visual ga ga

Thought I'd done my last post for the year but just had to share this.
In case you haven't seen this over at the Design Files I urge you to go gawp at David Bromely's jaw-dropping work space in Melbourne. (Posted on 18 December).

Workspace?
Seriously?

Stunning photos from Lucy Feagins. Keep scrolling down after the interview .. photos just keep getting better.

request

There's a new annual design market on in Melbourne this weekend at the Meat Market in North Melbourne. It sounds like a goodie but .. never can tell with markets. I came very close to getting a stall there but in the end I piked. Couldn't stomach another market before Christmas and a totally new one is always a bit of a risk.
If any of you Melbourne peeps are in the vicinity of this market on the weekend would love to know what it's like. If you could post a simple thumbs up or thumbs down that would be most appreciated.

I don't know, there are so many design markets springing up around Australia, I think they're starting to lose their 'specialness'. Would be good to see another way of offloading products. I'm a big fan of the barter system, which happens a lot when you do markets. Just love exchanging goods for goods with my fave designers. Who needs money?

Leaving you with a little work-in-progress piccy. Many months ago I got this 1940's folding theatre chair from an Op Shop on the Central Coast. It was upholstered in a deep green, rusty old leather (there are some BEFORE photos somewhere) which I was going to clean up but I accidently slashed into it when removing upholstery pins.
So, a cushion cover gets slapped onto a chair.


Not so sure .. the dark green leather looked good, more authentic.

the women who never sit

Three days.
24 hours total of STANDING.
Not me, but my superhuman neighbours at Mag Square.



See.. no room for a chair in there.
Sure, there's a little bit of support from the clothes rack but come on now who could stand non-stop for 11 hours and feel okay about it? The truly amazing Georgina and Harriet from Dick and Dora, that's who.



Something in the Tassie water, perhaps? Me, I'm gobsmacked by this discovery - that anyone would even consider doing a market without one of those small pieces of furniture on which to rest your backside. Me, I want to sit down before I even stand up.

On the first day of the market I plonked myself straight onto my trusty little folding campers chair the minute I'd set up as I was so exhausted from having not slept at ALL the night before (late evening arrival, stayed with a friend I haven't seen for ages, chat chat chat, then lay awake all the remaining hours of the night in a state of anxiety). Must have had a premonition that my chair would collapse the minute I sat on it, broken, unrepairable without a staple gun.

Okay, the beginnings of distress. Wild-eyed, frantic, I wander from stall to stall. Does anyone have a staple gun? What? Nobody? Back at my stall, standing, forcing myself to think happy thoughts. Not happy. How am I going to get through 11 hours of standing? Not going to happen. Practise squatting. Hmmm. Maybe someone could lend me a box to sit on.

Then, less than 2 hours into the market, my stall collapses .. cushions fly everywhere. Did I remember to bring the two clamps that held my vertical structure in place? NO. I thought I could just wing it by propping the structure against the back wall. NO. It slipped between the gaps. Tired and internally hysterical all I want to do is run screaming from the beautiful Malvern Town Hall. Very tempting. Somehow I pull myself together.

The Scene a Few Hours Later -
I am sitting on a borrowed chair (Melanie you are a star!), eating a cupcake. My stall structure is securely gaffer tapped to the back wall (Georgina you are a star!). My lovely signage flutters to the floor for the second time.



I leave it there. Beyond caring. Cupcake is goooooood.
The divine comfort of being able to SIT is even better.
Will fix everything tomorrow when I've had a good night's sleep.

And I did.