GOODS has two meanings. Firstly, it is our guide to innovative objects from Melbourne and around the world, and secondly, GOODS can't be bad. A resource for gift buyers, home-makers, scene-stealers, trend-watchers and possibly even shoplifters, GOODS isn't about making your credit card cry, it's about setting your standards high.
Lollies that fizz on your tongue, naïve children's watercolours, farmyards viewed from afar and the aroma of warm butter ... the dresses, hard-tailored pieces, mouthwatering swimsuits and wispy tanks of Karla Spetic's designs call to mind a hardy femininity, a history tempered by freshness.
Born in the fairytale-like city of Dubrovnik on the coast of Croatia, Spetic moved to Australia in 1993 and after graduating from the East Sydney Fashion Design Studio launched her label in 2006.
A few years back my lovely grandmother gave me some spending money as a birthday gift. Being the narcissistic young man that I was, I rushed out and treated myself to an exorbitantly priced moss green blazer, complete with asymmetrical seams and tattered hems. I though I was the bomb shizzle. My grandmother, however, did not share this enthusiasm.
Ever been to one of those record fairs? They're always out at some scout hall in Essendon, they start at 9am on a Sunday, there's no food or booze and they're always full of the same old balding record dealers with the same old records they tried to sell you last time. But not this time!
The Yah Yah's Crate Digger Record Fair starts at two in the arvo, there will cold beer aplenty, a kebab shop next door, and a who's who of local collectors and musos; all desperate to flog you off their long hoarded records in order to pay off their ex-wives and get their guitar pedals out of hock.
"The round stones beneath the earth have spoken through the fire. Things which are alike, in nature, grow to look alike, and the speaking stones have lain a long time looking at the sun." Nobody - Dead Man (1995) dir. Jim Jarmusch
In this country, spirituality is as rare as peyote. We look all too often to utility, forgetting our own experience in the process.
Warren at the definition-confounding gallery/book shop/cultural driving force The Narrows came up with a great idea here. Instead of simply marking down the stock in his own awesome Narrows Bookshelf, he invited some of Melbourne's most intriguing and collectible artists to bring in unwanted books, catalogues, CDs and LPs from their own private collections for a one day sale.
The Snuggie is a disgrace to all things woven and spun. Now here's a list of things to throw, wrap, wipe or wear that are versatile, yet classy, and are much more likely to get you over the line with the in-laws than an offensive fleecy straightjacket this Christmas.
Fabric 1: Obus tea towel and napkin sets (pic)
Details: Four napkins for $40, two tea towels for $45, or one tea towel and two napkins for $45, Obus, great for drips and spills and generally looking stylish.
You know how some labels get kinda ruined by the people who wear them? Like how Burberry became to Chavs what Keppers were to homies? Or how the Southern Cross, a perfectly pleasant little constellation, got brandished by mean, bashy bogans, and is now henceforth a starry symbol of small-mindedness? The list could go on.
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