Moose online shop - 15% discount for Design Files readers!

Quirky brooches made from recycled lino by Melbourne-based BettyJo Designs. These unique brooches have also been picked up by UK fashion icon Paul Smith!

Resin bangles and hot air balloon brooches by Melbourne-based label, Madz has Runaway

Moose is a Perth-based online shop showcasing unique products made by mostly Australian independent artists and crafters. Moose began in 2006 with 12 artists and 60 pieces of handmade work, and in three years has grown to more than 130 artists and 1600+ items!

Moose represents a really varied group of designers, including a few previous Design Files interviewees including Elke Kramer and Madeleine Beatty! They're passionate about introducing Australian craft and design to international markets, and have helped many local artists sell their work to customers as far as Canada, Israel, China, South Korea, Japan, Italy, the UK, the US and The North Pole (seriously!).

Moose are celebrating their 3rd birthday this week and have offered Design Files readers a 15% discount! Just use the discount code moosedesignfiles at checkout to receive your discount. This code will be valid until next Tuesday 14th July.

ps) Moose have also just started their own blog.

Bangles by Elke Kramer

THAT STORE

THAT STORE mainly sells super-cool denim (including cult US label Earnest Sewn, London's Superfine, and Nudie - as well as Aussie T shirt queens Bassike). I like the fit-out of the Melbourne Central store (pictured) - especially that battered leather couch! Nice touch.

Apparently THAT STORE owner Peter Degotardi designs the store fit-outs in collaboration with Chris Grinham from Humphrey and Edwards Architects. More photos here. (Sorry I cannot find an actual website anywhere for THAT STORE...? weird).

In Melbourne, stores are at Melbourne Central, Westfield Doncaster and at 334 Chapel st Prahran. In Sydney - 128 Oxford st Paddington, and at Chatswood Chase, 345 Victoria Ave, Chatswood.

Magnolia Square in Sydney

Magnolia Square Sydney retailers - Electric Firefly (lights top left), Bride and Wolf (laser-cut wall deco), Ella Sanders (hot water bottle), States of Nature (timber brooches) Redberry Design (cylindrical lamps).

You may have noticed my newest sponsor Magnolia Square, whose ad popped up here a week or so ago! Thanks so much to Nic from Magnolia Square for her support :)

Magnolia Square is a carefully curated pop-up retail event, showcasing the work of Australian artists, designers, craftspeople, and artisan food producers. Products range from homewares, to jewellery, clothing and accessories, textiles, stationary and gourmet treats... and the 'Tiny & Small' area also showcases super-cute products for little people!

After 3 successful years staging the event in Sydney, this week Magnolia Square makes it's debut in Sydney! For a full list of Sydney retailers see here.

If you're in around do pop in to check out the work of 50 boutique retailers from both Sydney and interstate - showcasing craft couture, great local design and a little bit of cute!

The Teahouse at Royal Randwick Racecourse

Thursday July 2nd - 2pm - 9pm
Friday July 3rd - 10am - 5pm
Saturday July 4th - 10am - 4pm

ps) Magnolia square also has a cute little blog here.

Husk sale windows

Noticed these nice windows in Husk in Carlton yesterday... it's just tissue paper! The pom-poms are as big as watermelons though.

So simple but so effective! These would make such pretty party / event decorations...

*UPDATE - Fantastic blogger and loyal TDF reader Kate (aka captainkk) has kindly hunted down instructions for making these tissue-paper pom poms! I think Martha's are the best (of course), but there's also more info here and here. Thanks so much Kate! x

*2nd UPDATE! Aimee McCallum of Tiger Peacock emailed me today to let me know that these instore displays are her work! Beautiful work Aimee! Everyone loves your pom poms!

New books to covet

I have come back from my travels with an Amazon wishlist as long my arm... I fell in love with so many beautiful books whilst I was away - but I must say I was quite impressed with my self-discipline, more due to the size of my suitcase than the strain on my wallet! Anyway... here are a few I am desperately coveting...

