Luxurious wallpapers, eclectic art, flamboyant fashion: Florence Broadhurst is the name behind some of the boldest and most well known designs to come out of Australia. Now you can own a piece of entry-level ‘FloBro’ with one of Circa Home’s new range of scented candles and diffusers in iconic prints. And we all know we like our candles to look as good as they smell!
Spanning her creative life, Circa Home relives the many incarnations of Florence Broadhurst with these new fragrances: the young performer in Shanghai, a European fashion designer and a household Australian name with her iconic wallpaper and artworks. Florence Broadhurst for Circa Home captures her life through her iconic prints with uplifting fragrances.
When I still lived in the UK, I often coveted the clothes by British fashion designer Matthew Williamson. So I was delighted to hear (and see!) his work is now available as wallpaper and textiles in Australia. How stunning is this?!
This month sees Osborne & Little launch EDEN, the debut collection of fabrics and wallpapers created exclusively for Osborne & Little by Williamson.
Last week, I attended the launch of the new Electrolux Inspiration Laundry Range, where fashion designer Alex Perry was guest of honour. The range has been designed to love your clothes as much as you do.
The innovative range includes Time Manager washers, condenser dryers and combined washer dryers, with the perfect solution for even your most complicated of laundry loads. Thanks to washers and dryers that remember your favourite cycle, programs that perfectly dry your clothes and Vapour Action which revives and freshens garments, your washing woes and troublesome loads will be a thing of the past.
You should know by now that I love the work of Blacklist’s Nathan and Jaynie Johnson. As affordable, Australian art goes, in my opinion, you can’t beat their prints and wall hangings.
I also admire the work of illustrator Kelly Smith of Birdy & Me. She specialises in fashion and her most recent collaboration was with jewelery designer Samantha Wills (and yes, without wanting to sound like too much of a sycophant, I love her work too!) on her stationery range and packaging for the latest Zodiac collection.
Funky florals and pretty patterns, all with a healthy splash of colour, is a good description of Mrs Darcy’s range of cushions, textiles and other assorted treats.
Kellie Collis is the stylish mastermind behind the growing brand. Although she comes from a corporate background (you’d never know it to look at this fashionista!), Kellie has always had a passion for textiles and design, it just took a while for her to realise she could pursue it as a career. “Over time, my desire and interest in forging a business out of my passion for this industry blossomed, and here I am!”
Yes, it’s true! Lamps by legendary Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake are now available in Australia through Artemide and some of them may even be in your budget!
The Hoshigame table lamp is $286
The “IN-EI” range — Japanese for “shadow, shadiness, and nuance”– combines strong 3D geometry with an exceptional illumination capacity to diffuse light. Issey’s artistic vision, applied via a new 3D mathematical process, fuses the Japanese tradition of light with his unique ability to translate tradition into modernity. What’s more, they’re environmentally friendly.
I love Melbourne accessories designer Michaela Menichelli’s beautiful bags and bought one of her clutches last year. I’m so excited that she’s just launched into homewares with a cushion range.
What’s more they’re produced ethically in Bali, supporting local craftspeople who carve each piece by hand (hard to believe isn’t it?) so no two are exactly the same. Michaela is keen to challenge the popularity of cheap, mass produced accessories and offer something different, hand crafted and fashion forward. They really are fashion for your home. My name’s on a white one!
These are three of my favourite things: interiors, fashion and illustration. And we all know I’m a big fan of Melbourne illustrator Megan Hess too. So her book, Fashion House, is pretty much the dream!
The Pucci room, from Megan’s book, Fashion House
Have you ever dreamed of living in a house styled by Tom Ford? Do you long for a Parisian suite worthy of Coco Chanel, or perhaps a Riviera escape fit for Grace Kelly? Megan has spent her life imagining and illustrating sumptuous lifestyles and decadent interiors from around the world. Fashion House (clever title, no?) is a lavish collection of her most beautiful rooms, inspired by the fashion elite.
Drawing on her experience creating iconic windows for Bergdorf Goodman in New York, illustrating for labels such as Chanel and Dior, and publications like Vanity Fair and Time, Megan’s combined her love of interior design (she’s married to an architect and I recently blogged her gorgeous home) with her signature illustrations to create a book that both celebrates style and helps you achieve it. From the Fashion Office and Grand Estate, to the Vintage Loft and Paris Salon, she also depicts the rooms of the Fashion Set – from Versace and Dior to Coco Chanel, Pucci and Jimmy Choo.
Just when I thought I really had conquered my cushion habit, along comes Miss Lou Lou, a collaboration between designer Keren Brown of The Brown Trading Co, and fashion illustrator Kerrie Hess.
Miss Lou Lou jets off to four of Keren’s favourite cities – London (V&A Museum), Paris (Bon Marche), New York (Tiffany & Co.) and Rome (riding a Vespa) in the limited edition, 100% silk cushions with gold plated zippers. Suitable to be framed as art if you wish, they come exquisitely boxed with a numbered, limited edition gift card. Cushions just got fancy!
The beautiful Fontina is one of my favourite designs in this collection
Another month, another stunning fashion-meets-homewares collaboration from Designer Rugs, this time with Easton Pearson. I was so sad I wasn’t able to make it along to the launch of this collection earlier in the week but wanted to share the beautiful rugs with you.
