Posted by kluster on June 1, 2011
Last night, after popping by the Free Market for some comped goodies, we headed down to the The Paper Mill for the opening of the Paper Convention Collective's A4 Festival for some paper art and confabulation.
Last time we spoke to the folks at Paper Convention, we were surrounded by their paper towers at Finders Keepers SS10 Markets. This time, in Sydney’s rain-soaked CBD, we were equally impressed by the ways they make your average A4 piece into and range of unique, intricate creations.More...
paper convention collective, free market, paddington, finders keepers market, the paper mill
Posted by Danni Le Toullec on May 27, 2011
As light projections sprawl over the normally grey buildings that surround Circular Quay tonight, do not be alarmed. This isn’t a guerilla colour-obsessed artist working by night, it is in fact part of the exciting third annual Vivid Sydney 2011 festival which will be splashing light, music and colour all over the streets of Sydney from 27 May – 13 June 2011.
There are countless activities, performances and interactive light sculptures to fill your nights as well as a range of public talks and debates from leading creative thinkers around the world. Acclaimed French design collective SUPERBIEN have designed beautiful light projections which will be illuminating the Sydney Opera House.
As part of Vivid Sydney, Vivid LIVE invites a different curator to organize a program of events in the iconic Sydney Opera House each year.
This year, Stephen Pavlovic, founder of Modular Records, has gotten his hands on the line-up and done sweet sweet things to it. We have him to thank for bringing the likes of The Cure, Chris Cunningham, OFWGTA, Tame Impala, Bat For Lashes, The Avalanches, WU LYF, and Spiritualized to our shores. Following in the footsteps of Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno, it is the first time ever than an Australian has curated the event.
There is also the The Sony Lounge, Vivid Sydney's own pop- up bar, which is set up along the Western foyers of Sydney Opera House. A rotating lineup of DJs will play each night until June 5. After sipping some mulled wine, you can wander around and check out more than 40 light installations or drop in to see the Fire Dance.
So, as the mercury goes down in Sydney, you have no excuse to be a couch potato! Get out there and nourish your cultural soul.
vivid sydney, vivid live, sydney opera house, Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, The Cure, Chris Cunningham, OFWGTA, Tame Impala, Bat For Lashes, The Avalanches, WU LYF, Spiritualized
Posted by Amy Persson on May 5, 2011
This year at the Milan Furniture Fair, it appeared that the focus had shifted from the products on display to the plight of the designers themselves and whether the industry is financially sustainable.
It began with the twitter hashtag #milanuncut, supported by the popular design blog Dezeen which acted as a platform to lift the lid on design. Coinciding with the fair, the aim was to get designers, journalists and manufacturers to engage in an honest discussion about the industry.
The focus quickly shifted onto unpaid internships, with record graduate unemployment and the feeling that the industry is becoming exploitative with many people working for free with no prospect of paid work. The royalty system was also brought into question with many designers with pieces in production not being able to cover their rent.
Overall it’s been beneficial, and perhaps long overdue, for the design industry to turn the focus on itself and look towards changing and adapting. Perhaps next year will bring a design industry that is different to the one we see today.
Are you a designer who has had a similar experience? Or someone who works in the creative industries and feels you're not being paid fairly for your work? Do you think the creative industries are exploitative? We'd like to hear about it. Comment away.
milan furniture fair, sustainability, exploitation, dezeen
Posted by Penny Cropper on December 15, 2010
To really put a yuletide smile on your face this week, Sydney designers Friedrich Gray and Romance Was Born are teaming up with swimwear label Jemma Jube for a four-day pop-up Xmas store. On offer will be a bunch of exclusive, unseen goodies including Friedrich Gray’s new basics collection, Injection, RWB’s 2011 summer collection (plus some special release prints), and Jemma Jube’s sophisticated, figure-flattering togs, made exclusively in France (ooh la la).
The Xmas store is open Wed 15th (that's today) – Saturday 18th Decmber from 10am-7pm. Find it at District 01 74-76 The Basement Oxford Street (corner of Crown and Oxford streets) Darlinghurst.
