Innholdsfortegnelse for March - April 2016 i frankie Magazine

Océane Combeau’s creative journey led her around the world. Parisian-born, she graduated from Shillington in 2014 and currently works in Amsterdam as a freelance graphic designer. She runs an independent studio called Fernand et Firmin and specialises in illustration, brand identity and creative consulting. “Shillington was my perfect match. A big part of freelancing is about educating your clients and guiding them towards the right decisions. It’s a collaboration. “Before Shillington, I was absolutely unable to do that. The course improved my skills in ways I wouldn’t have imagined and gave me confidence to handle all the aspects of freelancing.” IGNITE YOUR CREATIVE CAREER AT SHILLINGTONCOLLEGE.COM.AU College of graphic design shillingtoncollege.com.au F shillington.fb T @shillington_ SYDNEY • MELBOURNE • BRISBANE NEW YORK • LONDON • MANCHESTER…

‘Delicious’ probably isn’t the first word that springs to mind when confronted with the multitude of creepy-crawlies scuttling about our planet. But while most of us react to insect sightings with a shudder and possibly even a little shriek, American designer Chloé Bulpin sees something else entirely – an awesome food source. Because it turns out insects are cheap to raise and buy, easy on the environment and high in protein. And maybe, possibly, yum. As a former insects-are-gross type herself, Chloé knows these facts alone won’t convince you to serve up waterbug fritters with cricket flour brownies for dessert tonight. That’s why she created the Bug Banquet: fancy dinners where guests taste-test insects made into gourmet-style dishes. “It’s amazing how people sway so quickly when they try things. I…

My grandmother Honori had a congenital case of glamour. She always looked expensive, even when utterly broke. Her Depression-era photos show an impossibly chic young woman gifted of infinite wardrobe. There she is at the Caulfield Racecourse in a polka-dot day dress with a white rose in her hair. There she is on the Elwood boardwalk in last-gasp trousers and a tiny waist. She’d cut these pictures – snapped of her and husband Jack – in half, and I asked her if this was because she’d once been angry at Pop. “No,” she said. “He just looked dowdy and poor.” My grandmother was poor, but never, never dowdy. She’d been taught to stitch a Schiaparelli silhouette by a woman, she told me, who rarely stopped talking about sex. She learned…

THE CRAFT The Girl Gang most likely to make your mum worry. What a delightful reminder of how very freaked out everyone was about Satanic rituals and the occult during the 1990s. The teenage girls in The Craft discover their supernatural powers through sorcery: they’re bona fide witches (also very fashionable in the 1990s, see: Charmed, Buffy, etc). They’re also probably singlehandedly responsible for keeping their local candle shop in business. At first, the girls use their powers to get their own way – they cast love spells, curse their enemies and heal old scars through magic – but things eventually take a turn towards the murderous, violent and horrible. The lesson here is that there’s a very big difference between girl power and girls with powers, we assume. CLUELESS…

NERDIST WRITERS PANEL Essential listening for anyone who’s ever wanted to write a screenplay or is just a big story nerd, Nerdist Writers Panel features interviews with some of the biggest names in writing. The revolving panel discusses the craft and business of writing – they’re also hilarious, so prepare to work those laughing abs. CREATIVE PEP TALK Graphic illustrator Andy J. Miller interviews commercial artists at the top of their game in fields like creative direction, commercial design and food typography (taking foods and rendering them into lettering). Andy also delivers straight-up motivational episodes (i.e. actual pep talks), which really feel like cosy, reassuring hugs. DESIGN MATTERS This show is a legacy. Launching in 2005, Design Matters was a forerunner in the world of podcasting and remains one of…

Tell us a bit about Geographic North. Geographic North is a record label based out of Atlanta, Georgia. We release small runs of limited edition vinyl and cassettes by musicians and artists who inspire us. Who is behind it and how did you come together? The label was started in 2008 by myself and long-time collaborator and friend Farzad Moghaddam. We met at Georgia State University’s student-run radio station, WRAS, and gravitated towards one another as we are both first generation Americans from Persian families. We soon discovered our shared interest for far-reaching music, art and film, and felt the urge to somehow contribute to the counter-culture we so deeply admired. Farzad was the station’s music director at the time and I was studying graphic design, so this naturally manifested…

Ever plonked yourself down for a quick break, only to absentmindedly reach for your phone and somehow lose an hour or so to the Facebook rabbit hole? You’re not the only one. Apparently, and kind of frighteningly, we each unlock our phones an average 110 times a day – which is why Polish designer Agata Nowak’s built a chair designed to temporarily turn your phone into a useless brick. “I’d been observing people around me and I realised they were constantly looking at their screens,” Agata says of the inspiration behind her Offline Chair. “We pull out our smartphones unconsciously whenever we have a free moment, which prevents us from focusing on one thing or simply relaxing.” That realisation came right as Agata was hunting for a final project to…

