Showing posts with label design resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design resources. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Surry Hills Shopping Guide

Surry Hills / Darlinghurst map - double click for a larger view

YES finally here is the Surry Hills / Darlinghurst (and a little bit of Redfern) shopping guide! I so enjoyed exploring this beautiful leafy area of Sydney. It has such a lovely, villagey feel... and so many great shops and cafes to discover. I must preface this post by saying that I know there are places I have left out! (Orson and Blake, Afficionados of the Nod... etc etc). I don't claim to be any kind of expert after having spent a single week in Sydney! I didn't get along to every shop I would have liked to... but the places mentioned here are ones I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through, and would recommend to any design-loving Sydney visitor (or resident!).

A word of warning before embarking on a walking tour of Surry Hills - consider your footwear! Like much of Sydney, Surry Hills and Darlinghurst are full of steep hills! Melburnians should be prepared for a serious calf-muscle work-out. (Sydney-siders are probably so used to it they don't even notice).

1) De De Ce
263 Liverpool st
Darlinghurst

De De Ce needs no introduction really - a fantastic, slick, polished showroom, and an excellent range of designer furniture and home accessories.

For those of us who enjoy a bit of design snooping (me me!), De De Ce also have a fantastic image archive on their website, entitled 'Projects'. Here you can search through a library of images of over 1300 stunning residences furnished by De De Ce. (Burley Katon Halliday's incredible Republic 2 apartments are here).

2) Penny Arcade
15 Foster st
Surry Hills


Penny Arcade interior - LOVE those vintage outdoor lounges with the striped yellow cushions!

Penny Arcade has a fantastic selection of 20th Century vintage furniture and lighting. Much of their range is pictured here. I didn't realise until visiting their website that they are an offshoot of the Bracewell fashion clothing company, and apparently also showcase new and vintage fashion pieces along with range of furniture? I am confused, as I saw no evidence of this during my visit! Anyway, fab furniture finds... a must see.

3) Spence and Lyda
16 Foster st
Surry Hills

Spence and Lyda's Missoni fabrics and soft furnishings, and brand new fibreglass Eames shell chairs

The latest eye-catching lounge from Missoni Home... complete with matching cushions, poufs and rug. Nothing if not attention-grabbing! I do love the oversized floral imagery on these rugs... look at the toadstools!

Vibrant pattern, colour and texture from the Missoni Home soft furnishings range

Missoni Home poufs and floral print rug - love this simple, striking design

Spence and Lyda have a fantastic range of contemporary, highly decorative furniture, soft furnishings, textiles and lighting. The aesthetic is uncompromisingly high-end, yet quirky and full of personality. No room for the modern minimalist here! Highlights - a brilliant selection of eye-catching pieces from Missoni Home (love the oversized floral rugs and polka dot textiles especially), and brand new fibreglass Eames shell chairs... which I was so excited by, as I was under the impression they only manufactured plastic these days? I must say I much prefer the fibreglass - such vibrant colours and a texture that just doesn't compare to the plastic version.

4) Koskela
level 1, Imperial Slacks Building
91 Campbell st
Surry Hills

Koskela's light-filled 1st floor showroom

top image - stunning spherical globe lights, priced between $95.00 and $148.00 each including either copper, anodised aluminium or powder-coated fitting

More details from Koskela's stunning showroom - the top image shows beautiful hand-blown glass vases in a soft yellow by Kris Coad

I just adored Koskela's showroom, situated on the 1st floor of an old industrial factory building in Surry Hills. Just look at those windows.... and the battered floorboards and ceiling joists! What a perfect space.

Koskela's own signature furniture range is all designed and manufactured in Australia, and includes an extensive collection of upholstered seating, tables, benches, beds, credenza's and even rugs! Wow! It's unusual and really encouraging to see such an extensive range of furniture made here in Australia. Koskela's signature aesthetic has a clear scandinavian influence - lots of blonde timbers, and classic clean lines. Koskela also stocks a wide range of home accessories such as ceramics, glassware, soft furnishings etc by local designers and craftspeople.

5) Beautiful on the Inside
shop 45, 322 Bourke st
Surry Hills

Beautiful on the Inside is directly opposite Object Gallery in Bourke st. It's a small shop that blurs the line between retail space and exhibition space. The range of contemporary home accessories, lighting and other designer nik-naks is small but carefully selected. The collection is eclectic and kooky - Melissa shoes sit happily alongside ceramics, glassware, doormats(!) and more... it's a quirky mix but it works.

