Broadhurst and Kate Spade.   Known for her colourful life, moving around the world from Shanghai to Sydney, Broadhurst’s graphics are bold, bright and truly original- just like the Aussie herself!  Unfortunately, her life ended tragically.  Her unsolved murder is still a subject for some discussion in Sydney.

Signature Prints owns her whole catalogue of designs and Kate Spade has reinterpreted the graphics: applying them to everything from iPhone covers to the linings inside jackets.   Her interior design was a breath of originality in the Australia from the 50s to the 60s. Extremely well connected, she was able to use her social mobility to design for the scions of Sydney society.   I remember as a child seeing some of her wallpapers in design showrooms. Using metallics and flocks, they certainly made an impression on me as a six year old.  I really wanted a peacock design for my bedroom, but my mother thought it a bit excessive for someone under 10!

I’d love to pick up some of the dinnerware myself and maybe a iPhone cover…I’m heading off to Kate Spade now…..

Sydney…I miss you

I came across this video made in Sydney for Zara…the first 2 mins make me so homesick.  Roll on Sydney summer…will be home soon!

Cool…Nomad book launch

The inspired Sibella Court is launching her book, Nomad, in Sydney on the 5th November.  Be sure to join her at The Society for a glass of wine, book signing and a chat.  And for those of you in NY and LA, Sibella will be launching her book at Anthropologie.

Cool store…Lisa Madigan

The weather was perfect in Berry last week: the sun was shining, the sky was a clear blue, the birds were literally singing. So you can forgive me if I thought I was in a dream.  Driving around with the top down, I suddenly came to a screeching halt.  A vision of white fluttering in the breeze beckoned me into the  new gallery opened  recently by Lisa Madigan. Lisa is talented artist, stylist and designer hailing from the Northern Beaches of Sydney.  She moved down to Berry on the NSW South Coast a few years ago, drawn by the relaxed lifestyle and proximity to the beach and the countryside.

Her creative energies have certainly been flowing, for not only has Lisa opened her store, but she also entered into this year’s Archibald Prize,Australia’s most prestigious prize for portraiture,  as well as putting together an show of her own work at her gallery.

The crisp white backdrop of the gallery creates a relaxing and fresh environment for a carefully curated collection of homewares and decorative items that would certainly add distinction to any interior.

The choice of textures and colours are reflected in Lisa’s paintings.  Her latest work, entitled Sublimation,  explores the possibilities of white and black, colours that are diametrically opposed but together can be harmonious. The works are both organic and ethereal and play with the idea of the transcendence of matter, from earth to dust to air.

Lisa, working in oils, constructs a sense of unity by  using rough textures created by thick impasto of paint and granite dust, adding dimension to the restrained palette which is almost monochromatic, but has variation.  She mixes gloss paint with matte to create unique effects and adds the slightest touches of colour, ochre to deep browns to pale pinks and khakis, to give the paintings a tactile quality.

In addition to her art, Lisa stocks a rug range by Armadillo & Co, a company that prides itself on its use of natural materials and fair trade policies in the production of their rugs.   Ceramics by  Melbourne potter, Shelley Panton, who specializes in stoneware pottery in simple shapes, but with the most amazing glass-like glazes,  are also stocked. These two designers have been chosen by Lisa to showcase their pared back aesthetic, fitting in with the organic feel of the store.

It is that feeling of tactility and simplicity that runs through the space.  These are objects that are easy to live with and pleasant to touch; that makes you feel grounded to nature and the environment that surrounds us. It makes you think of a simpler life, stripped bare of all that is unnecessary, but still full of beauty.  Not everyone is lucky enough to live in such an amazing place as Berry, but it is nice to know that wherever you live, you can take a piece of it home with you.

Lisa has an online store which you can find here.

LISA MADIGAN

79 Albert Street

Berry NSW

www.lisamadigan.com.au

By the way, Lisa will soon stock the LOVE travel guides written by the inspirational and charming Fiona Caulfield, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.   Fiona will be at Lisa Madigan gallery on the 5th November for a book signing and a chat.  If you can get there, DO!

Cool…Nomad book launch

The inspired Sibella Court is launching her book, Nomad, in Sydney on the 5th November.  Be sure to join her at The Society for a glass of wine, book signing and a chat.  And for those of you in NY and LA, Sibella will be launching her book at Anthropologie.