Be Enchanted Brides has teamed up with Bethany Joy as their exclusive designer of unique vintage-inspired bridal gowns.  In collaboration with Bethany Joy, Rhonda Martin and Reneé Amato present a new vision for the Bridal Industry.  “Our dream was to create Australian made gowns with a delicately devine vintage appeal!  Very romantic,” said Rhonda.  Read all about Bethany Joy Monsted's latest collection»

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The Queensland Art Gallery will be the exclusive Australian venue for a spectacular exhibition exploring the art of millinery. ‘Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones’ is the result of a collaboration between London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and one of the world’s foremost milliners, Stephen Jones. Read more about the Hats exhibition»

The Australia Project is a series of creative initiatives dedicated to exploring the national Australian identity. How many of us have asked the questions; Who are we? What are we doing here? Where are we going? Do we even belong here? For each of these questions there are potentially 22 million unique responses, answers and opinions.

The Australia Project is asking Australian creatives and the general public, to engage in a national debate regarding the current status of contemporary Australian culture. They are seeking to explore and redefine clichéd national stereotypes in the hope of revealing unique and personal perspectives on Australia today.

The Australia Project is encouraging this debate by organising initiatives such as creative voices, workshops and visions. Works will be exhibited on our мебель в болгарииOnline Gallery as well as a curated selection being included in the travelling Australia Project exhibition. The results of The Australia Project will be curated and presented at the AGIdeas 2010 International Design Week, 26th to 29th April 2010.

Celebrating three years of dedication to the Australian design community, Design Federation is hosting its inaugural event on Friday the12th of February. In honour of the website’s dedicated readership and supporters from the local and web community, the Design Federation founders, Klaus and Craig, chose the theme of this Chinese New Year – the year of the Tiger – to capture the spirit of creativity, courage and tenacity.

Extending an open invitation to the followers of the site to contribute their artistic creations to an exhibition showing throughout the night, utilising the unique venue space of theclub nightclub in Sydney’s Kings Cross, in what the organisers have dubbed Friends of the Federation.

Calling out to readers for submissions of their designs, illustrations, art, graffiti, film & video, fashion, photography, industrial design, custom toys, animation or any other artistic contribution, the Design Federation have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by the tremendous outpouring of talent and generosity, making for a fascinating collection on show for one night only.

With Tiger Beer and Bogong Valley Estate Winery sponsoring drinks, be sure to arrive early so you don’t miss out. If the old worldly charm of the venue and the quirky crowd aren’t enough to peak your curiosity, Julie Doye, pop art portrait artist and newest contributor to Paris Hilton’s personal art collection will be in attendance from 7:30pm painting personal one minute portraits of guests.

Prizes and giveaways will feature throughout the night, with Design Federation’s corporate supporters Sweat-Shop Productions and iStockPhoto digging deep to make the event a fantastic occasion for all involved.

After a sell-out 2009 Sydney show, Andrew McIlroy’s forthcoming exhibition of 15 large oil paintings recall languid summer ocean waters and the techniques of the old masters.

Many of his works, notably Against the Tide and Azure Descent, are inspired by Tim Winton’s book Breath, as they hint at the promise of resurfacing to the familiar sounds of summer vacation and youthful exuberance. Partly autobiographical, McIlroy’s paintings recall long family summers, diving off the Portsea pier for hours, and of a familiar voice calling him home.

Andrew McIlroy creates these atmospheric works that investigate aquatic depths, with strong saturated colour and subtle tonal variations, imparting a dream-like quality and a sense of poetic mystery. On a deeper level that parallels Winton’s symbolism, McIlroy’s paintings also convey a sense of unease, with fear invoked by deep waters and the feeling of sinking into the abyss, a metaphor for anxieties which gripped the artist’s own childhood.

Andrew says, “I hope to make people pause for just a moment. My inspiration is simple. To create a beautiful contemporary painting which is familiar, tangible, and enduring. My struggle then is to capture ‘Australian-ness’ without reacting against European influences or composition”.

