Collars + bams and ted

A high crocheted one from Mimco a few winters ago.

A fluffy old fur number from the Fringe Bar Markets two years ago. Another one got away that day - a heavily beaded Peter Pan.

A vintage bib from Zoo Emporium, my favourite secondhand shop in our neighbourhood, last year. I like wearing it with stripey tops. Makes me feel like a girly sailor.

Most recent addition. A vintage linen one from bams and ted, a vintage store that is like no other!

Image from Gaffa's website

Set in a cosy space (what used to be a holding cell for criminals!) on the ground floor of an old police station now housing the Gaffa galleries, bams and ted, I would say, is a cross between an art installation and a painstakingly-curated concept store. A part of the on-going Gaffa Arcade Project.

What I love most about bams and ted are the themes that change every month. Rachel and Claire Fuller, the artist/stylist sisters behind the till, very cleverly decided to base the decor of the shop and what they show-and-sell each month on a heroine from a crime story - a nod to the building's history. I think it's such a novel idea!

Plus they stock real vintage (none of those re-pro nonsense) from their own collections and also those handpicked from country op-shops. At seriously very reasonable prices. And everything you see in the space is for sale - not just the wearables but also the furnishings and bits-and-bobs for the home.

Image from Gaffa's website

In February, their first month, we met "Miranda", one of the schoolgirls from Picnic At Hanging Rock, and fondled loads of dreamy and lacy white pieces (things that I can never have enough of!), straw boater hats and old-school satchels.

This month, Grace Kelly's "Francie" from To Catch A Thief is in the house. Think 50s-style dresses, accessories and retro-stylin' homeware.

Next change, and sadly the last (participants of the Gaffa Arcade Project are each given only three months' use of the space to make room for others), in April will be "Jessica" from Murder, She Wrote, one of my favourite TV series in the 80s. She arrives at 6pm on Thursday 8 April!

If you haven't been to bams and ted, please you do so soon, before they shut. It's such wonderful and fun shopping experience and you'll not leave empty-handed, I assure you. And the lovely Claire told me that they are planning to bring the three leading ladies together at the end of their lease. Isn't that exciting?! Can't wait!

bams and ted
The Arcade Project
Gaffa (Ground Floor)
281 Clarence Street (behind the Queen Victoria Building)
Sydney
Phone: (02) 9283 4273
Website: gaffa.com.au
Opening hours: Monday - Friday: 10am-6pm, Saturday: 11am-5pm

White Wabbit

A Project Bunnikins Update:
He's fatter now. Tee hee hee. After six layers of newspaper.

Put the first layer of white paper on last night to cover the newsprint.

I was surprised that it took only one layer to completely mask it! Thought it'd need at least two.

But I'm going to do another anyway because I'm having a small problem with weight distribution - Bunnikins is leaning just ever so slightly to one side and I need to even the weight out.

I still can't decide on a finish.

The easy-way-out: A few coats of spray paint.

Or be more ambitious with a plaster-type cover-up.

I'm leaning more towards the latter because spray painting him would mean that the rough edges of the paper would show. The boyfriend thinks it's alright. "The rawness can be quite nice," he said.

But I prefer to make my own controlled "rawness", covering Bunnikins with some mouldable material that I can choose to rough out or smooth out with tools and sandpaper. Like a sculpture.

Now, I just need to find that material. Something easy-to-handle (I'm a novice), doesn't dry up to quickly, and not too expensive. Artsy people who are reading this, recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and we've narrowed our list of names for Bunnikins down to two - I like Coconut (because he's going to be white like the inside of a coconut and he's round) and the boyfriend likes Hopscotch. Votes?

Words

IT'S = IT IS or IT HAS.
IT'S does not share the same meaning as ITS.
It's (It is) raining.
It's (It has) been such a wet day.
The dog is staying dry in its kennel.


HE'S = HE IS or HE HAS.
HE'S does not share the same meaning as HIS.
He's (He is) going home this Summer.
He's (He has) been planning this trip since last year.
He wants to be with his grandma when she turns 80.


YOU'RE = YOU ARE
YOU'RE does not share the same meaning as YOUR.
Wow! You're finally going home!
Your grandma will be so happy to see you.


THERE'S = THERE IS or THERE HAS.
THERE'S does not share the same meaning as THEIRS.
There's (There has) been a mix-up.
We think there's (there is) a glitch in the sorting programme.
I'm afraid the bigger parcel is theirs, not yours.


THEY'RE = THEY ARE
THEY'RE does not share the same meaning as THERE.
They're going to be late.
It's the first time they are driving there on that new road.


THAN is very different from THEN.
The sky looks darker than it was ten minutes ago.
We should grab a bite quickly and then head back to work.

___________________________________________________________________

I don't know if you've noticed but I think the English language is dying a slow ugly death.

