COUNT DOWN TO EARTH HOUR...

Above is a picture of Sydney before and after Earth Hour.

On Saturday (March 28, 8:30-9:30pm) we are turning off our lights because it's Earth Hour. Earth Hour began locally in Sydney in 2007, it is now a global event. This year is extra special...if you participate and switch off your lights you will be voting for earth and against global warming. Lights will be out from the Eiffel Tower to Sydney Opera House, as many cities within 83 countries are committed to saving the planet. If you'd like to find out more visit Earth Hours official site.

STUDIO VISIT

We were lucky enough to have some kiwis visit our studio from the South Island of New Zealand. It was a great opportunity to illustrate our design process, showing them how we start with a concept and vision board then begin sketching and painting before moving to CAD and woven samples. We also gained feedback on collections and colour directions, which was invaluable – so thanks again to Amanda, Annie, Anne-Marie, Cindy, Grant, Julie and Noelene, safe travels home.

I COLLECT... TICKETS

I don't think I consciously started to collect tickets, but one day I realised that I had a whole stash of them. This is not something that I do normally, but when I travel. I save them and try to stick them into a book. My memory is pretty terrible so it helps me to remember where I've been and when I went there. If you click on the image above you can see this small selection in greater detail. My two favourites are the receipt from the Parisian supermarket (everything I bought was so typically French!) and the Mexico City Subway ticket. The graphic designer in me loves this because the design of the station logos was pretty revolutionary - every single station has a unique icon that relates to the neighbourhood, and it really changed the way that we find our way around.

MOKUM DRESSES

Last year one of our textile designers, Cathy Brown, had to leave to move back home to the USA. One of the very first designs that she worked on at Mokum was Matarita, a print from the Meridian Pacifica collection. You can see some of her preliminary sketches and developments above. It was quite funny looking at these sketches today, because I remembered that when Cathy started at Mokum, we didn't have our CAD software, so she created this pattern using a photocopier and tracing paper!
As a farewell present I made her a little sundress out of Matarita, and she sent us some photos of her modeling the dress for us. Cute!

AMAZING PERFORMANCE

Since I am an absolute fan of Juliette Binoche and the Sydney Opera House , there was no way I was going to miss her performance in 'IN-I' at this extraordinary venue. She and Akram Khan collaborated in an outstanding piece of dance theater, to deliver 75 minutes of heartfelt love story telling. I was especially impressed by Juliette Binoche's professional dance performance, since she has no formal dance training.
I am sorry to say that the last show of 'IN-I' was staged last Saturday, but I definitely recommend seeing the show if possible somewhere else in the world.

KIKA TAPAS BAR

This past weekend I went with some friends to Kika Tapas Bar in Darlinghurst. The food is AMAZING. I love tapas, I love the concept of tapas. You get to try so many different things all at once! One of the most interesting things about Kika is the interior, which is a little bit nuts. All fake flowers and bright orange and statues of the Virgin Mary. Makes for a very memorable dining experience!