Posts Tagged ‘melbourne’

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true self / PAM sale / DIY sneaks

Thursday, May 30th, 2013

YES it’s been a while. it’s the usual excuse ( BOOK MAYHEM ) which will continue to rule my life for a few weeks yet, but for now there are a few things happening in melbourne which i wanted to write about:

TRUE SELF at MGPO:

i was involved in this exhibition last year (this is was one of my joint pieces), but this year is a little different. once again organised by jacky winter (who have an amazing new site BTW), ‘true self ’sees photographers team up with different artist and illustrators to make a large scale piece with the theme of ‘positive self image’. i was lucky enough to be paired up with the awesome sean fennessy. working with sean was such a breeze it felt almost criminal! here is the result of our pairing:

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there are a limited number of participants involved in this show, but it is of course a stand out cast including: misha hollenbach / warwick baker, tai snaith / jo duck and dylan martorell / clare are. there will be prints of various sizes and prices available for sale, and once again all the proceeds go towards charity fitted for work. the exhibition is on the top level of the GPO, and runs may 31st to june 23. more info here.

SOMEDAY SALE:

this is an event that comes around once (or maybe twice) a year and is known to cause mach anticipation and salivation amongst those with good taste. this sale will feature clothing from PAM, bernhard wilhelm, supreme, undercover and all the other labels stocked at someday. all of the items will be at very nice prices so be EARLY. details below (although has been extended until june 10 now!)

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GORMAN CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE SNEAKERS:

a few weeks ago i was asked by gorman to customise a pair of their new sneakers (along with 20 other creative peeps). having just returned from the week-long book photoshoot (more on that later) i thought i might be drained of all my DIY-abilities. but i managed to squeeze a bit more out, and onto these sneakers. you can see all the participant sneakers here, and also bid on them too (check out sibling’s and ashley goldberg’s – AMAZE). all the money from the sales go towards little seeds big trees.

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A Hidden Place with Kat Macleod

Thursday, April 18th, 2013

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as you may know – for the past few months, i have been working on a collaborative exhibition with fellow illustrator kat macleod. (some WIP shots above, last one by ameila)

i was nervous about this collaboration at first – yes, i have worked on colabs before, but usually with companies in a commercial context. working with one of your peers in a purely creative context is quite a different experience. lucky for me it was a completely amazing one.

Kat is nothing short of a mega-star. so talented. so lovely. so organised (did you know she is part owner of ortolan?!). and on top of that a mum to 2yr old jimmy, and on her way to having twins!

the process of deciding how to go about the colab was an interesting one – kat and i started by sending pictures of things that were inspiring us to each other, from that we decided on a theme. then we drew up 2 lists of words, relating to the theme and also things we both liked to draw, and then divided the words in 2 jars and picked them out randomly. these random picks became the titles of each piece of work.

what have we made? 10 collaborative pieces – 5 pieces which kat started and passed on to me to finish, and 5 the reverse. we have also produced 8 solo pieces each, and 4 collaborative editioned prints. all the original work is the same is (76cm x 56cm), and for me, it is the largest scale and most amount of original artwork i have ever made for a show! we also put together an installation in the middle of the gallery, of  hand-dyed and spray painted streamers and garlands. after installing it for the last few days (with some help from alice oehr and amelia leuzzi - thanks ladies) it has turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the show.

i am so happy with this show – i cant tell you how much. even though kat and my styles are so different, the works have turned out beautifully, and feel very special too.

the exhibition opens tonight, from 6pm-9pm and then runs for 5 weeks:

‘A Hidden Place’, by Beci Orpin and Kat Macleod. April 19 – May 25. Lamington Drive, 15-25 Keele St, Collingwood. ph: 03 8060 9745

i will post some more detailed pics of the works a bit later, but if you are in melbourne please come to the opening tonight and see for yourself! in the meantime you can see some here, here and here.

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lately…

Tuesday, March 19th, 2013

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- put together some easter DIY projects for german NIDO magazine. the bunny was our favourite and least-well-behaved prop.

- started working on a very fun and special collaborative project with kat mcleod. more details next week.

- sweltered through 2 record-breaking heatwaves. at one point i was so fed-up with my constant sweaty state i checked our family into a hotel for the night. it felt ridicoulsy excessive but our evening of swimming and a night of air-conditioned comfort (and my prevailing return to sanity) was worth every cent.

- discovered this super great new app.

- tried to keep up with ari’s creating frenzy. he is an art-making whirlwind at the moment.

- re-organised my studio (several times) in an effort to get the year started properly (it didn’t work).

- ventured on my annual pilgrimage to golden plains. it was SO HOT but i still had so much fun. i love you toro y moi and moody man.

