Picture House

Beauty in movement

2012-01-23T01:04:00.000Z

I've always found gymnastics interesting. Not in a participatory sense but as a spectator. The precision of their actions combined with the artistic choreography is a thing of beauty. Cirque Du Soleil is all this, set to complementary music, backdrops and costumes. The result is a visual treat and an entertaining show.

Friday evening I went with Thean, Doris and Sam to see Totem at Royal Albert Hall. Perched on the balcony overlooking the stage was an ideal vantage point from which to take it all in. Height has the effect of dramatising the aerial components.

The show comprises of short sequences, each told in their own manner but related to the theme of human evolution. Each acrobatic was different, highlighting varying skills from precision to strength to flexibility and more. Favourites were the Chinese unicyclist, the fisherman in his boat, the trapeze couple on the swing and the scientist. Of these, the trapeze duo best showcase how memesmorising aerobatics can be. There is preview clip on youTube, but you should really only watch it if you have no intention of seeing the show.

This sequence of images are from new years day in Singapore. While waiting for church, she jumped and I shot. I like the painterly effect the movement of skirt generates. In my opinion, pleated skirts are something woman people don't wear often enough. Woman that is.

Home is wherever I'm with you

2012-01-18T10:01:00.001Z

I've always felt like a foreigner in Malaysia. Perhaps its a lack of cultural understanding or the language barrier. Or that I still find intrigue in the simplest of things such as the way they clean tea cups or drinking from plastic bags. Things that for locals are merely the norm.

This trip felt different. It felt a little like home. Rather than my usual hostel accommodation, both new and familiar faces invited me to stay with them. They not only offered me a bed to sleep in, but the comforts of company and conversation with which to engage in. People really make the place.

It felt so comfortable. Unlike new environments, there were few planned activities on this trip. Yes there were intentions to eat certain meals and visit certain shops, but these are defining aspects of Malaysian culture rather than tourist sights.

There were quick trips to Singapore, Penang and Klang during the two weeks to meet and share meals with some amazing people. Time really did fly and I had alot of fun. Consider these images a glimpse into what was home for two weeks. The stories are to come.

Standing apart

2011-12-21T00:10:00.001Z

It's quite late, 11pm to be exact. I'm exhausted. Dan was just commenting the other day that even though we are on the other side of the world and most of our friends are in Melbourne, we are still incredibly busy in the lead up to Christmas.

Christmas plans have been settled. We are hosting Christmas dinner on the 24th with Lee-ean and Kum. The lounge room has been decorated, and the menu prepared. I've been put in charge of the roast beef and I can proudly say that last weekend's test run was successful. Looking forward to dinner with those I call family here.

Then on Christmas Day, we'll be travelling to Islington to enjoy Christmas lunch with Amanda and friends. It should be good big group affair. It's nice to celebrate the festive seasons with those who have made London feel so homely. It softens the blow of being away from family at this time of year.

It seems everyone is writing about 2011. About the highs and lows of events from the past twelve months. I am loathe to do so, as this year is not yet done. In fact the best is yet to come. I'll be seeing lots of familiar faces who I miss dearly in the next two weeks and I cannot wait.

I've gotten to know my art director (whose kitchen was featured on Design*Sponge) at work quite well and recently she sent me an email saying that this quote reminded her of me:
“Once in a while it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to.” -Alan Keightley

It was really nice to receive this. And it works as a good reminder as to how there is no set formula for how to live your life. Everyone approaches things in their own way, just like the way people tackle a problem. There are infinite ways to solve it. I use to think that my life plan would be to meet someone in Melbourne and settle down in Melbourne. Travel was merely a tool to enable a destination holiday, a fact highlighted by how little I travelled before.

But now I think I could see myself living overseas for a while and traveling the globe. I saw Gary Hustwit's film Urbanized, which talked about the ever changing urban landscape. It showcased various projects and initiatives from around the world. While I sat there watching, I just felt so ready to go explore the world and see everything.

I really do like it here in London. The constant buzz, the never ending events, activities and places to discover. The last few weeks have been a mix of dinners at home, Christmas markets, social hang outs and Christmas shopping. Weekends are even busier with road trips, more shopping and meals out. I grumble at not seeing more of Europe since I've been here, but the reality is that I've seen alot of London. And I'm glad I have. I'm going to make the best design-orientated guide in London when people come visit.

And today I received the best compliment from a friend who said that their friend thinks I dress quite well. My life is complete now.

The daily routine

2011-12-05T23:44:00.000Z

I'm sitting writing this as I wait for clothes to finish drying. We've become accustomed to using the numerous heating vents in the house to dry clothes, resorting to the dryer when that too is inadequate. The weather in London has turned cold and opportunities to dry clothes naturally, on the line outside, are few and far between. It was two degrees this morning.

I've never used a dryer before. My parents had one in Melbourne, but it sat on a shelf in the garage for as long as I can remember. Not that there is anything particularly complicated about it. You put the clothes in and it starts when you close the door. Set the timer and leave it to do its thing. So simple, but it is something new to me.

This in turn sums what London has been like. A journey of constant discovery. Each day is full of choices about engaging the familiar or to venture in the hope of new discoveries. Walking a different street or trying a new place to eat. London is what you want it to be. And sometimes not what you want.

Two weeks ago I got mugged. I took my regular shortcut home and encountered a group of teens. It was opportunistic on their part. They wanted cigarettes but got cash, a debit card and an iPhone. I got a wake up call to the need to be aware of my surroundings. I don't take that shortcut home anymore.

For the last four weeks I've been freelancing at The Body Shop. Each morning I walk across London Bridge to their office in SE1. Each morning I take in some of the most recognisable buildings of London: Tower Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral and the Swiss Re building. Each time I am reminded that I am really here in London.

I really love it here. Even if I was here on my own, there would be enough to keep me busy a good period of time. I explored South Kensington over the weekend with its amazing design district. It requires a great deal of restraint to not buy alot of things.

The other night I ate with Wei and we talked about how blessed we are that we had the opportunity for a good education growing up. That education has enabled us the opportunities we have today, to be able to travel abroad and apply our skills in a job half way across the world.

I have made the necessary contacts to secure ongoing freelance work in the new year. I've also selectively applied for a couple of roles which are in areas which I'm keen to grow in. Am believing that the God will open the door to the right one.

With Winter comes Christmas. The christmas lights in town are as much a feat of engineering as they are a illuminated display. The window displays here put Bourke St Mall to shame. I dare not think about the electrical consumption for some of the street lighting, such is the extreme of their decorations. This time last year it was already snowing. Am hoping for a white Christmas where I can make a snow angel in the back yard this year. Christmas will be celebrated with family and friends, just as it should be. And then Boxing Day I'll fly to KL to see more friends and someone in particular.

After five months in London I feel a certain peace now with day to day life. While I have not travelled as much as I would have liked, I believe I have laid strong foundations for an amazing 2012. For all my friends in Melbourne, I miss you dearly. Looking forward to seeing a good number of you in KL/Singapore in a few weeks time.

Birthday girl

2011-11-11T01:22:00.000Z

Bilbao is a weekend destination

2011-11-08T22:59:00.003Z

Bilbao poured. From beginning to end, it rained. For three days I had soaked shoes and soaked feet. It brought about the realisation that winter is fast approaching and its gonna be cold Time to invest in some good boots.

Every cloud has a silver lining though. And that was the company. My first trip away with Dan and Lydia was fun. We visited the market, walked the Old Town, saw the Cathedral, shopped the Grand Vie, and ate (repeatedly) at Panko.

The rain cleared on Saturday night and we got to make the most of it. As the capital of Basque country, Bilbao is famous for its pintxos. These small snacks, are the northern Spain equivalent of tapas. During the day the streets of old town are empty narrow laneways. But night time reveals them to be full of tiny little bars. People crowd to each to sample their pintxos and have a drink. Each place is unique, in appearance, ambience and their offering. We worked our way down the street, sampling the various wares. Along the way, discovered kalimotxo, which is red wine and cola with ice. Good combination =)

Sunday was a visit to the Guggenheim. It's exterior is impressive, a seemingly random combination of curved shapes which sit together on the edge of the Nervión River. The visual display is more impressive inside. The audio guide tells us how the atrium is built to be the heart of the building, with people being pumped around to all the connecting galleries.

There were some great artist on show. Richard Serra's The Matter of Time of steel structures challenged your physical spatial awareness. Loved the work abstract expressionist artist on show, all of whom were influenced by Helen Frankenthaler's technique of staining canvas rather painting. Morris Louis in particular.

Black and white

2011-11-03T00:55:00.001Z

The quickest way to the tube station from the house is through the wilderness. There is a small woodland that divides the two housing areas that lead to the station. The path there is unpaved. There are no sign post. The path does not appear on Google Maps.

But it exist. It is there and if you walk it, it will take you to your destination. But you cannot always see your way through it. The trees and shrubs surrounding it are thick. Some cross the path and others have thorns. At night, the path appears to lead to nothingness. It is darker than the night sky. And yet if you walk it, it will take you to your destination.

This is faith. Your eyes cannot see it but you have been told that it is. Just because you cannot see the path lead you to the destination now, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I've been having trouble seeing the destination this week. Have been so caught up with the struggles on the path that I've forgotten about the end result.

I was reminded this week by Jon that attitude is a testimony in itself, to yourself and to the people around you, even before there is a testimony to speak of. How you react in the midst of difficulties is a reflection of what type of man of God you are.

Time to refocus on the destination.

Off to the market

2011-10-31T10:50:00.000Z

Braved the cold to go to the market with Lydia. It was so nice to wander without the endless shoulder to shoulder crowds. Browsing the food stalls, talking with the owners and sampling their wares was far more enjoyable in the early hours of the day. You got to experience what makes Borough Market so nice. The authentic stall holders with detailed knowledge of their produce made the process fun. It felt like being a local, buying our goods from the specialist rather than bulk buying from the supermarket.

We went from stall to stall picking the various elements we needed for dinner. Cured meats from the Spanish, freshly baked bread from another, dips from the deli, and so forth. The result was a delicious meal that Lydia cooked up of salmon wrapped in proscuitto on a bed of lentils and potatoe salad, and sticky date pudding for dessert.

Open view

2011-10-28T00:01:00.002+01:00

Max Wanger just updated his website. It's got some great new work, in a style which he can claim is his own. Not everyone will like what he shoots. His compositions of wide open space lean more towards artist rather than conventional photography. Not everyone will like it. But I do. I really love it.

I looked through the entire site this afternoon. There is alot of stuff I love. But more importantly, I see a person who took his own vision and approach to photography and made it work for it. Make it into a career. A passion to a business. It just inspires me that it can be done. I have been through several ups and downs about what photography is to me, and whether it could be something that becomes a career. In my mind I'm considering it again.

You would never know from it's aged exterior that the British Gallery hides a beautifully spacious, bright domed atrium. It floods the space with light and you can't help but feel at peace in the space. Designed by Foster and Partners.

Song in space

2011-10-25T14:58:00.000+01:00

When man first flew beyond the sky
He looked back into the world’s blue eye.

