clothing

"re-strüctured" is a showing of Melbourne label MüCKE's process-based, sustainable clothing design practice. It has been installed in the window of gorgeous Brunswick boutique, Pussycat Black, and opening drinks are on tonight from 6-8pm (13.6.2008). If you're in Brunswick & see this post in time, get a move on! If not, make sure to drop by the store sometime between now and the 27th June. Make your way to:
Pussycat Black 3 Edward St, Brunswick, 3056. (ph. 03 9387 2129)

I've included a little information below which I found on Betty Jo's LinoForest blog - thanks Liz for bringing the installation to our attention!

"In this exhibition, Ellie Mücke explores the processes intrinsic to her labels roots in sustainable design. Observe the inner detail and intricate construction techniques of MüCKE garments, as the designer openly shows the de and re-construction of her recycled clothing practice. "re-strüctured" is a close encounter with process based clothing design."

Redrum Toddy Suit, AUD $120 and Roary Tartan Toddy Suit, AUD $135 from Toddy Sleepwear

Fun & fantastic, Toddy Sleepwear is a new label with some irresistible designs! These onesies and such have been designed by Melbourne's Michelle Legge and are 100% Australian made, using the softest Australian cotton/lycra fabric (and featuring Michelle's original prints).

Porky Rollo Tartan Shorties, AUD $40, Haggis-Ababa Tartan Singlet, AUD $60, The Amy Toddy Suit, AUD $120 and It's Plaid To See Tartan Cardy, AUD $90 from Toddy Sleepwear

With a bed bug for a logo, unisex designs, and even a bum flap in the signature onesie or "Toddy Suit", Toddy offers an offbeat alternative to the mainstream fare. Michelle sees the Toddy Suit as the ultimate winter pajama - "a practical winter garment and a quirky talking piece rich in retro-culture, the ideal combination for both the comfort and fashion conscious." The Winter 2008 collection is titled "Log Cabin Lullaby". Prepare to be surprised & delighted as murky monsters, bacteria bugs and forest freaks creep out from under your bed... you'll sleep safe & sound in a snugly Toddy Suit for sure!

Roary Tartan Toddy Suit, AUD $135 from Toddy Sleepwear

Completing the Toddy range is a series of sleepwear staples, each treated with a unique design twist to keep things interesting. In keeping with the retro children's pajama theme, Toddy also offers matching PJ sets consisting of lusciously long rib-trimmed leggings and quirky shoulder buttoned long-sleeve tops plus the usual suspects like boxer-style shorties, racer-back singlets & cosy cap-sleeved t-shirt nighties.

Buzzem Fuzzem Tartan Nighty, AUD $70, Haggis-Ababa Tartan Singlet, AUD $60, Blood Runner Tartan Legging, AUD $80, Galaxy Goanna PJ Top, AUD $80 and Orgen Borgen Tartan Legging, AUD $80 from Toddy Sleepwear

Toddy Sleepwear is available from the Toddy web site at www.toddy.com.au, where you'll also find size charts, plenty of cute pics, and... your perfect pajama, of course! So get back in the spirit of pillow fights and bed time stories & make Toddy the perfect excuse to sleep in on a winter weekend!

Hope Street Markets is on again tomorrow - in a brand new location at Paddington Town Hall. This wonderful event has gone from strength to strength over the last year or so & has collected a vast array of talent along the way!

Unique handmade jewellery by Raspberry Beret

Maggie Scardfield of Raspberry Beret creates unique jewellery pieces which each have a story to tell. Her collection of handmade, custom designed jewellery combines vintage & antique findings with semi precious stones, swarovski crystals, oversized chain and freshwater pearls. A few of her designs are pictured above & many more will be on display tomorrow!

Bronze & silver jewellery by Claire Suzy Stannard

Claire Suzy Stannard creates unique, striking jewellery & accessories utilising white bronze, feathers, leather & sterling silver. See more at www.clairesuzystannard.com or visit her stall at tomorrow's markets.

Pictures & fashion by Smitten by Stephanie

Smitten by Stephanie is the cutest! Stephanie creates all sorts of goodies - pictures, fashion, shiny things, soft stuff, jewellery & toys. She finds her inspiration in shiny things, rainbows, love poems, art, pop, ice cream, sad clowns, underworld, mythology, music boxes, crystals and kittens. Definitely one not to be missed!

Hip? Young? Feisty? Yes? Then Young Lovers will be the perfect fit. Whether you're hanging out in Newtown or New York, you're sure to stand out from the crowd in one of these spunky screen printed tees. Pictured top left is "Pirate King" (AUD $59) with the "Young Lovers" signature print (AUD $59) right next door.

