23
JUL
teacup ballet
OH! Hi. Yes, I'm feeling a little sheepish. I haven't forgotten you, how could I? It's just, you know, life and stuff getting in the way of my sitting down here and having a good natter. But life is good, very good. My little munchkin Erika is filling my days with love and laughter and chubby-bubby cuddles. And at night I've been doing a little bit of freelance work, which I have been REALLY enjoying. It's a little exercise for my brain, working that creative muscle...
04
MAR
society6 love
Hey y'all, have you heard of Society6? One of the lovely gals I follow on Instagram has gotten me on to it, and it's brilliant! Independent designers / artists / illustrators / photographers can upload their artwork to the site (whilst maintaining copyright) and others browse and can purchase as canvases, prints, t-shirts and even iPhone cases!...
02
MAR
casetagram
Just in case you were thinking the Instagram obsession couldn't get any worse, along comes 'Casetagram' — a clever webpage can turn your fave Instagram pics into an iPhone case for just US$34.95 (they ship worldwide!). Brilliant! The only hard part is choosing a design and selecting which pics to include...
20
FEB
thank you, thank you
I just realised that I never got around to showing you the little thank you I made to send to family and friends upon Erika's arrival. I had neither the brain capacity nor the time to come up with a new concept, so used the same elements I designed for my niece Lucy's
20
JAN
instagram filter photoshop action
So you know about my Instagram obsession, yes? And how the app has some groovy filters to apply to your photos, yes? Well, a warm vintage filter is really trendy these days, and I was hoping to apply something similar to my high resolution images in Photoshop. I found some actions online,...
03
NOV
sunday magazine + mossimo
Did you happen to catch the October 16 issue of Sunday Magazine in The Sunday Herald Sun? If so, you may have seen some of my handiwork! And now for a little horn tootin'! We provided Lauren and the Sunday Magazine team with a very open creative brief for a Mossimo’s 25th Birthday campaign 5 page feature...
31
OCT
fab frogs
Have I mentioned my clever mate Linda before? If not, how remiss of me! Linda was a fellow designer at work until she retired nine(ish) months ago. I really miss her knitting advice and cookie baking! But, she's gone on to bigger and better things — producing a range of awesome little resin chocolate frog brooches, among other things!...
28
SEP
baby shower
Last Sunday my gorgeous mum and sister hosted a beautiful baby shower for George and I, surrounded by all the lovely ladies in my life (with a few notable exceptions). There were delicious finger sandwiches, sausage rolls, mini quiches and sweet treats as far as the eye could see. I put in my two bob and made the Lamington...
15
SEP
vogue living shoot
In June I had the good fortune of tagging along with Melbourne Vogue Living editor, Annemarie Kiely, to a photo shoot in Melbourne's east. Keen to learn some more tricks of the interior photography trade, I pestered Annemarie until a suitable job came up. The house was amazing, the host oh-so-gracious, and the end result...
17
AUG
baby shower invitation
With an ever-growing belly (and my sister's persistent nagging), I thought it was about time I designed my baby shower invitations. I can't believe how quickly time is flying — George is almost 30 weeks! No mistaking my baby bump for an overly indulgent lunch now. As much as I love it, I really do wish I could get some SLEEP....
08
JUN
i know i’m biased, but…
...everyone else I've spoken to agrees with me: this little munchkin is as cute as a button. Above is the thank-you card I made for my sister to send to her lovely friends and extended family. Lucy was about 8-9 weeks old at the time this photo was taken — I can't believe she's already almost three months old. When I see her I want to kiss...
04
MAY
disassembled typewriter
I love this poster by artist Todd McLellan, partly because I think he's a little bit obsessive compulsive crazy... which I can relate to. And I love his description too: "In my series Disassembly, I photographed old items that are no longer used by the masses and often found on the street curbs heading for disposal. All of the pieces...
31
MAR
visit victoria — march 2011
Okay, so I promised to share this with you in a timely manner... well, March kind of got away from me. But here 'tis — you can still enjoy perusing the events of April and May! My favourite jaunt in autumn? Daylesford. Hubby and I will definitely be doing a little weekend away sometime soon, when the leaves start to turn and...
25
MAR
internet rant
Ooh, I love a passionate internet rant (and a flow-chart, for that matter). Unfortunately, because of the face-less nature of the 'net, it can so easily go off the rails. I was perusing a forum the other day, whereby a mediator had to step in and scald the name-callers like children. He all but said 'kids, if you have nothing nice to say...".
