Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2020 i frankie Magazine

Something you believe in; something that helps your creativity flow; something that gives you purpose; something that makes you laugh so hard you wee your pants a little bit. With connection comes a heart-tingling sense of belonging in the world, and if you flip through this issue of frankie, you’ll find evidence of that in many forms, from a troupe of unconventional circus performers to a lounge-room exerciser and her online yoga instructor, early punks and hippies, and reindeer herders in Northern Siberia. But here’s the good news: you can also find connection from the comfort of your couch – no acrobatic skills or radical lifestyle changes required. It could be as simple as going beyond small talk with a relative or new acquaintance – over on page 80 you’ll…

When did Mira Mikati start, and how has it developed since then? Mira Mikati started in 2015, and since the first collection it’s been about happy, positive and colourful clothing, together with some artist collaborations. The collections have always been inspired by my travels, my kids and a happier world. What were you doing beforehand? Since I was six years old, I knew I wanted to design clothes. Straight after school I went to a fashion school in Paris, then, after graduating, I created a knitwear collection that was sold on NET-A-PORTER. I had to move countries with my family, so stopped everything and opened a concept store called Plum in Beirut. When I moved to London a few years later, I felt it was time to go back to…

MASTERFOODS AUSTRALIAN MUSTARD Great condiments tend to be refined for generations, perfected through years of experience and inherited knowhow that leads to a flavour-filled topping that’s universally loved, or at least, widely respected. On the other hand, there’s MasterFoods Australian Mustard. Much like its island namesake, this was an ill-thought-out idea based on an underwhelming European recipe. It’s one of those products where they clearly came up with the name, then had to hastily work out what it was afterwards, because it had already been ordered into production. The label says ‘sweet and savoury style’, but I can’t figure out what the hell that’s supposed to mean. They might as well say, “We’re off to run a hot and cold bath.” Remember reading science books as a kid and seeing…

My father-in-law and his brother collected beer mats as kids in the 1960s. When their father passed away in 2017, we were clearing out his house and discovered the collection neatly stored away in crates in the attic, untouched for 40 years. They were destined for the trash before I saw them and offered to take them home. It was only when I got home and started looking through them that I realised what a treasure trove of vintage design they were. The exact history of the beer mats is hard to come by, but I know they were collected in the 1960s through to the early ’70s, when they were a much more common form of advertising. The majority of this collection is alcohol-related, but they also cover topics…

Here’s the thing: no matter how many beepy, flashy, in-your-face notifications pop up on your phone or computer screen, nothing will give you a heady rush quite like stumbling on some snail mail in your letterbox. Someone took the time to send you a LETTER! They stepped away from their digital bubble for long enough to connect with you via old-school ink on paper! How delightful. Now, imagine that joy repeated on a regular basis, and you get to give it to someone else, as well. That’s what it’s like to have a pen pal – aka a letter-writing chum from across the world. BUT WHY DO I WANT A PEN PAL? Did you read the part about the dopamine blast? That’s one good reason. Here are some others: it’s…

LISTS, LISTS, LISTS Make to-do lists to anchor you and help map out your day, but don’t beat yourself up if you can’t achieve everything on the list – or indeed, much at all. Pushing through the day can feel like a giant to-do in itself, especially when people expect you to continue doing things like… umm… going to work, putting the bins out, and keeping food in the fridge. Frankly, it can seem like a lot. But making a daily list of what you should and would like to achieve can be a total godsend when you feel it would be easier just to climb back into bed. A list is a trusty pal that will give you some purpose when you’ve forgotten what the hecking heck you’re here…

Sometimes the things meant for you appear when you’re not even looking for them. Nina de Vries and her husband, Bo Bagshaw, had no intention of buying a house when they acquired their two-bedroom timber miner’s cottage on the outskirts of Brisbane 10 years ago. “We were pretty young and kind of irresponsible,” she says. “A friend of Bo’s mum was selling the place and I had a small inheritance from my grandmother – just enough for a small deposit, and it seemed the right thing to do.” They were living in the city and couldn't imagine ever moving that far out, “but it was such a cute place. We thought we'd rent it out and one day, in the distant future, perhaps we could consider living there.” When the…