6) Object Gallery
417 Bourke st
Surry Hills

Highlights from the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award Exhibition at Object Gallery. Top image - Christina Waterson's stunning suspended installation of Plexa Modules. bottom image - Bedrock lamps by Henry Wilson.

I wrote a longer post about Object Gallery yesterday... a fantastic not-for-profit exhibition space showcasing and supporting the work of local Australian designers and craftspeople. In addition to staging 6 annual exhibitions of craft and design here each year, Object Gallery facilitates numerous national touring exhibitions and a further 2 exhibitions at Sydney's Opera House every year, and produces the quarterly Object Magazine - a carefully curated and beautifully put-together publication .

7) Garlands Florist
shop 11, The Chapel @ St. Margarets
423 Bourke st
Surry Hills



I stumbled across the gorgeous Garlands florist whilst waiting for Object Gallery to open! A truly stunning selection of flowers and the odd stylised potted plant... beautiful attention to detail - lush green mosses spilling from each aged terracotta pot, beautifully rusted french-style vintage outdoor tables etc.... gorgeous gorgeous.

8) Lumiere Cafe and Patisserie
shop 13, 425 Bourke st
Surry Hills


Stopped in at the lovely Lumiere Cafe for a second-breakfast! I am not exaggerating when I say that this was the absolute best muesli I have ever eaten! Crunchy toasted nuts, tart rhubarb and a poached pear... SO good. Mmmm. A good review is here.

9) Format Furniture
146 Foveaux st
Surry Hills

Always love a stroll through Format, and haven't had a chance until now to visit the Sydney store. They really strike the perfect balance between slick, high end furnishings and a playful, tongue-in-cheek sense of style... showcasing a great range of pieces by big International companies like Vitra, Established and Sons etc. Love the brave colours and kooky smalls.

10) Chee Soon and Fitzgerald
387 Crown st
Surry Hills

Chee Soon and Fitzgerald's busy, colourful interior

Marimekko fabrics (top) and traditional Japanese silks (below)

painted wooden dolls

Chee Soon and Fitzgerald is a small but fantastically well-stocked shop showcasing a select range of quirky, colourful homewares and textiles from all corners of the globe. They have an extensive range of Marimekko fabrics, and are the Australian distributors for the famed Swedish textiles label. They stock ceramic tableware and vases, African basketry, Japanese fabrics, amongst other decorative pieces. They also custom make soft furnishings and lampshades to order using their range of stunning textiles.

11) Coffee Tea or Me?
536 Crown st
Surry Hills

Stopped in here for a delicious baguette and coffee at lunchtime... a lovely quaint little corner cafe with a French vibe. (We kept noticing that there are so many French people in Sydney - seemed every shop/cafe we entered we were greeted with a fab French accent!) Cute seating out on the leafy street and a tasty lunchtime menu.

12) Ici et La
588 Bourke st
Surry Hills

and 7 Nickson st
Surry Hills (just around the corner)

Ici et La - Bourke st storefront, and stunning striped canvases

Bourke st store interior - filled to the brim with an eclectic collection of furniture, lighting, textiles and accessories.

Nickson st store - a more industrial warehouse-style interior, lots more room for furniture and larger pieces.

Love this vintage button dispenser spotted in the Nickson st store!

More evidence of Sydney's burgeoning francophile subculture... Ici et La is a firm favourite amongst locals for its beautiful collection of vintage and industrial furniture, imported striped deck-chair style canvases (an incredible selection), and general French rustic nik naks. Currently in two locations, the Bourke st store is set to close it doors next year in favour of the larger premises at Nickson st.

13) David met Nicole
382 Cleveland st
Surry Hills

Chinese lanterns and colourful trinkets at David Met Nicole


incredible selection of flea-market ephemera - vintage watch faces, letterpress pieces etc etc

David Met Nicole is a tiny, very (endearingly) cluttered shop on the corner of Cleveland and Marlborough sts, bordering Redfern. The range is an extremely varied mix of both new and vintage finds - expensive Bassike T shirts in the back room hang alongside vintage Union Jack flags, and an incredible mix of flea market ephemera.... things like vintage watch faces (above), the tiniest porcelein dolls you've ever seen, even tinier test tubes with cork stoppers to match, vintage letterpress pieces, and of course the ubiquitous laser-cut alphabet letters.

