Faffing

'i' – not your usual newspaper print

2011-02-22T13:12:00.001+08:00

i (short for informação) was recently selected by the 'Society for News Design' as the 'best designed newspaper'. The examples of the Portuguese daily's front covers look great, very colourful, grid based and fresh. Design Taxi has a nice little write up on the award, and include a few covers.
The paper's website is also engaging and dynamic. Wishing I could understand a little Portuguese right now!

The lazy alternative to screenprinting your ideas

2011-02-01T08:28:00.000+08:00

I'm due to take a break from the world of freelancing (and other employment) around April-May to prepare to pop a little person into the world. So I've been giving some thought to what happens afterwards and, without prior experience in all things babies, was hoping (some mothers might say in vain — apparently babies take up a lot of time) to develop a series of self-promo items. My basic concept is to concentrate on where I get my inspiration from, primarily my local sources (home, family, Perth etc). I came across this site recently — looks quite interesting. They will print your design onto a range of fabrics which you can purchase by the yard. Small start up business from North Carolina, USA...

Studio Glithero – the products of processes

2010-09-22T11:41:00.000+08:00

I came by Studio Glithero, another creative duo, via a London Design Festival email (I wish I was there!). They have a great selection of work based on the concept where the "duality of product and process strive to be one and the same". They do this amazingly well.

There's some lovely pieces, but I think my favourites are 'Burn, burn, burn', and the simplicity and effectiveness of 'Blueware'.

8 Hour Day Go Road Tripping

2010-09-21T16:53:00.000+08:00

This couple has given fantastic to scope to the term 'work life balance'. They've taken a year out of their regular lives and will spend the next twelve months operating out of short-stay accommodation and the like, working at full capacity servicing existing (and new) clients.
Travel is one of my favourite sources of inspiration too – and I love their take on incorporating this aspect into their process!
From the website...
"Eight Hour Day is a design boutique, and we love what we do. It’s who we are. As a husband and wife team working side by side, we aspire for the designed life(style): a place where work, life and inspiration are all equal and integrated organically."

Pony Up - Two and Three

2010-08-31T16:09:00.000+08:00

Here's Juliette's second and my third (and final) version. Juliette's third version should be finished soon, ready for submission to Loose Leaf. My last effort was a little homage to my mate who has been living and working in Melbourne for a while now – I miss her and our creative collaborations quite a bit!

Data is the new s(oil)

2010-08-26T14:59:00.000+08:00

Wonderful talk by David McCandless about new ways of visually interpreting data. Great graphics, but more interesting is his passionate take on how we can view and process data in context and more easily.
For more info on McCandless see here.
If you haven't already, check out TED talks here. Lots of great ideas, presenters and mind blowing observations!

Pony Up - One, One and Two.

2010-08-26T13:58:00.002+08:00

The Ponies zine returns, at last, in a new format and with a new name: Loose Leaf.
It's due out in September, first issue free. If you like it you can subscribe for twenty bucks and have it deleivered right to your mail box. Awesomeness. You'll need to email the industrious K to send your own submissions and to subscribe.
So, to submit! After getting the wonderful Juliette on board we decided to contribute a quick game (our take anyway) of exquisite corpse that we'll complete before the submission due date, swapping our working file three times each before finalising. A5, black and white. No theme (eek!).
The idea is to spend minimal time and have fun, of course!
Here's my and Jule's first marks and my second. I've just bought a lovely 'typographic workhorse' from House Industries – the font family Eames Century Modern, so thought it would be a good excuse to start playing with it.
I'll post the rest up as we go. I'd love to hear what anyone else is doing.

First Five Out - AGDA Event

2010-06-01T15:04:00.000+08:00

Come by The Oxford, Leederville, tomorrow night to see some awesome local designers who've been in the industry for five years or less... 'though I should issue a disclaimer here! I will be joining Rochelle Smith, Scott Cain, Gene Eaton and Russ Goodman as the fifth presenter. Sorry - I did try to find an alternative!
Here's the spin...
Five designers, each having graduated in the past five years from their design course, have been invited to come and speak about their experiences thus far – people who started in design and who are now working in the industry, or outside the industry in other creative fields. How has having a base in design influenced and led each presenter to where they're at now? Especially regarding entering the design industry in Perth, their motivations and their tips to new graduates.
Come and join us!

Better late than never!

