Monday Magic

House & Garden (SA) Sep 2009

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Friday Fashion

Vogue (AUS) July 2010
Dress by Alex Perry
Hat by Suzy O'Rourke
Shoes by Christian Dior

Sandy K
[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Wednesday Words

 What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sandy K

Monday Magic

House & Garden (SA) June 2010

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Mokum Textiles

I absolutely adore Mokum Textiles & as I mentioned here, Art Deco is perhaps my favourite period of design.

Combine the two & you have Mokum's Moderne Collection.

"The Moderne collection mirrors the eclecticism of the 1920s & aspires not only to sit alongside the beautiful textiles of the past, but also to deliver luxurious designs that keep pace with our modern times."

Moderne by Mokum

Mokum Moderne Inspiration Board

The Moderne collection takes inspiration from not only fashion of the Art Deco period, but also architecture & interiors of the time. The collection has been designed by Mokum textile designer Bethany Linz who happens to be a fellow Novocastrian! Bethany also features as the model in the Mokum Moderne brochure.

Bethany Linz

Design Refinement

L to R: Chatelet, Mica, De Rosine, Vionnet, Rivoli, Coupole

Colourways of the range include metallics, pale to dark neutrals, blues & greens, smokey charcoals & the occasional highlight of blush tones. Even the names of the colourways add to the overall sophisticated aesthetic of the collection: Topaz, Marcasite, Prussian Blue, Gin Fizz, Pearl, Chocolate & Powder Blue.

There is a luxe feel to the materials. Velvets through to satins evoke the richness & extravagance of the times.

All the designs are stunning, but some of my favourites from this collection include: Rivoli, Chatelet, Ritz, Khepresh & Moderne. Other designs are: Coupole, De Rosine, Lexington, Mica, Patou & Vionnet.

Rivoli

Chatelet

Ritz

Khepresh

Moderne

One of the great things about Mokum is that new collections are designed to work with older ones.  Below are mood boards of the Moderne collection colourways incorporating designs from older Mokum collections.

From the materials, designs & colourways used, the design team stays true to the overall comprehensive collection that is Mokum textiles.

This truly is a glamorous collection & I want it all!

Sandy K

[above images from Mokum Moderne Collection or Studio 98 - The Mokum Design Team Blog & all images collaged by Sandy K except images 1,2,3 &5)

Vogue Living Sep/Oct 2010 Issue

Vogue Living Sep/Oct 2010

Yet another stellar issue from David Clark & his team. A truly remarkable collaboration as is reflected on by Editor David Clark himself:

"This magazine is a product of the collective brain, as I call it; the synaptic serendipity that comes when interesting thoughts from interesting & interested people get together. & the whole is always more than the sum of its parts."

Here are some images from the issue to get your design blood pumping today. Just a note, I had to refrain from including all the images I wanted to otherwise I would have posted the entire magazine! That's how much I adore this issue. Vogue Living back at it's best!

Never in a million years will you guess the nature of the art featured in this editorial. Just mind-blowing.

Vogue Living Sep/Oct 2010 issue hits news stands today. I implore you: Run, do not walk, to your nearest news stand!

Sandy K

[above images impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Magazine Sneaky Peek - Vogue Living Sep/Oct 2010

Vogue Living Sep/Oct 2010 - cover

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Monday Magic

Elle Decor (US) Sep 2006

Sandy K

[above image impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Real Living Sep 2010 Issue 57

Real Living Sep 2010 Issue 57

This awesome house is a beach getaway set in natural bush scrub. Just beautiful!

Loving the old garbage bins & milk pails reconfigured as stools. The concrete floors tone in well with the overall scheme & are highly practical for a beach getaway house.

The dark seaweed coloured walls invoke a moodiness that plays against the natural light that streams in.

Love the blue of this wall & the ubiquitous PS Stuga rug from Ikea - not sick of it yet! Also loving the hand-woven ikat cushion in ink (far right) & the beautiful Moroccan leather pouffe available from Louise's store Table Tonic.

I would love to live in a space as airy & bright as this.

The perfect view from the bath. Just joyous.

I'm not usually a bright colour kind of girl, especially yellow, but the bursts of colour in this room just make it so lively.

The splashback in this kitchen is amazing. It's textured glass with the back side spray-painted metallic silver. Also enamoured of the copper interior of the pendant light. I'm a sucker for metallics.

Real Living Sep 2010 Issue 57 hits news stands today!

Sandy K

[all above images impatiently scanned by Sandy K]

Books of Beauty

I adore a good book, but as of October 2009, I have not bought a book of fiction. The reason being that this was when Amazon released the Kindle internationally. I bought one as soon as it was available & haven't looked back. Now for those of you who will inevitably say that you prefer to hold a real book, I do understand, but my preference is for e-books as I find them extremely convenient & I seem to be able to read more quickly on the Kindle compared to reading a dead tree book.  Honestly, my magazine purchasing contributes enough to the paper producing industry as it is without me buying fiction also. Having said that, nothing can replace my beloved design books.

Amazon's Kindle 2 global

However one thing has tempted me to stray from my beloved Kindle, & that's what I term 'books of beauty'. More & more of these 'books of beauty' seem to be being released onto the market. What's a girl to do?

Coralie Bickford-Smith is senior cover designer at Penguin Books. Her Clothbound Classics series 1 & 2 are well known amongst design lovers in the blogosphere. If you are unfamiliar with them, here they are in all their glory.

Penguin Books' Clothbound Classics Series 1

Penguin Books' Clothbound Classics Series 2

What may not be as well known as yet, is that there are to be two new additions to the Clothbound Penguin classics. They are A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens & The Divine Comedy: Volume 1: Inferno by Dante Alighieri.  Both these titles will be released on the 28th September 2010 for the US & AUS markets & the 25th November 2010 for the UK market respectively.

A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings - Charles Dickens

Inferno - Dante

A Middle Eastern collection will also be released shortly from Penguin featuring designs by Coralie Bickford-Smith on the 2nd September 2010 for the US, AUS & UK markets: The Mahabharata, The Qur'an, The Ramayana & The Bhagavad Gita. I especially love the lotus design on The Bhagavad Gita.

The Mahabharata

The Qur'an

The Ramayana

The Bhagavad Gita

Penguin is also scheduled to release Tales from 1,001 Nights: Aladdin, Ali Baba and Other Favourites.

This book is scheduled for release to the US market on the 22nd February 2011, to the AUS market on the 22nd November 2010 & to the UK market on the 28th October 2010.

Tales from 1,001 Nights: Aladdin, Ali Baba and Other Favourites

But what has me most excited is the news from Penguin that an F. Scott Fitzgerald series also designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith is to be released. The covers on these titles are just sublime. Wonderfully inspired by perhaps my most favourite period of design, The Art Deco period. I swoon!

The F. Scott Fitzgerald series will be released for the US, AUS & UK markets on the 4th November 2010.

Time to cast aside the Kindle for a short time methinks!

Sandy K

[above images via: Amazon, The Book Depository, Penguin, Coralie Bickford-Smith and Waterstones]