What everyone needs ...

I thought I would share with you my most prized possession, a Tamara Hahn pourer. It is simply elegant and softly beautiful and ingeniously designed. It sits on my kitchen bench full of delicious olive oil.

It’s hard to see in the picture, but there are two soft indentations on either side of the pourer, so it sits comfortably in your hand when holding. The spout is long and slender, and only the perfect controlled drizzle flows out (no accidental gulps). I had never used an oil pourer, until I owned this one, and I didn’t realise how much pleasure it could give me, I recommend it to anyone who will listen.

Tamara once explained to me that it is nearly impossible to design a spout that will pour oil without a dribble, so instead the pourer has been designed to embrace the inevitable dribble, and sits upon a turned timber base, that absorbs and is nourished by the excess oil, without leaving a mess on my bench.

Tamara works from her studio at the JamFactory centre for contemporary Craft and Design in Adelaide, where she has recently completed an associatship. Tamara’s ceramics revolve around the idea of imperfect beauty. Forms are deliberately altered or taken out of symmetry. Swollen bellies are added to some, and deliberate indents to others. Tamara is inspired by human form and her work comments on what is perceived as beautiful in our society. The work is about self-expression, personal narrative and social comment. By pushing forms out of the symmetrical, the idea of perfect, flawless beauty is lost, and the beauty of the unusual is highlighted.

I use this subtle unassuming pourer almost daily, and I can’t speak highly enough of the richness it has added to my time in my kitchen. So if you haven’t got one, I think you should consider coming in to our store to have a look at it maybe even try holding it. I think it would also make the perfect gift for a special master chef in your life. In the collect store, we also stock the equally beautiful Tamara Hahn decorated beakers and bowls.
I hope you are keeping well and warm,
Sarah.

Jess' rings match the sky...

We have had some spectacular wintery weather here in Surry Hills these past few months. One day, after the rains had cleared, Jess looked outside and noticed that her set of Bubble Rings by Melinda Young matched the clearing late afternoon skies - so she took this lovely picture of cloud shapes upon clouds... Melinda has made a stunning new collection of her hand cut and finished acrylic jewellery for Collect to accompany the Blue exhibition, including her ever popular pendants and rings as well as a brand new range of earrings.

Blue!

Object Gallery is currently showing two exhibitions. Blue in the main gallery has been curated by Object's own Kylie Johnston and Annette Mauer. It features the work of 9 makers from around Australia: ceramists Gerry Wedd, Honor Freeman & Mel Robson, glass artist Brenden Scott French, textile artist Lucille Martin, jewellers Brenda Factor & Melinda Young, book sculptor Nicholas Jones and mixed media artist Emma Davies. Each maker has responded to a phrase relating to the colour blue to provide inspiration for the new work shown in the exhibition. The results are absolutely stunning (if we do say so ourselves!) here is a slideshow of Blue:



You can read more about Blue here

As a special retail treat to accompany the Blue exhibition we have given our entire Collectors Cabinet over to blue work by a diverse range of makers represented by Collect - there is an abundance of exquisite glass, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and objects - all in blue!

Accompanying Blue in the Project Space is Big: Sydney's Small Studios a collaborative project by designer Stephen Goddard and photographer Keith Saunders that features a glimpse behind the scenes of 12 of Sydney's independent design studios. Aside from the fascinating subject matter, the exhibition design is pretty neat too! Here is a slideshow of Big:



You can read more about Big here.

Both exhibitions are a part of Object's Spring Series an exciting and innovative exhibition and event program that runs until October. Find out more about the Spring Series here.

‘Tubeway armies’...we are all addicted!!

Hailing from the frosty Melbourne (they know how to keep warm down there) these arm warmers feature unique ‘two-of-a-kind‘ combinations of stripes and textures with stitch, button and appliqué detailing. Both smart and casual, our arm warmers make a practical, eco friendly gift for all age groups. Or the best kind of gift – a gift for yourself! Keep your hands, wrists and arms toasty and stylishly snug and your fingers free for crafting, keyboarding, cycling, dog walking, music making and pram pushing!

‘Tubeway Armies’ are part of the ‘Body Parts’ range of winter accessories, a collaboration between Gaye Naismith (Gaye Abandon) and Melanie Hill (Textile Allsorts), the range transforms recycled, felted wool jumpers into comfy and funky winter accessories. Olenka typed earlier “I personally love armies because they are adorable, and keep our wrists warm while allowing us to do the normal dexterous things that we just can’t manage with gloves on i.e. write, type, dial the phone etc. Using vintage buttons and buckles, each pair is cleverly composed and individual.”

To co-ordinate with your ‘tubeway armies’, we also stock the super soft and cosy one-of-a-kind scarfs that have been cut from recycled, boiled, 100% wool sweaters and joined with a strong zig zag stitch. These also double as a warm and stylish necklace that can be worn in a variety of ways. If some of the sweater pieces in these necklace scarves look familiar, it’s because they're cut from the bits left over when making the arm warmers.

‘Gay Abandon’ aims for a no-waste policy and endeavours to upcycle every part of the sweaters that are cut up so the bare minimum ends up in landfill. All the electricity used during production is sourced from 100% wind energy, and the water used to shrink them is re-used on the garden. So you can keep your conscience healthy.

And while you’re here, why not buy a handsome sweater to dress your hot water bottle in? They’re great for stopping your feet from burning on direct hot-water-bottle contact.

The ‘Hottie Jumpers’ with fold up collar, like the other ‘body parts’ range, are all handmade entirely from upcycled, thickly felted, wool jumpers (but only the very softest!) and finished with repurposed buttons. Each one is unique, and there are so many colours, there’s bound to be one made just for you. To see more juicy colour combos and other ethically produced, eco-friendly winter accessories visit us at the collect store. Post proudly brought to you by Sarah.

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