Yellowtrace Spotlight // March 2013.

It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s Yellowtrace Spotlight time! In this month’s edition I’m sharing with you a whole bunch of design news including a beautiful new house by Wolveridge Architects; new products from AÃRK Collective, Dinosaur Designs and Nick Rennie; art exhibitions by Troy Emery and Marc Freeman; fun workshops at the Object Gallery amongst other things…

Torquay House by Wolveridge Architects. Photography by Derek Swalwell.

Recent Project.

Torquay House by Wolveridge Architects.

Completed in 2012, Torquay House by Wolveridge Architects attempts to challenge our traditional notions of how buildings can exist both in a coastal environment and also the context of an emerging built form and character. In coastal conditions, buildings must be robust and defy the elements, yet create protective spaces, which allow the occupants to feel safe, comfortable and private.  Whether the occupants are full-time residents or weekenders, the beach house is a place to look forward to arriving to – both in the heat of the summer or the winter’s cold.

With excellent views to the north and south and a conscious motivation to avoid the east/west outlooks, this project evolved as a series of interconnected and robustly finished containers.  Each prescribed to a rigid set of rules, and the relationship and spaces between containers, becoming essential to the program and to the life of the building. The robust mass of the buildings is intended to be offset by the expression of finely considered detail and proportion. It is the private spaces created in between that allow natural ventilation and light, intimate outlooks, and privacy for the occupants, a place to call home.

Wolveridge Architects
Derek Swalwell Photography

AÃRK Collective Timepieces. Hotness!

New collection by Dinosaur Designs – The Art of Black and White.

Home & Lifestyle Products.

Timepieces by AÃRK Collective.

With branding, packing and online store as beautiful as the product itself, the new collection of timepiece by ÃARK is an exciting new product on the Australian market. Inspired by an appreciation of geometry, graphic elements and minimalist design, the foundation of each ÃARK timepiece is formed from the combination of traditional values of craftsmanship and the best modern manufacturing techniques.

“Our timepieces are a ref lection of us: who we are, what we love and ever ything we believe in.”

Somebody please buy me a Classic Tortoise. Santa? Mum? Anyone?

AÃRK Collective
Online Store 

The Art of Black and White by Dinosaur Designs.

The Art of Black and White focuses on the purity of casting two tones, black and white and the forms, which are created as a result. Louise Olsen says, “When you reduce elements to black and white the form of each piece is really highlighted as is the casting”.

Inspiration for this range came from artists Arshile Gorky and Jackson Pollock. Pollack used a drip type technique, which has influenced the casting in the Art of Black and White. Black and white photography by Edward Westin also encouraged Olsen to explore the powerful and paired back nature of the two tones.

Dinosaur Designs worked with Eryca Green who photographed the range in countryside Bega, New South Wales.

Dinosaur Designs 

Naname Jewellery collection by Nick Rennie.

Inkster Maken Lighting by Hugh Altschwager.

Home & Lifestyle Products.

Naname Jewellery Collection by Nick Rennie.

The ‘naname’ jewellery collection is the brand new product range by Australian designer Nick Rennie from ‘happy finish design’. Working with furniture manufacturers such as Porro and Ligne Roset, this is the studios’ debut jewellery collection and features designs machined from solid brass.

The collection includes rectangular and round earrings, a pendant and cufflinks.

Nick Rennie
Happy Finish Online Store

Inkster Maken by Hugh Altschwager.

South Australia-born, Melburne-based Hugh Altschwager divides his time between working in construction, and crafting beautiful furniture and lighting in his backyard shed. “I am currently working 60 hour weeks in a construction job and would love nothing more than to trade this lifestyle in pursuit of a life spent designing and crafting unique, long lasting products,” says Hugh.

His lighting prototypes, made from salvaged timber and limestone, were recently shortlisted for the Ketel One Modern Craft Project. So good! No doubt we will be seeing a lot more from this talented and dedicated maker. Watch this space.

Inkster Maken

New Product Initiatives.

Lumio Portable Folding Lamp by Max Gunawan.

