some days ...

So - does it make you a better person, or just a fool with persistence?

Latest update on the rat-race - the rats are still winning.

kids love log!

Rummaging thru our scrapbook again, and came across these great log lamps ...

Sorry - can't remember who makes them or where they are from, but they are pretty neat. We probably lean a little more towards 'mid-century modern' than 'cottage rustic', but a couple of these would look at home in an all-white minimalist interior ... oooh yeah!


While we're at it - these ipod docks from woodtec on etsy are rather good - he makes usb sticks too.

So long as we're all sticking to using the wood we find on the ground, and not cutting down living trees (yup, this timber's recycled - used to be a forest), then everything's good.

the ultra-kombi

The VW van holds a place close to our hearts - drove and loved a '71 kombi for about 10 years, and when the time came we upgraded to a 21st century VW transporter. Can't imagine life without a van ...
We came across this concept on eco-chick.com via re-nest - and designer Alexandre Verdier has taken it to a whole new level.
The hybrid engine, the solar panels, the luxury living - we are about ready to move in ... but the faux-wood paneling is the clincher. If we ever feel the need to spend $125,000 on a car/small house, this one's on the shortlist.

john brack exhibition

Well, we finally got the John Brack exhibition at the NGV yesterday ... once we were there we didn't want to leave! The sheer volume and variety of the work on display was amazing.

Read in a recent interview that his wife Helen Brack felt that his best work was the precise, surrealist pieces of the 80's and 90's, but we fell pretty heavily for his 50's and 60's period - the colours, the cartoony qualities, the modernist content ...


Highly recommend a visit if you are in Melbourne with an hour or 2 free ... genius!

They weren't selling, so we'll be have to be content with prints in our loungeroom for now.

way to lounge ...

It's the knowyourproduct dream ... a sunken lounge.

In fact, we could probably live in a cardboard shack under an overpass so long as we got a 'converstion pit' of some kind set up in there - with a stone fireplace for those chilly scrabble nights ...

Scratch that - would prefer not to live in a carboard shack given a choice. Architects of the 21st century should be reviving this (the sunken lounge, not the sub-freeway location) - bring back the split-level.

kitsch ain't what it used to be

One of these days we are going to fly to LA, rent a big truck and just keep driving 'til it's full. Then we'll rent another truck.

A set like this could put you off drinking tea forever ...

old wounds

All that thinking about stereos reminded us of one of our first big ebay win ...

Back in early '07 we fought and struggled and won ourselves a vintage Canadian Electrohome stereo ... all set to come all the way from Seattle. We paid up (a little too much for a record player, but the plan was to forgo all other comforts) and waited and waited ...

After nearly 4 months the seller swore it was returned to them as we didn't exist ... curiously they weren't interested in offering us a refund, or sending it again.




We were pretty sad, and warn against bidding on 'tipyourwaitress' auctions in future ... but have since picked up a battered old Weltron ... one day she'll be up and running, and the void will be filled. Cool unit though.

ipods are okay, but ...

Came across a snippet about this KLH 20+ stereo in the mid-century modernist's archives ... belongs to stewf. We just love the depth of design that went into hi-fi in the 60's and 70's ... all fell apart when clean matte black washed in in the 80's.

The usual (and ever-reliable) Garrard turntable, landscape mounted speakers ... and awesome stem bases - oh yeah! If anybody has one of these they don't want, give us a call, eh?

Sadly, unless we decide to become record-player 'collectors', we have to hold back. So we have a couple of vintage PYE players in our lives, and have to live with the idea of selling any others that we are lucky enough to have pass thru our lives ... will have to take some pics to share.

save the facade

We dig clean, modern and minimal ... but can't go past crumbly, ancient and minimal.

This is a fairly old project (won an award in '05), but is too good not to share. Naumann architects (Germany) give a masterclass in conservation - a pre-fab insides dropped so neatly into an aged shell.

Too good.

wood - always good ...

Not 100% sold on the aesthetics of this desk - something a little more mid century, and a touch less ornamental might have been nice ... even a little faux timber - but the concept's right on.

This critter is by Marlies Romberg and titled 'Dear Diary 1.0' - more info on the MoCoLoCo website.

modify for the future

We're incurable fans of vintage design - so many great shapes - but the heartbreak of seeing a piece head for the tip when it's function starts to fail is too much.

Take a leaf out of Melinda Merinsky's book - recycle ... you get to keep something beautiful and (let's face it) mostly irreplaceable, AND you get a new and unique piece. It could be as easy as a fishtank in an old tv case, or something a little kookier? Fall in love all over again. Think we'll be getting the toolkit out this weekend ...

william wegman ... kook!

throw out your powerboards

When art gets practical we all win. Check out IronicSans sometime ...

dvd time

It's cold, all the good shows are finishing up on tv ...

When did you last watch Heathers? C'mon ... it's a goody ... and you won't be paying more than $3.00 for a week's rental. Emo was a lot more fun in 1988.

we heart tv

After flicking thru the endless stream catalogues that slip by our 'no junk mail' sticker undeterred we were getting a bit of envy over the amazing 3cm flat-screen tv's being released - our box is deeper than it is wide, and decidedly not flat.

But then, you have to think ... is quality of picture more important than quality of life? The golden age of television design pre-dates colour ... if you must own a sleek flat piece of tech, why not slip it into a body you can love?

Some lovely examples over at hulger.org ...

no hard feelings

Well, it was an amazing ride, but it seems like we're all happy to remember the good times now. Remember the first time you saw the film clip for "Don't Stop ('til you get enough)"?

And who wouldn't want to have his moves at 50 years old?

Thanks Michael ...