Ashley Fiona was just 13 when she came home from school and found her mum lying on the couch, apparently sleeping. It was only later when Ashley’s older sister got home that they realised something had gone terribly wrong. After a whir of ambulances, helicopters and sterile hospital rooms, doctors delivered the awful news: “She’d suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, a clot that exploded in her brain. It was the size of a cricket ball, so there was really no chance. It was out of the blue, very sudden.” Years on, little details of her mother’s death still live vividly in Ashley’s memory, especially the plastic container that held her ashes for months. “It was ugly, unsightly, unrefined – everything far removed from who she was as such a vibrant…

Independent Taiwanese artist Yen Jui-Lin has a bit of a literary approach to her work, apparently. “Woodworking is like the practice of poetry,” she says. “I’m fascinated with the features of wood as it’s warm, simple, cosy, clean, soft and unique.” Thoughtful and imaginative, Jui-Lin devoted herself to a lifetime of complex joinery from a young age, though it took a while to find her way back to timber after some time away. Since graduating from art college she worked in the advertising, design and painting industries before refocusing on her true love: wood. “I’m content with simply woodworking,” she says. “Wood is just another material I use to build up the essence of beauty.” It’s also one she really knows well; her extensive understanding of timber allows her to…

frankie, I found so much joy in reading Samantha Prendergast’s recent piece on the struggles of learning to swim as an adult. This is not because I am an evil person who delights in others’ struggles, but because I am one of the few and rare humans over the age of seven who’s not yet mastered the art of swimming. Whether it’s the fear of facing a liquid death or the unforgiving stares of the elderly women at the pool, I just haven’t got around to doing it yet. But if Sam can do it, so can I. Probably. Love Kat xx frankie, I must thank Rita Snowdon and you all for issue 69’s article “Things to Do When You’re Depressed”. This really hit home. I’ve given up on myself,…

All I really like doing, in my heart of hearts, is reading books and eating cheese. Which wouldn’t be a problem, if I were willing to permanently withdraw from society, into my own world where books and wheels of cheese were my friends. Sadly, a wheel of cheese is not a friend, no matter how convincing a face you draw on it with raisins. A book can feel like a friend – the kind that doesn’t judge you or ask if they can borrow your hair straightener and never return it. But a book is not a friend. It’s paper, it’s some glue, and in the case of e-books, a few kilobytes of data. Data isn’t love, dairy isn’t love. I need people, and you do too. The problem I’ve…

CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY I grew up with two sisters, two half-brothers, and I’m very close to my godmother, who is the mother of my half-brothers. So my dad’s ex-wife is my mum’s best friend. We have a fantastic community and it extends beyond the bloodline, which is really important to me. My communal upbringing was a nice way of learning about the world from lots of different perspectives. The strong women and feminist men around me have really informed my creativity and my art. DANCING I’m not that great at going out and speaking a lot to people – I get nervous and flustered and have quite bad social anxiety – so I find dancing a really wonderful way to spend time with people, but not feel anxious. A lot of…

It was a bit of a messy situation when Carlotta Cosials met Ana García Perrote, her fellow songwriter from Madrid garage band Hinds. “We spent 17 hours together with the guy that introduced us,” Carlotta says. “And you can’t imagine how much we connected.” She stops the interview to find a photo from that night. It shows her and Ana sitting in a cardboard box, pre-packaged friends. The only problem was the guy, Carlotta’s then-boyfriend. “When I dumped him,” she says, “it was kind of hard because Ana was his friend before. So it was like, what’s going to happen now?” The girls remained close, and in 2014 recorded “Bamboo” and “Trippy Gum” – songs about a guy who lies about being hungover and a night that concludes with puking…

Stereotypes can obviously be terrible. After all, the act of stereotyping usually comes from a place of ignorance and fear. That said, sometimes, as I walk down the road with my partner, both of us wearing no make-up, heavy boots and classic lesbian haircuts, I see an old man frowning at us and think: you don’t even know the half of it! Wait until you see her apartment – I moved in after dating her for five months, filled it with even more feminist (read: man-hating) literature, and then one month later we bought a cat from the Lost Dogs Home. It’s everything you think we’re doing, and it’s great! The thing about stereotyping is that it’s meant to reduce and disempower. All of these people are totally x, y,…

There are too many Michaels in the world, but not many Maudes. I like an old-fashioned name – the older I am, the better my name sounds to me. When I introduce myself now, I’m Maude, unless I’m in a conservative crowd, like my mum’s friends up on the Gold Coast. People say Michael and Maude are very different – on a dance floor, he’s very uneasy and doesn’t know where to look or what to do, whereas Maude’s the centre of attention and knows exactly what to do. She’s the hostess with the mostest. I was very sheltered growing up in the ’70s. I’m fourth generation Lismore – which is a country town in Northern New South Wales – and come from a family just about everyone knew. My…

