creative nation

it's a busy weekend for the right-brains of the east coast… this saturday the city of brisbane will not only host one of the nations only full blue skies, it will also showcase the states best-known creatives at the Renegade Market.  Head to fortitude valley between the hours of 10 and 3 to pocket a piece of creative goodness.

further south, VIVID Sydney is in full swing.  you have until june 9 to admire the enormous (and free!) Good Design Showcase in martin place… a carefully curated selection of the the best in cutting-edge design and innovation from around the globe.

for those of us on the isle, the Design Centre Tas launches its Winter In Design program with it's usual belly and soul warming finesse.  Tapas, tunes and a tipple are on offer… as are a few 50x50 boxes in which you may submerse your noggin for full exploration of the senses.  hmm.. curious?  drinks will be poured from 6pm this friday.

So… what's happening in the west??

Reggie

Reggie in certified local tassie oak and dyed black FSC eucalyptus

hypnotised this past month by the textural giddy-up of my new drum pendant light, Reggie, I missed whispering howdy to the outside world. so a booming happy wednesday and without ado here's...drumroll...rrrrReggie, dedicated to Tasmania's tallest growing hardwood Eucalyptus Regnans. or good ol' Tassie Oak as we botanically challenged like to say.

Reggies inside chevrons laid flat

mona and the leathered eggs

happy everything! holidays seem a distant memory but this morning's radiowaves declared easter's looming. really?! alas, my leather eggcups and vessels currently look like this. on saturday at 12pm they'll be dramatically trussed, studded coddled egg cuddlers. along with fetching vessels. MONA market, Hobart - 12 to 5pm.

street light

with all the recent focus on our luxe leather, we couldn't resist grabbing a moment to tinker with some timber - to get back to our roots (tassie oak, to be precise) and see what materialises.  a flurry of slicing, folding, weaving and questionable origami interpretations ensued…  and from it 'Street Light' emerged.

a nod to our incredibly public-spirited pal, Caitlin Street, this little number is our most personable yet.  customisable in shape, size, interior colour… as a stand alone lamp or simply as a shade.  so grab a ruler and a swatch book and tell us - what does your street look like?

alex the great

photo via TEDxSydney

juggling a portfolio that reads like an atlas; the workload that ensues a ranking in Phaidons 100 most influential designers worldwide; and a darling, new baby girl - it's little wonder why Alexander Lotersztain installed his luscious, fur-lined restaurant, Depo, beneath his west end studio, derlot.

photo via Design Addicts

the man is unquestionably prolific, and we had the pleasure of working with him at the recent flat.stack.fold workshop in queensland.  endearing us with his argentinian bred accent, and passion for designing a sustainable world (both flaunted in his TEDx talk), Alex helped us tweak the Pod Luxe into the mailable masterpiece that it now is.

so, if you're looking for a little weeks-end inspiration, or motivation, be sure to scan Alex's website (may require a few sittings), and also the highly desirable furniture he's created with our fellow taswegian designers under the one/third label… and then have a lie down.

Plantation by Derlot Editions

WORKSHOPPED 13

"how can design be future proofed for a disposable society?"

it's the question that's seen fifty home-grown bright sparks weild hammer and pixel to bring you fifty innovative responses at Workshopped13.  honoured to be asked for our input, we saw no better time to debut our new 'mod tech meets ancient craft' pendant - Pod Luxe.

emulating the success of the designers they foster, Workshopped kicked off in 2001 as a hobby, with 5 designers and an opening night figure of 400.  ok, so thats not a bad crowd, but...  zip forward to o-twelve and we have the single largest event on the australian product design calendar, with a history of 200 designers, and over half million names on the visitors book.

