“ It’s all very local...we especially love the info on some of the city’s more left-field projects.”
The Melbourne Design Guide
The Sunday Age “ Melbourne’ reputation as Australia’s creative capital has just been ratcheted up another notch with the release of the pocket-sized Melbourne Design Guide.” Vogue Living
Whether it’s a brooch, a bridge, a bar or a building, this book has been carefully researched and written to give locals and travellers a sense of what’s happening in this, Australia’s creative capital. Take a tour of Melbourne’s cutting-edge architecture, discover the latest design talent, where to buy their wares and where they drink and dine. The Melbourne Design Guide is the perfect companion on a journey to the hidden treasures of this city’s thriving design scene.
The Melbourne Design Guide
At last! The first design guide to Melbourne presents the city’s wealth of creativity and the products, people and stories behind it – all within this little book.
“ Even the most seasoned laneway-dweller should find something of interest.” Artichoke Magazine
The Age
Edited by Viviane Stappmanns Ewan McEoin
“ The guide is small, chunky and beautifully designed... there are heaps of useful entries that point to unknown people, places, ideas and websites.”
2007 — 08
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MAP_INDEX_CITY
City
Fashion 1 Belinda 2 Bettina Liano 3 Blonde Venus 4 Cactus Jam 5 Fashion Incubator 6 Fat 7 Gorman 8 Manvious 9 Metalicus 10 Monk House Design 11 Order and Progress 12 Rich 13 Someday Gallery
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
Product 1 R.G. Madden 2 Little Salon
1 Kikki K 2 Metropolis Bookstore
Craft 1 Gallery Funaki 2 Skepsi on Swanston 3 Spacecraft
South (map two)
North (map one) Art
1 2 3 4 5 6
Ian Potter Museum of Art RMIT University Gallery Bus Gallery TCB Art Inc Kings Gallery West Space Gallery
Eat/Drink/Sleep 1 Cookie 2 Croft Institute 3 Curtin House Rooftop Cinema 4 Don Don – Lt Lonsdale St
Don Don – Swanston St Double Happiness European Flower Drum Gingerboy Grossi Florentino Horse Bazaar Hoyts Cinema Complex Longrain Lounge Manchuria Melbourne Supper Club Mr Tulk Murmur Pellegrini’s Piadina Slowfood Rue Bebelons Section 8: Container Bar Shark Fin Inn SMXL SOS St Jerome’s The Order of Melbourne Troika Workshop
Visual Culture
Art
1 2 3 4
City Gallery ACMI Ian Potter Centre: NGV Margaret Lawrence Gallery VCA
MAP_INDEX_CITY
5 Platform Gallery Fashion 1 Alannah Hill 2 Alice Euphemia 3 Anna Thomas 4 Assin 5 Bettina Liano 6 Bobby’s Cuts 7 Body 8 Calibre 9 Chiodo 10 Christine 11 Corky St Claire 12 Cose Ipanema 13 Douglas and Hope 14 Figure 8 15 Flinders Way 16 Genki 17 Husk 18 Ian Potter Centre: NGV 10 James Cameron 20 Le Louvre 21 Marais 22 Miss Lau 23 NGV International 24 Sabi 25 Scanlan and Theodore 26 Smitten Kitten 27 The Cat’s Meow 28 Zambesi Product 1 Anibou 2 Corporate Culture 3 Dedece 4 Euroluce 5 Format 6 Häfele 7 Hub Furniture 8 KFive 9 NDC 10 Schiavello 11 Style 3000 12 Stylecraft Craft 1 Anna Schwartz Gallery 2 Craft Victoria
17
3 4 5 6 7
e.g.etal – Flinders Lane e.g.etal – Little Collins Street Makers Mark – 464 Collins St Makers Mark – 88 Collins St Stephen McLaughlan Gallery
Eat/Drink/Sleep 1 Adelphi Hotel 2 Cherry Bar 3 Comme Kitchen 4 Ezard 5 Gin Palace 6 Hell’s Kitchen 7 Hotel Lindrum 8 Hotel Windsor 9 il Solito Posto 10 Journal 11 Koko at Crown 12 Longroom 13 Loop 14 Madame Brussels 15 Meyer’s Place 16 Mini 17 MoVida 18 Phoenix 19 Postal Hall 20 Pushka 21 Riverland 22 Robot Sushi Bar 23 Sarti 24 SMXL 25 Switchboard 26 Taxi 27 Three Below 28 Tony Starr’s Kitten Club 29 Verge 30 Vue de Monde 31 Waiter’s Restaurant 32 Yu-u Visual Culture 1 Architext Bookstore 2 Sticky 3 ACMI Store 4 NGV Bookstore
ORIA
18
PDE
SWA NST ON S T
VICT
MAP_CITY_NORTH
ANTHONY ST
FRANKLIN ST
A‘BECKETT ST LT LATROBE ST
LA TROBE ST
LT LONSDALE ST
CALEDONIAN LA SWANSTON ST
ELIZABETH ST
RUSSELL PL
BOURKE ST
LT COLLINS ST IE PL
WARBURTON LA
HARDWARE LA
LT BOURKE ST
QUEEN ST
TATTERSALLS LA
LONSDALE ST
MEYERS PL
RUSSELL PL
SPRING ST
LIVERPOOL ST
CROSSLEY ST
EXHIBITION ST
MARKET LA
CROFT ALLEY
RUSSELL ST
PUNCH LA
WARATAH PL
TATTERSALLS LA
RAT HDO WNE ST
N ST
LYG O
TON ST
MAP_CITY_NORTH 19
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Plug into the grid John Denton, Victoria’s first State Architect and a Director of one of Melbourne’s most prolific architecture practices, Denton Corker Marshall (DCM), is fond of the city grid and its culture of shifting ‘hotspots’.
right View over the city, with Melbourne Museum and Royal Exhibition Buildings in foreground photography John Gollings
When John Denton speaks about the things he loves in his hometown, he doesn’t do it in either of his two official incarnations as an architect, but as someone who has chosen to live in inner city Melbourne long before it was fashionable. “I live here, on the city grid, and that is what I am particularly interested in,” says Denton, whose work has shaped the fabric of this city not only through large architectural commissions like the Melbourne Museum and the Exhibition Centre at Southbank, but also through works like Melbourne Gateway and the Bolte Bridge. “There are some particularly rigid, conservative elements that are part of Melbourne’s urban fabric, namely the Hoddle Grid the city is laid out on and also the use of bluestone in buildings and alleyways, but what makes it fascinating is how within this grid, particular hotspots evolve and spring to life, and then they shift around the city, igniting life wherever they go.” Denton knows what he is talking about, for his firm’s development of the still fashionable Adelphi Hotel in Flinders Lane has contributed in no small measure to the rise of one of those hotspots. Following the opening of the hotel in 1993, more bars, restaurants and architecture studios set up shop around the area, where artists were already renting studio spaces in some less developed buildings. The art galleries were quick to follow, and with the opening of Federation Square and the National Gallery of Victoria’s Ian Potter Centre ten years on, the development of the area into one of the hippest addresses in town again received a further push.
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“These hotspots appear, grow, become more popular or lose popularity. They are just extraordinary and they are what I love about Melbourne. Melbourne does not necessarily have particular buildings that define its character, but what happens between those buildings, in the spaces among them and in the laneways, is what matters,” elaborates Denton. “And what makes it more interesting are all those cultural centres like the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art or the Melbourne Museum, which plug into this grid, or cling to the edge, and frame it from the outside.”
