A Wallism that speaks a volume

While walking through Redfern, an inner city area of Sydney, shiftazine found this 'Wallism'.
It is a beautiful poster that sits on a very old green painted wall of a very old building in the heart of Redfern.
The sentiment of the poster struke shiftazine as an important one.
How does one define a nationality in this modern world?
Is it one of genealogy?
Is it one of history?
Or is it one of an attitude?
Here is some information found on Wikipedia about the contribution and association Afghanistan has with Australia.

Is it one The "Afghans" or "Ghans" were camel caravaners who worked in Outback Australia from the 1860s to the 1930s.
They included Pathan, Punjabi, Baluchi and Sindhi men from the region between the southern Hindu Kush in Afghanistan and the Indus River in what is now Pakistan, as well as others from Kashmir, Rajasthan, Egypt, Persia and Turkey.
Besides providing vital support to exploration and settlement of the arid interior of the country, these cameleers played a major role in establishing Islam in Australia, building the country's first mosque at Marree in South Australia.
Even though the Afghans' help was greatly appreciated they were also subject to discrimination because of their religion and appearance.

All I see is Purple_Vale Prince

A sad day...

ChalkTalk_by Jack

‘Life is like art done in chalk, beautiful but temporary, enjoy it while possible.’ www.searchquotes.com/search/Chalk/

Place: Redfern Park, Sydney Australia.
Time: early morning.

Evidence: play from the evening before.

Engagement: imagination and multiple coloured chalk.

Result: delight from all who come across the drawings.

The Sun shines and time passes

Just up the road from the Queen Victoria Markets on Elizabeth Street in inner city Melbourne lives a place known as the The Junk Company.

It does not have a wildly impressive exterior, blink and you might miss it as you zoom past.  

I think it might actually be a Tardis because when you enter through its portal you are transported to many other times and places.  
The chaos of the design universe awaits you.  Go see for yourselves.

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