designEX Blog

DESIGN// Colour directions in Milan for Salone del Mobile

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:40:19 +1000

Looking beyond the spectacular window displays by luxury fashion brands throughout Milan for early indicators of the next wave in colour direction in furniture & interior design – this year the Pantone palette is almost impossible to avoid!!

Gelato shades of teal, green, red & orange pop with washed out shades of pink, along with the ever-present blue that many fashionistas dub to be the current ‘new black’.

Colour palette aside, Pantone branding can be found everywhere – from the high street, to the department store, the local stationary or bed linen supplier.

IMAGES // (c) Anne-Maree Sargeant

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

DESIGN// Welcome to Salone del Mobile as reported by AMS

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:16:26 +1000

It’s April, & Milan Design Week / Salone del Mobile is upon us. Think the ‘Olympic Games of Design’ & you’re halfway there!! Over the years the event has become so big, installations are housed in every available space across the city, making it impossible to cover it all.

First launching in 1961 as a trade export initiative to market Italian Design products internationally, the event has exploded into the biggest lifestyle event on the planet. Now in its 51st year, Salone attracts almost 1 million visitors during just five days – placing a tremendous impact on a city of just 1.3 million residents – about 3 or 4 times the affect on the city when compared to fashion week. In the next 24 hours editors, bloggers, retailers, designers, architects, photographers, videographers, & other interested creatives will descend on what is the worlds largest lifestyle event. Most major brands, ranging Sony through Lexus, take the opportunity to capture the attention of masses of attendees.

This year Salone coincides not only with a major International Art Fair (this weekend), but today the city centre is entirely closed for the Milan Marathon – along with constant drizzling rain, the combined events will all but cripple access in the centre of the city.

Normally on every alternate Sunday the centre is closed to cars, an endeavour attempting to stem burgeoning pollution issues, but due to the marathon – human access is denied to many parts of the centre – so unless one is in possession of an official exhibitor’s pass – many parts of the centre are a ‘no-go’ zone. In reality – an organisational disaster.

So with the centre all but closed, along with most of the shops – it’s time to explore the markets, & the annual flower festival.

With an umbrella!

IMAGES // (c) Anne-Maree Sargeant

FOR MORE INFO ON OFFICIAL FAIR – head to // cosmit.it

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

GET REAL // Equal Rights for Design

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:19:00 +1000

Equal Rights for Design is a campaign lead by Elle Decoration editor in chiefMichelle Ogundehin. A campaign striving to alter laws in Britain to protect design copyright and IP, akin to how film, music and other creative disciplines are protected.

The proliferation of unauthorised production of original designer furniture and lighting in recent years has alarmingly spiked demand for replica, or rather ‘fake’ designer furniture.

Whilst the issues surrounding design copyright are complex – namely differing copyright laws in each country, compounded by the excessive expense to individual designers to register their designs, international protection, is for many out of financial reach.

There begs a bigger issue, such as where the copyright of designs by the likes of Charles and Ray Eames, Le Corbusier and Eero Saarinen have long expired. Arguments stretch beyond that of ‘design authenticity’, and center on the quality of production.

We were lucky enough to be in London last week for the GET REAL launch at The Conran Shop, where Sir Terence Conran lent his considerable weight to the debate.

The GET REAL exhibition showcases authentic designs manufactured by Cassina, Fritz Hansen, Herman Miller and Vitra, to name a few big design brands – with the genuine article on the podium and a deconstructed copy in front.

Michelle Ogundehin herself is more than hands on, seen here sawing a fake Fritz Hansen Egg Chair in protest. Departing the successful event, Michelle came to say good-bye – a Hermes Birkin handbag on her arm. By way of poignant closure, Michelle shared that she had saved to purchase the genuine, and often coveted bag, making her appreciate it all the more.

Follow Equal Rights for Design – HERE

In Australia – support the Authentic Design Alliance – who this year join designEX for the first time.

It is important we support authenticity in our industry, and think twice before purchasing or specifying replica furniture and lighting. There are many alternatives – supporting local designers, emerging designers or buying vintage items are but a few ways we can make do until we can afford the genuine article.