Man said: what makes your eye so blue?
Earth said: The tears in the ocean do.

Why are the seas so full of tears?
Because I’ve wept so many thousand years.

Why do you weep as you dance through space?
Because I am the mother of the human race.

Adrian Mitchell 1932-2008
From Love Songs of World War Three (1988)

9:46am London time

2011-10-23T00:16:00.000+01:00

What defines a lemon tree

2011-10-17T00:43:00.001+01:00

Ps Gary at Hillsong got up today and discussed how so many people ask him 'how am I to know the gifts that God has given me?'. He shared this analogy.

What is it that defines a lemon tree. It is the fruit. A tree must be planted, grow leaves and then eventually bear fruit. It is then, once the fruit is seen, that is can be defined as a lemon tree. For a lemon tree that does not bear fruit is not a lemon tree, but merely a tree. And a tree is not a tree if it does not grow leaves. And leaves will not grow before it is planted in the ground. A lemon tree does not ask 'am i a lemon tree?'. It just is. It grows where it is planted and when it bears fruit, it is the fruit that will define it.

People want to know their gifts, but the solution is not found by just asking the question. People need to position themselves. In their church, in their community, in their workplace, in their home. Because sometimes our gifts need time to grow before we can define them.

Old techniques inform new things

2011-10-17T00:14:00.000+01:00

When my parents were in London, we visited Portabello Market, which is famous for its collection of antique stores. At one stall we met a man selling a tiny little camera. It used film that was no longer produced and it had no manual controls, but something about it appealed to me. Just prior I had talked to Rachel about the idea of getting a film camera. I debated with Dad about getting it and by the time we left the market it was in my bag.

The camera is in complete contrast to my heavy digital SLR which I shoot with in RAW mode. I have no options to review images, no manual controls to adjust. I had to order film from eBay for it. I am still trying to work out how many times I need to wind it to advance to the next frame. Where digital allowed instant feedback and review, I'm forced to just shoot and hope that my understanding of the camera produces the composition I want. I feel like such a novice as I try to operate this tiny device.

It struck me today that this is the ideal metaphor for what London is to me at the moment. To leave all that was comfortable and familiar in Melbourne was crazy. Yet something about not knowing, that open adventure, appealed. Adapting has been a struggle at times, particular in faith and financials, but if its not, then I'm not really learning anything new. It would be a real shame to return home having not grown.

Film forces you to believe in your abilities and to take action in order to capture the moment. It's probably what I need right now.

One bowl one pound

2011-10-11T23:53:00.000+01:00

In Australia, one dollar doesn't buy you much. There are very few everyday items that you can get at the supermarket for that amount. If you're lucky you can get a mars bar a can of drink or possibly even a hamburger when McDonald's have their promotions.

In London, one pound is very different. You can get so many items. In particular fruit and veg. The above photo is one common sight in London. Fruit and veg is often sold in bowls, and one bowl is one pound. They lay all the bowls out and fill it with a selection of fruit or veg, and then you just take whatever you are interested in. You can see a bunch of bananas in the back in a bowl. Just one pound.

Sadly, the bowl is not included in the price.

Happy Birthday Jono

2011-10-10T13:09:00.002+01:00

The king of Legoland

2011-10-09T22:49:00.002+01:00

So much cool nostalgic stuff crammed into one video. I had a few of those transformers once upon a time. Now that we've all grown up, Mum has given most of them away now =( What will my kids play with next time?!

From David Airey.

By the river down the street

2011-10-09T21:27:00.001+01:00

I made a new friend today. Her name is Jayna. Rachel introduced me to her. Two things about her: Leica and Hasselblad. We were discussing how photographers can be of two types: they either show you something with their photos or they make you feel something with their photos.

I want my photos to make people feel things. The first time is easily done. Just take a photo and write about it. This is what I ate for lunch. The second is alot harder. Being able to convey the right ambiance is challenging. There are no guidelines to what the composition is. It just needs to evoke something in you. We both agreed that Brian Ferry of the blue hour does this really well. And though the images may look like simply images of the mundane, its actually rather difficult to compose and capture.

As digital cameras become more prevalent, and the urge to differentiate grows, it seems only natural to lean towards capturing the feeling. While I love what Rachel does now, I look back at her old work (scroll half way down) and think that it means so much more now.

I looked through my photo archive searching for images that conveyed mood rather than subject. The closest I get to mood is generally when I'm out of town. Roadtrips, day trips and drives that have no destination in particular. It seems that I can better communicate mood when I am relaxed. When I'm not pressured by time or people, I can think more openly.

Perhaps I need to spend more time alone. While I love company, perhaps it is the presence of company that prevents me from translating mood into pictures.

I am still learning.

Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T01:36:00.004+01:00

I found out the news as I was turning off my computer last night. Twitter was an outpour of reactions, with something like 10,000 tweets per second. It is amazing to read about the various quotes, testimonies and stories from people of how he impacted people's lives. To see how much one man impacted upon the lives of so many.

At 56, he lived a relatively short life, and yet accomplished so much. He impacted the lives of not just those in his industry, but almost everyone through Apple and the products they designed.

I admire his dedication to his work. There are countless stories out there about his attention to detail (icon ambulance), his stubborness and determination (All things D) and his influence on others (Wired).

To think that he only actually stepped down in August, means that he really did work til the very end.

The above photo is taken from the Apple homepage. The story behind this photo can be found here.

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

Steve Jobs
1955–2011

Reminder

2011-10-05T18:45:00.000+01:00

Came back not feeling so confident about an interview today. Don't know if I really conveyed my abilities properly. Feel slightly annoyed that I look quite young, which I feel is a negative attribute at interview, especially when going for a more senior position.

Was flicking through my notebook when I got home and saw this statement. I had seen someone at church wearing this phase on a tshirt. Feel that it is a timely reminder of not who I am, but whose I am.
I am blessed because of whose I am. This job is mine.

Paper collection

2011-10-04T12:17:00.001+01:00

Have started hoarding lots of beautifully designed bits and pieces. Here are some I've collected recently.

Brochure from the London Design Festival. Brompton is an upmarket area with lots of homewares and furniture retailers. A really nice area. Concertina folded brochure on uncoated stock, black and fluro ink. I love that salmon-like colour.

Herb Lester is a small business that commissions artist to convert quirky information into beautifully illustrated maps. Rachel told me about them, and I bought the one about East London from them. Love the vintage styling.

A postcard mailer I picked up from the YCN store in Shoreditch. They are primary an illustration agency but also do some design work. Am putting an application together to do freelance work for them at the moment. Illustration by Jean Jullien.

Steve McCurry

2011-10-04T09:39:00.004+01:00

While walking to dinner the other night, I saw a gallery that was exhibiting Steve McCurry. If you haven't heard of him, he is famous for the photo Afghan Girl. Two things that stuck in my mind from the exhibition.

The biography on the wall says that he rose to prominence when he went undercover across the Pakistan border into rebel controlled Afghanistan. There he covered the war and the human conflict, before smuggling out with multiple rolls of film sown into his clothes. His photos went on to be published around the world.

I always wondered how many photos people shoot in order to get that magical shot. Prior to digital, when Steve McCurry was traveling for four to six weeks to a destination, he would shoot 800-1000 rolls of film. That's like upwards of 2000 photos. And from that he would select perhaps 20-25 shots. Wow.

Both thoughts make me ask myself about how willing am I to ignore the constraints of a situation in order to obtain the outcome I want. And it doesn't just apply to photography.

Change

2011-10-03T01:27:00.000+01:00

Recently I’ve been talking to Rachel about living. Not living arrangements, but living. One of the ways we’ve been communicating is through the discussion of devotionals. It has been really good as a form of communicating and sharing. One of the areas that we’ve recently been discussing is that of dreams. What we want for the future. What we want for now. And how we are looking to achieve it.

I’ve discovered through the process how the mundane bores and scares me. Bore because I don’t like being idle and scary because I am beginning to have this feeling all too often. While London continues to be amazing, I feel that I have in some aspects settled, into a life much like Melbourne. Working day, followed by dinner, some internet time and then sleep. It has become comfortable, yet also scary routine.

It’s like what my parents always said. Mum told me not to spend so much time in front of the computer. Between work, and personal projects, I spend alot of time on the computer. Dad said be the very best at what you do and it will show. There is no way that I’ll be able to be successful at something while I spend so much time doing other things. Much like that 10,000 rule of Malcolm Gladwell. So its time for a change. Many things in recent days have talked to me. Sarah’s recent post abut being a photographer made me stop and think about this blog. It never really became the blog I imagined. I thought it would be a central online hub for people to gather, discuss and share. But it didn’t. I realise now that part of that was because it became very personal.

As I pushed design inspiration and reference to other sources such as Pinterest and Twitter, the blog because a visual dairy about my day to day life. Which when I reflect upon it, serves no real post. Who cares what I eat or what I do eat day. I doubt that I’ll look back in twenty years and find it riveting to know I went to the cafe down the street with person A and ate a meal consisting of B. Maintaining and even posting is a time consuming process and one which I've grown to dislike recently. I’ve become more conscious of time, as a limited medium.

Moving to London was a reaction to stagnation. I felt that I had become stuck in a repetitive cycle much like Ground Hog Day. And so I made the move. Now I feel the time clock of life. I’m 28. What have I actually done? I’m not quite sure what I have achieved to date. I don’t feel like anything of significance, or more importantly, something that I’m proud of. When I was preparing for job applications here, the time spent building my folio was an eye opener to how what I am doing with my day to day life. It's not a good relfection on the life I want to lead. A few examples I’ve seen recently.

Iris recently got keys to her place. If you follow on instagram, you'll pratically know the layout already. She’s been out shopping for furniture, look for things to hang on the wall, things to decorate the house with. It is the fun part of owning a house. I don’t remember doing any of this when I was in Melbourne.

I bought the cheapest furniture I could find. I put a few of my things in the space for necessity, but never really filled the space with things of substance or significance in my life. It was all so very temporal. Dave wrote about this recently. That we sometimes live our existent as a temporal thing. Like a train waiting to go to an end destination. We have not properly embraced now and lived it to its fullest.

I see Sarah flurry of post on Instagram and think how she is living life, literally, to its fullest. It is both a happy and sad sight as I make comparisons to my own life. And so this week I made some decisions to really address this issues and position myself for all God has for me.

I'm going to cut back on the blog. The post will not be so regular any more. Though I have loved it, the energy and time involved in managing it is just too much for what I perceive to be too little reward. So I’m going to step away from it and updated it less frequently.

I've also tired of my SLR. That’s not to say I don’t love what it produces, but I have found myself becoming more critical of what and how I shoot. Am at a lost for the poor compositions and lack of inspiration in my own photos. Also dragging it around constantly, is becoming annoying. Mum has complained that I’m becoming more and more hunch, which I in part attribute to carrying it around in a shoulder bag. Ideally, I want to replace it with a small compact camera which retaining manual controls and fast glass. For now though, my iPhone has really become my pocket carry around camera. The 3GS lacks the quality I would prefer, so am hoping the new one is announced this week. Rachel suggested purchasing a film camera with fast glass. Am considering. Rachel suggested the film as a way to really stop and think about what to shoot and composition. Which is probably something I need to refocus on. I think about to Kim’s photos from her USA trip to realise how sometimes an incomplete picture really is the story.

