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indie art & design blog
one night of illustration
FOR TONIGHT ONLY (Thu 20th Dec), The Jacky Winter Group is having exhibition & party! Opening at 6pm, it's at The Carlton Studios and Gallery which is located at 193-197 Bourke Street in Melbourne. How I wish I lived in Melbourne right now, as the lineup of artists is incredible...
At tonight's exhibition (20th December 2007), each artist will be displaying original works and reproductions across 12 rooms. Some work will be for sale, as well as the last copies of the 2007 field guide, and you will be greeted at the door by a talking bird. Possibly two.
The Jacky Winter Field Guide mentioned above is one way in which the agency promotes its artists. Limited quantities of the guide are available at Metropolis Bookstore, Greville St Bookstore, and Brunswick St Bookstore in Melbourne, and Ariel Booksellers in Sydney. The irresistible description is as follows:
"Australia houses a wealth of artistic talent, but, due to geographic limitations, Australia’s artists, designers and illustrators can be difficult to spot in the wild. The Jacky Winter Group Field Guide seeks to assist the reader in identifying some of Australia’s more impressive specimens.
Included are a selection of folio samples from artists represented by the agency, as well as their take on the Jacky Winter, a native Australian robin. The call of the Jacky Winter is a clear two-note whistle of "Peter-peter-peter" repeated over and over and over and over.
For the enthusiast, this guide has been bound so that individual pages can be easily extracted for safe-keeping. The final page of the guide may be removed and folded along the marked creases to form a convenient desk-frame to further aid your identification efforts."
Stay tuned for a couple of "feature artist" posts on Madeleine Stamer & Fontaine Anderson which will be posted later today! (Both artists are represented by The Jacky Winter Group & will have work on display tonight.)
fozi photography
Fozi is the new credit card sized tripod designed by Timetale to improve your digital camera snapshots! This incredibly convenient little gadget folds flat so you can carry it everywhere you go. When presented with a photo op, simply unfold Fozy & fasten the hinge to create a stand suitable for digital cameras, phone cameras or even media players. Made from polypropylene, the Fozi features three main supports and a variety of little plastic teeth. It has been designed to hold your camera in a number of different ways and the hinge has been tested to last more than 1000 full reversals. Especially good for low light situations, you could use Fozi to take photos out on the town, or perhaps at dinner with friends - including ALL of your smiling faces of course! (By using Fozi with your camera's self-timer.)
The Fozi tripod is available in 7 different colours: pink (as pictured above), blue, red, black, white, clear & clear striped. It is availble to purchase from the Timetale web site & the price is hard to believe - AUD $5.95 including postage to anywhere in Australia! That certainly won't break the Christmas budget...
young blood christmas 2007
Opening this evening is the Christmas 2007 Young Blood designers markets. Over 40 labels are participating & will be selling a range of new and original designs, including furniture, lighting, home wares, accessories and fashion. Pictured above are the stalls of Bamboo Chutney and People Like Us Collective. Make sure to check out 0049 Design who will also have a stall - their felt goodies are fantastic! Just look at their felt Christmas cards & boxes below...
The Young Blood design markets are on at the Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street Ultimo. Friday 7th December, 6:00pm – 9:00pm, Saturday 8th December, 8:00am – 5:00pm.
tipping point
I'm looking forward to seeing new work by Sydney artist Jade Oakley. Her exhibition "Tipping Point" opens tonight at Mori Gallery and continues through to the 22nd of December. The work pictured above is "Ochre Tree 4", 2007 (wire, sandstone, paper & gouache). Jade is an installation artist who works closely with the environment to create site specific artworks and is currently artist in residence at Bondi Public School.
Mori Gallery is located at 168 Day Street, Sydney. I've seen Jade's work quite a few times in the past and it has always been incredible. Can't wait to see her new work & tell you more!
yoshi jones for men
I love shopping at Yoshi Jones in Newtown. The light-filled store is colourful & vibrant, bursting with great gifts to suit all occasions, and I know I'll always find gorgeous clothes that I love to wear... but apart from all those girlie things, I'm always impressed at the large selection of interesting menswear on the shelves. Yoshi Jones carries t-shirts aplenty, with screen prints guaranteed to please the boys. They also stock a unique collection of cotton shirts that are something else! They are designed & made in Australia by Yoshi Jones, using contemporary cotton fabrics sourced in Japan.
The striking patterns feature geometric shapes and colour palettes that work brilliantly. A couple of my favourite colour combinations include peach partnered with both warm & cool blue variants (as pictured at top) and orange, brown & aqua (as pictured below) both on a crisp white background. The various designs suit all tastes but mostly they are unique in a bland environment where the male shirt seems to be reserved for the conservative workplace.
The mens shirts are available in two different styles - fitted and a side vent style that can be worn with jeans, shorts or a skinny pant. (Perfect for all those summer celebrations!) There are both short sleeve & long sleeve options, and prices range from AUD $99 - $125. Pictured below is a detail from one of the shirts showing a more delicate design - both in its hand-drawn style and the mauve & eggplant colours - again on a crisp white background, punctuated by orange & blue highlights.
The fabric range is so eycatching it has appealed to men and women alike leading Yoshi to design a range of colourful shirts for us girls as well as the boys. This new range will be appearing instore throughout this month, so if you are in Sydney, be sure to check them out! The Yoshi Jones store is at 134 King St, Newtown (near the intersection of King St & Missendon Rd).
P.S. If you're a coffee lover, stop by Campos Coffee (a block down Missenden Rd) for the best coffee & beans ever!