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

DESIGN// Lee Broom at Salone del Mobile

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:04:00 +1000

Shortlisted for the inaugural FRAME / MOOOI award, Brit designer Lee Broom is set to launch his first collection at Salone del Mobile this week. Lee Broom Public House is showcasing much of Broom’s carpets, furniture & lighting, along with the global launch of Crystal Light Bulb.

Combining industrial influences with decorative qualities, Lee transforms the everyday light bulb into an ornamental fitting. Featuring a hand-blown, cut-crystal shell in the form of a giant light bulb, Crystal Light Bulb casts a beautiful shadow across a room.

Each piece is hand made in the UK – for more info head to Lee Broom.com // follow #pubmilan on twitter.

The Frame award will be announced next Wednesday by jurors Philippe Starck & Marcel Wanders – updates will be found at framemoooi.com

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

DESIGN// Alice Rawsthorn Interview

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:59:00 +1000

As a weekly columnist for the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times, Alice Rawsthorn is arguably one of the world’s most influential design critics. In the lead up to her presentation at designEX 2012, the Australian Design Review talks with Rawsthorn about her definition of good design and the challenges ahead for its practice.

You’re a very successful design critic in the popular press, and you were also director of the Design Museum in London for five years. Over that time there was a huge growth in attendance and the museum’s profile, so I think it’s fair to say you’ve got the knack of effectively communicating the value of design to the public. Is there a particular secret, you think, to mass communication when it comes to design?

I think it’s something I’m learning about all the time. I’m not a designer but I passionately believe that design has the potential to build a better world and enhance the quality of everyone’s lives. For me, it’s very important to try and raise awareness of design and its potential to a general audience, so that’s what I’ve been very much focused on doing.

There was an article on Design Observer recently by Julie Lasky about the architectural criticism of Ada Louise Huxtable in The New York Times. She essentially argued that the role of a good critic is to inform and explain design to the citizenry, so they can become more informed and thus become, in and of themselves, ‘citizen critics’.

I absolutely agree with her assessment of Ada Louise Huxtable, who’s a wonderful writer, and up until very recently was still writing for The New York Review of Books. But I also absolutely believe there’s a role for more esoteric criticism that is very much for professional fellow critics, that raises the level of discourse within design itself. I personally happen to have chosen a different approach but I think that reflects my background and my skill set [as a journalist]; it doesn’t mean that my approach is any more important than any other.

So putting aside good criticism, what do you think defines good design?

Obviously, what is and isn’t good design has preoccupied designers, design critics and commentators for many decades, and I think what’s interesting about it is how our perceptions of good design have changed over the years. But if you look at what are absolutely non-negotiable qualities of any good design project, number one, it’s got to work, it’s got to fulfill its function. Increasingly, it has also got to be easy to use, and this is obviously a huge challenge with digital technology and these very small, multifunctional, very, very powerful objects.

A huge and very positive change in perceptions in recent years is what you could call ‘the guilt factor’, which equates to ethical and environmental responsibility. If we have the slightest reason to feel guilty about any aspect of the way that something has been designed, developed, made, sold, shipped, or will eventually be disposed of, it can’t be deemed to be good design, and that’s a huge challenge that companies such as Apple are now grappling with.

I think all the other factors are negotiable; it’s very fashionable to sneer at styling and design, but there is nothing wrong with things being beautiful or sensual or pleasurable or alluring in some way, providing they’re also functional and responsible.

Your columns have recently begun to question where the parameters of design as a practice lie; they’re not just questioning what makes for good design, but also questioning what makes for design, really. I think the design professions generally are struggling with that notion, particularly in the face of issues like sustainability. Apple’s Jonathan Ive is an excellent example of a designer who draws on the best traditions of mid-century industrial design to create these very, very beautiful objects. They’re incredibly well designed in terms of both their form and their function, but as consumer electronics they’re also designed with a very deliberate built-in obsolescence. Is it fair to judge the design of Jonathan Ive on the basis of sustainability, when he’s operating in a particular business model that requires the object he’s designing be obsolescent within a year or two?

Well, I think that you have to look at Apple in general, because obviously the design team is an enormously important part of a wider effort. Apple has been criticised by Greenpeace and other environmental groups in the past, less for built-in obsolescence and more for where its batteries are made and the more directly potentially damaging aspects of its operation – as have, it must be said, all its competitors.

