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Post Industrial Design

Images of a vanishing suburbia

Westography by Warren Kirk is photographic book that documents images of a vanishing suburbia. Helen Garner eloquently provides a introduction to this amazing documentation of the western suburbs of Melbourne. This book however transcends postcodes. It could be anywhere. It is a snapshot in time. An important historical documentation of Australia's suburban fringe.

"Warren Kirk is drawn to forgotten things, to the old, the neglected, the left behind. He loves a bricked-up corner shop, a crumbling factory whose function is no longer evident, a locked weatherboard cottage so decrepit that it is holding itself above the abyss of collapse." Helen Garner.  Westography, images of a forgotten Suburbia

Warren Kirk held his first solo exhibition here at Post Industrial Design in 2012 Documenting his beloved western suburbs Warren Kirk finds beauty in the ordinary. Many of the images  that were in the exhibition are now in this beautifully bound hard cover book. 

For many living in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne including Footscray, West Footscray, Seddon, Yarraville, Altona and beyond, this is a must have book. Many faces and buildings will be familiar.  The gentrification of our suburbs sadly mean these places and people are quickly disappearing.

The book launch is fittingly being held at the Masonic Hall in Yarraville on Friday the 1st of July at 6pm. It is a free event so come along 

Westography Images of a vanishing suburbia is a hardcover book will 160 pages of full color images and is available for purchase in-store or online. 

'I dig art in a cemetery'

 

Last week was the official launch of Jos Van Hulsen's sculpture and I just can't help but skite a little. Well it's not really skiting on my behalf . . . . it was Jos's work after all, and me being his biggest fan, makes it ok - no?

The launch was held at Fawkner Cemetery where the work is now permanently housed. It was purchased by Greater Metropolitan Cemetery Trust and is now the gateway sculptural piece for the cemetery.

For years I have had a little love affair with cemeteries. And I can't think of a more fitting home for Jos's work. Chrysalis is about the process of metamorphosis, change and rebirth. It is a work concerned with transformation and the need to care and guard what is precious until it is fully formed.

Cemeteries, to me, are exquisite spaces! I think I first fully fell in love with them in my early 20's. Living in Prahran, with a bunch of Muso's, who practiced ALL THE TIME (yes - you know who you are!) To find quiet, I would sneak over to the Prahran cemetery, armed with a book. Often I would ditch the book and wander the cemetery marveling at the beautiful old headstones and imagining who these people were and the lives they lived. This for me was a place of tranquility. A snapshot. A historical document marking the passing of time.

But this is not about ME. Chrysalis is now in the public realm. A sculpture for people to enjoy, love, hate or show indifference.  We would like to think that if you do visit the cemetery, you will get a little joy from the work, but at the end of the day it is all subjective.

To end on a great quote by US author Jarod Kintz . . . “I dig art. With a shovel. In the cemetery.”

Dianne Rule (Chair) and Catherine Brown (former Chair) of GMCT, unveiling the plaque

Chrysalis by Jos Van Hulsen at Montalto Winery 2015

Father's day

I am sitting here, looking at a bleeping curser, wondering how to bleeping start this blog. You see - I'm in a dilemma: On one hand I own a shop and (evil me) would like to convert father's day sentiment into sales. On the other hand, I am well aware that fathers day is largely a capitalist construct - designed to sell shit to people they really don't need or want. How to come to terms with this? Perhaps I could start all gushy and explain the true sentiment behind fathers day, get you all warm and fuzzy . . . and THEN sell you shit you don't need or want. The point of difference however is we don't sell just shit . . . we sell GREAT shit! Whew. Dilemma solved!

So here we go . . . . warm and fuzzy, warm and fuzzy. Errrr um, bugger it, I'm just going to jump into the GREAT shit bit . . . because after all . . .  it is, by definition, GREAT!

Stupid yet funny . . . 

 

Slick daddy . . . 

 

Cycling Daddy . . . 

Heaps of great stuff in store . . . Oh and if you really have run out of time and your dad lives far away you can always do a gift voucher. These are redeemable online as well as here at the shop.

 

Michel Le Tellier - Surfboard art

Art and surfing seem unusual bedfellows, yet young artist Michel Le Tellier has managed to merge both for his upcoming exhibition ‘Sailmaker’. Michel handcrafts his surfboards, which he uses as a blank canvas for his art. The exhibition opens on August 2nd from 6- 8pm here at Post Industrial Design. Exhibition runs till Aug 15th.

 A keen surfer himself, Michel was keen to merge his two passions; fine art and surfing. At 15 Michel knew what he wanted to do. It took Michel a year to work and save up enough money to travel to Queensland to complete a surfboard-shaping course with the acclaimed board shaper, Richard Harvey. Richard had been shaping surfboards since 1967 and Michel was keen to learn all that he could. He then went on to learn glassing skills at The Surfboard Studio run by Zac Koniaris.