I am secretly hoping some amazing design book publisher (Taschen, are you listening?) wants to send me a whole lot of new books to review. ;)

New New York interiors - Taschen (photos above)

Went to the Taschen store in Soho and was completely blown away... such stunning books, and incredible prices. How do they manage to price their books so reasonably? This New New York Interiors book very nearly came home with me. (My boy talked me out of it, quite rightly). It is full of eclectic, bohemian (yet of course somewhat extravagant) interiors... You know, that kooky/classy look that always seems to typify apartments that belong to supermodels? Swoon.

The Design Hotels Yearbook 2009 - Gestalten

We spent 6 blissful days in Bali at the very end of our trip, and were lucky enough to kind of accidentally end up in a completely incredible hotel - it's not often you arrive at your accomodation and it looks even better than it did in the pictures! ANYWAY, we also found out when we got there that it was a member of the Design Hotels group - so lucky for me there was a copy of the Design Hotels Yearbook 2009 in our room! I spent every spare moment flicking through it - and now I REALLY want a copy of my own!



The yearbook is a fabulous book which showcases 170 of the world's best designed hotels. Lots of boutique, smaller hotels are featured - and it's not just about lavish extravagance... the focus is more on unique design details and character-filled spaces. There's also some fantastic insightful profiles of some of the creative minds behind these establishments, such as designer/hotelier Marcel Wanders.

PS) Design Hotels also have a fabuous website - beautiful images of all their hotels, plus a series of short films entitled 'made by originals', which profiles some of the designers and hoteliers whose hotels are featured... beautifully shot and put together. Truly worth a visit!

crEATe - Gestalten

I am the first to roll my eyes when it comes to 'trend forecasting'... but... reknowned UK trend forecasters The Future Laboratory actually do know stuff. Their new book, entitled crEATe, is all about eating design and the current experimental trends in food design and hospitality. And of course my favourite lady Marije Vogelzang is featured... !

PS) The Future Laboratory website is also definitely worth a browse...

Brooklyn Modern - Rizzoli


I have been wanting Brooklyn Modern forever... but of course actually being in Brooklyn made me want it even more! It's a gorgeous book, filled with images of some of Brooklyn's most interesting homes.... OH and 2 more reasons to fall in love with this book - Lena Corwin's stunning brownstone home in Fort Greene is featured (the perfect-est home in the world, seriously), and also Grace Bonney contributed a passage on Brooklyn's design renaissance!

San Francisco Shopping Guide - Valencia st

Shopping Guide Map - Valencia st, The Mission (ahhh, feel so much better now I am reunited with my textas!)

The thing with San Francisco, is that everything is quite spread out. It's not as instantly accessible as I expected... you can't just wander around aimlessly and hope to uncover the most gorgeous little coffeeshop or quaint little shopping strip. Instead you have to do a little bit of research... which we kinda learnt the hard way!

San Fran dolls houses! - top and bottom left photos by Joanna Forever on Flickr

No on told us that the best place to hang out in San Francisco is Valencia st. Sure, a few people said we should check out 'The Mission' area... but it took a good frustrating hour or more of traipsing up and down Mission st looking at cowboy boots and dodgy $1 shops to realise that Valencia is where you wanna be!

Street art in The Mission

Anyway, it was so exciting to (finally) discover some of the city’s best loved indie design shops and little creative hubs dotted along this busy main road - including The Curiosity Shoppe, Little Otsu and much more!

...But the absolute highlight of this area was visiting Dave Eggers incredible Pirate Shop at 826 Valencia. If you have no idea what I'm talking about you MUST watch this video. Pleeeaase watch it. 826 Valencia is an absolute inspiration... as is the charming Mr Eggers. It was so so so great to visit this magical little place for ourselves. Photos and other highlights below!

The Curiosity Shoppe - 855 Valencia at

The Curiosity Shoppe - images found on flickr here and here

The Curiosity Shoppe was our first Valencia st discovery... a small but gorgeous little shop filled with all those curious necessities - like stick-on moustaches and knitted apple-jackets. Genius! There's also a cute little exhibition area down the back which showcases the work of local illustrators and artists, and a small but fantastic little library of craft and design books. You can also browse a lot of their current stock on their website.

