SHOWS OF THE WEEK

Design is for everybody vs. Strength in Numbers or

OH MY GOD IT'S DESIGN WEEK AGAIN...

This is literally one of the busiest weeks in the year, it's pretty insane really and there is clearly far too much stuff on (especially now we have competing design weeks at the same time here in Melbourne) so we're warning you right from the get go you WILL NOT be able to see everything. Don't worry though neither will anyone else in town! We've decided to give you a small section of craft/design fusion events (ha!) mostly free and in no particular order. Hopefully something on the list will tickle your fancy. Today we'll concentrate on what's on as part of the program from the National Design Centre and tomorrow we'll do the same thing for the State of Design festivus.

It's a stick up: The 4th Australian Poster Annual which asked designers to respond to the Festival Theme, Strength in Numbers, and the Festival Manifesto, on show at BMW Edge, Federation Square, 17-27 July, free and always worth a look.

Dont Sweat it: the Dont Sweat shop invites young people to re-evaluate, re-imagine and re-create the consumer experience by designing an item of clothing from recycled or sustainable materials. The free four-hour workshop will take participants through a process of deconstructing, reconstructing, screen-printing and finishing their own 'designer' item. Sounds cool to us and it's free. Date: 2pm - 6pm, Saturday 26 JulyVenue: ArtPlay, Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. Bookings are essential via the website http://www.dontsweatshop.com/

Circle Work: Circuit presented by Milly Sleeping - starring our own fabulous doily obsessed miss pen pen (thanks for the pic) this group of three shop front installations pitches Circuit as both an exhibition of wearable design considering the ongoing feat of creativity and a means for contributing designers to represent their own interpretations of circularity, symmetry and interdependence. Inspired by a Plato quote this one promises some excellento works. On between the 17th and 27th of July at Milly Sleeping, 157 Elgin Street, Carlton, Since Grey, 122 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy; and our particular fave, Cottage Industry, 67 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, and yup this is a freebie too.
Theres a chair in there:18 Chairs Escape celebrates the classic No.18 Thonet chair, globally recognised as the most successful cafe chair design. For this special event, 18 designers representing nine disciplines of design will be given a No.18 Thonet chair to make a new design piece using their design expertise. The event represents 18 chairs escaping the showroom and their traditional confining form and invites the designers to deconstruct, manipulate or use any part of the chair to create a new design piece. Participants include Grant Amon, David Hicks, Richard Daniell, Sacha Allen, Material By Product, Simon Murray, Round, Bonnie + Neil, Katzinka Tschierschky,Vivek Subramanian, Carl Breitkreuz, and Jasmina Krupic. Sounds tops, and considering how tired you'll be by the time you make it to this particular event an excellent venue for a quick sit down. Thursday 17 July – Sunday 27 Thonet, 237 Napier Street, Fitzroy and again it's FREE.

to market too market:
The Melbourne Design Market is back again and despite the freezing cold, bad coffee and tens of thousands of completely insane people (yes including us) elbowing you out of the way it remains one of the most highly-anticipated events on the Design Festival program, and a truly great place to pick up a designer bargain.
Sunday 20 July, 10am-5pm at the Federation Square undercover carpark. Entry is free, but everything else will cost you.

OPEN STUDIOS:

On Friday 25 July, Melbourne design studios lay out their welcome mats for everybody, you'll need to register but this is another excellent freebie, and a once a year chance for nosy parkers.

jewellery: As part of this series Studio Hacienda Jewellery & Object Design in Collingwood - a metal/glass/jewellery/design studio established by Phoebe Porter and Blanche Tilden, will be open for a peak behind the scenes. Phoebe and Blanche are two fantastic melbourne jewellers who share a similar design aesthetic and a passion for making. Register to visit by contacting Blanche Tilden at blanche@blanchetilden.com.au

fashion: Established in 2005, Von is the Icelandic translation for 'hope'.The Melbourne-based fashion label is fascinated by commercial patternmaking and manufacturing methods. Just think, it could be like your own private viewing of Project Runway - although there'll be no Tim Gunn to tell you to 'carry on'. To register your place email von1_1@hotmail.com

graphic design: tin&ed (Tin Nguyen and Edward Cutting) set up their studio in August 2004. Their work demonstrates a use of narrative that is sometimes earnest, sometimes whimsical and equally adaptable to illustrative and photographic styles - we think anyone willing to make a cardboard wolf head with paper teeth is worth a look in. Register to visit tin&ed on Studio Open day by emailing design@tinanded.com.au .
everything else: Of course as we said there are heaps more things on, including forums, workshops, awards and even a vertical garden project so check out the website for more details: National Design Centre.