Intriguing planters can be hard to come by. Occasionally you may stumble upon a vintage gem while trawling antique stores, but, for the avid indoor gardener, feeling that rush of excitement from discovering the perfect stand is few and far between. more
Restaurant kitchens can be chaotic places. Boiling pots, sizzling pans, plates being dropped in haste – all to deliver a hot, perfectly poised meal to hundreds of diners each evening. more
If you’ve ever desired to own a wardrobe larger than your bedroom, where your garb is displayed like the gallery-esque minimalist zones of a fashion boutique, this Finnish-designed coat rack could be the first satisfying piece towards feeding that dream. more
Focusing on uncomplicated design that is solid, joyful and functional, Danish company HAY crafts furniture and accessories to outfit the modern home. more
Builder Morgwn Wilkie and architect Georgina Goddard have joined forces to create Work-Shop, based in Newstead. Channelling local and handcrafted sensibilities, Work Shop Objects designs a variety of timber objects using sustainable methods. more
While it seems we constantly comment on the six degrees of separation that comes with living in Brisbane, sometimes the connections and partnerships between local creative practitioners are less obvious. New artisan exhibition, Chain Reaction is bringing this creative web under the spotlight. more
A snapshot of local design culture and industry development, Brisbane Design Awards is calling for entries for its 2014 program. Launched in 2013, the awards are open to individual designers, companies, commissioners and students who are active in Brisbane. From architects to textile designers to illustrators, a broad range of modes and mediums is considered. The awards are run by Design100, which also runs programs in New York, London, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as mobile and app awards in Australia, Asia, the UK and US. Find a list of specific categories and current entries online. Interested folk can also rate each of the shortlisted entries. Enter your project before February 16. Image via Marxcraft. more
While bursting onto the design scene with an entrepreneurial vision and courageous heart – driven to go it alone – is more the norm these days, a little helping hand from those in the know is always a welcome starting point to a young creative. more
Ex-Brisbane, now Melbourne-based architect Phillip Nielsen has been busy sketching Australian floral emblems by hand to turn into prints for tea towels. Only 70 of the dish dryers were printed across two designs, sporting abstract patterns of the Sturt’s Desert Pea and Royal Bluebell. You can find these latest designs on the Monochromat store. Phillip also has an online store on Society6, which enables artists to upload their designs to the site, which are then turned into a range of products on a made-to-order basis. Find a selection of Phillip’s prints, including tropical pineapples and more abstract nature designs here. more
While we’re well versed in the language of pop-up shops, a new pop-up garden has hooked our green thumb’s attention. Run by landscape architect and outdoor stylist Johanna MacMinn, My Verandah is a residential garden design company, which helps shape outdoor pockets into green oases. While Johanna can usually be found pairing furniture and made-to-measure cushions with vertical gardens and potted greenery to create outdoor living rooms during the week, she’s paired up with the folk at Inspiring Beauty Medispa and Hidden Secrets Hair Salon in Toowong to transform the skinny space between the two buildings into a thriving pop-up garden. Aeriums, moss balls, vertical gardens, hanging planters and Pantone pots dot the outdoor cranny, with many a cacti, fern, succulent and floral foliage ready to be draped in ribbon and given as a gift for Christmas. My Verandah pop-up garden 137… more
The favourite plastic building blocks of our childhood have been given a facelift by Japanese design company Mokulock. Carefully handcrafted from maple and birch, these wooden bricks are biodegradable and treated to retain their natural hues. Small and big kids alike will find joy in these eco-minded toy alternatives, which are compatible with plastic LEGO pieces. Mokulock’s philosophy is to provide children who grow up in an urban environment with a tactile connection to nature in a playful manner. more
Showcasing the maturation of design in Queensland over the last decade, Hightide is a new design publication featuring 22 of the state’s leading design practitioners across contemporary industrial, furniture and object design. more
Canberra-based emerging industrial designer Tom Skeehan is doing good things. The recent graduate specialises in commercial furniture and objects for the home, with his work evident in a number of cafes and bars around Canberra (including Two Before Ten cafe, La De Da bar, Lonsdale Street Roasters and the Zierholz brewery). Last year, Tom was awarded the NSW and ACT Graduate of the Year by the Design Institute of Australia, and took out the top prize at the Graduate of the Year Awards earlier this year. In his latest prototype, the STAY stool, a minimalist aesthetic meets versatility and functionality of design, with the piece shortlisted for Inside magazine’s Interior Design Excellence Awards for 2013. Made from Australian hardwoods, the STAY stool promotes the use of sustainable material in design and delivers a tactile experience. Keep an eye on all things Skeehan here. more