Little Otsu - 849 Valencia st

The shots above are alas not by me... Little Otsu were re-doing their window display during my visit. Instead these shots of an earlier window display are from a gorgeous set by Sweetiepiepress on Flickr. My shots below.

More gorgeous paper goodies and printed matter from Little Otsu, including the cutest recipe cards (which I couldn't resist!) by Susie Ghahremani.

My heart was all aflutter when I stumbled across Little Otsu on Valencia st... I had heard so much about this fantastic independent publishing house and their collaborations with many talented artists and designers, it was so exciting to visit their store in person! It was also great to see the work of artists and bloggers whose work I've admired for so long but have only ever seen online - stunning screenprinted posters by Claire Nereim (blogged here before), illustrated stationary by Susie Ghahremani and beautiful paper-cut illustrations by Nikki McClure.

It was also lovely to meet Yvonne Chen, founder and co-owner of Little Otsu... she was super lovely and only too happy for me to take some photos to share here! Yay for that. :)

ps) you can also shop online with Little Otsu (gorgeous, unique finds that you won't see anywhere else in Melbourne!)... and they also have a super-cute blog.

826 Valencia Pirate Shop - 826 Valencia st

Pirate Supply Store! So fun!

Pirate necessities - including Peg Leg oil (of course)

Top image - the kids writing workshop at the back of the pirate shop, bottom image - pirate noticeboard - 'have you been impressed against your will??'

Oh my. The excitement. Even my boyfriend had fun at 826 Valencia! And that's saying something. Dave Egger's incredible pirate supply store / kids writing workshop needs to be seen to be believed. You really must check out his TED video to truly understand the magic.

Highlights included witnessing unsuspecting customers being 'mopped' by the cheeky Pirate Store attendant... discovering all kinds of pirate paraphernalia that you never knew existed... and chuckling at all the hilarious instructional notes and signs everywhere. HILARIOUS. You must have a good long browse of the website. Promise?

Paxton Gate - 824 Valencia st

Exterior of 826 Valencia and Paxton Gate next door

One again my fella seems to have made his way into my photo...! This is Paxton Gate - showcasing taxidermied animal heads and strange prehistoric-looking plants!

Right next-door to the fabulous Pirate shop was Paxton Gate - a store which had fortuitously been recommended to me by a reader only a few days before I arrived in San Fran! (Thankyou Melinda!).

Paxton Gate is a unique shopping experience - a very eclectic mix of taxidermy and scientific ephemera such as fossils, crystals, incredible corals and deep sea crustaceans and shells... as well as kooky plant life (think venus flytraps and other almost prehistoric-looking flora). It's all beautifully displayed - you could seriously lose hours just browsing at all the unexpected little details. I don't quite understand their target market, but it seemed pretty popular when we visited!

Regalito Rosticeria - 3481 18th st (just off Valencia)

I try not to include too many random eating-spots in these design/shopping guides... but it just seems so handy to know where to stop for lunch if anyone happens to be re-tracing my steps at some point in the not-too-distant future!

We had such a truly delicious modern Mexican meal at Regalito Rosticiera, I thought it was well worth a mention. The food is surprisingly light and interesting... not your usual heavy Mexican Fare. If you eat meat, I highly recommend the 'Papas con Chorizo' (potatoes with Chorizo). So tasty!

Monument - 572 Valencia st


Monument is a 20th Century furniture store with a fantastic range... kinda pricey but these are quality collectible pieces, beautifully restored and (unfortunately) worth every penny! Well worth a browse... and you can check out their current stock online here thanks to 1st Dibs - an incredible online marketplace which brings together some of the best vintage and collectible design pieces worldwide! It is a truly fabulous website for 20th cemtury interiors especially - if you don't know it, you're missing out!

