BRISBANE'S NEW SHOWROOM

If you happen to be in Brisbane, Australia make sure you check out our new showroom.

Located in the recently developed Newstead Riverpark, the building is a heritage listed hide store that has been restored into a unique contemporary space. It is the perfect canvas to showcase our gorgeous textiles.

We would love you to pop in, you can find us at shop 1 / 33 Longland Street, Newstead QLD, Australia!

MODERNE COLOUR STORIES

When it came to creating the colours for our Moderne collection we wanted to create a sophisticated palette indicative of the 1920s and relevant for today.

We always look into our best sellers and take every opportunity to travel overseas to keep in touch with international colour trends, in both fashion and interiors, as well as investing in colour forecasting.

We wanted Moderne to contain soft jewel and metallic tones, blues and greens mixed with silver and golds, to sit alongside an array of neutrals, which graduate from warm creams through to chocolates and ebony.

While researching colour combinations we found an amazing photo shoot in US Vogue, the shoot which celebrated 1920s fashion designer Paul Poiret. Mary Howard was the set designer and was responsible for the amazing murals that set the scene (seen in images: 1, 2 and 3). Almost every shot was used for our colour inspiration and couldn’t have come out at a more appropriate time for the studio, enjoy!

BEHIND THE SCENES - MODERNE PHOTO SHOOT

Shooting on location at Chuck and Bob’s incredible Waterloo showroom was great as the space is flooded with natural light and full of beautiful antiques.

It was all hands on deck with the studio styling the photography, our resident photographer Pete hard at work, and our own Bethany Linz moonlighting as our model. Bethany wore beautiful new and vintage designs from the talented Mrs Press for whom she has also designed surface patterns and packaging.

We love working on the photo shoots as it is often our first opportunity to see our designs made up as finished product. This year we worked with Coco Republic for the upholstered furniture and the pieces looked absolutely stunning. After two days shooting we were thrilled with the results and totally exhausted!

by Stephanie Moffitt

MODERNE PRELIMINARY DESIGN WORK

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When it comes to designing the patterns for our collections we find that our design process becomes more experimental when we start with hand drawings. It also gives the designs a certain softness that you can’t achieve on the computer.

Having a fine arts background I personally love to draw and paint designs before I move to the computer to resolve pattern repeats. By doing this we are also left with beautiful hand drawn archives, which I think are important for Mokum’s history and to illustrate our unique design process.

Above are a selection of initial sketches from our upcoming Moderne collection.

2009 STYLE AWARDS

Australian House & Garden recently awarded Mokum’s Jardin des Tuileries rug in the magazine’s 2009 Style Awards. The Style Awards are an annual event judged by ten prestigious members of the design community. With eighteen categories the awards honour trend-setting products and stylish solutions that deliver a better living.

Launched earlier this year, our rugs are designed in our Sydney studio with our unique cultural perspective and woven in Kathmandu using the traditional Tibetan style.

Before starting on the rug artwork for Jardin des Tuileries the studio reviewed the two sources which inspired the playful textile from the Dauphine collection. Looking at the silk brocade from the 18th Century and the floral Indian hand block, the designers chose to focus on the intricate print which was typical in style of Indian hand blocks popular in France during the Rococo period. The end result is a stunning organic floral which hints at both its French and Indian influences, woven in silk and wool.

MODERNE VISION BOARD

With our theme decided, the next step is to create the vision board. We use the vision board not only as an inspirational tool for surface pattern design but also to ensure the design team are all on the same page.

The Moderne collection board consists of images from fashion (both photography and illustration), art and textile design from the Deco period plus a more recent beautiful fashion shoot from Vogue USA, with hand painted murals by the very talented

Mary Howard.

by Stephanie Moffitt

BELLE MAGAZINES 35TH BIRTHDAY!!

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Mokum would like to congratulate Belle magazine on turning 35 years old!

Our design Director Stephanie Moffitt and Marketing Manager Emma Godfredson were thrilled to be invited to an intimate dinner hosted by Belle’s Editor-in-Chief Neil Whitaker.

The dinner was beautifully styled by Belle's Interior Design Editor Imogen Naylor. Mokum was centre stage with a stunning tent sewn by our Sydney Showroom Manager John Turvey. The tent was constructed in our new linen-look, wide width drapery Shoji, featured in colour Parchment.

We would like wish Belle another successful 35 years!

SPOTTED

Marvin sofa available from Jardan Australia, covered in Amalfi Seasalt from Mokum

You know you have great product when the editor from Australia's Belle magazine puts it in his study... Neale Whitaker, editor-in-chief of Belle Magazine, pictured above in his study with Otis his two-year old Weimaraner.

MODERNE TAKES SHAPE

Dufy Textile Design

Inspired by Beth’s trip to Paris the studio decided to research the Art Deco design movement as a possible collection theme. We were instantly struck by the breadth of this period, which spanned from 1920s until the 1940s and is best described as an age of extremes. Art Deco affected an array of design forms; from architecture, film, fashion and the decorative arts, to photography, transport, music and dance.

Poster For the International Exposition on Decorative Arts

This multifaceted movement burst onto the world stage at the 1925 Paris Exposition. (The Exposition Internationale des Art Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes and its influence was felt internationally for decades). The terms Style Moderne and Art Deco both derive from the exposition's title and we were intrigued to learn that the term Art Deco was not widely used until the late sixties.

Costume for the Ballet Russes

Obviously we were attracted to the stunning and highly decorative fashion of this period but we also loved the influence from art of the avant-garde, particularly the cubist movement and exoticism of the famous Ballet Russes.

Sequin Jacket with Eygyptian influence

Artists and designers looked to exotic traditions and ancient cultures like Africa and Egypt, which provided a wealthy source of imagery. The archaeological discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb fuelled a romantic fascination for ancient Egyptian culture.

Our ultimate attraction to this movement was its commitment to beauty, either through intricate craftsmanship or streamlined simplicity, it always managed to maintain a modern edge!

HOME NEW ZEALAND OCT/NOV ISSUE

Home NZ October / November 09 Cover

Courtville Apartments

Mokum's Maddha rug colour Sable

Philippa Moffitt

Home's latest issue features our beautiful Maddha rug colourway Sable in their edgy take on New Zealand fashion and the latest and greatest interior furnishings, furniture and acessories.

Styled by Philippa Moffitt, the talented younger sister of our Design Director and shot on location in the iconic Courtville apartments, Auckland New Zealand.