The beautiful Fontina is one of my favourite designs in this collection
Pamela Easton and Lydia Pearson’s Australian fashion label has gone from strength to strength with its unique and eclectic use of colour and patterns. The pair have drawn on a variety of influences, referencing their travels and the rich histories and culture of India, Africa and Europe, however it is their focus on fabrics and textile techniques that continues to inspire the design process.
This, their second collaboration with Designer Rugs, called Coromandel, sees Easton Pearson build on its highly successful first range, elaborating more boldly on themes presented in the debut collection. “We have continued our exploration of the intricate hand drawn details of chintz textiles. Our designs take chintz back to its original purpose as sophisticated floor coverings, but the macro focus on tiny fragments gives traditional design a new modern viewpoint,” says Pamela.
Passion Flower design
They’re handmade from either 100% New Zealand wool or wool and silk blends, featuring vibrant floral designs, reminiscent of traditional chintz tapestries, with a modern twist.
Unfortunately I couldn’t make it along to the Taubmans look book launch in Sydney this week and it looks like I missed a great event. Isn’t that always the way? A fashion show featuring pieces from Australian and New Zealand designers, including Trelise Cooper, Alice McCall and Josh Goot, represented the 5 key interior schemes and colour palettes.
Created in collaboration with interior designer, TV personality and Taubmans Colour Ambassador, Shaynna Blaze, the Taubmans Look Books highlight five styles loved by Australians and provide the inspiration people are looking for when they decorate or redecorate their home this Spring. They are Classic Interiors, Retro Revival, Beach Lifestyle, Modern Living and Eclectic Mix – with each book providing tips and inspiration on how to select the right colour scheme to achieve your desired style throughout the whole house.
Shaynna (above, at the event), says the Look Books are designed to help consumers become colour confident and equip them with the expertise to take decoration into their own hands and create interiors that reflect their own personal taste and style, regardless of trends.
“As an interior designer, I am frequently asked how I manage to bring different colours and pieces together to create one holistic style and look – and while this is something that comes naturally with practice, identifying the style that suits you and your home and recreating it can be daunting at first. We have created these Looks Books to give people the tools to assist in identifying a style first, then working with the colour palette second.”
Each style was brought to life and personified by live models and an accompanying fashion runway. Australian fashion designer, Josh Goot, who was at the launch, said; “This Spring is all about colour, and what better way to celebrate the amazing colours on offer than experiencing this unique marriage between interiors and fashion?”
Stylist Lydia-Jane Saunders, fashion designer Josh Goot and Shaynna Blaze
You can pick up the Look Books in Bunnings stores from next month.
What an interior designer dream! One of my favourite Australian designers Greg Natale, has just returned from a trip to LA where he met the legendary Kelly Wearstler, who I just happen to think is the coolest woman EVER.
It was a dream come true for Greg, who is a huge fan. He has been doing business with Kelly’s Melrose store for years and was keen to finally meet her in person. “She is beautiful, tiny and sweet,” he said. “She was exactly how I expected. Casual, cool, approachable and down to earth.”
Designer Rugs has collaborated with celebrated Australian fashion designer Akira Isogowa for the third time on a stunning new collection and I’m excited to attend the launch tonight.
In this collaboration, HIRAMEKI (meaning inspiration), Akira’s striking rugs reference his current catwalk collections. They showcase his love of exploring the juxtaposition between his traditional Japanese heritage and Australia’s love of colour.
Becker Minty is a not a shop, it’s a lifestyle concept, and one very much wrapped up in the personal taste of its owner. The Potts Point institution turns five this month and at a time when eCommerce is robbing many independent shops of their livelihoods, Becker Minty is bucking the trend by constantly offering something new, getting the un-gettable and providing much more than just a shopping destination.
“We wanted to create a place that was more of a retail and design experience,” says founder Jason Minty. “When people walk through the front door I want them to completely leave the outside world behind and immerse themselves into our world. We are a destination store that provides an entire experience. There are products to tantalise every sense and customers are seduced by the beauty around them.”
Did you miss out on Fashion Week in Sydney this week? Or, like me, were you lucky enough to take in some shows? Either way, you can find an excuse in there to treat yourself to one of these divine limited edition signed prints by Melbourne illustrator Megan Hess.
Most of the Australian artist’s work is actually sold to America, and her clients include Tiffany & Co, Dior, Chanel, Rolex and Marc Jacobs as well as magazines like Vanity Fair and Time. If you read glossy magazines, you’ve probably seen her drawings numerous times without knowing that talent came from right here in Oz! Or you may have seen her cover illustrations for Candace Bushnell’s books like Sex and the City or Lipstick Jungle. I’m truly blown away by the beauty of her work.
Now this IS exciting! Castle have collaborated with Gorman to create a limited edition range for summer. Don’t you just love it when a homewares label and a fashion label come together and create something like this? It makes sense, right? Look how often fashion and homewares trends mirror each other.
Anyway, back to Castle and Gorman, we’re talking bed linen, beach towels, artwork and more. Oh, and did I mention it is all typography themed? I die…
One of the three one-off felt artworks has sold already so go on, be quick! Find more here.
