As fashion and design trends have a habit of seeping down into the mainstream consumer market, I recently saw a fluffy blanket Kim K style (and many other furnishings of that ilk) in a chain store…and I bought it. I’m mindful of fast fashion and textiles and I op shop and recycle most of the time but, dear reader, this blanket (and matching pillow cases!) is a delight. Photo by Debby Hudson - Unsplash

Pic: Light installation experimentation.

Life, and all it’s bumps and blips has, yet again, taken me away from writing this newsletter - a thing I very much enjoy doing!. Creativity has been in the everyday though, here’s what I’ve been up to:

The iconic French electronic duo. The soundtrack to my twenties. Every song on Moon Safari (Talkie Walkie, too), like friends keeping me soothed and uplifted on cold trains around Europe, in my rusty car driving around Melbourne, in all those share houses and flats…

The reproduction of sound was unbelievable. The light show along with it, the colours the exact hue of the songs. Every tune and riff I knew.

I’ve been in the process of organizing my prints for sale on my site as framed pictures and large mesh wall hangings. Photographing and styling has proved quite challenging (the semi-transparent quality of the mesh gets lost in the pics) and so I’ve been playing around with video and various photography methods. My merchandiser spirit has had the run around! I look forward to sharing the newly designed website with you next week.

Now for some inspiration. Here are some links from the last few month’s adventures:

Art:

I love these clouds by painter Michelle Purves

My father, Ross Coady’s recent exhibition at Harrington Street Gallery

Design:

The hilarious and inventive way Alex Bitter uses storytelling to market his incredible jewellery. See the adventures of ‘Margeaux’ and her assistant, ‘Jules’ here

Books:

Over December/January (that’s a while ago now!), I read the incredible ‘Doppelganger’ by Naomi Klein. If you’re interested in an incredible analysis of the interplay between online and offline worlds. See a Guardian article on Klein and her book here.

We are asking people to email Frensham Schools with their protest and in support of Sturt. The more pressure we put on Frensham Schools to act responsibly, the better the outcome for Sturt’s future. Pic by by ROMAN ODINTSOV

This week, I thought I'd tell you a little about creating my free download of backgrounds for virtual meetings. Photo used by misszin Getty images.

Manners are a soft edge.

Manners are actions creating a container surrounding the act - an embodied way of showing care and respect to our fellow humans. Photo used by: Techa Tungateja Getty images

Dear, hard working cafe owners, here’s what would help set the stage and restore the theatre! 

Lovely light, moody or sunny.

Plants and material artworks buffering the reverb of concrete floors and walls. 

Chair legs fitted with rubber dampeners if the ceiling is high and sound bouncy. 

Eye contact from the staff and acknowledgement of my payment. 

Pride filling the space - it goes a long way to feeling calm and at ease if you know the owner and staff want you there.

Here’s to the escape of the theatre - to the third space!