 Hand shaping surfboards is a dying craft. The market is flooded with cheap generic product. There is still however a niche of surfers who value customised boards. Each board presents a unique surfing experience and this is what Michel wanted to explore.

"When you are out on the water its just you and the board that exist in that moment. The board becomes an extension of the surfer. I want my board art to allow surfers to connect more with the craft they are riding and enhance the surfing experience", explained Michel.

Following his passion for drawing and the fine arts, each of Michel’s boards is hand painted with his own unique designs.

Normally we would not take on such a young inexperienced artist, however every now and again a young person crosses our path who stops us in our tracks. To see someone who found their passion at 15 and has methodically worked towards it is pure inspiration. At 18 he is very much at the start of his career. We feel very honoured to play some small part in the start of his journey.

Speakeasy Pop-up-Bar Feb 8th

We had so much fun at our first Pop-up-bar Speakeasy we have decided to do it all over again. Post Industrial Design and Pod cafe would love if you could join us for a bevy or two at our second Pop-Up-Bar - Speakeasy. Sunday Feb 8th from 6 - 10pm

Again we have enticed the amazing Korean Fried Chicken Truck to cross the river for the night.

So just rock up or let people know you are going and invite friends on our Facebook event here. No bookings required - just rollicking good cheer!

Hopefully see you then.

Mary, Jos and the Pod crew xx

POD cafe West Footscray

Well to let Wefo's worst kept secret out of the bag. Pod the new addition to Post Industrial Design is now open! Run by the fabulous Fiona and Jess who are no strangers to yummy food and hospitality. Jess is a fully qualified chef who has cooked alongside of the best of them. Places he has cooked for include The Station Hotel, Le Chien and many more . . . Teamed up with the fabulous Fiona (or Fi to her friends) These two make an formidable duo. Fi set up cafe Fidama in Yarraville (Yup she is the Fi in Fidama) She has managed my fav restaurant in Albert Park Misuzu's AND most recently managed the fabulous Sourdough kitchen in Seddon. They are serving Niccolo coffee a relatively new blend to hit Melbourne. The bean is roasted locally and is seriously yum. The menu is quite diverse in it offering ranging from japanese platters, ploughman's lunch to the humble sandwich (which is petty damn fancy if you ask me) [gallery ids="3145,3146,3147"] Pod seems to have seamlessly slipped into Post Industrial Design. They have beautiful food without pretension and have created a beautiful warmth with their friendly team; Britney, Nina, Lisa and Freya at front of house, and Dougie out back helping bring some magic to the table. The fit out has all been lovingly made by our very own Jos Van Hulsen out of recycled materials. We love having this new addition to Post Industrial Design and can't think of nicer people to be working with and sharing our space. Welcome to our new friends!

Craft Cubed 2013 - Homefront

Homefront is a textile exhibition by Gaye Naismith and Melanie Hill as part of Craft's annual festival Craft Cubed. A crocheted rug, furniture and wall art, all lovingly stitched using upcycled materials, will make up the exhibition. The exhibition is part of The festival attracts over 7000 visitors annually and this year showcases over 100 events throughout Victoria as part of the 2013 program. This year’s festival titled A Better Blueprint is all about getting back to basics to craft a better future. In terms of theme you are unlikely to find a better fit than with these two women. Both Gaye and Melanie have been upcycling since 2006 and are both passionate about sustainable local production. “We both love the 'making do' approach to creativity.  We work with fibres and other bits and pieces gleaned from second hand sources, and the scraps of felted jumpers left over from the other things we make.  While exploring the possibilities and limitations that arise from working with such materials is central to both our textile practices, we diverge markedly in our stitching and construction techniques and in the types of objects we have created for this show.” Together and separately, Gaye and Melanie run three small, craft-based labels: Body Parts Winter Accessories, Gaye Abandon and Textile Allsorts. This exhibition extends their textile practices into furniture, objects and small and large wall pieces. There will also be a pop-up shop featuring products from their ranges. Homefront is a free event opening on August 8th from 6 – 8 pm at Post Industrial Design, 638 Barkly Street West Footscray, and running till August 28th. The opening night will be accompanied by the infamous food van White Guy Cooks Thai and cheap drinks available at the bar. We would love to see you on the 8th but if we do miss you at the opening, the exhibition and Pop up Shop runs until the 28th of August. Melanie and Gaye will also be running MEET AND MAKE WITH THE MAKERS, an informal session of craft and chat on Saturday 24th of August 2 - 5pm.