The environmental and ethical discussion is a massive challenge for companies such as Apple. As you rightly say, their design prestige – and Apple is undeniably the alpha design brand of our time, certainly for industrial design – has been very much posited on the 20th century values of functionality, visual aesthetics and ease of use, an area where it very much took the lead. Given that Apple, in the wake of Steve Jobs’ tragic death, has to reinvent itself, I will be very, very surprised if taking a more dynamic stance in terms of ethics and environmentalism isn’t a direction in which it goes.

Jonathan Ive’s obsession with mid-century designers such as Dieter Rams also points to something else you’ve been commenting on recently, which is this trend towards nostalgia. As you’ve pointed out, there’s a long history of nostalgia in design, the Arts and Crafts movement being a particularly good example, whereby this craving for traditional, craft-based design was a direct reaction to, as you put it, the “satanic conditions” of England’s factories at the time; a reaction, in part, to the industrial age. If nostalgia is a reaction to fear or anxiety, what do you think designers might be afraid of now?

I don’t think nostalgia is solely driven by fear and anxiety. That is one driver of nostalgia, but another is desire. Apple’s admiration for Braun’s design aesthetic under Dieter Rams is a very positive example of being nostalgic, because there’s something you admire and love that gives you great pleasure and you want to share it. Unfortunately, there is much not only for designers to be afraid of now, but people in general. There are a lot of problems that have to be addressed, but again, they are opportunities for designers.

One of the themes of Hello World, the book I’ve been working on, is really to look at how society’s expectations of design are changing. For centuries, up until the industrial revolution, design was very much a case of necessity as the mother of invention. The great design initiatives were always driven by need, and they tended to be initiated instinctively because the phenomenon of design had yet to be recognised. The industrial revolution professionalised design, but it also curbed and constrained it. Design ended up being seen as a commercial tool, very much a lacky of consumerism steeped in conspicuous consumption. Design has so much potential to play a deeper and more meaningful role in society. The new breed of social designers who are applying design thinking and the design process to reinvent critical areas of social services, such as caring for the elderly, or the humanitarian designers who are working on reconstruction programs, they’re all applying design in a much broader, but also deeper way. I think that because they are proving design’s worth in that context, society is going to be willing to work with designers in a more imaginative way too, and by doing so, designers will have the opportunity to tackle these huge complex problems that are plaguing us all.

www.alicerawsthorn.com // via australiandesignreview.com // by Maitiu Ward

Photographer: Taylor White

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

DESIGN // Bespunk joins The NEST at designEX

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:39:48 +1000

Bespunk, a clever initiative from Alexander Lotersztain and his cross-disciplinary design brand DERLOT, will join The NEST next month at designEX!

Found objects and recycled furniture are reborn by the application of a specially developed finish that breathes new life into existing items, the result creating unique, bespoke and limited edition items. The finish can be applied to almost any surface, ranging garden and dining settings to a single lamp, now turning ‘trash to flash’ creates a new alternative to recycling.

The process is simple. Send your items to Dr Spunk to be bespunked – but note new items will not be treated. Wood, metal, vinyl, plastic and leather are some of the many surfaces the uniquely formulated all black finish can be applied to. The end result is a black (yes only black), finish that has a shimmering opalescent hue.

Bespunk launches in Sydney at designEX at the independent Australian design installation The NEST.

bespunk.com

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

BLOG // 50 Best Design Blogs

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:22:00 +1000

DEZEEN have been announced as the most popular blogs in 50 Best Blogs.

Started in 2006 by the former founding editor of Icon Magazine, Marcus Fairs, Dezeen is one of the most popular and influential architecture and design blogs on the internet, receiving over two million visits a month.

Other contenders in the top ten included It’s Nice That; a massively popular, regularly updated blog featuring work from studios and designers around the world, so successful they expanded upon their online success with a bi-annual printed publication, exhibitions, podcasts and a curated series of talks.

Coming in at third position is Cool Hunting, founded by Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten in 2003, the American design blog covers diverse content and is one of the world’s biggest, covering creative events all around the world.