Workshopped13 is free (yep, save your coins for all the goods you'll soon be adding to your wish lists), and runs from august 15 - 25 at sydneys supa centa moore park.

photo: chris crerar

the new black

thanks to the wonders of modern technology, and good taste, we welcome our boldest timber yet - eucalypt in liquid amber.

fine slices of sustainably managed, FSC endorsed eucalyptus, penetrated with a deep black (liquid amber) dye. the result? a veneer which embodies all the bewitching boldness and versatility of an eco resin in a sensuous, tactile timber light.

but enough with the pitch - Chris Crerar captures the essence perfectly with this moody black baroque.  the only question now is - which style will you choose?

stacked, folded, done, dusted.

the final installment of flat.stack.fold 2013 was delivered at full-tilt this week.  two fruitful, brisbane-based workshops, devoured by nine extraordinary tasmanian designers, culminating in the completion of nine extraordinary, new tasmanian designs.
loading our precious protos in the dodge (l-r) master craftsman Jye Edwards, Street & Garden Furniture Co. director David Shaw, and Design Tas GM Rye Dunsmuir

noteworthy highlights?  our mentor, David Shaw, delivering us to Brand + Slater Architects in his fabulous ex-Vegas dodge… enlightened moments behind-the-scenes at metal fabricator, Rockpress… a beer-fuelled presentation (at west ends über cool watering hole, Depo) to haled designers from Luxx Box, Derlot,and the curators from Artisan… and, of course, the buoyant feedback received for our newest luminaire - a flat-pack version of pod luxe - 'bolb'!  

watch this space for details on the official unveiling of our future-friendly creations in september.

euro-meets-wildlife watering hole, Depo - co-founded by director of award winning design studio, Derlot, Alexander Lotersztain.  the mans prolific!  

tasmania by hand

whilst tassie revels in it's rep for covetable goods forged by the hands of it's inhabitants, few people are aware of the enormous expense involved in transporting these precious wares across the bass and into loving homes on the mainland... and beyond.

next month, our little island incubator will deliver five gifted artists and makers, under the creative collective known as Tasmania By Hand, to melbournes exclusive Design:Made:Trade show. throw a little support (and some dosh) their way via their Pozible crowd funding site here.

flat.stack.fold

Q. how do you stuff a grand, incandescent bovine into a humble envelope?

good question!  and perhaps a tad ambitious.  but we are eager to to explore the possibilities when Design Tasmania kicks off the second edition of their flat.stack.fold (FSF13) workshops next month.  acknowledging our conundrum (large leather pendant seeks petite packaging for future-friendly travel), Design Tas selected us to take part in their four day, bi-state intensive, alongside seven other forward-thinking furniture designers.  expertly guided by Street & Garden Furniture Co. director, David Shaw, our flat-packed, stacked and folded creations will be unveiled for public scrutiny in september.

launch love

2:15 to spare?  encapsulated in this two minute reel are the sensory highlights of Design Tasmania's Autumn Launch Party.  of course, you can skip to 1:17 for a gander at the luminous pod luxe pendants, but we highly recommend a full viewing so as to appreciate the splendid sampling of local artistry, and rather awe-inspiring craftsmanship of wood turner, Brad Moss.  better yet… pop over to The Design Tasmania Centre and soak up this superb showcase in person.

the talented Mr Smith

the devastation that this impromptu ice-cream installation must have left in its wake is palpable…  though for many a passerby, the polychromatic sludge is beauty…  it tells a story.  such is the creative ethos of 2012 UTAS furniture design graduate Matty C Smith.  'inspired by waste' and aspiring to give longevity to his versatile pieces by forming a connection between owner and object - this designer, philosopher, ex-architectural joiner and motorcycle demon is (hopefully) just moments away from his podium placing as DIA's GOYTA in furniture design! aka - the Design Institute of Australia's Graduate of The Year Award for very fine furniture.  Go team tas!

pod luxe

long enamoured by natures ingenious design and the 'slow' crafts of our forefathers, we've literally returned to our roots to draw inspiration for our new range.  INDUSTRY OF NATURE is the irresistible convergence of the natural world and ancient crafts.  POD LUXE, the radiant debut from the collection, borrows its form from the reticulated tunic of the corm (not horticulturally versed? ...the bulbous encasing of irises, gladiolus, et al), and has been sculpted through the time honoured tradition of cuir bouilli (non parlez-vous français? ...the boiling and taming of leather).