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BUILT ENVIRONMENT_WALKING TOUR
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Take a walk A German architect and a local architectural academic discover Melbourne. Join Rochus Hinkel and Hélène Frichot for a stroll and a conversation along the city’s central axis. Our trajectory follows the main axis that cleaves the city of Melbourne (sometimes referred to as its ‘spine’), Swanston Street, which becomes St Kilda Road once it leaps across the Yarra River. This important thoroughfare divides the Melbourne city grid, known as the Hoddle Grid after its progenitor, who laid out the streets in 1837, before most of its buildings were erected. The eight-by-four square grid is laid lengthways along the river, its orientation an off-kilter east-west on account of the course of the waterway. The rational fabric of this colonial grid is made complex by minor service streets that were originally planned to service the major thoroughfares, and also a network of laneways, passages and arcades. It is those laneways, once designed as an after-thought, that are now so often referred to as Melbourne’s defining characteristic and as the source and site of much of its creative life. A city is nothing without its stories, events, tears, laughter, violence, love, loneliness, departures and returns. This is an architectural tour, but it also uncovers some of inner city Melbourne’s interiors as it passes across urban thresholds both hidden and revealed.
left The Centre of Ideas at Victorian College of the Arts, designed by Minifie Nixon Architects photography Peter Bennetts
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LA TROBE ST
LONSDALE ST
BOURKE ST
ST KILDA RD
GRANT ST
SPRING ST
EXHIBITION ST
RUSSELL ST
SWANSTON ST
ELIZABETH ST
FLINDERS ST
SOUTHBANK BLVD
STU RT S T
QUEEN ST
COLLINS ST
BUILT ENVIRONMENT_WALKING TOUR
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BUILT above Federation Square, designed by Lab Architecture Studio and Bates Smart left The VCA School of Drama, designed by Edmond and Corrigan
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BUILT ENVIRONMENT_ARCHITECTURE_A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
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For your reference Melbourne is a faraway place, but the city’s buildings have been inspired by an array of influences, from Renaissance cathedrals to Rubik’s Cubes, writes Peter Barrett. Although diverse and exciting, Melbourne’s architecture is not entirely home grown. It is important to remember that our designers are influenced by international movements and trends, and often pay homage to them, either overtly or – in many cases – in a subtle manner. The gold rush of the 1850s brought tremendous wealth to the new colony of Victoria, and changed Melbourne from a sleepy pastoral town to a boom city. This brought about a desire in its citizens to make the city’s built form reflective of its wealth and comparable with European cities. Some of Melbourne’s early buildings make direct reference to those of the antiquities and the Renaissance. The dome of the Royal Exhibition Building (1880), designed by Reed and Barnes, is stylistically derived from the dome on Florence Cathedral designed by Filippo Brunelleschi in the 15th century, drawing parallels between the wealth of 15th century Florence and 19th century Melbourne.
left The glorious interior of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton photography James Lauritz
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64
above Jesse Judd’s Wheatsheaf House right Kennedy Nolan’s George Street apartments
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BUILT above The Splinter Society’s handiwork at Sputnik agency left Cassandra Complex’ Smith’s Great Aussie Home
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top Bellemo and Cat’s sculptural Casa Cocoon middle The Old House by Jackson Clements Burrows with its glass facade featuring an image of the demolished building that occupied the site previously bottom Studio 505’s glistening facade on the Royal Domain Tower in South Melbourne photography John Gollings
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Jackson Clements Burrows Intelligent and, at times, humorous design solutions – especially when it comes to rigid constraints – are Jackson Clements Burrows’ forte. Formed in 1998, they’re renowned mostly for residential work, with their Old House in Richmond a notable example. Heritage constraints required that the replacement of a decaying weatherboard house conform to the same form, scale and detail of the surrounding workers’ cottages. JCBA responded by designing a glass facade for the new building, which doesn’t sound that unusual until you find that it features a full-scale image of the original demolished cottage! 1 Harwood Place, Melbourne 9654 6227 jcba.com.au Staughton Architects The two brothers Staughton have a knack for using colour and producing interesting spatial effects. Their experimentation and re-interpretation of the local context and the suburban fabric – much in the spirit of Peter Corrigan’s work – may be the reason why their work seems to be quite particular to Melbourne. The Sacha furniture showroom in Fitzroy is an example. Level 1, 59 Hardware Lane, Melbourne 9642 4820 starch.com.au
Jesse Judd Young Jesse Judd’s architectural debut graced the covers of the country’s architectural media and won a residential award from the Royal Australian Institure of Architects in Victoria – and for good reason. Judd, who’s currently also employed by ARM, uses bold colour and shapes in his structurally expressive Wheatsheaf House, which glows like an ember in its forest location. He has recently teamed up with two others to form Judd Lysenko Marshall Architects. 21 Gardiner Street, North Melbourne 9348 9923 jessejudd@aapt.net.au Kennedy Nolan Formed in 1999 by Rachel Nolan and Patrick Kennedy, the partners describe their work as multi-disciplinary, incorporating other aspects of design such as graphics, sculpture, landscape design, furniture and lighting into their projects. This is coupled with a unique use of materials. Their award-winning George Street Houses in Fitzroy are a particularly good example, and also the first in a series of projects that explored the qualities and applications of blackstained timber. 195a Brunswick Street, Fitzroy 9415 8971 kennedynolan.com.au LiveLoad LiveLoad is an engineering term for the mutable occupants of a structure – such as people, plants and furniture. Designing for people and their many patterns of occupation is the enduring focus of this young practice’s work. This is evident in their winning entry for the 2004 VicUrban Affordable Home Design Competition, a
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Pushka and Section 8 among their projects. DireTribe now also runs a gallery space in Carlton, which was established to support and promote emerging artists exploring urban experiences. 1/81 Bouverie Street, Carlton 9349 1885 diretribe.com.au
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ART_STREET ART_WALKING TOUR
ART
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LT BOURKE ST CROFT ALLEY
CALEDONIAN LA
LONSDALE ST
BOURKE ST
LT COLLINS ST
COLLINS ST
SPRING ST
EXHIBITION ST
ACDC LA
RUSSELL ST
FLINDERS ST
HOSIER LA
SWANSTON ST
FLINDERS LA
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Trocadero
This Fitzroy location takes its name from the fact it is the seventh gallery to open on popular Gertrude Street. The gallery is in a converted shop with a main window and smaller gallery inside. 155 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy seventhgallery.org
A recently opened westside ARI space, Trocadero presents a dynamic program encouraging political work and open debate about relationships outside the industry. Level 1, 119 Hopkins Street, Footscray trocadero.cjb.net
TCB Art Inc.
Part of the Contemporary Sculptors Association, the Yarra Sculpture Gallery is Melbourne’s only ARI devoted entirely to contemporary sculpture. 117 Vere Street, Abbotsford sculptors.org.au
Formerly part of Uplands Gallery, which has now relocated to Prahran, TCB is a small but well-known space up some old stairs in an alley off Chinatown. Level 1, 12 Waratah Place, Melbourne The Doll’s House An artist’s studio with the street front window used as a miniature 24-hour gallery space. 109 Miller Street, Preston
Yarra Sculpture Gallery
ART
Seventh
FASHION
00 106
above A glimpse into the studio of Material By Product photography Paul Knight
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FASHION_CONTENTS
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Fashion Design 106 Introduction
110 Hunters and collectors_design at the National
FASHION
108 Fusion fashion_interview Gallery of Victoria
127 Scantily clad_not a lot to wear
PRODUCT
114 Oh such talent!_Melbourne’s fashion designers
128 Fly the flag_fashion flagship stores CRAFT
137 Sweet success_Melbourne success stories in fashion 139 Boutiques 147 Resources
VISUAL EAT/DRINK REGIONAL RESOURCES
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FASHION_DESIGN AT THE NGV
FASHION
Hunters and collectors Katie Somerville and Danielle Whitfield go shopping often. But it’s not (always) their own wardrobes they’re looking to replenish. As Curator and Assistant Curator of Australian Fashion and Textiles respectively, their job at the NGV is to document the country’s milestones and major developments in fashion by acquiring the work of established designers, promising new talent, artists and fashion houses. The NGV now houses an extensive collection of more than 10,000 Australian and international fashion and textile works. Central to the ongoing development of the collection is the contemporary acquisitions program. Key examples from leading fashion designers of the day are continually added to the collection for future generations to appreciate. The Australian Fashion and Textiles Collection documents the emergence of independent design from colonisation to the present. According to Somerville and Whitfield, the collection reveals Melbourne as a major fashion centre since the 19th century, with a comprehensive range of local dressmaking and independent designers. The following pages reveal a sneak peek into the airtight closets of the NGV. The curators reveal the recently acquired work of four Melbourne designers – and share their take on them.
