I found him!

Good News Week updated their full episodes! So as promised, here is the original clip that made me fall in love with Ash Grunwald:



He comes in about 1.04, and I can't say anymore because I'm watching it on repeat.

I fell in love today

His name is Ash Grunwald. In the spirit of stress relief I allowed myself to watch Good News Week tonight, and he was the musical clue for the Hooper team (or rather, the performer of the musical clue). He's an Aussie blues and roots musician, and seems to have a fairly big profile in the festival and live music scene.

When he first appeared on the stage he seemed a bit shy, a bit dorky, but heaps cheeky; but man oh man, as soon as he started strumming his lapsteel guitar (yes, I looked that one up), you could see his incredible talent and passion, and he had an amazing way of bringing you into the music and feel what he was feeling as his fingers flew across the strings.

Gushing? I could go on. His singing and ad-libbing of lyrics: "I totally forgot the lyrics", was so personal and yet so open. One of the things that I'm most enjoying in this blog project is discovering new music, and with Ash Grunwald, it was just so amazing to see someone's passion transformed into something so beautiful and enjoyable. It was really inspiring, and reminded me how much I hope to one day be able to reach someone, and evoke this level of emotion with something I've created.

Happy Musical Monday!



Ok so that's not the best quality video. As soon as I can find the Good News Week video I'll post that one too.

More Tattoos

My friend finally got married! We did the dance and got rave reviews, and got henna done! Officially it's called mehendi, and boy did we get into it.

This is the bridal mehendi, which is just amazingly detailed and intricate. Can you believe it's all freehand?!?

Photos courtesy of my friend Lingsi Lu.

Just a little pic to show the application of the henna. The ladies paint so fast!

My hand, photo from my friend Caren Zhang

This is the final colour, 2 days after application and after a couple of showers (so the dried henna paste has been washed off).

My friend's hands (Helena and Pam, from top) and my hand, my photo

So, um, what's the point you ask? This form of temporary tattoo was just so beautiful that it got me thinking about ways to incorporate it, or adapt it to my own collection in a textile print, or maybe even embroidery. I'd mentioned to my textiles tutor that it was a shame that I couldn't use the henna paste directly on the fabric because it only comes in one colour, so she suggested that I create the artwork, and then scan it in and manipulate the colours on Photoshop. M also then suggested that I create a print in the mehendi style, incorporating images/motifs that are suitable to my range and aesthetic.

The *semi-rusty* cogs in my head are turning. Stay tuned for sample results!

And so it begins.

We are now firmly entrenched in that time in semester where all of us final years are starting to be sleep deprived, and are definitely all slightly hysterical... and along with this, comes the sharing of silly youtube videos and ridiculous songs whenever someone has their laptop with uni. It's a great bonding process, after which we feel much more comfortable with each other, and are able to give each other critical and constructive feedback, so I would argue it's an integral part of the design process as a student.

This gem was shared with us last Friday, and has been stuck in my head since. Its upbeat and quirky, and whenever I hear it I just think of the amazing work of the girls who were watching it with me and it actually makes me want to work harder so my work can be amazing too! Funny how friendly competition works, especially in conjunction with audio cues...

So without any further rambling, I present to you Darwin Deez with Radar Detector!

The accessories make the man

Or the woman! In thinking about my collection, my mind has been all over the place: I've been trying to hone and refine and pin down my 12 looks, whilst simultaneously thinking about textile prints, worrying about my colour palette, and trying to envision the garments with accessories since my models apparently can't go down the catwalk barefoot.

But why stop at thinking about shoes and jewellery? Current street trends, especially going into winter when it can all get a bit drab, include patterned and textured and brightly coloured stockings, and the headband revival is still going strong....yet as a designer, it's my job to want more.


Socks are always so neglected, but they needn't be! They are like the ugly sister to stockings, often seen as functional and utilitarian, but can't they be fun too? Granted this isn't the best example of 'designed' socks, but the idea is there waiting to be expanded.

And this headband- it's just screaming at me to start thinking about whether headwear can be translated into streetwear; toeing the line of avant garde, without veering into the kitsch...maybe a vintage referenced style would help?

Hmm. Thoughts are brewing, much like the coffee that's keeping me alive.

Choooooocolate!

It's that time of semester when panic levels start to rise, as the realisation dawns that there is only a month left and there is still so much work to do. Our solution? Heads down, bums up, pattern rulers and half finished toiles all over the place, and a truckload of chocolate.

In the spirit of relaxing with a bit of silliness then, today's Musical Monday has to be dedicated to the Japanese band Perfume, with their very aptly named Chocolate Disco.

If I had more time to sit here and chat I would go into the crazy costumes and attempt to learn the dance, but I must go drape and sketch and colour and try not to fall asleep. Instead, you must enjoy, and have a giggle and dance for me!

Textile love

So I mentioned that my Indian friend was getting married, and that our group of friends was performing a dance, right? Well, when we performed the dance, she lent us some saris and Oh. My. God. In love with Indian textiles.

Traditional costume vs fashion: it doesn't really seem to fit well together, but I think sometimes there's a lot we as designers can learn from traditional dress, especially from other cultures. It's not just the novelty of the exotic, but there is so much that is beautiful and just begging to be noticed and adopted.


It was like textile porn: the amazing array of colours in a room full of saris was breathtaking (with heaps of gorgeous colours and in combinations that a lot of Western fashion seems to shy away from), and that was before I even looked at the fantastic embroidery and beading. Guh. The intricate embroidery in such gorgeous threads, the beads used...I think I better just let photos speak for themselves, or I'll be here gushing all night.


I wish I had more photos to share. If I was more shameless I would've stalked every woman in the room and taken photos of her sari: there wasn't a single one that wasn't beautiful and unique. *sigh*