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.

Life is a series of moments embedded with Joy

Our lives are a series of moments which turn into memories and lessons and insights that become embedded within us. Joy is spread through those memories. 

Celebrate the tiny things that bring you Joy on 25th November every year.
But maybe it would be cool to celebrate Joy whenever we think about it or experience it.

"old school" is not a crime

There is something about a lovely, ‘old school’ sink and tiles that speak to me on a hot, hot day. ‘
'Old school’ anything can possess a charm that simply cannot be reproduced.

It saddens me greatly to see these beautiful domestic objects get ripped mercilessly out of houses during renovations, and just thrown into skips.
Never or rarely given a chance to live on, functioning as they were designed to.
‘Old’ is not a crime.

Just can't forget Berlin: Colours of Berlin No.6

It is impossible to forget Berlin.
The constant kaleidoscope of details one observes makes me think that Berlin is more like the Solar System than a city.

And just like the Solar System, there are different culture planets that all orbit around the heart of this amazing place.

Each culture planet is a world unto itself and thus, there are many ways

one can perceive a ‘treat’.

Take for an example, both bubble gum from some slightly worn gum dispenser marked with the going dialogue of the street all over it,

or a selection of delicate, old school sugary hits, served up in a refined tea room or café, deliver the same desired effect of reward and treat,
depending on the culture planet one is from.

The most amazing thing about Berlin is that these culture planets live side by side, cheek by jowl, overlapping forever.

Learn to speak colour

These images are from separate exhibitions viewed in Australia within the last two years. 

One was a part of the fabulous ‘Future Fashion’ held at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), in Brisbane, Queensland Australia, 

and the other was from the 'Chuck Close' show at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), in Sydney, Australia. 

Both were extraordinary shows.

The cohesive theme between these two very different shows and thus images is colour. 

The ever present element that drives our psyches. 

That feeds our souls.

There are constant dialogues and conversations occurring between colours, tints and hues. 

The amount of colours now available to everyone is both a delight and a disaster, as like all languages, one must learn how to speak 

but in some ways, more importantly, learn how to hear the nuances of that language.

Learn to listen to the colours you are looking at. 

What are they saying both from a physiological and semiotic perspective. 

How do they make you feel or for that matter, what do you want them to say?

Learn to speak colour...it will change your life.

There is more to a beaded curtain...

I have always suspected that  a PLASTIC beaded curtain could do more than just keep the bugs out.

An installation by Dani Marti called 'LOOKING FOR FELIX 2000’,

exhibited in the hay days of the Newcastle Art Gallery in 2011, proved that my suspicions were correct.