Whilst the pieces are sourced from around the globe, the aesthetic is unmistakeably 'British' in Style... and is punctuated by a kind of faded, old world glamour.

14) Great Dane Furniture
613 Elizabeth st
Redfern


Great Dane Furniture
is well-known for its excellent range of Scandinavian Furniture, lighting, and home accessories. The Sydney store is large and very well-stocked... beautiful timbers and upholstered fabrics in great, rich colours. Also loved the extensive range of lighting on display... I don't seem to remember seeing quite so much lighting on display at the Melbourne store.





Monday, October 13, 2008

Object Gallery - Design Discovery award

Almost to the end of the Sydney photos... been working feverishly on my Surry Hills / Darlinghurst shopping guide and illustrated map - nearly done! Anyway it'll be up in the next couple of days... :)

Object Gallery was on my 'must-see' list in Sydney. They tout themselves as 'Australia's leading centre for craft and design'.... I'm loathe to play favourites(!), but they certainly are up there with the best when it comes to the support of Australian craftspeople and designers. They're similar to Craft Victoria in many ways - both organisations are not-for-profit, government-funded initiatives, comprising a gallery space and retail shop, and both showcasing and promoting the work of local designers and artisans.

Object Gallery's incredible exhibition space (top image) was originally a chapel, and was designed by iconic Sydney architect Ken Wooley. In addition to staging 6 annual exhibitions of craft and design here each year, Object Gallery facilitates numerous national touring exhibitions (such as the recent Design Now exhibition at the Melbourne Museum), a further 2 exhibitions at Sydney's Opera House every year, and produces the quarterly Object Magazine - a carefully curated and beautifully put-together publication which (of course) I bought during my visit! (Issue 56 features an article by recent interviewee Kate Rhodes, who you'll know is one of Object Gallery's curators!)

Currently Object Gallery is hosting the annual Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award Exhibition until November 2nd. I don't quite understand why the exhibition features different work than the recent Design Discovery exhibition at the Melbourne Museum (also curated by Object gallery)... Can't figure that out! Anyway, great great stuff to see - the best round-up of Australian design I've seen in a while actually. Was great to see Trent Jansen's highly publicised Pregnant Chair after all the buzz it created in Milan. Gotta say... I wasn't hugely taken with the piece after hearing so much hype... I love the concept but its perhaps a little clunky in the flesh? But I love his Kissing Pendants! Cute idea and a really simple, classy execution. Love it.

*update - I just received an email from the lovely Liane Rossler of Dinosaur Designs, who was kind enough to clear up some of my confusion! Liane is one of the judges of the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery award, and explained that the recent exhibition in Melbourne was in fact a showcase of the 2007 finalists, whereas the current Sydney show is the 2008 finalists - the winner of which will be announced in a couple of weeks. Both exhibitions were designed by Stephen Goddard and are very similar in their layout, hence my confusion! Liane also mentioned that her husband Sam Marshall was the architect who redesigned Ken Woolley's original Chapel when Object Gallery took over the space a few years ago.

Other favourites below:

Loved the Aurora Lamp by John Hoogendoorn ... bit difficult to photograph so I grabbed this shot from indie art and design.

Trent Jansen - top Kissing Pendants. love love LOVE them! When the lights are off they hand separately, side by side. When they are pushed together, a magnetic attraction connects them and the lamps switch on! AGGHH I want one!. Also that Pregnant Chair (just in case you haven't seen it already - highly unlikely!).

Christina Waterson's stunning suspended installation of plexa modules

Butterfly screen / partitioning system - Stuart McFarlane

Bedrock lamps by Henry Wilson - each simple light is weighted by a raw concrete base, created it seems using a small plastic bag as a mold. Really honest, simple design. Very striking stuff. Apparently Henry Wilson is off to do a masters at the famed Design Academy Eindhoven.... This is one name to watch!

