It’s that time of the year again, when we can over indulge ourselves with chocolate decadence and be free from the impending guilt, well, almost. While chocolate eggs and bunnies steal the limelight at Easter time, the Australian Bilby shapes our national Easter treat. For an extra sweet Easter gift, visit Darrell Lea and take home a beautiful Easter Bilby. Darrell Lea has been producing and selling bilby shaped chocolate creations since 1994, and donate all proceeds to the Save the Bilby Fund to protect the 6000 bilbies left in Australia.
Bilbies are an enchanting little animal, with large ears, a silky coat and a long tail, they are endangered in Queensland, declared vulnerable throughout the country. Like many native animals, bilbies must compete with introduced animals, such as rabbits and cattle for their food, and their homes have been destroyed by development. Continue reading ‘move over easter bunny, here comes the easter bilby’
A fragrance, once registered on the senses, can linger forever in the memory. It might evoke the warmth
of a grandmother’s affection, a yearning for a lost or unrequited love, or a fondness for an old friend. For every bottle of perfume made, a million memories are thus created – moments shared, hearts broken and adventures had. For Nick Smart, co-director of boutique fragrance emporium Libertine Parfumerie, herein lies the magic. For the shelves of his boutiques in West End and New Farm are not simply lined with bottles of perfume. They contain distinct moments in history – be it Grace Kelly’s wedding or Napoleon’s fervour for violets (and Josephine) – captured in liquid form as divine fragrances that allow such moments to remain eternal. Continue reading ‘local dreamer - nick smart’
GIVIT is a new Brisbane online giving portal designed to connect a community of givers to our community of people who need to receive. It is a site that requests quality goods and pro-bono services for members of the community who are marginalised, vulnerable and disadvantaged, and anyone can step up to help meet a request. I’m in the process of moving house and it’s been great to use GIVIT to donate several things to the Pindari Homeless Women’s Service. There is something nice about knowing who your goods go to directly. Continue reading ‘givit, got it, good’
Release your inner greenie at the Green Earth Festival on Saturday March 13, when the Brisbane City Botanic Garden opens its gates to a celebration of all things green and environmentally stimulating. The festival’s organiser, Green Earth Group Inc. is a non-for-profit environmental awareness group spreading its wings in Brisbane’s environmental circles. The group’s founder, Leigh-Chantelle Koch identified a need for green advocacy groups and animal rights groups to unite forces to spread the message that ‘it’s easy being green’. The festival will celebrate caring for the environment with live bands, ‘green’ cuisine, speakers, workshops, roving entertainment, art and fashion displays, and information stalls from companies promoting environmental awareness. The festival will help the wider community learn more about environmentalism, grass roots activism and how to promote greener ways of living.
An up-and-coming, straight, hotshot actor falls head over heels for another man, who has a newly pregnant ex-girlfriend. Throw a savvy talent agent in the mix and you have The Little Dog Laughed. Just the right mix of naughty, funny and glossy Hollywood drama, this Queensland Theatre Company production keeps nothing in the closet. The Little Dog Laughed is a clever commentary on our society’s obsession with celebrity and QTC artistic director Michael Gow says the Hollywood jabs and insights are “cutting but never cruel”. See for yourself if this little dog is barking up the right tree, with tickets available through QPAC.
