A Rosie Touch: Tarlo and Graham

Shiftazine loves Melbourne…especially Fitzroy.
When shiftazine’s feet hit the pavement of Gertrude Street after a too long an interval, it was like being home.
The store fronts, the contents inside the store fronts, the ‘too many things to love’ stuff that jammed the fashion stores,
let alone the galleries, the cafes, object’art and tat stores, all filled shiftazine’s giddy glaze.

It was like wearing rose tinted glasses, as even the posters on walls, the wallisms, and the graffiti were all worthy of a gallery exhibition.

There is one store amongst the kaleidoscope of this area which stands alone in its sense of style and curation.
Tarlo and Graham sits closer to Smith Street than Brunswick Street.
It occupies a fine Victorian building, which has seen better days, but still generates a sense of grandeur.
It is within the ever changing landscape of this establishment that excites and inspires.

Behind the counter a delightful rosy haired woman, called Rosie greets you.

It is her eye and deft touch that takes these disparate pieces from past times

and combines them into a tableau of the contemporary.

It is not just the object, full of its own history, that will bring the ambience to a space,
it's the way one creates a dialogue between the arrangements of objects and furnishings, and Rosie has that touch.  

Tarlo and Graham 202 Gertrude St, Fitzroy VIC 3065 Phone: (03) 9417 7773

Tea Towel Upholstery

Tea towels are a necessity of domestic life.
Exciting to buy new ones, all bright and crisp.
Often they serve as reminders of a great holiday or outing.
They wipe and dry benches and hands. Get hung over kitchen cupboard knobs, oven handles or backs of kitchen doors.

And then there is the possibility of covering an arm chair with them.

The Colours of Melbourne: sugar and spice

Old school cake shops and inner city Melbourne go together like sugar and spice:
Lemon Slices, Rock cakes, Hazelnut biscuits with chocolate cream or jam filling, Apple cakes, Apple slices, Lamingtons, Neenish tart, etc, etc, etc
fill the shop front windows in Fitzroy and St Kilda.

A story constructed from pastels coloured morsels punctuated with rich chocolate browns, and many sugary possibilities await the passer by.

But when we speak of sugar and spice, an associate with the notion of the passive female is often evoked. 

In recognition of International Women’s Day on the 8^th of March, here is another take on the expression ‘Sugar and Spice’ 

thanks to Bethany Hamilton.

“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts.
That's what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice."

Bethany Hamilton

Wallism_A Universal Language

Wallism is a creative activity which knows no boundaries, borders, or limitations.

The degree of thought and planning and execution is a constant source of delight and admiration.

The above examples were found in the heart of Athens (2015), a place rich in energy and art. Wallism rocks