The DL..

Hey guys, what's the haps? It's about time I gave anyone who still hangs around the DL with what's been going on in my life. Here's the highlights...

In June we spent a magical long weekend in Melbourne and fell in love..

...we fell in love with Smith Street Alimentari in Collingwood

...we fell in love with the art of expression in Fitzroy

...we fell in love all over again with Marty Scorsese

...Alex fell back in love with Chinotto, and introduced me to this new flavour

...we fell in love with the architecture and character of the city

...and its amazing eateries

....but most of all, the architecture and history. My god, how I've missed history.

We'll be back, Melbourne!

poetry in motion

This poster created by Josip Kelava has been making the rounds on Pinterest, and with good reason. I love the colour palette, type and intricate use of overlay. Also, it's dreamy. I may be wrong but I think that the Melbourne Dance Company 2012 is fictional, Kelava created an identity and poster as an exercise in design..? If anyone knows, please put me straight!





via Behance

riding into 2012

Happy New Year! And while we're at it, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah & Joyful Kwanza! You guys, I have no excuse. I'm not going to patronize your giant brians with pathetic reasons for my absence, because there are none. I was enjoying all those other amazing blogs out there far too much and just didn't feel the need to blog myself, and that's okay. But I did still feel that niggling guilt, and the longer I stayed away from here the worse it got until it snowballed into some kind of elephant in the room: "just write about anything!" But I don't want to do that, so I waited until I felt ready to come back as I knew I would.

I had a great time away, though, and I hope you did too. It's summer here, and it's been a stunner - in fact I'm hoping for some rain soon for our poor parched grass. But I'm not complaining, I've been soaking it up in bucketloads and practically feeling all that life-giving vitamin D seeping into dem bones of mine. Other happenings: I started a new job - which then closed down for Christmas (and doesn't reopen for another 2 weeks!), drank too many mojitos, ate a lot of barbeque and realised it's now less than a year until I get married. Holy crap.

But enough about me. What's a post without pictures, right? So you don't feel robbed, and because it's totally apropos of nothing, check out these bitching Kenyan bike taxis!

Photos by James Mollison for Colours magazine, via DesignTripper

sixty fictional movies

I've seen Buck 65 perform a couple times - once at a small festival gig and another time in a club, and this guy has some gnarly energy and a wicked sense of humour.

Superstars Don't Love by Buck 65. Directed & animated by Travis Hopkins.

via Booooooom!

Plus...

English artist D*Face & his crew make a mess in someone's yard.

An electronic instant camera that prints on receipt paper? Um, rad!

animal lovers

By artist Viridis Somnio, via cakehead loves evil

the brothers haslegrave

The features in NY-based online magazine The Scout are always thoughtful portraits of real craftsmen, who seem to live what they love and share a homegrown, salvaged philosophy towards design. Brothers Oliver and Evan Haslegrave, who together make up residential design team hOmE, are no different, and have created some of New York's most unique restaurants and bars. I love all the images that accompany their interview - which is an interesting read. It doesn't hurt that the brothers are stone cold foxes, either. Read the full interview on The Scout's website here.

“A lot of salvaged pieces you find, like that old beer tap,” Oliver began, while gesturing to a large metal tap that sat disembodied atop a wooden butcher’s block in his kitchen. “I would be really amazed if they still made them like that. And it’s not a qualitative thing, it’s just that there were certain times when certain kinds of things were made. New materials come along as a quicker means of production,” he added. “And if you want to create a feeling of warmth and history or character, then a new material will not give it to you. Used materials just lend themselves better [to that sort of ambiance.] Inherently, salvaged materials have all of these restrictions, but to use them in a more abstract way, to create something new from them—that’s the best part of the job,” Evan said.

Excerpt from The Brothers Haslegrave interview, written by Raven Keller. All photos by Rose Callahan.

hardware & walls

A few videos to end the week...

Darren's Great Big Camera from MATTHEW SULTAN on Vimeo.

Daniel Samuelson's homemade "ultra-large format" camera shoots on 14" x 36" x-ray film. Any mistakes with exposure must be a bitch! Found via Notcot

Hush "Twin" Opening at New Image Art from G7D on Vimeo.

UK-based artist Hush has a show on in L.A. right now at New Image Art, as advertised at the end of the video. Found via My Love For You...

Images courtesy of New Image Art/Sonja Teri, via My Love For You...

