Little Dragon

Little Dragon

I normally like to keep my eye on the musical talent coming out of Scandinavia, and Sweden in particular has been bringing the goods for the last few years. Names such as The Knife, Sahara Hotnights, Jens Lekman, Robyn and Peter Bjorn & John have all had great success the world over (and on my ipod), but it seems that when Little Dragon released their debut album in 2007 I was temporarily living under a rock.

My lovely friends Kirsty and Paul introduced me to this 4-piece from Gothenburg a few days ago, and I'm now hooked. Check out this wonderful video for "After the Rain" from their first album:

And one of my favourites, "Constant Surprises"

Little Dragon produce gorgeous, jazzy electro-pop that is somewhat tricky to categorise. Their debut album is for the most part electronica and R&B, whereas Machine Dreams (released this year) evokes something more upbeat, with synthy and sonic sounds. Over the top of their smooth beats soar Yukimi Nagano's soulful, breezy vocals, which are the real star of Little Dragon's sound. For me her voice brings to mind other sassy female crooners like Erykah Badu and Roisin Murphy. Beautiful stuff. And as a band, don't they look good in matching geometric tops?

You can find out more about Little Dragon at their website, which is a piece of art in itself. Or just go out and buy the albums.

E.

Newspaper Taxi

Newspaper Taxi

At 247 Australia St in Newtown you will find Newspaper Taxi.

This gorgeous little boutique store tucked away in the backstreets of Newtown is an old-wares, craft and collectable goldmine. Lovely owner Stef (above) has turned her fond interest in art and vintage treasures into a highly personalised and inviting space crammed full of absolutely beautiful objects.

One of the loveliest things about Newspaper Taxi is that every little corner of the shop has a slightly different theme, and they are ever-changing...

When I last visited I spotted this absolutely stunning Victorian era boy's jacket, looking right at home next to a collection of little glass apothecary jars. And a ship-in-a-bottle of course.

Adorable retro kitchen goods yes please!

This is probably my favourite selection of knick-knacks. I think it's the old map and the goblet.

Beautiful greeting cards.

Sweet locally-made brooches by milksaloon.

The photos I took really only show a fraction of what you can find hidden in this marvellous shop. There are still a couple of days left before christmas, but you don't really need an excuse to buy lovely things for other people (or yourself) whenever you want, do you?

And when you visit be sure to check out Black Star Pastry just a couple of doors down. Lee Tran Lam has written glowingly about it in her blog, along with some mouth-watering piccies. Trust me, your tastebuds will thank me for it.

E.

Julia Pott

Julia Pott

 

Aren't Julia Pott's illustrations just beautiful? I found her art whilst browsing one day on Etsy and instantly got her to send three prints over to me Australia, I was smitten. Her patterning and line work is so detailed and immaculate and the colours are perfect. And I love the personalities and environments all her little animals and people inhabit.

She has an extensive Etsy shop where you can buy her lovely art online. At the moment she is also working on a couple of animations and doing a bit of a giveaway of her hand drawn frames with all purchases. Can't you just imagine these little creatures coming to life? Beautiful work Julia!

E

Lost Found Art

Lost Found Art

Even though I have none myself, I adore collections. And the stranger the object the better.

I was quite excited to discover LostFoundArt recently, a design company from New York that sources a huge variety of vintage and secondhand objects and transforms them into wonderful assemblages and installations. The idea behind these collections is that they become features for your wall or room, the group of them sitting as a piece of art. I love these antique numbering machines:

 

Slightly heavier than the current plastic models you get at the newsagent.

Slightly creepier is this collection of Minerva pressed metal doll heads. Perfect for the guest room.

These amber apothecary bottles are a personal favourite...possibly because I come from a family of pharmacists.

One for the pinball wizards.

And I love these antique roof corners, they would make beautiful sconce lights (as recommended!)

It's a great idea and would work with almost any vintage object that you can find a selection of. Now all I have to do is start my own collection and we'll see if it ends up on a wall somewhere!

E.

Sydney brings the goods: Finders keepers market

Sydney brings the goods: Finders keepers market

The Finders Keepers markets came around again last weekend and they were bigger and better than ever before (naturally!). With the addition of two more rooms in the sprawling Eveleigh Carriageworks site dedicated purely to fashion stallholders, there was a lot more room to weave around and take your time checking out the wonderful variety of goods available for sale.

And variety was indeed in abundance this time around. It's always great to see familiar faces at design fairs but I was also delighted to come across several Finders Keepers virgins, all with a unique design vision and quality wares to back it up.

This delightful stall belongs to the lovely ladies from Made by White.

Newcomers to the markets Pigeonhole dropped over from Perth and brought along a great range of unique design products and accessories that they source from all over the world. Love those cassette wallets!

Anne-Louise Dadak's unique screen-printed tea towels.

How about one of these for that special someone? Trixie Delicious reworked vintage china.

Fashion and jewellery design really came to the fore with some stunning new collections by up-and-coming designers.

Sublime, elegant womenswear by Kylie Hawkes.

 Gorgeous illustrated textile prints from me & oli. Pic is from their etsy shop.

Beautiful jewellery designs from Sydney's The Silver Room collective.

Skirts created from stunning vintage Kimonos courtesy of Ginny &Jude's Emporium.

I was also particularly taken with some of the illustration and art on offer.

Sweet prints by illustrator Marcela Restrepo.

Kevin Tran's whimsical art and illustration. One of Kevin's beautiful pencil drawings also featured as the cover of the Finders Keepers promo flyer.

Fabulous creatures and fairytales were the themes of Emma Kidd's art.

There was of course loads more talent on show at Finders Keepers, and if you missed out this time be sure to get to the next one. More info can be found on the official website where you can sign up to their newsletter and or follow their blog.

Found ya.

E.

Upstairs at the Old Fitz

Upstairs at the Old Fitz

Sometimes you forget how much charm your local drinking holes have.

There's something I find very appealing about the older-style pub interiors in Sydney, and the Old Fitzroy Hotel in Woolloomooloo is one of my favourites. This is one of a handful of venues in Sydney that is over a century old and the building is surely showing its age, however the owners over the years have made sure that the interior has been modified as little as possible from its original layout. Open brickwork, bay windows, well-worn floorboards and a few design features here and there complete the Fitz's charm, making it one of the loveliest places for an afternoon (or evening) beer or two.

The Old Fitz is at 129 Dowling St, Woolloomooloo.

E.

Helvetica: The Film

Helvetica: The Film

Ok typography tragics, this one is for you.

I recently discovered the film Helvetica, an independent feature documenting typography and its relation to graphic design and global visual communication. Helvetica is the grand monarch of the font world and this documentary chronicles exactly how it came to be the most popular typeface around. Interviews with a handful of design luminaries give an insight into the world of typography whilst the camera shows you where Helvetica has appeared all over the world. And it literally is everywhere. You probably glanced at it at least five times today.

Did you know Helvetica is over 50 years old? I'm pretty sure Comic Sans is only about as old as Windows 95.

Get typing.

E.