Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 118- Mar/Apr 2024 i frankie Magazine

six fashion-y types we got to know while putting this issue together: 1. Uber-sweet Melburnian Melanie Dale, whose impressive maximalist outfits brighten the days of commuters and online communities alike (page 18). 2. Business partners Jessie Sadler and Carole Taylor, who create functional and fun clothing for folks with disabilities, dexterity limitations and injuries (page 88). 3. Author and vintage fashion expert Charlotte Dallison, who taught us about some rather iconic frocks from the past hundred years (page 31). 4. An orange-bellied parrot named Blue, whose lime-hued plumage and endearing gaze can be spotted on page 117. 5. Writer Charlie Lewis, who is a self-professed old soul and, as a child, wore old-timey suits because they made him happy (page 85). 6. Brissie fashion designer Rosie Elkington, who is fascinated…

If there’s anything that goths, ravers, hipsters, glam-rockers and other fashionable folk can all agree on, it’s that fashion is the best method of telling the world exactly who you are. The same can be said for Melanie Dale (aka @letsgetlayered), whose viral TikTok videos – which showcase her extravagant outfits before she embarks on her daily work commute – have helped cement her as a bona fide fashion icon. A love for fashion first emerged within Melanie during her shy and introverted high-school days; she discovered that colourful outfits could speak up for her when she wasn’t feeling like talking herself. “I was never a popular kid, but my outfits were always good conversation-starters,” Melanie says. “And when I see kids dressed up in goth clothes or whatever today,…

By Phoebe Thorburn – I’m incredibly fond of my neighbour, Sue. My parents moved into our house when I was in my mum’s belly and we’ve lived next door to Sue for the 26 years since. My bedroom is approximately eight metres from hers with only maple tree leaves fluttering in between. I’ve waved goodnight to Sue in her watermelon-hued dressing gown as I’ve pulled my curtains closed hundreds of times. My sense of home includes her and is bigger and better for it. Sue is a petite, independent pocket rocket with a raunchy sense of humour, blunt opinions and a really big heart. She’s been a faux-grandparent to me for as long as I can remember. When I was having a hard time adjusting to primary school, she gave…

I recently moved from the city of Melbourne to the suburbs of Geelong. Before relocating, a friend jokingly warned me to “keep an eye out for any upside-down pineapples.” Having no idea what they were talking about, I later discovered that this cryptic reference was a subtle indicator of the swinger lifestyle. It is thought that one might come across this fruit displayed on a front porch or hanging on a front door, and it has even been known to appear on the doors of cruise ships. The revelation got me thinking about how many other secret symbols were lurking in plain sight, from pink flamingos to cowboy boots on a fence post. I soon learnt there is a whole world of hidden messages that exist beneath the surface, just…

Biscotti were the ‘it bake’ in the ’90s and early ’00s, but then they were abandoned from dessert menus and jars in cafes – the Mary Celeste of cookies. I succumbed to pastry peer pressure and made them once or twice for my shop, but they never really sold, and I didn’t persist – until I made these addictively munchable fig-scotti, inspired by a David Lebovitz recipe, everything bagels and a dried fig and anise sourdough loaf. I adore these with triple cream brie. I use my trusty biscotti formula base and tinker with the add-ins depending on what’s in my pantry. I bake it in a tray and slice thinly, so the final form is more seedy wafer than tooth-jarring crescent. Use raw everything to start and keep the…

I’m not sure if I pursued acupuncture or if acupuncture pursued me. Growing up, at the back of our family home there was a natural healing centre. I started working there when I was 14, initially as a cleaner. After about a year, they gave me the opportunity to take on reception work. This healing centre, run by women, was a very calm, tranquil and empowered space. I remember vacuuming one of the rooms and seeing an acupuncture chart for the first time. This was my first exposure to this vast galaxy of points and energies in the body. It was intriguing, representing a coherent and interconnected system that fascinated me. When I finished school, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. I’ve always been interested in the…

“Birds are like my gateway to nature. They are my connection back to wildness,” says Leila Jeffreys, a Sydney-based photographic artist who, for more than a decade, has earnt a crust from capturing the characters of birds through portraiture. There’s no one way to shoot a bird’s portrait – since different species have differing requirements – but over the years Leila has gained access to these creatures by building trusting relationships with carers from wildlife rehabilitation centres and sanctuaries, and then with the birds themselves. “Because those birds are in care – even if they’re wild birds – they are in a place where they’re used to being fed; they’re used to being cared for,” Leila says. To get her shot, Leila often travels to the birds and sets up…

