Man Week · Father's Day Gift Guide + GIVEAWAY!

From left to right – Concrete block from tin&ed (styling prop, not part of giveaway), Japanese cast iron bottle openers from Ganim's Store ($27.50 each), BYO 12 oz coffee cup by Hookturn Industries ($12.00), GoPro HERO3 camera from all good camera stores ($378.00), staircase paperweight by Studiokyss ($75.00), table lamp by Ross Gardam ($470.00), and Japanese hexagonal trivet from Ganim's Store ($47.50). Photo – Sean Fennessy, styling – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, everything else – Lisa Marie Corso.

From top to bottom, left to right – Braun x Dieter Rams bn0032 from The Standard Store ($250.00), Things Come Apart by Todd McLellan, published by Thames & Hudson and available at all good bookstores ($29.95), Saturdays Magazine Issue II by Saturdays Surf NYC from Incu ($25.00), Tapas bread plate in black by Country Road ($12.95), circular shallow concrete block by tin&ed (styling prop, not part of giveaway), Stitch tablet case by Country Road ($99.95), Stripe web slim belt in blue by Country Road ($49.95), Established & Sons Tank lamp from Living Edge ($550.00). Photo – Sean Fennessy, styling – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, everything else – Lisa Marie Corso.

YES THAT’S RIGHT, it’s MAN WEEK again! Cannot contain my excitement... it's gonna be a ripper, people! Following the ace feedback we have had for the past two years, we’ve decided to continue our annual tradition of bloke-inspired content, with a week profiling a bunch of creative local lads, and men’s gift ideas in the lead up to Father’s Day (which is this coming Sunday, don’t forget!) In the interests of creating a gift guide that felt quite contemporary and fresh, I implemented a 'no brown' policy for this shoot (quite arbitrarily I must admit) - and with the combined efforts of photographer Sean Fennessy, styling assistant Natalie Turnbull and TDF's AMAZING Girl Friday Lisa Marie Corso, we kind of ended up with a semi-futuristic 'lunar landing' vibe. At least...that's what we were going for! As usual, however, we like to make things hard for ourselves. In keeping with tradition, we decided it would be AMAZING to pull together an epic range of the very best designed products for men, AND make the whole bloody gift guide a GIVEAWAY too! This is basically insane. You have no idea how hard it is to convince companies who have never heard of you to hand over their valuable wares for a BLOG GIVEAWAY no less.   So, you will find a few glaring omissions here...but on the whole I hope it feels like a varied round up of stuff that is new, useful and semi-manly for the design savvy fella in your life. We are particularly grateful to all the wonderful retailers listed below who came to the party, offering up their wonderful wares for inclusion this giveaway. There’s a good mix of online and shop-front retailers represented in this line up, and if you pounce today, the vast majority of gifts included here can still be purchased and received in time for Father’s Day! But if you’d prefer to try your luck…you know what to do!  To be in the running to win one of these amazing items, simply leave a comment along with your POSTCODE on today’s post before 10.00pm Melbourne time next Monday 2 September 2013.   Please be patient if WordPress struggles to keep up with the entries this morning, as you have a few more days that usual to enter! Winners will be selected at random and contacted by email next Tuesday.  (*UPDATE winners have now be drawn at random and contacted! Congrats! We hope you enjoy your prizes!)

