Melbourne Insider: Lucy McIntosh

Thursday 2 September 2010, 8:03 AM
By The Team | Posted in Events

Melbourne model Lucy McIntosh – and the face of this year’s Melbourne Spring Fashion Week – spilled some city secrets in today’s  City Weekly ‘Melbourne Insider’ column. Between parades and other fashion engagements, Lucy also found time to answer our questions on a subject she knows well: style.

Here’s what she told us.

Define Melbourne’s style. 

Melbourne’s style is unparalleled by any other city in the world. Its unique culture clash of urban chic, eclectic vintage and corporate couture is always bound to impress.

Who is the most stylish Melburnian you know?

Style comes in many different shapes and forms. The great thing about Melbourne is that it’s a place that allows you to express yourself!

If I had to nominate anyone, it would be my friend Bree, she has a natural sense if style with retro pieces and experiments with new styles all the time.

If I had to nominate anyone famous, I’d actually say Ruby Rose! She is this year’s ambassador to MSFW so I think everyone thinks the same thing. She is cool!

Favourite spot in the city to people watch?

I love Madame Brussels! Love the garden inspired ‘tea party’ set up and they have an amazing terrace overlooking the city. Beautiful!

Must have for spring in the city?

Always dress in a gorgeous flowing spring dress, comfortable clogs and sunglasses. Then you’re always prepared for a sunny afternoon reading a great book (Eat, Pray, Love is one of my faves at the moment) in one of Melbourne’s beautiful parks.

Best way to spend a spring evening in town?

Lounging on a rooftop bar, watching a movie and hanging with friends.

Favourite place in the city to shop?

The city! It has everything from high end designer labels to the funky little boutiques…I love mixing  eclectic and vintage styles with a more structured, high-end piece! 

 Most suave live music venue in the city?

In spring, I love live music festivals in the warm outdoors.

What is Melbourne’s best-kept style secret?

Melbournians are great at having such a cool style. So many people here have their own individual fashion styles – but pull it all together with ease.

 What would you pack in your handbag to prepare for a night out in the city?

The essentials – wallet, phone, house keys and lip gloss.

Five words to describe Melbourne?Stylish, trendy, chic, cultural and alternative!

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week finishes this Sunday 5 September. Lucy appears in each nightly Designer Series show. Some tickets still available – but be quick.

Signs of spring

Wednesday 1 September 2010, 10:04 AM
By Holly Shorland | Posted in Things

The calendar tells us that spring is here today. But Melburnians know better than to trust such flimsy weather gauges. At That’s Melbourne, we decided to go looking for more concrete evidence that it is indeed safe to start pushing those jumpers to the back of the wardrobe.

This is what we found.

It’s hard to deny the proof bought by these lovely spring blossoms, spotted outside Flagstaff Gardens on a sunny(ish) Sunday afternoon.

Bare legs with a splash of sunlight show that some of us are keen to let the bright one in.

The Melbourne Writers Festival, with one book-end in winter and the other in spring, draws us from our garrets and our armchairs and lures us to Federation Square.

The final clue:  the sky above the Eureka Tower, with not a cloud to be seen. A reassuring image for all spring-seekers.

How about you, are you convinced we’re on the cusp of something spring?

Hot Spots: The Play Team

Tuesday 31 August 2010, 4:42 PM
By Hot Spots Team | Posted in Events

Craft Victoria’s annual Craft Cubed Festival (or, to the mathematically inclined, ‘Craft To The Power Of Three Festival’) wraps up with a closing party at 31 Flinders Lane this Saturday. The festival’s theme of ‘Childhood’ will by no means prevent Joe Pascoe and his team from breaking out the champers we’ve come to expect at such soirees.

Between now and then, though, there’s a far less grown-up Craft Cubed event that you shouldn’t miss.

The brainchild of Ben Landau and Alex Desebrock, The Play Team is a series of workshops for grown ups at Birrarung Marr’s (usually) kids-only art space, Art Play.

Ben and Alex know that, buried deep beneath our worries about tax returns, car insurance and the interest payments we can avoid through credit debt transfers, lies a crazy child who just wants to ride a cardboard box down the stairs. So they’re inviting us to come and make some toys with them on 1, 2 and 3 September.

You: ‘Toys? What are they?’

Ben: ‘Remember building a box cubby to keep the dragons out? How many ways can you make a giraffe? Remember everything a cardboard tube can be?!’