our tactile little beauty beckons for a closer inspection, doesn't it?  be amongst the first at tonights Autumn Design Launch Party in launceston (though, p'haps enjoy the gourmet snags after fondling the hide).  or catch Objects in Place by the water in hobart 'til the twentieth…

ten days of cuir bouilli

with all the fuss made over tassies gourmet nosh, we thought we'd step into the kitchen and see if we could infuse our pendants with some of that culinary magic. intrigued? on the boil since 2012, our new lumières are set for their big reveal next month, at australias only state-wide international arts fest, Ten Days on the Island...

first, circle march 14 - 20.  DOTs interactive Objects in Place, at hobarts waterside pavilion, explores the design of public spaces and features new works from a shortlist of fifteen very fine jewellers, ceramicists, furniture makers, lighting designers (ahem!) and more.

next, head north to launcestons Design Centre Tasmania, for a behind-the-scenes peek at how technology shapes the process and informs the final product of some of tassies top designers.  Think.Make.Change.  runs from march 8 to may 26, but if you like your design with a side of food, wine and music (err… anyone who didn't put their hand up?), then make sure you're there on march 15 for their autumn launch party.

of course, our bitty selection's not all that's on offer (we're just a little biased) - so grab your festival planner here and go exploring!

flock

being a small isle brimming with creative spirit, tasmania embraces its community and the arts in an enviable fashion. indulging our benevolent soul, we commenced the year by momentarily setting aside the grandeliers to pull together our 'Flock' - a public art commission for Ravenswood Child and Family Centre under the Tasmanian Government Art Site Scheme.  

our sixty two winged creations playfully soar across the walls of the Centre toward a kaleidoscopic, illuminated birdhouse - a buoyant and nurturing sanctuary much like the Centre… minus the neon lights.  our flock are inspired by the close knit and resilient residents of Ravenswood and, of course, the essence of what birds represent - freedom, fresh beginnings and the safe haven of a community… a flock.

creative resolve

so. seventeen days in. how is this new, luminous year treating you, friends?  according to interweb stats (which, of course, are always very accurate), 29% of you have already 'un-resolved'.  oops.  well in an effort to rediscover that vigor and drive you possessed two weeks ago, this year we have resolved to bring you a stimulating series of inspirational creatives from across the land.  we're tracking down the masterful minds and makers that have had us brandishing our facebook thumb like a desperate hitchhiker and we're shining a grandelier into their creative life… and possibly their shoe collection.  hop to it - join our mailing list here to join the fun.  your first shiny instalment will be delivered shortly...
Photo: Patrick Pleul

for the 'wish I were there' files...

just in time for soirée season… Preston Zly shoe maker, Johanna Preston, is sailing from the mainland to do a trunk show (no elephants) this friday night and saturday at hobarts salamanca arts centre. then on sunday (allowing very little time for the plastic to cool), Oyster + Pearl frock designer, Lou Whiting, flings open her boutique doors on liverpool st to present her summer range... with a side of french bubbles and petit fours.  très chic.  send me a postcard! (silk and shoes also accepted).

dot.prototype

underway on the south of the isle is prototype - exhibiting right brain creations from the up 'n' comers of Designed Objects Tasmania, aka DOT.  it's a worthy looksee for not only buyers and admirers, but also those behind the scenes and passionate about keeping it local... the core aim to "offer tangible proposals and provide attainable opportunities to link tasmanian designers, manufacturers, architects and specifiers".  though we've taken a pass on this one in favor of polishing our prototypes for paris (so soon.. eep!), there are still many admirable contenders to marvel.  prototype opens tonight and runs at 146 ArtSpace, north hobart 'til the 6th of sep.