FASHION_DESIGN AT THE NGV
Project
Ess. Hoshika
The designers of Ess. Hoshika describe their design philosophy as a reaction against what they perceive as a predominance of “commercial design and conventions in the Australian fashion industry”. To this end, Ess. Hoshika produces highly original and conceptual collections that originate from surrealist and poetic ideas. Some of their inspirations have included avant garde films, poetry and literature. In searching for the Eschewing fashion ‘trends’ celebrated ‘essence of fashion’, Ess. Hoshika is consistently investigating fashion itself in the media, Project’s design practice and as a result their ideas are translated conceptually and technically explores notions of form, decoration, symmetry, into unorthodox shapes, unexpected comfort and functionality. An emphasis cuts and interesting fabric forms. Trademark to their collections on pattern making, tailoring and construction proffers sleeves, necklines, is innovative fabric treatment and a sculptural approach to design. pockets or cuffs as a vocabulary of Ess. Hoshika’s parades have been shapes to manipulate and re-position. used as a vehicle to present these ideas Project garments are concerned with through the fusion of sound, sculpture creating a particular version of casual and clothing elements. elegance that is firmly rooted in the idea of clothing as a visceral experience. Martin Grant In 2005, the NGV acquired a selection Martin Grant began his career as of four outfits. a young fashion designer in Melbourne in the early 1980s. He was part of Toni Maticevski a thriving independent fashion scene Toni Maticevski’s demi-couture and an active participant in the Fashion collections have received much critical Design Council parades, which were acclaim. Maticevski’s collections comprise fluid and classical silhouettes known for their innovative approach to fashion. After seven years of that are noticeably distinguished successfully running his own fashion by meticulous details, construction label in Melbourne, Grant undertook methods and finish; and his work studies in sculpture at the Victorian frequently includes individually College of the Arts. Travelling to the hand-sewn garments. Acquired by the NGV in 2004, Maticevski’s red silk United Kingdom in 1990, he then worked for two London-based fashion satin evening dress (pictured overleaf) houses before making the decision incorporates complex draping, to move to Paris. In 1992, Grant retwisting, pinning and hanging. established his fashion label and four The work reveals how Maticevski years later opened his own boutique typically employs his construction in the district of Marais. In 2005, the skills in order to create garments NGV celebrated the work that possess soft and fluid lines.
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Established in 1999, Project is run by designers Kara Baker and Shelley Lasica. The label creates limited production collections, which focus on the development of innovative construction techniques and clothing forms. Each capsule range comprises a discreet ‘project’ that investigates a particular clothing idea (although these ideas can often extend and cross-reference from one collection to the next).
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FASHION_DESIGN AT THE NGV
FASHION
of Martin Grant with a solo exhibition, focusing on his work from the early 1990s to his most recent collection for spring/summer 2006. The exhibition drew together garments, drawings, paintings, photographs and installations created by Grant and other key artistic collaborators. Offering an insight into Grant’s inuences, working methods, recurring themes and the core elements that inform his approach to design, the exhibition encapsulated the notion of evolution, rather than revolution, as a central premise of his practice.
right Dress by Ess. Hoshika (not held in the collection of NGV)
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above Based on the notion of autopsy, the garment loosely refers to the idea of skin being pulled or peeled back in order to suggest a greater three-dimensional garment form. Toni Maticevski (fashion house est. 1999) Toni Maticevski (Australia born 1976)
above This group of works encapsulates core design elements that are sustained and refined in each of Martin Grant’s collections. Known for his skilled re-working of wardrobe staples, items such as the jacket, coat and evening dress exhibit a concerted restraint, underpinned by beautiful detailing and immaculate finishing.
Evening dress 2003 (autumn/winter 2003/2004 Autopsy collection) silk (satin) Purchased 2004, National Gallery of Victoria
photography NGV Photographic Services
Martin Grant, Paris exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne 9 December 2005 – 7 May 2006
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FASHION DESIGN_PROFILE
FASHION DESIGN_PROFILE_TONI MATICEVSKI
123
Footscray fairytale
Until Toni Maticevski, they said, European tailoring just wasn’t something antipodeans were very good at. Sending whimsical yet refined collections down the runway, Maticevski proved to be a quiet revolutionary behind the scenes. The ‘shy genius’ declined offers that would have afforded a move from the family garage and seen him rub shoulders with the likes of Akira Isogawa and Collette Dinnigan on bus shelter advertisements nationwide. All for the sake of maintaining his independence. Meanwhile, Maticevski’s otherworldly concoctions of silk organza, chiffon, tulle, tissue-thin knit, liquid satin, laser-cut lace and lamé saw the designer return to Paris – this time with his own show. Melbourne’s excitement is hardly contained. The city’s love of discovering secrets has been fulfilled in the shape of a retiring boy from Footscray; a true international star in the making.
FASHION
Toni Maticevski has been one of the most talked about photography names in Australian fashion since he won the Designer Jean-Francois Award at Melbourne’s 2002 L’Oréal Melbourne Fashion Campos Festival. An RMIT fashion design graduate and the son of Macedonian immigrants, Maticevski is a wholly unique creature. By his own accounts, Maticevski rocked up on his first day of fashion school in a Just Jeans T-shirt, unspoiled by the canon of Euro design. After finishing his degree (his pieces already turning heads) Maticevski set out on a classic fashion design trajectory. It started in the design room at Donna Karan in New York and soon progressed to Cerutti’s atelier in Paris. After ten months, Maticevski double-kissed the Paris couturiers goodbye for Melbourne’s western suburbs, where be began to work on his first collection in 1999. It wasn’t long until the young designer’s fairytale frocks, produced in his parents’ garage in Laverton, sent fashion editors into a frenzy of tractor-piled adjectives – ‘dazzling’, ‘transcendental’, ‘elegant’ and ‘genius’ the most common among them.
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FASHION DESIGN_PROFILE
FASHION DESIGN_PROFILE_MATERIAL BY PRODUCT
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Order and process
Material By Product is a prime example of Melbourne’s ‘intellectual’ approach to fashion design, a phenomenon evident in the work of many designers connected with RMIT University’s School of Fashion. Both designers lecture at the university, where Dimasi (a former Assistant Curator of Fashion and Textiles at the NGV) is also undertaking a PhD. Represented through Assin in Melbourne, Material By Product has developed a cult following that stretches from Moscow to Milan. As the designers move into their fourth year of production, their high level of workmanship and signature approach is set to fill Melbourne’s newspapers and closets alike. Material By Product was recognised with Victoria’s richest design prize, the Premier’s Design Award, in October 2006. materialbyproduct.com
left A garment from the award-winning ‘Punch Out 05’ collection photography Paul Knight
FASHION
There’s haute couture, there’s prêt-a-porter, and then there’s Material By Product. Susan Dimasi and Chantal McDonald, the design team behind the small label, spend countless hours rethinking the established conventions of fashion production, identifying new ways of working and considering their art. Founded in 2003, the label designs systems, not clothes. This approach has spawned results like ‘Punch Out 05’, which aims to minimise waste by using an entire piece of cloth – with one side becoming the ‘primary garment’ and what was formerly the off-cut constituting another. Their 2006 undertaking, ‘Pins 06’, combines the quality and individuality of haute couture with the repetitive processes of prêt-a-porter reproduction, inventing a ‘third way’ of designing that sits somewhere between these two established modes.
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LaLa lamp by Helen Kontouris for Kundalini
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Introduction From one-man operations to international companies, Melbourne’s community of product designers is wide and varied. Tracing this dynamic field of practitioners was no mean feat, but whether it’s a tea towel or a table you’re after, rest assured one of the local design entrepreneurs will have designed or made it.
The chapter introduces and highlights those retailers that support Victorian designers. Of course that’s where you’ll find an original, Melbourne-made handbag, kitchen bench or dish-brush that you’ll be proud of.