I have new projects I want to embrace. I have always put projects on hold due to excuses of various kind: lack of time, lack of people, resources, blah blah blah. It’s all excuses. Its time to just do. No more living in the temporal, but to just get out there and do it. There are so many quotes out which talk about how if you haven't failed you haven't tried hard enough. If you look at the previous post, there is an interesting video about this topic. I want people to look at me in the same way they look at Sarah and feel that she has an amazing life. Cos I think she does.

I don’t want to be her. I don’t want to be anyone but me. I’ve seen how those who try to copy others get no where. Or they attempt to copy the style but it doesn’t suit them. That’s why you need to take your own gifts and develop them. I read in the newspaper today how the writer for Ides of March was formerly a campaign officer in the US presidential election. Prior to that he worked on a number of campaigns for various candidates at various levels. And it was from this experience that he created the story. Another example is Dale Brown, a successful writer of military stories. He was a former Air Force pilot who used his experiences and understanding of the military he crafted his novels. The result is 11 New York Times best sellers in 11 years.

One of the things I love about Rachel is how we complement each other. We think along similar lines. We like similar things. And in that respect, it makes it easier to plan projects. And we are planning. We have bounced ideas back and forth and now are looking to really initiate something. Like Nike always says ‘just do it’. and we will. Not because we have to, but because we can. To not, would be a waste of those gifts God gave us.

How bad do you want it?

2011-10-03T00:37:00.001+01:00

This video was put together to highlight how in the off season, some players go on holiday. Other players continue to train. The story/speech is from Hip Hop preacher ET sharing at a talk called 'Secrets to Success' to Michigan State University class, the original of which can be found here.

London Sun

2011-10-02T23:15:00.004+01:00

Apparently the weather in London this week is incredibly rare. The warm weather never really appeared in Summer and now in Autumn we’ve had multiple 25+ days. Londoners use it as an excuse to be out and about. My boss even told us to leave on time the other day to make the most of it.As I walked down Regent Street on Thursday evening, the sky was a glorious blue colour, and I thought how I never want to leave.I’ll have to reassess that comment in December.

Prague was made for walking

2011-09-22T00:47:00.000+01:00

Prague was made for walking. The cobbled streets. The narrow lanes. The small shops. It's hard to discover, explore and appreciate what the city has to offer by any other mode of transport.

It's a city where you need to look up. The ground level is a reflection of now: the ever changing nature. But the history and culture of this amazing city is hidden in the buildings. Their facades and their form, their materials and their interiors.

It's a place full of tourist. The city caters to these people almost exclusively. The endless rows of souvenir shops, the over priced restaurants the abundance of money changers. Foreign money fuels this town and it seems the locals don't like it: they never smile.

Circular pattern

2011-09-17T23:13:00.000+01:00

Internal ceiling of the Royal Albert Hall.

Balloon in the park

2011-09-15T23:07:00.000+01:00

Seen at Green Park. W1 J7

Playing by the sea

2011-09-14T23:05:00.000+01:00

Seen at Brighton Beach.

Let the wolf speak

2011-09-13T23:03:00.000+01:00

Seen at Columbia Road. E2 7RG

C is for..

2011-09-13T00:13:00.001+01:00

Dear Jade,
I hope you had a good flight home. Did you manage to survive the working day after only a few hours sleep? I tried to call you on Saturday evening but I think you had already given back your phone already. I hope the home is as you left it and that the pot plants are still alive =)

On the weekend I finally got around to trying the choc chip recipe that you showed me from the New York Times. It claims to be the best choc chip cookie recipe and I would have to say it's pretty damn fantastic.

It does take alot of patience. We rested it for 40 hours and then made two small batches of four. The first time I forgot to sprinkle the salt over it and the second time, I used the wrong type (flake instead of grain). So hopefully third time lucky. Still have enough dough for a few more bakes.

That time, it is so good. Eaten warm, the cookie is both crunchy and soft, and the chocolate just oozes out. There is almost thee blocks of chocolate crammed into the dough. That's more than half a kilo! Yum. Our cookies seem to be alot fatter though.

Still trying to create the ideal dough shape to place in the oven to yield a 5 inch cookie as the recipes says.

I'm glad you stayed for as long as you did. It was good to see you several times. I took Mum to Skandium. I want that table too now. The London Design Festival starts next week. Wish you were here for that. Please think on the Tier 5 visa. Sooner rather than later as they are thinking of shortening it to 12 months. Take care, speak soon.

From Anthony

Out of town

2011-09-12T22:58:00.001+01:00

There is so much to do in London I feel like I barely scratch the surface of it. Am off to Prague for a few days with Mum. It's one of the few destinations she hasn't been to. Am grateful that freelancer has allowed me the flexibility to choose when I want to work. That said, I have lined up work for when I return, so I'm glad to know there is income.

The last time I went to Prague was in 2007. I remember visiting the Christmas markets for food, watching the Astronomical Clock and thinking my hands would fall off as it was freezing and I had left my gloves in the hostel. We have the luxury of time so am hoping to take it nice and easy. Also good quality time with Mum.

Photo is of Westminster Abbey. Weekend weather was good so we walked about town. Mum wanted to go see the choir, but we got the time wrong and missed the start of the service. Will try again once we get back. There are automated post setup for while I am away.

The Providores: Tapas Room

2011-09-11T23:24:00.001+01:00

After the Brighton roadtrip, I went to eat supper with Jade at The Providores. The downstairs area is call the Tapas Room, and we ate a number of small dishes which were well presented and substantial. Atmosphere was slightly loud, but I did like the place. Jade mentioned to me that they do good brunch and so made a mental note to return.

Mum arrived in town this weekend. We had a super feast with all the family in London: Dan, Lydia, Lee-ean, Kum, Wern Yi and Jeremy. Wern Yi made chicken rice =) No other dish makes me so happy. I complimented this with a customised version of a raspberry New York cheesecake.

We were making plans for brunch on Sunday and I remember Providores. Lee-ean wanted to try and so that was enjoy to make plans for brunch.

The place is small. A bar runs up one side of the room where coffee and drinks are served. The remaining space is divided into tables with communal raised table positioned in the middle of the room. They have these rather alien like lights hanging in the dining space. Place feels very much like a Melbourne cafe. Jade told me that the owners are from New Zealand.

The Providores: food

2011-09-11T23:11:00.001+01:00

Food is well presented and very delicious. It has replaced Caravan as my favourite brunch location in London. Prices are good and selection on menu is diverse and innovative in its offering. I had the egg soup looking thing. It is actually poached eggs in chilli oil yoghurt broth with a side of toast. Messy to eat but soooo delicious.

Some of the other dishes on the table were mint waffles with a mixed salad, French toast with banana and a side of bacon, quinoa and goat's cheese salad. Coffee was good too.

Service was efficient and friendly, even though they were packed and had a queue out the door. Highly recommended.

The Providores
109 Marylebone High Street,
London, W1U 4RX

Back to the start

2011-09-10T11:52:00.000+01:00

This ad has been doing the rounds online and I finally got a chance to watch it. Very cute. Designed by Johnny Kelly, its a beautiful stop animation piece about how Chipotle eschews the practice of factory farming.

The making of is a real insight into the process and effort involved. A factory was converted to create the set in order for it to be perceived as one long panoramic shoot.

You can watch the making of here or check out the production stills here.

Lily Vanilli

2011-09-09T00:35:00.001+01:00

Went with Dan and Lydia to the Columbia Flower Market. It was pretty much a write off since it was pouring ran. I am glad we went though. The shops that line that particular street are great. All homewares or art. We spent a good deal of time indoors look at the various shops. Am totally in love with these cushion covers by Darling Clementine. Saw a number of tea towels and prints that I also want to buy. My self control was very good on that day.

We were looking for a place to eat and then stumbled across this cafe. I loved it first for the typography on their sign board. Lydia went in to investigate and she said the food looked good. She wasn't wrong. It was delicious.

We talked to the owner of the shop. Turns out that they are a commercial bakery and open one day a week to the public. The rest of the time they cater for events and do other bits and pieces. Sounds like an awesome business. The owner writes all the typography for the signage herself too.

And the food is pretty damn awesome too. We had sausage rolls for lunch and then a selection of their cakes for dessert. We also tried the absinthe ice cream which was quite different. Dan said that the Bakewell Tart was the best he's had yet. I would agree that it was a pretty damn awesome place. The barista is from Sydney and managed to pick that we were from Melbourne. Apparently we have a very distinct accent, different to the rest of Australia.

Lee-ean you have to go. You'll love it.

Farewell pancakes

2011-09-09T00:24:00.001+01:00

I moved to Wern Yi's place on Sunday but not before Lydia made me a good bye breakfast. The three of us sat down to a pancake breakfast on Sunday. It was so nice to spend that time with her and Dan.

Awesome housemates make all the difference. Lydia, if you are reading, thank you. They were really good. And really even too. I hope all is well with your parents around =)

Fun and sun

2011-09-09T00:18:00.000+01:00

It was late in the day and we had yet to visit the pier, but Lee-ean said we couldn't go to Brighton and not go to the pier. So we went. And it was so worth it. We had ice cream from some place claiming to be the greatest ice cream. It was pretty good. I had coconut and pineapple. Such a good combination. Then at the amusement park we tried our hand at some of those carnival games. A few pounds later I won that awesome looking dolphin. We decided it was Jade's farewell present.

There were some eateries with interesting typographic advertisements. This was one of two promoting their seafood wares. The pier was packed with people eating and laughing and screaming their heads off on the various rides. I don't remember what it was called, but watching people being swung around and around like on the end of a stick was funny to watch.

The pier looked amazing when the sun decided to poke its head out. Love that image of the entire length of the pier. The sunshine just made it look so pretty. Lee-ean asked for a sunlight shot, so here it is.

Good fun Brighton. I would definitely bring people here.

London-by-the-sea

2011-09-09T00:02:00.001+01:00

Brighton is apparently referred to as London-by-the-sea. And its understandable why. It's a couple of hours drive south of London and its pretty. Or rather its a nice beach side town. It was originally a fishing village til Prince Regent fell in love with the place, built the Royal Pavilion (which looks like it was transported from India) and encouraged development. It was a really nice day when we went and that was evident from the crazy number of people who were in the area.

It's not quite a beach. There's no sand. Rather its made up of smooth stones. Its quite odd at first, but its actually quite nice to sit or lie on. Feels almost like some sort of stone massage. I could image people walking to the 'beach' and sitting to read a book or something without the worry of getting sand into everything.

You can hire the traditional style beach chairs to sit or lounge about. It was a nice atmosphere. Quite laid back. The stones were warmed from the sun and so it was nice to sit on. Jade was the only was brave enough to venture into the water.