With Design Boom, Booooooom, Creative Review Blog, We Heart, FormFiftyFive, and French blog Fubiz, the top ten is rounded out with the appearance of Moco Loco

For the full list of the top fifty – find inspiration from fresh sources by heading to design-blogs.co.uk

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

ART // Melbourne Affordable Art fair

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:56:37 +1000

Art Melbourne, the southern annex of the Affordable Art exhibitions showcasing emerging artists and less expensive works, will reprise next month May 24 - 27^th.

Held at the Melbourne exhibition centre and attracting 14,000 visitors, the event provides the ideal entry point for collectors of original, affordable art, and presents offerings that cater to a range of taste and budgets.

Art Melbourne May 24-27^th

Royal Exhibition Buildings, Carlton // affordableartfair.com.au

Follow the blog // affordableartfair.com.au/blog

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

ARCHITECTURE // Denton Corker Marshall awarded Venice Pavilion

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:20:00 +1000

designEX congratulates Melbourne-based Denton Corker Marshall (DCM) on their appointment by the Australia Council for the Arts as the architects for the new Australian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Selected from six shortlisted submissions, the DCM proposal will replace a temporary structure created by eminent architect Philip Cox in 1988.

AIA president and member of the selection committee Brian Zulaikha says of the appointment ‘DCM’s building is a striking, perhaps timeless addition to the Giardini. Handsome and sculpturally bold, its skillful simplicity creates an inspiring and limitless space for artists and audiences’

The DCM design uses an elegant black box made from South Australian granite, that in turn houses a white box to form a simplistic background to showcase exhibitions at the art and architecture biennales which alternates each year.

The new permanent pavilion is due for completion in 2013, with Australia being one of 29 countries to retain permanent national presence.

Take a virtual look at the new pavilion :

dentoncorkermarshall.com // venicebiennale.australiacouncil.gov.au

Canal View

Main Entry

IMAGE credits – Images © Denton Corker Marshall

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

THE NEST// As seen on How We Create 02.04.12

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:03:50 +1000

As designEX – Australia’s largest showcase of interior products, finishes and accessories – heads into it’s 24th year, the exhibition has unveiled not only a new look but an entirely new vision that will ensure the event continues as the key platform for design professionals to connect, inspire and explore the latest in their field.

After several years of the event coinciding with Milan’s Salone del Mobile, this year designEX will be held May 14, 15,16 – the date change opening the door to brands such as Great Dane, SPENCE&LYDA, The Authentic Design Alliance, Porter’s Paints and many other leading suppliers.

Along with new ownership, the newly appointed management team share an innate passion for design, evident in the unveiling of the new look branding by LEUVER DESIGN, along with independently curated elements such as the NEST – a showcase of independent Australian designers / design makers / bespoke craftspeople.

David Knott’s Candelabra

Adam Cornish’s Monkey Pots

The Nest has been curated by design consultant and journalist Anne-Maree Sargeant, founder of thesnapassembly.com blog.

“With several existing platforms that promote emerging design talent and product at prototype stage, we identified the opportunity for independent designers with market-ready product to present their work within a commercial context,” Sargeant explains.

Charles Wilson at work

An invited group of 20 independent Australian designers and design collectives will showcase new products, with exposure to 15,000 design industry professionals next month in Sydney.

The NEST 2012 will feature new work from Blakebrough+King, Charles Wilson, Alexander Lotersztain, DesignByThem, and Adam Cornish, among others, with all exhibitors aiming to connect with specifying architects and interior designers, and in some cases hoping to expand their sales distribution network.

NEST designer, Adam Cornish

Design duo Ben Blakebrough and Sarah King are Blakebrough+King. Working from their studio in the Southern Highlands, outside Sydney, the pair is currently consolidating 6 years of design practice into a strong collection destined for the Australian retail market.

Ben Blakebrough and Sarah King

“After launching prototype works several years consecutively at the Salone del Mobile in Milan, we are focusing on expanding our local presence as wholesalers through designEX,” says King. “We also hope to engage new collaborations with architects and interior designers.”

Sarah curated The Other Hemisphere, an Australian design collective that exhibited in Milan at Salone del Mobile. Read the profile in INSIDE by Domingo Robledo.

