Great Scott! Jeremy Puts More Wings On Things

Jeremy Scott, i.e. the Jeff Koons of fashion, has gone and done it again. He's been let loose at smart and put his trademark wings on the unassuming little eco-friendly smart fortwo model. It's super cute but be warned; it can't really fly! I'm sure it will fly down the highway though, obvs. 

I like this concept a lot, designers from totally different industries (fashion and automobile) getting together and creating something left of field and very exciting. The wings LIGHT UP serving as avant-garde rear lights, what more could you ever want? The smart forjeremy will be launched next year as a limited special edition, best accessorised with your adidas x jeremy scott Wings 2.0. How much more fly can you get?

The Man & The Bag

It was my dear friend Jerry's birthday this past weekend and I decided to make him a present, I sewed him a tote, a man bag if you will. I wasn't sure if he'd like it or hate it, but being the outrageously positive and happy-go-lucky person he is, I knew he would appreciate the effort and tell me he loved it, even if he hated it, thought it was gay or thought it might get him beat up in his new home out in country NSW. As expected, he made a huge deal of telling me how much he loved it and put all his other gifts into the bag and toted it around the rest of night. I swear I didn't do it for the gold star. 

Jerry contrasts the metrosexuality of the man bag against the

heterosexual backdrop of a motorcycle leathers advertisement.

I have to admit I have always wondered what guys put in their bags, if they choose to use one. I'm not talking brief cases, laptop bags or sports bags, I'm talking bags purely for fashion. Usually men manage to cram everything they need into their jean pockets. If they decide to sling a canvas bag over their shoulder on the way out the door, do they reason that since they now have the opportunity to carry around more, they just do? An umbrella on an overcast day? Maybe something to read on the bus? Gum? A packed lunch? Or is the increasing popularity of the tote down to the fact jeans are just too skinny now and the wallet/phone/keys combo is just too tight of a squeeze? Because you never see a guy wearing pants with room to spare toting a tote. Hence why I won't be offended if Jerry decides to save his new bag for his trips back to the city. The male nurse with the man bag won't go unnoticed in a small country town. Happy Birthday Jerry!

The Minimalist Does Christmas

Blank is the new black.                      Less is more.                      Mini is the new super-size.

These are all catch-phrases I'm sure online designer homewares store The Minimalist would run with (I give them my full permission) (I can't claim these as my own). However they have decided to go with:

Don't buy less, buy better.

HA HA. Because obviously buying in a minimal fashion is bad for business. So buy minimally-fashioned items, but buy lots of them better! 

The Minimalist has some so-hip-it-hurts bits & pieces you really should be strategically placing around your home if you want your cool friends to visit more often. Cool people don't like clutter, Freecycle that shit already! 

Example 1: Handmade sacks to hide your scungy undies. 
Example 2: Designer light bulbs, regular light bulbs are so 5 minutes ago.
Example 3: A vase which resembles a scrunchy piece of paper, much like those German poems I composed but in a fit of writer's frustration/creative agony then tossed into the bin. Just kidding.

The Minimalist also stock the previously mentioned Sky Planters, upside-down hanging pots of plant, or, the best conversation starter since that canvas of a naked lady your mum bought and claimed was of her. My mum did.

If you are in Sydney during December you will have the opportunity to touch, feel and purchase their range of amazing home, decoration and gift options. The Minimalist Pop-Up Store will be open at blank_space (374 Crown St, Surry Hills) from December 12 - 27th. 

This one will get a chuckle and subsequent sigh from any friend who knows the perils of job hunting in the creative industries. Support good design this Christmas.

theminimalist.com.au

Hanging Plants Turned On Their Head

Hanging plants are the perfect gift. In high school, a friend and I gave a boy a hanging plant for his 16th birthday, we thought we were hilarious and 'so random'. I also once suggested to a friend she gift a hanging plant to her upset boyfriend. How can you continue to be sad if someone hands you a fern in a basket, is all I'm saying.

I'm sure Kiwi founded company Boskke were thinking along the same lines when they came up with this pretty ridiculous/amazing idea called the Sky Planter.

The upside-down planters save floor space, conserve water, purify the air, improve your health and help cook your dinner! They are a great way to grow herbs in your kitchen without taking up precious bench space. 

