Those who spent their formative driving years in a vehicle as reliable as Kenickie’s first car in Grease will recall the perils of a lack of power steering and air-conditioning. If you have paid your dues and are looking for a brand-new vehicle, the Nissan Pulsar could be a worthy candidate. Returning to Australia this month, the redesigned vehicle features a spacious interior for your belongings – whether they be children, shopping or holiday luggage – and aerodynamic efficiency. Pulsar Hatch and Turbocharged SSS models will also be available mid-year.

Everything is cuter in smaller proportions, such as this adorable mini-map of Brisbane city. Adding to the infinite list of all things little and lovely, Dalton Ghetti creates petite works of art atop well-worn pencils. A carpenter and house remodler by trade, Ghetti began his unique approach to “sharpening” pencils as a means of meditation. Using preloved pencils found on sidewalks and armed with a sewing needle and a great deal of patience, Ghetti’s aim is to bring people’s attention to the little things in life that create tiny moments of pure happiness.

Signs are created with the proviso of making us stop and think, usually within a matter of seconds. The re-salvaged signage from text-based artist Alan James, however, encourages the viewer to give way to deeper meaning. The Brisbane artist’s Signs of Life collection merges words from daily journeys to create new inspirational messages and life tips. Rather than directing traffic flow, these reclaimed signs have found a new purpose, twisting mundane phrases into expressions of optimism. Alan’s best known piece “Stop! In the Name of Love” is hanging in homes and businesses in more than 50 cities around the globe.

Do you ever wonder what hijinks your cat gets up to while you are away? Part spy, part intrepid explorer, part yarn chaser, one humble pet dared to dream and answer that very question. Armed with a micro camera set on a two-minute timer, Seattle-based Cooper captures the world from a cat’s-eye perspective. With his owners being filmmakers themselves, the six-year-old feline continues the family’s creative streak. Art exhibitions, television appearances and book deals keep Cooper pretty busy but, as a true artist, he continues his photographic quests around the neighbourhood, producing new and exciting work every week.

Melbourne-based artist Marco Fusinato does not take his responsibilities as an artist lightly. Being in a position where he has the ability to educate and challenge audiences, Marco creates art that explores the themes of the rhetoric and realities of extremism in art, music and politics. His exhibition, The Colour of the Sky has Melted, achieves this idea through film and blinding light and music installations. The exhibition will be held from August 11 at IMA.

With the windows down and a sheer sense of freedom, a spontaneous roadtrip can be an exhilarating way to escape the city and unwind. When seeking the wonders of the great outdoors, even the most experienced of explorers need a noble steed to assist them in their travels. For the modern adventurer, especially those trekking the sometimes-difficult terrains of Queensland, Nissan has ‘toughened up’ its range of off-road vehicles with a special Queenslander package. Including bull bars, roof rails and tow balls, the vehicles come equipped and ready to guide you on your next expedition.

High art was once something to gaze wistfully upon from afar yet the cult sunglass labels and vintage-like frames by self-titled eyewear brand, Graz, will leave you torn between whether to look at, or look through these striking pieces of visual art. Graz Mulcahy’s creative thirst has led him from being the founder of AM Eyewear at the age of 19, to the force behind Ksubi Eyewear, followed by working with the big guns at Ellery and Chronicles of Never. Since 2009, the man behind these lenses is moving forward with his own specs label, Graz, showing up on faces of fashionistas and steady cult-like followers around the world, seeking distinct design. His appreciation of old world craftsmanship bred with present day designs is his philosophy to create classic designs of the future. With each piece hand-crafted, every Graz frame has a personality of its own, so put on a pair of his sunglasses and see the world. Steal a unique pair of your own from Brisbane’s own Optiko Eyewear.

With its design nooks, art galleries, and offbeat cafes, Fortitude Valley has a creative energy that permeates every recess of the busy suburb. Held in Fortitude Valley on May 25–26, Brisbane Indesign fosters an appreciation for world-class design by showcasing more than 150 local and international design brands. Showrooms will be transformed with creative installations, guest speakers will give talks and Hong Kong-based designer Sean Dix will also be attending the event. James Street fashion and design retailers
will also take part in Up Late in Design on Thursday May 24.

Many of us have a phrase, saying or prose we look to when we need a little pick me up. Whether it be motivation to keep going, a reminder that things will be okay or a happy thought to lift your mood, a simple collection of words strung together can provide you with what you need to persevere through the rough times and relish the smooth sailing. Every day Five Words Tell a Story brings a message to life in, you guessed it, five words. Combining a love of typography (not to be confused with ty-pug-graphy) with inspiring, thoughtful and humorous anecdotes, Five Words may be just what you need to keep your chin up.

While it hasn’t been scientifically proven, it’s nice to think that by slumbering in an aesthetically pleasing bedframe, we are more likely to experience pleasant dreams. A contemporary take on a classic design, the Chateau from Domayne Fortitude Valley is a fully upholstered bedframe likely to be found in the boudoirs of inveterate slumberers Snow White (post-Evil Queen) and the princess (post-bothersome pea).

The humble egg, when it is not being scrambled or poached, is thought to symbolise rebirth, fertility and new beginnings in many cultures. Decorating eggs for the Easter period is a tradition that find its roots in the 13th century. Whether they are made of chocolate or are being rolled down a hill at the White House, Easter Eggs have become a historical part of our calendar year. If you are not one to indulge in chocolately goodness or if your artistic side is yearning for a project, why not adorn an egg with swirls, florals and paisleys in the brightest of hues? All you need is a collection of silk ties, patience and unlimited creativity.

