Posted by CatJuan on April 7, 2010
Why do we love London-based designer Lesley Mobo?
First, he's got incredible talent, the kind that makes obstacles shake in their boots. Second, he’s the type of person who’s genuine, not one to ever forget his humble beginnings and the people who matter.
Making his way from a small tropical island in the Philippines and becoming Jasmine de Milo's head designer for Harrods is a big leap, one that required hard work, skill, and a lot of faith. All of which, Lesley has brought to the plate.
We asked Lesley to share with us how he got to where he is today and where he plans to be tomorrow.
Covered: coconuts, biology and getting your hair wet.
Cat Juan: How did you go from growing up in the island of Aklan, Philippines to being one of most sought after designers in London?
Lesley Mobo: Growing up in an island surrounded with coconut trees and salt water was a wonderful thing for me. I am very lucky to have had these experiences. My childhood has so much influence on what I’m doing right now. My brother and I never had many toys, so I always ended up designing and creating my own toys out of anything: coconut husks, cans, bottles etc. I even tried draping fabrics on Coca-Cola bottles. I also did a lot of abstractions and sculptures on Alaska Milk cans. I think that is what childhood should be about, launching yourself intrepidly into the unknown, not looking back, concerning yourself only with that very moment. I also entered and won several painting competitions when I was seven or eight till my teens. I have always been very curious and have always tried to question things. I don’t really enjoy the idea of having things given to me ready-made. I enjoy it more when I make things myself. It’s a good skill to develop. I think self-reliance makes a person more attractive. I then later went to Central Saint Martin’s in London to get both my B.A (hons) Fashion degree and M.A in Fashion.More...
lesley mobo, jasmine de milo, fashion, alexa chung. harrods
Posted by CatJuan on March 23, 2010
Seja Vogel is the stuff synthesiser dreams are made of. Her sound is melodic and catchy without being artificial or repetitive. Being the keyboardist for Brisbane pop bands, Sekiden and Regurgitator has given this clever beauty enough confidence to finally launch her first solo album, We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares. We cornered Seja last week and asked her to share with us a little about herself and her plans for this year.
Covered: Devo, Spod, ‘60s pop, flying solo.
Cat Juan: Can you share with us when your love for synthesisers began?
Seja Vogel: I guess it was the first time I played one. In the very early days of Sekiden I used to play Simon's Korg Delta which basically had a string sound and a synth sound, and I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard. At that time I started listening to bands who were interested in synths like The Cars, The Rentals, Devo, etcetera, and would get excited whenever I heard interesting synth lines anywhere. The first keyboard I bought myself was a Korg Poly 61 which was a little more versatile than the Delta, and that was the beginning of a long obsession with it all. More...
seja, sekiden, regurgitator, spod
Posted by CatJuan on March 18, 2010
If synthesizers are your instrument of fancy Australian songstress, Seja's - once Seja Vogel, now simply Seja - debut album We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares will sound like angels singing straight into your eardrums. Her melodic voice combined with her synthesized pop beats make for a lovely bittersweet sound we here at Kluster enjoy.
Seja will be having her debut album launch tour at these dates and venues this April
SEJA ALBUM LAUNCH TOUR WITH OTOUTO – APRIL 2010
Friday 16th at The Metro, Adelaide with Otouto and Clue To Kalo
Saturday 17th at The Northcote Social Club, Melbourne with Otouto and special guests TBC
Thursday 22nd at The Troubadour, Brisbane with Otouto
Friday 23rd at The Sando, Sydney with Otouto and Ghoul
We've nabbed double passes to her shows in Melbourne and Sydney and we'd love to offer them to two lucky subscribers.
To enter email info@kluster.com.au with the subject: Seeing Seja
Seja - 'I'll Get To You'
seja, rice is nice
Posted by CatJuan on March 16, 2010
Money. We certainly work hard to earn it. So what better way to keep it nice and cosy (while you still have it) than in a wallet you’ve designed yourself.
Dosh, the Sydney-based wallet brand that likes collaborating with creative thinkers has decided to team up with front-running design conference, Semi-Permanent, for a competition that offers like-minded artists a chance to be one of their design collaborators.
The winning design will be plastered on their virtually indestructible wallets and sold on Dosh’s website and in stores worldwide. And the cool part, you’ll actually earn 5% from every wallet with your design that gets sold. For more information log on
here or here to download the design template.
Competition closes on March 27.
Don't these look like bare canvases to you? Start designing.
dosh, semi permanent
Posted by CatJuan on November 4, 2009
Sydneysider Cat Juan spends a sunny Wednesday morning (or late Bergen night, if you’re on the other end of the phone line) with Eirik Glambek Bøe, half of Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience.
Covered: dependence, what makes a song lasting, and plans to come to Australia.
Cat Juan: Why don't you tell me a little about your new album Declaration of Dependence? What is it dependence to?
Eirik Glambek Bøe: It's a title that has meaning on several levels. To me it describes a very personal experience I have in my own life of realizing that the idea of freedom that I was somehow caught up with, and strived for, somehow didn't feel true. I was looking at my own life and realizing that a lot of my efforts in life actually have to do with trying to belong to something that is bigger than myself. And trying to make my relationships work and trying to somehow feel united with people around me. So it's something like a conflict between the cultural idea of freedom, that I feel is this ideal around me, and this other personal experience of seeing how freedom and independence is not at all what I need to be happy.
CJ: Could you elaborate more on what you meant by relationships, is this in your personal relationship with your girlfriend Ina, who appears in most of your videos and album covers.
