Pinboard Scheme III

Macaulay Station

One night after work, I got on the Upfield Line train by accident. Listening to my Ipod and with my head in a book, I didn't realise until Macaulay Station. I had twenty minutes to wait for a train back to North Melbourne. I think those twenty minutes must have been Macaulay Station's finest. The light of the cobalt dusk sky with looming storm transformed the station into a dramatic urban setting.





I've put together a scheme inspired by the photos I took that night.




1) Drapes in a slate blue cotton drill. Large chrome eyelets on a simple chrome pole.

2) Silver and Carbon striped sheers sit behind the drapes.

3) A couple of slick modern armchairs on chrome swivel bases will be upholstered in this self patterned yellow polka dot.

4) This chunky, comfy tweed will be used for a couple of large bean bag pods.

5) Sofa cushions. The construction of this fabric is interesting. It is a velvet, but the pattern has been made by printing the inverse onto the face of the fabric. For a fabric that is predominantly a print, the handle is beautifully pliable and the velvet so soft.

6) Sofa cushions. This masculine, geometric pattern contrasts with the feminine, organic pattern of the velvet. The shapes are reminiscent of train lines and underground maps.

7) I would die to have a sofa in this concrete grey wool, speckled with flecks of ivory and charcoal. The combo of these three fabrics would look a million dollars. Not bad for something inspired by a grubby train station under a toll way.

Inspiring Fabrics/Finishes III

Mandara

This is wallpaper design is an old favourite. It is Osborne & Little's Mandara from their Autumn 2005 collection, Adara. It is being re-released in new colourways in their latest collection, Metropolis. It is chic, moody classic.


Detail of colourway with fawn background and a metallic gold pattern.


This colourway has a silver metallic background and charcoal tree pattern.


Promotional shot of Mandara used in a bar.

My Stuff IV

Undies

I've been working on a few designs for underwear over the past month. Still working within the Alpha Male theme.


Roos



Monkey Love


Charge

Inspiring People II

Barbara Hulanicki - Creator of BIBA

Biba began from very humble beginnings. Barbara Hulanicki and her husband, Stephen Fitz-Simon designed a simple gingham dress which was featured in London's Daily Mirror for postal order, priced at just under three pounds. She did not expect the overwhelming response when fourteen thousand pounds worth of orders came flooding in.

As a result of this success they opened a small, shabby boutique in Notting Hill. Biba soon became infamous, with its affordable yet glamorous fashions, booming rock music, bohemian magpies nest interior, it epitomised the swinging sixties. You could find yourself undressing in the communal dressing rooms with the likes of Sonny and Cher, Yoko Ono, Mia Farrow, Barbara Striessand or Brigitte Bardot.

As Biba expanded, the premises that housed it became bigger in both size and grandeur. At its pinnacle, Biba was deemed by some to be the most beautiful store in the world. It was a spectacular five level fantasy land, housed in an Art Deco department store on Kensington High Street. It included:

• Moroccan Casbah filled with cushions and stoner hippies.
• Kids' floor with trees, castles and merry-go-round fixtures.
• Mistress room selling naughty undies and kinky erotica.
• Basement foodstore selling everything from Biba champagne to Biba dog food.
• Rooftop terrace garden with flower sculptures and real life flamingos and penguins.
• The Rainbow Room 1930's style cabaret bar and restaurant featuring acts such as The Pointer Sisters, The Kinks and The Bay City Rollers.

Biba is inspiring because it is a story of a simple idea becoming a fantasy come true.

Barbara Hulinicki by the flamingo pond on the rooftop terrace garden.


'Big Biba's' Art Deco staircase.


The Rainbow Room


The Cosmetics Counter

From shadowy boudoir to glorious emporium
Taut roxy chic
Champagne and Novacaine
Pin-legged seductive waifs
Big eyes and misty curls

Pin Board Scheme II

Champagne Lounge





1. Metallic champagne gold wallpaper with a slightly textured finish.

2. Drapes, again in a champagne gold to blend with the walls. A soft, sheeny satin that would drape like liquid.

3. An embroidered sheer with an arabic inspired pattern sits behind the drapes.


4. Two large Louis XVI Bergeres(armchairs) upholstered in this intricately embroidered floral silk, and timber in a mahogany finish.


5/6. The fabric for the sofa cushions are a mixture of epingle and cut velvet finishes on a satin background. They are glossy and textural and the geometric patterns lend a masculine contrast to the floral pattern on the armchairs. They also pick up the apple, taupe, gold and coral colours from the silk.

7. This is my favourite leather finish, it is a semi aniline, pull-up leather with a wax finish to give it that antiqued feel. It is warm and soft and looks so smart. It would be used to upholster a huge modular sofa.

My Stuff III

Alpha Damask

I have been playing with the theme of Alpha Male, in nature, the modern world and in the home. Alpha Damask is an adaptation of the traditional damask pattern using a collage of masculine animal images.

Inspiring Fabric/Finishes II

Mulberry - Flying Ducks

This linen print is a classic from British fabric house Mulberry. It's style is distinctly Art Nouveau, but it is given an English country gentleman's twist.


Promotional Shot

The promotional shot is fantastically theatrical and couldn't be more apt. It is set in front of the Kew Gardens conservatory. The chesterfield sofa does the impressive scale of the pattern justice and is so appropriately English.


Detail

The colours are earthy and murky, yet the print is crisp. This is aided by the definition of the black outlines. It reminds me of vintage Tin Tin comics.


Pattern Repeat

A detail I like is the Japanese pagoda, inspired by the original in Kew Gardens, noticeable here in the pic of the pattern repeat.