looking plum

1. Tan Kodi Cuff - Benah
2. & 4. Plum scarf by Acne
3. K Jacques St Tropez (which I am dubious about purchasing from net-a-porter due to the difficultly I am returning after a previous purchase/ my funny wide feet)!

Frank Magnotta

crossroads/advice of a dead-man/day of the dead

"Why don’t you tell me that ‘if the girl had been worth having, she’d have waited for you?’ No, sir, the girl really worth having won’t wait for anybody."

F. Scott Fitzgerald

After watching Woody Allen's new film Midnight in Paris I have been ironically compelled to re-read some Fitzgerald - who has given me advice - through consideration - of what lies ahead of me.  The fact that it is the 'day of the dead' is an added touch of humour in the context I find myself currently in, which I am sure will come to light and unravel in its proper time.

The film was all things I have come to expect from Allen, with a touch more lightness and *spoiller alert* time travel included. Like all of his films, they have sparked my urge to explore and travel. My holiday to Paris next year cannot come soon enough!

Speaking of roads and paths always reminds me of a Robert Frost poem that my mother taught me to read by memory when I was about 7 or 8. 'The Road Not Taken' has not only proved as a 'party piece' on several occassions (particularly where grand-parents were involved),  but once was a question on 'who wants to be a millionaire' that I was confident in announcing the answer to!

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
 

faceted treasures

Inspired by these beautiful faceted shapes in various collections at the moment.
I'm feeling this summer will uncover further realisations of the power of the triangle.
Following a conversation with an old colleague last night I have also spent the day looking through an old architectural encyclopedia researching ancient symbolism and spirituality in architectural geometeries. stay tuned.

Alexander McQueen

Eddie Borgo

Solange Azagury-Partridge

Kara Ross

madewell mine

Madewell Railway Rucksack - mine! fair, perfectly pure and true!
finally I have found the perfect backpack to wear while riding my bike. excellent.

I want a lover I don't have to love

Oh, sigh!

How many Lover dresses does it take before one can be referred to as having a full blown obsession?

First Principles

"Every human action gains in honour, in grace, in all true magnificence, by its regard to things that are to come. It is the far sight, the quiet and confident patience, that, above all other attributes, separate man from man, and near him to his Maker; and there is no action nor art, whose majesty we may not measure by this test. Therefore, when we build, let us think that we build for ever. Let it not be for present delight, nor for present use alone; let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say as they look upon the labour and wrought substance of them, 'See! this our fathers did for us.' For, indeed, the greatest glory of a building is not in its stones, nor in its gold. Its glory is in its Age, and in that deep sense of voicefulness, of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, nay, even of approval or condemnation, which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the passing waves of humanity. It is in their lasting witness against men, in their quiet contrast with the transitional character of all things, in the strength which, through the lapse of seasons and times, and the decline and birth of dynasties, and the changing of the face of the earth, and of the limits of the sea, maintains its sculptured shapeliness for a time insuperable, connects forgotten and following ages with each other, and half constitutes the identity, as it concentrates the sympathy, of nations: it is in that golden stain of time, that we are to look for the real light, and colour, and preciousness of architecture; and it is not until a building has assumed this character, till it has been entrusted with the fame, and hallowed by the deeds of men, till its walls have been witnesses of suffering, and its pillars rise out of the shadows of death, that its existence, more lasting as it is than that of the natural objects of the world around it, can be gifted with even so much as these possess of language and of life."—John Ruskin, The Seven Lamps of Architecture

s-s/s-s

I first fell in love with the label secret squirrel a couple of years ago through S.O.R coffee connections.  At the moment I am particularly excited about adding one of their beautiful silk scarfs to my scarf collection - particularly the elke digital print...  So perfect for this strange weather we are having!!

i have so many books... i think i need a book-tower!

 

This is a bookcase you can actually step into. it’s called ARK booktower and is made by Rintala Eggertsson Architects, commisioned by the V&A museum in London

New Obsession

These last couple of weeks I have been, literally, obsessed with all things Mexican.  I have been watching 'breaking bad', planning a trip to Mexico, and even have been restoring furniture with Mexican detailing!  There are so many sources of influence, I predict it will snow-ball for me into the summer.  This thought is particularly exciting for me as I had very much been intrenched in a minimalist, monocromatic aesthetic in my clothing and decor choices for the last couple of years!

Mara Hoffman had one of the most colorful collections to hit the Spring/Summer 2012 runway at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York with a definite Mexican influence.

Frida Kahlo has been a big artistic influence since I read about her in year 7 art class.

Festival of the Dead - All the colour! All the symbolism! Beauty! I hope I can one day experience this first hand.

