Ok, so it’s not quite January, but the sale officially starts today, Boxing Day.
It’s the brand’s most anticipated sale of the year and applies to all its stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Melanie and David Hardwick, who run furniture and homewares brand Hardwick & Cesko, have lived in this Annandale terrace since marrying six years ago. These days, they share it with daughter Evie.
They’ve created a stylish yet practical family home with plenty of storage. It helps, of course, that David is a furniture designer and a dab hand with a toolkit. Melanie’s advice is: “Don’t rush in, wait for the right piece and develop your spaces over time. Also, have a plan, even if it’s a loose one, to stop you falling in love with something in a shop that’s not right for your home.” So true!
She adds: “We believe it is all about quirky storage space, like turning the fireplace into a bookshelf, or toy space, or even a trip to Ikea can inspire for kids storage solutions.You can’t be too precious with your pieces as kids get their fingerprints and food on everything. We find we use our walls a lot with shelving, mirrors, Evie’s artworks and hooks: they can look cute and are practical at the same time.”
Manyara Home in Newport is one of the many amazing furniture and homewares stores on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Full of gorgeous treasures from around the world, it’s well worth a look around for that special, unique piece. And now, if you’re not in Sydney, or if you just prefer shopping from the comfort of your armchair, it’s online store is finally live. Hoorah!
I recently had the pleasure on a rare trip to Redfern (to Seasonal Concepts, if you’re asking) of stumbling across a shop called A Pair of Chairs. I love chairs, especially old chairs from a time when all furniture, expensive or budget, was made to last.
This lady, Kim Stewart, loves chairs even more than I do. It was her obvious passion for and knowledge of chairs, and her excitement at stripping back and revamping old chairs, reupholstering and covering them in fabrics and colours of her customer’s choice, that kept me inside so long. Soaking up other people’s passion for their job is one of my favourite things about meeting people through this blog.
This post is sponsored by Graysonline
Yes, you read that right. Lounges, beds, outdoor furniture and more, all starting at $9. There are almost 800 pieces for sale, from vases to lounges, worth almost $900,000, so plenty of chances to bid on a bargain. You could even have your furniture in time for Christmas if you’re entertaining or need more seats and beds.
Graysonline.com is holding an auction for Big Brand Outlet, which incorporates Freedom Furniture, Bay Leather Republic and other furniture suppliers. It’s live now and waiting for your bids!
Everything from lounges and beds to bedside tables, dining tables, dining chairs, lounges, coffee tables, side tables and ottomans will start at just $9 with bidders determining how much they are prepared to pay. This is your chance to pick up a SERIOUS bargain. Customers can expect to save up to 70-to-80% off RRP.
There’s also a range of outdoor rattan furniture from Sitro and, from De STIJL, Spielberg lounge suites, high quality mattresses and beds for pick up from NSW only.
When: Now until 21 December 2012.
Where: http://www.graysonline.com/BBOEvent
How does it work?
Never taken part in an online auction before? Here are some tips. And remember there’s a 30-day return warranty for faulty products (not change of mind). You can find answers to frequently asked questions here.
Do they deliver? Items can be picked up from warehouses in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. The majority of furniture items will be from Freedom and Bay Leather Republic, but there will also be other furniture suppliers including Sitro and De Stijl. Freedom and Bay Leather Republic stock will only be available in Sydney and Melbourne, but other brands will be available in Brisbane and Perth. If you can’t resist a bargain interstate, and need a courier to pick it up, Grays recommend MeeMeep.
So what are you waiting for? Visit the auction here. Happy bidding! I’ll be trying to get myself a new dining table…
If you never been to PAD, now would be a really good time for your first visit. Not only is it one of the most beautifully styled and well curated homewares and furniture stores in Sydney, it’s curently having a 30% off EVERYTHING sale until Christmas.
They’re making way for lots of exciting new stock for 2013. So what are you waiting for?!
Temple & Webster is partnering with Inside Out magazine to launch the Emerging Designer Award. Ten homewares and furniture designers from across Australia, shortlisted by a panel of industry experts, are vying for a $5,000 cash prize. Each of the shortlisted designers will be profiled on Temple & Webster & Homelife.com.au over the coming month before public voting opens in January 2013.
Karen McCartney, Temple & Webster’s editorial director and founding editor of Inside Out, said: “It creates the opportunity for emerging designers to showcase their work to industry, peers and the public, while providing the commercial step-up that a leading online homewares destination like Temple & Webster can provide.”
Adam McWhinney, co-founder of Temple & Webster, says: “Since launching a little over a year ago, our vision included showcasing the work of up and coming talent to a large, appreciative audience. It’s a wonderful thing to see it all coming together so beautifully.”
Furniture and homewares business Vixen & Velvet has just opened a two-month pop up shop in South Yarra, VIC. Festival by Vixen & Velvet (which is also selling Christmas goodies) is at 514 Chapel Street.
Earlier this week I was lucky enough to be invited to Temple & Webster’s first birthday lunch on The Island (a floating bar) on Sydney Harbour.
It’s been a big year for the online shopping destination and there was lots to celebrate in a seriously impressive location, beautifully styled.
