Monday, December 06, 2010

sunday morning

At school, I never was much for art. It frustrated me beyond belief that I never seemed to produce anything that vaguely resembled what I thought it should. As such, I have always had a huge admiration for artists, and in particular illustrators. This is not just because of their evident raw natural talent but additionally for the patience I never had to produce detailed and often fantastically imaginative true works of art.

So naturally, I was hugely taken by Sunday Morning Designs' stunning collection of products, in particular, those that sport the fine crafted illustrations of Dylan Martorell. They feature such whimsical and childlike motifs as Elephants, Rabbits, Chickens, Cats and Rhinos that transcend age, taking us all back to the sanctity of story-book illustration.


Please, enjoy!












Saturday, December 04, 2010

I went to Melbourne and all I got was....

The beauty of being new to a place is that everything is suddenly fresh. In London I cringe at tourist souvenirs. Mousemats/T-shirts/Teatowels sporting the iconic tube map or Street Name placards are such regular sights, they bore me. Not so in Melbourne. 


Here, I love all products that remind me of where I am. I love the Old Tram Signs that depict the traditional black and white tram destination blind from the Melbourne W-class trams because I know all of the places on the list. I love that these products will allow me to take a little bit of Melbourne back home, providing me with my own nostalgia of my time here, for future times.


An original Destination Blind as seen in The Chapel Street Bazaar

The Victorian 'Hookie' Turn











The products as shown above are just some of those from the company: Make me Iconic. The story behind Make me Iconic is a lovely one. Its founders, born and bred Melburnians, returned to the city after 10 years away, last year and fell in love with it again. The company was born out of wanting to make products that brought the stylish, contemporary and unique elements of the city to life that they so loved.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

stuck in the mud

No dialogue on the Australian design and craft scene would be complete, in my eyes, without a mention of Mud Australia ceramics.


Pretty much the only Australian design export I'd come across before coming out here, my attraction to the wider variety of Mud stocked over here even led me to find my employer: Moss Melbourne, who boast an enviable selection of colours and styles.


Handmade in Sydney, Mud ceramics are all gloriously unique and despite their fragile egg-shell like appearance, they are safe for oven, microwave and dishwasher.


The colours range from insipid, naturally inspired tones, reminiscent of a pebble beach to acidic yellow and coral red. A serving dish, vase or carafe stands its ground well as a single piece but a combination of many of the smaller varieties available form an enviably stunning collection.


Mud are also able to boast some inspiredly sympathetic styling. See below for some of my favourite images.








workshopped

'Workshopped' is an Australian company that 'identifies great Australian design and brings it to local and international attention'. Its online store, exhibitions and new Sydney store in Surry Hills offers a great range of original, aesthetic and useful products. 


Here are a few that caught my attention:


1984 Fishbowl

Stoby Coatstand
Golden Jewellery Tree


Wednesday, December 01, 2010

the measure of it

I love Joanna Campbell, a jewellery designer from Auckland, New Zealand's Tape-measure Rings and Bangles.

pony love

Printed at my good friend Rosie's Sydney printing house and stocked at my workplace, Moss on Fitzroy Street, I love the gorgeous designs from Pony RiderTheir designs feature on a whole range of homeware items: cushions, quilts, 'teakins', flags and brilliant adhesive 'wall dots'.


I particularly love, love, love the Ribbons! I doubt I will be returning to UK without one....


















a different breed of bird

 Swallows, Doves and now even Owls get all the exposure. So it was especially nice to see Bonnie and Neil's unique avian depictions in their great prints. I love their 'cockys' and refreshing to see the humble Robin depicted away from its usual Christmas regalia.

I came across this delightful little company last Sunday when I discovered the treat that was the Sunday Market in Federation Square's Atrium. As well as tea-towels and cushions, they also do a great and varied run in printing on timber and producing placemats, coasters, storage and shadow boxes.

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