Clothes Contact - 473 Valencia st

I can't say I usually have the patience for op-shopping (or as they say in the US, thrift-store shopping)... but of the many, many vintage clothing shops along Valencia st - this bustling, colourful little store really caught my eye! The main drawcard seems to be their 'thrift by the pound' policy - ie all sales are charged by weight! They just weigh your items in bulk on scales at the checkout, and charge you accordingly. Awesome! No website I can find... but some more info and customer reviews here.

Farnsworth 20th Century Modernist Design - 393 Valencia st

Another great little 20th Century Furniture store - a little smaller, less showy perhaps than Monument... but no less interesting. Some key collectible pieces (including a wonderfully aged classic Eames leather / rosewood rocker and ottoman - divine!), but also slightly kookier finds including interesting ceramics and other small accessories.

Four Barrell Coffee - 375 Valencia st


OK so San Francisco has this weird thing going on with Coffee. There seem to be a lot of 'high concept' coffee stores around this town... most of which you have to queue up outside for AGES to get a coffee... and also most of which don't really sell many snacks or lunch stuff at all... just coffee!? I found it a bit weird, as I have no patience for the kind of hyped-up, self conscious coffee 'manifesto' thing... but perhaps that's just because we are so spoilt in Melbourne with all the good food and good coffee (which you can surprsingly usually buy in the same place - without even queueing up!!). ANYWAY, it seems San Franciscans are more than happy to wait 15 minutes for a cup of painstakingly produced coffee, so who am I to judge...!

Four Barrell Coffee in Valencia st seemed one of the popular options, and had a shorter queue than most! The space was huge and quite cool and industrial inside - thus even more frustrating when we found out they don't do lunch! :(

Spring in DUMBO!

Spring - a design store / gallery in DUMBO, Brooklyn

Ok... so clearly I am quite behind with all my NYC posting... I am not even there anymore, and am still catching up with all my photos etc! Thank so so much for all your patience! Also a huge huge thankyou for all your comments and a few emails too! I really appreciate it and am so sorry I haven't been able to reply to every single comment!

These photos are from an area in Brooklyn called DUMBO. New Yorkers love to abbreviate. DUMBO = 'Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass' (ie just at the base of the Manhattan bridge, near the river).

I wish we had been able to discover more of DUMBO... but we did visit a fantastic design store / gallery called Spring. So lovely - and the owners are also super super nice. They support a lot of emerging design talent, and have regular exhibitions showcasing the work of both local and international designers and artists. The current show is called Lost and Found, and was curated by Spring owner and co-founder Anna Cosentino.

Top image - products at Spring, including the Zip Tie Chandlier by Joe Ponciano. Bottom image - Good Eggs ottoman and Drum Stool by Inna Alesina.

Spring stock so many unique designs I had not seen elsewhere - that light fitting in the window (top image) is constructed from cableties (such versatile little things!). In the bottom shot, Inna Alesina's fantastic colourful stools are made entirely from egg cartons - tightly packed and simply held in place with tight cables. They look amazing! Beautiful pieces in their own right - aside from the brilliant eco-friendly concept.

Downtown DUMBO.

more NYC favourites...

Even the 'garbage' in Soho is special.

So sorry for the irregular posting of late... been a a bit all over the place. Left NYC few days ago and spent three blissful days in South Lake Tahoe, on the border of California and Nevada. Such beautiful scenery! All snowcapped mountains, emerald pine forests and glistening water. Only downside was struggling with somewhat unreliable internet reception!

Anyway still trying to catch up on all my NYC posting... so here, in no particular order, are some more of my favourite finds in and around Soho and Nolita...

ps) Thanks so so much for all your lovely comments - and even a few emails with tips and recommendations! I'm really sorry I haven't been able to respond to all... but thankyou so much for making contact :) It is so lovely to hear from you!

Moss - 150 Greene street, Soho

The current exhibition at Moss showcases Bavaria - a range of limited-edition furniture by Dutch duo Studio Job, featuring a a rosewood finish with folk-art inspired decorative inlay. It was totally AMAZING. This range was commissioned exclusively for Moss.

