Child
It may well be child’s play, but these colourful mobiles made from old magazines, found wood and other recycled things could hang in any home environment. Made by Frazier & Wing in the US, the mobiles can be viewed online (frazierandwing.com). They also come in plain white with bold flashes of colour. It’s about delicacy, balance and colour.
Perfect for apartment living, this Magis Puppy was designed by Eero Aarnio as an easy to manage pet that won’t leave hair on the designer sofa. Going on holidays? You can leave this pooch behind, or he won’t be such a burden on a long car trip. The small ones are $118, but you can now pick up adult sized puppies (at 102.5cm high) for $579. Available from Top3 by design (1300 top 333).
Play
From yoga and pilates to parties and ‘dimple sitting’, New York architectural firm has created the ultimate adult play pen for Mini on a NYC rooftop. Matthias Hollwich and Marc Kushner aka HWKN temporarily transformed the skyscraper into an urban oasis overlooking the midtown skyline. Learn more at www.minispace.com
It comes in red, turquoise, white, black and brown, but whatever colour you can write and draw and stick things on this board. Be it for office or home, the glass magnetic board is wipeable but also magnetic — so you can draw arrows to all-important invitations you’ve stuck up, or mind-map a few ideas about that next project. Have a play. Available for $110 from Top3 by Design ?(1300 top 333).
Hide
Canada-based Tom Chudleigh has created these Free Spirit Eco Spheres, which are hung from the treetops. Each sphere is handcrafted from fiberglass and wood and is capable of accepting an electrical line for light and heating. A web like support system makes sure the spheres stay stable, and they can be reached by spiral staircases wound around the tree trunks. Photograph: Inhabitat.com
Escape the summer heat, avoid the shopping malls, and hide from visiting Aunty Mary’s incessant chatter by heading to The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957, at Victoria’s Bendigo Art gallery from 7 Dec to 22 March 2009. Frivolous cocktail dresses from Paris and London’s top designs all come together from the Victoria & Albert museum. Think Dior, Chanel and Mary Quant … couture heaven.
Seek
Discover a new world, where people actually think about what they’re eating and consider the big picture before they chow down. Photographer Matthew Carden, whose photographs can be bought online at 350degrees.com, asks us to consider the growth, preparation, consumption and disposal of our food. Skiers on icing, miners on a turkey, and gardeners on broccoli — his photographs not only make us think about space and our environment, but the way we use those spaces.
Unable to find a suitable Christmas tree one year, architect Vladminir Ivanov came up with these holey Christmas trees. He’d been looking for a tree that would instill a sense of ceremony while also maintaining a clean line, so was forced to create his own. The small holes allow you to embellish the tree with ornaments, and it’s been router cut to avoid the burning of laser cutting — allowing the grain of the timber to show through each hole. It may not be as nature intended, but it’s better than those plastic things you often find in the office corner come the festive season.