We went to Doha for a stopover flight to Scotland in August 2023. My partner's from Scotland, so we were flying over to visit his family. We didn’t know how a long-haul flight would go with our toddler, so we booked an actual stopover where we would leave the airport for 24 hours and get a hotel. I was excited because I’d never been outside of the airport in Qatar before and thought, “Maybe I’ll see another country that I wouldn’t really ever choose to visit.” I twisted my ankle the night before we left, so I was on crutches and it was just so hot, so we didn’t want to leave the hotel. But we did go up onto the rooftop where I could see this sort of pastel…

FLAT OUT LIKE A LIZARD DRINKING Even the more obtuse sayings on this list give some hint of their meaning, but this one really makes you fight for it. It seems to speak of an Australia of old, when people would gather in the square to watch the town lizard drink and speak to each other in riddles. Unfortunately, it leaves most of us scratching our heads. Is the lizard in question drinking water as part of its normal behaviour, or taking part in some anthropomorphic spectacle (like a horse walking into a bar)? What is the lizard drinking? Do lizards even drink? What are lizards really? Do they make good pets when they’re not drinking? And before anyone yells at me that the phrase obviously suggests the lizard is…

BAR OFF BUGS Apple cider vinegar is a staple when it comes to salad vinaigrettes, pickles and marinades, and it turns out that it’s not just us who are drawn to its fruity-acidic taste. The vinegar’s aroma is a favourite of fruit flies and gnats, which means it’s a nifty ingredient in DIY bug traps. (Look, we’re not here to bash bugs, but sometimes they’re not the politest house guests.) Simply combine apple cider vinegar with liquid dish soap in a small jar or cup, before covering it up with plastic wrap. Then, use a toothpick to create a few holes in the wrap that are big enough for a fly to enter. Place the jar near any insect hotspots (like in the kitchen or near the bins). The vinegar’s…

German artist Marlies Oakley is no stranger to striking artwork, creating miniature stories inside matchboxes using a collage technique. The Berlin-born creative moved to Australia in 2001 and graduated as a Bachelor of Fine Art in Sydney a decade later. While her earlier pieces included paintings and larger collages, Marlies shifted her creative focus in 2013 when she was impacted by the Bundaberg floods. “My studio was wiped out during the floods and there was significant water damage to my work. Almost all of my paintings were destroyed,” she says. “That’s when I began using recycled postage stamps to create artwork.” Marlies’ newly discovered method of creating collages from used postage stamps is what eventually led her to matchbox art. “I rediscovered an old matchbox while tidying up my studio…

“Blood” – The Middle East I grew up in Townsville and this song was written by some guys that are also from there. The Middle East showed me, as a younger and independent musician, that my experiences and my writing could also be on an international stage. Their music transports me to rainy summers, night swims, road trips and blinding sunshine. “Hide And Seek” – Imogen Heap The first time I heard this song, I played it on repeat for a couple of hours. I just sat at my computer desk in primary school looping it over and over and over. I still love this song so much because Imogen mostly uses her voice as an instrument, showing how you don’t always need fancy equipment to make an awesome song.…

Western Australia had the last Blockbuster in the country – and almost certainly the second last in the whole world. It closed in 2019. The accelerating societal collapse since then – the fraying of community, the atomisation of social experience, the retreat into polarisation – is absolutely no coincidence. Quite simply, society has never recovered from the collapse of the video rental industry. For one thing, there is a civilising quality to shame. To put it another way: when I was 16, I knew I couldn’t rent an erotic thriller starring one of Alec Baldwin’s brothers, unless I coupled it with Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas. This was because I had to interact with a human being between selecting a film and watching it, and I wanted to present them with…

I’m into hugs. Obsessed, some might say. Once, I found myself squeezing the bejeezus out of a Belgian waffle vendor on the Circular Quay promenade – all because the dude had a “free hugs” sign stuck on his food truck. Ah, the innocence of pre-pandemic times… Renowned family therapist Virginia Satir once said, “We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” But hugs are now an endangered species. ‘Touch starvation’ has become a post-pandemic Thing, research shows, causing us to experience higher levels of stress, anxiety and loneliness than ever before. One solution? More hugs. Clever clogs (read: scientists) recommend leaning into a warm embrace to become happier and healthier, and to generally feel…