The Sydney label has recently released its highly anticipated third collection, titled "Midnight Twilight". The bold new prints "celebrate the madness of midnight love and all that surrounds it. It is for the sleepless ones who dare to not follow. It is the Young Lovers who will take over the city by night." A few neon colours should help out there - pictured above are "Guns&Arms" (left AUD $59) and "Murdermouse" (right, AUD $59).

I'm wondering which of these two tees is the scariest? The title of the daytime soap "Young & Restless" (left, AUD $59) or the razor sharp teeth of "Vampire Hounds" (right, AUD $59)? (I must admit now to having purchased the Young & Restless cookbook... and I was rather dissappointed to find that it lacked the drama of both the TV show and the t-shirt.)

This design has to be my favourite from the new range - a highly decorative traditional frame borders an image depicting a black cat eating licorice at midnight... (AUD $59) Below are "Lovers" (left, AUD $50) and "Dancing Shoes" (right, AUD $59). You'll be looking sharp in those!

Young Lovers tees are produced in strictly limited editions of 100. They are available in both guys & girls styles but you'd better be getting a move on as a couple of styles (not shown here) have already sold out. You can purchase tees directly from the Young Lovers web site at www.younglovers.com.au, or seek them out at the following stockists:

NSW: Beautiful on the Inside (Surry Hills), Roof on Fire (Paddington), Mint (Manly).
VIC: Kids in Berlin
QLD: Violent Green

in.cube8r gallery opened its doors on Smith St, Fitzroy (Melbourne) last year and has gained quite a following - (in fact, I've read snippets & seen references in blogs all over). They've helped many emerging artists & designers introduce their products to the retail marketplace, and provided a great environment for more established labels to expand their product range, exposure & of course, their customer base.

All the products on display at in.cube8r gallery have been made by hand. Over 80 Melbourne artists & crafters are represented, which means there is a vast range of original clothing, accessories, jewellery, artworks & gifts. The gallery is based on the concept of a market or bazaar, but without the need to get up at 5am & wrestle with your trestle table. in.cube8r spaces (including glass cubes) are available from $20 per week and, best of all, there is no commission on sales.

Founder of this unique retail space is Isy Galey, who nurtured the dream to open a top-notch but friendly & approachable handmade gallery for over a decade. In July 2007, her dream was realised when the spaces between the fuchsia walls became filled with all sorts of handmade delights & the doors were opened to the public. Within 7 weeks of opening, in.cube8r spaces were booked out & there was already a waiting list!

I recognise the contents of this cube! This is the work of artist / illustrator Julie Knoblock who lives in West Gippsland, Victoria. Through her label, Tummyache, she produces bags, toys, necklaces, brooches, artworks & limited edition prints. I love the vibrant orange satchel at the back of this display & her illustrations look so sweet when turned into pendants.

There are too many people whose work is on display to list in this post, but the in.cube8r gallery web site features designer profiles so that you can learn a little about person who made your special find.
Visit www.incube8r.com/designerscube.html to see a sampling of the many & varied products available & the people who make them, and if you live in Melbourne (or are just visiting), make sure you drop by in.cube8r gallery at 321 Smith St, Fitzroy (t. 03 8415 0321).

A little while ago, we were lucky enough to win a competition held by fellow Australian design blog & designers' network Design Federation. Among our prizes were two tees from the world's least dangerous t-shirt label, Sweat-Shop Productions. When quizzed about the real origins of the colourful tees with the biting slogans, creator Klaus replied "Unfortunately, there are no real sweatshops in Australia of note, so I had to travel overseas to find one with real child labour to make the tees as authentic as possible."
Of course you did!

The original motivation behind the label was, naturally, to change the world with a t-shirt. Since then, Klaus has discovered that it's not really possible... but does find the tees make an easy option for birthdays & Christmas gifts.
He says, "Some people drink or do drugs, this is my vice. I have enormous chips on my shoulders and am also a very bitter person - I generally spit in disgust when simply looking in the mirror. This is all the impetus I need to come up with cheesy slogan-based designs."

The designs pictured above are "Samurai" (left) and "Mum's Alert, Dad's Alarmed, I'm Afraid" (right, AUD $30). These are two of many witty "Politricks" slogans and artworks featured on Sweat-Shop Productions t-shirts & posters. A selection of the t-shirt range is available from the Sweat-Shop Productions MadeIt store. Thanks again for the prizes, guys!

