Gold Like Mountains

After a brief blogging hiatus due to holidays and a lack of motivation a friend of mine has inspired me to get back into it with the recent launch of her jewellery line Gold Like Mountains. The jewellery is made in New Zealand and inspired by geometry, colour and nature. Check out some of my favourite pieces. 

Amy also makes a range of pieces out of polymer clay which is proving to be a very popular medium for art & crafters. All of her pieces are hand made and all are one offs! She also makes to order if you wish. Amy's an artist by trade and has had work featured in a number of different exhibitions over the last few years, her jewellery aesthetic definitely reflects her artistic style which is based on colour, shape and pattern. Check out Gold Like Mountains or Amy's blog .

Ruby AW12

News just landed that this AW12 collection from RUBY will be released for sale on the 27th of January in NZ so I thought I'd share a collection of my favourite looks. Some of these pieces were shown at last year's NZ Fashion Week and seemed to be extremely popular amongst the media and the public. I personally think this is one of RUBY's best collections to date and will be interested to see these garments fly off racks in a week or so. Check out the full lookbook here.

I also visited RUBY's Pop Up store today which has some incredible discounts on samples and seconds. Check that out too!

Photographic Inspiration: Annette Pehrsson

I've always been a big fan of talented young photographer Annette Pehrsson. For Christmas I got an analogue camera so I'm currently experimenting with film for a little project I have coming up. I guess I turn to Pehrsson's blog as a reminder of what film can produce. It's sort of calming and inspiring at the same time. Check her out.

Summer Reading

Here in NZ the weather has been such a pain with rain and more rain and then just when we get sunshine we also get a sun shower. So... I thought I'd share my favourite (so far) publications (possibly) ever. These are the things I have read and re-read many times and often go back to for reading comfort and inspiration. Perfect for a less than summery summer. 

1. Spaces by frankie magazine - a visual delight and interesting reads about Australian creatives and their home/work/eating spaces

2. The Selby Is in Your Place by Todd Selby - the original 'creatives in their homes' publication by creative genius Todd Selby

3. The Tram conductor's Blue Cap (Poetry) by Michael Harlow - Clever and sometimes charming poetry - not too heavy for a poetry newby

4. I'll Take You There by Joyce Carol Oates - A difficult and complex novel which I'm determined to re-read until I fully understand it - it's quite sweet at times too

Metal

A mixture of my favourite pieces from TomTom and Luv AJ's latest collections which fuse heavy raw metal with tribal, edgy styling. If I had to chose I'd go for the bracelets (5 & 6) because 'statement' necklaces and two finger rings have held the spotlight for too long! Check them out ... 1, 3 & 7 Luv AJ // 2, 4, 5 & 6 TomTom.

Print & Colour / Karen Walker Resort 11/12

Images Karen Walker.com

These are a couple of pieces from Karen Walker's Current Season of Resortwear which modernises simple, classic cuts and silhouettes by teaming them with rich, bright colours and bold references to retro prints. I have always been a huge fan of KW prints and think this season's resortwear features some of her best yet. Check them out KW

Gift Guide

A girly gift guide I put together to help with Christmas shopping. It features a cool range of NZ stuff and everything you can get online which makes shopping even easier! 

Art print, necklaces and earings from Foxes. Nail polishes from Ruby. Shades from Karen Walker. I <3 Macaroons recipe book and purple satchel from Wocolate. Diana Mini Camera from Lomography AUS/NZ. Happy gift shopping!

Print love: Stolen Girlfriends Club

I'm a huge fan of prints this summer especially these two by Stolen Girlfriends Club which are botanic garden themed and are amazing in person. I'm not sure which of the two I like more but I love all the options they've created. Sometimes I think people see repetitive use of a print to be a bit of a designer's cop out but I totally disagree with a collection like this. Why wouldn't you create a couple of awesome options with beautiful prints like these?!

Christmas Wishing

So I thought it would be fun to make a Christmas wishlist for the blog with a bit of a fashion focus. It's pretty difficult to pick a small amount of pieces and oddly none of these pieces seem to go together. Presents are one of my  favourite things about Christmas time. I always have to refrain from spending all my money buying everyone a truckload of gifts! 