- designed and put together 3 new mobiles for isetan in tokyo (and new chocolate boxes too). once again, all organised by the lovely folk at GAS.

one thing i haven’t been doing – you may have noticed – is blogging. not intentionally. other things have just been getting in the way – a ton of work, kid’s school schedules, piles of washing and a whole lot of ‘Girls‘(AKA best series ever written. ever). i’m not going to beat myself up over it. that’s just not the point of this here thing. and i do have a few things close to completion in my drafts folder. one or 2 might even make it to published folder pretty soon.

hope your enjoying the last of your summer (or winter) days…

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Torafu architects at Mr.Kitly

Friday, February 8th, 2013

you know when you happen upon a collection of work, and it ends up being a whole lot of great things which you love, and were all actually made by the same person? well that is happened to me when i received a newsletter from mr. kitly announcing an upcoming exhibition with torafu architects.

once i clicked through to the torafu site i was all  ”NO WAY – they made that as well?  i love that!”. after an even closer inspection of their incredibly broad range of work (houses, shop fit outs, furniture, kids toys, book ends), they definitely fall into my “favourite designers of all time “category. here is just a small selection of why:

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and now torafu will be here, in melbourne!  right in my hood in fact. they will be showcasing some of their furniture and children’s toys in australia for the first time, and putting together a no doubt beautiful air vase installtion in the mr. kitly gallery.  plus the director of torafu architects Koichi Suzano, will be present himself on the opening night (tomorrow!), and will be giving a talk. i will be there too, listening intently, undoubtly staring gooey-eyed and getting red cheeks at the prospect of meeting mr. suzano himself.

TORAFU ARCHITECTS EXHBITION at Mr. Kitly –  upstairs, 381 sydney rd, brunswick. opening night february 8th, 6pm-8pm, with talk from mr.Suzano from 6.30-7. exhibition continues until february 24th.

more details on the Mr.Kitly website.

it also must be said: HOW CRAZY WAS THE RESPONSE TO THAT GIVEAWAY?! it was pure madness in my inbox. i had NO idea it was going to go down like that! (a little push from lovely lucy definitely helped). thank-you to all who entered. the winners have now been chosen and notified. i’m very sorry if it wasn’t you. i promise i will have some more good giveaways in the coming months.

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the big design market

Thursday, December 6th, 2012

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i seem to be closing the year with a few big massive events – this weekend we will be having a stall at the big design market in melbourne. perprations have caused pure chaos in the studio – much desiging, cutting, pasting, stringing, packaging (and not much sleeping) has been taken place. but it was all worth it as (with the help of a few others) i have made  some brand new things! here are some photos of the WIP chaos:

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on offer we will have some collars, travel pouches, gift tags, prints, wooden mushrooms (just a few!) and a whole bunch of new diagonal cushions (colours are so good in this lot – i even printed some fabric for them). plus i will be selling copies of my book ‘find and keep’, as well as some old favourites beci orpin items too.

please come and visit us at stall 25! but be quick as all my things are in limited quantities.

The Big Design Market : the royal exhibition buildings, friday 10am-9pm, saturday 10am-5pm, sunday 10am-5pm. for more details please see their website

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the design files open house

Tuesday, November 27th, 2012

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this year i am lucky enough to be included once again in the design files open house. as with last year, lucy from the design files has taken over a whole house for 4 days and filled it with an outstanding selection of art and objects, including pieces from kirra jamison, jardan, dawn vachon and daniel emma - just to name a few (for a full list of contributors see here). everything in the house is for sale – possibly the best christmas shopping experience ever!  here are some (very average) pics of the 3 new original pieces i will have on display (and for sale!) at the house:

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they are respectively titled “up“, “down” and “around“, and have been framed by the lovely folk at neo frames too. for more details on the design files open house, check out the website. (ps awesome design files flyer by georgina perry)

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‘Find and Keep’ Melbourne launch details

Tuesday, October 30th, 2012

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please join me to celebrate the launch of ‘Find and Keep’, on thursday 1st of november, at  Wide Open Road Cafe, (274 Barkly st, Brunswick),  from 6pm til 8pm.

books will be for sale on the night (cash only, but ATM close by!), and i can sign them for you too if you like. there will be a free printed “Find and Keep” tote bag and a taco with every book purchased. the first 20 bags will come with extra suprises thanks to Gorman, Kit cosmetics, Third Drawer Down and me. refreshements will be provided on the night thanks to cake wines and sailor jerry rum. our new taco trucks dos will also be in attendance!

everyone is welcome, but we are asking that you please RSVP to fleurjacobs@hardiegrant.com.au if you intend to come so we can keep track of numbers.

sydney-siders put thursday the 8th of november in your diary! more details on that coming soon. plus i will also have the book for sale in my online store in the next 2 weeks!

ALSO: if you are interstate or cannot make it to the launch, the printed tote bags will also be available with the purchase of a book from select retailers too. by select i mean some of the ones on this list here. but not all the stores on the list are carrying them, so if you would like one please call before hand to check (complicated – sorry!)

p.s – thanks to all those who entered the design files giveaway – over 1,000 entries! blew me away!

