Designalogue

While the worlds powers that be twiddle their thumbs and play the blame game in at the the United Nations Climate Change Conference currently happening in Copenhagen,  the bear is melting.

Over the corse of a week, the Ice bear in Copenhagen’s Nytorv square will melt leaving a bronzed skeleton and a pool of water.

The Ice bear is the work of sculptor Mark Coreth stands at 1.8 metres tall – the same size as the average thickness of the floating sea ice in the Arctic ocean.

Quite a genius way to get the message across I think!

In other news – this Saturday here in Melbourne town is the Walk against Warming.

If you are in Melbourne town, come join me, the fella & tens of thousands of others at 12pm to wander from the Stare Library down Swanston Street to the Princess Bridge where we will make a human sign and send our message to the polies that we want action on Climate Change.

That is all!

I’m looking forward to checking out this exhibition of Melbourne artist Miso this evening at the Gorker Gallery in Fitzroy and then a super yummy dinner here.

Just saying. That’s all.

Images via The Design Files

this is not the Nicholas Building....but kinda near it, so Im keeping the picture!

Its been a hilarious & crazy busy few weeks which included some installations of some highly anticipated goodies and also saw ME on the tele – interviewed as a design professional giving my opinion on a subject! Hilarious!! and I promise to tell you more about that in another post… one day!

But just a quickie for now, to give the Melbournite reader stalkers out there a heads up & head on down to the Nicholas building on Thurs or Friday eve (yep – that’s Thursday as in tomorrow!) for their annual open studios.

If you make it you will find the studios of all kinds of creative types - Jewellers, sculptures, milliners, artists, textile peoples, shoe makers and more uber clever peeps!

More info can be found here

***Update – I have been, seen, & checked out the open studios -clever peoples things seen, as were their goodies. With my trusty crappy snappy camera in tow, I took some pics to share of some kooky things -not one of the artists peddling their wares, it was more the building that got my attention. I’m sure you will understand what I’m talking about:

The building has 9 stories of endless corridor’s just like the one below that look like they haven’t had to much love since the building was born sometime in the 1920′s.

The stairs also seem like they are in their original condition.

Being a curious kinda lass, I took a look through a peep hole of a lonely door in a lonely corridor:

Shoes people. Shoes. Thousands of shoes.

If anyone can explain this. Please do!

Just a note to the local ladies out there… its on again -the Creative Women’s Circle

Saturday July 11th @ Guildford Lane Gallery. More details here

I recently came across the Creative Women’s Circle – a group in my Melbourne town that brings together women working in creative industries and small businesses to share information, inspiration and ideas. 

Well – I fit into ALL of those categories, so this coming Satdy morn I am going to tottle down and check this out! If you are also a chick who is interrested – find more info here

This weekends meeting chit chat, also includes a fabric swap, of which the idea of makes me break into a cold sweat! Fabrics are something I get very very excited by! 

I am lucky enough to have spent many a year working closely with gorgeous textiles and have built up quite a booty of delish!  To me, just owning some super Divine goodies is enough! Actually using them would just be wrong! I mean what if it was ruined – it couldn’t ever be used again!? But in the spirit of the day, I am going to go through my stash and decide which of the goodies I can and can not live without, and hope that someone else feels the same and has some awesome goodies for me to nab!

***Update -The meeting has been & gone & was very inspiring! 

That is all!

Um, how did it become May already? I swear it was New year just a couple of weeks back and we here in Melbourne town were in a heat wave. Suddenly its May, and we are having a super freeze. I’m beginning to think that Mother Earth has taken up quick step dancing! or just maybe I am just in a time bubble?!

So in the weeks gone by (though it feels like mere hours!) Ive just been doing my ‘thing’. Some of this involved helping the lovlies at Lump Scultpure Studio put a display together for the big annual designery trade  show “Interior Designex‘ to display how beautiful their light boxes can look beautiful Inside as well as out!  This is the result of that: 

CMD for Lump DX2009

CMD for Lump DX2009

As I only had a week & a bit to gather bits & pieces for the stand, I had to use what I could get my hands on quick sticks! This meant most of the display came from my stocks! (read my home!) But with some assistance from Diane Bergeron & Interstudio. 

The other side of the stand was as so: 

Ah then as quick as a flash, but not soon enough, the weekend came!!

Sunday was a perfect day. Blue skies, 19 degrees (that’s about 62F) and just gorgeous! Fella and I jumped in the car and headed up to a friends farm -an hour & a bit out of town for a lovely Sunday lunch. This is my idea of a perfect day!

To get to the farm we travelled past the areas recently hit by the tragic bush fires. (For what this is in reference to click here) I stuck my camera out of the sun roof of the car to take some crappy snaps of what now is. (I think the pics are pretty good considering the car is travelling at 100kms! (that’s about 62 miles per hour!))

This picture shows a vineyard with the burned hills in the back ground. The vineyard was untouched – the vines just look burnt as its now Autumn here. 

These pictures show how devastating the fires were. Apparently, bush fires are usually close to the ground, leaving the tree canopies relatively unscathed. As the bush was so dry – from a hot summer as well as 11 years of drought, as these images show everything went up in flames.

My heart breaks thinking of the animal life that had no chance of escaping. 

The yellow ribbon that someone has placed on this tree is the symbol that acknowledges these fires and raises money for those who suffered.