MAKE ASSUMPTIONS When your not-yet-mother-in-law is carving a roast chicken, imply that she’s probably “keen on the thighs”. Call your partner’s father “Dad”, and when he finishes his glass of wine, immediately pour him a new one. Overfill the glass and say, “I reckon you’re a wine guy,” then walk over to the television and offer to switch it on. Mention that your girlfriend told you about their habit of eating dinner in front of the TV. When a politician appears on screen, declare that you “don’t know how people can stand that idiot”, then sit back down without another word. BRING UP PAST RELATIONSHIPS When the parents ask what you do, reply with references to one or more past lovers. “Well,” you can say, “until recently, my partner and…

CORE JEWELLERY Based on the ever-cheery Sunshine Coast, we create laser cut jewellery from beautiful acrylics and timbers, as well as watercolour art prints and a range of homewares. Expect lots and lots of earrings, plus brooches, necklaces and rings.corejewellery.etsy.com THE BUTCHER BYRD We design, cut, sew and finish leather bags from within a converted old butcher’s shop in Adelaide. Our styles are simple, high-quality and classic with a nod to the past, including totes, purses, wallets, overnight bags and satchels.thebutcherbyrd.etsy.com LOCO SOCKS Run by a passionate team of sock-crazy people, we make socks, socks and more socks. Did we mention socks? Made in Australia from quality combed cotton for men and women, your feet will definitely feel the difference.locosocks.com.au YELLOWBIRD We hand-make totes and clutch purses using super-wonderful fabrics…

About a year ago, Laura Imbruglia decided to pop her rather impressive music career on hold and make a TV show. The only problem was, she knew absolutely zilch about producing television and reckoned her savings would only stretch to cover a couple of hard drives and some on-set sandwiches. Still, her idea for a slapdash, chaotically fun and distinctly Australian variety show wouldn’t die. “Eventually I did a Facebook post saying, ‘Guys, I’m planning on making a show that’s a bit like Wayne’s World, a bit like Saturday Night Live and a bit like Recovery, does anyone want to help?’ Pretty much everyone I knew put their hand up,” she says. Laura christened the project Amateur Hour and made six half-hour episodes that actually weren’t very amateur at all.…

I started playing football when I was eight because my two best friends – both boys – played it and I wanted to do everything they did. There was a junior refereeing course at the club I played for; I saw it as a way to make some pocket money and get out of doing chores. I got registered at national level when I was 18. It’s obviously a bit more professional now! I’m an elite referee, which means I referee women’s football at a national and international level, and men’s at state level. Reactions to female referees are mixed. Some people are quite surprised, or they will have an instant prejudice before you’ve even made it onto the pitch. That’s something women need to break through when they arrive…

THE SLOW BLINK Your moggie’s endless slow-blinking may not be the sign of an eye infection or really bad hay fever. According to cat experts (or ‘catsperts’) everywhere, when a cat blinks into your eyes, you’ve basically just experienced the feline equivalent of grandma kissing your forehead. That’s some very serious love. If your first reaction is to slowly blink into your cat’s eyes whenever it looks in your direction, know this: occasionally they’ll return the favour, but other times they’ll just stare you down. Hostile staring, unfortunately, is not the feline equivalent of a forehead kiss. THE NOSE RUB Mmm, drippy wet cat nose tapped repeatedly into your eye while you sleep. Must be love? Depending on a cat’s age, hygiene and eating habits, a feline nose rub can…

Tell me your ghost story. Whisper it to me over a campfire, or in the corner of a party when everyone else is talking about much cooler things. Send me your suspect photos with a spooky face floating in the background, or a glowing light where there shouldn’t be one. I really do want to know about the time you travelled overseas and glimpsed a lady in a white nightgown in the middle of the night, only to see a framed photo of her the next day and realise that it was your deceased great aunt. I just can’t get enough. Everyone’s got that one weird obsession they spend hours upon hours googling, until all of a sudden it’s 2am and you’re in a suss corner of the internet that…

This is from a series called Let’s Talk About Everything – a collection of memories gathered from four individuals, springing from four different phrases that hold strong emotional connections for them. With the words taken from songs, quotes, poetry, or any other medium, each memory is explored, studied, laboured over and embroidered on found materials – primarily vintage placemats and tablecloths that are reminiscent of Malay households. I work from home in my studio/bedroom where I do most – if not all – of my embroidery. It’s been about six or seven years now that I’ve been using this as my main medium. Mostly I learned from embroidery books and the internet, but really, I only use about three or four very basic stitches for most of my work. When…