Don’t deny it, you totally remember. Book yourself a spot on the Play Team. At $5 a pop, each session will cost you a week’s pocket money. Ask your mum for a loan though, ‘cos all the other kids are going.

The Play Team, 1, 2 and 3 September, 5.30pm to 7pm. Book here.

Melbourne, we dare you

Friday 27 August 2010, 9:08 AM
By Georgina Laidlaw | Posted in Things

Tired of the grind? Try a little reckless risk-taking – we find it does wonders for the complexion.

We’re not suggesting you do anything that could land your mugshot in MX and your butt in the back of a divvy van – there’s no need to take things that far! In Melbourne you can stick your neck out in the name of fun without disturbing the peace (too much).

Think you’re up to the challenge? Go ahead, Melbourne: we dare you!

Laughter is good for the Spleen

You know, you really are a hoot. Every great comedian has to start somewhere, so why not kick off your career at Spleen’s open mic Mondays? Comedy@Spleen  always includes established acts, so you won’t be cracking jokes just for the bartender and that kanoodling couple in the corner. There’ll be a real audience, and real laughs.

Tai Chi cadets

Too scared to join the zen, hip, seventy-plus super-grans who do perfect Tai Chi in the park? Hone your Tai Chi chops – and entertain a few passing commuters – at Fed Square on Tuesday mornings.  Before you know it, you’ll be grasping the sparrow’s tail and repulsing the monkey with the best of ‘em!

Public piano, please

We don’t care if you wagged every one of those expensive piano classes your parents paid for: we want to hear you tickle the ivories. Wow the crowds with your public piano performance on Wednesdays at Fed Square. Bring a few friends for a guaranteed standing ovation … and break a leg!

Trigger-happy snappers

Secretly fancy yourself as a photographer? Join a Loop photography night walk . Snap happily – with arty advice – while you stroll the most scenic corners of our fine city. Then it’s back to the bar, where, with a stiff drink, you can watch your work screened on the wall for all to see.

80s countdown on ice

Admit it: you can’t ice skate, and you know every word to Footloose. Sounds like you’re the ideal candidate for the 80s countdown on Icehouse’s mega-rink this Friday. Mix a bunch of uncoordinated mates, the Safety Dance and some razor-sharp skate blades for the ultimate in hair-raising hilarity. Don’t forget your leg warmers!

 If, after all this, the daredevil in you is still hungry for adrenalin, these coming events might help you get your thrills:

The St George Melbourne Marathon – but remember to put some training in – or choose a length that’s going to see you finish better in a better state than this distance event’s namesake.

Thrill the World invites Melbourne – and the world – to dance to Thriller in a city-wide flash mob on Saturday 23 October.  

What daring antics have you been up to recently?

Hubble 3D: twinkle, twinkle massive star

Tuesday 24 August 2010, 4:57 PM
By Lucy Perera | Posted in Events

Hubble 3D gives you a glimpse into the unknowable, taking you billions of light years into space – through the lense of the largest space telescope known to humankind.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s measured tones guide us through the Hubble’s journey into space: from its creation (10,000 people spent more than 10 years designing and building the Hubble) to its bumpy start in 1990 (a faulty optical system was the culprit).

Three years, and a pair of giant contact lenses later, the Hubble was finally operational – bringing crystal-clear vision of an intangible world.

Hubble 3D takes us into the opalescent-like nebula of Orion’s Belt, a nursery for stars and planets with their own infant solar systems. It’s a world where the sun rises and sets every 90 minutes. The film’s 3D effect comes into its own here, as you are immersed in enormous canyons of gaseous clouds and hundreds of millions of stars seem to spring out of the screen, almost within hands’ reach.

As we swing back to Planet Earth, we join a group of seven astronauts as they prepare for a challenging mission to service the Hubble – kinda like changing spark plugs but with oven mitts in zero gravity.

The rest of the film documents the laborious rehearsals, checking and reviewing that dominates mere mortals’ adventures into space. The final, incredible blast-off into space is a 3D wonder.

Space junkies will love this film’s insights into how NASA’s operations, but those like me, who prefer to dream without being grounded by reality, may yearn for more of those glorious, 3D fly-through images.

Would-be astronauts can view Hubble 3D at IMAX Carlton until 12 October. Tickets are $17.50 adult, $14 concession, $12.50 child, $50 family (two adults and two children).

