Semi-Permanent Perth 2011 - A design conference with beer!

It's not at many conferences that you can enjoy an alcoholic beverage* whilst listening to the speakers but this typifies the relaxed atmosphere of Semi-Permanent Perth - where speakers present with a hangover (remarkably well, considering!) and our books don't quite make it on time (I finally got mine 2 months later!).


I'm not sure why Semi-Permanent extends its conference tour to Perth but I'm glad they do. I can only assume it's more of a franchise with Semi Permanent lending the name and a few speakers and Artrage/Bakery doing the the rest. I've been to the conference in Sydney and it's a slick 2 day affair to an audience of hundreds, unlike the Perth event! It's nice to be able to see speakers in a more intimate setting though and helps Perth feel not so forgotten by the eastern states. I really appreciate the opportunity to be able to go to a design conference in my own city for once. Yay, no airfares!


We had a rather dapper MC with a self-proclaimed "pleasing baritone" (who was that guy?) and after a few technical issues, the conference was underway.

The first speakers were Sonja and John from Nude Design Studio, based in Perth. They have been producing their minimal contemporary designs for about 3 years and had some valuable tips about alternatives to using stock photos and some legal 'advice'. They seemed disappointed that in their first year, they barely made $28000 but when I found out they did this while travelling the world and working on a mini laptop, I was impressed!

For Sydneysiders, Morten & Daniel of Supervixen seemed awfully nice! And they actually got through their presentation in the allocated time, which they said was a first. Well done! They both started out in motion graphics by learning on the go and believe that mistakes don't have to be failures, they are just another part of learning. I was quite excited to find out they developed the cute food characters on the Wrigley's ad! I love that doughnut! :)

Next came Gemma O'Brien, an ebullient & passionate type enthusiast. She shares her love of type through her blog which amazingly enabled her to be invited to speak at a design conference in Berlin as a 2nd year design student - wow! She just loves type!

Ken Taylor, a Perth-born, Melbourne-based illustrator was the 4th speaker. I've seen him speak before but he is such a talented illustrator, I'm not complaining! He shared a glimpse of his working technique which is always interesting to see.

Lastly, Brendan Savage from Fuel VFX told us about how he was 'living the dream' getting to work on big movies including a lot of Marvel Comics movies and a prequel to the 'Aliens' movies. Although it was potentially financially very risky with the company not being paid for their work they did for pitches, even though they could spend weeks on it. But without doing a pitch, they would never get the job.


Overall, it was an interesting day, surprisingly not as well attended as last year's conference (maybe due to their lack of a 'big name' international presenter). Thanks to all the speakers and organisers and I look forward to next year's conference! 


* They did wait til 12:30 to open the bar...


P.S. It is a few months since the conference but I have been so busy, I've only just had a chance to post this!

Last days at Montage 3!

It's nearly three months since we opened our Montage pop-up shop at 140william. The time has gone very quickly and it's nearly time for us to pop away again! It's been great to meet all our customers and see the appreciation for all our hard work. If you haven't made it in yet, you've got until 5pm, Sunday 23rd October and then we will vanish into the night...

Montage 3!

I can hardly believe it but we're up to our third incarnation of the Montage pop-up shop! Our current location is in the heritage shop on the corner of William and Wellington Streets, Perth - the same street as our Northbridge shop but on the other side of the railway. It's a great space with plenty of natural lighting and chock-a-block full of local handmade goodness! It's so fun to be able to set up our shop again - we take turns working in there so please come in to see us soon! 

Busy Bunny!

The past few months have been extremely busy! Starting with preparations for Perth Upmarket, followed by preparations for the Made on the Left market, as well as the Montage pop-up shop! It's all happening at once!

One of my new items for the Perth Upmarket was this screenprinted squirrel cushion. It has a cute acorn patterned fabric on the back. I think he looks quite comfy on this retro armchair!