There were once two piers. One burnt down, but the structural remains are still there. The other houses is the now famous Brighton Pier, which has an amusement park much in the style of Luna Park.

Favourite find of the afternoon was a little prints shop called Castor + Pollux which had prints from a range of awesome artist such as Rob Ryan, Sanna Annukka, Quentin Blake and Charlie Harper to name a new. I so want to start collecting things for my future home.

The mandatory mansion

2011-09-08T23:24:00.001+01:00

Every garden and place of importance seems to have a mansion of sorts here in England. If you've ever watched Grand Designs, you'll know that there are hundreds of such sites around the country. The ones at these gardens are just the best maintained.

They all have key features, such as being huge, lavish detail to things such as wallpaper, decorative carvings and elaborate staircases. It's hard to believe that people use to live in such places, although when I think about it, some people live in quite lavish modern dwellings.

Am particular interested in the wallpaper that these places have. There are some really beautiful patterns that were created for these places. And to think that some of these buildings are as old as 100 years, means that the interior furnishings were also designed around the same time.

Wakehurst Place

2011-09-08T22:49:00.000+01:00

Saturday presented awesome weather (by London standards) so i joined Lee-ean and Kum On a Road trip. Jade came along too after lee-ean invited her along.

The morning was marred by the absolutely pathetic service at Hertz car rental in Euston. First there was only one person to deal with all the bookings. Then we discovered the car they had booked was not cleaned and we had to wait while they washed and vacuumed it. And then the attendant at the exit booth was incompetent making us run about to get stamps for documents we already had. By the time we left it was already 10:30. Idiots. Kum is going to complain and rightly so.

Once we finally got going, our first stop was Wakehurst Place. It is one of several sites managed by the famous Kew Gardens, which is internationally regarded for its botanical research. While the main site houses one of the world's largest herbariums, the Wakehurst site is home to the Millennium Seed bank, which is like an insurance policy for plants in the event of disaster.

Kew Gardens uses Wakehurst to house its southern hemisphere plants, as the soil and air is not suitable at their main site.

The weather was perfect, and it showed. People were out and flowers in bloom. It was really nice to have the sun out. The grounds cover open parklands, woodlands, water gardens, a greenhouse and a mansion (see next post).

It's not a National Trust site like Ickworth House and it's evident as the gardens are not as meticulously maintained. Its more a place which highlights the diversity of the collection of plants under the care of Kew Gardens.

I hope a return trip will take us to Kew to see the main site.

Iberica

2011-09-08T22:17:00.000+01:00

On a quite corner in Marleboyle is Iberica. A Spanish tapas diner. We went there for Jade's farewell. Ironically, it's right around the corner from her place but had yet to visit. So we did as a group.

Tapas were the style of meal so we ate a range of things. Coquettes with cheese and ham, roasted potatoes with a tangy spiced sauce. Black squid ink risotto. The name of the place is derived from the specialty black pig found in spain. We tried it too, sliced very thinly like prosciutto.

It's funny how six degrees of separation works. At the table were ten people. Everyone was connected in different ways. Lydia knew a few from school. One girl said she'd seen me before at Melb Uni. Others I'd heard people like Wei Lynn talk about. And some I knew from Melbourne. And all but one guy was from Melbourne (and he was from Sydney).

Desserts were ok. The mousse cake with the crunchy biscuit base that Jade had I thought was best. They finished the meal with a complimentary drink, which was like apple cider on ice. Very refreshing.

It's wasn't a cheap meal but then it wasn't very expensive either. I don't know if I'd go back. I don't think it was that special. There are other places to explore.

Rest

2011-09-07T00:18:00.002+01:00

I have plenty to blog but not enough time at the moment. I did everything I planned to do over the weekend. Which was good, but I'm exhausted. My week of work has been cut to three days, so there will be some time to stop and rest after Wednesday. A few new opportunities have come up, so currently pursuing them too.

I moved location over the weekend and am now staying in a big house with four housemates. Two of which are cats. I've never had a cat. I am fascinated by the inquisitive nature of cats. They also make really great subjects. I'm sure they are set to become regulars on the blog for the next month or so. This is Simba. He likes to sleep on my bed.

Speaking of which, it's bed time. Expect a flurry of post on Thursday with lots of pictures. I took plenty over the weekend.

It's the weekend!

2011-09-03T00:43:00.001+01:00

Today had amazing weather. Blue skies and the sun was shining. Makes such a difference to how London looks and the atmosphere. Had a lovely dinner tonight at Iberica with Jade and several of her friends as an informal farewell. A range of delicious Spanish tapas and at quite a reasonable price. More on this later.

This weekend promises to be good. Off to Brighton with Lee-ean, Kum and Jade tomorrow. Weather is meant to be fine, sunny and 23. A rare moment of sun on the weekend! Hopefully we will be back by the evening for dinner with Lydia, Daniel and Wern Yi. Then Sunday hopefully the weather will hold out and we can go to Columbia market in the afternoon.

And in other good news today I got work from the recruiter for an entire week. Perfectly timed as this is the last opportunity to work before Prague. God is good. Am looking forward to it.

Have a good weekend people.

The wait is the hardest part

2011-09-01T17:18:00.002+01:00

The above image is of the candle holders that Daniel and Lydia brought back from both Oslo and Copenhagen. I say both countries as they bought a few on one trip and then bought some more on another. They are painted wood and they are beautiful. I am highly scared of going to these countries for fear of what I'll want to buy. (everything!)

Have been looking at flights for trips towards the end of the year. Planning ahead a few months reaps benefits in terms of cost. The first trip away with housemates has been booked for November: Bilbao. I had to use Google Maps to work out where it is. It's a little seaside city in Spain famous for one thing: the Guggenheim. I missed out on Spain the last time I came to Europe so time to make amends.

The weather is starting to change here. Leaves are turning brown and starting to fall. It also feels colder. We turned on the central heating for the first time the other day and I've started wearing a jumper and coat out. That's probably an indication of things to come.

I will be temporarily moving for the next few weeks as my parents are coming to visit. I'll be staying at the local Leytonstone raspberry farm or better known as Wern Yi's place. Her raspberry bushes which I blogged about previously are overflowing with fruit. She has so many raspberries growing at the moment that she posted on Facebook 'come pick your own, £5 per kg.' should be fun. Besides that she has a most amazing kitchen. Am looking forward to cooking with her.

Lee-ean is back at school next week and that means the end of the summer holidays. It also means things in the design industry will kick into gear. It has been difficult to get in touch with people over the last couple of weeks. August is the summer holidays here and people generally take leave to make the most of it. It's not like summer in Melbourne. Here it can pour all day. Umbrellas are a mandatory carry around item.

As a result, trying to secure work has been challenging. But there is work around. I have been to see a number of people and all have commented that the folio is more than suitable for the roles I am seeking. I have signed to the best recruiter in London and did pick up some short term work last week. I have several other recruiters waiting to see me, but professionally it makes sense to wait. Going forward, who I am represented by will affect future employment opportunities so I have made the decision to be patient.

It has been a month since I got here, and its probably the longest period I haven't work except for my Europe trip back in 2007. So I am content to wait. Have decided in my mind that it is no reflection upon my work ethic or attitude to wait for the right role. I've worked since I was 15 so I doubt anyone can call me lazy. My role at Hoyne was perfectly timed and I know God will do it again here in London. I just need to be patient. Even though waiting is the hardest part.

“You answer us in amazing ways, God our Savior.” — Psalm 65:5

Macarons

2011-08-31T13:16:00.000+01:00

Love this stylised approach to showing the process of making macarons. The cuts are short but punchy, with sound effects that really work well.

Found from Yogi's blog.

From London with love

2011-08-30T13:15:00.001+01:00

Technology is brilliant. iChat, Whatsapp, Instagram, Viber and email has allowed me to keep in touch with friends around the world.

Last week I chatted with Jolyn while she was on her surprise trip to Sydney for her birthday. Snow egg and chatime. So good to be apart of things still happening in Melbourne.

A shout out to Jolyn for a mention on her blog. Would have loved to try Golden Fields. When I was out with Iris at Auction Rooms previously, a waiter there had raved about the place.

Ron Arad at The Roundhouse

2011-08-29T23:16:00.001+01:00

I saw this exhibition advertised in a number of places and kept reminding myself that I'd go. Kept delaying for other things til we finally got to go today. On the last day it was showing. Lee-ean, Jade, and Beng-Fai went to The Roundhouse theatre in Camden to see Ron Arad's Curtain Call.

The form of the exhibition is itself impressive. Set in a domed roof space, the exhibition is a circular curtain made up of rods of flexible silicon. Suspended, they create a giant moveable curtain, onto which various videos are projected onto. Watching the graphics rotate around the curtain is curiously interesting but the real fun comes when you sit inside.

Parting the wall of silicon, you find yourself immersed in the exhibition. The 360 degree canvas is huge. Seated or standing, you could enjoy the projected videos as you pleased. Others chose to stand or interact with the soft rods and you would see the image on screen part of waver as they did.

The videos are not as impressive as the actually idea. In fact I felt rather disappointed. For such an unusual medium, I don't feel that the artist made full use of its scale and animated aspect. Art is what a person makes of it, but I think an even greater audience could have been engaged were it a little more engaging. There was alot of ambient noise, which was just noise. And the repetitive nature of some of the pieces made the two hours drag out.

Some of the pieces were great. The endless piano made full use of the curtain with hands randomly playing notes. A beautifully illustrated piece by Babis Alexiadis showed a mixed animation with floral elements, floating boats and flying birds. David Shrigley made a piece of an unfit man who just walked around the curtain, stomping and wheezing. These were the most memorable. The rest were more boring and annoying (for me).

I'm glad we got to see it. It was definitely an interesting way of showing motion footage on a large scale.

And in other news I had Malaysian for dinner. Ipoh Hor Fun, Sago and Onde Onde. Yum.

Sunday lunch

2011-08-29T22:23:00.000+01:00

Lunch on Sunday at Gary's place. He said it was going to be a simple BBQ. It was a most elaborate lunch with a bunch of new friends.

He lives right in front of Emirates stadium, which is home to Arsenal. The place is actually quite spacious. I would consider moving there. Although its not that close to town which can be quite annoying when there is delays or line closures.

1. A multitude of salads, including an amazing soba salad which I'm going to recreate tomorrow.
2. Jade's spur of the moment salad consisting of tomato, greens, goat's cheese and nectarine was a hit. Lime dressing was ideal.
3. Gary's own specialty salad of watercress, orange slices and Halloumi. Grilled over the BBQ, that cheese was so good.
4. Several rounds of meat followed: fish, sausages, steak.
5. Rose. One of the many Aussies I've met in London. There are so many.

6. Wei-Lynn made rosemary and olive oil bread to bake. Charles made the knots. Good stuff.
7. Grilled fish with salsa verde. Cider and English Pims were the perfect drinks to accompany the meal.
8. Our host Gary, and friend Charles (who are both from Melbourne).
9. Sang, our token British lunch attendee. She's going to be working in the legal department at Warner Brothers soon. Fun.
10. Dessert: plum and apple pie. There were also cupcakes floating about.