2010-01-28T17:45:00.000+08:00

This year looks exciting, especially with a bit of traveling thrown in. I'm in a funny spot right now - heading off to Japan for a month next week so not really wanting to start too many new projects right now. I feel a bit in limbo! I can't wait to be in the snow, and I can't wait to be back in the studio to get my teeth into some new work!
This year I'm hoping to get a few 'extra-curricular' projects completed under the name of Studio Stroke, including a few collaborative efforts with fellow designers and other creative types. Want to join in? Drop me a line.
Planning on uploading a few pics of design in process - documenting the stages of a few recent projects. It's the kind of stuff I like checking out when I look at the work of others... the image above is from a series of wedding stationery I'm working on.

Melbourne Type

2009-12-04T13:49:00.000+08:00

Spent the weekend and a bit in Melbourne, assisting with the assessment of ISTD submissions from students throughout Australasia. I slept in the swag on my wonderful friend Juliette's floor and took the opportunity to do something for every waking moment! I had a great time.
The ISTD assessment involved five professional designers being paired with 5 design educators, in turn moderated by Becky Chilcott (of Chil3) and the Chair of the ISTD, Freda Sack (of The Foundry). Besides seeing some lovely student work, we got to meet a few of our design 'heroes'!
When we weren't ISTD-ing Juliette and I were hitting the vintage markets, eating out a lot, drinking at roof top bars and generally having a ball. What fun.
So now... I'm all fired up for the new year. I want to go back to study and attend Massey, in Wellington. I want to visit Melbourne more regularly... and I am back to missing Juliette - she rocks.

Mixtape Love

2009-11-20T11:03:00.000+08:00

I've been accused a not being very romantic, so I'm making an effort. My first attempt is making a mixtape for my other half. I'm trying to choose songs that have a bit of meaning to us, or are appropriate to being on a 'love' mixtape kind of thing. Some I've got in mind are a bit of a laugh but that's ok! It's hard excluding songs that you like but don't fit the criteria!
I'd love to hear any suggestions.
So far my list includes...
• Gotye: Hearts A Mess
• Angus & Julia Stone: Paper Aeroplane
• Jose Gonzales: Heartbeats
• Tea Party: Winter Solstice
• Sarah Blasko: Flame Trees
• MGF: My Ex-girlfriend's Boyfriend
• Hilltop Hoods: Chase That Feeling
• Feist: Brandy Alexander
• Faithless: Don't Leave; We Come One
• Cat Empire: Protons, Neutrons, Electrons; Two Shoes
• Bran Van 3000: Willard
• Ben Lee: Gamble Everything for Love
• Biftek: We Think You're Dishy
• Architecture in Helsinki: Heart It Races
• Johnny Cash: Jackson (ok, so not so romantic but we love it!); If I Were A Carpenter
• Jeff Buckley: Satisfied Mind
• Alex Lloyd: Amazing (...)
• FOTC: Business Time

Little Lauren's Kite Party

2009-11-03T15:39:00.000+08:00

It was Little Lauren's 8th birthday yesterday so her mum and dad organised a kite for each girl to decorate then we all went down to the foreshore to fly them - fantastic idea! They had a ball, and they made some fantastic kites with killer graphics, even some lettering. Ahhh!

Heading to Melbourne, end November

2009-10-29T09:50:00.005+08:00

Am heading over to Melbourne for the last week or so of November and would love to hear any suggestions on what to see or do.
Old favourites mean dropping by the Metropolis Bookstore in the Curtin Building, Sticky, the NVG (don't you love that it's called the 'National'?!). Planning to check out the Gorker Gallery too.
Thanks go to Sundari for posting a similar request and her readers for offering the following suggestions... Breakfast, Lamington Drive and a small Japanese bakery - Breadtop.

I can't wait!

** Edit: Thanks for the tips from Jo and Gregory.
• Burlesque Bar on Friday night or Sunday
• Red Door Burlesque
• The Ruby Review
• Australian Centre of Performing Arts

• Retrostar for an awesome collection of clothes

• Good guide for cool stuff in Melbs, www.norfguide.com.au
• G's favourite place was Galerie Montmarte for vintage French posters

• Guy Matthews at 54 Johnston St, Fitzroy

• Circa Vintage Clothing is excellent too - 102 Gertrude St, Fitzroy

• Good bar, Silk Road
• Very recommended for food: Nyala African Food, 131 Brunswick St, Fitzroy (03) 9419 9128

Little Space

2009-10-15T15:21:00.000+08:00

It's been over a month since the last post – slack? Yes. Busy? Definitely! I've moved into a new little space in Subiaco. The pic on the left, above, is the room as it was three weeks ago – bright blue window sills, canary yellow skirting boards and mouldings (is that what they're called?) and pink door frame! We painted the whole thing white, added some furniture and a light globe, and Bob's your uncle!

