Lifeinstyle Melbourne 2012

We are nearly Lifeinstyle ready!

The last few months have seen us busy creating our new collection entitled Sacred Journey and we are very happy with the results. The collection will be launched at Lifeinstyle next week at its brand new venue at the Melbourne Showgrounds - for all the details click here We are stand 5008 in Pavillion D.

Here is a taste of the new collection - hope you like!

Ametrine drusy pendant

Aventurine wolf's head pendant

Ocean Jaspar Buddha head pendant

We will also have a selection of gorgeous limited edition pieces on show on a first come first served basis. These include necklaces made from stunning natural stones like the drusy pendant in the blog heading above and antique and vintage treasures we have collected as seen below.

We hope to see all our lovely retailers next week!

Sindy - nearly 50 and off the shelf!

For all those who grew up with Sindy - "the doll you love to dress".......she's nearly 50 and on the market!

 The fashionable girl about town, doll of the 1960's and 70's is reaching her half century and on the look out for a buyer to save her from toy extinction. As recently reported by the BBC "Wholesome, demure, Sindy was the fashion doll created as a British girl-next-door alternative to the rather more glamorous and sexy American Barbie. She was the UK's most popular doll with about 80% of the fashion doll market at her peak in 1985"

However time has not been kind to poor Sindy - she was given a questionable makeover in the 1980's as an attempt to rival her more brazen, American cousin, Barbie which resulted in a long and drawn out legal battle with Mattel (Barbie's makers). Mattel argued that Sindy had indeed become Barbie - too much plastic surgery perhaps! The closure of British High Street store Woolworths in 2009 meant that sadly Sindy disappeared from the shelves altogether and her maker's Pedigree Toys are now looking for a saviour to bring Sindy and her fashionable lifestyle back to life ....any takers?

Here are some of our favourite images of the gorgeous Sindy .....

How would you dress the lovely Sindy today?

Read the full BBC news article here

The Voice

The Voice has been crowned and we will all miss the show.

We loved every aspect of The Voice -  Joel's hyper antics, Seal's creepy outfits, Delta's fake tan and stunning outfits and Keith's flash of Calvin Kleins and of course the amazing singing! Eliza Cracknell from Madison Magazine has written a very witty and observant roundup of the show - check it out here Australia's Voice

Joel Madden sitting still for once!

Seals VERY dodgy shirt

Delta looking gorgeous - just for a change!

One of our highlights - Keith's Calvins

 Karise was fantastic and was the well deserved winner - what a raw talent! We hope that her talent is nutured and that she has a great career ahead of her.

Damien Hirst at The Tate

I have just spent the last hour or so wandering around the blockbuster retrospective of Damien Hirst currently on show at The Tate Modern in London - all from the comfort of my sofa on a particularly unpleasant, rainy day in Melbourne. Although I would of course rather be in London seeing the works in person I stumbled across the Damien Hirst app on the Tate Gallery website and was hooked!

The app clearly takes you through the main themes of the work on show in the exhibition using images, interviews and video - often interspersed with Hirst's own voice explaining the methods and meanings behind his work.

Here is just a taster of the exhibition

 

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, 1991

A Thousand Years, 1990

The Anatomy of an Angel 2008 with Doorways to the Kingdom of Heaven 2007 in the background

The man himself in front of I Am Become Death, Shatterer of Worlds 2006

For The Love Of God 2007

Always controversial Damien Hirst ".... is either the presiding genius of contemporary British art, justifiably making a fortune by thrilling audiences with his memorable reflections on life and death. Or he is an empty con artist, making a fool of us and raking in millions from buyers with more money than sense" (Mark Brown, Guardian Arts Correspondent see the full article  here)

Whatever your feelings towards this artist and his challenging, thought provoking work if you don't have the luck to be visiting the exhibition in person I would recommend grabbing the app (if you are an iphone or ipad user) and learning more.......

Queenie

Back in good old blighty everyone is partying on down to help The Queen celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. Although we are not quite this excited.........

....we could not let the momentous event pass us by without sharing a few of our favourite photos of Queen Elizabeth 2nd

Congratulations Queenie!

Florence and the Machine

Stunning new Florence and the Machine video directed by the talented fashion photographer David La Chapelle.

We just love it - what do you think?

Markit at Federation Square

If  you are not doing anything this Sunday 27 May pop along to Markit at Federation Square for a cornucopia of designer delights.

"Markit@FedSquare is a biannual curated design market focusing on illustrative and decorative based design products including fashion, jewellery, homewares, stationery & illustration. Markit@FedSquare invites you to meet the designers, talk with them about their products and buy something beautiful"

Here are some of our favourite designer/makers who will be at the event.

m2matiz

m2matiz is a graphic art and design studio which designs and produces artwork for print based mediums including  business cards, letterheads, brochures, invitations and packaging. A passion for taking photographs led to the m2matiz product range being born - a range of gift cards, gift tags, the t.lighthaus©, the luMierebox and more.Check out their website here for the full range of their beautiful products and images.

Tightology

  

 With a deep focus on design and the environment Tightology's  legwear are made in Australia using
organic cotton, bamboo and merino wool. They produce a collection of full tights, footless tights and socks in a range of gorgeous patterns and colours which are synonymous with style and comfort. Check them out here

Sandra Bowkett

 Sandra Bowkett states that she is drawn to the sculptural and functional objects of many cultures from the refined fine bone china and porcelain of Europe to the bold lowfired utilitarian forms of India and Africa. These stunning vessels are delicate and rich in colour - to learn more about her work click here

We are very excited to be in the company of these great designers and many more, and will be showing a selection from our new collection.

Register at the Markit website to go into the draw to win a hamper of goodies worth $500 and we hope to see you on Sunday.