‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.’  Marcel Proust

Creating a Better Future 


The Sustainable Everyday Project is developing creative solutions to sustainability problems in housing, eating, commuting, working, learning and socialising. Mercifully, it does not espouse theories or pontificate on ideas about creativity. Instead, the project’s book, Creative Communities: People Inventing Sustainable Ways of Living, simply provides workable solutions. This large but important download is available free of charge at http://www.sustainable-everyday.net.


All the Statistics Worth Counting 


There are many world clocks out there, but there’s only one that offers so much more than the time in seconds, minutes and hours. The Poodwaddle world clock delivers real-time statistics on births, deaths, barrels of oil pumped, bicycles produced and injuries sustained in traffic accidents. There’s a lot more to the Poodwaddle site, but these numbers are mesmerising and thought-provoking. 

www.poodwaddle.com/clocks2.htm

Kids Drawing on the Walls 


Melbourne-based March Studio has found an interesting way to mix children and cardboard. Graphic designer Anne-Laure Cavigneaux and architect Rodney Eggleston built an entire Parisian apartment out of cardboard. Then they invited hundreds of schoolchildren to paint and draw on every surface. The results are amusing and insightful. Cavigneaux and Eggleston recently extended the project to the project in Perth, Australia, but this time they built a traditional Chinese courtyard house. 

www.marchstudio.com.au 
www.marchstudio.com.au/penplanchina

At Last, a Blog Worth Reading 


As with television, there is so much content on the internet yet so little is worthy of your time. But Centripetal Notion will make you sink gratefully back into your chair and spend hours exploring the most interesting interests of blogger Justin Ruckman. Discover the Book Autopsies of Brian Dettmer, a Ukrainian Floating Castle and the Vibram Five Fingers shoe. 

www.centripetalnotion.com


Take a Well-Worn Seat 


The furniture company Artek was formed in 1935 by four Finns, including the exceedingly talented architect and designer Alvar Aalto. After mastering the bent L-leg wooden chair, Artek built a global business that designs and manufactures durable and desirable furniture. The firm’s commitment to the environment is best explained through its smart 2nd Cycle program. Each chair is embedded with a coded tag, and owners are encouraged to register the story of the chair’s life. When the piece is sold again, the new owner is encouraged to do the same. Artek believes that giving each chair a story makes it much more than a mere object, to be possessed and disposed of carelessly. 

www.artek.fi/2ndcycleregistration/index.html

Aesop North Melbourne Now Open 


Aesop carefully oversees every last detail of its stores, and the gestation period for new sites can be as tortuous as it is exciting. When opening day arrives our demeanour is that of new parents, as it is now with the new store in North Melbourne. This old corner of the city is being revitalised in interesting ways, and we have embraced the heritage values of our Errol Street building. The store’s walls are painted with PPG shade Flowerpot at 50 per cent strength. The cabinets are enjoying a second life after time at The Art Gallery of NSW, and the skilful incisions were made by talented Melbourne artist and craftsman Robbie Rowlands. And we have some impressive neighbours, such as All The Kings Men Gentlemen’s Haircutters.
When in Roma… 


We like our pizza thin and with provolone piccante cheese, our cannoli with a glass of Passito di Pantelleria wine and our coffee espresso. We always visit Profumum Durante, one of Rome’s better skin care retailers. Then we wander down the road to Enoteca Buccone to sample some of Italy’s finest produce with a glass of great Italian wine. 

www.profumum.com 
www.enotecabuccone.com

On the Block in Chicago

The comprehensive furniture and art collections offered by Wright auctions in Chicago reliably include the very best pieces of their kind. This December, watch out for the ‘Post War and Contemporary Art’ and ‘Important Design’ auctions, especially Situation XXXVII by Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985). 

www.wright20.com

‘Love is when you meet someone who tells you something new about yourself.’  André Breton