It might not bother some because they are the ones who are under the illusion that "its" can replace "it's" in a sentence - no huge difference between the two words, they think, and adding an aprostophe is such a waste of time when "txt-ing" and it takes away one precious letter when trying to meet the 140-character limit on Twitter.

Whether it's ignorance or pure laziness on their part, these grammatical errors really irk me, one of the last few left on Earth who still types out her texts in full sentences with no abbreviated words. Those mistakes irritate me big time! And they are everywhere - on blogs, billboards and sometimes even in magazines and the newspapers.

And to think that some of these people are in positons of influence or authority - bloggers/writers on the payroll of various publications/copywriters of ads that thousands of impressionable people read daily. They could also be parents or are planning to breed in the near future! Besides genes, they will also be passing down their lack of command of the language. It's a scary thought. Maybe the fictional future that the makers of the film Idiocracy had envisaged is really not too far off from the one that we will be experiencing!

Am I seething alone like a grumpy old lady going "Tsk! What has the world come to?!"? Or do you feel the same and might have a gem to add to the "Common Grammatical Mistakes" list above?

Late Afternoon At The Commons

Formerly known as The Pond - a pop-up restaurant and bar that popped down earlier this year.

Besides the name-change, everything else has remained the same. Consistently good food, happy vibes and friendly staff housed in a quaint 160-year-old sandstone cottage smack right in the middle of our pretty urban neighbourhood. We love The Commons as much as we loved The Pond!

Never had any pictures of this "local eating house" to show because we've always been after sundown. Very happy to have some today of things that I love about the place.

The furniture! All handmade from forest-friendly wood by local craftspeople. They remind me of the things we used to make in Woodwork classes in school. If I ever have a house big enough for a workshop, I'd make my own furniture.

Don't know if the salt and pepper dishes were made by the same people or store-bought.

There's always flowers but never boring ones. Always Australian native blooms or leaves or weeds which I love.

We sat in the front yard today. Pots of greenery hanging from under the awning and three staghorn ferns on the walls.

The staghorn fern fascinates me. I think it's beautiful but scary-looking at the same time. When I was last there with Ms Carpet, she told me that they love to be fed banana peels!

The Pond was sponsored by Pure Blonde so that was the only beer served in the pop-up days.

Now we have a selection of interesting local brews! I like the Whale but they ran out. Had a Mountain Goat instead. Haha.

The boyfriend loves going there because they always have some sort of a terrine or a pate on their menu. He likes eating animals and their insides.

On the blackboard today was the Duck Liver Pate.

I had Parmesan-crumbed Pink Oyster Mushrooms. Deeelicious! If no one told me they were mushrooms, I'd think I was eating very thin slivers of deep-fried crumbed fish. Will have to try making it at home one day.

Would have had more to eat but for some reason, they took the mains off the lunch menu. Bah. Left still hungry and slightly woozy (beer on an empty stomach is never a good idea) and almost forgot to pay.

The Commons
32 Burton Street
Darlinghurst
Phone: (02) 9358 1487
Website: thecommons.com.au

Project Bunnikins

So, I decided that I needed another project now that all the sewing is done.

Well, needing a new excuse is more like it. I don't want to deal with dreaded grown-up shit like looking for a new apartment and preparing for the move by culling my belongings and slowly putting them in boxes.

When I'm forced to do things that I don't want to do, I like providing myself with distractions. Especially after looking at tonnes of crappy or unaffordable rentals online this morning.

Making my own papier-mâché little critters is something that's been on the DIY cards for quite some time now. Besides, our Marshmallow needs a pal.

It's most probably not a good time to start - another bulky thing to cart during the move. But I had to do something fun and exciting to take my mind off the unpleasant stuff before it drives me loopy!

This is a morning's work. The two layers of newspaper, now drying, was not the hard bit.

It's the construction of the "carcass". The balloons kept bursting on me! Grrrrr! Finally got it together after six loud "POP"!

Stay tuned for the fattening of Bunnikins!

Back In The Kitchen

Click on recipe to enlarge

I haven't been starving the boyfriend or myself. I have been cooking. Just familiar quick and easy meals. Nothing new and fun.

So yesterday, with all the sewing done, I eagerly jumped right back into the kitchen with this recipe from the Sunday papers that I've saved from like a month ago.

It's for Eggplant & Lentil Fritters. By Karen Martini.

They turned out alright - crispy-crunchy on the outside and really soft and moist on the inside with loads of added texture from the lentils and onions. Dunked into a cold cucumber and yoghurt dip = NYUM!

If you're thinking of making some, here's what I learnt from my first attempt:
~ It needs a lot of salt! I'm usually very heavy-handed with salt in my cooking but I didn't add enough yesterday! Bah. Made up for it by tossing the cooked balls in loads of salt flakes in a big bowl, like you would with chips/french fries.

