G Plan

this table came in a lot of G Plan furniture that we purchased last year from an importer who was returning to the UK. The table surface was badly damaged and so Mr B replaced the entire veneer surface and refurbished the rest of the table. Now it's ready to take a place of pride in a new environment.

I loved taking photos of this G Plan table. The sleek lines and contours plus the warmth of the wood provided plenty of visual interest.

for marie

Dedicating this post to our respected friend Marie Potae from Kennedy Bay who passed away on 2 February 2015 after a long battle with cancer. Always remembered...

retrovision

Just sharing a couple of photos that I took for our Retrovision store. I've found it a little harder getting back into work mode, after a splendid holiday break...

back to work

the holidays are winding down to an end and soon the children will start a new year of school. We're back to work and this is the first cabinet to be finished. It's an upcycled conversion of a 9 drawer into a retro inspired entertainment unit.

summer

 

family + bach + holidays spent swimming at the beach + togs drying = great summer

beaded cheetah

 

One of my favourites in the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition is this hand-beaded cheetah pelt evening dress. I'm impressed by the craftsmanship and attention to detail. Check out the claws in the photo. It looked so real, that I had to take a closer look.

Melbourne

A quick trip across the ditch to Melbourne to visit family and go to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. Great trip. The exhibition was well worth seeing. It was a wonderful journey of Gaultiers design work. These photos were taken with my Olympus point n shoot compact camera. The lighting was great for taking photos. Wish I'd taken my big camera...

keeping it retro

I'm regularly taking photos of retro items for our Retrovision shop and getting used to the Canon that I posted about last time. The photography space in our shop is tiny and I'm often squashed up against other furniture taking photos..

On the weekend I went to a wedding held at Castaways Resort, Waiuku. I observed a wedding photographer at work. Taking wedding photos for a living is tough. As a creative person I would struggle to meet another persons vision and expectations so wedding photography is not for me. I'll stick to taking photos of things that personally interest me - yep, keeping it retro!

retrovision style

 

our Retrovision store is buzzing along with a lot of great retro things finding new homes. The bedsides are upcycled repurposed units from our workshop. Whereas the all original retro sofa was a find that deserved a second life. I love taking photos of retro furniture. The gleam of the wood features and the textures and colours interest me a lot. 

 



more orange

 

more photos from the orange colour study that I did last month. With major AMETI road works taking place in Panmure, there is an abundance of the colour orange everywhere - street signs, road cones, plastic mesh etc.

more retro chairs

 

 we have some very interesting chairs coming into Retrovision at the moment. The Storkline chairs are perfect for an outdoor setting (they easily fold up for transportation) or use when extra guests turn up. The armchairs below are classic 1960s cool with scissor styled armrests.

 

take a seat

 



this retro chair is becoming a favourite of mine for taking impromptu portraits. First up is my beloved Mr B who insisted that a sheepskin be put over the back of the chair before he took a seat.

street rubbish

a quick study of the rubbish that is left in our street. What happened to cleaning up after ourselves????

the rubbish trolley

 

This supermarket trolley full of rubbish appeared at top of our street. It sat there undisturbed for almost 2 weeks (I guess no one wanted to clean it up.)

 

I was intrigued with the question of who was responsible for the rubbish? the person who put the rubbish in the trolley of course - but when they abandoned it in our street, who became responsible then? the residents in our street? the Council? the supermarket trolley owners? I waited and watched...

 

a contractor for Pak-n-Save came to claim it early one morning by simply tipping all the rubbish into a heap on the grass verge and taking the trolley away. He was reported to the Auckland Council and had to return and remove the rubbish... question answered!



orange

 

I've been attending an 8 week Digital Photography continuation course. These shots are part of my colour study work. Overall I found this course to be underwhelming and after persevering for almost 6 weeks (I was hoping I'd feel differently over time which didn't happen), I've decided to stop going (there's only 2 classes left) and return to working on my own personal photography projects.

 

 

 

vertical gardens

When we were last in Sydney, the Central Park urban village was under construction.  This building features vertical gardens on it's exterior and is part of the Central Park living mall. I like the idea of urban living that embraces nature.

golden water mouth

 

 

at the eastern end of Chinatown in Sydney stands a dead tree sculpture called 'Golden Water Mouth.' It's said to bring good luck to the chinese community. We passed it on our way to Market City.

double decker

After several personally difficult weeks, it felt good to get away to Sydney for a few days to take a breather. Miss 7 and I kept ourselves busy with sightseeing and shopping. The best part of our trip was the double decker tours around Sydney and Bondi which we did over 2 consecutive days. There's nothing quite like riding on the top deck, facing into the wind, to make a person feel truly alive.

road fish

our street has been tagged by an anonymous person who loves to draw fish. The latest fish (pictured) is drawn on the road. Wonder how long it will be before the artist realizes that fish need water???

clowns

We purchased a collection of retro clown pictures recently and found a Wayne Howell print amongst them. What is so striking about this artwork is that it's far removed from the usual notion of a happy clown. The clown with the outstretched arm is one very frightful looking fellow. The kind of clown that features in nightmares rather than happy dreams!