PRODUCT
The product design section of this guide is divided into two larger chapters. The first introduces a comprehensive list of designers ranging from the commercial industrial designers to the emerging talent selling their own objects, furniture and products at a local level. The key selection criteria: it had to be available, and it had to be original and innovative. Special features highlight those designers, trends, and events that provide the cornerstones of product design in Melbourne.
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above In the Shed exhibition by Moth Collective right Ikebana vase by Dhiren Bhagwandas
PRODUCTS & OBJECTS_DESIGNERS
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Designing minds Stockists: Ism Objects, MAP, Safari A cross-section of Melbourne’s product daniel@barberadesign.com designers, from A to Z. barberadesign.com All the King’s Men
Daniel Barbera Industrial designer Daniel Barbera formed Barbera Design in 2003 to work on varying commissioned projects, as well as designing selfinitiated product and furniture ranges. Featuring in 10 exhibitions in 2004, he also took home the Fringe Furniture lighting award for his work Crooked Shady. During the past few years, Barbera has exhibited his Uccio and Shady ranges, from prototype to production form. He currently collaborates with Cloud studio – a collective of product designers that was founded in 2006.
Tony Basile is the principal designer behind Basile & Evans, a design and manufacture business committed to the production of finely detailed contemporary furniture. Holding a well-respected position among architects and interior designers, the practice is regularly commissioned to develop new pieces. Tony Basile partners with skilled local manufacturers, allowing him to maintain a high standard of quality and detail. The company was formed in 1995 to pursue design purity, making a commitment to develop and manufacture world-class furniture in Australia. With the exception of around seven per cent of components sourced from overseas, products are completely Australian-made and represented in most Australian states. Stockists: Basile & Evans tbasile@basilevans.com.au Dhiren Bhagwandas Dhiren Bhagwandas specialises in interior products for both the domestic and commercial sectors. His work is based around the notion that a new design must provide innovation in order to validate its existence. This is the result of a fascination for cultural traditions, human behaviour and the
PRODUCT
A lot of thought has gone into constructing the high quality urban bags made by ATKM. The most noticeable feature is an aircraft seatbelt buckle and strap, which allows for unclipping to remove your bag, rather than lifting it over your head. The bags are all Australian made and numbered – perfect if you’re looking for something unique. They’re available in a range of colours and styles to suit an industrial landscape. And the seatbelt clips do come from the airlines. Stockists: RG Madden, Luft, NDC allthekingsmen.com.au
Tony Basile
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Zuii
PRODUCT
An ancient manuscript detailing mechanical puppets and clocks from Japan’s Edo period was where designers Marcel Sigel and Alana Di Giacomo derived the name Zuii. In 2004, the pair began to organise prototype design shows of their ideas, and in the two years since they staged their first exhibition in Milan, they have reached a global audience and emerged as rising visionaries of Australian design. The pair’s ability to translate their observations of the natural world, combined with an interest in oddity and functionality, has given Zuii a distinct style, making the work highly sought after. Their direction and bold approach has also attracted the attention of Malaysian pewter manufacturer Royal Selangor, producer of fine pewter wares since 1885. The company approached Zuii to develop a range of new products directed at a more global and contemporary way of living. Released in late 2006, the range incorporates bowls, vases, photograph frames, candle stands, a tray, and salt & pepper shakers that are an allusion to a kaleidoscopic scene of continually shifting shapes and patterns. Zuii’s commitment to good design lies in the balance between mass production, and a harmonious and respectful way of living. This extraordinary worldly approach has gained Zuii international recognition, including ‘Best Young Designers’ by the UK’s Wallpaper** magazine and inclusion as one of ‘Ten Designers to Watch’ in Australia’s State of the Arts magazine. Zuii’s work is held in private collections in above Australia, at the Alessi Design Museum in Italy and Bombay Pewter vessels Sapphire in New York. The pair has also been invited to for Royal Selangor, in production in 2006 exhibit at Object Australian Centre for Craft and Design, Melbourne’s National Design Centre and, in 2005, they right were both winners and runners-up in the Sydney Morning The Toro chair Herald Young Designer of The Year award. Their designs by Ivan Woods are currently in a collective touring exhibition, Freestyle: New for Schiavello Australian Design for Living, organised by Object Gallery and presented in Australia, Milan and London until 2008. info@zuii.com zuii.com
PRODUCTS & OBJECTS_DESIGNERS
Schiavello
sustainability and to creating a strong local market for design skills. Showroom, 31-49 Queensbridge Street, Southbank 9674 1500 schiavello.com Thomas Seymour Trained as an industrial designer at Swinburne University, Seymour has been designing since graduating in 2000 and under his own name for the past three years. He has a range of lighting products and aims to make business a collaborative venture involving artists and designers around Australia. Seymour has exhibited work internationally in the UK, Italy and Germany, and has been involved in many exhibitions and collaborative projects around Australia and Melbourne in particular. Stockist: Corporate Culture thomasseymour.com Side Project David McDonald studied industrial design at Swinburne University. In 2005 – a year after graduation – his work was exhibited at the Milan Furniture Fair and London Designers Block. In 2006, he was invited to show Side Project – Fresh from the Studio
PRODUCT
Founded in 1966, Schiavello is now one of Australia's leading international designers and manufacturers of furniture products. Their production systems, include full research, design and manufacture capabilities. These have seen the company develop and manufacture almost everything it sells: a vast product portfolio of high quality, mass produced interior and furniture components. Schiavello is a design leader in the Victorian economy, always demonstrating an understanding of the innovation value of design and its role as a key ingredient in industrial manufacturing. Specialising in workplace systems furniture, Schiavello designs and manufactures almost 200,000 storage units, 70,000 workstations and 30,000 chairs annually. With this prolific production comes responsibility, and throughout the company, there is an evident passion for abiding by world's best practice principles with regards to environmental performance. Schiavello’s products are designed and engineered in facilities certified to local and international standards. As it is one of Melbourne’s largest manufacturing players, it is great to see Schiavello illustrate such a commitment to
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above Bunny Boo Boo by Zara Wood from Third Drawer Down
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You wash, I’ll dry
The Third Drawer Down collection now features over 50 artists from around the world, including the international electronic pop/multimedia trio Chicks On Speed, Brooklynbased James Gallagher, and Australian artist Emma Magenta. The artworks are screenprinted and sometimes embellished with embroidery on 100 per cent linen limited edition tea towels. By trading in the canvas for the humble tea towel, Crompton had a shot at making art affordable and accessible to everyone. Other Crompton products include Magnart (a non-invasive, magnet-based display a system perfect for hanging objects, including – what coincidence! – screenprinted tea towels), a series of lawn cotton ‘artkerchiefs’, oversized napkins known as ‘lapkins’, ‘bubkins’ for babies, and ‘artprons’. The collection keeps on growing, with 14 new artists and designers to look forward to and another cheeky new product range in the wings. At the time of writing, Crompton was in the process of opening a gallery in beloved neighbourhood in St Kilda, focusing on works on paper and revealing the processes behind design. So perhaps the only question now is: frame it, or keep it in the third drawer down? Stockists: Safari, Craft Victoria, Heide Store, Luft 52 Robe Street, St Kilda thirddrawerdown.com
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Not all dads can claim to have been credited as the catalyst for a brand that has achieved worldwide success in just over three years! St Kilda-based Abigail Crompton launched Third Drawer Down in July 2003 after being given plain tea towels by her dad, who is in the linen business. As an artist herself, it wasn’t too long before Crompton started decorating them. “Then I thought: how cool it would be to invite artists to do tea towels?” Crompton recalls.
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above Susan Cohn’s signature earrings
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Making it This city’s distinctive cultural ecology has produced a thriving craft scene where individuality always has priority, writes Dr Kevin Murray, Director of Craft Victoria.