E: It’s both on a romantic level and also with my friends and family. I mean all my efforts somehow seem to be motivated by this desire to be with people not be away from them.
More...
kings of convenience, norway
Posted by CatJuan on October 14, 2009
Without many of us even realizing it, fonts are a significant part of our daily lives. During the daily journey between, say, our house to place of work alone we run across dozens of fonts: On road signs, billboard advertisements, and logos of products we encounter. Many people don’t realize that behind Times New Roman, Arial, or Comic Sans was a type designer who slaved away to create the unique shapes of the letters and symbols we have come to love.
There is an undeniable charm and art to fonts. They are the first glimpse we have into the beauty of the words we read. How many of us have played around with various fonts, checking how each one fits the words we’ve written to convey its perfect meaning, until our eyes water and the words start to look funny?
To celebrate the third instalment of Go Font Urself* we’ve asked Brooklyn designer, illustrator, and typographer Jessica Hische to answer a few questions on what it’s like to live a life surrounded with the shapes of words.
Covered: type snobs, being too broke to afford good fonts, why Helvetica sucks, avoiding bad font genocide and practice, practice, practice.
Cat Juan: How and why did you get into typography?
Jessica Hische: I got into typography and hand-lettering in college, mostly because I was too broke to buy good fonts and didn't want to waste time pouring through the "10,000 FREE FONTS!!" CDs that floated around school for the three good fonts that they probably contained.
CJ: Are you a serif or a sans-serif kinda girl?
JH: Hard to say, I think generally sans-serif. Everything I draw starts as sans-serif and then I decide later if I want to make it have serifs.
More...
jessica hische, typography, font, go font urself
Posted by CatJuan on June 16, 2009
We would.
We all know times are hard. So much so that penny-pinching has become the new black. Folksy British band, Fanfarlo, understands our woes and are offering us their latest album Reservoir for a mere 1 US dollar. You can download this fine piece of melodic work from their website till July 4 and if you take them up on this special offer, you'll also receive...
*drum roll*
four bonus tracks!
That's right, they're giving you 11 tracks for a mere dollar and four more bonus tracks just because they love you.
Offer stands till America's Independence Day. After that, you're going to have to grab your Fanfarlo album like every other sad person who doesn't read our blog.
Posted by CatJuan on May 27, 2009
On June 12, Sydney based 80's post funk, indie band (that is, this week) Van She will release, Ze Vemixes. An album they they claim is the same as their debut record V, but to quote their press release, "not as we know it."
To celebrate the release of this 'not quite' new album Van She has prepared a whole line up of gigs starting on June 19 at The Prince in Melbourne, The Metro in Sydney, Fowlers in Adelaide, The Capitol in Perth, and The HiFi in Brisbane. Full details of gig dates can be seen here.
We'd like to leave you now with a video from the group, since we can't get enough of their retro sound. Click here.
van she, music gigs
Posted by CatJuan on May 27, 2009
Sydney based punk band Talons are set to release their debut album this May 30. Produced by Rice is Nice, their album is said to be a mix of crazy sounds and raw punk energy. The group has a whole line up of gigs set for June and July that you can find here.
Kluster will be running an interview with these busy dudes in next week's Kluster Says. If you're not already a subscriber, we recommend signing up here to receive all fortnightly installments of our little newsletter. It's free, guys.
talons, rice is nice
Posted by CatJuan on May 27, 2009
We here at Kluster can think of nothing better to do during the coming long weekend than sit our asses down in front of the TV with a box of chocolate Paddle Pops and a MasterChef marathon airing. Unfortunately, many of our dens have nothing but sweaty running shoes and deflated bean bags as decorations. Yes, we're poor, we know.
So when we came across these gorgeous rugs by textile design group Sixhands, we fell a little further in love than we already were with the trio. These plush squares of fabric are made from New Zealand wool and come in two sizes and six super designs. We're sure those sheep didn't mind getting a haircut to make something so beautiful.
These rugs can be purchased at Harvey Norman.
Suite 3A Level 3, 50 Holt Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Phone: +612-9310-5225/ Mobile: +614-225-77125
sixhands, rugs
Posted by CatJuan on May 13, 2009
Creative Sydney, a festival set to celebrate the creative spark of our city's creative talents, is setting their gears in motion for their three week inaugural event series happening from May 27- June 12, 2009.
The people behind Creative Sydney are planning to offer loads of free lectures and events at the Foundation Hall of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) and The Roxy in Parramatta during the three week festival. The event hopes to bring people from various creative circles together to learn a little more about each other and why Sydney is such a mecca for creative talent.
You can find out more information about the current event line up here.
festival, creativity, sydney
Posted by CatJuan on May 13, 2009
There is only so much creativity we can take, and it's obvious that when God created Cara Stricker he put in an extra dose. We admit it, we can't get enough of her brilliant ideas. From her dreamy lomo-esque photographs to her adorable animated film. Is there anything this girl can't do?
We at Kluster are wetting ourselves in excitement to check out the opening of her exhibit, Warflower, at the BrethrenJustBelow (BJB) next Thursday, May 28 from 6-9pm. The exhibition runs from May 29- June 11, 12-5pm.
Showcasing an installation of 50 handmade hairpieces, necklaces, and bracelets all made from recycled materials. The event will open with an exclusive peek at her short film The Dark Side of the Sunny Moon which played as an inspiration to her pieces.
Bridezilla will also be performing songs from their soon to be released album during the exhibit.
BJB studio is located at level 1, 259 Riley St, Surry Hills
cara stricker, bjb, bridezilla, warflower