Still settling in and been busy with Semi-Permanent so hoping next week all is back to normal and I'm back into getting lots of work done...

Passionate Eggs

2009-09-12T22:05:00.001+08:00

It's now spring and our passionfruit vines are still fruiting. We have a constant supply, along with eggs from our garden chooks. We get about two eggs a day, plus one more if Mrs Pecky isn't being her usual clucky self, warming the straw in her nest. With the wind blowing everything around we're getting 4 or 5 passionfruit a day too.. I can't keep up. Eggs and passionfruit - perhaps some sort of custard recipe beckons?

Comics and Fists

2009-09-11T01:57:00.000+08:00

Went to an event at the Rosemount tonight featuring the works and presentations by Gestalt - including illustrators Justin Randall and Anton Mckay. Amazing stuff. Justin took us through some conceptual development and the process he uses to get his stories and imagery happening. Check out it out.

Commercial Rap Farm Style

2009-09-01T15:04:00.002+08:00

I love the new look and website for City Farmers - I like that a local store made good can be a great example of decent branding (from their identity right through to their service in store).
I ducked into their Belmont store today to pick up dog nuts (B's endearing term for dog biscuits...). Everyone smiled at me, no one bothered me, the guy at the counter came and met me half way to the till when he saw I was laden up with 4 bags of nuts (they had a special on). They even helped carry the nuts to the car - scrub that, they didn't help - they carried, I watched. Anyway, enough of a rant and free ad - I like 'em fine.

Spec Me Up

2009-09-01T14:23:00.003+08:00

I'm not usually one to promote 'spec' work but what the hell - this is for Triple J (government sponsored youth radio station), a brand I enjoy. It's a bit of fun. Limit yourself to 30mins and you have a nice little hourly rate. It's also part of the SemiPermanent exercise, which is kinda nice too.

"Come up with any design you like on the theme ‘triple it’ and submit it to tshirt@semipermanent.com (with your name & mobile). Please submit your entry as a low res JPG. If your design wins you’ll receive $1000 and have your design released as part of the triple j t-shirt range so everyone can see it."

Feel free to disagree.

Change Your Thinking

2009-08-19T09:17:00.006+08:00

After being recommended the course by a lovely friend of mine, Mum and I started (and finished last night) a 10 week course in changing your thinking. It was surprisingly good - it exposed me to the whole 'rational-irrational' thought process which, though very obvious and logical, is amazingly applicable to handling your everyday life and emotions.
At the end of our last class we listed a few goals for the next five years. Mine included "to live in the moment more" and "to appreciate what I have and not take anything I love or anything I have for granted." After listening to someone else I added one of their goals, to "surround myself with positive people." I like this because it's similar to one of B's and my favourite ideas, to "work with people better than you".

Felting Feels Fine

2009-08-10T16:48:00.003+08:00

Through happy coincidences I am led to book a friend and myself in for a felting class. The obviously talented Pauline Franklin happens to be married to like-wise talented graphic design/painter Paul Dennis - whose work I have admired since the Bethany packaging. Paul and I also work together for our industry association, AGDA. My friend Aud is from Norway where felting is quite popular. These little babushka dolls are so sweet, maybe we can do that class a bit further down the line...

Hello stop!

2009-07-29T09:05:00.002+08:00

How cool is this? I'm definitely sending one the next chance I get!

Sweet Photographer

2009-07-14T14:10:00.001+08:00

Happended across the work of 16 year old, Australian photographer, Nirrimi via Lost in E Minor. Wonderful eye and great composition. Check it out...

Rainbow Road

2009-07-08T12:03:00.002+08:00

B and I drove back from Kalbarri yesterday - spotted a double rainbow on the way. Times like this when I wish I had a proper camera!

Swing it baby!

2009-06-23T08:44:00.004+08:00

Third class in our intro to swing dancing course last night, last class next Monday. Hmmm! What fun... but between B and I we have no 'natural talent', so everything we're doing is quite measured. We take a while for things to click but we're determined to persevere! Shane and Ruth are entertaining instructors, making the whole effort worthwhile, as do the lollies, free badge pins and lovely fellow learners.

12 films in 12 weeks...

2009-06-10T13:30:00.002+08:00

Thanks to RB on Twitter for link to this nifty project. US based collaborative project between 4 core guys who act/direct/produce/everything else along with a collection of other talented... talent.