 

 gaye_melanie_riverstudios

Interior Colour Trends

Interior colours can change your mood instantly. I always like to ignore Interior colour trends and go a little over the top. An attempt to escape the winter blues. Yellow is one colour that always puts a smile on my face. It is fresh crisp and sunny! Hello sun. Good morning flower. Hello yellow! While most of melbourne traipsing around Melbourne in blacks and greys and olive greens. I on the other hand (in a state of Winter denial) like to mix it up a little with a splash of colour. These rugs pictured are a cheap way to add a bit of sunniness to the grey of winter. Made from upcycled plastics. Priced at $55 they are a cost effective way to lift your mood. Same too with the retro vinyl baskets at two for $50.00. I don't know about you BUT with kids I can never have enough baskets scattered through the house! These are of course necessary to deal with the endless trail of toys, stray socks and general debris that ends up from one end of the house to the other! Every year the colour experts will declare the new colours of the season. Interior colour trends can lead you astray.  Me? I just think you should go for what you like. Choose colours that evoke memories and feelings . . . it is such a personal thing . . . and so it should be! Having fun is what it all should be about. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

WOW Bluetooth portable speakers

WOW Bluetooth portable speakers may be small in size but they are big on sound. The WOW (With Out Wires) speaker, wirelessly streams music from any Bluetooth-enabled device like your iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, iPador laptop. Now available in blue, red, white and yellow in-store and online [gallery ids="2982,2983,2984"] An intuitive wireless speaker that can be recharged over and over again so no need for batteries either. The stylish design comes in 5 colours and is rubber durable with a rubber housing. You can take this baby anywhere; Take it to the park, the beach, on holiday, to work. Basically take it wherever you need your music. Compact, durable, wireless, easy to connect and recharge, it makes all your music portable. Big on sound, WOW wirelessly streams music from ANY Bluetooth device. Wow has a Bluetooth connection of up to 10 meters (33-foot) and has a built in rechargeable battery (recharged via USB) with up to 5 hours playing time. The set up is dead easy. Simply turn on your Wow Speaker, pair it up with your Bluetooth device like your computer or phone and bobs-your-uncle! For a small speaker it packs a punch - easily filling a room with sound thanks, to the 360-degree audio projection. If you are after more directed sound just turn it on its side. [gallery ids="2987,2988,2993"] The thing I love about this is now I can enjoy music in ANY ROOM IN THE HOUSE! I am not the only one raving about these things I haven’t come across one bad review yet. Don’t believe me? You can check out what these guys have to say Macworld or SlashGear  both give the device a fairly good going over. The company KAKKOii who designed the Wow Speaker is a boutique design company set up by Antonio Arevalo. A London designer, Arevalo makes innovative, high quality products that fit the urban lifestyle; Wow is the first in the KAKKOii range and has definitely put this design company on the map. By the way KAKKOii is Japanese for cool and in terms of design you don’t get much better than this.

The Mercurials with Ray Pereira

The Mercurials with Ray Periera will play here, at Post Industrial Design on May 17th at 8pm. Book now to secure your ticket. Just print out your receipt for entry . . .  or if you are having problems online just call 03 93627703. If you are feeling like grabbing some pre show dinner and drinks doors open at 7pm. The infamous food  van, White Guy Cooks Thai, will be cooking their usual yummy fare. I cannot tell you how much I love the Mercurials and I am so excited about having them play here! So you can understand my excitement when Mark tells me that joining them for the second set is the man of rhythm himself - Mr Ray Pereira . . .  oh yeah! So who are The Mercurials? They would be Mark Ferrie, Adi Sappir and Andrew Pendlebury. All of which are brilliant musicians in their own right. Mark Ferrie and Andrew Pendlebury have a history going way back. Both musicians played together in the  the Slaughtermen in 1984. A post-punk alternative southern Gospel band described in rolling stone as "one of the most original bands ever to see the light of day in Australia." Seriously the funniest thing I found out  while doing my research is that when one of Mark Ferrie's early bands the Sacred Cowboys played their single "Nothing Grows In Texas" on CountdownMolly Meldrum said: "this is the worst group I've seen in five years", a title the band wore with perverse pride. Ha! Mark Ferrie is probably best known for The Models and more recently with the RocKwiz band on SBS one. Needless to say Mark Ferrie and Andrew Pendlebury have been doing the rounds in the Melbourne music scene and their respect in the industry goes without saying. The Mercurials lesser known star, however, is Adi Sappir. Adi is an Israeli cellist who's voice and artistry is pure gold! Adi is a real jewel in this trio. She brings a touch of Gypsy and melancholy to the band which I find totally mesmerising and unique. Mercurials have played in the Ian Potter Gallery at the,  National Gallery of VictoriaAdelaide Fringe FestivalPort Fairy Folk Festival and Mt Beauty Music Muster . . . . and OMG . . . now you can see them HERE in lill-ole-west-footsray! AND IF THAT IS NOT ENOUGH! The second set The Mercurials will be joined by none other than Mr rhythm himself Ray Pereira! This guy is seriously 'THE MAN' of percussion . . . and if he don't get your toe tappin I don't know what will.

 

 

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