Royal Albert Hall

2011-08-29T01:15:00.001+01:00

Went to The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night. The Proms is an initiative by the BBC to showcase classic music. One of Jade's friends had organised, so I went along, curious to see. You can buy seated tickets to attend the live shows each day or £5 will buy you a ticket to the arena or gallery. The arena is the standing room on the floor. You can see it in the photo above. Apparently they can squeeze 900 people in there. (if you click the image you can see it twice as big on flickr).

We queued for gallery tickets which gives you access to the top floor. The view, as shown in the photo is quite impressive. What we weren't prepared for, was the various ways people came to enjoy it. While at the bottom you had to stand and there is little room to move, in the gallery, people brought blankets and picnic baskets. People were just lying down in corners or walking about taking in the view. A very different atmosphere. We shall come better prepared next time.

Once the show starts they demand silence. You can hear every little distraction in the gallery. A person walking, something ruffling pages of a brochure. A number of people brought small kids and although I understand they may want to exposure them to such events, they are too young to appreciate it. Even I struggled to focus for the entire three hours (there were intervals). The pieces on show that day were not things I would attend myself, but we are thinking of returning later this week to see the famous cellist, Yo-Yo Ma.

Caravan

2011-08-29T00:56:00.000+01:00

It's a long weekend here in London with Monday being a bank holiday. Alot of people seem to have taken the opportunity to make the most of this, heading out of town. But there are still alot of people around. Over dinner last night with new found friends, we were discussing how Melbourne has some of the best brunch food. Trying to find a good spot here in London is like trying to find treasure. It takes alot of work but a good one is like gold. One such place is Caravan.

This outlet was in Islington which is quickly becoming my favourite area in London. The place was empty when we arrived at 10am but it quickly filled up. Interior is a mix of wood and black paint. This place could easily feel at home in Melbourne.

The service is quite efficient and the coffee is good. The food is very reminiscent of dishes in Melbourne. I had corn french toast which is much like corn fritters and Jade had some amazing looking baked eggs with toast (Sarah, take note!).

Highly recommended. Prices are decent for the servings and they also do lunch and dinner.

In ivory

2011-08-23T11:52:00.000+01:00

This is a video from my current favourite filmmaking duo Andrew + Carissa of For you love me. There is no description with this video. Nothing about what it is about, nor the pianist or song. The video has a title 'In ivory' but that's it.

And yet, that's enough. Too often we are seeking reasoning and rationale. To justify everything and make sense of it all. But sometimes things just are. Sometimes we just need a reason to stop, sit back and enjoy. This is one of those reasons.

Earl grey cookies

2011-08-23T01:37:00.002+01:00

While Dan and Lydia were enjoying all that Oslo had to offer, I decided to test out the oven. Like the oven I had in Hawthorn, its a flame oven which you have to light. Luckily this one has a starter button which works. My housemates are big fans of tea, so what better recipe to test the oven and make to enjoy than Earl Grey Cookies. It's really easy to make and very few ingredients. Recipe is from Martha Stewart.

There is one step not shown here. And that's the rolling of the dough. You need roll it into logs and then refrigerate so it hardens and is easier to cut. Make sure you make the roll about 5cm in diameter. The better your roll, the nicer shaped your cookies are. And make sure you space them out on the tray, otherwise they join. A good inch is ideal, although I seem to cram them on so I can make all of them in as few trays as possible. Avoid letting them get brown as they don't taste as nice then.

Sights at Southbank

2011-08-23T00:41:00.000+01:00

Melissa reminded me that I haven't updated for several days. I'm glad though. I think it might mean that I have been fully dedicated to the search for a job. Lots of calling, emailing and praying =) Thanks to everyone who left comments about the folio. I went for another interview today and it went well. I think something could really come of this one. Time will tell. More contacts to see tomorrow.

Lee-ean and my housemates have been going on (seperate) travels for the last few weekends. Lee-ean's been to Belgium and Berlin. Dan and Lydia to Oslo. And this weekend is a long bank weekend so they are off to Poland and Copenhagen respectively. Making me damn jealous. I want to be travelling at the moment too. That said, I have booked my first international trip! Will be heading to Prague in mid-September for a few days. Excited to relive some of those travels.

Some snapshots from the previous weekend at Southbank. Went back cos there was a project to make a magazine in 48 hours. Got to help out a little. Met some nice people in the industry, including the art director for Jamie magazine. Love all the random art that is around the place.

Really love that graffiti 'I'. By artist Eine. Apparently you can find the entire set in East London. This guy did. I would be keen to go see them all. Need a partner in crime. Any takers in London?

A is for Anthony

2011-08-18T00:02:00.000+01:00

There are many people who told me when I left Melbourne, that they were so amazed I could follow a dream to go and work in London. I've written alot about what I've been doing, but very little about the transition here. Sarah was complaining that there was a lack of meaningful post, so I'll write about it here briefly.

It's been three weeks in London. Time has flown faster than I expected. The first couple of weeks was really about getting settled. My body clock really struggled to cope with the transition. I kept waking up at 5am. Sleeping early didn't help, so I resorted to staying up really late and tiring myself out. Only in the last few days have I been able to sleep around midnight and wake around 8ish.

I've never lived with housemates, but I have to say I'm loving it. Being able to cook and sit down to share a meal is a real joy here. It reminds me of sitting down with family to eat back home. I go grocery shopping with Daniel when we can and I genuinely feel part of their lives rather than just taking up a room in their flat.

I am living out in Wanstead. Don't worry, no one here seems to know where it is either. London is divided into six zones and I'm in zone four. It's a fifteen minute walk to the station and then a twenty minute ride into the heart of London. The price of tickets here is crazy. Probably because I'm so far out, but a daily trip into town is £7.40 which is slowly sucking me of money.

London itself is amazing. I feel like its a more intense version of Melbourne. The city is bigger, there are way more people, its far more multicultural. There is so much to be explored in the city. The list of sights, museums, high streets, eateries, restaurants and shops is mind boggling. The explorer in me is loving this city.

And that's just the city itself. London is only a small part of Britain. There is much to be explored out of town. When we visited Ickworth House, Daniel bought a book called 'The most amazing scenic journeys in Britain' which documents great road trips out of town. Looking forward to the possibility of some of those on weekends.

The cost of living relative to what people earn is quite low. Decent food can be had for a few pounds and £10 will get you something great. Daniel highlights the fact that you can get really amazing desserts at restaurants for £5-7 as a real indicator. In Melbourne, such desserts might set you back $15. The same goes for clothes. I've realigned my perception of what is expensive by being here. Shoes, jackets, jeans, just clothes in general are cheaper. I use to think Zara was quite premium. In actual fact, its quite a cheap brand, relative to what is available here.

There is plenty of great design around too. There are lots of design shops about town all with plenty of things I want to buy. And I really do want to buy. But I need an income to do that. And so the focus over the last few days, and going forward, as really become about securing a job.

The search for work is slowly progressing. The industry is far bigger than in Melbourne, but then so is demand for work. I've been cold calling and mailing out pieces to various studios in the hope to get in and see someone to meet more contacts in the industry. Having to tailor each piece to each studio is a time consuming process. I hope it pays dividends. Even simple task like getting things printed and sourcing paper have been difficult. I don't know London and so I've spent a far bit of time just trying to find suitable places which won't break my budget. Finally found a little shop with great staff near one of the tube stations.

Went to see my design director's old boss in London today. Great guy, who is a partner at Everyone Associates. We had a great discussion about the state of the industry and I got lots of great tips from him about work. I'm confident that I'll get work in the next couple of weeks. Most likely its going to be through an agency, but the reputation of such places here is far different from the stigma associated with them back home. Am also hoping that freelancing will increasing my income to a level that is almost equal with what I earned back in Melbourne.

I updated the folio tonight and I'm making it public now. I am at a place where I think the work shown is a good reflection of what I can do. Mint has become my brand colour. I found some mint-coloured paper at a shop and I really like it. Got some nice business cards printed to go with my website branding.

AisforAnthony.com

Inside the Rotunda

2011-08-15T22:48:00.000+01:00

The inside of the Rotunda is a huge home, made up of many stately rooms full of clssically styled oil paintings and over-ornate furniture. The family was big on reading, which many walls covered with floor to ceiling bookshelves. The family owned one of the first copies of the Baskerville Bible (which is apparently worth a good deal of money).

You don't notice it at first, but the floor boards are all curved. I pity the guy who has to cut and ensure these all fit together. This little dog symbol decorated alot of the silver in the cabinets and fireplace tools. According to the guide its actually the family symbol which is a snow leopard.

One of the more unusual elements of this home is the Pompeian Room (image 6). All elements in this room are painted directly onto the walls. As you look up, you realise that even the graphics which adore the domed roof have been skewed to ensure there is perspective. Quite impressive.

Ickworth House

2011-08-15T00:33:00.003+01:00

Dan had Friday off so we planned a day trip to Ickworth House. Located about an hours drive North-East of London in Suffolk, it's a National Trust heritage listed location. Built as a modest family house for the family, it is famous for the central rotunda, a 600m wide and 100m tall domed roof building. It is connects the curved east and west wing of the building.

The house is building on 1800 acres of land. There is alot of open parkland and fields but its the garden directly infront and behind the home which draws your attention. Perfectly kept, the front houses a beautifully arranged bed of colour. From afar its a beautiful stripe of colour. Up close, it is constantly moving, as it is teeming with bees collecting nectar. There are plenty of lady birds there too.

The back is a well maintained stately garden. Neat hedges, maintained grass and potted flora create a very grand impression. It reminds me of Werribee Mansion alot.

This is one of three posts. The second post will be about the interiors and the third will look at their food sustainability farm.

Bold is beautiful

2011-08-11T23:22:00.002+01:00

Love this graphic I saw in Convent Garden today. It's part of an advert announcing the arrival of Kate Spade from New York to London.

Love the colour, love the boldness, love the simplicity. Would make a great poster, tshirt and a billion other things. I love it.

Unexpectedly delicious

2011-08-11T23:12:00.002+01:00

When Daniel first told me that Lydia made a great pasta with broccoli, I was unsure. Who cooks pasta with broccoli?! I had never considered such a combination before. But I was pleasantly surprised. It works. And really well.

Lydia's magical combination of broccoli, bacon, lemon and chilli is a winner. Thanks to the amazing bright kitchen, half way through watching her cook I decided to break down the ingredients. Sadly I missed getting a few while they were in their raw state, but at least I have the main ingredients.

Am now thinking what other ingredients could be fused together to make more unexpectedly delicious combinations. We've started planning recipes before going shopping and it makes for new challenges and new surprises in the kitchen. Yay to good housemates and cooking adventures.

Same but different

2011-08-11T11:58:00.001+01:00

It is a very common sight here, but I still can't get over how different the houses look. I'm living in the outer east of London which is a suburban area. The houses are all terraces, much like what you see in Carlton. They are built in pairs, so that each half is a mirror of the other half in terms of layout.