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Melbourne’s studio artisans are favoured with the opportunity to work in the city centre, as an abundance of heritage-listed buildings offer affordable studio space. This density of production is conducive to cross-fertilisation and experimentation. The Nicholas Building in Swanston Street is an example of how independent designers and makers can colonise architecture and build a community based on contemporary production and cultural activity. Combined with this density comes an attitude that allows room for both the elite and the masses. The perfect symbol for the two-sided yet endearing nature of Melbourne is the scarf. It is an essential accessory to the sports-mad warrior who routinely populates the enormous inner city stadiums, while it is also the calling card of high individualist style. The Craft Victoria Melbourne Scarf Festival celebrates both the sea of recreational knitters across the suburbs and the professional craftsperson working with innovative designs and techniques. The message: you don’t have to be pretentious to be the best. This amalgamation of elite and populist is evident in much of the work made in Melbourne; it often involves recycling materials sourced from the famous opportunity shops (second-hand shops placed in the suburbs, renowned for bargains). Such vintage chic reflects a city at ease with its past and not obsessed with the new for its own sake. And we like things handmade! Something that a person has designed and made themselves means more to us than if it was anonymously mass-manufactured elsewhere. Simple.
top Pendants from the ‘Friends of the Forest’ collection by Iggy and Lou Lou bottom Earrings by David Neale
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the space. All earrings, all exquisite, the white discs made from the bottom of aerosol cans were sold not once, but twice. Neale is a jeweller who is preoccupied with making earrings: the intimate scale, place and history of the earring are referenced in his work. Graduating from gold and silversmithing at RMIT University in 2003, Neale has charted a steady climb to the top of Melbourne’s jewellery scene. With his lightness of touch, he makes ordinary materials precious and a woman’s ear the most fascinating part of her body. Stockist: Gallery Funaki
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Blanche Tilden
top Cameo brooch by Cassandra Chilton bottom Brooch by Jennifer Martin
Blanche Tilden’s jewellery stands apart from the work of many of her young contemporaries. Her training in glass, gold and silversmithing informs a jewellery practice where materials, techniques and ideas traverse familiar and traditional images of the necklace, bracelet and ring. Characterised by her use of glass, repeating elements and precision, Tilden’s jewellery resembles the visual language of chains and hardware systems found in machines. Inspired by the desire to “understand how things work,” Tilden sometimes makes use of readymade chains from bicycles and photocopiers to discuss the relationship between the machinemade and the handmade, design and craft. Her recent work, titled ‘Carte Blanche’, is a product of her newly established workshop Studio Hacienda (with jeweller Phoebe Porter), located in Melbourne’s northeast. Stockists: Gallery Funaki, NDC, Craft Victoria blanchetilden.com.au
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Vikki Kassioros
Jasmina Krupic
and echoes through the mist inspired by the tales of the Brothers Grimm. There’s the imprint of lace on skin, forests of coral and seaweed, tall ships and stormy seas. Each handmade piece is accompanied by a narrative and often sees the combination of unlikely materials, such as the princess’s pea encased in a silver pendant. Stockist: e.g.etal
A jeweller to follow, Melbournetrained Vikki Kassioros works in the Nicholas Building, where art, craft and design talents can rent bright, affordable, inner city studio space. Graduating from RMIT University in 1998, Kassioros is relatively new to the demands of exhibiting and running a full-time business; however, her name and reputation are growing with her recent inclusion as a finalist in the 2006 City of Hobart Art Prize. Emma Grace Kassioros’ large, fused silver chains are Here’s a promising young jeweller who reminiscent of the jewellery adorning has recently received a lot of attention. the women of ancient Greece. Hailing from South Australia, Emma Kassioros draws on her heritage and Grace graduated with a Bachelor of recent travels to the Mediterranean Visual Arts from the University of to inform her exhibition work, South Australia in 2001 and swiftly incorporating small individually cast moved to Melbourne to undertake concrete beads, silk thread and silver. a mentorship program with jeweller Stockists: e.g.etal, Studio Ingot Anna Davern. She now works in her Jennifer Martin own studio in the Nicholas Building, exploring the nexus between traditional Jennifer Martin creates a fairytale jewellery and fashion. Her silhouette world with her work. There are bird pendants are guaranteed to fortune-telling lovebirds in cages, generate compliments. bells hanging from the branches of Stockist: Craft Victoria trees, nightingales singing in the forest Also part of a younger generation of jewellers, Jasmina Krupic has – literally – weaved a red thread through her work. The recurring thread holds pendants and is a decorative element of her jewellery. An RMIT University Interior Design graduate, Krupic is obsessed with forms, shapes and themes. For her latest investigation, she has photographed all her friends dancing wildly at a sailor’s party and now recreates their silhouettes as tiny shapes. They come in pairs, so the dance continues on the wearer’s body. Stockist: Craft Victoria
David Neale In August 2006, the east wall of a Craft Victoria gallery was adorned with bone, paper, plywood, plastic, aluminium and gold. Neale’s objects – fashioned in pairs – had colonised
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Australia and Europe. With titles like ‘Stealth’, ‘Reverie’ and ‘Menace’, Funaki’s work is enigmatic and loaded with visual appeal. Acclaimed for her small, black geometric forms in mild steel, she creates containers and jewellery informed by a lexicon of elegant shapes. Wear a Mari Funaki ring, bangle or brooch, and you will forge a unique relationship with a one-of-a-kind item. Stockist: Gallery Funaki
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above Two figurines from David Ray’s most recent work
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South of China Influential ceramic artist David Ray describes how his education and surroundings in Melbourne encouraged him to step away from a traditional approach to his craft.
So while my early work referenced 17th and 18th century ceramics, I soon started to take an interest in interpreting what I found and saw around me in Melbourne. The ‘rave’ scene became a huge influence – especially Teriyaki Anarchy Saki at the Red Room, an amazing dance club where individuals would express themselves through dance and clothes and other stuff. I found the scene inspiring and it slipped into my work – the energy and rhythms affected the way I made work and I decided to use bright commercial glazes. In the late 1990s, I made ceramic syringe covers in various sizes. The impetus came from living in St Kilda and seeing a lot of drugs on the street; I soon became socially and politically concerned. More recently I have made work referencing power, war, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Islamic tiles. I’m currently working on some dogs, which look at the dynamics between master and slave.
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While I studied ceramics at RMIT, some of my lecturers – who became mentors – encouraged students to conceptualise what ceramics could be. They gave me the confidence to step away from the tiring debates inherent of the time from the late 1970s to the early ‘90s such as ‘is craft art?’ (which could drive a man to drink!). My mentors all had different approaches, but still saw their work as art and spoke of craft as an approach to making. Establishing a direction and developing a style in the Melbourne art/ craft world was tough – you had to have attitude!
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Behind the wheel A brief selection of Melbourne’s ceramicists, from B to V.
