Why make it straight?

Walking through the back door of this unloved 1940’s dark brick block of flats we find ourselves in a calm serene nest.  

Is this the space of a bower? Full of shells, flowers and feathers, discarded plastic items, lamps, chairs of an eclectic nature and a beautiful piece of Murano glass.

Melissa’s holds the ability to turn negative into a positive or less than ordinary into extraordinary.

As long as we’ve known Melissa, and we’re known her for a long time, she’s always had ‘An eye’ for detail. 

For those beautiful things that others would look past. 

Each room has emerged from an unloved or discarded piece that she found, felt and fitted. 

Its about the landscape of the room which captures our delight and interest, rather than the outlook from the windows, as most rooms look onto a mirror image block of flats.    

So the afternoon we visited the winter’s sun was filtering through the windows filling the space with a sweet calm light. 

In the kitchen calico white curtains cut uneven like a cityscape framed the succulents that sit on the window-sill. 

The main bedroom had the most captivating solution to a broken fly screen – with inexpensive nylon black lace stitched onto it.  The effect was seductive.

When we enquired about the interesting, inventive window treatments Mel had created, her response was “Why make it straight?”

She is absolute correct.

Good Vibrations : Harmonious Orange

A ubiquitous colour in interior design and homewares of the 1960s,

orange is a colour that divides the world, 

ironically as it is the symbolic colour of unity and harmony.

Invite orange into your every day.

Tarlo and Graham : A Rosie Touch

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 are all worthy of a gallery exhibition.

There is one store amongst the kaleidoscope of this area that 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 what 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

International Womens day : She always felt safe

In 2018 women all around the world are still striving to ensure that this statement will be a matter of fact rather than a shared wish.

It is up to us, the women of this world, to make this so.
But we look to the males of this world to make our task easier by becoming our partners in this incredibly important, essential shift in attitude.

Happy International Women’s Day sisters and brothers.
Peace, respect and love to all of us.

The beautiful ceramic featured in this article and the inspiration for it was created by Myfanny Gullifer.

You can see more of Myfanny’s wonderful work at King Street Gallery, Sydney.