The streets of any given city are littered with an assortment of abandoned items, from shoes to electrical appliances. These discarded remnants of homes can prove representative of the surrounding cultural landscape – an idea that has been embraced in the insightful art project Street Seats by design firm Bade Stageberg Cox. The installation was created for display at one of New York’s leading art shows, The Armony. This contemporary and modern art fair is held annually in its town of birth, New York City, and seeks to display the most innovative and adventurous of artwork.

The project itself was developed as an exploration of the multi-culturalism prevalent in the city. All 50 chairs in Street Seats were found discarded on New York streets and, as well as each being painted the same colour yellow, the bottom of each seat is stamped and documented with the date and location it was found. Throughout the five-day show, the chairs were regularly moved around – mimicking the movements of New York’s immigration, which currently constitutes more than 40% of the city’s population.

The Big Egg Hunt is a record-breaking egg hunt currently taking place across Central London.  It features over 200 wildly creative and uniquely crafted eggs, created by leading artists, designers, architects and jewellers, that will be hidden across the city this Easter.  Friends and family can get maps for  12 zones to find the eggs and raise money for Elephant Family and Action for Children.  Eggs are a universally recognised symbol of new life, a fresh start and hope for the future – the bedrock of both the charities’ missions. It looks like great fun!

For some, cleaning up is a monotonous chore. For others, it can be transformed into a medium of self expression. The creative mind of Ursus Wehrli looked at common matter (breakfast, a parking lot, a sandpit) and saw an opportunity to create art out of everyday routine. Besides being an effective use of organisation, The Art of Clean Up looks pretty neat. For those of us who can’t carefully arrange dozens of sunbakers or bring the alphabet to life from our soup bowl, here are 25 clever ideas to make life a little neater.

If only all rooms were built round, then home decorators would not constantly have to puzzle over what to do with an awkward corner space. Do you simply leave it bare and hope it goes away, or do you try to fill it with a small table or ornament? Since round rooms aren’t structurally practical, the next best solution to the corner-decorating conundrum is this rustic bookshelf fashioned from iron piping. While the simple design of the Corner Industrial Bookshelf is certainly eye catching, its intrinsically simple nature also provides plenty of vantage points to appreciate a well-designed book cover. The bookshelf has eight shelves, and those with a particularly awkward corner space can place an order to have a set of shelves custom made.

Calling all local artists: sketchers, painters, photographers, poets, writers, designers, printers or creators of any ilk. Papergirl Brisbane wants YOU to join this cultural initiative and bridge the gap between the wider Brisbane public and the artists who inhabit this fair city. The first step of Papergirl is collecting the works from any creative soul who is willing to give. Secondly, the art is exhibited (currently at White Canvas Gallery). Finally, the pieces are rolled up and distributed en masse by bicycle to random passers-by in Brisbane’s CBD. The idea was first brought to life in Berlin and has since traveled the globe and finally reached the sunshine state. Anybody can participate by submitting art, spreading the good word, assisting the gallery, or helping with bicycle distribution. Perhaps if you are wandering around the city today you will be surprised by the art of giving.

Whether you’re bound to The Bible or not, it’s easy to spend hours gazing upon the beautiful architecture of a church. You could spend an entire day gently running an eye over the intricate carvings of the Gothic Notre-Dame de Paris, with its delicate blackened steeple and Romanesque stained-glass windows, and not see every fine detail. Gijs Van Vaerenbergh, a collaboration between young Belgian architects Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh, has built a church with this visual experience in mind, transforming the design of a traditional church of Limburg into a piece of public art. Entitled Reading between the Lines, this incredible transparent structure is constructed of 30 tonnes of steel horizontal plates and 200 columns. Positioned amongst the rural landscape of Borgoloon, this majestic piece is part of the Z33 Gallery’s Z-OUT program, bringing art into public space.

Image via Filip DuJardin

A mirror does not always reflect truth. In the eye of the viewer, it can show what they wish to see: who they aspire to be or perhaps who they once were. American photographer Tom Hussey created a set of advertising posters dedicated to a drug designed to treat Alzheimer’s dementia. The series labelled “reflections” offers a glimpse into the world of those suffering memory problems and the daily challenges they face. Through a highly emotive display, the images reveal how Alzheimer’s patients can be trapped by their youth. Another photographer taking a glimpse into the past is Irina Werning with her collection “back to the future“. Irina is a self-confessed old photo fanatic and has taken it upon herself to dig through the archives of family favourites and perfectly recreate the images, sometimes up to 50 years later.

“You make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things out of us.” This Gungor lyric may be Gospel based, but it also applies perfectly to the subject it is now printed on. At the bottom of grandparents’ wardrobes, in secondhand shops and bouquinistes around the world, once cherished LPs lie waiting to be rediscovered. Some are found and played once more and some are reborn in a new form. American artist Patrick Laurent takes old, dusty records and gives them new life – creating beautiful wall art under the name Quiet Boy Studio. Sketching out lyrics into the circular shape, he designs and paints songs onto disused vinyl. The lyrics themselves, the colour and design are all customisable, meaning you can entrap your favourite musical poetry into a treasurable keepsake.