Not scripted

I'm sure that a trip to the local chemist is purely needs based for the majority of us. Blue Goose has turned that theory well and truly on its head! Pitching at the opposite end of the market to the likes of Chemist Warehouse and all those cold kelvin fluro-lit pharmacies that dominate the middle ground, Dean (pictured) and Ross Taylor have reinvented the category.  This father and son team combine pharmacy and business skills, and upon deciding there was room in the market for specialised cosmetic brands and customer service, whilst dispensing scripts, they engaged the talented  RED Retail group to design them, well, a designer pharmacy. I believe they met the brief beautifully.  Blue Goose Pharmacy, Ground Floor, Vogue South Yarra (the new development on Chapel Street near Toorak Road where you can also find Big W and Woolworths)

Before and After

After has doubled in size since I first discovered it. Just before Christmas the friendly owner, Phoebe Munro, and her dad knocked a hole in the wall to the shop next door and now have more room for found objects and furniture. From what I could see the effort was worth it as the shop was super busy with customers when I popped in this week.  Always good for a gift with a difference, I thought the 'hippos taking tea' salt and pepper shakers were hilarious. You can find the bigger and even better After at 99 Therry Street Melbourne (opposite the deli hall entry at Queen Vic Market).

After Other Melbourne
11/02/2011

Kooky crochet

Shannon Gerard likes to crochet cacti and other kooky stuff. Her Jam Fancies and potted plants have been exhibited in Toronto. I found them when googling something completely unrelated. BFF loves a JF so thought I'd post it.

Design Other
11/02/2011

My lordy wordy Indeed!

The blue jug in the window caught the corner of my eye as I drove by... a quick u-turn to capture a car park and the next minute I was introducing myself to, Dallas, the owner of Indeed, a quirky little shop which can be best described as something old, something new, something French, something blue. Her partner Patrick Davey owns an antique store a few doors up and supplies some of the furniture, the rest is a mix of bits and bobs Dallas loves to collect plus some new goodies (candles, baskets, lights etc) for those not enamoured by her flea market finds. I loved the white squirrel lamp and those pale butter kitchen chairs (alas no room in my little ranch for more old furniture) so I had to settle for a rusty clock with a fabulous font on its face and a pair of vintage scissors that cut better than any new placky-handled junk you'll part with the same money for.  Indeed, 1416 Malvern Rd Glen Iris (opposite the hardware store).

Indeed Other Melbourne
02/02/2011

Love the thinking

Whilst doing some research on installation artists for a current project I stumbled across this stunning cityscape. It took artist Peter Root 40 hours to break stacks of staples into varying sizes (from full stacks of about 12cm high right down to single staples). Titled Ephemicropolis, the installation used 100,000 staples and covered a floor area of approx 6m x 3m. I think he nailed it big time!

Design Peter Root Other
16/01/2011

Good wood hunting

Norwegian born Amy Hunting studied furniture design in Denmark then moved to London and opened her own studio. Amy has gathered waste wood from various factories in Denmark and turned it into fab furniture. Made entirely out of wood the collection consist of a chair, a book box and 12 lamps that fit inside each other like babooshka dolls. All the pieces are hand made. Sustainable and striking don't you think?

Design Other London
09/12/2010

Florentijn flips out

BFF told me about 'fat monkey' by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, a giant site-specific project created for The Pixel Show Conference held last month in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The inflated form clad with thousands of the Brazilian icon - the flip flop - results in a pixel-like effect. Vee Cool. Check out Florentinjn's web site for more pics and a short movie on the making of this installation.

Design Other Brazil
20/11/2010

Well I never

Love the name. According to Google it's an indie recording studio. Just off Redchurch St Shoreditch.
Other London
11/11/2010

Blown away

One of my pet hates is crappy sandbags used to hold down an umbrella in an alfresco seating situation. I liked this neat solution that I spotted in London.

Design Other London
28/10/2010

Quay to going green

Each year I try to visit a couple of new cities, or ones I haven't been to for quite a while. Merci and Quay Branly were two of the reasons I put Paris on my 2010 tour (it had been 8 years since I had taken a peek at Pari). After experiencing Patrick Blanc's vertical garden at Trusardi cafe in Milan I decided I wanted to see his work on a bigger scale. Musee Quay Branly is a gorgeous green surprise located right by the Seine ... an eclectic museum of modern art that includes a significant Aboriginal collection amongst other things. And just for the record... you  can look at all the pictures you like in a magazine or online but there is nothing like standing in a space and soaking it up.  This side trip was so worth it. I'm happy about that.

Design Other Paris
28/10/2010