06
JAN
may the force (of typography) be with you
Ok, confession: I am a Star Wars nerd. I grew up in the 1980s with an older brother whom I worshipped, it was a little hard not to be. Combine that with my love of typography, and what's on the top of my wish-list? These friggin’ awesome posters, that’s what! Check out Abduzeedo for more info. PS. Don’t get me started on the changes George Lucas...
04
JAN
mixed martial arts + crafts
Of course you know by now: I love martial arts. I love crafts. Well, some jolly clever fellow combined the two to create the world’s most awesome t-shirt (damn, I wish it was me — why didn’t I think of that?). A very thoughtful friend, who clearly knows me very well, bought me this great tee last Chrissy, and I love it. You can get yours here...
03
JAN
get kickstarted
This is such a brilliant concept — well actually, two brilliant concepts. Firstly, the website Kickstarter: I’ll let their little spiel give you all the info you need (or better yet, visit their site to see how it all works). Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge...
20
AUG
font design
Back when I was in uni — a decade ago (urgh!) — I created my own usable font using Illustrator and font creation software. It was tops. Not that I can compete with the masters, of course, those absolute legends that designed the timeless fonts that are so common today. I feel the urge to do it all over again. I'd like to toy with handwritten fonts...
06
AUG
oh so inspired
I changed my route to work a couple months back. I substituted the Eastern Fwy for the Monash — further in distance, but freer moving traffic (most of the time!). The one thing I miss about my old route is waiting in the right turning lane from Punt Road on to Swan St, under the bridge. I would nearly miss the light change checking out...
01
JUL
the inner sanctum
Following on from my last post, in which I uploaded an article featuring Shannon Bennett and Guy Grossi... Last year I had the unbelievably good fortune to oversee a photo-shoot in the Grossi Florentino kitchen of Guy Grossi. The shoot was to promote Leggo’s tomato paste, and I was so excited to see the inner workings...
09
JUN
karate n’ stuff
As a kid, I had the insane good fortune to live around the corner from the Honbu dojo (headquarters) of world-wide karate instructor Sensei Paul Mitchell. My brother took up karate training when I just ten years old, and since I hadn’t inherited my sister’s brilliant athletic abilities (when I was about seven, I won a big trophy for being...
22
MAY
a good day for a panda
I’ve been thinking about experimenting with a four-colour silkscreen — it will certainly test my registration skills, but I’m keen to give it a go. I’ve got the screens prepped, ready to go — now I just need to decide on a design. Meet my panda. Just thinking about pandas gives me the warm and fuzzies...
19
MAY
silkscreen printing
My old high school has kindly accepted me as their ‘artist in residence’ — I use their facilities to process my silkscreens (I’m using the photo-emulsion method which requires a darkroom) and in exchange I chat to the Year 11 & 12 graphic students about their current projects. They’ve all been so welcoming, it has really been a lovely experience...
14
MAY
inside out photo shoot
I have organised and art directed a number of shoots in the three years I’ve been with News Magazines. A couple months ago, on a stiflingly hot summer’s day, I was lucky enough to see the inner workings of an Inside Out shoot. The brilliant Bev Douglas (Creative Services Art Director) had directed shoots of a number...
13
MAY
spring racing carnival
Last year (or was it 2008? I’m losing track of time) I organised and directed a shoot, and produced the artwork, for Myer’s Spring Racing Carnival campaign. Spring Racing is huge in Melbourne — and I’m sure retailers make a mint selling beautiful dresses to the gals, and smart suits to the fellas!...
13
MAY
shooting for myer
In 2008, Myer had a full schedule of advertising with Sunday Magazine. Some of the photography they supplied themselves, but much of it was organised by me and shot here in Melbourne by photographer Robin Lowe. Robin, and his lovely stylist Madeleine, are a dream to work with. In amongst all the serious photo-taking,...
09
MAY
a hen’s kitchen tea
My beautiful, vivacious sister was married in March of this year. To farewell her single-dom, her closest friends, mum and I staged a “Bridal High Tea”. It was a beautiful summer’s day in February, all the girls wore floral frocks, we supped on delicate finger-food and fruity punch, and played very civilised croquet...
26
APR
tourism victoria — spring 2009
Since mid-last year, I have had the pleasure of working with Tourism Victoria to produce several 24-page advertising inserts. This first insert appeared in The Adelaide Magazine and QWeekend Magazine in October 2009. My contact at Tourism Victoria, the lovely Emily, has been wonderful to work with...