And yet, they look so different. Each owner seems to customise their place, regardless of their neighbour. The result is that you have buildings with physical forms which are the same but different very much in aesthetic. Some places have gardens, other use it as a place to store their bins. Some places have hedges and others have brick fences.

These examples are all from a single street in an area called Leytonstone. You can seem that they have the similiar form but every single one is different. Different bricks, different paint, different decoration.

2011-08-10T23:17:00.000+01:00

Hope you had a good day. Heard from Lee-ean that you guys went out to dinner last night. We shall have belated celebrations when you arrive in town next month.

London update

2011-08-09T10:30:00.000+01:00

Thanks to everyone who has messaged or voiced concern about my safety here. This is to let you know that I am ok. The riots in London seem to be getting alot more coverage overseas than here. Am finding that I can find out more about it from reading The Age and the New York Times than going through the BBC.

London is a big city. Even thought they say 'riots in London' its not like the entire town is being overrun. The riots started in North London have spread to some areas in Central London and East London. I'm out east, probably the equivalent distance of Glen Waverley or Clayton, so it hasn't spread this far as yet.

Daniel, Lydia and Lee-ean are all safe too. Thank you for all your concern.

Heal's

2011-08-07T23:31:00.001+01:00

Slightly obsessed with abstract architectural photography. Am noticing a number of places have spiral staircases or a central atrium with decorative skylights. They make for great graphical forms.

This is from Heal's which has the best kitchenware department I've seen of any store here so far. I've never seen Jonathan Alder pieces in the flesh which I love, and have found a number of artist who's work I adore.

London in colour

2011-08-07T22:30:00.001+01:00

There is so much colour about in London. Even though the weather is overcast and threatening to pour at times, the mood is upbeat and people are out in roves. And there is so much to do. We walked from Borough Market to Southbank and in between we discovered so many little things.

Cheese soaked in wine. Berry meringue. Good coffee at Monmouth. Delicious meats at Roast. Fresh ice tea. Whole legs of prosciutto. Photography exhibition. Design shops. Tate Modern. Heritage exhibitions. Free apple cider. Wood sculptures. National Theatre. Street performers. Sand artist. Giant furniture. Book market. Open air music. Pop up restaurant. Make shift beach.

And that's just one day in London =) Loving this city.

The old town

2011-08-07T21:52:00.003+01:00

Slowly seeing each of the Monopoly locations around London. After high tea, we wandered the streets for a while. London's answer to the Champs-Élysées is Bond St, which is currently Europe's most strip of estate (according to Wikipedia).

It only just clicked why they are called flagship stores when I walked down this street. Every store has their own security, and even the street has its own security team. No wonder, with the list of luxury and ultra-luxury brands positioned side by side.

That said, Vi said that prices are significantly cheaper than in Australia. Although not so cheap that you'll be seeing me with Hermès shoes and Cartier watch any time soon.

I love Vi's dress. From Japan.

Move

2011-08-07T12:52:00.000+01:00

MOVE from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Samm Blake posted this on twitter. And I am super inspired to travel again. Such a simple concept executed really well. It's one of three videos commissioned by STA Travel Australia. The other two are EAT and LEARN.

I sat watching the videos with my housemates. We tried to work out the various locations shown in the video. And then we talked about which we had been to and where we wanted to go. It was fun. Being in Europe, we can actually say 'hey, let's go there or try that'.

I need to start planning trips. High on the destination list is Vietnam, Malta, Spain and all the Scandinavian countries. Who's coming with me?!

High Tea

2011-08-05T12:51:00.003+01:00

Vi was in town with a friend so I went with Daniel to meet them for high tea at Fortnum & Mason. It is Daniel's favourite store. The best description I can give is that its a up market department store. They have a food hall like David Jones, but then there's also a level which is dedicated to tea and an ice cream parlour. The mens department is one of those places you go to find a gift for the person who has everything. Manify glass with silver handle: £130. Plush leather rhino: £400 for the small, £2400 for the larger one.

That said, high tea is an experience. On the website, it states that men must refrain from wearing shorts and sandals, and that attire should lean more towards elegance. The settling is quite nice. There was a piano player while we were there. On the menu there are a number of high tea sets, however they only differ based on the tea accompanying it.

They set the table in front of you. Numerous waiters come out bringing different elements of the tea: plates, cutlery, cups and then finally the tiered towers of cakes. Like the teapot? You can buy it in the department store for £100.

It looks like very little food at first. But with cold soup, biscuits, cakes, scones and clotted cream, we were struggling towards the end. Fear not the big eaters among you, you can always ask for more of anything. The limit is your stomach.

We spent a lovely afternoon there chatting away. Well worth putting on your list of things to do if you are planning on coming to visit London.

Ugly macaron

2011-08-05T12:27:00.000+01:00

Daniel and Lydia went to Provence for a week. They came back with a bag of these macarons. Not quite as pretty as the ones we are use to, these are a provence-style macaron.

They still have the same texture, but I actually prefer them for their taste. Not so sweet, not so soft and more textured. But they are definitely not as pretty.

Feline friend

2011-07-30T15:59:00.000+01:00

The colour of summer

2011-07-30T15:57:00.000+01:00

Went to visit Wern Yi yesterday with Lee-ean. She lives not far from where I'm staying in a big house. But the bit we enjoyed most yesterday was the garden. All the houses on her street have long blocks, much like you find in Richmond in Melbourne.

We sat in the garden enjoying berries picked from her backyard. Whereas in Australia you have to travel hours (usually out of town) to go pick berries, we were able to pick strawberries, raspberries and blueberries down by the fence. It's such a joy to be able to just pick them and have them to use in the kitchen. British berries here in the UK are sooooo much sweeter than anything in Melbourne. And so much cheaper too. Werh Yi made little cheesecakes to eat the berries with. Bliss.

We sat and played with her kitty. The poor thing broke its leg and so its cage bound for a couple of weeks still. It is amazing how much entertainment they can derive from a single bird feather.

Finally saw Harry Potter with Jake and Wern Yi. Good last installment although I feel slightly underwhelmed, perhaps because of all the hype associated with it.

Finally got to a full-sized supermarket. Prior to this I was using express or metro ones as there is no big supermarket near me. The range and choice they have in the UK is phenomenal. At the deli, there are sooo many cuts of meat laid out and available to them. If you buy fish, you get a choice of butter you want to cook with it for free. And this is Sainsbury, which is considered one of the cheaper supermarkets.

Being the UK, there are soo many brands which I've never seen before. For juice, for cereal (if you can find it, you have to try Dorset Cereal) and ice cream just to name a few. Gonna make it a mission to try as many as possible. I'm so suckered in by the packaging.

With shopping done we went home to cook. Wern Yi is an impressive cook in her kitchen. It is well stocked with the best of everything. She made cooking look like a breeze. Pan-friend salmon with baked potatoes and steamed beans. I think we are organising bak kut teh for next week.

Know your art

2011-07-28T20:08:00.001+01:00

Ventured out to the Tate Modern yesterday afternoon with Lee-ean. Walking there highlights alot of London. From the majestic St Paul's Cathedral you cross the Millennium Bridge, and see the skyline consisting of Tower Bridge, The Swiss Re building and construction of the Shard London Bridge. Across the bridge is the former Bankside Power Station which is now the home of Tate Modern.

Five floors of art across a number of different periods and movements give visitors a diverse view of modern art. Some I found difficult to appreciate, others I was amazed.

The audience is just as amazing. It is a real cross section of people from around the world. The constant chatter is a blend of many languages.

The galleries take up one half of the space and the other half is a huge open space which was formerly the turbine hall. Unilever is currently sponsoring a series of large scale interactive exhibitions here. I look forward to returning when the next installation goes up in October.

As with all galleries, they have an awesome shop. Can't wait to start working so I can start buying some gifts from there.

For those curious about the various art shown:

Image 02: Marcel Dzama
Image 05: Ai Weiwei
Image 08: Pablo Picasso
Image 09: Jackson Pollock
Image 14: Roy Lichtenstein
Image 16: Bridget Riley
Image 18: Do Ho Suh

Rachel

2011-07-25T12:11:00.001+01:00

Hillsong London

2011-07-25T12:09:00.001+01:00

Hillsong London is held at The Dominion, its a 2000 capacity theatre in London. I queued for three blocks to get in. But it was a fantastic service. Israel Houghton and New Breed opened praise and I saw Joseph Prince for the first time. Funny dude with a powerful message about the grace of righteousness.

When offering was being taken up, they introduced a special guest named Gungor. I've never heard of him but his acoustic rendition of the song You Have Me was beautiful. I found a copy for you all to listen to.

Ben & Jerry's festival

2011-07-25T12:03:00.000+01:00

I was rather disappointed when Lee-ean told me she was going to this and couldn't get any more tickets. But God has a way of listening and that night I heard from Jae who said she was going and had a spare ticket. So I went Sunday afternoon, to the Ben & Jerry's festival.

It's quite a smart concept. Charge people an entry fee to an ice cream festival in the middle of summer. There were several thousand people there. Annoyingly you still had to line up to get ice cream. But it was a fun afternoon out.

We were so determined to try every flavour, but after a while, you kinda feel sick. There's only so much ice cream you can eat. Alot of people used the strategy of eating the ice cream and then dumping the cone.

Favourites were the Cherry Garcia and the Jamaican Me Crazy Sorbet. The phish food one was cool. The chocolate pieces were in the shape of fish and half the fun was trying to find them in the ice cream.

The graveyard of flavours that never made it was interesting. Why sweet potato pie never became a flavour I'll never understand.

It was quite a family affair. There were slides and merry-go-rounds, face painting and even a clairvoyant cow to tell you your future. RSPCA had a stand there which was racing mechanical pigs. It was fun to watch.

Bistrotheque

2011-07-25T11:51:00.000+01:00

Even before I arrived, Dan had booked dinner for us on Saturday night. He has this great book called Eat London, which I love not just for the diversity of places to eat, but the layout, photos and the recipes in the book (I'm so gonna buy the book).From there, he found this place called Bistrotheque.

Its hidden down a street and from the surrounding area, if you didn't know what you were looking for you would never find it. But turn the corner and you find yourself faced with this simple but retro looking sign. Up the stairs you find a converted warehouse interior, with white brick walls, exposed ceiling and large windows. It makes for a bright and modern space. The maritime lights are a nice touch.

Staff are great and knowledge. The menu is your place mat and the choices are varied. I've never had steak tartare before, but I love it after that night. Served with chips and salad, it made for a hearty meal. Lee-ean ate parmesan polenta and Daniel had roasted trout. All looked amazing.

Dessert was not as impressive but Dan tells me that the menu changes regularly. The shot of the couple are my housemates, Daniel and Lydia. Expect to see alot more of them in coming weeks. They are currently holidaying in Providence, France.

One interesting this I found is that they allow you to pay with multiple cards. They bring a wireless EFTPOS machine to the table and ask you how much you want to charge to each card and allow you to process multiple transactions. That's quite a good customer service feature.

Eating there felt like a good Melbourne eatery. Good atmosphere and good food. I would definitely bring people there. So if you happen to visit London..