From the website comes their goals:
• to promote creativity and adaptability by imposing a strict once-a-week deadline
• to explore the short-film format from a variety of angles – thematic, stylistic, and logistical
• to meet and collaborate with a large number of actors, artists, and technicians
• to create quality work that represents our interests and abilities, as individuals and as a group
• to work our butts off
• to have barrels of fun

Very inspiring! First movie looks great (although quite sad).

Date night

2009-06-08T15:56:00.005+08:00

Had a very 'American' date Sunday night with B - a burger at the only place open (and close to the local cinema) at 9.30pm on a Sunday night, then caught 'Star Trek: 11' - we had the WHOLE cinema to ourselves! Had to run out and find staff to remind them to turn the lights off and pull the curtains open. Ahh, the laughs... anyway, not a bad movie! The extent of our Star Trek knowledge topped out at "Beam me up Scotty" and "Energise" but it didn't matter. Entertaining and interesting. Sylar (I mean Zachary Quinto) made a great Spock and Karl Urban was perfect as Bones (last time I saw him was in 'Doom' and as Eomer in 'Lord of the Rings').

Bike nerd

2009-06-05T23:37:00.000+08:00

Check it out... free running for bikes!

coin keys phone markers notebook

2009-06-04T16:04:00.004+08:00

Finally got around to trialling a bit of lino-equivalent block printing... stuff (substrate?). Might need to refine my technique a bit!

Retro WAFL Tea Towels

2009-06-03T15:45:00.009+08:00

Wow. What a find! Found these very cool tea towels with the old WAFL teams colours. Where? At the Aladdin's cave of newsagency stores - the one near The Imp on Albany Hwy. This place is amazing! I always drop by to see what they have hidden away. Only $1 each!

Shadow Letters

2009-06-02T15:22:00.005+08:00

Spelling with shadow letters...

Stuff from Melbourne weekend

2009-06-02T14:21:00.007+08:00

Spent the long weekend (WA) in Victoria with B and the lovely J (another third of mayk). We drove along the Great Ocean Road, up to the Grampians then back to Melbourne for a day or two. Here's a few highlights...

Zine Festival @ Fed Square ~ Saturday 30th May
www.shelbyville.com.au/
www.gracialouise.com/zines.html
Just my luck - seriously. What a lovely coincidence! Dropped by the zine stands at Fed Square - paradise! Bought a couple of zines from Gracia and Louise & 'Laundromatic' courtesy of Shelbyville. I was spoilt for choice. Saw "MoTHER [has words...]" for sale too! Go Perth.

Breakfast in Peh-raaaan ~ Monday 1st June
www.threethousand.com.au/eat-drink/borsch-vodka-and-tears/
Great coffee, lovely service and fantastic setting! Food was spot on.

Shoppin' in the city ~ Monday 1st June
www.metropolisbookshop.com.au/
I. Love. Bookstores. Especially arty, design specific ones with a quality selection and latest titles. Ahhhh.

Birthday drinks and dinner out at The Imp

2009-05-25T19:18:00.002+08:00

Birthday today! Heading to the Imp, our local cafe, for tapas and wine. Pulled out a Howard Park Cab Sauv Merlot '99 we were given for our wedding in 2005. Wines not for keeping, it's for drinking!

Finders Keepers

2009-05-19T09:45:00.002+08:00

Loving Finders Keepers blog and site - and following from there, one of their featured artists, Marcela Restrepo from Columbia, check out ww.leftyhand.com

The Good Egg

2009-05-15T08:43:00.005+08:00

We *finally* got our first egg from our backyard chickens yesterday. We didn't even need to resort to leaving the axe by their door. Maybe they just heard us talking about it? I got 2 chickens as a Christmas present from B (Featherfoot and Mrs Pecky), with Mrs Pecky sitting on a few eggs. Eggs have hatched and now we have an extra little hen called "The Raptor" (the boys went back to the farm... seriously). Since my mum moved we have adopted one of her chooks, Vera. I think we can safely attribute this first egg to her... and by the sounds of it I think another might be on its way!

Breakfast catch up

2009-05-12T14:59:00.004+08:00

Working from home is great but can leave you feeling a bit isolated at times. So, what better way to catch up and share ideas than over a good cup of coffee and breakfast? Have sent on to a few mates, if you're keen to join us let me know.
Breaky: Wednesday 27th May, 7.30am @ The Imp, Albany Hwy, Vic Park.

