Wow it’s 2015!

I was looking at WordPress for a client and then I found myself looking at my blog and realising that I missed blogging…

I don’t know where to start seeing I was mostly absent in 2014. Well I guess 2014 in short… I took a break from Medicine; met a boy; went to the Polo and felt like Pretty Woman; went to the beach… many times!; saw cool sand sculptures; did 3 months of study, had a lot of fun and graduated with Certificate IV in Graphic Design; did a few design internships and jobs and realised design work and design study are totally different…

Bought a mushroom gelato cake for a friend; got sick, then sicker then improved; went to a Beer festival & tasted a beer called Godzilla which reminded me of miso soup and beer mixed together; came to the conclusion that unpaid internships are not cool; got obsessed with poppies over Winter; watched lots of movies…

Turned 26 and had a small celebration with a red velvet cake, old fashioned cocktails and polaroid snaps with my closest pals; missed Medicine; was a finalist in an Australian Design competition; had a poster exhibited in London raising money for Cancer Research; attended calligraphy and sign painting workshops; saw Once the Musical and loved it; still undecided with what to do with Medicine; saw a Dior documentary which was amazing and reminded me of my love for fashion and all things design; attended the Korean film festival; learnt I had to get used to being with myself and had to take care of myself more; perused a few Design Markets; designed wedding invitations for a friend; finished Naruto!!!; celebrated Christmas and then brought in the New Year with drinks at a hidden Japanese bar and fireworks. Phewww…!

2014 was meant to be a wobbling finding myself year and to my dismay a year is not long enough. Let’s hoping 2015 brings a bit more clarity.. and more photos that are not from my dodgy old iPhone :p

Poppies!

The sun is here again, the nights are more bearable and I’m slowly shredding away my second doona… Spring is only a few days away!

I will not miss Winter. I dislike the cold, the stuffiness of multiple thick layers of clothing, and especially the Winter blues… but I will miss one thing.. my favourite Winter flower- poppies! I’ve been finding it hard to find these delicate beauties until a lovely milliner gave me some tips. Over the weekend I ran to the market to grab them before the season was over and for only $6. I’ve had them for four days and they are surprising me everyday with new colours.

Even the one with a broken stem which I’ve popped into a jar is blooming already.

Travel bug

I haven’t been very well for the last few weeks and I’m so sick of this gloomy Melbourne Winter weather that I’m dreaming of travelling again. Truth be told, my mind is always on travelling but the travel bug is getting stronger and I thought I’d spend this morning listing places I’ve been thinking about for a while now.

1. California

I’ve been to California before but it was brief. During my brief stay last year, I fell in love with the weather and the chill and relaxed nature of its inhabitants. I only had one day in LA, two days in San Diego, one day in San Francisco and two days at Bass Lake and hiked in Yosemite National Park. I especially want road trip along the coast, find solace at Salvation Mountain, see Audrey Kawasaki‘s work in her own hometown, hug Mickey at Disneyland and explore Little Saigon.

2. Paris

Parisian culture and lifestyle has always intrigued me. I’ll definitely smell flowers in Monet’s Garden, take the mandatory Eiffel Tower photos, smile at Mona Lisa at the Louvre and munch on croissants in St Germaine. It’s a place I know I will love everything about!

3. Japan

Everyone is always surprised when I say that I have never been to Japan. It’s an assumption many friends have made because I was a huge Japanese fangirl back in my teenage years and I love Japanese food. I’ll be taken away into the imagination of the Studio Ghibli museum and the ‘kawaii-ness’ of Sanrio Puroland but that will ease as I will reach zen as I relax in my own onset at a Japanese style inn.

4. Blue Lagoon, Iceland

I dislike the cold but something about this place draws me in. The contradiction of its existence and its beauty. It’s also only 39 km from Reykjavik and its quaint colourful houses is like an illustration from a children’s book!

5. Hungary

I honestly do not know much about Hungary but Eastern Europe has been calling out to me for a long time. Something about not knowing exactly what the language sounds like, what kind of food, what kind of sights to see is so alluring. One thing for sure it is a beautiful place.

6. Pink Lake, Western Australia

Something closer to home for me. Who knew a lovely natural wonder is just two states away? Possible road trip!

7. Greece

Sun baking on the white beaches; sipping cocktails on a little boat and dipping into the azure waters and walking amongst the remnants of civilisations past. The colours of this place just make me smile.

8. New York City

Of course. I’ve been there twice on solo trips and love it even more each time.

Dior and I

It sometimes takes a night out on the town to get one re-inspired. My friend and I attended the Melbourne International Film Festival on Wednesday night and watched the documentary Dior and I.

The documentary gives us a behind the scenes of the making of a Dior Couture collection, which also coincides with the newly appointed  creative director Raf Simons. Raf is given the monumental task of creating a Couture collection in only 8 weeks for a brand with so much history and prestige. We also meet the other staff like the ateliers, managers, CEO and tailors who make Dior happen and laugh, cry and stress with them as they balance private clients and making this new collection happen.

It was amazing to see the creative process behind the collection, from the mood boards to sketches to the sewing table and then the runway.. and Raf doesn’t even sketch! I enjoyed how the documentary spent its time with the ateliers, their workmanship is extraordinary and  they truly make Dior.

Watching this documentary reiterated why I enjoy creating and to create art which people live in without realising is truly a dream come true. It definitely gave me the much needed motivation to keep working and I’m now more keen to watch more fashion documentaries!

PS. The eye palette above is the only Dior product I have! The beautiful photo is by Melvin Sokolsky from Paris 1963.

Hand lettering a forgotten art

This time off has really allowed me to delve into activities I’ve always wanted to do but never got the time or was shit scared. Discovering the Graphic Design world has definitely opened up doors for that since most of my dreams evolve around creativity and travel.

After seeing the extraordinary progress of one of my friends in typography after she attended a hand lettering and a sign painting workshop I was inspired to try these workshops myself. I think what makes me hesitate to attend these creative workshops is the fear of not being good enough. But looking at my friend’s progress and these workshops, I realise it’s more about the handwork and willingness to learn and only a little bit of talent.

The hand lettering/calligraphy/copperplating workshop is organised by a lovely studio/school called Old School New School. I was immediately drawn to the warmth and genuiness of the studio and Veronica (the wonderful creative director and teacher). I’ve been a little cynical about workshops of late having seen a surge in them recently all over the internet, making me question the authenticity about them and the bloggers behind them.

Veronica is a graphic designer and definitely has a passion for bringing back pre-digital typography and connecting her students and she’s also lovely to boot! How many teachers do you know actually bake for you? Her home is a cosy creative space with an affectionate Scottie Dog and two gorgeous cats who are always hovering in the background.

The class was amazing! It was frustrating, rewarding and purely fun. I came away with a desire to get better and now am kind of obsessed, haha! There’s something really therapeutic about sitting down with a cup of tea and being immersed in the shapes of letters and feeling the ink flow through the nib. With the world of computers, it’s so easy to forget the art behind type. I enjoy choosing fonts now I’m getting a buzz from actually writing/creating a font! It’s definitely a skill I want to play more with and I’m so excited for the Type Carousal workshop she is planning which will include more typography and hand lettering goodness.