Home in London

2011-07-25T11:33:00.001+01:00

Arrived Friday morning and have settled in. God has blessed me abundantly and am staying with good friends in an area called Wanstead. By London standards, the place is huge.

Daniel and Lydia have welcomed me like family. I have a decent bed, a cupboard and bed side table in my room. Which is more than sufficient for what I brought. In fact, I'm starting to think I should have brought more.

A couple of photos to show you what the unit looks like as I'm sure some of you will be curious. I love the place. It has been the ideal start to living in London. See the next post for my housemates.

Time well spent

2011-07-25T11:23:00.001+01:00

The last few days in Singapore were spent with Rachel visiting the places we'd seen online and heard about. The rather disgusting first image was from a famous chicken rice stall recommended to us at Maxwell's Market. The fish porridge that Rachel ate was far better I thought.

Had dinner at Bon Gout, a Japanese cafe at Robertson Quay. All Japanese staff. Very good food. Highly recommended. Their specialty is coffee jelly with homemade green tea ice cream for dessert. Delicious.

Shaun took us around to eat some famed dishes. Oyster cake and soya sauce chicken to name a few.

Caught up with some more friends: Elsie, Chris and Jesslyn. Also met some new ones: Davis, Mish and Ange.

We saw the Lion King at the new Marina Bay Sands theatre. I think the combination of the story, the clever use of props and the localised comedy all combined to make it one of the best musicals I've seen.

Loysel's Toy is definitely the best coffee we had in Singapore. One of the few that actually roast their own beans. Although be prepared to walk or cab as its locate is rather remote.

Ran into a reporter from the Straits Times at Haji Lane, writing an article about Popaganda, a range of new flavoured popsicles. We gave comments and so they should be appearing in the Lifestyle section soon.

I left Singapore with good memories. Memories that will stay with me for a long time to come. Thanks to everyone I met there. See you all again real soon.

A desert to be tested

2011-07-23T13:51:00.000+01:00

Sunday July 17th
Acts Church Singapore

Deuteronomy 8:1-3
Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

We visited Acts church in Singapore. Ps Kenneth shared that sometimes God will place you in a desert to test you and see if you will obey. I feel that this is a good description of where I am right now. For all that there is on offer, London is my desert and I need to seek work. I know its there and that I have the skills for the role, I just need to the opportunity to be able to present. I am being tested.

It was the first time I've seen Ps Kenneth speak. He is so full of energy and passion for God. I felt that he was like an Asian Ps Matt =)

For those you in Melbourne, you should definitely get along to planetUNI camp to hear him speak. You will not be disappointed.

Found and familiar

2011-07-23T13:29:00.001+01:00

Day three and four was about looking for Singapore's best coffee. We tried a number of cafes with mixed results. 40 hands, The Plain, Restore and Shots to name a few. The best was was actually the one I went to with Rach on the last day (see next post).

We checked out lots of design orientated stores and met a number of shop owners. Some really friendly faces who inspired ideas and hopefully some future collaborations.

We did the tourist thing, visiting Marina Bay; saw the hotel, visited the sky park, walked through the shopping centre. We saw all of Singapore from the Sky Park and took lots of random candid photos I'll cherish. We also visited the Art Science museum. As a personal opinion, I don't think its worth the $30 they are charging for entry. Their headline exhibitions were poorly executed.

I can never say again that Singapore has bad food. I think all previous experiences were because I never knew where to eat. But we discovered so much thanks to Jono, Rulin and Shaun. Chicken wings, soya bean ice cream, otak-otak and sweet potato porridge to name a few. Even the food halls were amazing in their selection and variety. We ate so much and so often, I think I've grown a belly.

The land of the merlion

2011-07-18T17:34:00.000+01:00

Two days has flown past. Incredibly quick. But time does fly when you're having fun. And it has been fun. I've eaten a dozen meals, visited two churches, met two famous Pastors, eaten Royce chocolate, seen April's amazing apartment, saw a Penguin books exhibition, played with two cute terriers and more.

Several people have asked if I miss Melbourne and the answer is of course I do. But the transition to Singapore has been made so easy thanks to awesome friends. Rulin and Jono have been the best host. You could not ask for better guides around Singapore. Mentally I feel that I'm here for a holiday and catching up with friends so it hasn't really sunk in. I think the next leg on towards London will have greater impact.

Life changes

2011-07-13T01:39:00.002+01:00

The next 72 hours are going to happen really quick. It will be filled with things that I've always known. Seeing friends, cleaning my room, eating with family, checking emails.

After that I'll be on a plane to Singapore. And for a week, I'll feel like I'm on holiday. I'll be in the company of good friends, eat good food, see some interesting sights and hopefully expand my wardrobe.

And after that I'll be back on a plane again. But it won't be returning here. I'll fly 11,000km to London. And there nothing will be familiar. Everything will be new. Life will change.

It finally dawned on me last night that I'm leaving. The drive home after dinner last night was difficult. I shed no tears, but I did feel that I shouldn't be leaving yet. That I've not yet had enough time to imprint the faces of everyone into my mind. I don't quite feel ready to leave. But then I don't think you can ever feel prepared.

Packing for a holiday is hard enough, but I'm packing for three different situations at the moment: packing to leave, packing to travel and packing for relocating. Trying to juggle all three is hard. My head is not quite in a space for any.

Fake wood, real food

2011-07-05T12:27:00.003+01:00

A quick update with random photos.

Furiously trying to tie up all loose ends at work. Three more days to go. I will miss the people. Some friends for life made there. Been shooting a bit for work. Learnt some amazing techniques in regards to creating sets, all from trial and error and budget constraints. It's amazing how wood texture printed on paper can look like real wood when shot. I'll remember that one.

Schedule is starting to look very full as I count down the days til I leave. Have been catching up with friends most nights. I am reminded about how a good meal and good company are all that's needed for an enjoyable night. Find myself at the end of each night thinking how I wish I had more time to catch up again with them. A reminder to make the most of London, whatever opportunity God presents.

Drove up to Trentham on the weekend with parents to visit Huey. Visited the town, ate in Daylesford. We drove about a new estate in the area with houses that all remind me of an era gone by. Heard from a friend the other night that Trentham is becoming quite popular. Waiting times for rental properties are closing in on six months. Might be a place to invest in.

Dinner at Simon's Peking Duck tonight with parents. Never been but have heard good things. Simon, who is from East Timor, is a very happy chappy. There are two options on the menu, we took the one with peking duck, noodles and soup. Happy to report that it's well worth the visit. Go try.

An investment in people

2011-06-29T13:53:00.001+01:00

At church discipleship tonight they talked about investing into people. That time spent is with someone is also an investment into your own life. A reflection on what is important to you and an indicator of where you are willing to spend your most important asset: time.

It made me think about how I've been allocating my time. In reflection, I haven't been using it very well. Less than three weeks out from London, and there is still alot to be done. Alot that should already have been done. Over the weekend I sent out a mental plan on what I need to get done in order to leave with everything fulfilled. I am on track if slightly behind.

Things are becoming very real.

Relationships are also an investment of time. Two people who are willing to invest into each other can reap great rewards. My parents celebrated their 31st anniversary this week. Mum has been craving to try wood fire oven pizza, so they went on a date tonight to eat it at Glen Waverley. I think they are having some of the best times of their lives right now. Dad's just traveled all the Scanadavian countries and Mum's adventures are in the kitchen when she's not following them. Some people hate to be like their parents, but I'm hoping my life will be as fulfilling and adventurous as theirs when I reach their age.

This photo is from the outdoor breakfast they prepared for my cousins on their last day in Melbourne.

Strength in numbers

2011-06-28T13:39:00.002+01:00

Its sad to realise how much fun it is to catch up with people only when you are about to leave. These last two weeks I've made a push to leave work at a decent time so I can catch up with people, and its been fun.

Last night I caught up with five amazing girls for dinner. Chloe, Rach Fi, Su Ann, Munyee and E-lyn. We indulged in a whole lot of Korean for the night. A chance to catch up with some familiar faces.

Post dinner we dropped by Coles to buy some things and I spied a packet of numeral biscuits. Curiosity about them lead me to buy them and we entertained ourselves for the evening making mathematical equations and birthdays.

It was a simple, cheap and fun evening out. Hope you girls have a fun time in Sydney this week. Remember to visit the patisserie shop!

600km to see some rocks

2011-06-25T15:23:00.000+01:00

I have a book called 1000 Places To See Before You Die. For Victoria, Australia, there is only one listing: The Great Ocean Road. They rank it as one of the world's top scenic drives.

It's not hard to see why. On a beautiful day such as today, it is a joy to drive the stretch of winding road which mimics the coast. The water is a hue of green and blue and the few clouds highlight just how open and endless the sky is.

Attempting this drive in Winter has its benefits. For most of the journey it was open road. The lack of congestion and traffic was a welcome respite. We were free to travel the road at our own leisurely pace, stopping as we pleased. We lunched at Apollo Bay and there was no queues for cafes. And the beaches were pristine, with our footsteps the first to touch sand in many locations.

But not all places were crowd-free. The Twelve Apostles still draws a large crowd. And for good reason. The spectacular view of what is known as the Shipwreck Coast is well worth the drive, if you can appreciate it. Otherwise, 600km to see a few rocks is quite hard to justify.

Birdy

2011-06-23T13:50:00.001+01:00

Feeding the birds at Grant's Reserve in Sherbrooke, near the Dandenongs.

Mini Golf

2011-06-17T11:53:00.000+01:00

I sat with Dave and Li at lunch on Sunday, discussing things we could do for the Queen's birthday public holiday. Initially it was planned to be a roadtrip, but with dinner plans we opted for something closer. Then someone mentioned mini golf. Fast forward and Monday afternoon with Munyee in tow, we took a drive to Maroondah Adventure Mini Golf.

It was alot of fun. There are two 18 hole courses, one indoor and one outdoor. It's just like the ones you play on the computer, with pipes and obstacles and water to maneuver. Dave brought his camera along and we filmed some random moments of the afternoon. Best $16 spent in a long time.

Morning Melbourne fog

2011-06-13T14:35:00.003+01:00

Winter is well and truly here. The weather has been extremely cold. Teens are the norm and anything above 20 is being considered warm. As many have said, it makes it very hard to get out of bed in the morning. Walking around the lake behind my house this morning is a surreal feeling. People just appear from out of the mist and shadowy forms focus into trees. I could feel the moisture of the fog on my skin as I walked.

Besides the weather things have been good. Spent the weekend eating well. Really well. From chicken rice to mud crab to breakfast pie to bak kut teh. An amazing variety of dishes with a diverse group of friends. Simple meals at home with friends have become some of the best spent time in recent weeks. For all the things that could be done outside, eating with friends is really one of the best social outings. I feel slightly sad that just as I've established some of the best friends I've ever had, I'll be leaving Melbourne. But that's ok, greater things are yet to come.