Now on to Made on the Left - this was the first MOTL market where I have been a part of the committee organising it. I got to find out how much hard work and planning actually goes into a market (a lot!) and all by volunteers! I really enjoyed being part of the team and helping to bring this great event together :)

The venue for this market was the one40william building in the Perth CBD - it had an industrial look with unfinished surfaces, lots of concrete and tubing but unfortunately included zero lighting! Fortunately it had big windows to let natural light in and some hired spotlights attempted to light the rest of the area (when they decided to work!). I really liked the feel of it - I just wished I had had time to look at all the other stalls - there were so many good ones! It was great that so many people came along too. Here's my table all set up with some new bunting for decoration.

As part of the build up for the market, I was interviewed for an article in the Post newspapers! See, I'm famous! :)

If only they'd asked me to supply the photos...

I haven't even got onto telling the adventures behind setting up a pop-up shop yet! I think I'll have to save that for another post. First I'll have a little lie down :)

Tall Rabbit at Upmarket!

Don't forget to visit the Tall Rabbit stall at Perth Upmarket tomorrow! I'll be upstairs in front of the stage so come and see my new stuff! 10 - 4, Winthrop Hall, UWA. I'll be back next week with some exciting news!

Awards!

How exciting! My illustration for the Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School Monster Craft Fair has been shortlisted in the Illustration category of the Create Design Awards! The awards aren't being presented until September so I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed until then! Hopefully I won't need to do anything too fiddly with my hands before then.

Support WA talent!

Sunday 22nd May is the day to celebrate Western Australian talent! As part of the WAMi Festival there will be a Made on the Left Pop-up Market in the Perth Cultural Centre from 12 - 4 as well as live music from local musicians. Yay for WA handmade and WA music! Come and rock out with Tall Rabbit!

Tall Rabbit is going to Melbourne!

How exciting! Tall Rabbit is crossing the country to give the people of Melbourne a chance to get their hands on some Tall Rabbit goodies... for one day only! On Saturday 30th April, you will be able to find Tall Rabbit (with a selection of products able to fit in a suitcase) at the Rose St Artists' Markets in Fitzroy! If you're in Melbourne, come along and tell all your friends! If you're not in Melbourne, book a flight right now!

Tall Rabbit goes to Northbridge!

Yes, Tall Rabbit is going to Northbridge for the William Street Festival! It's on Sunday 20th March from 10am - 4pm between Brisbane and Newcastle Streets. There will be lots of fun stuff going on as well as the markets where Tall Rabbit will be set up to provide a bit of cuteness. Yay! 

More Montage!

Here are some more photos from Montage (4/64 Adelaide St, Fremantle) - this time there's a bit of a Tall Rabbit focus hee hee! 
The shop will be closing up at 12pm on Friday 25th Feb so don't miss your very last chance to come in! Remember to sign up for our mailing list so you will be the first to hear when and where we will pop up next. You haven't heard the last of Montage!!

Montage Photos!

As promised! More to come too! 
Come to 4/64 Adelaide St, Fremantle to see it in 3D!

There’s a cool new shop in town

…and it’s name is Montage! A group of 12 very talented local handmade designers (including me!) have started up a temporary pop-up shop in Fremantle! The grand opening was last night and it’s now open daily 10 – 5 so come down to 4/64 Adelaide St, Fremantle for some cool handmade goodies – but hurry! We’re only there for three weeks! Stay tuned for photos… 

Hop up to Pop-up!

* ATTENTION! * The Pop-up market has been rescheduled for Sunday 20th February! Yay! 

It's that time already - the first market of the year! This time, it's a very special one - the Made on the Left Pop-up Market in Northbridge, part of the Perth Cultural Centre O'Day! The Pop-up Market will be from 10am - 4pm in the area in front of the museum and there will be lots of other exciting stuff going on in the surrounds, including the opening of the State Theatre Centre, the last day of the Peggy Guggenheim exhibition, a carousel(!) and you’ll be able to see the newly erected Spiegeltent too! So bring your family, friends, relatives and pets (especially chihuahuas! maybe not goldfish) to the Perth Cultural Centre on Sunday 30^th January and check out everything (but especially the Pop-up Market :)! In the meantime, feel free to admire the lovely poster for the market, designed by me!