The smouldering gaze of James Dean. The athleticism of Muhammad Ali. The daring of Evil Knievel. The gravity-defying dexterity of Bruce Lee. The musical prowess of Jimi Hendrix. The irrevocable cool of Clint Eastwood. Just about any man would give anything to possess a single one of these traits. But these iconic men all hold two particular things in common. First, there’s that quiet confidence; a seemingly unattainable sense of cool. Second, they have all been immortalised in technicolour glory on the awe-inspiring mural that forms the back wall of men’s grooming mecca, Pureman. For every man who strides into this Rat Pack-meets-rock-and-roll barbershop, that mural acts as a beacon of manliness – a yardstick of what they, too, can strive to be. At the helm of this locale is a sharply dressed yet softly spoken Scotsman who exudes that same quiet confidence behind his laconic smile, moving about his work with a certain ease and chewing gum with the nonchalance of a rockstar. It is this attitude, as well as an innate talent to fuse the traditional and the contemporary with a sharp attention to the finer details, that has gained Al McDonald a devoted following amongst the well-groomed gents of Brisbane. Continue reading ‘local dreamer – al mcdonald’
I stumbled across this un-dated photo of Adelaide St and City Hall, and it makes me marvel at how cities change over time. This week, at a Brisbane Institute panel discussion on building successful cities, I watched as James Tuma from Urbis had to defend their new King George Square design to a rather unimpressed gentleman. Love it or hate it - I certainly do like that it is enticing some public debate about the quality, use and function of our public spaces. Even critics would have to agree it’s better than it’s former state as a car park.
The bustling traffic and stifling evening heat of Ann Street dissipates into oblivion as the door closes behind you. Instantly you are transported to a fanciful world far from reality; a world that could exist in the twisted imaginations of Tim Burton or MC Escher. The space at once confounds and inspires. Disproportioned furniture engages the psyche. Awe-inspiring blown-glass light fixtures create an intimate yet eerie glow, adding to the mysterious aura that imbues the room. Subtly inscribed throughout the two-storey sanctuary is the phrase ‘Laruche’ – French for ‘The Hive’. The fertile mind that first imagined this decadent yet macabre take on Art Nouveau was that of Elie Moubarak, long-time proprietor of West End cocktail nook, Lychee Lounge. Together with his brothers Johnny and Mel, Elie envisioned a place fuelled by escapism – a bar and supper club where the artistic, the astute and the adventurous could abscond the everyday to indulge in ambrosial liquids and epicurean delights. Continue reading ‘local dreamer – elie moubarak’
How fun would it be turn part of your home into a store, especially if it’s as cute as nook? Fans of independent, vintage and hand-crafted items should check out nook, the latest and loveliest little store to open in West End, Brisbane. Filled with accessories, homewares, clothing, crafts and other knick-knacks, nook is great for those who love eco-friendly and one-of-a-kind finds. Head down to West End this weekend, grab a coffee and visit nook at 19 Browning Street. Image via nook.
A sparkling smile that radiates with the joy of a life of 73 years lived with passion and adventure. Blue eyes as crystal clear as the deep oceans she spent years exploring while scuba-diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea. A voice laced with patience, kindness and encouragement – the signature of a schoolteacher beloved by students now scattered the world over. A beauty that shines through radiantly, defying the challenges that age brings to the human body. These are just a few of the delights you will encounter upon meeting Del Lindgren, but sit and listen for an hour or two, and the tale of an inspiring life will play out before you.
Continue reading ‘local dreamer – del lindgren’
A modern-day Epictetus, an Australian Seth Godin; entrepreneur and animateur Michael Doneman expounds wisdom with the calm and humility of a worldly sage – one who has come face to face with death and decided to turn in the other direction. It is this innate talent that has allowed him to lovingly craft his business, Edgeware Creative Entrepreneurship, where for the past three years he has provided a training ground for other entrepreneurs to develop their businesses creatively, equitably and ethically. Or put simply in his own terms, there’s a new wave happening in world, and he’s just helping people build surfboards to ride it. Continue reading ‘local dreamer – michael doneman’
Arts, crafts and vintage design buffs heed this: an opportunity to free your inner bowerbird while doing the greater good. Next Saturday 1 August, the annual Karuna arts market will spill a glorious trove of original and pre-loved art, crafts, jewellery and clothes upon Brisbane. Retro, deco, vintage, modern, all under $75. Last year someone unearthed a Pro Hart original on a Bible cover. All proceeds will help Karuna to support Brisbane families to care for a terminally ill loved one, at home and at no cost. Karuna - a Sanskrit word meaning ‘compassion‘ - provides free round-the-clock nursing, family counseling, equipment loans, respite care, bereavement support and spiritual care.