Placements for this year’s installation are all but finalised, anyone wanting more information should contact Anne-Maree Sargeant.

By Ben Morgan.

See the original post here// http://howwecreate.com/

ARCHITECTURE // Make-Space for Architecture, Sunday April 15

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:34:00 +1000

Make-Space for Architecture is an independent collective promoting the agency of architecture in Sydney – that strives to nurture and promote critical practice in the industry, campaign with decision makers and inform and mobilise the community in order to effect positive change.

Join Make-Space in the gallery on Sunday afternoon for a film screening of The Bank Job (2008) as a part of the ‘Breaking Out and Breaking In’ distributed film festival.

The festival is disbursed around the world and sponsored by BLDGBLOG, Filmmaker Magazine and Studio-X NYC. The organizers explain, “Breaking Out and Breaking In is an exploration of the use and misuse of space in prison escapes and bank heists, where architecture is the obstacle between you and what you are looking for”

Make-Space for Architecture’s Distributed Film Festival:

The Bank Job - Sunday 15 April, 5pm // Inception - Friday, 20th April 47 George St, The Rocks, Sydney

RSVP to makespace4arch@gmail.com // therockspopup.tumblr.com

Follow on Facebook // facebook.com/MakeSpace4Arch //

To See full event program head to // ms4a.org

Images courtesy of Make-Space for Architecture

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

DESIGN :: Maarten De Ceulaer // Salone del Mobile

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:24:00 +1000

Maarten De Ceulaer is exhibiting at three locations during the impending Salone del Mobile in Milan – PERSPECTIVES, a showcase of 25 established Belgian designers & design brands, will include Maarten’s prototype series MUTATION (above), at the Triennale de Milano; with the series also on display at Rossana Orlandi, & Another Terra: Home Away From Home alongside BCXSY, FORMAFANTASMA & ANKE WEISS.

From the designer:

The pieces in this series look like they weren’t made by hands, but have grown to their present form organically. They might be the result of a mutation in cells, or the result of a chemical or nuclear reaction. Perhaps it’s a virus or bacteria that has grown dramatically out of scale. The Mutation pieces make you look at furniture in a different way. Maybe one day we would be able to grow a piece of furniture like we breed or clone an animal, and manipulate it’s shape like a bonsai tree.

The project can be seen as an experimental review of classic furniture upholstery. It reminds us of the famous and iconic deep buttoned (Chesterfield) sofa’s, interpreted in a highly contemporary and sculptural way. Instead of upholstering springs and foam with leather or textile, these pieces are created by carefully composing patterns with cut-offs of foam spheres of various sizes, and applying them onto a structure. In the end the entire piece gets coated, with a durable rubber or tactile velvet-like finish. It is hardly impossible to ever recreate such a specific pattern, so every piece is completely unique.

www.maartendeceulaer.com

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

IMAGES: Nico Neefs

EVENT // Chrisopher Boots spectacular new lighting designs

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:21:00 +1000

The newly launched photographic studio and props warehouse The Establishment Studiosis set to launch it’s latest endeavour – a collaboration with talented Melbourne lighting designer Christopher Boots.

A new release PROMETHEUS will be unveiled in Melbourne next week – the sculptural pendant so new that we are yet to receive images! Created from bronze, brass and steel, the lamp blends elemental layers of quartz crystal, copper and gold, the unique designs display an impressive attention to detail.

Boot’s handmade works convey the essence of contemporary luxury, with the collection displaying a strong focus on timeless beauty and quality, and can be seen at the studios by appointment.

The Establishment Studios is a new space dedicated to all things beautiful and vintage, housed inside a massive 1920’s warehouse that is fast becoming a rarity in inner-city Melbourne.

For more info head to christopherboots.com // theestablishmentstudios.com.au

Visit – by appointment 23 Grattan Street, Prahran, Melbourne

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

ART // Miranda Skoczek at Iain Dawson Gallery

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:44:00 +1000

Using traditional folk iconography and remixing it for the 21st century, Melbourne-based painter, Miranda Skoczek’s works invite the viewer to witness the birth of new meanings and relationships, encouraging us to “imagine how fantastical spaces materialize,” as we engage with each piece.