Romance Was Born, Friedrich Gray, Jemma Jube, District 01, Xmas Store
Posted by Audrey Lee on November 18, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
Vanessa Moule and Melissa Beal are Sydney based jewellery designers and, together, they make up the Parliament of Two. The pair’s inaugural ‘Open Book’ accessory range of brooches and necklaces are made from plastic and metal materials that are deceptively simple, yet exquisitely detailed. They find inspiration from book illustrations, old typography and aged books. Parliament of Two will be down at the FKSSM next month for their first Finders Keepers stall, and we’ll let them take it away from here.
Covered: From besties to business partners, first FK stall, bookworms, new launch of accessories.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
Parliament of Two: We have been besties ever since we met at University where we both studied Jewellery Design. Mel continued on the jewellery path and has worked as a designer and gemmologist and Vanessa went on to study graphic design and currently works in print and textile design. More...
the parliament of two, vanessa moule, melissa beal, finders keepers, spring summer markets
Posted by Audrey Lee on November 17, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
Angie McCarthy has the unique gift of adding texture and a burst of colours to everything she set her hands to. Founder of the Materialistic range, Angie’s striking hand screen-printed pieces are specially designed to adorn special spaces in your home. From her vibrant, intricately designed tea towels, cushions and tablecloths to the humble ‘Scrappy’, a stuffed toy for kids, all products are made from natural fibres and eco-friendly materials. Here’s what she has to say about her creative experience and her upcoming FKSSM stall.
Covered: Not just ‘disposable design’, colour and more colour, Hills Hoist and a slight obsession with ceramics.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
Angie McCarthy: Screen printing was initially just an indulgent hobby, an escapism to long hours as a branding graphic designer. Then after years of being overworked in the graphics industry, I was hankering to create something more tactile and long standing not just ‘disposable design’ (which corporate graphics can be at times) and also something just for me. I had so many ideas for prints and designs, scrapbooks full of potential that it seemed a waste not to try and make something of it. We spend so much of our life working, and I really didn’t want to waste it not doing something that I really loved.More...
materialistic, angie mccarthy, finders keepers, spring summer markets
Posted by kluster on November 9, 2010
The Finders Keepers and Kluster have a lot in common. A love for their cities, a passion for great fashion, art and design and an all-encompassing adoration of music and good times. It’s why we make such good friends, all those common interests. There’s that, and then there is also our shared passion for emerging creatives and the vast amounts of joy we experience from the supporting of said creatives.
In order to celebrate this common bond Kluster and The Finders Keepers are giving two lucky designers the opportunity to win a space at our very own Kluster Presents... stall at the upcoming Spring/Summer markets at CarriageWorks, Sydney next month.
Think you've got what it takes to represent? Great, confidence is half the battle. All you need to do now is submit an application that adheres to The Finders Keepers selection criteria. And, if selected, arrive on the day with wares in hand ready to display and purvey. We’ll cover the set up costs, provide the table space and promise to talk about you to all our friends constantly in the lead up to this season’s event. It’s that easy. Just make sure you read over the selection criteria before applying.More...
finders keepers, kluster presents
Posted by Audrey Lee on November 9, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
Put simply, Fold Studio is a collective of young designers from Melbourne. The culmination of their creative efforts is a series of finely crafted wooden products, ranging from necklaces to coasters and waste-paper bins. With their first ever Finders Keepers Spring Summer Sydney market stall just round the corner we asked one of the designers, Roslyn Campbell, to give us the lowdown.
Covered: Three friends, same goal, using environmentally thoughtful materials and expanding the business.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
Roslyn Campbell: Myself, Patrick and Laura all met in the furniture department of UTAS Fine Arts School a couple of years ago. Then we decided to move to Melbourne to study Furniture Design together at RMIT. We are just about to graduate. Hooray! We have always had a knack for designing and creating things, but recently decided to try our hand at making an income from it too.
AL: What can visitors expect from your stall at The Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets this December? Is this your first Finders Keepers stall?More...
fold studio, roslyn campbell, finders keepers, spring summer markets
Posted by Audrey Lee on November 8, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
It's coming up to that time of year again. When dilegent individuals begin preparing a must-do list for 2011. Who says resolutions are redundant? Not Jen Allison, it was a new year’s resolution, circa 2002, that motivated her to start exhibiting her artworks in locations across the globe. Jen puts her innovative skills to good use, churning out a vast collection of one-of-a-kind, nifty origami designs. We check in with Jen as she walks us through her artistic journey thus far.