Here's what's on my list:

1. Holga 135TIM Camera 2. The current issue of Frankie Magazine 3. Ruby Nail Polish in 'Smurf' 4. Stolen Girlfriends Club Tee Shirt Dress 5. ASOS Aztec Backpack 6. Bucket Bag 7. Pegasus Tee 8. Little & Friday Fudge Box with chocolate, russian, lime, pistachio and raspberry (YUM!) and 9. Mustard Loafers from Topshop

Field Essays

At the last First Thursdays a new project emerged titled 'Field Essays'. The group collective focused on documentation (hence the title) across a range of mediums and the work spoke on the process rather than the result of art making. I grabbed this publication not long after the exhibition and have been using it for inspiration since then. A big thanks to Yolunda who left me a sweet little note inside thanking me for the support. For more on Field Essays head over here.

Auckland Art & Craft Fair 2011

Last Saturday I helped out with the Auckland Art & Craft Fair run by the lovely Kylie & Jess. I had so much fun doing things that barely felt like work (i.e. giving out "I support Handmade" stickers and wrapping gifts) and shopping for little Christmas/Birthday gifts too. The stalls at the fair were pretty amazing, with really unique designs and crafts at super cheap prices. So many people seemed to walk out with at least one arm full of gifts and many seemed to be employing the 'one for them, one for me' policy when it came to the jewellery. The things I bought are either wrapped or have already been given to friends which makes for a not so special photograph but I do want to urge you to check out Jess' online shop Foxes where she sells a collection of her own handmade goodies as well as bits and pieces from a range of AACF artists.  

Sass & Bide / Pattern & Colour

All photographs - Sass & Bide

A couple of my favourite looks from one of Sass & Bide's latest collections. Sass & Bide are one of my favourite Australian brands. I love how unique they've always been and their very distinct take on pattern and print. I feel this collection displays a strong artistic influence rather than simply a design and fashion inspiration which totally appeals to me. The last dress is my personal fave! Check them out online (and with free shipping!) here.

Ruby pink breakfast

Won a limited edition Ruby x Rosemount nailpolish which arrived on my doorstep this morning! Thanks Ruby!! The crazy couriers dropped it off early during breakfast which recently has consisted of homemade muesli, strawberries and natural yoghurt...so good! The muesli is just a mix of bran, wholegrain oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, cinnamon and dried apple. Top it off with natural wildberry and echinacea yoghurt for one of the best breakfasts out :) yum.

Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers - Amy Potenger's Side Way exhibition

A couple of weeks ago I joined a Youth Art Committee which gathers to manage and curate Artstation's new Side Way exhibition space. Amy Potenger took our first exhibition spot and wowed us last night with the opening of her Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers installation. It's made of expanding foam and totally represents a youth art perspective; fun, vibrant, energetic and organic. We are so proud of Amy! If you're in Auckland check out the exhibition at 1 Ponsonby Road. It runs until January.

Things

This post is a little overdue but a week or so ago these were lovely new things. My new mocasons and cardigans are getting lots of wear and my notebooks are full of new ideas for paintings & photographs. Loving being on holiday!

AUT Raw: Graphic Design Exhibition

So roughly two weeks ago AUT opened up for the RAW show which featured the work of art, design and fashion students. The talent in the exhibition blew me away a little bit. There were so many clever designs and interesting new ideas which were very inspiring to a non-graphic-designer. I collected a bag full of business cards, postcards and publications (only some of which is shown in this post..) and thought I'd share some of my favourites. Here's a little info about some of them:

• Briar Mark's work comments on handcraft versus graphic design and the processes of each
• Jane Park produced a book that explores mourning and loss. It has submissions about these experiences from anonymous contributors and their identity is signified by (the perfect metaphor for life & death) a lock of their hair
• Rochelle Vranjes created 6 rules to produce happy design by identifying elements of visual communication that evoke happiness in the viewer
• Tamsin Jane created a typeface using negative space and produced posters & wallpaper using her design
• Ashleigh Lara Hill explored the intricacy of a moment and produced a short film documenting specific moments and the details in them that we usually overlook

As you can tell I am as much impressed by the design as I am by the ideas that influenced them. So proud of my friends that exhibited - they are all ones to watch!