SHOWS OF THE WEEK - MELBOURNE NOW, FASHION VISIONARIES, YOKO ONO, CALIFORNIA DESIGN, GOLD AND THE INCAS

the future is now

First up we'd like to apologise for not wishing you a Merry Christmas. The season kind of got on top of us and pummelled the ladies of hml with a giant hammer Thor style. We got sick, we got tired, there were tears and the last thing we could do was blog. Like all things this passed and we are both feeling much sunnier and healthier, ready to face 2014 - our busiest year EVER.

January is always very quiet in the exhibition world, with many small galleries and supportive retailers
taking a much deserved break from the whiplash of Christmas. It's a great time to visit the big institutions and to take road trips - the National Gallery of Victoria of course tops the list with Melbourne Now - which we admit neither of us have attended yet. There is the amazing Fashion Visionaries show at Bendigo, The Yoko Ono show in Sydney,  The amazing California Design at GOMA for Mad Men fans, and our own holiday destination Gold and The Incas:the lost world of Peru at the NGA in our blue sky capital Canberra.

Yesterday I snuck away for a couple of blissful hours to see Future Primitive at Heide Museum of Modern Art. Firstly can I say the car park was full and the gallery empty - that Cafe Vue sure pulls a crowd. The show is an amazing group snapshot of the way primitivism is being explored by contemporary artists. It's an exciting and energising show and well worth a visit. Bring a thermos and a packed lunch and go sit in the garden, Sunday Reed would have preferred that I'm sure. RAMONA

OPEN STUDIOS OF THE WEEK - SOPHIE MOORHOUSE MORRIS'S BAKERHOUSE

bakers dozen

image by Brooke Holm courtesy of Design Files

Regular readers will know what suckers we are for pots and patterns and given that local ceramicist Sophie Moorhouse Morris pretty much nails this brief we've been fans for a while now. Sophie is part of a new group of makers that includes another hml fave Chela Edmunds bringing their design skills and training to clay. And we couldn't be happier to see this new crop coming up with the goods. After recently being reminded again of how much we like her work at the Design Files Open House and Slow Clay Pop Up we've rekindled quite the craft crush. 

We love Sophie's clever colour patterning and the inclusion of mixed media in her porcelain accessories, the lightness of her geometric line drawn vessels and the graphic minimalism of her pots and planters. It takes a lot of skill to show such confident restraint. On her super cool blog we've found that she's also great photographer and painter making her a certified creative triple threat for ours.

Given all this hero worship we're pretty pleased that Ms Moorhouse Morris has been filled with the christmas spirit and decided to hold a 'One Day Mini Marche`! with Jen Booth in offering up a selection of ceramic, leather and jewellery wares amongst other 'nifty treats' to lucky visitors. Check out the booty above and you'll see why we've got our hands in the air crying HUZZAH! Clearly I'm going to need a longer Christmas list. BECK

Saturday December 21
10am - 6pm
7-11, Dawson Street Brunswick.

MOVING SALE OF THE WEEK - SOPHIE MORAN

claynation

While we've been busy baking gingerbread for kinder teachers and setting up christmas trees (wait to you see Ramonas!!!)  one of our favourite wheel masters Sophie Moran has done packed her old Fitzroy studio and started moving right along to her super hot new space in Collingwood... right next door to slow clay. We're calling this early as the start of a new melbourne craft precinct. 

Before opening her new doors in 2014, lucky peeps available Thursday December 19 from 4-7pm can pay their last respects to the old joint and pick up a bargain while they're at it! GENIUS! We suspect there will be most excellent booty on offer.... hmmm actually y'all better make that 4.30 - we want to get the best stuff first ;) BECK

Building 3/ 433 Smith St 

Between Queens and Alexander Pde

Nth Fitzroy.

RECAP OF THE WEEK - SLOW CLAY, SUPERMARKET, BIG DESIGN MARKET

CRAFT EVERYWHERE CRAFT EVERYWHERE*

Wow what a weekend! Honestly we were blown away with how spoilt we are in Melbourne when it comes to makers, locations and events. We might bitch and moan occasionally about being too busy but seriously who would have it any other way, we are so lucky to live in such a supportive and creative city. Props Melbounre! As you know we had an itinerary that included Slow Clay in collingwood, Supermarket at CV in the City, and The Big Design Market in Fitzroy - no mean feat, but we were hydrated and ready.

SLOW CLAY

The pop up at Slow Clay didn't disappoint, the shop space was filled with fantastic work by some of our favourite wheel people, we were bewitched by the garden furniture of Greg Hatton and the light pouring into the studio space made us realise that we were definitely signing up for classes next year.  Special mention as well to the upcycled chandeliers by Sally Anne Mill which totally ruled the roost and left us gobsmacked. What a beautiful space Jane has created. We will be back.

SUPERMARKET

We had shopping lists for Supermarket at Craft Victoria, serious shopping lists. And let's just say we didn't leave empty handed. Such great work, so beautifully displayed we took home ceramic works by Kirsten Perry and both frocks and jewels by Alpha 60 but will are coming back for more at the opening festivus this Saturday (the 14th) where will also be filling our faces with free drinks and fairy floss - you have been warned!