Op Shop School Desk

2009-05-07T13:45:00.004+08:00

I bought this desk for $8 at an op shop, no in too bad nick. Will sand or strip and repaint if required. Thinking maybe a blackboard paint top and glossy black for the rest? Maybe. Originally thought o keep it outside and use for potting plants etc but am inclined to use it in our guest room as a bedside table. Might just add a small edge on the inclined top, so books won't slide off. Any suggestions?!

Garage Sale Plant Leaf

2009-05-07T13:40:00.003+08:00

I bought a plant at a garage sale recently - no idea what it is, but it dropped a leaf. I bought the plant because I liked the leaves, the holes are interesting!

Beautiful invitations

2009-05-01T10:34:00.001+08:00

Lovely, hand-lettered invitations to a wedding in the mountains. Wonderful colours and illustration too :D

Desk space wanted!

2009-05-01T10:21:00.000+08:00

I've been asking around, trying to find desk space to rent for 2 or 3 days a week, in a creative studio or office. I'm getting a bit stir crazy working at home by myself. I'm not looking for something necessarily in a design studio, but any place where there's a few people, doing creative stuff. Not looking to get involved with their work etc, just improve my current work atmosphere a bit!

If you hear of anything, leave a message!

My other option, which I haven't looked into a great deal at this stage, is to go back and do some more study...

Yonlu

2009-05-01T10:04:00.003+08:00

Music from the south west of Brazil, created by 16 year old Vinicius Gageiro Marques. Yonlu (his online moniker) sounds like Elliot Smith – another fave, another tragic figure. Check him out...

Harvey Milk, but not from down south...

2009-04-29T23:17:00.003+08:00

I finally got 'round to seeing 'Milk', the film celebrating the efforts of Harvey Milk towards gay rights. Well worth a look - Sean Penn does a great job, as do most of the actors. Second film I've seen Josh Brolin in, in a week, watched '.W' earlier - not sure whether to feel sorry for GWB or amazed that he got as far as he did...

Sandy Syd

2009-04-28T12:57:00.003+08:00

My Dad left on Saturday to do a solo walk in the Simpson Desert. He got a lift in with a 4WD mob (they'll also pick him up on the way back). He looks like being away for around 3 weeks, carting all his own food and gear. He's got an EPIRB and GPS sorted, now we just have to see how he goes...

What's on in WA list

2008-12-01T17:35:00.001+09:00

Promising...

Christmas list!

2008-12-01T16:31:00.000+09:00

This looks lovely!

Herb and Dorothy

2008-12-01T11:30:00.001+09:00

This film looks great - hoping it screens in Perth in the not too distant future.

ConCan

2008-11-18T21:49:00.001+09:00

Online International Short Film Movie Festival
Great selection to keep you busy!

Reading material

2008-11-18T20:55:00.002+09:00

After reading and loving a few Haruki Murakami books, and knowing that Murakami has translated works by F. Scott Fitzgerald into Japanese (amongst others) I've been meaning to check out FSG's work. I haven't read (or seen any adaptions) of The Great Gatsby but it may be next on my list. Instead, I am slowly getting through my collection of 'Pocket Penguins' and read the short story, "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz". Grand, loved it. I can see why Murakami may feel some sort kindred approach to story telling.

I'm not getting commisions for talking up Penguin ; though it may seem like it based on the last few posts! Great reads for my train trips to work and home, highly reccomend them as tasters for further reading.

Get real

2008-11-18T06:51:00.002+09:00

The end of this week draws closer and with it so does the end of full-time employment... for now. As of Monday I will be freelancing, concentrating on mayk and generally trying to get paid for doing stuff besides sitting in front of a computer all day, trying to be creative between the hours of 8.30am and 5.30pm. Yeah.
I'll be seeing you...

Penguin Love

2008-09-12T19:10:00.001+08:00

Been meaning to buy this one for a while... it's a brick of a book but oh, what a lovely brick, full of so many great covers!

London Design Festival

2008-09-01T19:46:00.000+08:00

I land in London on the 20th Sept - just in time to check out the end of the London Design Festival... have just downloaded the program, will post events I plan on seeing shortly...

Keeps

2008-08-26T18:36:00.001+08:00

Bought some new shoes - whilst dropping off zines at Keith and Lottie. Loving them, very comfy!

mayk

2008-08-23T01:20:00.001+08:00

A little project with a couple of mates - our own mini zine in print and online :) It's all about Perth.