Madre from Andrew Telling on Vimeo.

A summery adventure featuring UK artist Word To Mother, found via Notcot

play it again

Did you guys know that I'm engaged? Yes, this lass is off the market. I don't want this joint to turn into a wedding blog so I never write about it, but I had to share this invite I spotted over on Green Wedding Shoes. Kelli Anderson created this rad paper record player for her friends' wedding.

Paper Record Player from kellianderson on Vimeo.

Odd jobs via A Cup of Jo

This house is an oasis of calm. And this one is nicely dishevelled. Yep, I definitely like lofts.

I hope that Beastie Boys Revisited doesn't suck.

i am love

I haven't seen this new film yet with the ever-imposing Tilda Swinton, but I love this poster! What a simple idea, and intriguing - it's made me want to see it, so it must work.

a magazine is born

There's no way this can go wrong. Little White Lies, the Black Swan edition! Unfortunately this edition has sold out, but you can marvel at the beautiful illustration of Natalie Portman; wonder at the making of this most excellent film magazine! It shows 2 months of work in 2 minutes, and features the film's original score.

Love that new print smell.

In case you don't know about Little White Lies (I didn't until my friend Helen set me straight, thanks pal!) it is a bi-monthly (that means one every two years, right?) UK film magazine that actually contains insightful directorial interviews, movie reviews and everything else you never knew you wanted to know. Their design and layouts are fresh - probably because they choose to review great films regardless of budget or fame, which I love. You can subscribe, order online or follow their blog.

boogazine

A few weeks back I posted about anarchistic Aussie micro-publishers Wooden Toy's sweet pop-up shop in London. Now have a gander at their latest amazeballs issue of Wooden Toy Quarterly (#7: The Music Edition). There are 5,000 individually numbered copies up for grabs, it's tempting...

"Each page is individually hand-crafted using no templates, consistent fonts or typesetting."

- Timba Smits of Wooden Toy Publishing Co.

Find out all about their production credits, process & value in this great article at For Print Only.

tree of codes

I'm always excited when I hear the name Jonathan Safran Foer mentioned. He writes boundary-pushing, sometimes difficult books that never fail to capture the imagination. I read his first book, Everything Is Illuminated, years ago and consequently watched - and loved - the movie. Eugene Hutz, lead singer of balkan gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello, is genius as Alex in this film.

Everything Is Illuminated trailer. In case you haven't seen it, fix it!

Jonathan Safran Foer also wrote a moving novel entitled Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close. His writing style is refreshingly different and very raw, and this tale of a young boy whose father was killed in 9/11, stole my heart. Now to the point of this post! Jonathan Safran Foer (man that's a handful to type) is releasing a new and brilliantly unique book, Tree Of Codes. This book promises to be mind boggling.

Tree of Codes by Jonathan Safran Foer - Public Reactions from Visual Editions on Vimeo.

The man himself explains his inspiration....

You can order it here.

technicolour hardware

I was surfing the web and just happened to notice a pattern emerging in the things that caught my eye. There's something about wood and colour together that is very comforting.

For the prolific reader! Book case by Raw-Edges, via Sight Unseen. Read more about this awesomely simple idea here.

Unique, handmade Fredericks & Mae arrows. Yes, I know these arrows and axes have been seen everywhere in 2010, but until now they've been growing in my conscience, and I really, really want some! But my common sense is asking me when the last time I chopped some wood was (in a very naggy voice, I might add).

Best Made Co. make beautiful axes. They also offer some pretty prints by Jason Frank Rothenberg. Take a look at their blog to follow progress of their "urban archaeology" project to save an old Campbells factory site.

Make an osmose lamp! Artist Clemence Seilles, together with Sight Unseen, show us how to create a pretty do-able piece of colourful art.

pop-up gagosian

Good news Londoners! If you haven't already heard (which is unlikely if it's reached my little ears on the other side of the world) the Gagosian Gallery has a pop-up shop open right now, until Jan 29! Gagosian Pop-Up! includes an "exhibition of catalogues, posters, prints and limited editions by gallery artists including John Currin, Ellen Gallagher, Douglas Gordon, Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Roy Lichtenstein, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Anselm Reyle, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, and Franz West. " You can read more about it here. Kinda glad I'm separated by seas so I'm not tempted to buy anything.

Also on a totally different topic, check out this beauty.

both found via intimate vignettes