Firekites 'Autumn Story'

I was reading about the amazing work that Renew Newcastle are doing to bring life back in to some of the (often beautiful) disused buildings in Newcastle via Inside Out. Renew Newcastle comes from the same brains as those behind the great This Is Not Art festival.

Anyway, there was this neat little song and clip from Renew Newcastle's legal advisor's band, Firekite, using chalkboard animation by Yanni Kronenberg and Lucinda Schreiber which took 6 months to produce.

So awesome reading about creativity and innovation especially from a rad place like Newie.

Today's posts have got me all warm and fuzzy and I like it.

The Beckoning of Lovely

via Mightygirl.

Lovely 80s Film Mashup

I can't believe how this track and video makes me so very happy. Go Duckie, Go!

Music by Phoenix - 'Lisztomania' (released on 25 May).

Boot Bag

How great are these boot bags from Scotland-based Anta ? GBP105 each.

via Remodelista.

Sacrificial Chair

Fabulous idea for a bedroom from Punga & Smith, The Sacrificial Chair. 

Via Noquedanblogs.

Paul Sahre & Christopher Brand

Paul Sahre: A Designer And His Problems from AIGA/NY via Swiss Miss.

An early associate of Paul, Christopher Brand has developed quite a portfolio, including the infamous 'The Sun Also Rises' cover with obligatory bullfighter.

via Design Work Life.

Collections

Neat-o post about Lisa Congdon's collections over at Poppytalk.

Robert D'Souza

Same map as here?

Round pool reminds me of this. 

From the portfolio of Robert D'Souza.

Via Desire to Inspire.

donna hay general store

I had the pleasure of working at donna hay magazine a few years ago and have kept in contact with Donna over the years whilst watching her brand grow from cookbooks, to magazine, from homewares to her own shop.

After opening with a discussion on the merits of Google Reader (‘it will change your life’) I ask the lovely Donna Hay to lift the lid on her latest venture, the donna hay general store, and her upcoming collaboration with Royal Doulton.

Your own shop has been on the cards for a while now. What took so long?
Well, construction isn’t always easy. All the water from the street had basically been pooling in the basement of the building. It’s a very old sandstone building and there was a lot of work to dig out the mess and reinforce the foundations. Because of the age of the building it was slowly as she goes. Happy to report the building is back to its former glory…or better.

The store design is trademark Donna Hay: considered, clean and clever. I even noticed the neighborhood dogs are looked after with a water bowl and their leads can be tied to a horseshoe wedged between the sandstone blocks at the front door.
I’m so glad you noticed that!

Did you collaborate with an architect for the fit-out?
Yes. Well, two actually. They both played different roles in the project. Kieran McInerney Architect, who did my house a few years back, and Tribe Studio who focused on the interior.

What words kept popping up in the brief?
It is off the beaten track so once you get there we wanted people to walk in…you know when you drive somewhere on holidays, you get to the holiday house and you open the door and you go ‘ahhhhh!’… Well we wanted people to arrive and find all the beautiful things in the shop to feel like it was worth the trip just because the space is so beautiful. So it needed to be calm, simple, an experience, and a destination.

I can only imagine how you would have had much of the interiors already planned in your head, but can you give me an example of something that the architects thought about that you hadn’t?
Lots! Tons of little things. What you want and what is technically possible are two different things. I guess one example was that I wanted some sort of pigeon-holing aka 'general store' look and they came up with the design of the different shaped boxes and opening some of them up at the back so you can see through to the sandstone walls of the building.

Can you tell me who built your custom furniture, because I want one of those marble-topped trolley tables?
We had shop fitters make up those but they are a derivative of some of my favourite pieces of furniture we have in the magazine studio. In a couple of weeks we will have similar ones for sale in the shop that are a bit wider for use as a sideboard and they will come with a choice of marble or zinc tops.

I saw your range of cookie and cupcake mixes in store. How did you come to work with Frost Design on the design of the packaging? (^)
We put out a brief to a few design studios to work on the food packaging and what Frost came back with was closest to what I thought consumers would have expected in food packaging from donna hay. It’s an existing brand that has a look already. So they came back with the big food pics that communicated that yum factor. They came back very much on brand, and translated well for food packaging. And Vince and his team were so easy to work with that it really did feel like a collaboration in every sense of the word. There were no design egos and they had the experience that was specific to food packaging…like ‘crush bottoms’ on boxes…all that stuff that I don’t know about! And he’s a funny guy.