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frankie 50th issue and fete fun times

Friday, October 19th, 2012

a long time ago, when i only had one child, (and he was small), and i worked from a tiny nook in my  richmond home, i remember my friend beth saying to me  ”these girls i know are starting this magazine. it’s called frankie. i think it’s going to be really good“. and boy, was she right.

since the first issue, frankie magazine has gone from strength to strength, and has become somewhat of a revelation in women’s magazine publishing. and here they are now – all grown up and successful, with their 50th issue hitting the shelves. frankie have also been a great supporter of my work, and have played an important role in helping me (and many others) along my way. so this milestone makes me well-up with more than a little pride. i was exceptionally pleased when they asked me to do an illustration of my desk for the aforementioned 50th issue:

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this illustration is right up my alley at the moment – getting into the detail of the bits and pieces – i could have happily worked on it for a week (and just quietly, i might be putting together some similar images for another exciting project quite soon…). frankie have also given my book ‘find and keep’ (12 days til take off!) a very nice plug, and features my “peg board cross-stitch” project (pictured above!) in the issue as well. frankie issue 50 is at all good newsagents and bookstores now (look out for the extra special embroidered/embossed cover).

on to other happenings: this weekend it is ari’s kinder fete. i will be having a stall of my stuff (i.e products) and selling many of them REALLY CHEAP as quite frankly, i’m sick of the sight of them. in the next few weeks we will be taking down my current webstore, and replacing it with a new one, so this could be the last chance to buy some of these products. plus, raph is holding a taco stand, and there will be all the other fun things that a kinder fete has to offer. details below – come visit!

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rituals and potatoes and advance copies

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

so. i had a big post planned – about the things i’ve been up to lately. there has been quite lot: speaking at the semi-permanent conferences, visiting leah in tropical tweed heads, a shoot for inside out, ari’s 5th birthday. but of course all those things meant i have been manic, and have barely had a second to sit down. so you might just miss out on that stuff (unless you are on instagram – then you get to see everything). but i will quickly tell you about 2 exhibitions i am involved in in the coming weeks. the first is ‘Rituals’, curated by the ever-busy hungry workshop. all the artists where asked to design masks or faces – here is a sneak preview of my work combined with eirian chapman’s piece:
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the exhibition opens on saturday at koskela showrooms in sydney (where the school also resides), and is up until the 7th of october. you can see a flashy preview of some of the work on the hungry workshop blog. (the show is rumoured to be heading to melbourne next).

the second show is at ganim store (61 brunswick st, fitzroy). as part of their upcoming kids week rae has asked 40 artists to customise a mr.potato head doll. they are not for sale, just for fun (which is great!). details below:

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and another thing that happended last week. something monumental, something i could not not write about : an advance copy of my book “find and keep” arrived!

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i am so happy with it. i can’t wait for it to be out in the big wide world and getting put to good use. it will be in bookstores from the 1st of november. keep an eye out here for some sneak peeks and also melbourne and sydney launch party details.

there you go – i did get to sit down long enough to write something. and as from tomorrow i will have many more opporutnites to sit down. or lie down even. possibly next to a pool, or on a beach, with cocktail in hand. yes – we are going on a holiday. were off to  malaysia for some more tropical fun times. i plan to eat and lounge and then eat again. and oh my god do i feel as though i have earned it. see you in two weeks!

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5 current happenings

Tuesday, August 28th, 2012

1. vase obsession: i brought this one from mr.kitly and i’m  filling with stolen-from-the-street pre-spring blossoms to max out it’s prettiness (at swim two birds pot holder from mr.kitly too).

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2. re-discovering peter and the wolf: it was my absolute favourite when i was a kid (below is the record we had) and now my kids are loving it too. ari in particular, who listens to it  low through headphones at night while he goes to sleep. we downloaded this version.

Peter and the Wolf

3. heading to brisbane: to speak at semi-permenant (melbourne one as well in 2 weeks). even after my recent flurry of talks the thought of public speaking still makes me ill, but i am looking forward to enjoying some queensland sunshine, checking out kirra’s show, and also hanging out with lovely leah all weekend long. as part of my presentation i’m including some words of advice, such as:

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4. dreaming of spring outfits: i’m longing for that feeling of just wearing one layer and open toed shoes (fingers crossed i’ll get slice of that action in QLD). my current dream outfit includes: PAM dress, object and totem necklace and tsumori chisato espadrilles (available from pet shop girls)

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5. guest editing lost and found newsletter: you can read my favourite melbourne tips here, and keep checking lost of found’s FB page to win a competition which will include an afternoon of shopping, lunch and my company in the very near future.

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some other things currently happening on my computer: max crumb’s “maidenhair“, eat this food, and booking holidays.

any brisbane tips please send my way! in the meantime – BRING ON SPRING xx

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