Tears of Joy, 2012 // mixed media on arches, paper, perspex frame  (49 x 36cm)

Skoczek’s confident use of colour blends seamlessly with totem animals, melding imagery of both real and fictional animals. The current body of work features smaller works on paper that are Perspex framed; and larger, equally as striking oil and acrylic, and enamel paintings on canvas.

Bear Mountain, 2012 - Enamel on Canvas  (168 x 137cm)

Rapidly gaining popularity among contemporary art collectors, Miranda has previously exhibited in Melbourne and Brisbane, and next week presents her first exhibition for Sydney audiences at Iain Dawson Gallery, with the show open from April 10^th to the 24th 2012.

The Purple Nest, 2012   - Oil and Acrylic on Canvas  (152.5 x 137cm)

Opening night- Thursday12th April, 6-8pm.

Visit the online store- iaindawsongallery.bigcartel.coma

For more info head to- mirandaskoczek.com // iaindawson.com

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

NEST at designEX

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:40:13 +1000

NEST at designEX

PRODUCT FOCUS // TSAR Rugs & Carpets launching Bamboo fibre floor finishes

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:51:10 +1100

The TSAR Rugs & Carpet portfolio now includes an extensive selection of wall-to-wall carpets, soon to be joined by a new eco-sensitive range made from bamboo yarn.

Of the new collection, Sydney manager Amanda Grant explains ‘Bamboo yarn is the most innovative and exciting fiber currently available as a floor covering option. The properties of bamboo tick all the boxes – it is a sustainable material that is not only anti-bacterial, but also exceptionally resilient, making it highly suited to a wide range of commercial and residential applications.’

TSAR Rugs & Carpet will exhibit a diverse range of Bamboo options at designEX, with the collections to be available as rugs or wall-to-wall carpets. ‘Bamboo can be used alone to create a wonderfully lustrous texture that looks and feels like silk, or used in combination with NZ wool to add luxurious highlights. ‘ Amanda adds.

Design professionals can take advantage of TSAR’s Silk Membership, after signing up members gain access to an extensive design library, personalised rug design consultations and trade discounts. The membership extends to special previews of new collections, and colour, fiber and technical advice, along with the ability to attend specifying workshops.

Click here to registered for TSAR Silk Membership // or visit tsar.com.au

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

PHOTOGRAPHY // Hugh Holland vintage skate shots

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:32:00 +1100

In the mid-Seventies, two events coincided in Southern California that gave rise to skateboarding as we now know it. The invention of the urethane wheel and the drought that emptied the pools across the city allowed the kids to ride their new boards in an entirely new way. Skateboarders, thrashers and bad-ass kids from different neighborhoods and backgrounds in Los Angeles began hitting the pavement after school and during the summer, creating a counter-culture that has inspired numerous books, songs, documentaries and films.

From the flatland kids skating “freestyle” to the canyon kids going vertical and carving up drained out pools—including soon-to-be legends Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams: photographer Hugh Holland documented that ‘new wave’ that ultimately, for many, became a way of life!

Unlike most photographers capturing the craze, Holland’s photographs were never about the sport. Holland shot with old color negative movie film, rendering his images in warm, soft tones that were in complete contrast to the sharp, crisp chromes that the majority of skate photographers were using at the time. Beyond bodies in motion, Holland captures beautifully intimate portraits of the young boys sitting under the trees waiting their turn, or in peaceful contemplation after a long day of riding.

Holland primarily shot his subjects in the late afternoon, bathing his models and settings with an effervescent, glistening quality. They are, in essence, photographs of a generation of boys discovering their identity amidst the backdrop of cultural phenomena that shaped a generation.

Hugh Holland (b.1942, United States) had no formal training in photography prior to picking up a camera in 1968 after returning from a trip to Spain. He made a darkroom and began shooting everything around him, particularly people. In 1975, while driving up Laurel Canyon, he witnessed the first skateboarders he’d seen, skating in the drainage ditches along the side of the canyon.