Moss blurs the distinction between retail design store and gallery... no price tags, stunning one-off pieces displayed individually in glass cabinets like works of art or ancient relics. Beautiful space, incredible concept... but... how do they make any money? I guess perhaps at these prices, one sale a month is enough to pay their rent?

Anyway, Moss is absolutely a must-see if you're a design junkie (like me!). Also, here it kind of feels ok to gawk at all the high-end design without any intention of making a purchase - the staff are mildly snooty... but they're clearly more accustomed to browsers than buyers.

Moss shows pieces from the 'Smoke' range of furniture by Dutch designer Maarten Baas.

Paul Smith - Greene st, Soho

Right next door to Moss, Paul Smith is absolutely worth a visit for the interior design and layout alone. I promise! The layout is similar to a residential home - you wander from room to room. greeted by a slightly different feel and aesthetic in each new space.

One room, in particular, was absolutely covered in original artwork and paintings, hung salon-style all over the walls. The effect was amazing! Also in the entrance area, open books were artfully strung on fishing line and hung across the ceiling... I really love Paul Smith's eclectic decor - no two stores are the same, and yet they all share a distinct aesthetic unlike any other retail environment.

Kisan Concept Store - Greene st, Soho

This store is just across the road from Paul Smith and Moss... a French 'concept store' - the shots on their website really don't do it justice - this store is truly beautiful. An artfully curated mix of ultra-feminine clothes and accessories (ridiculously expensive, of course), cuper-cute designer kids stuff, and slightly quirky yet completely gorgeous home accessories. Interesting, carefully considered mix. Very pricey.

Kelley & Ping - 127 Greene st, Soho

Kelley & Ping is in Soho right near Moss, Paul Smith and Kisan... tasty, quick-as-flash Chinese food (noodles and noodle soups mainly). Cheap and cheerful, in a really lovely industrial meets Hong Kong hawker-bar inspired space. Great for a cheap, casual feed (not always easy to find in this area). Also you're unlikely to have to wait for a table, which is also somewhat of a rarity at lunchtime in NYC.

Kelley & Ping

Kate's Paperie - 72 Spring Street, Soho
(between Crosby and Lafayette Streets, also other stores across New York - see website for details)

BEAUTIFUL paper / stationary / gift wrap and gift card shop. Truly beautiful. Eat your heart out Zetta Florence.

Kate's Paperie

The MOMA store - Soho

Definitely worth a visit in Soho, because trust me, the last thing you feel like doing after 5 hours on your feet at MOMA uptown is killing another hour browsing in their store. Another great reason to visit the Soho store BEFORE you head to MOMA itself, is that you get a free pass to the museum if you spend over $50 in store (I think?). Which is pretty easy to do - especially once you head downstairs to the bookstore! It is AMAZING. I could have seriously spent all afternoon in there. Also a great little selection of designer furniture and lighting, all of which appears to be much cheaper than in it in Aus. Go figure.

John Derian Company - 6 East Second Street (Bet. 2nd Avenue and The Bowery), East Village.

John Derian is a quaint little French-inspired vintage, antique and repro furniture, homewares and kitchenware. They specialise in decoupaged things (apparently)... which seems a little strange to me, and these were certainly not my favourite things in store... but there's enough treasure to uncover here to make it worth a visit nonetheless.

John Derian Company

Maryam Nassir Zadeh, 123 Norfolk (at Rivington Street), Lower East Side

FANTASTIC new clothing /accessories / randomly fabulous things, all pulled together like museum artefacts in a stunning minimal white retail space. A truly unique and perfectly curated collection of international pieces. Don't miss it! I mean that.

A great, detailed review with more product info is here.

Maryam Nassir Zadeh - Top and bottom photos by me, other shots found here. The bottom shot is of the bar across the road from Maryam Nassir... unrelated, but so photogenic I had to include it!

Le Labo - 233 Elizabeth st, (between Prince and Housten), Nolita

Le Labo is an NY brand with a French name, and a very French sensibility. No off-the-shelf perfume here... instead you create your own fragrance from scratch, for a truly unique olfactory experience! Cute concept, very cute shop, even cuter website.

