The Design Files Daily

Stationery & Paper

Monday, August 08, 2011

Benja Harney’s Paper Attic

Paper Creations by Benja Harney for his current solo show, ‘The Paper Attic‘ at Object Gallery in Sydney

I must admit Melbourne has been getting a lot of TDF love of late, what with all the festival happenings here recently.  BUT today’s post goes out to the Sydneysiders, who are currently enjoying Sydney Design, an annual festival produced by the Powerhouse Museum.  One MUST SEE event this year is Benja Harney’s first solo show, entitled ‘The Paper Attic‘ at Object Gallery.  Curated by Tara D’cruz-Noble, the exhibition brings together a collection of Benja’s finely crafted works, resembling objects that one might find within an attic room – such as old records, letters, long forgotten toys and crazy inventions.  It looks freaking A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  I mean, PAPER ICE SKATES, complete with paper shoelaces!?  Brilliant.

If you’ve been reading for a while, I’m sure you will recall Benja’s incredible paper creations – I interviewed him a long time ago over here.  Benja has a great blog which documents much of his work – including a recent commission for, Ahem, KYLIE MINOGUE.  Pop over to see pics of Ms Minoque beaming with her very own Benja Harney pop-up!

The Paper Attic runs at Object Gallery until 25 September.  Benja fans will be excited to know that if you pop in to view the show this Thursday evening, you will have the opportunity to meet the paper-guru himself!  The gallery is open until 8.00pm this Thursday only, and Benja will be on hand to talk to visitors about his work.  Say hello from me!

The Paper Attic
Object Gallery Project Space
417 Bourke Street
Surry Hills
NSW

Open Tuesday to Friday 11.00am – 5.00pm.
Open Saturday and Sunday 10.00am – 5.00pm.
Meet Benja this Thursday August 11th, 6.00pm until 8.00pm!

Free admission

A glimpse of Benja Harney in his workshop can be seen in the Sydney Design 2011 Facebook Behind the Scenes photo gallery!
Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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Monday, July 11, 2011

Bespoke Letterpress Boutique

Stunning gift cards (top) and limited edition prints (bottom) by Bespoke Letterpress in Brisbane!

Inspired by Carolyn Fraser, this week’s excellent Guest Blogger, Jenny and I have fallen head over heels in love with the stunning work of Brisbane’s Bespoke Letterpress Boutique!

Alischa Herrmann and her partner Hayden run Bespoke Letterpress.  In addition to creating custom wedding invitations and stationery, they also design and print the sweetest range of limited edition prints, cards and gift tags.  They are truly all SO BEAUTIFUL, it took every inch of self control not to share every single photo from their website!  I’m loving the super simple ‘hello’ gift cards in the top image… the perfect notecard for any occasion! (and such pretty handmade envelopes too!).

Alischa spent 10 years working in commercial graphic design before following her heart and founding Bespoke Letterpress Boutique.  Hayden, on the other hand, comes from a background in aviation!   His mechanical mind comes in handy in his role as Bespoke’s chief pressman – when not flying around the Queensland countryside, he looks after the maintenance of the antique machines, keeping them all in perfect working condition.

Bespoke Letterpress have an excellent blog and online shop… do pop over and support this lovely design studio!  So much beautiful handprinted goodness to discover…  I challenge you to leave empty handed.   Impossible.

Also, don’t forget to visit Carolyn’s Guest Blog today for a little more about Bespoke Letterpress – including a shot of Herbie, Alischa and Hayden’s amazing 1973 Heidelberg Platen press!

Beautiful gift cards from Bespoke Letterpress Boutique
Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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Monday, June 20, 2011

Beautiful Bio Table Ware

Wasara bio-degradable tableware from Japan – available at The R.E.A.L Store in Sydney

Wasara bio-degradable tableware from Japan – available at The R.E.A.L Store in Sydney

I have been SO INSPIRED by this week’s Guest Blogger, Liane Rossler, that I am kicking things off with a little post about something she introduced me to on a recent trip to Sydney.

Bio table ware.  Sounds boring right?  WRONG!  The stunning examples of bio-degradable tableware in this post prove that the most ETHICAL option can also be the most BEAUTIFUL!  Ethical = beautiful.  Gotta love that.

The Japanese WASARA tableware above literally has to be seen to be believed.  It is so so beautiful.  Made from a combination of reed, bamboo and bagasse (sugercane waste product), it feels soft and velvety, it holds your food / liquid for one-time-use… and it is completely compost-able afterwards.  SO. GOOD.  The stunning organic shapes come in tiny canape size or larger plates, cups and bowls – truly they are so special you won’t even want to use them!   You can buy them in Sydney at The R.E.A.L Store (featured in Liane’s Guest Blog today!) and they also sell online. Prices starting at a very reasonable $2.00 a unit – they’re sold in packs of 8 but larger custom orders can be arranged.

Another gorgeous option, for a slightly more rustic picnicky feel, are these beautiful bowls and plates (below) from I Ran The Wrong Way, also in Sydney (also online!).  Again they’re totally compostable and biodegradable.  They’re made from the naturally shed leaf sheaths of the Areca Palm, from plantation palms in India, utilising a manufacturing process which avoids chemicals, resins, dyes or synthetic materials.  They’re sold in packs of 24 for just $12.50 (that’s .5oc a unit.  bargain).

You can learn more about The R.E.A.L Store TODAY on the Guest Blog, and I Ran The Wrong Way on Wednesday!   Two very inspiring gorgeous Sydney shops.

Do support these lovely thoughtful retailers and snap up some of their beautiful bio-wares in preparation for your next party.  There is seriously NO EXCUSE for awful plastic plates next time you organise a BBQ, kids birthday party or picnic!  Plastic!?  Ugh!