Tell us about the area where you live, and how it affects your photography. I live in Melbourne’s north with my husband Ben and our four-year-old, Sonny. The area we live in has a very 1980s suburban look: lots of small orange-brick houses with roller shutters and manicured lawns. Sometimes I look at it and feel depressed, but when the light is right, I find it really charming. I love capturing the care that elderly people around here put into their neat homes. What inspires you when you’re not working? I really like to photograph other people’s front yards. I love the colours of bricks and weatherboards at the right time of day; the hard lines of low-rise buildings against horizons and clouds; and the abundant space in the sky…

What kind of art do you make? I’d describe most of my stuff as kind of amateur, offbeat illustration. I’m very much self-taught. I use Procreate for digital drawing, mostly – it’s perfect for me, because I’m often experimenting with colours and patterns and I change my mind so much. How did you get started in this art-making business? Have you always been a creative type? I’ve always appreciated art, but I started drawing as a hobby around eight years ago. I literally just bought myself a scrapbook and some coloured pencils one day! A year or so later, I started making shrink-plastic pins from my drawings, and that’s how Whistleburg was created – it was a huge part of my life for about three years. Since having my son,…

With winter comes the familiar clickety-clack of knitting needles. Sitting in front of an open fire or Golden Girls repeats on TV, there’s nothing more soothing, satisfying, and occasionally infuriating than knitting a scarf or other fluffy object. But while sheep’s wool is our favourite go-to for counting out those garter stitches, there are lots of other options that don’t go ‘baaa’. ALPACA: Despite originating in harsh conditions on Peruvian mountaintops 4000 metres above sea level, these odd-looking creatures produce one of the animal world’s softest fibres. While sheep just mosey about paddocks all day eating grass, alpacas typically lead a harder, colder life. End result: their coats are 20 per cent warmer than sheep’s wool and cashmere. Plus, the wool is lighter and has less pilling. LLAMA: These guys…

Which film could you watch over and over without getting sick of it? What’s an unusual thing about you that nobody knows? Do you collect anything, like stamps, enamel pins or bunny-themed bits? Draw five things you can see from where you’re writing. Describe a defining moment in your life. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Create a fill-the-gap questionnaire. Is there something that’s grinding your gears at the moment? Share the weirdest fact you know. Draw a zine that shows a day in your life. Write the first line of a story or poem and get your pen pal to continue it. For more ideas, flip over to our tear-out conversation cards on page 80 – they’re sure to get the chit-chat flowing.…

How did you get into toy-making? About three years ago I purchased some handmade figures from an artist on Instagram, @deathbytoys. As soon as I got them, I became obsessed with learning how to make my own. Luckily, Dan from Death By Toys was very helpful and encouraging. Tell us about these pop-culture sculptures. What kinds of techniques do you use? The bulk of my technique is what’s called ‘kit-bashing’. Basically, it’s Frankensteining pieces of old toys together to look like something completely different. I also do quite a bit of sculpting, sanding, grinding and chopping, but most of what I do is very similar to collage. Do you have special tools you use? I use my Dremel rotary tool quite a bit. Aside from that, just standard crafting stuff.…

TAKE IT OFF BY MICHELLE LAW Let me start by saying that it’s taken every fibre of my Chinese being to not begin this rant by screaming. Not wearing shoes inside the house is a hill I will proudly die on, from both a cultural and personal hygiene standpoint, so let’s dive in before I give myself a hernia. If you did biology in high school, it’s likely that you did a swab test while learning about bacteria cell structures. I’m casting my mind back more than a decade now, but the memory is as vivid as ever: during one of my lessons, my teacher took a cotton bud, rubbed it over his nose, then smeared the bud across a petri dish. A couple of days later, at our next…

Sound the alarm! The frankie Good Stuff awards are back, which means another chance for creative types across Australia and New Zealand to show off all the awesome stuff they’ve been working on. From writers and designers to musicians, entrepreneurs and more, there’s a category for everyone (and some ace prizes up for grabs, as well). We can’t wait to see your creations, and our excellent lineup of judges is raring to check them out, too. Entries are now open, so head to frankie.com.au/goodstuff to apply . And don’t forget to read on, as our judges have shared some wise words and tips on what they’re looking for. Good luck! art + illustration JEREMY WORTSMAN FOUNDER OF JACKY WINTER GROUP How did you find your creative niche? I think it…