Object Gallery
417 Bourke st
Surry Hills, NSW


ph. 02 9361 4511

Open Tues - Sun
11.00 - 6.00pm

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Top 10 most influential design bloggers - vote now!

event design - VNT dinner in Amsterdam by the incredible Marcel Schmalgemeijer

It's on again, Home Rejuvenation are out to find the Top 10 Most Influential Design Bloggers from across the globe... and guess what? I'm nominated!

I am so excited to be on the shortlist of 80 incredible blogs including the likes of last years' winner Design*Sponge, the gorgeous Bloesem, and even massive sites like Cool Hunting, Apartment Therapy and Core 77! Agghh!

If you have a moment I would so appreciate your vote over here! You get to choose 5 favourites from the shortlist, and voting puts you in the running to win one of three Wallpaper* subscriptions!

Voting closes October 15th. :)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Design Victoria - Open Space event

Image - Leaving the Melbourne Convention Centre by Michael Blamey of the amazing Melbourne Today photo blog (looks much better in large format over at Michael's blog)

I am getting so many emails at the moment from designers and design-industry organisations and businesses... it is great to see this little site is somehow finding all the right people! I really value all your feedback and emails so keep 'em coming :)

Last week I heard from Kara of Design Victoria. Design Victoria is a state-funded organisation which supports and promotes the local design industry. Their website is worth a browse if you're part of Melbourne's design community - they offer lots of seminars and events supporting local design , and offer valuable advice particularly for those new to the industry.

Design Vic are hosting an Open Space event next month for practitioners to join in a conversation about issues facing the local industry, and how Design Vic can assist in these areas. Participants will be encouraged to share ideas and participate in discussion to ensure the needs of the Victorian design industry are met through Design Victoria’s programs. Topics like training, improving competitiveness and identification of new markets will be covered.

Members of the Melbourne professional design community are encouraged to sign up and play a role in the shaping the future of design in Victoria. It will also be a valuable opportunity to network and, you know, feel like a grown up :)

Sounds a fantastic initiative - so let's support it! More info on the Design Victoria website here.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Leffler Leather Merchants






Leffler are the largest leather supplier in Australia. They're an odd bunch - sometimes surly, sometimes super-helpful, but the best thing about Leffler is that no job is too big or too small. They're a wholesaler, but they also sell to the public, and have no minimum purchase amount. So whether you're making a cat collar, or upholstering an entire Qantas airfleet, Leffler are your one-stop shop.

Those in the know will have visited the old Leffler's in York st South Melbourne... it was a rickety old building, bursting at the seams with eyelets and rivets, leather strapping, hides, snakeskins, belt buckles... and everything inbetween. It's always had an incredible range - and fantastic prices... but it was a higgedly piggedly mess. You would have to jostle past the cowboy-types buying their saddlery and horsey accessories, and squeeze down the aisles past the indecisive fashion students selecting the perfect snakeskin for their end-of-year folios... nothing had a price on it, and everything was stored in tatty cardboard boxes, piled precariously high on every available surface.

BUT what you may not know is that Leffler moved in December 07 to a FANTASTIC new warehouse in West Melbourne. It is like a massive, white, bright aeroplane hangar, with all the same products we've come to know Leffler for... but so super neat, tidy and organised, you won't recognise the place.

They don't mind if you just want to browse, so don't be scared to pop in next time you're heading west... you won't be disappointed!

(If you don't get a chance to drop in anytime soon, you can order a catalogue online, and purchase by phone/fax/email and they'll mail your goods out to you.)

Leffler Leather Merchants
171 Kensington rd
West Melbourne 3003

freecall(!) - 1800 337 006

Monday, January 28, 2008

The Powerhouse Museum Collection


The beautiful 'Linenfold' sideboard is the work of Adelaide-based designer Khai Liew. (He has a website but it doesn't seem to be working for me...)

The piece is part of Sydney's Powerhouse Museum collection... Their website has images and information about their entire collection of designed objects - including textiles, furniture, lighting, printed matter, clothing, packaging, jewellery... the list goes on! In addition to the most obscure pieces of lacework from Paraguay, and kids pyjamas, the museum houses hundreds of very famous, classic pieces - The collection includes Mark Newson's Lockheed lounge, a variety of original Eames pieces, a collection of original pieces designer by Grant Featherston...

The Powerhouse Museum website is a fantastic resource - you can search by designer, by item, by material or even by colour. Lots of Australian designers are represented but there's also an extensive collection of work by international designers... well worth a look.