Making Public Art - 30 Nov

The topic for this month's dfactory event at the Powerhouse Museum is 'Making Public Art'.

“The power of public art to divide or unite a community could be one reason why our town planners tend to shy away from it. Nell Schofield chats to David Handley, Director of Sydney’s Sculpture by the Sea, Jane Irwin, landscape designer and Sally Gray, curator, cultural broker and artist about the challenges of creating inspiring public art.”

6pm – 6.30pm: Drinks and music in the Café with DJ Luke Snarl
6.30 – 7.15pm Making Public Art talk
7.15 – 8.30pm: Drinks and more music by DJ Luke Snarl

Where: Powerhouse Museum, Courtyard Café – enter via Macarthur Street

W: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/dfactory/

Young Blood Designers Market - 9 Dec

The Young Blood Designers Market is on again at the Powerhouse Museum.

”Following its outstanding success during Sydney Design 06, Young Blood: Designers Market returns in December to showcase Australia’s best and brightest designers and bring joy to your Christmas shopping.” Items to be sold range from fashion to furniture, jewellery, graphic, landscape and lighting products.

Where: Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street Ultimo
When: Friday 8 December, 6.00-9.00pm, Saturday 9 December, 8.00am-5.00pm

W: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/youngblood/

Watch blog

Cool watch blog site called 'the watchismo times'. Features vintage and contemporary watches. Watches are also sold on the site.

W: http://watchismo.blogspot.com/

Pecha Kucha Volume 02 - Nov 30

"It is time for Pecha Kucha Volume 02

6:30 Thursday 30th November
Commercial Travellers Association - Under the mushroom on Martin Place

The first Pecha Kucha was the radness, so we hope to see you all again for a second helping. If you would like to present something, email marcus@gravestmor.com

A summary of the first Pecha Kucha night may be found here:
http://www.gravestmor.com/wp/archives/2006/10/09/pecha-kucha-sydney-volume-01/"

Smart works: design and the handmade - Sydney

Exhibition: 30 March – August 2007
Symposium: 30 March – 1 April 2007

"A symposium, exhibition and publication exploring the values of the handmade in the context of worldwide changes in design, manufacture and cultural identity. Smart works showcases the work of 40 Australian and New Zealand makers who design for their own production and develop local and international working relationships with industry."

The exhibition features designers' works including:
Caravana, Cathy Braid & Kirsten Ainsworth: NSW/Pakistan
Fashion, working with women’s groups in Pakistan

Aurelio Costarella: WA
Fashion, handmade from vintage fabrics

Paul Davis/Jacqueline Clayton: NSW
Ceramic tableware, one-off to production

Benjamin Edols & Kathy Elliott:NSW
Glass, one-off and production

Jon Goulder: NSW/WA
Furniture, ply and upholstered, Australia and China

Höglund Glass: Ola Höglund & Marie Simberg-Höglund: NZ/Qld
Glass, one-off and production; local employment

Akira Isogawa: NSW
Fashion, collaboration for handmade costumes for Sydney Dance Company

Jill Kinnear: Qld
Textiles, digital prints from baggage X-rays

and many others... At the Powerhouse Museum, Ultimo, Sydney

W: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/smartworks/index.asp

Savings calculators - Money ninemsn site

W: http://money.ninemsn.com.au/saving-and-spending/tools/

Stefan Sagmeister: Can design touch someone's heart?

Another interesting article in Communication Arts November 2006 Design Annual issue titled: 'Design=Heart? Stefan Sagmeister asks design students: Can design touch someone’s heart?' Article by Carolyn McCarron Sienicki. The article is worth reading!

Stefan's course is broken down into three assignments:

1. Touch the heart of an individual.
2. Touch the heart of a community.
3. Touch the heart of humanity.

"With an audience, the wider you reach, the harder it is to answer the question. That’s why Stefan starts small and expands, illustrating how the language of communication changes and becomes less personal and therefore less genuine. “I talk to my girlfriend Anni differently than I talk to Rolling Stones fans,” he says. “The wider the audience, the more difficult it is to design for them. If your audience is everybody—from 6-year-olds to 60-year-olds, from iron workers to university professors—it becomes very difficult.” ...

To prevent students from focusing on appearances, they are not allowed to stop with the concept and a comp. They must find a way to produce and distribute their solution in the real world. Students are required to build a feedback mechanism into the project so they are able to see if people were touched by their designs. A project is successful when the audience is touched, and that determines a student’s grade. Stefan once told me that the best ideas sketched in his notebook over the years are worth nothing in comparison with the ideas he has executed and that still exist today..."

W: http://www.commarts.com/ca/coldesign/carM_329.html

50 Essential Bookmarks - Commarts Nov 06 issue

Communication Arts' Design Annual 47, November 2006 issue features an article titled: 50 Essential Bookmarks. Categories covered are: Design Community, Design Commentary, Advertising, Branding/ Account Planning, Typography, User Experience, Industrial Design, Photography/ Stock, Technology, Culture, Business and Resources.

W: http://www.commarts.com/ca/resources/res_links.html

Sydney Weblogger Meetup Sydney - Nov 23

"Who should come? Anyone interested in the local blogosphere (bloggers, blog readers, web devs, designers, newbies, non-techheads etc).

Why should people come? It's a great opportunity to meet other local bloggers, find out what's going on and do some harmless blog promotion if it takes your fancy. It's really just a great excuse to have a quiet one on a Thurs night.