On a side note, Nolita was absolutely my favourite window-shopping / people-watching spot in all of Manhattan - quaint little cobbled streets, lovely little boutiques and gorgeous cafes on every corner (including the wonderful Cafe Gitane!).

Le Labo

NYC - first impressions

Didn't actually go inside (yet) but MAN I am so excited to visit the New Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Japanese architects SANAA. It's on Bowery, right near where we're staying. AAgghhh. It is so beautiful. My photos and the dodgy photo-stitch effort just don't do it justice. Better shots here.

dodgy photo-stitch. Sorry.

Just walking around in the sun. The bottom shot is right near where we're staying in the East Village. What is it that makes those NY fire escapes so beautiful to look at? They shouldn't be beautiful but they are.

Oh it appears I have already fallen behind here! Whoops. How neglectful. New York City is a busy and distracting place! However I am making the most of my jetlag... been wide awake since 3.00am, so figured I might as well be blogging :)

We spent day 1 wandering around the East Village and Soho, walking around in a total daze... There is so much of everything. Seriously - you go to buy a bagel and an orange juice and there's, like, 48 different bagel flavours and 18 different orange juices! Not kidding! Decision-making is quite an effort in New York City! Anyway there is too much to filter... but will try to summarise my first impressions -

Jonathan Adler store in Soho - Super-cute, super colourful and super kitsch homewares and furniture. Bit twee and over-decorative for me, but that's their schtick I guess. Still, gorgeous little space with lots of eye candy and pieces ot make you smile! The sales girls were also the friendliest in the whole of Soho!

Droog NYC - High-concept just hit a new level. Amazing space - see shots below. I don't know what was actually for sale, it was more like a museum of kooky pieces... no price tags in sight. Super snobbish staff, so taking photos was pretty terrifying... hence most of the shots here are from the Droog website.



Loved Droog's flat-pack furniture... cute also how they're displayed the pieces alongside the flat-pack sheets.

Crate and Barrel and CB2 (Crate and Barrel's more contemporary offshoot?) - not so inspiring. Kind of Freedom-furniture meets Ikea? I was a bit disappointed. :(

Bloomingdales - Awesomeness. Bought some sunnies. Marc by Marc Jacobs for US$98. !! that seems cheap to me..? Good things on sale - up to 40% off! Great for menswear actually. Makes you realise how lacking good menswear is in Melbourne! Gord had his eye on the Helmut Lang and APC jeans...

Design Within Reach - Eames and lots more licensed twentieth century stuff. Gorgeous showroom, nice staff (there was lots of snobbishness in Soho so anyone who smiled at me gets a mention!). I don't quite get the 'within reach' thing though. Is that supposed to mean it's affordable? It seemed pretty swish to me. Confused.

Taschen bookshop Soho - brillant. SO cheap, so good. How do they do it? Gorgeous design books starting at US$15.00. And that's not even a sale price! I fell in love with New New York Interiors. Why are books so big and heavy?

APC - everyone said to go here, and Gord swear by APC jeans so we had to visit. But... must say... I don't quite get it! Don't get me wrong - it's a gorgeous loft-like space, characterised by wide rustic floorboards... (so rustic and uneven, in fact, that they were quite a tripping hazard!). Amidst all the other Soho retail offerings, APC definitely stood out for its stylish yet restrained feel and classic, super-simple fit-out. But... the clothes.... so young and girly and floral...! I don't know.. they didn't grab me.

APC shop. Love those rustic floorboards! Shots from here.

Does this look like a film-set of what? The sun hitting the cobble stones... the huge floor to ceiling windows in this shopfront. I love New York windows! That truck on the left with the steam coming out it's exhaust looks totally staged. Then on the right some dude is sitting on a chair on the 'sidewalk' just working on his laptop...?


I think this is the sales office for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) / Rem Koolhaas' ambitious development at 23 East 22nd st. I just liked the Neon signs, really. Also the proposed tower they're designing is pretty cool too... see below. (Shots from ArchDaily, more info there.)