Well oiled machine

Olio is only 5 weeks old.  No learning to crawl then walk here. This tiny tin of design style is up and running. Sam Ritchie owns Cafe Cortille next door. He has knocked a hole in the wall of the kitchen, installed a pizza oven and converted a space about as big as a tin of olive oil into a cosy 45 seat trattoria. The design is a collaboration between Sam, Georgina Kay, Suzie Stamford (fun lighting using old colanders & tomato tins) and Pip Compton (delicate, detailed, HB pencil illustrations).  Olio Cuccina e Trattoria, 32 Block Place, Melbourne.

Olio Food Melbourne
13/04/2010

Dial a pizza

It starts with an email.  You then have to find Hidden Pizza.  When you get there you dial a number and place your order.  They send you an SMS confirmation.  That's your ticket in the door.  From here take the seriously cool lift to the basement of this old garment factory.  Once you're in the pizza is free.

The interior is by Joost.  The pizza by Tony Fazio (v. v. good). The wooden wheely bins are by Mario the chippie.  Hidden Pizza opened tonight and is only around for 2 weeks.   I'm predicting the ground swell will grow.  Given the ordering system and the no-cost-to-play I am also guessing there is a significant sponsorship behind the stoves (well technically its a pizza oven and some prep benches).  Go, mangare ... its good.  Hidden Pizza

Loving this logo

Love the logo and the decal fly strip door Tx.  Milkbar is by the same owners of Flat White.  If you have to ask where that is then you should get out more. A Friend of Mine did the graphics (not literally). They also did United Soul.  Nice work AFOM.

Milkbar Food London UK
09/04/2010

Have faith

The floor caught my eye so I stepped in to eye-spy.  Turned out to be a new label and the first store to roll out.  Effective use of the floor ingo to create a display zone and the window signage is something I haven't seen before. Bling on a wire string hung precisely to spell United Soul (hate to think what it would spell if I had tried to hang it).  Jayne Ellis and Peter Strain are behind this newcomer (est. Review and sold out after 20 years in 2008).   Mens and womens wear for the 40+ market looking for style.  For shopping with Soul head to 462 Toorak Rd, Toorak (just a few doors up from Max Mara).

Sit lightly please

This is not a lamp.  It's  a solid wood seat or a side table...  or it could be a lamp if you like being kept in the dark.  via floriankallus.de

Design Other Germany
09/04/2010

A very good chair

In his spare time my older brother is an excellent handyman.  He lives by the philosophy 'measure twice, cut once'.   So do Very Good & Proper.  They make one chair and one table.  That's it.  Simple, stylish, stackable stuff inspired by the school days of the sixties.

Design Other UK
08/04/2010

I would if you wood

Iheartwood.com started following me on Twitter yesterday.  They love everything wood.  I love the fact they told me about this honeycomb hive in Osaka.

Definitely not a Dionne Doorway

There are no shop windows on the façade and it has a narrow entry ... not the best start really.

H&M has been really clever and used LED light, colour, graphics and motion to capture the attention of the passing parade.  Looked like it was working to me, as there were plenty of people piling in on this particular Saturday afternoon.  Without it I'd say this shop was destined to be a 'Dionne'.

Note:  'Dionne' is a highly technical term coined by my very self a few years ago when reviewing in centre signage for Westfield.  For those of you who are under 40 then let me explain... Motown diva Dionne Warwick had a big hit a guzzilion years ago  ...  'walk on by'.  If anyone can come up with a more contemporary artist/song reference that becomes part of my vernacular then I'll give you a prize (anything by Whitney Houston is automatically disqualified).

H&M Fashion Barcelona
07/04/2010

I think this stacks up

In all my born days I would never have thought I'd be giving airtime to the PP.  I think the last time I set foot in a store was post-movie with my 10 year old niece (who is now 22).   It's just not on my dining radar... but the Ad currently running on the Telly tingled my antenae.  Firstly, I thought it was really clever.  Secondly, I liked it.  This surprised the living daylights out of me as I am not a PP fan (menu, decor, anything, full stop).  But  rather than go down that path, I recall the advice of a v. good Texan friend ... "oh, just put on some lipstick, smile and be nice".  Here is my 'be nice' :

The collage style graphic treatment is right on trend, and yet it is instantly recognisable as the brand I have known for at least 30 years ... the whimisical characters inspired by Alice in Wonderland,  the old guy with the 2 phone handles stuck to his head (whom I would guess has been part of the story since day 1) etc. are all still there and they're sort of cool in this context.

The logo/typeface looks the same to me as I recall it did when I was a teenager.   Maybe they've refined it slightly, but not enough for me to notice.  All you Typomaniacs out there would probably have a 3 day debate on why you don't think it is absolutely 'fontastic', but I actually think it works here.

Take a look for yourself, its on YouTube.  Oh and BTW, let me know if you think I'm a pancake short of a stack on this one wont you - Lovely!

Pure Gold

Tsumori Chisato Gold was a stand out on this Ginza corner.