When: Thursday, Nov 23, 2006, 7:00 PM
Where: Paddy Maguires Pub, George St (Cnr Hay St) Sydney 2000 (02) 9212 2111

W: http://blog.meetup.com/371/?a=cn1_cn1&gj=ej2a

Dieting will only make you fatter

"Long-term weight loss is more about lifestyle changes, and if you deny yourself food, you ultimately overeat..."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/diet/dieting-will-only-make-you-fatter/2006/11/15/1163266601020.html

Missy Confidential - website listing sales

"Sale Guide is devoted to you, our fashion and lifestyle loving friends - so you'll never miss a sale. We are committed to giving you the scoop on the hottest fashion, sample-sale, warehouse clearance, health and beauty bargains in your city..." You can sign up for their free enewsletter too.

W: http://www.missyconfidential.com.au/

Newtown Festival - Sun 12th Nov

The Newtown Festival is a fundraising event for the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre. It was totally packed out! It was a humid, but slightly overcast day which was good. There was heaps of food stalls, music on various stages, and some tshirt and other merchandise type stalls. It was so busy that it was difficult to stop at these stalls and browse. The crowds of people just push you along. It was more of an event to just be there, grab some food and drink and just sit on the grass, soak up a bit of sun, listen to some music and just lay about and catch up with some friends.

W: http://www.newtowncentre.org/festival/

Cafe Giulia - Chippendale

Cafe Giulia is one of my favourite places to go for lunch. The food's great and really refreshing, the staff are relaxed and cool, the atmosphere is just really casual and relaxed, and the prices are great too.

92 Abercrombie St Chippendale 2008, (02) 9698 4424.

Ducklings - Darling Harbour

Was walking towards Chinatown to get some lunch last Monday and saw these really cute ducklings. The mother duck (I'm assuming) jumped up, climbed up a small step and initially the ducklings couldn't do it. So they moved along where it was less steep and they kept trying and eventually one got over to join the mother, then the others kept trying and eventually they all made it. Hooray! It was so cool.

Sydney Aquarium - Darling Harbour

Went to Sydney Aquarium at Darling Harbour recently. Haven't been for years. It's pretty cool! You can see sharks swimming above and around you as you walk through parts of the tank. It's all 'covered' with glass. No need for diving underwater in a metal cage to see all this or anything. Lots of other cool sea-life to see as well from seahorses to platypus etc... Definitely worth a visit. $27.50 for adults.

W: http://www.sydneyaquarium.com.au

Emergent exhibition - UWS students 29-30 Nov

"Emergent is an exhibition featuring the work of graduating students from the Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication) degree at the Universtiy of Western Sydney. It showcases the result of four years' hard work and celebrates our achievements, growth, rise and emergence from fledgling students to professional creatives."

Opening: Wed 29th Nov 5-9pm, Continuing: Thurs 30th Nov 9am-2pm

W: http://www.cdm.uws.edu.au/bdes06/main.html

Peter Davidson lecture at UTS - 15 Nov

"The challenges facing a contemporary architectural firm will be presented at a public lecture at the UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, at 6pm Wednesday 15 November.

Peter Davidson, co-founder of LAB Architectural Studio, will present a year of challenges through the ideas and development of some of the studio's work in 2006 in the lecture, entitled Verisimilitude: ACTUAL SIZE

"In our contemporary and emergent world, there is often the necessity and the willingness to suspend disbelief at the type of challenges asked of us as architects," Mr Davidson said.

Verisimilitude: ACTUAL SIZE will present projects varying immensely in scale, from the domestic toilet pan design through individual buildings and building clusters, to the economic and land use organization of an entire new urban centre for 150,000 people, intended to be constructed over the next four years.

Mr Davidson's presentation will also include competition winning designs for projects in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, China and Australia, and the master plan for a new sustainable city in Jiangsu Province, China.

Peter Davidson, together with his partner Donald Bates, founded LAB Architectural Studio, most known for Melbourne's contemporary civic heart, Federation Square, a project that received state, national and international design awards. He is a visiting professor at MIT in the US and an adjunct professor at UTS.

Verisimilitude: ACTUAL SIZE: 6pm, Wednesday 15 November 2006, Lecture Theatre 322, Peter Johnson Building (Building 6) Courtyard Area, UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture & Building, 702-793 Harris Street, Ultimo, Sydney."

W: http://www.dab.uts.edu.au/newsevents/news_detail.html?ItemId=4741&ItemDa

Magazine on a bottle

Modern Media Concepts "developed iLove, the first magazine to appear on a bottle of water and opened the beverage industry to the concept of On Product Publishing™." It won the Melbourne company the Best Label and the Best Overall Concept at the 2006 Water World Design Awards.

W: http://www.onproductpublishing.com.au

Monster skatepark - Homebush, Sydney

"Monster is the only international standard indoor outdoor ramp set up in Australia with an indoor street course and outdoor vert and mini ramps as well as a skate shop and Xbox Entertainment Lounge. Designed and built by riders for riders, Monster caters for the needs of riders of all skill levels and riding tastes...

A waiver must be completed as a condition of entry. Visit the Download Waiver page for more information."

Opening Times: 10am until 10pm, 7 days

W: http://www.monsterpark.com.au

10th Japanese Film Festival - 29 Nov - 8 Dec

The Japanese Film Festival will be held at the George St cinemas in Sydney. Also showing in other States. For a list of the films to be shown and other info, go to the links below.

W: http://10thjff.jpf-sydney.org and
http://www.if.com.au/events/2006/11/10.html#item14312