For the next few years, he knew he found his subject, tirelessly documenting the burgeoning culture. Holland’s work was first exhibited at M+B Galleryin LA in 2006. Following the success of the show, the exhibition traveled to Paris, New York and England, and will this year tour to Sydney’s BLENDER GALLERY.

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

ART // A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:15:00 +1100

Gain a rare and exclusive insight into the intimate and defining moments of some of Australia’s most talented photographers in [thousand words], a photography exhibition in Sydney’s newest public art space, Lane Four at The Galeries.

Curated by aMBUSH Gallery in a special collaboration with William York of York Production, ten photographers have been invited to submit a single thought-provoking image, accompanied by 100 words to describe the inspiration and story behind it. These ten photographic stories make up a [thousand words].

A photo-journalistic approach to the imagery coupled with a behind-the-scenes type of storytelling, [thousand words] features images and thoughts from high profile and emerging Australian photographers including, Montalbetti + Campbell, Andrew Quilty, Tim Georgeson, Amanda Prior, Stephen Dupont, Sean Izzard, Toby Burrows, Chris Barlow, Michael Corridore and Tristan Stefan-Edouard.

Image by Tim Georgeson

Image by Stephen Dupont

[thousand words] is the latest exhibition to be hosted by Lane Four at The Galeries – a pop-up exhibition space curated by aMBUSH Gallery. Lane Four was launched in 2011 in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, attracting wider audiences to the work of both established and emerging artists alike. Already Lane Four has hosted two exhibitions, the first being the street art project, Transient, and the second entitled Rainbow City Gaze by Anthony Lister, one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists.

Exhibiting until May 2012, [thousand words] is not to be missed.

More info ambushgallery.com // lanefour.com.au// thegaleries.com.au

Image by Tristan Stefan-Edouard

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

ARCHITECTURE // Renato D’Ettorre Architects

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 16:32:00 +1100

Azuris by Renato D’Ettorre Architects. Image: Francesca Giovanelli

The Renato D’Ettorre Architects’ designed Azuris residence has received both a Regional Commendation and the J.W Wilson Award for Building of the Year in the Queensland State Awards. A series of connecting pavilions are positioned to harness views across the Coral Sea, with the material palette allowing the building to integrate with its surrounding bushlands.

“Azuris embodies a tropical ethos utilising heavy materials to frame spectacular views and to cocoon living and sleeping spaces interspersed by courtyards. The project unites modernist spatial principles with exceptional craftsmanship,” the jury noted.

The firm previously awarded the 2011 Central Queensland Regional Architecture Awards top residential prize House of the Year to Solis, which also scored the prestigious AIA Robin Dods Award for Residential Architecture for the project as well as the AIA 2011 National Residential Award for Residential Architecture.

As with Azuris, Solis overlooks the Coral Sea and faces the open waters on Queensland’s Hamilton Island. The sculptured concrete, stone and glass home opens the vast open plan indoor / outdoor living areas to integrate with the natural landscape, spatially orientated to capture views across out to the ocean, the residence is wrapped with a swimming pool and ponds, embracing the serenity of the Great Barrier Reef waterways.

Solis by Renato D’Ettorre Architects. Photography: Mads Mogensen

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info

BLOG LOVE // Emma’s DesignBlogg leads the way!

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 11:26:00 +1100

One of the first to jump into the blogosphere – Swedish interior stylist and freelance writer Emma Fexeus launched her blog, Emma’s DesignBlogg way back in 2005, a lifetime ago in ‘internet-speak’!

Finding a blog to be the ideal way to share trends and inspirational imagery, Emma swiftly gained a massive following, with regular posts focused on interior styling and photography, rather than products, reflecting the best in contemporary Scandinavian style.

Her blog has been highly awarded, among the many accolades scoring a coveted Top Ten place with in The Times, The Guardian, and The Telegraph in both 2010 and 2011 – her site receives a whopping 35,000- unique visitors per week, sometimes 10,000 visitors in one day!

Here are a few of our favourite posts:

News from photographer Per Gunnarsson

The Perfect Home

All Images have been sourced from emmas.blogg.se

Visit Emma’s Blog – here // emmas.blogg.se

Read an interview with her in Nordic Design – here

by Anne-Maree Sargeant // The Snap Assembly blog // AMS-info