Lumio Lamp is inspired by the idea of an illuminated book. The lamp switches on when the cover is opened and it turns off when closed. The light is embedded with magnets, and it can be used in a variety of applications (table lamp, a wall sconce, ceiling pendant, ambient light, outdoor light etc) and when fully charged it lasts up to 8 hours.

Designed by architect Max Gunawan who hoped to fund the production of the lamp via a Kickstarter, this project reached it’s $60K target in just one day, and it is currently sitting at $360K. Amazing!

You can pick up your own lamp via the link below.

Lumio Kickstarter 

Troy Emery, Dysfunctional Camouflage, 2013, high density taxidermy foam, polyester pompoms, glass eyes, plastic teeth, 46 x 135 x 73 cm

Marc Freeman with his beautiful paintings.

Art Exhibitions.

Troy Emery ‘Making Friends’ at Gould Galleries.

Gould Galleries in Melbourne is presenting its’ first solo exhibition by engaging artist Troy Emery. Using high-density foam moulds commonly used by taxidermists, Emery substitutes the pelts with brightly coloured polyester pompoms or tassels. Utopian rainbow motifs, patination or block colours envelop the contours of animal bodies to create abstracted hybrid-creatures. Through this process they transform into something new – Emery is proposing that they could exist somewhere in a parallel universe or fantasy landscape.

Making Friends runs from 27 February – 30 March 2013.

Troy Emery’s Blog
Gould Galleries
Yellowtrace Interview with Troy Emery

Gravitas Flow by Marc Freeman.

Melbourne artist Marc Freeman uses a visual language of form, color and line to create bold abstract compositions that are transcendental, contemplative and timeless.  His recent work recreates reality by means of colour  and form on a two dimensional surface.  He explores a visual abstraction with the repetition of symbolic shapes, patterns, lines and textures that present a heightened reality, functioning visually as modes of language.

Freeman’s third solo show, Gravitas Flow is on now at Nellie Castan Gallery in Melbourne, from 28th Feb through to 23rd March 2013.

Marc Freeman
Nellie Castan Gallery

Online Resources.

FROST* creates identity & website for Penguin Lantern.

Sydney brand and communications studio Frost*, recently worked with Penguin Lantern on a re-fresh of their online identity and website.

Lantern, an imprint of Penguin Books, already has high regard within the publishing industry. Their books receive great exposure and placement within bookstores translating to good sales. However, with a percentage of book sales shifting from shop fronts to online retailers the challenge of discoverability in the changing retail landscape has become paramount in Lantern’s success.

In approaching the re-fresh of Lantern’s online identity Frost* sought to emulate the same timeless charm Penguin is renowned for. Deciding to focus on the idea of ‘books as a source of enlightenment’, Frost* created an emblem symbolic of two open books. Evoking the image of pages radiating out from the book’s spine, to double as a representation of radiating light – a quirky reference to the Lantern and idea of enlightenment.

Penguin Lantern
v Design 

MAKE.PLAY Workshops at Object Gallery.

90 days of wellness by Rogerseller.

Events.

MAKE.PLAY Workshops at Object Gallery.

Object Gallery in Sydney’s Surry Hills is holding a series of fun workshops during March & April. Each workshop will be hosted by a talented and inspiring creative expert, with topic spanning areas such as macrame (all the rage!), terrarium making, floral crown creating, stitching your own greeting card and even learning how to look after and maintain your bicycle (hipster cyclist special).

The workshops will be held inside the specially created MAKE.PLAY studio at the Object Gallery. Places are limited and tickets can be purchased via the link below.

Object Gallery
Buy Your Tickets

90 Days of Wellness by Rogerseller.

Join Rogerseller for 90 Days of Wellness (1st February until 30th April), a daily nudge designed to help you feel better both inside and out. A place where running a bath is more important than running a marathon. Where watching cat videos can improve your health, and making friends with salad comes before making friends on Facebook.

For daily inspiration follow Rogerseller on Instagram (@rogerseller) or join the conversation on their Facebook and Twitter page. Also be sure to keep an eye out for the hashtag #TodayIWill on Twitter and Instagram.

Rogerseller Instagram
Rogerseller Facebook Page
Rogerseller Twitter Page