~ Add the egg to the mix last - you might not even need it at all. I didn't because the mix was already very wet despite me draining the eggplants to death on a hand sieve. But if you like an egg in there, add more breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture or you'll have a hard time moulding the balls.

~ The recipe said to coat the balls in just plain breadcrumbs before frying but I'm a firm believer in the pane anglaise method of crumbing - coat with seasoned flour -> dip in beaten egg -> then coat with breadcrumbs. It stays on better when frying and gives a much crunchier bite.

~ I found that a good squeeze of lemon over the cooked fritters takes them to a whole new different dimension.

~ The yield on the recipe is 24 but I got 32! I think my fritters were a good size - two bites and it's gone. I had six for dinner and I was stuffed. You might want to half the recipe if you haven't got that many mouths to feed. We're eating the leftovers for lunch today.

Have fun making them!

Edit-to-add: I used chicken mince instead of yucky porky-pig. Next time I might try using salt cod or smoked trout.

Signed, Sealed And Delivered!

More images on the other blog - here and here

Wooooooo, pals! You don't know how relieved and good I feel right now.

Put in the final stitches on the exhibition pieces yesterday and just got in from dropping them off at the gallery. I would have danced and skipped all the way home if I wasn't worried about looking silly.

And it's going to be a good show, people! Zoe the curator has done it again! She showed me the pieces submitted by the other makers and man, I wanted almost everything I saw - amazing amazing brooches, neckpieces and more! You would too. Trust me.

The show Precious Materials opens this Thursday along with three others at Gaffa.

Do pop by for a cheeky drinkie-poo or two between 6 pm and 8pm if you are in the area. I hope to see you there!

Precious Materials - A group exhibition featuring contemporary jewellery & objects
From Thursday 25 March to Tuesday 6 April 2010
Gaffa
281 Clarence Street (behind the Queen Victoria Building)
Sydney
Phone: (02) 9283 4273
Website: www.gaffa.com.au
Opening Hours: Mondays to Fridays from 11.00am to 6.00pm, Saturdays 11.00am to 5.00pm

Like A Proud Mother...

...showing off, I present Craig, my mutant cabbage.

The last time you saw him about 3 weeks ago, his new limb was 10cm.

It's now 13.5cm! It's grown one centimetre a week! Woo!

And he's still looking healthy and happy!

With more new leaves about to sprout.

He's left the veg bin (too tall for it now) and has moved a floor up to his own apartment - a corner of one of the fridge's shelves.

Will put up more growth photos in three weeks...if he's still around.

Enroute To The Most Expensive Op Shop In Sydney

Yesterday morning, Ms Carpet took me on another mini tour of her neighbourhood. This time to the Charing Cross/Bronte Road area - a little pocket of cute shops not too far away from Bondi Junction.

Residents along that street sure love their hibiscus! This pink larger-than-my-palm one was the first one we spotted.

Followed by white ones and orange ones and yellow ones! There's a hibiscus shrub in nearly all the front yards that we walked by.

At our first shop-stop, Bronte Tram, we found a lone avocado tree amongst all the antique outdoor furniture in their back yard!

It's the first time I've seen the green fruits still attached to the branches. I was very tickled!

Where there's flora, there's fauna...chicks and eggs on Easter meringues in window of the neighbourhood bakery.

Then we arrived at the St Vincent op shop - my first visit. It was huge! There were loads of racks to go through but things were way over-priced for a thrift store.

Someone who works there must know their goods - $50 for a pair of Mavi jeans, $30 for a Sass & Bide denim skirt and $160 for a vintage fur cape. Prices that are close to those at a consignment or secondhand store! I sure hope the other op shops that we frequent don't follow suit.

We tried some clothes on but didn't leave with much.

Ms Carpet bought four of the green and red glass tumblers. I copied her and bought the remaining six, plus a gigantic floral peasant scarf.

See my floral "Chinese New Year" tumbler on the right? I got them for a quarter of the price of yesterday's "Christmas" ones. At my local op shop.

Naughty shopping-girl-maniacs like Ms Carpet and I go to op shops for cheap-purchase fixes when we are feeling poor and because we like old things and enjoy the thrill of the hunt. However, there are people who really are strapped for cash and the only "new" things that they can afford are bargains from these charity shops.

I think it's not right for op shops to charge exorbitant amounts for things just because they have a designer label on them or because they have some retro-flavour. But I also can't help but wonder if people like Ms Carpet and myself - bargain hunters who are not on the dole, collectors of old things, vintage lovers - might have contributed to this rise in price. Oops.

It's A Nice Day!

It is! Sunny with a high of 28°C. Not too bad for Autumn.

Just having some fun with Mr Grumpy and the cloud that I half-embroidered.