Bio Tableware from I Ran The Wrong Way in Sydney
Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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Thursday, June 02, 2011

Pasta on paper by Ham&Pea!

‘Spell it with Pasta’ – a new range of giftcards by Melbourne company Ham & Pea

Who doesn’t love pasta?  And who doesn’t love stationery?  Two of the best inventions of the modern world, I say.  I couldn’t live without either.  But what kind of creative GENIUS would even think of combining these two seemingly random elements into ONE amazing product range?!  Ham&Pea, that’s who!

‘Spell it with pasta’ is Ham&Pea’s very first giftcard collection, released just a month ago.  Bonkers brilliant.  The collection features 6 cards, designed using a combination of hand drawn and digital artwork by Melbourne designer Li-Ann Scott.   All the greetings are spelled out in different pasta shapes, and they are fancily embossed so the pasta feels a bit 3D and pops off the page!  Mmmmmmm.  3D Pasta.

Li-Ann put her architecture career on hold when her twin boys Hamish and Luca (the real Ham&Pea) arrived about a year ago.  Having always loved paper, art and design, she seized the opportunity to set up her own little design business from home.  The pasta idea came about one day when she had just about had enough of hearing the ‘spaghetti’ song her twins love from the ABC for kids CD!  This is Li-Ann’s first collection, but she’s already busy working on collection #2 and #3 – including a few more food-inspired designs!

Ham&Pea have some other great designs in the works, including printable kid’s party decor – CHECK OUT THE AMAAZING Yum-Cha themed designs she created for her twins’ first birthday! INCREDIBLE pics here and here.  How does Li-Ann do all this whilst wrangling twin boys?  Now that’s talent.

Ham&Pea have a dedicated online store coming very very soon!  IN THE MEANTIME you can purchase these cards online here.  She has a couple of stockists in NSW but none in Melbourne yet… Melbourne retailers – pounce now!

Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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Friday, April 01, 2011

Interview – Emma Van Leest

All artwork by Emma Van Leest.  Left – Beginning always, 2010, paper, foamcore and glue, 36 x 24cm.  Right – Terroir, 2010, paper, foamcore and glue, 36 x 24cm.

Artworks by Emma Van Leest – top artwork (on blue) – Within, 2010, archival paper, 64x96cm.  Bottom left – Transcend, 2008, archival paper, 25 x 13 cm.  Bottom right – Attainment.

Incurred by Emma Van Leest, 2009, archival paper, 40 x 37 cm

I am not sure any words could quite do Emma Van Leest justice.  There sure is a lot of paper engineering / paper folding and cutting around these days… but have you ever seen anything quite like this!?  ME neither!

Emma’s intricate creations demand a double-take.  ‘Is that HAND-cut?’, ‘is that PAPER?’ and ‘How LONG did that take?’ are commonly overheard at an Emma Van Leest show!  What is amazing about this work, is that no matter what your interest or knowledge of fine art, Emma’s work never fails to engage curiosity!  There is just something so mind-boggling about the incredible detail in these  works, achieved with the simplest of materials – a sheet of archival paper and a blade.

On completing her honours year in Fine Arts at RMIT in Melbourne, Emma traveled to Indonesia to study Balinese and Javanese folk art – including the ancient art of shadow puppetry.  Later, she was the recipient of an Australia Council Emerging Artist’s Travel Grant, and visited China to study traditional Chinese paper cutting techniques. These days her work draws from a myriad of references – Nature and plant-life, orientalism, folk art, Medieval saints, Hindu literature and children’s fairytales.

Although she’s just 32, Emma’s work is quickly gaining notoriety and is already highly collectable.  She was recently featured on the TV for an episode of Art Nation (SBS).  You can view the segment here to see Emma in action!

Emma Van Leest is represented by John Buckley Gallery in Melbourne.

Huge thanks to Emma for her time, and to Jessie Bridgfoot at John Buckley Gallery for facilitating the interview!   CLICK HERE for the full story and many more pics!

Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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Monday, March 21, 2011

Help Japan with Hello Sandwich

Hello Sandwich giftwrapping zine – now $5.00 with all proceeds going to the Red Cross Japan appeal

I struggle to know what to write when a major international disaster occurs, which is why I usually leave serious commentary to the professionals.  It usually seems frivolous to write anything at all, and actually I often receive sweet emails saying thankyou for being a kind of distraction and ‘happy place’, when there is so much doom and gloom on the TV.

But it does seem awfully important to share this one with you today.  Dearest Ebony Bizys, who many of you will know as Hello Sandwich, has asked me to share her Japan fundraiser with you all.  As you may know, blogging / crafting / art-making superstar Ebony B lives in Japan, and was in Tokyo at the time of the quake.  She has recently flown back to Sydney temporarily whilst the Nuclear threat and other post-quake problems subside.

The days Ebony spent in Japan after the quake have compelled her to try and contribute in some small way to the re-building  of her much loved second home.  For this reason, Ebony is now selling her Hello Sandwich Gift Wrapping Zine PDF for AU$5.00, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross Help Japan appeal.

PLEASE VISIT THIS LINK for to purchase the zine for $5.00, all of which will go directly to the Red Cross appeal.

I can’t imagine a more worthy cause, and it is truly such a gorgeous little publication from Ms Bizys, who is the former art director for Australian Vogue Living Magazine, don’t you know.

Alternatively, do consider donating directly to the RED CROSS.

Ebony is also making a stellar contribution to the recovery efforts in Japan by updating her Twitter and Blog with very useful info especially for English speaking residents of Japan, who might otherwise have trouble accessing emergency instructions.

Great work Ebony!  We support you and wish we could give you a big HUG as well as $5.00 for Red Cross. x

Some pages from Ebony’s gorgeous zine!  You know you want one!
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Posted by Lucy at 6:00 am
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