If you dream of haute couture but your budget won’t stretch, the latest limited edition prints from Melbourne illustrator Megan Hess will let you have a piece of Valentino or Chanel for just $220.
Inspired by her years of drawing at fashion shows, Megan has selected her favourite dresses to feature in a new print collection, Couture Dresses.
From the tropical beaches to the historically rich landmarks, Mexico has everything you would want in a holiday destination. The only problem, it’s on the other side of the world. So save yourself the airfare and bring Mexico to you!
The Mexican interior design trend is all about glow, colour and heat. From a mix of earthy shades to vibrants, it is the handmade weaves, ceramic accessories and wrought iron ornaments that make the Mexican trend so well known. Icons are equally important, think the infamous Day of the Dead, native fruit and animal designs and the traditional floral patterns.
Below is a mix of Mexican imports and Mexican-inspired homewares that will transform your home.
Boutique South Australian design studio Cul de Sac have released a new series of prints which reflect their love of Modernism and Mid Century principles of design and colour.
Their prints are a nod to the pop art movement as well as Danish and Italian design from the 50s and 60s. The latest series, Graphic, complements 2009’s Over-Size series.
I only discovered House of Lulu this week but it just celebrated its first birthday. It’s owned by Vicki Sapountzis, who studied decorating at RMIT, and is one of those people whose friends always wanted to know where she found her latest buys.
There’s a great selection of rugs, cushions, vases, prints, kitchenware, accessories and more. I pulled together some of my favourites (above) including the gold leaf agate bookends (can’t get enough of agate lately!), dip-dye tassels and cool cushions. I think the prices are very reasonable.
By Amy Timbrell
Artwork is by far one of the easiest and most affordable ways to inject new life into your home and add final touches to your living space.
However, whilst most people would love to create an at-home gallery, sadly it is often difficult to find unique and beautiful, quality pieces with the right price tag and people can feel genuinely overwhelmed, not knowing where to start. Cue bright white, blank and boring walls.
It is a question I am often asked by my customers, so here are some of my top tips for choosing, buying and displaying art in your home.
Don’t worry too much about creating your own personal mini-gallery at home. It really is something you should have fun with, afterall it is one of the easiest ways to express yourself and your tastes and style at home, not to mention one of the best ways to inject colour, intrigue and interest into your space. Try to think of purchasing art as a 3-step process: choosing, finding and displaying. When it comes to art there is no right or wrong. You should just go with your gut and to put it simply, just buy what you like and what makes you feel good.
Before you set off on your journey, have a think about your home (or office for that matter). Take a walk through your property and take note of where your eyes fall when you enter the home, walk along the hallway, up the stairs or into a room. These are the key areas where you should be displaying and featuring art.
Hunting for George is an online boutique by Melbourne sisters Lucy Glade-Wright and Jo Harris. They just released their own range of black and white prints and you know how I like typography and affordable art!
Judging by the number of weddings I’ve been to where an excerpt from Dr Zeuss’ Oh, The Places You’ll Go is chosen as a reading, I’m guessing the above will be a big seller!
I love Anna White’s prints and I’m not alone as I keep coming across them in my friends’ houses too! Good news: she’s having 40% off all prints in her Etsy store but it’s for today only, so don’t hang around! Here are a couple of my favourites. Very summery, don’t you think? They’re normally $25 but with 40% off they’re just $15 (yes that calculation took a while in my head. I’m a words person, okay?!)
My favourite Keep Calm Gallery have done it again with their latest prints. You all know how I love a bit of type-inspired artwork! These latest designs are by newlywed Keep Calm owners Lucas and Hayley, who also sell many other artists’ work on their site. The eye chart prints are fun and and the Life is Absurd print is inspired by an Albert Camus quote. Might be just the yellow print I need for my new study. Yes, they’re UK-based, but take it from me, they ship to Australia!
FOR THE LOVE OF TYPE
Oh, how I love typography! I suppose it’s because I’m a wordsmith (Okay, journalist) that I love the look of words, fonts and typography and why I already have such a big collection of type-based prints from Keep Calm Gallery in the UK.
But this week, thanks to Louise over at Table Tonic, I stumbled upon New Zealand’s g&m design and promptly fell in love! What I like most about their work is that it’s all inked and printed by hand (using a collection of antique letterpress printer’s blocks originally destined for a coffee table) and every piece is personal.
g&m (otherwise known as Gretchen and Melissa) design and create hand-printed personalised typographic artworks on Italian paper or canvas. Gretchen says: “You come up with your 20 words and choose your colours and we will turn it into a piece of art. Words may be around a theme, or simply an eclectic collection of significant words, places and dates in someone’s life.” The perfect gift for for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations or farewells or just a great treat to commission for your own wall at home.
Gretchen Fraser and Melissa Laterveer started their business after being inspired by a magazine feature on typography. They made some prints with Gretchen’s collection of printers’ blocks and the popularity of their designs with friends led them to establish g&m design in 2007. They now create hand-printed personalised typographic artworks for customers around the world.
Some time back in 2009, before the world and his wife cottoned onto the whole Keep Calm and Carry On craze, I imported a pink version of this now iconic print from Keep Calm Gallery in the UK. I’m kind of over it now but it cost a fortune to frame so I’m keeping hold of it. I’ve also bought these other two prints from there. Being a journalist, I love typography and love having art on the walls that’s made of words. It’s like Keep Calm Gallery was designed with me in mind as the perfect customer! Every week I see something else I want and everyone comments on the prints when they come to my place. What with the fact they ship to Australia and the dollar being so strong at the moment, these are dangerous times…
Find them at www.keepcalmgallery.com