Decided to change the construction of the final piece yesterday. I always do this to myself - making alterations at the last minute. But it's working out. It had better!

Tanorexia

The pair of Patrick Cox arrived in the mail two days ago. Secondhand from Ebay.

I'm still on a shopping ban but they were dirt-cheap and they don't make them no more. I couldn't get that rich tan, those comfy chunky heels and square toes out of my head after the auction ended with no buyer. So much so that I wrote to the seller to ask if she could re-list it as a Buy-It-Now item for me.

Now, I just need to pay a visit to my fantastic leather man. The shoes are in my usual Patrick Cox size on paper (what luck, right?!) but they are a size too big in real life. The thick socks didn't help. I think we need to add some dainty ankle straps to hold my feet in. Hopefully, Mr Cox will approve.

The bag was an op shop find nearly a month ago. I haven't bought a pleather bag since I "grew up" and could afford the real deal. Unless they are really cool and not available in leather.

I loved the shape of this one, so tall and slim and boxy. And well-constructed. Still in very good shape despite its age. For $3, the other tan bags at home got themselves a new pal.

I've Got Beady Eyes

From beading. It's as addictive as embroidery. We're nearly there.

How To Make It In America

Carting a bale of US$3000 denim on the busy streets of New York

I was pleasantly surprised when the boyfriend suggested watching a TV series about two boys in New York trying to make it big in the fashion industry.

The only fashion-related things that he will watch without much coercion from me are those in the documentary genre. I was even more impressed that he knew of a new-ish show centred around the rag trade before I did.

Then I found out, when the opening credits rolled, that How To Make It In American is brought to us by the same people who did Entourage. Ahhh!

We watched the first five episodes of it in one go last night. So far so good. Can't wait to see how it develops.

The Style Tyrant

My current favourite from The Style Tyrant - Mitch in his fantastic floral jumpsuit on Oxford Street

There's a new boys-only street-style blog in town. This town. Sydney.

My Mommy Imelda has finally decided to diversify! With the addition of stylish boys on The Style Tyrant to her already-bulging business portfolio.

Lured by the promise of a couple of cheeky afternoon drinkie-poos and girly catch-up, I went along with Mommy on one of her scouting walks yesterday in our 'hood.

It's not easy, the life of a street-style blogger. We pounded the pavement for nearly three hours and all Mommy got was one suitable subject! And our neighbourhood is Hipster-ville! They must have all been at the beach soaking up the surprise Autumn sunshine.

It's such a shame because the light was so nice yesterday...

Photo by Mommy Imelda

Imagine a hot boy in that tree-lined street instead of me, quite an uncooperative stand-in looking out for approaching cars.

Mommy didn't get her boys but we did get our well-deserved frosty beers. I'm sure Mommy will be out on the prowl soon so do check back at The Style Tyrant to see what the old cougar drags in.

I ♥ Embroidery

Have been such a slack likkle sewing girl in my one-person Asian sweatshop.

Completed the first piece some time back and have been finding it difficult to start on the second after receiving news of the impending sale of our rented apartment. The thought of having to move just threw me off kilter completely.

But the exhibition opens in a week! As we say in Singlish, "Quick! Better faster hurry up!". Got my act together yesterday and was pretty impressed with how much of the peacock I got done in a day.

It's like studying for exams, I think. Once you've crossed the hurdle of opening that dreaded book (in this case, drawing the design on the fabric), the rest just flows. After I put in the first stitch, I'm hooked again. Can't wait to finish the embroidery bits so I can start on the beading.

Talking about books, there's one that I constantly go to when the lubes are not flowing - Rare Bird Of Fashion - The Irreverent Iris Apfel.

Iris Apfel's massive collection of embroidered and embellished things, amongst all her vintage (like real vintage) couture pieces, played a big part when I was making the MonoWing last year.

Funny story: When Zoe Brand, the curator for the upcoming exhibition "Precious Material", first invited me to show, I couldn't decide if I should put the MonoWing in because we are required to submit three pieces and it would mean that I'll have to make two more embroidered pieces just so there's some form of a link between them. As much as I love to embroider, the thought of making two new pieces from scratch worried me.

Then, a couple of months later, Zoe sent out formal written invitations-for-entries in which she quoted Iris Apfel, "...I look at a piece of fabric and listen to the threads. It tells me a story. It sings me a song." Not knowing that I was a fan.

I took that as a sign. So here we are.

Images from here

Oh, and also ♥-ing the embroidery that Christopher Kane showed at the recent Autumn/Winter Fashion Week.

I love that he's applied a traditional craft in a modern context - my brief-to-self when I made the MonoWing at the height of the Balmain-shoulder-mania.

I'm such a sucker for embroidered things so I'm hoping we'll see a big resurgence of the use of artisanal-type skills in fashion following his amazing collection. Time to visit your grandma for some refresher courses in needlework!