The Full Father's Day Giveaway Line-up

Living Edge – Established & Sons Tank lamp ($550.00) and Eames wire base low table ($295.00).  Living Edge's range of licensed classic mid century and contemporary furniture and homewares present a lux alternative to the usual 'socks and jocks' Fathers' Day fodder. We've added a little bit of column A and column B to this giveaway line-up - the timeless Eames wire base low table is paired with the more recent Tank lamp by design efforts of Established & Sons. Living Edge's full Father's Day shop edit is seriously amazing and can be found here.   Ross Gardam – Table lamp ($470.00). It wasn't so long ago that we featured Melbourne-based furniture and lighting designer Ross Gardam, and we've been big fans of his work ever since. We love the sleek masculinity of this table lamp - we actually forced him to finalise the prototype ahead of schedule so we could include it in this shoot! Third Drawer Down – AIAIAI TMA-1 Headphones ($270.00). Every dude needs a good pair of headphones. These matte black TMA-1 headphones by Danish designers AIAIAI are the real deal, they've been trialled and tested by the world's best DJs, eliminate external noise and have a fully adjustable headband for added comfort. Corporate Culture – Hay Kaleido tray ($57.00). We love everything about Danish design label Hay, and luckily for us we can get most of the range from Corporate Culture. We are particularly fond of Hay's Kaleido tray range, which is designed to allow the user to customise their own organised tray systems with trays designed in various shapes and colours. The Standard Store – Braun x Dieter Rams bn0032 watch ($250.00). A reliable and classic timepiece is just about the best gift you can buy the man in your life. This one by Braun has nostalgic appeal (remember those classic Braun alarm clocks everyone used to have?), and is extra special as it was designed in collaboration with revered German industrial designer Dieter Rams. Ganim's Store – Normann Copenhagen Geo Vacuum Flask ($100.00), Japanese cast iron trivet ($47.50), and 3 x Japanese cast iron bottle openers ($27.50 each). We have been obsessing over this Normann Copehagen jug for quite some time, so were very very excited to learn that this fabulous design piece is now stocked locally at Ganim's Store, along with other products from the Danish brand. Also - how classy will your dad / bf / brother / grandpa look come summer time, when they crack open their beer with one of these Japanese cast iron bottle openers? Incu – Tailfeather Wren leather card case ($99.00), Tailfeather Miner belt ($99.00), and Saturdays Magazine Issue II by Saturdays Surf NYC ($25.00). Incu always have the best edit of seasonal manly clothing and accessories, so it was a no brainer to include them in this feature.  Melbourne-based Tailfeather leather goods add a little bit of luxe to the everyday 9 - 5 wardrobe, while Saturdays Magazine Issue II is a must have for surf-loving lads - a beautifully designed publication from the cooler than cool fellas whose built NYC-based surf brand, Saturdays (hats off to anyone who can successfully create a surf culture in central Manhattan!). Witu – The Duffel ($210.00) and The Tassel ($33.00). Witu's most recent range 'Wituland' offers more of their signature neoprene goodies in new shapes and designs, and includes a more blokey palette of blue, black and grey. Their version of the classic duffel is ideal for the gym or a weekend getaway, and looks even better accessorised with one of their new neoprene tassels! Country Road – Stitch tablet case ($99.95), Web slim belt ($44.95), Tapas bread plate ($12.95), and Tapas mug ($7.95, not pictured).  Our love of all things Country Road is well documented.  CR is particularly helpful for mens' gifts - our favourites from their current season include the Stitch tablet case, Web slim belt, and everything in their Tapas tableware range.    Studiokyss – Staircase paperweight ($75.00). Okay, we know we featured Kenny of Studiokyss the other week, but we cannot get enough of his concrete homewares and desk accessories!  We particularly love this striking sculptural paperweight, with its quirky play on perspective. The Windsor Annex – Stanley thermos ($59.95) and Swiss tech utility key ($15.00). We first came across The Windsor Annex via Hecker Guthrie who recently completed the fit out for this new store. The store is curated by Australian lifestyle streetware brand Elwood, and has a great selection of everyday paraphernalia the man in your life would actually use, including the classic Stanley thermos, utility keys, and plenty more. Wootten – 2 x iPhone 5 leather sleeve x 2 ($20.00 each, total value $40.00). Melbourne based Jess Wootten is a leather cordwainer and a man, which in our opinion means he is fully qualified to be included in this giveaway! These bespoke iPhone sleeves fit your phone like a glove, they come in various colours and are handcrafted in soft leather, which will mature gracefully over time. Sneaker Freaker – Magazine Subscription ($35.00).  Melbourne based Simon 'Woody' Wood is basically the Imelda Marcos of sneakers, as founder and editor of Sneaker Freaker. Over the years Sneaker Freaker has come to be one of the most sought after and collectable international niche titles, and is definitely a worthy inclusion to your man's reading pile.  We'll learn a little more about Woody later this week...! GoPro – HERO3 camera ($378.00). From personal experience, I can attest men LOVE GoPro cameras. My partner has one, and I have never seen him more obsessed over a gadget! The GoPro HERO3 is an action camera, and can be clipped onto virtually any moving vehicle (pushbike, motorbike, surfboard!) to film your adventures at high definition, then watch a play-by-play afterwards. It is the future, people! Thames & Hudson – Things Come Apart by Todd McLellan ($29.95). Among some men, pulling things apart and attempting to put them back together again is a favourite pastime. Todd McLellan documents this process with beautiful visuals in his new book Things Come Apart.  Who knew organised mess could look so beautiful. Hookturn Industries – BYO 12oz coffee cup ($12.00). These sustainable BYO coffee cups by Melbourne based Hookturn Industries have basically made their way into almost every gift feature we ever do! They make the 8am morning coffee ritual just a little more stylish and sustainable.  Disclaimer - my clever Mum is one of the talented trio behind the BYO coffee cup. Martelli Pasta – 1kg Maccheroni ($15.95).  I've not met a man who doens't love carbs. For an extra special splurge on this winter staple, we LOVE Martelli Pasta.  Let's be honest, it's all about the packaging.  (Although it does taste good too!) Tin & Ed - Concrete Shapes.  Whilst they're not officially in the giveaway lineup, our styling for this shoot was partly inspired by Melbourne design team Tin & Ed's recent work with concrete, so we were pretty chuffed when they said they would loan us some of their handcrafted concrete shapes for the shoot !  At this stage they're just prototypes so we can't offer them to giveaway, but they really gave the shots a little something special, so we are very grateful for the loan - thanks guys!

From left to right – Eames wire base low table from Living Edge ($295.00), AIAIAI TMA-1 headphones from Third Drawer Down ($270.00), Normann Copenhagen Geo Vacuum Flask from Ganim's Store ($100.00), The Tassel by Witu ($33.00), Sneaker Freaker subscription from Sneaker Freaker ($35.00), leather iPhone 5 sleeve from Wootten ($20.00). Photo – Sean Fennessy, styling – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, everything else – Lisa Marie Corso.

From left to right clockwise – The Duffel by Witu ($210.00), Tailfeather Miner belt from Incu ($99.00), Stanley thermos from The Windsor Annex ($59.95), Martelli Maccheroni available from Enoteca Sileno ($15.95), Tailfeather Wren leather card case from Incu ($99.00),  shallow dome concrete block by tin&ed (styling prop, not part of giveaway), Swiss tech utility key from The Windsor Annex ($15.00), Hay Kaleido hexagon tray from Corporate Culture ($57.00), and Japanese cast iron bottle opener from Ganim's Store ($27.50 each).  Photo – Sean Fennessy, styling – Lucy Feagins / The Design Files, styling assistant – Nat Turnbull, everything else – Lisa Marie Corso.