Co-founder Adam McWhinney and editorial director (and Inside Out magazine founding editor) Karen McCartney made speeches, as did well known stylist Shannon Fricke, who has been working with the company on some creative projects and a sale of her own bed linen.
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Project 82 in Surry Hills. It’s in Fitzroy Street. Number 82, would you believe it?
I first met founder and interior designer Shelley Mason at a trade fair last year and loved her range. It seems business has come along in leaps and bounds since then with a healthy flow of customers, both trade and retail. I think one of the great things about the team is they’re as comfortable doing a large scale commercial fitout as somebody’s apartment (they’ll happily come round and help you) and their interior design service (the price of which can be credited towards any purchases) is making interior style accessible.
This is Melissa Bonney, the woman behind the beautiful shop The Design Hunter. It’s only been open seven months but I feel like I’ve been hearing mutterings about how great it is for much longer. Yesterday, I finally went along to have a look for myself (Okay, I admit it, I’m a north shore girl and I didn’t really know where Charing Cross was).
Was it worth the trip? Was it ever! What a divine shop, full to the brim with gorgeous things, beautifully styled, and with friendly and knowledgable staff, not least Melissa, an interior designer. The “little bit of retail” which has quickly turned into a popular store, started when she and her other half Brendan, a builder, were working from home, often together. They had three projects put on hold at the same time and started thinking about what else they could do to bring in revenue at quiet times.
With a background in marketing, Melissa decided they needed to be on the street front, with an office, and a bit of a shop to bring people in, who would then learn more about their services. It worked, and then some. While the shop has taken off, so too has interest in their interior design and building services, with Melissa employing freelance designers to share the load. I have to say, if the shop is a reflection of her taste, I can see why people are queuing up for her to help them transform their homes. “Nothing comes in here (the shop) unless I want to take it home,” she says. “I have to love how it looks.” I think I’d quite happily take most of it home with me too, thank you very much.
Interior design is something she’s passionate about making accessible too: “It’s about bringing good design and putting things together well, to the masses,” says Melissa. “It doesn’t have to be designer furniture, it can be something you’ve found and brought in off the street.” She adds: “A lot of people think they don’t know what they want but I think one of my skills is in asking the right questions to get out of them those few little nuggets that reveal what they do want, but maybe don’t realise.”
My Bespoke Chair claims to be the world’s first 3D online chair design studio.
British/Dutch artist Emma Veiga‐Malta, who has a studio in Sydney’s Mosman, founded My Bespoke Chair as a natural progression from the parent company Bespoke Art. While creating tailor‐made art and fabrics, she had many clients request specific and unusual fabric combinations for their upholstery. With the internet streamlining business, and the increasing upholstery work at Bespoke Art, Emma put two and two together and created My Bespoke Chair.
“It captures the zeitgeist of social, online shopping and mobile, smart technologies. We have developed an online “point and click” tool which gives the customer total design freedom,” says Emma. “All our fabric designs start life as hand painted art, designed in‐house. The fabrics are exclusively ours, printed in limited runs, ensuring that every chair is a work of art.”
The customer chooses a chair style, then scrolls through the collection of fabrics and selects all the chair’s upholstered elements in any combination. They can spin the chair 360 degrees to view their design from every angle.
This post is sponsored by Freedom.
Need something big (or even something small)? Now could be the time to buy and get 15% off PLUS, if you spend over $200 you don’t pay anything for 6 months.
Click on the above image to read all the finer details. Happy shopping!
BoConcept is an exciting new furniture and homewares destination for Sydney, with its first Australian store opening in Crows Nest today. I was lucky enough to be shown around this morning and I was really impressed. Already available in 59 countries around the world and having been in New Zealand for a decade, it’s about time, right?
Everything’s been beautifully styled, making it very easy to imagine the pieces in your own home. And it’s no surprise the store is looking so slick, with BoConcept’s finest from the States, Hong Kong and elsewhere having been flown in to share their expertise and get everything just so.
OPUS Design Co, the furniture and design store, will open its doors in Sydney’s Paddington tomorrow (Saturday) and Interiors Addict has a sneak peek for you.
Featuring internationally recognised brands such as Jonathan Adler, Seletti and Voluspa, the new store will offer an exciting range of furniture, decor, lighting, homeware, gifts and designer kid’s items.
David Cummins is a “recovering architect” turned furniture designer and maker in Sydney’s St Peters. I just love his ‘bridge side table’ made from solid Tasmanian Blackwood offcuts and sustainable birch Form plywood.
The dark brown phenolic film finish to the Form plywood allows the grain of the plywood to show through and its beautiful burgundy undertone complements the rich dark tones of the Blackwood.
$595 and available from Eveleigh Artisans Market. See more of David’s work at his website.
Susan, from Brisbane, was the first person to be treated to the VIP experience. Stylist Jess says: “Susan was lovely and welcoming, as was her home. It was a beautiful old Queenslander house, which was built in the early 1900s. Large rooms, nice flow through, and two main balcony sitting areas. Susan and her family have extended and renovated over the years, and the space was just so relaxing. There was Temple & Webster product everywhere!”
I was delighted to be interviewed by the editor of Furnishing International for the magazine’s Spring issue. You can read the two-page interview online here from page 38 or pick up a copy.