My week is already packed out, with work commitments mixed together with church and social catch ups. My cousins arrive on Saturday morning and I've taken a few days leave next week so the short week continues. Looking forward to taking them around town. After that there will be just two more weeks of work and then a week before I fly to Singapore. Things are happening incredibly fast. I'm excited for what is to come.

Words of wisdom

2011-06-11T03:25:00.003+01:00

Seeking the needle

2011-06-04T01:57:00.000+01:00

You will meet many people in life. This is a certainty of life. Each person will be different. Each will have their strengths and weaknesses, their beauty and their flaws. And you will judge them on their character. Some you will like instantly, others will need time to grow upon you. Some of those will become friends. Friends for life. Others will be friends for a season.

But there will be one who will be different. Something about them will stand out from the rest. They will capture your eye, like the reflection of a needle in a haystack. No matter all the people you meet, you will remember this person because something about them made you look. It will not always be easy to communicate what this difference is to others, but you will know it.

When you meet that person, you'll learn that life was not meant to be done alone. You'll understand why people say that two is better than one and how one plus one can equal three. They will change your world and it will be for the better. Finding that person is not a challenge. It's part of doing life.

And you will meet many people in life.

Photocopier + flowers + fun

2011-06-02T12:33:00.001+01:00

Fun at the studio. There's a wine project on and one of the visual directions is about re-interpreting flowers as flavours. Dom went out to buy a range of flowers and then we spent a while experimenting with different ways of capturing the image on the photocopier. This was one of my favourite outcomes.

Dragging the flowers was a favourite action. Varying the direction and speed in relation to the scanner bar gave us a real diverse range of outcomes. Elongated forms, warped leaves and distorted flowers made for some beautiful shapes and patterns.

I'm amazed how sharp it is. The scanner is quite impressive on our Xerox. If only all projects could inject this level of fun into the daily activities of designers, it would be soo much more enjoyable. And in other news my creative director announced that I'm leaving at work. They've even found a replacement for me.

The farewells have begun

2011-05-29T13:27:00.003+01:00

Wan Theng is leaving Melbourne before I do, so I spent the afternoon with her. Autumn is in full swing, with fields of yellow leaves dotted all throughout Fitzroy Gardens. The colour is amazingly vivid. Where it has been untouched, it carpets the ground like icing sugar on a cake. It is a surreal feeling when the wind blows, and a shower of yellow leaves float to the ground. Reminds of that scene in Zhang Yimou's Hero. It was a good afternoon of conversation. Learnt a little more about her and learnt a whole lot about Penang. I can't wait for my cousins to arrive next month. Will be their first visit to Melbourne ever.

I spoke to Lee-ean on the phone this evening. We were discussing plans for Europe. She wants to start booking trips for August and onwards because its cheaper to book sooner rather than later. She asked me for a list of places I'd been to before so she could work out which destinations I would be interested in going to with her. I had to go back to when I was blogging about europe to remember where I went. It brought back alot of memories. About the places we went and the things I did. I do feel extremely lucky that I'll be back there with Daniel, and now Lydia and Lee-ean and a host of other friends to share the experience with.

Folio preparation this last few weeks has been a real time of reflection too. Has forced me to look at my work and ask if it truely represents who I am, what I can do and what I want to do. So I've been adjusting and adjusting the folio to better align these things. Has also made me reflect on work here. The approach to it, the attitude and the outcomes. I need to be tougher; believe in my own opinions and not always give in and settle for less. Lois recently posted on twitter 'The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.' I tend to agree with it.

2011-05-24T09:02:00.003+01:00

Dark side of the lens

2011-05-23T03:57:00.000+01:00

James and Jules

2011-05-21T11:58:00.000+01:00

She had an amazing dress and he reminded me of Jim Carey.

There is much to live

2011-05-19T14:55:00.000+01:00

It is with a heavy but hopeful heart that I share with you all that I'm moving to the UK. Melbourne has been home all my life and in my heart I feel it will be home once again in the future. But I feel that it is time to do something different. Much like the title of this blog, it is time to explore, dream and discover.

I visited Europe when I graduated. It was a whirlwind trip with one of my best friends. We remember that time with good memories. I remember that London felt like a bigger and busier version of Melbourne. I was there for a week but as with any great travel destination, it was too short. In my head I said I would be back someday.

Last year, my sister moved to the UK. It took her a little while to find her feet, but since then she's been having an amazing time. She's even found herself a nice boy. I'm happy for her. Skyping with her and replying emails has made me realise how much she has grown up in the time she's been there. She's still the little sister I know, with her love of all things blue, but there's a new sense of maturity in her I didn't see before. It made me think, if she can do it so can I.

Recently I have become discontent with work. Perhaps expectations have grown, perhaps people have changed, perhaps I've becoming more particular. What ever the reason, I've lost the joy of going to work. And it was a joy at one stage. But more and more regularly I found myself being constantly frustrated and annoyed about the work/life balance, the poor creative outcomes and constant disregard for my input. There are only so many times you can fight for change before it wears you down and you tire. It was at this point someone asked 'are you happy?' and the answer is no I was not. So it had become time to do something about it.

Life is too short to waste it. We all have only one life to lead on this earth and its stupid to waste it being upset and angry all the time. And I hate feeling like that. People and situations have run me down into a bitter person. I admit that. I feel like I fought for change but some people are just not willing to budge, no matter how I structure the reasoning. So I've made the decision to let it go. And to actually go.

This was not a decision made quickly or lightly. I have discussed it with those close to me and I have been encouraged by their thoughts. So last week I gave notice at work. I will finish up on the 8th July. Flights have just been booked. I'll fly to Singapore on the 15th July for five days before heading on to London on the 21st.

One of the reasons I want to go is the desire to grow. I'm 28. I'm not young but neither am I old. Yet I don't feel completely independent. I think there is much to learn about myself and being comfortable here I lack the confidence to stand on my own two feet at times. And I don't like it. I can pin it to certain things. Certain people and certain situations that have caused me to doubt myself. I'm tired of it. Some of you might call this running away. You can think what you want. I don't care. I have to do this for myself.

The other reason is of course to see more of the world. We barely scratched the surface when we were there in 2007, so now is the time to return and really experience all that Europe has to offer. La Tomatina in Spain. Eating pastries in Paris. The Northern Lights in Poland. Santorini islands in Greece. The London Olympics. Cinque Terre in Italy. Browsing Scandinavian home wares. Visiting IKEA in Sweden. The list goes on. And on. And on. Just thinking about it does get me excited about going. About the possibilities.

And the opportunities. Career-wise, London is a place to accelerate the learning curve. I am still believing for God to open doors. I don't want a job to finance travels. I want a creatively engaging and stimulating role that pushes me to be better. So that the height of what I know now will be the base for me to grow there exponentially.

With preparations being made, this blog may be silent for a while. There is much to be done still before I go and what time I am not using to prepare, I want to spend with loved ones. But I assure you that it will not die. It will be back but perhaps with an British accent.

For all those in Melbourne, looking forward to catching up with you at some point in the next six weeks. For those of you in Singapore, I'll be seeing you soon. And for those in London, soon. Real soon.

Mother's Day Classic

2011-05-15T11:37:00.000+01:00

Last weekend we had intended to take mum out for Mother's Day. She talked about wanting to eat wood fire pizza, and we had scoped out a number of possible locations. Then on Saturday night Mum had a request 'I want you to all come do the Mother's Day Classic with me'. What? Huh? It was unexpected but as a loving family with agreed with her request. So the four of us woke up at 7am on Sunday to make the trip into the city.

The Mother's Day Classic is about raising awareness and funds for cancer research. It is huge event with several thousand participants and road closures around the Botanical Gardens. The crowd was diverse: individuals, couples, parents with kids, people with pets, strollers, bikes, wheelchairs, etc. The hard core runners had started earlier in the morning but we milled about til the walk began. Lee-ean, we did think of bringing a cardboard cutout of you with us.

It was heart warming to read the various reasons why people were running. For some it was family or friends with cancer. For others it was for fun or because they wanted a date. Creative. There were also some creative applications of pink in terms of costume. And then there were some bizarre ones too (example included). It was a good way to start the day. We did end up eating pizza for Mother's Day too.

Style and substance

2011-05-12T03:27:00.000+01:00

It's the twelfth century, and you're watching a contest among three archers. With trained efficiency, the first archer releases his arrow toward the target. It lodges in the bull's eye as if it were predestined. The second archer draws his bow,. He suddenly swings left and lets his arrow fly. It ricochets off a tree and hits the centre of the bull's eye, knocking the first arrow out of the target.

The third archer leans back gracefully and sends a looping arrow into the blue. To the crowd's delight, it performs four somersaults, three zigzags, and five spirals before landing 15 feet short of the target. Now, if this were a 21st century competition, which entrant would win? The third one, of course. Because in most competitions, it's style, not effectiveness, that takes the prize.

While style can be highly seductive, the four panelists for this year's show have tried to selected examples of design that exhibit not only style, but substance. You be the judge. We give you Mohawk Show 11.

This was on the inside cover of the Mohawk best of show brochure, which accompanied the exhibition opening last night.

A casual sunday lunch

2011-05-10T05:21:00.000+01:00

NYC DiningCar: A 6-Course Dinner Party on the NYC Subway from Ronen V on Vimeo.

Think flash mob but for dining. Think restaurant service but on public transport. Think luxury dining with portable furniture. Concieved and executed by A Razor, A Shiny Knife, the idea was to serve a meal in a restrictive environment. From their website:

On the first of May we hosted a “luncheon” on the L line of the New York City subway. The subway is a familiar place, providing a necessary means of transportation for many New Yorkers.. We wanted to serve a meal in a dynamic and strained location, to give ourselves a challenge that could only be overcome through teamwork and partnership.

Read about it in the NY Times.
Thanks to Rachel for the heads up (and letting me post first about it!)

Autumn in Melbourne

2011-05-07T05:56:00.001+01:00

It's Autumn in Melbourne but at times it feels like we skipped Autumn weather and went straight to Winter. It has been cold. And with it, people's attire has changed. Am noticing one particular outfit among ladies in Melbourne. A combination of tan boots with black leggings, black dress and a black coat seems to be quite a trend.

I like the look. Maybe it appeals to the designer in me, but it's a very simple combination that works well. And there is still opportunity for variety. Coats with big buttons, dresses that are free flowing. I haven't seen anyone I know wearing this yet, but I can think of a few people who could pull this off: Christina, Cythnia and Li.

Post-it note direction

2011-05-05T10:48:00.000+01:00

I recently challenged Rachel to take a photo based on a sketch. She agreed and so I went looking for a suitable subject. While we were on iChat one day I noticed her cat walking around on the bed. So I drew the first sketch above. I sent it to her and we talked about it for a bit and then forgot about it.

Then the other day I got an email with a photo attached. It was like the sketch has come alive! I love the colour and the minimal composition. Just like the sketch. So I went looking for another one. Rachel had previously mention that her cat likes to sit in the sink. So I made a sketch about this.

It took alot longer this time. Apparently the cat was very un co-operative :( But we got there in the end. And last night I got the finished result.

I'm thinking about the next one already.