An old run-down shack of a house sat meekly on a Fortitude Valley backstreet, rarely given a second thought by the multitude of cars that passed it by each day. To most, it was an eyesore belonging to a cranky old man who would never relinquish ownership. But to one dreamer, it was the site that would one day be home to a glorious feat of design – a 21-room boutique hotel where the beauty was in the details, with a rooftop bar that would glitter under the night stars, alive with laughter, energy and indulgent cocktails. The dreamer was local entrepreneur Damian Griffiths. And the hotel, which took up residence in 2008, was Limes Hotel – Australia’s first member of the coveted Design Hotels group, and a world-class addition to Brisbane’s landscape.
Continue reading ‘local dreamer – damian griffiths’
Finalists have been announced for the Queensland Short Film competition and the top ten filmmakers who have made the cut look set to deliver a diverse and engaging range of topics in their fifteen minute masterpieces. War, blackjack, self-discovery and a murder mystery are just a few of the themes explored by the talented crop of Queensland film buffs. Brisbane-based screen industry training centre QPIX is well represented with 6 of the 10 films selected coming from QPIX filmmakers. Screenings of the top ten films will be held August 8 to coincide with the Brisbane International Film Festival. If you find yourself feeling inspired and compelled to explore a future in film, QPIX run a number of short courses throughout the year which develops and assists in the production of film and TV content.
Etsy.com strives towards a new economy to buy, sell and live handmade. It was #44 in Fast Company’s Top 50 companies of 2009 and with $90 million in sales, it’s a interesting business model that also shows shopping for handmade items still has a place in our often overly mass-produced culture. Chi Designs is one local Brisbane designer you can find on Etsy, selling cute handmade clutches, purses and bags. In a simple search, you can find 254 results come up for Brisbane designers alone.
This video “Brisbane in May” was shot over a weekend by Rhys Day. It captures a lot of the honest, everyday going-ons and familiar scenes you might experience and observe in the public spaces of the City and New Farm Park. It has kids playing, pauses at traffic lights, smokers taking a break and picnics in parks. As someone who spends a lot of my time wondering and writing about cities and the experience of urban places, I like that a film without words can say a whole lot more that I could ever really articulate in words.
Mackay-born, Brisbane-based painter Anthony Bennett likes to mash faces, phrases, cultures and aesthetics, painting with a belief in the ‘chance element’ and will happily step aside when outside forces claim his canvas. He admits to sometimes plucking random snippets of strangers’ conversations that drift through his open apartment window and embedding them in a painting, either straight up or on the rocks with a Nietzsche quote or in a Batman speech bubble. He is a finalist in the Archibald Prize for the second year running and considers himself a success because he can sustain himself as an artist full-time – a life he committed to, quite naively, from the moment he flew the art college coop in 1999. Continue reading ‘local dreamer – anthony bennett’
Annette Fear is a graduate of the School of Self-Taught. “If you can read, you can learn,” she says, and I nod in agreement because she is sitting before me as living, breathing, smiling proof of this reassuring mantra. With no formal training – other than with her Nanna baking cakes as a little girl – Annette is today regarded as one of Australia’s leading chefs. From her first job in a Byron Bay fish-and-chip shop in the early 1980s to her finest achievement kick-starting Yandina’s culinary gem – The Spirit House – with owners Helen and Peter Brierty in 1994, Annette says she has been lucky to lead a charmed life. But perhaps “luck”, in this case, is more aptly described as a mixture of innate talent and creativity, a strong work ethic, and an adventurous nomadic spirit.
Continue reading ‘local dreamer – annette fear’
Enjoy the occasional wine over dinner or with an afternoon platter? Are you under 25 years of age and want to learn more about the different tastes of the fine grape? If so, Tognini’s Bistro Café Deli in Spring Hill has organised the perfect night for you. With a selection of three white and three red wines to taste accompanied by deli platters, Tognini’s Drink and Learn Workshop will not only fill your glass with wine to taste but also knowledge. Now no-one has to avoid the role of choosing the right wine for dinner!