Covered: An art & craft disciple, 3D craft: origami, metaphoric BP predatory sea animals and going back to Sydney’s art scene.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
Jen Allison: I have always been an art and craft disciple, but I decided to start selling my wares in 2002 when a friend made a new year’s resolution for me. I was only 21 at the time and I suppose she had more confidence in my work than I did! Since then I have exhibited and sold my artworks in Sydney, London, Melbourne and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I have always worked with paper and my early works were in the second dimension – collage. However for the past few years I have moved into the ridiculously exciting third dimension through the exploration of origami. More...
jen allison, origami, finders keepers, spring/summer markets, carriageworks
Posted by Audrey Lee on November 5, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling their wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
For those who aren’t in the know, The Mup is the lovechild of diehard indie designers, Matt Pike and Andrew Harrison. The Sydney pair has spawned a unique array of both blank and digitally printed T-shirts that are made from 100% Australian organic cotton. Word around the block is that a new range of boardies is also well on its way. Here, we go behind the scenes with Matt and Andrew as they spill the deets on their anticipated stall at FKSSM.
Covered: A combination of pleasure and business, 100% Australian organic cotton range, a story behind every tee, coming up next: board shorts.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
The Mup: In general, we're both little crafty bastards. We have formal graphic design backgrounds, but we have always been producers of creative wears. Throwing paint around or cutting stencils for little screen prints has been something we've both loved to do, mainly just for the enjoyment of it. A few years back though we thought why not do something that combines the pleasure with the business. That's the Mup. I don't think we'd be doing it if it wasn't fun.More...
the mup, finders keepers, spring/summer markets, matt pike, andrew harrison, t-shirts
Posted by Audrey Lee on November 2, 2010
Kluster are proud to feature a series of awe-inspiring designers selling wares at the Finders Keepers Spring/Summer Markets at Sydney’s CarriageWorks this December.
In Melbourne-based designer, Anika Cook’s label, The Gently Unfurling Sneak fashion meets art meets quirky in the most organic of ways. Her diverse collection ranges from wooden accessories to printed fabric, printed canvases and paper cuts. Anika tells us more about her designing days and her upcoming stall at FKSSM.
Covered: Starting out after uni, from Melbourne to Brisbane, absurdity and surrealism, a new range in August 2011.
Audrey Lee: Tell us a little about your design background. When did you first decide to venture down the path of producer of creative wares?
Anika Cook: I studied Creative Arts at uni but found it more fun to make strange little things in my own time - things that I didn't have to explain in reference to historical and cultural contexts! I started selling a few tees at a local design market to cover the cost of some screen printing equipment I'd bought, and just kinda kept going. Those early markets were my training ground, and I eventually branched out into accessories, other clothing and small artworks. Now I run The Gently Unfurling Sneak as a small business and also do some freelance web and design work.More...
finders keepers, spring/summer markets, the gently unfurling sneak, anika cook, carriageworks
Posted by kluster on October 13, 2010
The r.e.a.l store owner Virginia Bruce has decided to take a different approach to stocking in her Bourke Street shopfront in Woolloomooloo, Sydney. Since opening in September r.e.a.l has been true to its name, providing customers with a unique range of 'social, ethical and sustainable' design products. The wares adorning shelves and racks are sourced from locations across the globe to be sold a few hundred meters from the Sydney harbour edge.
We're certainly all for the unique stock, ethical premise and the stylised layout of the space but, we must admit, our interest in r.e.al. was piqued by something else. The real meaty part of the story behind this shop can be found with the devil; in the detail. A quick stroll around the bright curated store reveals a range of wares, thoughtfully selected not just for their functional and aesthetics merits, but also for the creation history of both the item and its producer. Through the products sold in her store, Virgina connects customers with community. Be it the small group of ethical and sustainable cotton farmers and producers in Egendeniz, Turkey, responsible for the Hands Cotton range found in store. Or via guest engagement in the history of a piece and its creator through detailed documentation attached to each item in the Water Tiger range. The store inadvertently shrinks our planet, giving a face to the previously faceless.
In an age where corporations (to whom terms like 'sustainable' are more of a buzz word than a reality) dominate the market and smaller businesses struggle to stay afloat it's nice find retailers like Virginia doing their bit to change the world through practice, not preaching and taking a chance on creating a better retail future for all of us.
The r.e.a.l store at 91 Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo, Sydney.
r.e.a.l store, virginia bruce