By Kate Stanton If you were asked to name a movie that completely altered the course of your life, would you tell the truth? Personally, I’d be tempted to say something that makes me sound like a gal with taste: a coming-of-age story by a well-respected indie auteur, perhaps. Or a darkly funny foreign-language film on the violent consequences of capitalism. I’d sound so intellectual! But we’re all mates here, so I’ll pop my dignity to the side for a tic and be honest. The film that changed my life is Under the Tuscan Sun: a mediocre, mid-budget rom-dram starring Diane Lane. Let’s start with my broken heart. At 23, I was left devastated by a man who had exactly one (always slightly damp) towel, a fondness for playing devil’s…

A while back, it felt like the universe was telling me to become a celebrant. First, there was the marriage equality vote – I walked past Parliament when the ‘yes’ vote was passed and I wanted to be part of that big party. Then, I was working hospitality at a wedding, and I clocked on at the same time as the celebrant. She did her thing, had a champagne and left – she was probably there for less than two hours. I had a big light-bulb moment then; it was the first time I’d really considered looking into the job. A week later, I was the MC for my brother's wedding, and got so much feedback saying, “You should actually do the marrying. There’s a market out there for a…

Who are you and what do you do? Hello, my name is Jimmi Ho and I am a photographer from Hong Kong. I’ve been taking photos for around eight years now, and my work explores themes around urban landscapes, architecture and issues in the community. I also try to use photography to question social problems and environmental changes. Tell us about this series, Laundry Art. What is it all about and how did it begin? In 2017, I started building my website, so I reviewed all my photos and became curious about a picture I took a couple of years earlier. The picture showed a man drying his clothes on a playground – in the background was a narrow, colourful building. I wondered where the Hong Kong people dry their…

If you’ve got boobs, you know it would hurt like hell to have someone perch upon them. But it’s all in a day’s work for circus performer Georgia Deguara, proud owner of what she calls “the strongest boobs in WA”. “I just cross my arms underneath and a girl stands on them and balances,” Georgia says. “It’s a good time.” The boob-stand is just one of Georgia’s signature moves. (She can hammer a nail up her nose, too – how’s that for a party trick?) It’s the kind of thing you’ll see her perform as part of YUCK Circus – the rowdy, funny, all-girl company she founded in Perth in 2018 with six of her circus mates. They’re a group of gymnasts, dancers, acrobats, trapeze artists and theatre nerds who…

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SCHMUCK // Warning: this is not a word to be used around the elderly. Schmuck means penis – tee-hee! In the seemingly boundless linguistic tradition where swear words derive from genitals and bodily movements, schmuck is no different. The word used to be considered incredibly vulgar a century ago, but now it’s almost a term of endearment. Some Jewish people call themselves schmucks all the time. A little like how Aussies claimed back ‘bastard’ and ‘bugger’ as part of the daily vernacular. Example: “That guy just got annihilated in a pool game and now he’s got to dance pantless around the table, the poor schmuck.” SCHMUTZ // Remember when your great-aunt used to spit into a handkerchief and try to rub a piece of unsightly grime off your face while…

MAKING A BASIC STARTER You can’t make sourdough bread without a starter, and starters inevitably take a few days to come to life. This delay seems to deter many aspiring first-time bakers, but it shouldn’t. Once you’ve got a starter up and running, you can keep it in hibernation in the fridge, then bake at your own convenience. So, let’s get started! What is a starter? A starter is a living thing – or more precisely, a collection of several billion living things, swimming in a mixture of their food and their by-products. Yeast is the star of the show: a single-celled fungus that eats carbohydrates (sugars and starches) and turns them into carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. (Unbaked dough is slightly alcoholic, but bread isn’t, as the alcohol is…

Tell us a little about yourself, please. I’m an artist and illustrator. I work from my studio in Melbourne, but I grew up on the Sunshine Coast. I moved in 2012, just after I finished studying graphic design at uni. What was your relationship with art as a kid? I have really strong memories of being at school and drawing in the margins of my books, and being so excited to go home to draw things I had in my mind. I’d sit at the coffee table and draw until dinnertime, then eat and go to bed. On the weekends, I was always making little books and stories, or copying drawings from PlayStation manuals. I liked to draw people a lot, which I still do, and I liked to create…