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Gregory Bonasera
right Ceramic vessels by Shane Kent
His limited production ceramics designed with the help of computer technology have earned Gregory Bonasera quite a reputation. He realises his shapely bowls, cups, vases and plates using traditional slip casting techniques. This combination of applied technologies coupled with his inquisitive nature is producing some of the most irresistible tableware on the Australian market at present. With a degree in ceramics from Monash University and an impressive folio of furniture and interior design projects from the 1980s to ‘90s, Bonasera is a versatile designer and maker with commercial credibility. His studio is abuzz with music, assistants and deadlines. Stockists: Craft Victoria, NDC, Luft, Make Designed Objects, Hub, Tongue and Groove bonasera.com.au Irene Grishin Selzer Here’s a practice that epitomises the ‘can do’ attitude we love about Melbourne. For many emerging craftspeople, Selzer’s business Iggy and Lou Lou (named after a childhood toy) is an exemplary model of how art, craft and business can come together
to find inspiring market opportunities. Receiving a Masters degree in ceramics from Monash University, Selzer graduated in 2003 and established her business soon after. Supplying distinctive porcelain jewellery and accessories to boutiques in Australia, Japan and Europe, the Iggy and Lou Lou label positions contemporary ceramics in an innovative way. Each jewellery item is handmade, painted and individually resolved. Taking inspiration from historical and pictorial themes, the recent collection references the ‘look’ of early 20th century cinema, specifically the black & white style synonymous with film noir, laced with a baroque aesthetic. With the growing popularity of Iggy and Lou Lou, Selzer’s unique, one-off exhibition pieces are also attracting greater attention. Stockists: Alice Euphemia, Fat, Craft Victoria, Someday Gallery Shane Kent A ceramicist and exceptional drawer, Shane Kent makes small vessels and objects in thrown and handbuilt porcelain. To thoroughly appreciate Kent’s ceramics, you need to contemplate the delicate web of marks navigating the surface of his classic and abiding forms. A visual interplay between form and applied detail, his work reminds us of this quintessential relationship and the fascination it holds for ceramicists
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and craftspeople. Trained in both sculpture and ceramics in Melbourne in the 1980s, Kent conducts an exhibition and research practice, placing his ceramics in the company of academic inquiry. A mentor to numerous emerging ceramicists in the past decade, he performs a key role in delivering training in contemporary ceramic practice at Box Hill Institute of TAFE in Melbourne’s outer east. A finalist in the 2005 City of Hobart Art prize, Kent’s work is held in private collections across Australia. Stockist: Stephen McLaughlan Gallery David Ray
Prue Venables Mention Prue Venables’ name in Melbourne and you will find yourself engaged in dialogue on the intelligible language of form. Put simply, Venables is revered in contemporary craft circles for making consistently beautiful and elegant pots, cups and functional objects. Her porcelain
wares are exceedingly simple, yet they conceal a laborious making process. The forms are thrown on the wheel, then gently bent into a new shape while the clay is still soft; ceramicists will verify how delicate a process this can be. The results are luminous and translucent. Trained in ceramics in both London and Melbourne, Venables’ work is well represented in state and private collections across Australia with a distinguished presence in Europe, Japan and North America. Commissioned by the Yamai and Yamama China Company in 2004 for the design of a dinner set, Venables is featured in the touring exhibition Freestyle curated by Object Gallery, Sydney. Stockist: Christine Abrahams Gallery 9428 6099 christineabrahamsgallery.com.au
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It is hard to believe that the term ‘baroque’ was once a dirty word or, at the very least, not very popular. In the mid-1990s, soon after completing his studies in ceramics, David Ray attracted great attention by turning his back on the established codes and style guides to realise his own, truly unique, ceramic practice. Armed with a wicked sense of humour, he produces handformed figurines, bowls, teacups, vases, syringe cases and service tureens (for human body parts) that are simply wild. He describes his influences as “everything from art world elitism to the art of graffiti, the mark of the thumb and human imperfections.” Stockists: Nellie Castan Gallery On show at NGV, Shepparton Art Gallery, Swan Hill Regional Gallery
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Plane shavings Without the skilled furniture craftsman, we are poorer for not realising the potential of beautiful Australian timbers, writes leading furniture maker Damien Wright, introducing the tradition of wood craft in Melbourne.
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Melbourne is a city that values ideas, the aesthetics of longevity and of landscape, of cultural heritage, the material symbols of place and the emotional life of objects. There is a tradition of institutions and individuals supporting furniture craftsmen – from Schulim Krimper to Andreas Stals and Bryan Poynton – to design and create works of art that organically weld function, form, site and vision. As a craftsperson, you can never hide your mistakes – and this can be applied to life. Craft is linked to the past and future – the skill, knowledge, patience and sincere relation to material are singularly important and dynamically related. Wood appeals to the senses; it will endure long after the hand that has worked it, and it provides an antidote to the modern industrial and mass consumed product. While wood is never easy to use, it is always rewarding and its Australian varieties are commonly found and rarely valued. The craft practices of furniture designers and makers in Melbourne are often played out in relative obscurity. It is difficult for the independent maker to survive in the retail industry and many work towards exhibitions at venues like Craft Victoria and Kazari Collector. Many Melbourne-trained craftsmen are working in collectives or timber workshops producing furniture for companies such as Nicholas Dattner, The Timber Trip and Natural Selection.
left Custom-designed seating by Damien Wright for the Immigration Museum
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Visual Culture 230 Introduction 232 Profiles_designers in the public eye 250 Let’s get visual_a cross-section of designers 256 Go see AGIdeas_event profile 257 Designs on paper 260 Publish or perish_bookish behaviour 262 Bookstores VISUAL EAT/DRINK REGIONAL RESOURCES
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above Round project: cushion typeface right City of Melbourne, City Gallery Flush exhibition catalogue
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Not square When Michaela Webb and Robert Nudds moved to Melbourne in 2002 to open a graphic design business, the duo had nothing to their name except, well, a name: Round. Four years on, their portfolio of clients is as impressive as their unique approach to business, earning them a reputation as one of Melbourne’s most dynamic and respected design studios. Now joined by a handful of talented creatives, Round keeps its clients constantly surprised with innovative design solutions and meticulous attention to detail across a wide range of output that includes strategic branding, websites, products and publications.
Having recently branded the restaurants Three, One, Two for chef Andrew McConnell and Teage Ezard’s Gingerboy, Round are also on board of the new No.1 East Melbourne project for Becton, the interiors of which come courtesy of British design supremo Claudio Silvestrin. Truly passionate about their work, Round manage to marry corporate clientele with inspired creativity. Tactility is a big priority, and the lofty studio frequently turns into a handson workshop, with designers folding materials or building models, rather than being confined to pushing pixels. Webb has recently been elected joint President of the Australian Graphic Designers Association, Victoria. Level 2, 137 Flinders Lane, Melbourne 9663 6675 round.com.au
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The designers invite their clients to embark with them on an explorative journey. The studio now nurtures longterm relationships with some of the city’s largest cultural institutions, such as the NGV, Anna Schwartz Gallery, Arts Victoria and The Ian Potter Museum of Art. Round draw on much experience gathered in London, where Webb and Nudds worked on prestigious accounts such as Whitechapel Art Gallery, Deutsche Bank Kunst, Sony and Channel 4.
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right Studio Pip and Co.’s 2006 campaign for Moonlight Cinema in the Botanic Gardens
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Not flat Studio Pip and Co.’s work stretches far beyond the traditional dimensions of graphic design.
As the designer for the inaugural State of Design Festival, the Melbourne Design Festival and the National Design Centre, Ashton’s work has a strong presence in Melbourne’s design circles. In the ‘Stephen’ paper campaign for Spicer’s paper, the studio – in typical Ashton style – collaborated with writers, illustrators and artists. As the outcome, the team created a personality for Stephen – the humble paper was furnished with a fictional home, hobbies and friends. Consequently, sales went through the roof. Talk about two dimensional… Suite 5, 171 Greville Street, Prahran 9525 0061 peoplethings.com
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Always active in the national and international design arena, Andrew Ashton is one of only three Australian members of the exclusive, invitation-only Alliance Graphique Internationale. A graphic designer since 1989, Ashton has been employed by studios, formed design partnerships and resigned from them, volunteered for design associations, worked too much and took the odd sabbatical. Ashton, who is also an active member in the council of the Australian Graphic Design Association, stands out for his extra-curricular activities spanning from organising, participating in and supporting designers’ exhibitions to producing small publications that are sold in local design bookstores. As the director of Studio Pip and Co., Ashton manages to add its signature quirky and rigorous approach to all of his briefs. These are wide and varied, ranging from weekly magazines, brand identities, and websites to custom type, children’s books and packaging.
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above The City Library’s identity and environmental signage
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Poster boy The pinnacle of graphic design, it seems, is conventionally reached via one of two routes: the ‘corporate’ path, involving strategy plans, suits, boardroom appointments and a lot of marketing-speak, or the ‘artistic’ path, which is creative, free from compromise, cutting-edge and community-connected. Stephen Cornwell has opted for something in-between.