What: Andrew McIlroy’s Against the Tide
When: 16th to 28th February 2010
Where: Axia Modern Art, 1010 High Street, Armadale
Contact: art {at} axiamodernart.com(.)au or 03 9500 1144
Gallery hours: Monday – Friday 9am to 5.30pm
Saturday – Sunday 11am to 5.00pm

The year of the Tiger ignites colourful festivities around the country and on Friday 19th February at 7pm, Sydney’s Gallery 4a presents Cinema Alley for the second year running. A one night only event in Parker St Chinatown, Cinema Alley brings art out of the gallery and onto the street with a double bill of the best in contemporary Asian video art for everyone to enjoy.

Cinema Alley showcases a double bill with An Estranged Paradise, a work by world renowned Chinese artist Yang Fudong, alongside The Cowboy’s Flute, an animation by renowned animator Te Wei produced by the Shanghai Animation Studio in 1963.

An Estranged Paradise follows the character of Zhuzi, a young intellectual, who wanders through life, swept up in melancholy and the beauty of the world, and eventually comes to accept life and find contentment in its simple pleasures. The films produced by the Shanghai Animation Studio are an important part of China’s cultural heritage – strong and nostalgic reminders of childhoods from the 1960’s and 70’s.

What: Sydney’s Gallery 4a presents Cinema Alley
When: Friday, 19th February 2009 at 7pm
Where: Gallery 4A at 181-187 Hay St Sydney
How: Tickets are free, but must be pre-booked at info {at} 4a.com(.)au
More info: http://www.4a.com.au or 02 9212 0380

2010 is the fortuitous Chinese Year of the Tiger !

The tiger is a fighter and we always back the underdog, so we are giving our loyal, lovely, creative readers the chance to bust out into the public view and make 2010 the year of putting it out there.

Putting our petty cash where our mouth is, we will be the first to step up and proudly announce Design Federation’s Friends of the Federation party on 12th February 2010.  Ringing in the new year with our first public event ever to celebrate the crafty kids who have made us what we are today.

And we want you involved!  This is a call-out for submissions of your work. We are looking for anything creative that can be displayed at the event, which is being held at theclub nightclub in Kings Cross (yep, we’re edgy folks.)

Send us your designs, illustrations, art, graffiti, film & video, fashion, photography, industrial design, custom toys, practically anything as long as you can supply it to us to use for one night in Sydney. Obviously it would be great if the work has not been displayed before anywhere but it is not essential.

Your work and name will be publicized on Design Federation’s website as well as affiliated blogs, sites and media outlets. You will be displayed on the night as part of the Friends of the Federation exhibition.

To participate in the event, please submit examples to events {at} designfederation(.)net before Sunday the 24th January 2010.  Successful applicants will be announced the following week.

We will showcase one piece per person ( please limit example files to 2mb )

Be bold! Channel the Tiger and send us your stuff!

Charlie’s Widow continues the story of Akina, who once crept into the pristine world of fairytales and nursery rhymes, leaving behind a devastating trail of destruction. After years of plotting and scheming, she is set to invade Charlie’s chocolate factory, turning sweet-as-cotton-candy girls into bloodthirsty, button-hungry villains- before setting them on a murderous rampage!

Akina is a villain with a button fetish. She attacks innocent teddy bears to steal their button eyes! Sydney based artist Lang Leav uses pastels and pixels to weave the enchanting world of Akina. Since its inception, the illustration based fashion label has established a cult following worldwide.

“I am often asked why I create such sinister twists to fairytale characters. I remember when I was a little girl my Dad bought me a Fairytale book. It was a huge thick book -” a collection of the complete and unabridged tales of the Brothers Grimm. The stories were contrary to the happy Disney-esque ones I was accustomed to. They were violent and often ended with children meeting gruesome deaths. I think I realised then that in their purest form, fairytales are dark. This irony really influences my work”, says Lang.

Lang Leav has won many awards including the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and Winston Churchill fellowship. She has inspired a documentary that aired internationally, has showcased her art work throughout many galleries in Australia and Japan, produced a trendy fashion label and has forged out a number of inspiring books.

An innovative type with never ending ideas. See her latest creation Charlie’s Widow, a hand crafted storybook and with a limited number of 100, get in quickly.

Article written by Miss Bella.

Also check out our previous interview with Lang Leav here.

It’s interesting to see how logo’s come about. Not long ago we saw that Melbourne updated their logo, now Brisbane has followed suit. It was hard to find much if any information about it but I had seen it used around the place and I managed to find a good article on the Brisbane logo update here.