My partner knows I love the Polli jewellery range, and has planned to surprise me with Polli earrings a couple of times now. Last Christmas, he was foiled by their popularity as they'd all sold out... This time he made it to Made 590 a little earlier and chose these stunning stainless steel Gulls earrings - a brand new addition to the range. Modeled here by our black bamboo, you can see the delicate effect of the etched surface on the front, bringing the birds further foward & adding to the sense of weightless movement.

Pocket is another favourite in this household, and here my partner is showing off the latest edition to his wardrobe. We both love this cool new design - the superfine detail is amazing & we love the colour combination of aqua & white on a chocolate brown tee. I wouldn't mind piloting one of these babies... (I do love a bit of sci-fi!)

This beautiful leather wallet was such a thoughtful gift from my partner's parents. It was handmade by Melbourne artist & printmaker Emily Wright for her label Nancybird and is called the "Pearl Wallet". It takes its inspiration from old cameo brooches, with their decorated border and inlays depicting portraits and landscape scenes. The bird image screen printed by Nancybird onto the front panel comes from the carved wooden inlay on a 17th century German handbag. The detailing is exceptional from the hand stitched border around the front panel, to the patterned fabric lining, curved zipper pouch & photo window, to the gorgeous red beads on the zip - oh, and the Italian leather is SO soft! (Emily even develops the colours for the leather with an Italian tannery!)

Make sure to email me if you were surprised with something really special for Christmas! We'd love to feature it on indie art & design.

I love shopping at Yoshi Jones in Newtown. The light-filled store is colourful & vibrant, bursting with great gifts to suit all occasions, and I know I'll always find gorgeous clothes that I love to wear... but apart from all those girlie things, I'm always impressed at the large selection of interesting menswear on the shelves. Yoshi Jones carries t-shirts aplenty, with screen prints guaranteed to please the boys. They also stock a unique collection of cotton shirts that are something else! They are designed & made in Australia by Yoshi Jones, using contemporary cotton fabrics sourced in Japan.

The striking patterns feature geometric shapes and colour palettes that work brilliantly. A couple of my favourite colour combinations include peach partnered with both warm & cool blue variants (as pictured at top) and orange, brown & aqua (as pictured below) both on a crisp white background. The various designs suit all tastes but mostly they are unique in a bland environment where the male shirt seems to be reserved for the conservative workplace.

The mens shirts are available in two different styles - fitted and a side vent style that can be worn with jeans, shorts or a skinny pant. (Perfect for all those summer celebrations!) There are both short sleeve & long sleeve options, and prices range from AUD $99 - $125. Pictured below is a detail from one of the shirts showing a more delicate design - both in its hand-drawn style and the mauve & eggplant colours - again on a crisp white background, punctuated by orange & blue highlights.

The fabric range is so eycatching it has appealed to men and women alike leading Yoshi to design a range of colourful shirts for us girls as well as the boys. This new range will be appearing instore throughout this month, so if you are in Sydney, be sure to check them out! The Yoshi Jones store is at 134 King St, Newtown (near the intersection of King St & Missendon Rd).

P.S. If you're a coffee lover, stop by Campos Coffee (a block down Missenden Rd) for the best coffee & beans ever!

dexhibition opened over the weekend at Panic Urban Streetwear & Counter Culture at 28 Johnston St, Fitzroy, Melbourne. On display is a collection of artworks that use the humble skate deck as a canvas. dexhibition features over 24 skateboard designs by both established & up and coming artists from Melbourne & Sydney including:

deb, pete @ devils ink, pierre lloga, luke ryan, pep, junior, deam, slap, kid zoom, omer, caleb, smc, phibs, trog, eaten rabbit, que, i like things, drew, six one, nicole, agoe, petite mort, max berry, ears.

Though I haven't visited the Panic store/gallery in person, they also look to have some interesting clothing & accessories including Melbourne label deliri'art & Sydney label My Genocide Clothing. Panic is dedicated to supporting emerging designers, musicians, film makers and artists by providing a space where these people can exhibit, create and perform. Somewhere to visit next time I'm in Melbourne!

Well, I didn't have any luck on the horses this Melbourne Cup, but I did find a trifecta of horse-themed goodies to lift the spirits! The Stallion Cuff (above, AUD $78) from Fuzz Design Workshop is bold & beautiful. Made from cast pewter and formed acrylic, this galloper can certainly make the distance.

The etched wooden Hobby Horse brooch pictured above is from popular local label Allira (AUD $35). This young filly shows talent (and a lovely wood grain) but may have trouble finding direction!

In third place is this burgundy bib top from Secret Squirrel Clothing featuring a stampede of brumbies on the front. A fine finish with optional belt detail. It is available for online purchase from YTBA for AUD $80.