What do you do? I’m a painter based in New York. I work in oil paint. Who are the women that appear in these paintings on paper?Sometimes the women in my paintings are based on someone I know, but more often than not, they are invented using various references. I think of them as more archetypal representations of women, rather than a focus on the particulars of a specific person. Your artworks are filled with vibrantly patterned fabrics and backgrounds. Could we find similar patterns in your own wardrobe and home? Actually, the way I dress and even my home are fairly minimal – except for my studio, which is covered in my oil sketches for pattern ideas and swatches of colours. You’ve been painting hyperrealist female figures for decades.…

i love you no matter watt you light up my life you’re electro-cute…

Listening to old records? Undeniably cool. Wearing vintage-fashion finds from an op shop? Also cool. Well, raise the needle on your record player and straighten up your thrifted ’70s shift dress, because it’s time that vintage recipes have their moment to shine. Just think about it – your nanna never put a stocking-clad foot wrong when it came to cake or biscuits! Now you can follow in her footsteps by literally reading the same cookbooks she did thanks to the slew of digitised cookbooks from yesteryear available on Trove. Here are our top tips for navigating your way through vintage cookbooks. LOOSEN UPNever grated pineapple? Unsure of the physics of it? Same! But quite a few recipes in the cute 1938 cookbook 87 Kitchen Inspirations call for it, so your…

DAYLIGHT MOON Madeleine Richards is a kiwi fashion designer who wanted to make versatile garms that last for years down the line, which led to the creation of her own label, Daylight Moon, back in 2020. With a strong focus on comfort, Madeleine’s wares are breezy and perfect for frolicking (which is a big selling point for us), so you can rest assured that no wedgies will occur while rocking one of her pretty pieces. daylightmoonstudio.com BEACH PLEASE It’s getting cooler, but we’re not ready to say goodbye to beach days just quite yet. Soleil Soleil has a solution: this woven blanket ($285) not only makes for a ripper beach towel, but you can also use it to rug up and keep warm if it gets too chilly. soleilsoliel.com.au RUFF…

There’s more to Sarah Elliott’s paintings than just colour, texture and perspective. A young woman gazes out at sea from her little boat, or kneels in a lush field, and there is a stillness. A thoughtfulness. The rich atmosphere of the rainforest and water that surrounds Sarah’s Hobart home is reflected in the scenes she paints. “The landscape here is very intense, and the ocean is very deep around it. It's beautiful and meditative, but it's also very powerful and strong,” she says. Hailing from Lancashire, England, Sarah grew up in the Tassie coastal town of Ulverstone. She spent most of her childhood exploring the “secret spots” in her family’s big, old garden, and developed a strong connection to the natural world. That connection, along with themes like transience, migration…

If there’s one thing that uber-creative lady Rachel Burke wants to instil in us all, it’s that low-stakes, primary-school-style arts and crafts are the bee’s knees. That’s why she decided to host monthly creative gatherings throughout 2023. Dubbed ‘Pla Pla’, the shindigs saw the creation of everything from cereal box bags and berets to melted-bead art and ‘STUNglasses’. “The concept of ‘Pla Pla’ is something that I call my self-devised play-at-home. Because I’m a practising artist and designer, I like to free-play to spur new ideas,” Rachel says. “And so I thought it would be a fun idea to just call the gatherings Pla Pla.” Rachel’s guest list included a bunch of friends and acquaintances whom she’d met through events, like markets, but hadn’t had the chance to build deeper…

I returned to my hometown a year ago at the ripe age of 36, fuelled by an inexplicable desire to yell, “Kangaroos!” on a daily basis while smugly capturing video proof to share with my city friends who, alas, live a kangaroo-less existence. A year into this adventure, I’ve ticked off many country goals – I own a pair of Blundstones, I spot kangaroos daily, and I haven’t been stuck in a traffic jam for 12 months. What I didn’t anticipate was my newfound obsession with the local area Facebook group. I joined the online hub upon the advice of a friend who had also returned home recently. What she failed to mention, though, were the virtual brawls I’d witness every time I opened the app. Back in my Melbourne…