And what's this about you making your soaps yourself? They smelt divine!
It’s just like cooking really. I buy bulk organic soap base and other bits like oils and then scent it, set it and then cure it and then the girls in the shop wrap it. It’s really, really easy, and it’s very therapeutic. You know I love a craft project.

Yes I remember your felting stage.
Soap making is just another stage in crafting. I also made soy candles for ages too...I am past that craft stage now! But I make the lip balm too.

It's great to see you stock unique handmade product such as Reya Veltman’s knitted pebbles and Jennifer Murphy’s teddy bears. Who are some others that make the cut?
Jennifer’s bears are expensive but amazing and truly one of a kind. She only makes a few each year so we asked her about 16 months ago for the three we have in the shop. We’ve already been contacted by a collector in the US who wants to know what we have. There’s also Brickett Davda ceramics from London, Alyssa Ettinger's ceramics from Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Kathleen Lewis from Brooklyn who does wonderfully simple body and beauty products. She does this great girl’s Stiff and Sore cream. It’s like a Dencorub for girls but has a much nicer minty scent and works a treat.

The Venetian-looking hand-blown glassware you have is so light and delicate. They are on my perpetual wish list. Can you tell me their story?
The glassware is from Juliska. I love drinking from really fine hand-blown glass but it’s about the expertise of the glass blower and the quality of the glass. They are actually stronger than they look and feel.

There's a kitchen in the General Store. What's baking?
We are now baking there every morning. There’s cupcakes, a cookie of the day, 7 flavours of French macaroons and molten choc brownies. Very soon we will have a coffee machine too.

Any chance of more donna hay general stores or an e-store?
I’ll have to wait and see – we’ve only been open for two weeks! But we will be putting some things on donnahay.com.au so people out of Sydney can purchase.

How is the collaboration with Royal Doulton progressing?
I’m seeing 3-D resin prototypes at the moment coming through from the UK. And really, this project with Royal Doulton has been one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Like exciting-wise, personally for me…it’s been amazing. They sent one of their designers out from the UK who is trained in design of homewares and so we sat in the prop room at the magazine studio and we drew hundreds of different pieces. He taught me so much. Why certain pieces are made in parts, and that a certain line in a ceramic means it’s made bymachine, but this piece here had a hand made base, but connected to a blown piece at the top which is really unusual…For something that I love collecting and admire so much, it was great to have him give me all this background. He was so professional. I have learnt a lot. I learnt so much in a week my brain nearly exploded.

How will this range compare to your previous homewares range?
There’s a lot more! There’s glass, cutlery and cookware. It’s a very holistic range, I’ve even got a beautiful kids range with modern-nostalgia illustrations. All the pieces will be introduced in stages from early 2010 and I think we have about the first two-and-a-half years already planned.

Where will the Royal Doulton range be released?
Initially in Australia, the UK and Canada. And more countries later.

And finally, your tips for best Brussels sprouts?
Well, I like to treat them like Chinese cabbage, so I finally shred them and add them to stir-fries with lots of ginger and chilli.

_____________________________________________________

For everything Donna Hay, head to donnahay.com.au which now includes an online recipe index. 

And make sure you visit the new donna hay general store at 40 Holdsworth Street, Woollahra. It’s worth it just for a tin of Route 29’s Peppermint Bark.

Burn The Drama

My little drumming cousin Joe is celebrating the release of his band, Burn The Drama's first EP release this Friday at Spectrum in Sydney. If you like rock this one's worth a ticket.

I like their monochromatic prop display for the cover photographed by Angelo Kehagias.

French General Store

I have been scolded by Donna Hay (yes, the Donna Hay) for not posting for over a week.  Things have been a little crazy, but I have lots to post about, including an interview with Donna on her new shop, so stay tuned peeps. 

How great are these French posters? Nothing better than some old-school illustrative cataloguing in my opinion.  

US$50 from French General Store.

via Abbey Goes Design Scouting via A Cup Of Jo.

My Life As A Fake

Peter Carey backlist covers printed on archival paper by Jenny Grigg via Design Work Life.

Biscuits

These were my favourite biscuits as a child.

Image from We Make Words via Design Work Life.
 

Door Sixteen

Anna's bathroom has been revealed in all it's glory over at decor8's 'How Much For This Room?' feature. 

Anna's work ethic is just so inspirational. She makes me think even I could tile.

Funny People

I hope all the good material isn't in this trailer because I want to go at see this. The last scene is really funny.

via  A Cup of Jo.