BIG DESIGN MARKET

We're calling this years Big Design Market a super sized success. As punters we were thrilled with the array of booty, the excellent food and beverage choices and the open dining and kids play areas. Product of the event has to go to Cottage Industry with her felt suburb and 'state of mind' pennants which will probably also win the award for the most commercially copied product of 2014. Just brilliant (and still available in store until christmas!) Most important however was seeing the collection of woven stars from Maryann Talia-Pau's million stars to end violence project. We seriously believe that having the results of this beautiful project at the centre of the space watching over everyone just totally changed the vibe of the event. Self conscious young hipsters (see above) and suburban mannas mingled happily without a sharp elbow in sight. Mind blowingly good. The old building never looked better, and we felt privileged to have seen them all together lighting up the room. there were so many peeps snapping pics we think Maryann might just have broken Instagram over the weekend. Top job team, bring on the next one!

Oh and in case you hadn't realised yet - only 14 days till christmas.

 *if you didnt get the title reference just sing it to the tune of AZZ EVERYWHERE, and yes I just put capital C Craft and Big Freedia in the same post. BECK

PROJECT OF THE WEEK - ANNUAL BAUBLE BAKE OFF

from little things

Regular HML readers will know that every year I make personalised baubles for all the kids in my life. When I started this tradition my daughter was one of three kids I did this for. Now there are 19! SO as you can imagine it has turned into quite a major project for an already busy time of year.

They nearly always incorporate things I am currently craftily interested in - in this case signwriting, hexagons and my Xmas decoration project. I also need designs that are easy to replicate so that the whole thing takes me a day rather than a month.

It is one of my favourite traditions. I really love all the kids in my life (my own most of all of course!) and it is a lovely way to celebrate them at my favourite time of year. If you'd like to see past decorations go here and head down the rabbit hole! RAMONA

Merry Christmas Hope, Thom, Maxwell, Finn, Silas, Sunday, Wolfgang, Clancy, Kye, Alani, Gene, Rueben, Nicholas, Sebastian, Georgia, Audrey, Toma, Lily and Charlie.

HAPPENINGS OF THE WEEK - SLOW CLAY, SUPERMARKET, BIG DESIGN MARKET,

big, bigger, biggest

This weekend promises to be a veritable banquet of craft and design. Now we've got the Melbourne Now opening sorted, super hip kitly and dagmar have had their home shopping experience and the annual big Melbourne Open House has moved to Sydney we're free to concentrate on the next round of hand made events.  Over the next few days super ceramicist collective Slow Clay open their first ever pop up shop, Craft launches its new concept shop exhibition called Supermarket (pun intended) and the biggest Craft and Design show to ever hit Melbs  THE BIG DESIGN MARKET (yes capitalisation is mandatory) takes over the exhibition buildings.  Seriously people there are NO excuses for last minute chain store purchases under the tree this year (although you will be forgiven a book voucher for that really difficult bitchy partner of the uncle you only see once a year)

Given our weaving and ceramic obsessions we'll most definitely be popping in to the Slow Clay Pop Up to add to our growing Janetta Kerr-Grant collection and I for one am really keen to see (and no doubt succumb to) the patch-worked magic of Brighid Lehmann. This is the first time the lovely Jane Sawyer and the slow clay crew have done anything like this and the work will no doubt be excellent so we cannot recommend this one highly enough. 

Slow Clay Pop-Up: 

5-8 DEC, 11am - 7pm. 

13 Keele St, Collingwood

Supermarket is a concept driven, exhibition meets retail event hybrid that will showcase very special limited edition works from a select group of Melbourne's finest including: collabed prints and jewellery by Lucy James + Anna Davern, new pieces from the Home Work label by Jess wright and Lara Davies of Harvest Textiles, brand spanking ceramic tableware and objects by Kirsten Perry, sculptural ceramics from Arts project Australia, never before seen monochromatic works by Emily Green, and very fancy and super exciting garments and accessories by fashion icons Alpha 60. 

In a revolutionary concept that confounds regular exhibition protocols works will be sold in a first come best dressed fashion and are available to take away - a unique opportunity for consumers and serious aesthetic challenge for curator Debbie Pryor and exhibition designer Andrei Davidoff. Works go on sale this Friday with a special festival opening day that promises fairy floss, free drinks, artists in the house and workshops between 1-4pm on Saturday December 14. Woo Hoo .... PAAAAARTAAAY

Supermarket

Friday Dec 5 - Tuesday Dec 24

Gallery 1, 2 and 3 at Craft Victoria

31 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Unless you've been under the proverbial rock you would know that  the monolith that is TBDM the sophomore edition rolls into town this Friday. This year comes complete with supercool food vans, workshops by some of our favourite peeps (yes Beci and Maryann we're lookin' at you) stuff for the kids to do and a list as long as you and your best friends arm of australian and international makers all offering up their wares in one easy access location. We wont tell you everyone that's gonna be there because lets face it there are loads - check the directory here and you'll see what we mean! We will say however that some firm friends of HML (yes Miss P we are lookin at you) are having stands so clearly this is a MUST GO TO event.

Yes we have ongoing issues with it being called a Design market when most of the makers are craft practitioners (seriously people what's wrong with Craft???) but why quibble when there's so much love in the room, and the chance to meet so many awesome creatives. We will be there (literally) supporting the local hand made scene and probably spending the last of our cash on presents that the kids can give us on Christmas day (ok we've already picked stuff out!) because let's face it we deserve to get at least one present we like on the day! BECK

THE BIG DESIGN MARKET

6,7,8 December

Melbourne Exhibition Building

you know the rest... if not go here