Although it is Autumn (fall) here. These trees are red from the fire – not the season. All these trees are native to Australia and dont shred their leaves in the seasons. 

Three months on from the fires and the forests are already greening up with new growth. 

And then to the farm we got! So beautiful! and its one of my favorite places in which to be. An hour there makes me feel like I have had a week away.  

 Ahh the serenity! until…

Why is it that boys feel the need to throw stuff? Apparently this tree was just asking to be target practise! (practising for what?!) I will point out – no animal or bird life was in the line of fire. 

And me and him felt the need to do some loved up posing in the sun set! 

And then it was done. and back to the city we went… for another week to go by quick as a flash! 

And breath out again and hear ones thoughts… Ah, its gone and done for another year and I now have some peace and quiet once more. Ah. that’s nice. 

oh, best I fill you on on what I’m talking about! So you don’t feel all left out and unloved! 

So: I live (and work) a very short 2 blocks away from the  serene, peaceful and picturesque Albert Park lake. 

Quite pretty isn’t it! – on the edge of the city right by the bay….lovely -if you haven’t yet visited, you must – its lovely……. OK, that’s my tourist gathering bit done! 

Image via Flikr -Aumbody images

Once a year, for 4 looong days the quiet lake transforms from the pretty picturesque lakeside it tis, into a Grand Prix circuit full of ear bleed loud cars, bucket loads of beer, busslings of busty broads and bogans!! 

Image via The Age - pic by Viki Lascaris

Yesterday for a couple of hours I joined the busslings of busty broads and bogans and tottered track side to see what all the fuss and noise was about! In case you were unsure, its about ear bleed loud cars, bucket loads of beer, busty broads and plenty of bogans! AND that’s about it really!

Not being a car motor head person it is lost on me somewhat, but I do admit – its hard to not smile and get a grin from ear to ear when the giant mosquito roars past at 300kms an hour! 

Image via The Age - pic by John Donegan

And I have to confess, I cant help but giggle like a school girl when the cool fighter planey things do their low flyovers!  Each day of the Grand Prix the plane roared repeatedly over my house sending Trevur the cat scuttling for the safety of under the bed and me into the street to watch it do air ‘doghnuts’. 

I think I might be a fighter pilot when I grow up. Except the fighting bit, and the fact that I am a grown up…

Image via The Age - pic by John Donegan

The whole event finished up last night with a concert where 70′s rock gods (!?) The Who played on! I didn’t go to see them, but heard them live from my garden and repeatedly said to the fella : ‘Oh, I didn’t know they did THIS song!’ 

So that’s whats been going on in my ‘real’ world of late! Not very design worthy – but my blog so I can do what I want!!!

One of these days I will do a proper post once again, as I have been a little lax in that of late due to being really busy and important!!!!!

It feels wrong not to comment on the situation that is currently happening here in Victoria where I live. So rather than post some eye candy pictures today,  bare with me for a moment while I talk of some serious matters.

On Saturday we experienced the hottest day ever on record – 46.5 degrees Celsius (115.7 F) -horrible and yet again an uncivilised heat. Most of Australia has been suffering from a drought for the past several years, so needless to say its dry and with the recent heat wave, extremely dry, so much that many of the cities trees look like its Autumn (fall) as the leaves have been burnt off and fallen to the ground.

While I overheated, yet safe and sound over the weekend at my inner city home, bush fires sprung up in the bush on the outskirts of the city and have raged ever since.  Entire townships have been decimated and the loss of human life is already in triple digits and so far over 750 homes destroyed.  And the amount of animal life will be extreme.

I have not been affected directly by this devastation, but still I just feel so heart sick and sad for those who have lost so much.

It is expected to be found that the fires have been purposely lit, which is just incomprehensible to me that someone would do so as kicks. I don’t get it, and as a normally peaceful person, I hope the persons responsible have a world full of bad karma coming their way.

PPPhewy it is HOT. Crazy hot.

We are experiencing a heat wave here in Melbourne town and its nasty.  

I’m talking 43 degrees Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) -bloody HOT! a due to last for dayzzzzzzzzzzzz still. 

Its just uncivilised. 

So today I am pretending that my office is right through those curtains there. When the mood strikes I can just take a few steps and then flop into the pool….

Aaahh, I feel my blood cooling down already…..

Office for word and image

The reality is not so, but it doesnt hurt to dream! 

This afternoon I have a client meeting in a very hot home that currently has no window furnishings so just has hot hot sun beaming in. The only thing to look forward to here is that its quite a drive out to site, and my lovely car has fabulous air con – so the ride will be sweet.

Hmm, maybe I can have the meeting IN the car?  

I’m serious too.  Hmm, bit hard measuring things though…

Aahh Im melting…….

I think this is very cool indeed. So cool that when I saw it I said ‘Oh, that’s SO cool” – out-loud and to myself… 

Simply put, and as non technical as can possibly be (due to my non scientific, non technical brain!), its an umbrella that harnesses the energy from the falling rain and lights up to make you more visible to the surrounding wet world. 

I am not for a minute going to pretend I understand any of HOW this works, so for more info go here and here. 

However, this means no more lurking on a dark rainy night. IF that be your thing… I wont judge.

Shame we don’t have much use for it here in my Melbourne town – being in a bad possibly global warming related drought and all!