Injecting social consciousness into the often aesthetically preoccupied world of graphic designers, Cornwell involved his employees in producing a groundbreaking exhibition by the name of Issues & Images Since September 11 – A Poster Art Journey, which opened a few days short of the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks. The event had prompted Cornwell himself to respond with a drawing and over the next year, he had encouraged each of his 11 staff to create a poster responding to issues of the current month. With proceeds of the exhibition and its consequent auction going to charity, Cornwell took his team on a new journey; that of pursuing a positive connection with community organisations. The latest of these assignments included the development of a signage program for the City Library in Flinders Lane. 8 Daly Street, South Yarra 9823 9900 cornwell.com.au
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Cornwell founded his company straight out of university in 1992 and was joined by his wife, Jane, a year or so later. As branding design experts, Cornwell Design confidently takes on assignments like untangling the complicated web of signage of Melbourne’s privatised public transport system to create the coherent, easily recognised brand and attached information system of Metlink. Cornwell is also credited with having paved the way for the Melbourne design community to uncover and cherish the art of poster design.
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Eat/Drink/Sleep 266 Introduction 268 The Old School_the classics 270 Bread hot_bakeries 272 A bit of a bite‌_lunch 276 Fine dining by design_impress and seduce 282 Pizza, my love_a new generation of pizza makers 284 Love the laneways_bars and restaurants 288 Barchitecture_Six Degrees of hospitality 292 One-up_climb the stairs 294 Later that night_time to paint the town 298 A man’s best friend_animal instincts
302 Hot hotels
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above The Order of Melbourne
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Introduction What would all that creativity be without a decent meal, a beer, a chat and painting the town red? The Melbourne Design Guide’s bar and restaurant section was put together by designers, for designers. Whether it’s their exquisite or unusual design or their popularity with designers, the selection of venues in this section of the book was driven by the recommendations of dozens of local creatives who were consulted in the making of this book. Broken up in chapters, you’ll find an introduction to some of Melbourne’s cult destinations, the most exclusive dining venues where the surroundings are perfectly matched to the cuisine, and a guide to some popular late-night spots. Forge ahead into the more obscure venues located above street level or at the dead end of a narrow laneway, journey through the unique ‘bar-chitecture’ of Six Degrees, get your fix of taxidermied moose or find the perfect spot to take your hip-to-the-core grandma for lunch.
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The old school In a city that sizzles with new arrivals on the bar and restaurant stage, permanently closing doors are an equally frequent sight. Yet among the comings and goings, there are a handful of establishments without which Melbourne just wouldn’t be the same. Here’s an introduction to the cult classics.
above Pellegrini’s
The European With its old world, continental atmosphere, eurocentric wine list and Mediterranean-inspired fare, the European will make you forget where you are – until you overhear the conversations on the next table. This is the place to rub shoulders with the politicians from across the road over breakfast, or beat Melbourne’s architectural intelligentsia at poker later on. 161 Spring Street, Melbourne 9654 0811
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Grossi Florentino – The Cellar Bar Florentino has rarely changed hands since opening as a wine bar in 1900. The most recent change was in 1998 when Guy Grossi bought the fine dining establishment and – except for changing the name to Grossi Florentino – retained a strong sense of tradition. Grossi Florentino consists of three spaces, of which the Cellar Bar is the most boho, affordable and casual. It specialises in authentic Italian cuisine and good wine until midnight every night. The fine dining room features
murals that were applied by RMIT University students under the direction of renowned public artist Napier Waller earlier in the 20th century. This is also the place to spot an original Bill Henson photograph. 80 Bourke Street, Melbourne 9662 1811 Jimmy Watson’s Wine Bar Opened in the 1930s by the legendary Jimmy Watson, this Lygon Street wine bar and restaurant has been an institution for Carlton’s locals for all living memory. In 1962, after Watson’s death, architect Robin Boyd redesigned the premises using whitewashed walls and terracotta tiles. The building is now considered an early example of modern architecture in Melbourne. It’s still run by Watson’s son and grandsons, still serves good restaurant food and, of course, still features an extensive wine list. 333 Lygon Street, Carlton 9347 3985
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Yu-u Situated in a hard to find basement off Flinders Lane, Yu-u makes delicate Japanese dishes in beautiful surrounds. Book ahead – the secret is spreading like wildfire. 137 Flinders Lane (enter via Oliver Lane), Melbourne 9639 7073
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above Journal, designed by Rabindra Naidoo photography Ben Glezer right graphics for Mr Tulk by Spike Hibberd of AM Editions and Dion Hall
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that of the restaurant itself. It’s an unusual room, providing a dining haven from the throng of Melbourne Central. The generous terrace provides a fantastic reconnection with the city streets. Melbourne Central, Level 3, 211 La Trobe Street, Melbourne 9654 0808 sosmelbourne.com.au
Verge
Taxi
Located in the revitalised Normanby Chambers, Vue de Monde is a lightfilled space pairing historic structure with recycled materials and white upholstered chairs. Elenberg Fraser delivers a dramatic yet simple design with eclectic interior details. Vue de Monde creates a sense of theatre while leaving a neutral canvas for the main show – the very open kitchen. Normaby Chambers, 430 Little Collins Street, Melbourne 9691 3888 vuedemonde.com.au
Traversing Japanese and Western cuisines, Verge’s intimately detailed tastes are delivered by chef Dallas Cuddy. Verge manages an impeccable combination of Japanese-infused Australian food, great wine list, a perfect location overlooking Treasury Gardens, and some of the best architecture and interior design (by Denton Corker Marshall) in Stokehouse Melbourne. Pardon the pun, but this A famous destination near the beach restaurant is on the verge of perfection. with excellent furnishings and simple And, with renovations now completed, yet impeccable detailing, Stokehouse is it just got even closer. designed to draw the guest out of their 1 Flinders Lane, Melbourne troubles and into a sense of celebration. 9639 9500 Also featuring a splendid outdoor area, Stokehouse traverses styles and origins Vue de Monde with its very fine fare. A degustation dinner menu by chef 30 Jacka Boulevard, St Kilda Shannon Bennett is the feature at 9525 5555 what is without doubt one of the best stokehouse.com.au fine dining establishments in the city.
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With surprising views out to Melbourne’s west, Taxi and its chefs Michael Lambie and Ikuei Arakane bring a new and now much loved ‘food platform’ to lovers of modern Japanese food. The cavernous void at Federation Square is superbly fitted out by Maddison Architects as a contemporary grand dining room, with design elements that keep your eyes as stimulated as your taste buds. Level 1, Transport Hotel, Federation Square, Melbourne 9654 8808 transporthotel.com.au
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Pizza, my love There’s never been a shortage of Italian cuisine in this town since waves of immigrants brought their culinary customs to Melbourne. Yet somehow, Roman traditions were quickly overthrown by doughy crusts and fistfuls of ham strips ‘a la Americana’. That was until a few years ago, when the ‘designer pizza’ first reared its beautifully thin base, and had Melburnians warming to the pizza revolution faster than a wood-fired oven. Here’s an introduction to the new generation of pizza makers.
right Ladro
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photography Trevor Mein
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I Carusi
Pizza Meine Liebe
Located in an unassuming townhouselike shopfront with permanently closed blinds, it didn’t take long for Melbourne’s food mafia to blow the lid on I Carusi’s criminally delicious pizzas, which includes such extravagances as chocolate and strawberry desert pizza. Now, I Carusi II takes care of the fans south of the river in a slightly more obvious location on Barkly Street, but the Lygon Street headquarters will forever remain the epicentre of Melbourne’s ‘new pizza’. 46a Holmes Street, Brunswick East 9386 5522 231 Barkly Street, St Kilda 9593 6033
While the name is confusing (German? For pizza?), the message is not. Yes, they looove pizza at Meine Liebe. The ingredients are marvellous and the interior slightly more family oriented than those of the other new pizza restaurants – it’s Northcote, after all. 231 High Street, Northcote 9482 7001 Mr Wolf Restaurant and Bar
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This Chris Connell-designed restaurant has proven addictive to some; rumour has it Mr Wolf’s neighbours practically live there. In true St Kilda style, the Mr Wolf menu includes the option of gluten and yeast-free pizza bases. The Ladro adjacent bar offers a slightly more This light, white, theatrical restaurant casual setting. If your date is a little had the foodie scene abuzz when it first awkward, boast with your knowledge opened its doors on Gertrude Street in of the local design scene: the prints 2004. But don’t think the hype has died on the wall are by renowned graphic down. Turn up without a reservation designers Fiona Mahon and partner and all you’ll have to chew on is your David Band, who has also established jealousy as you watch more organised a successful career as an artist. diners dig into skilfully topped circles 9-15 Inkerman Street, St Kilda of dough. Nevermind – if you can’t 9534 0255 manage to secure a Paul Morrisdesigned Rombi stool, there’s always takeaway for a sophisticated night on the couch. 224 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy 9415 7575
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above Section 8 by DireTribe right Croft Institute
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Love the laneways By now you’ve probably realised: the laneways are one of Melbourne’s most intriguing feature and inspiration to many a creative thinker. There’s no better way to get to know them than with a journey through its resident bars. Affordable liquor licenses and cheap rent have established Melbourne as the bar capital of Australia. Since the mid1990s, inner city bars and restaurants have mushroomed in many hidden laneway corners, where young people with interesting ideas and not a lot of cash are increasingly creating vibrant, fun and creative spaces for their peers. None of the following were designed by big names in the design game, and most were created on a shoestring. But all of them are a testament to Melbourne’s innovative and exciting scene. Although this selection is far from complete, here’s a journey to some of the essential laneway destinations across the inner city.