Boskke believe in evolved garden design. They recognise that the world's urban spaces are continually expanding and becoming more densely populated, they want living with plants in big cities to be easy, functional and good-looking. And I know what you're thinking, looks messy, but the soil doesn't fall out! A Boskke Sky Hanger comes with a nifty ceramic collar which fits around the stem of the plant, locking everything into place. 

Sky Hangers are available around the world, check out stockists here. If you're in Sydney, keep an eye out for my next post and I shall let you know how you can get your green thumbs on some of these gravity defying pots in the lead up to Christmas. 

Life's a garden, dig it. 

www.boskke.com

Invest In Colour

How do you decide which bank to trust with your money? The one with the best rates? The best products? Or how pretty their branch buildings are? If you lived in Japan, it might be the latter. I would find it very difficult to walk past one of these Sugamo Shinkin Bank branches and not go inside. I would have to join in with whatever pre-choreographed song and dance routine I imagine those cute Japanese bank tellers engage in all day, along with smiling broadly and giggling every time you deposit a cheque. Kawaii!

French-born Japan-based Emmanuelle Moureaux is the architect wizard-ess behind these candy coloured buildings. Employing the idea of shikiri, a made-up word which translates to 'dividing and creating space through colours', Madame Moureaux likes colour to be more than just a surface finish. In her opinion, colour is three-dimensional. A Moureaux-designed bank branch "creates the sensation of being in a magical forest" and "prompts you to take deep breaths, refreshing your body from within". When was the last time your bank did that?

Sugamo Shinkin Bank Shimura Branch

Sugamo Shinkin Bank Niiza Branch

Sugamo Shinkin Bank Tokiwadai Branch

www.emmanuelle.jp

Oh Me? I'm a Deltiologist

I've never been a collector. I've not had the desire to accumulate a whole bunch of anything. I did have lots of Barbie's when I was little, but that doesn't count, because I trashed those poor girls. You can't brush their hair and countlessly marry them off to your one Ken doll if they are still in their boxes, obviously.

The other day I pulled a postcard off my wall which I'd blu-tacked up there a while back and turned it over, it read:

'Deltiology is the study and collection of postcards.'

Interesting. I'd pulled this postcard off a wall which was surrounded by countless other postcards, I also had a gold shoe box stashed away which was full of postcards from my travels. I had been collecting postcards from each location I had visited and writing about my time on the back. I thought I was being very clever. An A6 summary of my time in Siena, Ios, Naxos, Granada etc. Genius! If my mother's memory is anything to go by, I won't even remember I went to those places in 20 years, let alone what I actual saw, ate, did there. 

'Worldwide, [deltiology] is thought to be the largest hobby after stamp collecting and money collecting.'

Ok, so I'm not very unique, but the good news is next time I get asked that age old dinner party question "And what do you do?", I have a fairly unique answer.

A few of my overseas acquisitions. 

Sculpture By The Sea

Once a year Sydneysiders flock to an annual outdoor sculpture exhibition dotted along the Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk where everybody, including yours truly, can indulge in the role of amateur art critic. The perfect occasion to mark the beginning of summer (the best time in Sydney) Sculpture by the Sea combines stunning location with engaging art. From Imel Sierra Cabrera's adorable pink penguins to Staccato's vibrant and charitable poom, Alex Richie's mesmerising kaleidoscope cube and Dave Mercer's cheeky view tm, it's all a bit of a visual overload. Set against a backdrop of wide blue skies and deep blue ocean, it's hard to know whether it's the sculpture, or the sea, which really captures people's imagination.  

Now in it's 16th year, Sculpture by the Sea has become something of an institution in Sydney's events calendar. If you are in Sydney and you still have not had a chance to wander through the 2km temporary sculpture park, it's on until Sunday 4 November; and it's free!

It's events like Sculpture by the Sea which make me really happy to be back home. 

Greer Taylor transition

Mark James Emery bamboo waves

Alex Richie kaleidoscope cube

Rachel Couper & Ivana Kuzmanovska mirador (detail)

Lulu & Asia getting amongst Gaye Jurisich's playpen

www.sculpturebythesea.com

Fresh Out Of The Oven

Cake Wine pop-up bar is now open for the entire month of November on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, which is great news because today is Thursday November 1st! Get down there! Who's going to join me for some Merlot??

199 Cleveland St, Surry Hills
More details here