This is a still from Breaking Bad, a couple of seasons ago. It is one of my favourite scenes.  I tried to find a still of a Mexican inspired tattoo on one of the main characters, Jesse's, back but couldn't.  I have, however, bought a Mexican students native art colouring in book online!!! More to come, I am sure!

missing

i may have mentioned how outside my house in the yard there are generally hundreds (maybe 20 at a time, actually...) little white wild bunnies.  They are so cute and it is such a delight waking up to them in the morning or coming home at midnight while they are still up grazing on the lawn.
However, sadly they have been poisoned by the council and the last couple of weeks I have not even seen one :c
This post goes out to all the bunny souls out there! Bunnies, if you are reading this, come back home! Our fence is always welcome to you!

Expressionist Inspiration

Michael Goldberg was an American abstract expressionist.  Throughout the last week as I've been spring cleaning and ordering my life I've been reflecting on some of his works for inspiration - from their colour palette, to movement and gesture they have served me greatly.

 

 

and the bride wore lavender

I feel, in a strange way, that I have grown up with Sofia Coppola.  I have all of her films in my collection,  and feel that her presence and aesthetic both personally and professionally has been reliable and consistent or, at least, consistent with my own! 

I was all smiles when I heard of her marriage to Thomas Mars (Phoenix front man and father of her daughters)  and thought her choice to wed in custom-made lilac chiffon Alaïa gown was a delight!

exposure

the weather in sydney is crazy at the moment.
it has inspired me to sit more, and ponder. thinking about atmosphere of place, exposure, light and action.

if I had to have a pet...

I think I'd like...

a baby deer

 or a snow bunny!

or a baby hedgehog!!

Mineral House by Yasuhiro Yamashita

The design of this house is beautiful and intriguing.  The faceted design appears to be not redundant, but allowing the required spatial dynamics of the art of living to take place.  Wouldn't it be a delight to inhabit such a space?

business tax is hard!

This is the first year I've worked freelance with my ABN, trying my best to do everything by the books. I felt like I had been hit in the head with a brick last night! Determined not to have to outsource, I attempted to do it myself. I really hope I did it right! Very hard!

shoppers!

I have a frustrating habit of getting in my head the EXACT item that I want, be it an item of clothing, jewellery, notebook...or any number of other things! Of course, it seems from my experience almost certain that this item is NOT available for purchase in line with my exact specifications (often sketched in my notebook, and then broken down architecturally into a series of plans, sections and elevations!). Sadly, there comes only three real options:
1) Make it myself
(most common and stress-relieving scenario, as I am able to create exactly what I want! Although often this is not possible if I do not have access to materials/equipment necessary for production...)
2) Commision someone else to create item for me
(I would almost never do this following too many disappointing experiences in the past. This is also often an expensive route considering the uncertaintly of the outcome)
3) Settle for something simillar that is available in the current market place
(In recent times this has been, sadly, a common occurence. It is often shortly followed by regret and further disappointment that said item is not EXACTLY perfect, and then the cycle repeats as I continue searching for something more perfect than the last misformed item!)

Currently in my head I have the idea of the PERFECT leather shopper. However, I have not been able to track one like it down anywhere so far. In attempts to fall under category 1, and construct it myself (hey, I did leatherwork as a Friday craft session in year one!) I tried to track down a hide while in Melbourne last weekend and couldn't find any that were what I wanted. Instead, I have jumped to category 3 - risky business! and have tracked down three possibly suitable options...

Rachel Ruddick leather shopper
$380

Kate Sheridan
$419 (Reduced to $196 on ASOS... not a big fan of the exposed zip? Although I could wear it on the inside, which could actually be convenient...)

AND
ASOS Leather Shopper (I know, I know, the colours! The colours?!)
$112

R&R

Last weekend I had some R&R seeing R&R.  That is, some cultural events - Edward Gant's Amazing Feats of Loneliness - at the Sydney theatre company with costumes by one of my favourite designers to watch, ROMANCE was born, and a trip to the art gallery to see the pre-RAPHAELITE exhibition 'The Poetry of Drawing'.

The exhibition showed the most comprehensive exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite drawings ever seen in Australia.  It is definitely one of my facourite periods in art history.  The graphic design of the wallpaper designs was probably my favourite section, it is definitely worth checking out!

The play at the Sydney theatre company was intense but amazing.  Our seats were in the very front row right in front of the stage, so I was able to get a really good look at the costumes.  There was a point in the show where the main character walked infront of me and his cape swept over my head! For a couple of seconds my head was inside the cape - the lining was beautiful!  Directed by Sarah Goodes, her first directing role for the company, the plot went through some pretty full on themes, but the escapism was great fun - entering a world where pimples become pearls and  indian gurus drill into heads with cork stops!