White Nights and Inspirations

 Flinders Street Station

I've had a lot going on lately... family illnesses and so on. After such an intense time, it is nice to get back to the blog and a little bit of creative normality.

Melbourne had a White Night a few months ago, mid February it was, a hot night with music, art and street performance from dusk till dawn. White Nights have been happening in other places around the world - including Saint Petersburg, Paris and Tel Aviv - but this was the first time we had experienced one in Australia.

I was impressed! The city was packed, so it made it difficult sometimes to see all the things there were to see, and find all the things that there were to find, but the volume of people added to the buzz. And it was a good sign for art in Melbourne - I have never seen so many people going into the National Gallery before.

I've been inspired by the colour, the lights and the fun to create a new jewellery range based on White Night. I might even include some textile and fashion designs in the mix! Watch this space for more news to come...

Buildings along Flinders Street 

 Busker in Hosier Lane

Flinders Lane

Money for the busker, Swanston Street

Princes Bridge

Foam artwork installation, National Gallery of Victoria (photo from NGV website)

Northcote. Lovely!

The good folk of Northcote welcome us with a local protest...

Northcote is very cool.

Did I mention that one of the things I love about living in Melbourne is that no matter how long you've been here, you keep discovering new things?

Northcote is one of them.

Of course I'd always heard of Northcote. And I assumed, after visiting my aunt several times in the nearby suburb of Thornbury, that I'd pretty much been to Northcote. I mean, Thornbury is only just a bit north of there, and it still has High St, so what is Northcote but Thornbury with a few more hipsters?

Oh how wrong I was.

Firstly, Northcote is on a hill. If you've seen the flat glory of Thornbury and most of the north west, you'd admit that finding a hill in that part of Melbourne is quite remarkable. And it is pretty. Lots of little old houses, lovely shop fronts, cute little second hand stores and cafes with awesome food.

So, of course, I decided that I wanted to move to Northcote!

Northcote is, admittedly, full of hipsters. And hippies, and seriously friendly people who don't appear to be familiar with the concept of irony. I guess irony is the refuge of us eastern suburbs folk who suspect there are much cooler places to be that we aren't yet aware of…

We were lucky to chance upon the opening of a festival in High St… Northern Exposure. This featured lots of fun and unexpected street art.

This fire hydrant played music to us via the attached synthesiser...

We also had the chance to see a couple of bands at a very quirky cafe with cute little tables and cute little tablecloths. They served crepes and mulled wine. Awesome.

Northcote should definitely be a stop for any hip-seeking tourists, and for those of you who live in Melbourne and haven't been there yet, go! Just don't move there, I want to be able to afford the rent...

Fabulous vintage fabric store down the road in Westgarth...

The lovely Westgarth cinema... even the bathrooms are pretty!

The orchards

One of the lovely things about living in Melbourne again is discovering new places. My next few posts will take a light-hearted look at some of these, in contrast to my last, existential post…

If you head down High Street Road away from Glen Waverley and into Wantirna South, you can find a remnant of the orchards that used to cover much of the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The rolling hills are gorgeous in the early morning sunlight with its strong, stark shadows.

In fact the shadows look great at this time of day.

The fruit and vegetables are still sold in wooden tubs, and the outhouses are all corrugated iron. For somewhere so close to Melbourne, it felt like we were out in the country.

A few minutes up the road there is a flower and vegetable shop run out of what looks like a shipping container.

This place has more of a feel of somewhere in Southeast Asia.

The vegetables looked lovely and fresh in the morning air.

Plus we were greeted by a friendly cat, enjoying the sunshine.

A lovely morning out, while still so close to home!

Melbourne Flower and Garden Show 2012

Recently I had the opportunity to help my mum set up the Floral Art Society stand for the Flower and Garden Show (above), which won a silver medal. The flower and garden show is interesting - the part outside is dedicated to gardens, which as I see it is mostly suggested designs for your outdoor area, and tips for how to look after your roses, camellias etc. Inside the building is the flower section, but it's not just flowers, it is living sculpture.

It is so interesting to see florists at work. The demands of the medium - flowers and plant material - dictate the kinds of things that can be done. They must have access to water. Delicate petals and stems can't take too much pressure. They might only come in a limited range of colours. And yet so many amazing things can be created.

Working with living flowers and delicate plant material means that structure is really important. Florists will spend much time developing and sculpting the structure that goes underneath the arrangement - or living sculpture - before the flowers and plant material are inserted.

One stand by Michael Strownix took a deconstructed approach to the flowers, setting thousands of carnations in bands in a surreal display inspired by Hong Kong.

This ikebana arrangement (below) by Emily Karanikolopoulos had white branches cradling bowls of lilies, seemingly suspended in space.

RMIT fashion students also had an opportunity to create fashion pieces for the flower show. As a contrast, many of them treated the flowers and plant material as types of fabric, or beads, buttons and sequins. In one, the fine skins of garlic were glued to a fabric train extending behind the mannequin, while the bulbs of garlic were attached to the front. In another, seeds and other materials were glued in intricate patterns to make a fitted garment.

I find that the limitations of materials pushes us in new directions and makes us more creative. I only hope us textiles students will get a chance to do a project as fun and challenging as this in the future!

simoneandginko workshop in Melbourne!

Exciting news! simoneandginko will be running a special one hour introductory recycled jewelry workshop at the North Melbourne Market on Saturday 11 March as part of the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

The workshop will teach you how to create beautiful pieces of contemporary jewelry from your recycled treasures. Details are as follows:

Saturday 11 March, 10am – 11am

Lithuanian Club, Errrol St, North Melbourne

Bring $5 for materials, plus old beads, broken jewelry and/or op shop finds

For bookings contact info@northmelbournemarket.com or send me an email

Book in now to secure your place!

simoneandginko will also be selling resin jewelry at the North Melbourne Market on 11 March. The market is a great place to find new and emerging fashion, jewelry and other crafty things. Drop by and say hello!

New year, new adventures

Something very exciting is happening in 2012. I am departing the public service, moving cities, and starting a Bachelor of Textile Design! Textile design is about designing the appearance and texture of fabrics used in everything from clothing, home furnishings, wallpaper and car interiors to packaging.

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to my change of career. Although the prospect of having little to no income is a bit terrifying, I am really happy about the decision I've made. In fact, you can't wipe the smile off my face at the moment.

A lot of people look at a change of career as going back to the start again. Regressing to a confused 17 year old staring into a dim and uncertain future. But we are the sum of all our experiences. We all take the knowledge and skills we have into any course or career that we choose. I'll be a wiser student, milking every drop from every class. And I'll bring my skills to my new job, those that you need everywhere, like managing people and managing projects.

If you're thinking about a change of career, I'd encourage you to take it seriously. Take some time - I took a year - and think about all your options. The experts say your career should align with your values in life, so you might want to start thinking about that too. And talk to a career counsellor! I have found them very helpful.

So here's to a new year, new career. May it be filled with excitement, adventure, and lots of creativity!