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One up It’s not new, but moving above street level is definitely the latest trend in Melbourne’s bar world. While many bar owners seek to further infiltrate the web of doglegged laneways to move out of the public eye, others literally raise the bar by establishing their watering holes several floors up. Instead of stumbling across milk crates and rubbish bins in hidden laneways, those chasing the hottest new nightspots must find the right stairways to climb. Here’s a selection of some of the top locations that have taken the city’s bar scene to a new level.
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Cookie
far right Workshop, designed by the Splinter Society photography Bison Studio right The Order of Melbourne
This day and night haunt was the first commercial venture to revive the now buzzing Curtain House. It’s renowned for its variety of tap beers and theatrical bar staff who turn the act of fixing a drink into a performance. For real drama, order the Bloody Mary – it comes with a tree-sized celery stick. Cleverly divided into three areas, Cookie is great for socialising (think Belgian beerhall); romanticising (the Juliet-style balconies are hot property, especially in summer); dinner (the Thai-inspired menu is delicious and the fish custard a classic with many foodies); and dry cleaning (on Friday nights, picking up a suit shouldn’t
pose too much of a problem.) The kooky – pun intended – wallpaper and children’s books paraphernalia rounds off a great bar experience. Level 1, 252 Swanston Street, Melbourne Hell’s Kitchen Hell’s Kitchen ventured towards the rooftops before anyone else, and is a popular spot for artists and musicians. A tiny venue with a miniscule entryway right next to Jungle Juice, it’s great for watching experimental bands on Saturday nights. Fabulous views over Centre Place, good food and infused vodkas during the day are further reasons why you should check it out. 20a Centre Place, Melbourne Melbourne Supper Club When the fine wine and food has dried up elsewhere, there’s always the Supper Club. Immaculately groomed and mannered waiters will do their best not to remind you of your solemn state as they ensure the supply of late night snacks, cigars and extraordinary wines won’t stop flowing until at least 4am. The timeless service, wood-paneled walls and the weathered leather couches have firmly cemented this relative newcomer onto the Melbourne nightscape as if had always been there. 161 Spring Street, Melbourne
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Wall Two 80 Once a kosher butchery, Wall Two 80 is a hole-in-the-wall coffee institution that was set up in 1998 in one of Melbourne’s most eclectic neighbourhoods. With its downto-earth design that incorporates padded milk crate tables and chairs, Six Degrees arguably pioneered the current trend of communal tables in cafes. When the roller doors are down, ‘Wall’ can be seen painted on the doors and between the brickwork. 280 Carlisle Street, St Kilda East
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above The snowflakeshaped Huski apartment complex at Falls Creek photography Peter Bennetts right Bendigo Art Gallery photography John Gollings
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Out of town There are architectural and design delights in every direction from Melbourne, waiting to be discovered. While you’re on a day, weekend or week-long trip, don’t forget to take a little detour to these interesting destinations.
Southeast Phillip Island isn’t renowned for its architecture, but while you are on this small island mostly famous for (in no particular order) motorbike racing and penguins, you might also like to let your eye stray to these two buildings designed with the visitor and the environment in mind. Phillip Island Penguin Visitor’s Centre
Churchill Island Visitor Centre Churchill Island, reached by a bridge from Phillip Island, is rich in cultural and natural features, and was the site of the first European dwelling, crops and garden in Victoria way back in 1801. The Churchill Island Visitor Centre serves as a take-off and return point for visitors to the island, and incorporates a small shop, cafe and administration, car and bus parks, and links with a series of paths to the historic buildings and walking trails. The complex was designed by Gregory Burgess Architects, who are responsible for many of regional Victoria’s Visitor Centres, including Lorne, Twelve Apostles and the Brambuk Living Cultural Centre situated in the GariwerdGrampians ranges. Churchill Island 5956 7214
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Designed by Daryl Jackson Architects, the building serves to channel up to 3,000 visitors at a time onto raised viewing platforms to observe the penguins in their daily parade. The architecture of the building is principally motivated by the need to protect both the penguins and their fragile dune habitat from their multitude of visitors. The complex incorporates and extensively modifies three existing buildings, linking them
by way of a central tensile fabric structure, and adds to this a series of wooden decked viewing platforms. 1019 Ventnor Road, Summerland 5951 2800 penguins.org.au
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above The Allan Powelldesigned TarraWarra Museum of Art
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photography Peter Bennetts right The platypus enclosure by Cassandra Complex at Healesville Sanctuary photography John Gollings
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There are just 14 apartments in the complex, each with custom designed furnishings. The stunning architecture of Huski, captured by the never-fail lens of resident photographer Peter Bennetts, Huski has been published around the world and has helped Victoria to be known as a stylish skiing escape. Designed by Elenberg Fraser, Huski is the first in a series of ‘art and design’-branded developments for Falls Creek. Next in line is Silverski Lodge, a vintage-inspired boutique hotel by the same architects, with their redevelopment of the Falls Plaza, known as The Saints, to follow. huski.com.au silverskilodge.com.au peterbennetts.com Northwest Architecture, design and the arts are booming in Victoria’s inner northwest and the Central Highlands. When on a day or weekend trip, don’t miss the following designconscious destinations. Lake House Daylesford
Daylesford Convent The Convent was built in 1860 as the Gold Commissioner’s private residence, before being bought by the Catholic Church to spend the next 100 years as convent and boarding school. Artist and ceramicist Tina Banitska purchased the Convent in 1988, carefully restoring it over 15 years with architectural help from Vladimir Chernov and Six Degrees. The clean, striking visual identity was developed by 3Deep Design. An art gallery, cafe, bar and store, the picturesque Convent also houses a reception area and penthouse apartment in its upper reaches, perfect for a wedding. The art gallery presents work by 100 local, national and international artists in a variety of media and styles over seven exhibition spaces. 7 Daly Street, Daylesford 5348 3211 theconvent.com.au Taking the Waters Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, the conjoined towns at the heart of the Central Highlands, are both famous for their natural mineral water springs. Originally, weekenders would travel by train from Spencer Street Station (now the undulating Southern Cross Station, designed by Nicholas Grimshaw Architects) in the city and finish their evening journey (after dinner and a sherry on the train) by staying at one of the many fine hotels (pubs) in the area to ‘take the waters’. Things have not changed much, except for the mode of transport (think expensive 4WD) and the accommodation (think architectdesigned lodges, cabins, retreats and the like). If you are in the area and fancy a gentle scrub, visit the Hepburn Springs resort at the bottom of the
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Awarded ‘Country Restaurant of the Year’ for its season-driven menu by The Age Good Food Guide 2007, the Lake House interior frames a lovely view across Daylesford Lake, one of the best settings for a meal in Victoria, especially in either spring or autumn, when the deciduous trees add to the atmosphere. The Lake House also houses an award-winning luxurious hotel of 33 rooms and suites. King Street, Daylesford 5348 3329 lakehouse.com.au
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