The Design Kids Thumbs Up

Earlier in the year Australia based The Design Kids spent 10 weeks hitchhiking around New Zealand. As they travelled they asked designers to submit place name signs for them to use on the road. The competition was run via instagram, the perfect place to showcase the amazing type that was received.

An exhibition was also held in Auckland at the end of the trip. More info and a sweet video of the whole thing over here!

Hello Polly Home

When I heard late last year that my pals at Hello Polly were in the early stages of designing their own homewares line, I knew it would be something special. And now that the range has been released, and I pretty much want all of it, I can see that I was right!

The cushions, and the original art prints are my favourites. The range also includes merino wool throws, and ceramics are in the pipeline too.

 See more online here.

Cute Stuff #5

A round up of cute stuff I've seen lately.

Alice Oehr's incredible illustration advertising this screening of one of my fave movies. She totally nailed Molly's awkward expression here!

Studio Home interview Potheads creator Kim Jaeger, and have a poke around her place. I'm really enjoying the artist profiles on this site, they really delve into people's backgrounds and how they got to where they are today.

Bill Murray alphabet by Adelaide Daniell

Dolly's Bust Magazine cover

Maria, of Schorlemaedchen has started a new cooking blog with her partner called Mostly Saturdays. I love her blog, and pretty much 'like' everything she posts on instagram. The new blog is still in it's early days and already I can't get enough.

Enemies Yay poster. This would look so awesome in Ray's room.

Modern House

Just some more house porn to get excited by, or if you're in the market (and the money), to actually own. This is the Hollander House, built North of Sydney by architect David Hollander, and it's for sale right now!

The house was built in 1969, and designed to look like a giant rock. Hollander adheres to Frank Lloyd Wright's principles of organic architecture, and has said of his design that he chose curves which he thought were correct aesthetically.

So who wants to put in with me to buy it? I don't have money but I promise to do the dishes every night!

Mike Perry + Broad City

I love comedies, and Broad City is my new favourite. Each episode is a hilarious delight! Also delightful is the show's opening sequence, a different one each week by designer Mike Perry.

Athfield Iconic

Wellington friends, please buy this amazing house so I can come and visit and hang out with you.

Designed by New Zealand architect Ian Athfield. Get your bids in here and here!

Milkbar

I love the look of this colourful new book Milkbar: A Photographic Archive Vol 1, by designer and creative all rounder Eamon Donnelly. This type of corner shop is called a dairy in New Zealand, but if you move to Australia and tell people you're just popping out to the dairy then you'll get some funny looks.

These photos are all come via Eamon Donnelly's new website The Island Continent, where I have just spent a ridiculous amount of time. It's quite something.

The Architect and the Painter

I saw this wonderful film at acmi on the weekend. I must admit I knew next to nothing about Charles and Ray Eames before I heard about this, and it turns out they were a married couple, who did so much more than design furniture! Ray Eames is particularly inspiring to me. She started her career as a painter and studied with Hans Hoffman, and it was her amazing eye and instinct for colour and styling that really elevated the Eames's visual output. The documentary notes that as the female half of the couple her importance was often overlooked. I think that good design and styling is something that when done really well, you shouldn't even notice, so I can see how this, aswell as being a woman in the fifties meant that Ray's involvement was unfairly overlooked.

One of my favourite parts in the documentary was a story told by a guest at one of the Eames's dinner parties, where Ray served a 'visual dessert' of beautifully arranged bowls of flowers. Mr Meet-Cute was nudging me in the side as the guest described how angry he was as he'd been saving his appetite expecting something delicious. I have a rep for being a bit of a greedy guts, so that is no doubt the kind of uncool behaviour I would be guilty of - whining about no dessert!