Slow Sundays: Live Bait

Sunday 22 August 2010, 9:27 AM
By The Team | Posted in Places

Ahoy me hearties! Only two weeks until Slow Sundays is gone for another year! This is your penultimate chance to dine on a delicious meal and a glass of wine or beer for $15.

Perched right on the edge of the docks, Livebait has one of the best views of our sparkling city with its vast, glass windows looking to the river and beyond.

Seafood is what Livebait does best. You might be temped by the fried seafood and prawn gyoza with a tangy pickled cucumber salad and wasabi mayonnaise. Or perhaps the tasty duo of sashimi king fish and salmon with a beetroot Gravlax, garnished with micro herb salad and miso vinaigrette is more your thing.

As part of Slow Sundays you can enjoy either of these dishes, served with either a glass of 2008 Main Divide Sauvignon Blanc, from Marlborough NZ or a Bluebottle beer – for only $15.

Slow Sundays at Docklands,  Sunday s until 29 August, between 2pm and 6pm. Enjoy a small meal and a selected beer or wine for only $15. At participating restaurants. Conditions apply.

Father’s Day: a tasteful occasion

Friday 20 August 2010, 2:09 PM
By The Team | Posted in Things

A box of chocolates is a simple pleasure and a welcome gift. But when those chocolates are made by Koko Black in collaboration with Guy Grossi (of Grossi Florentino fame) – the pleasure becomes a little more sophisticated, and the gift becomes a treasure.

It’s one of the things our city does best, mixing good things together to make something extra special.

The four chocolates in the Koko Black for Grossi range were created with fathers in mind, inspired by Guy Grossi’s Italian chef father. Flavours come from traditional Italian ingredients including olive oil, chianti, saffron and gianduja truffle.

At that’s melbourne, we decided to host a father-focused tasting of these chocolates. Our resident father loved the packaging – an elegant red box. The absence of butterflies and bows was gratefully noted.

The chocolates themselves are equally lacking in frills and bows. They are instead confident classics – the kind of chocolates you’d imagine dad eating with a glass of something special and his favourite book nearby.

Our father said he would be delighted to receive these for Father’s Day – or any day of the week. He said it a few times, actually. Not that we can blame him for the hints!

The Koko Black for Grossi range will be available at Koko Black salons ­and at Grossi Florentino until Sunday 12 September. Choose from boxes of 12, six or four chocolates. A chocolate-infused olive oil completes the range.

Father’s Day is on Sunday 5 September.

We have more Father’s Day ideas here.

THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. Win! We have two boxes of 12 Koko Black for Grossi  chocolates to give away. For a chance to win one, tell us below where you’d take your dad for a day out in the central city. Competition closed at 3pm on Monday 30 August.
Winner will be drawn randomly. Please include your correct email address so we can contact you if you win.Congratulations to our winners: Eden Flynn and Sara San.

Thank you for your many wonderful entries. Melbourne has so many adored dads!

Hot Spots: hook turns with Bus Projects

Thursday 19 August 2010, 11:39 AM
By Hot Spots Team | Posted in People

Melbourne’s myriad laneways are home to an industrious network of artist-run and independent art spaces, promising all manner of brain fodder and creative inspiration should you venture in their direction.

Hot Spots caught up with Drew Pettifer from Bus Projects  to find out what makes this gallery’s wheels go round (and round).

What makes Bus different from other artist-run initiatives (ARIs) and independent art spaces?

Bus Projects focuses on the exhibition of sound and spatial art, which certainly distinguishes it from other ARIs and independent art spaces. 

We are still open to all forms of contemporary art production, particularly if it is experimental or adventurous, but sound and spatial art is our main focus.  Our mission is ultimately to get more art by more young and emerging artists seen by more people more often.

What kind of artists have you had on your roster in the past?

Bus has shown a broad range of different artists during the past nine and a bit years. Artists such as Chris Bond, Helen Johnson, Tai Snaith and Viv Miller have all acknowledged the significant role Bus played in the development of their artistic careers. 

We’ve had some great sound performances at the gallery too, by artists such as Marco Fusinato, Phil Samartzis and Rod Cooper. 

Bus closed its Little Lonsdale gallery doors in March.  Is Bus now going to move into a real bus?