STEP ONE: RECRUIT WISELY If there’s one thing pro pub trivia players know, it’s the power of diversity. After all, there’s no point forking out for a parma and pint each week if your table is made up solely of history buffs. Assemble a group of people with a broad range of areas of expertise – from the pop culture junkie to a general knowledge pro, music aficionado and a sports nut. It wouldn’t hurt to broaden your age range, too: your little cousin may know who’s topping the top 40 charts this week, and your folks will have you covered for vintage facts. STEP TWO: FILL ‘ER UP You wouldn’t sit an exam without some serious study (or at least one heavily caffeinated all-nighter), so how do you expect…

Whereabouts do you two live? Stefanie: I’m originally from Denver, Colorado, USA, but I’ve lived in London for the past 13 years. Giorgia: I am originally from Modena, Italy, but I moved to New York three years ago. Tell us a bit about the Dear Data project. Dear Data has been a yearlong analogue data-drawing correspondence between the two of us. Each week we collected and measured a particular type of data about our lives; we used this data to make a drawing on a postcard-sized sheet of paper, and then dropped the postcard in an English “postbox” (Stefanie) or an American “mailbox” (Giorgia)! Eventually, the postcard arrived at the other person’s address with all the scuff marks of its journey over the ocean: a type of ‘slow data’ transmission.…

It’s sad that most invitations come via text message or email these days. It means I’m no longer justified in standing forlornly by the mailbox watching as the postman sails past me without a nod, a hello… or an invitation. Don’t get me wrong, I still stand there waiting for him, but that’s because he is someone to talk to. Or at. I’ve noticed that he’s started to speed past my house a lot faster lately – I’m pretty sure he’s showing off. He must have a crush on me. Maybe he will invite me to something? When I was little, before life had taught me better, I expected only good things from the world. So it always came as a shock when evil raised its party hat-festooned head and…

When I was small and shiny, the formula was clear: younger > older. This calculation seemed so obvious and so natural that it didn’t even need thinking about, really. It was just the way things were. But now that I have become a tiny bit older, I have realised the error of my small and shiny ways. Growing old is the BEST, everybody (and I am not even properly old yet). I honestly cannot recommend it highly enough. I hope from the bottom of my tiny, not-yet-middle-aged-but-I-am-ready-to-retire heart that you get to do it one day. There are lots and lots of things to like about getting older, but probably the number one thing is this: becoming older means that you are no longer young. And what a relief that…

AFD STORE IN A SENTENCE: We sell design, push colour and peddle function from New Zealand and overseas // WHAT WE SELL: Beautifully designed accessories and homewares, including items from Karen Walker, Bride and Wolfe, Kip and Co, Tiff Manuell, Made by Mosey and Kate and Kate // PRICE POINT: From about $5 to $470 // WHAT MAKES THE SHOP SPECIAL: We regularly relaunch our online store with a brand new collection of products. Customers are encouraged to think differently, shop with their hearts and design like no one is watching // FIND US: 193 Rapaura Road, Blenheim, NZ or online at afdstore.co.nz ERIKA HARDER JEWELLERY IN A SENTENCE: Inspired by the latest fashion trends and seasons, our playful handmade polymer clay jewellery is available in a wide range of…

Where is it? Unit 28, 369 Adelaide Road, Newtown. Describe the Neighbourhood Studio in a sentence. Eloise: A screenprinters’ heaven! Greta: An imaginatorium for printed objects. Flora: A creative hub for the art of screenprinting. What goes on there? E: The Neighbourhood Studio is a community screenprinting studio for clever and creative folk. We run night and weekend classes; offer day passes to the studio; expose screens for artists, designers and the film industry; and sell a range of screenprinting supplies. What can we learn at the Neighbourhood Studio? G: You can take a drawing or image and print it onto paper, textiles, wood and more. There are plans in the works to add classes for textile techniques like natural dye, shibori and weaving, plus kids’ classes, too. What kinds…

A confluence of events and curiosity led me to Cuba – old photographs and family stories of my grandparents’ time there just after marriage in 1946. An American preoccupation with a country long in the shadow of Spanish acquisition and colonial American rule, which was off-limits to Americans for more than 50 years. A personal interest derived from an early study of Spanish. And, most importantly, a drive to make cross-cultural connections through personal experience. In 2011 I travelled to Cuba for the first time to begin a project exploring domestic life at the edge of capitalism. The families I stayed with host tourists in their private homes as an alternative means of income. I photographed 15 to 16 houses over four years, returning to visit the same families as…

I have the most forgettable face in the world. I’ve always known this to be true. It’s actually a source of great social angst – right after being the drunkest person at the party, and right before being trapped in a cinema and forced to watch a movie about freeform floating in space. At some point I convinced myself that the nervousness I felt wondering if people would remember me was based in fact, and that I just had one of those generic faces that you couldn’t quite place. I expected to be forgotten; you can’t fight genetics, after all. At every social occasion I had a plan. When I entered a room full of people that I’d only met a handful of times, I reverted to a familiar default…