That’s certainly part of the plan…We had planned to launch a mobile art space on a bus earlier in the year, but had problems with the roadworthiness of the vehicle we had in mind.  I think our ideal situation is to have both a permanent gallery space and a bus which we use as a mobile project space.  Hopefully, in the coming months, one or both of these spaces will become a reality.

Is there a stronger focus on off-site projects? 

We’re interested in satellite projects and project spaces and engaging artists and audiences in new ways.  Until we have a new space of our own we will certainly continue functioning as a kind of roaming gallery – we’ll certainly be sticking around for a while longer.

Keep an eye on the Bus Projects website for details of coming projects. Some big things are in the wings, we hear.

www.busprojects.com.au

Best in show

Tuesday 17 August 2010, 5:16 PM
By Lucy Perera | Posted in Events

After you’ve braved the queues at the polling booths to decide the future of the nation this weekend, stay in judgement mode and get your self along to the Australian Speciality Cheesemakers’ Association (ASCA) Public Cheese Show.

Try some of the best artisanal cheeses in the country and meet cheesemakers as part of the ASCA annual judging competition.

Here’s a sneak preview of some of the premium cheeses that will be on show and what we thought of them.

Milawa Cheese Company – King River Gold
Made by one of best-known cheese producers from North East Victoria, this multi-award winning heavyweight in the cheese world has over nine titles to its name. The King River Gold is a perfect introduction to washed rind cheese, which is traditionally known for its pungent and somewhat overpowering aroma. The King River Gold, however, has a delicate yet earthy flavour. One taster described the aftertaste as ‘salady’ or similar to alfalfa sprouts.

Locheilan Farmhouse Cheeses – Triple Cream
Reminiscent of a camembert or brie, this very indulgent cheese has been enriched with cream not just once but thrice! The soft, white mould exterior hides a beautiful, creamy cheese that has a light, almost airy texture similar to whipped butter. A devastatingly smooth taste leaves a lingering piquant flavour on the palate.

Tarago River Cheese Company – Strzelecki Blue
This was love at first bite for all the tasters! One person described the Strzelecki Blue as being ‘everything a blue cheese should be’. Made with goat milk, this creamy cheese from Gippsland South is not overly strong but has wonderful layered, smoky flavours. Its depth and complexity make it a must-have on any good cheeseboard.

Maffra Cheese Company – Mature Cheddar
Encased in white wax, this cheese is on a first-name basis with its producers: the members of a single herd of Holstein Friesian cows from central Gippsland who kindly provided their spring milk. That might explain why this smooth cheese has a sweetish, oaky flavour at first, and then rounds off with a definite tangy bite. It would be perfectly paired with a wedge of quince paste.

Sample these cheeses – and about 296 other varieties – in unlimited tastings at the ASCA Public Cheese Show, along with wine and beer, this weekend, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 August. The show will be held at the Palladium Room – Crown Complex from 11am until 4pm. Buy tickets at the door for $45 adult, and $15 concession.

Hot Spots: handmade for you

Friday 13 August 2010, 2:42 PM
By Hot Spots Team | Posted in People

You don’t need an international boarding pass to come by that hand-crafted woven ikat backpack or custom-fit pair of selvedge denim jeans. Melbourne is abundant with crafty artisans who know how to use their hands and keep their production local.

Here are a few of our favourite city-dwelling artisans.

J.S. Roberts: Handmade Footwear and Leather Goods

Fancy yourself a gentleman dandy or lady about town? Well, then, you’re going to need the shoes to match that devil-may-care swagger. James Roberts is just the man to shod you, hand-crafting bespoke footwear from his perch in manly haven Captains of Industry.  

Pony Bikes

If you don’t think bikes come under the artisanal umbrella, then you haven’t been to Pony Bikes. No-nonsense lady owner Sasha custom-builds small masterpieces for you to ride atop, as well as offering repair, paint, powdercoat, and restoration services. Visit her West Melbourne workshop for consultations and general hang-outs.

AD Jewellery

Master gold and silversmith Michaela Bruton has turned her hand to jewellery-making with a selection of earthen-inspired crystal necklaces and rings. She forges these gems from her studio in West Melbourne, and they are available exclusively for sale at Alice Euphemia.  

COUNTER at Craft Victoria

Craft Victoria’s retail hub COUNTER is the mothership of all things handmade and local. With everything from hand-moulded ceramics to hand-knitted egg cosies, it’s the perfect place to find a unique gift that special someone (or yourself, if you’ve been good).

Image credit: Elizabeth from Primoeza