The Big News

Hi everyone!  I hope you’ve enjoyed a break of some kind over Christmas and New Year.  Today, here at Leeloo, we start 2012 with some important announcements.

Firstly, from the 30th January 2012, I (Angela) will be working for Etsy.  It will initially be a part-time job, where I will be the second Community Manager in Australia (the first being our very own Kirsteene Phelen a.k.a. Scrumptious Productions a.k.a. awesome lady).  Along with working alongside Kirsteene (Melbourne based) in being the Etsy AU peeps, my role will be primarily focused on the Etsy seller community in Australia (Sydney based).  I will be working on developing the skills of Australian Etsyians with training, workshops and events, as well as providing general support amongst many. many other things.

Secondly, I have determined that the best way forward for me and Leeloo.com.au at this time is to close it’s virtual doors.  My reasons for this are many and varied, and whilst I know this will come as a shock to some of you, please know that the decision has not been taken lightly by any means.  It was not easy.  Not at all.  SO much thought and deliberation and analysis and toing and froing and back and forth it was getting a bit crazy.  It really, at the end of the day, feels like the right thing to do in my heart. I’m extremely excited about the new direction that 2012 is presenting to me.  I’m of course sad, but I do feel good about my decision.

The Way Forwards

For those of you who would like to buy something from Leeloo get in quick!!!  We will be closing the doors on the store on Friday January 27th and they won’t re-open.  If you have a gift voucher, we strongly suggest you redeem it within that timeframe.  If you have a query or require an exchange or a refund, please ensure you have contacted us before this Friday, as after that date no exchanges, returns, refunds or correspondence will be possible in relation to your order/s.  (If you choose pay by Direct Debit payment must be received by Friday Jan 27th or your order will be cancelled).

On behalf of Renee and myself, the wonderful Leeloo family of designers and artists, the talented guest bloggers and our broader community network I want to thank you all so very much.  Without the support of the lovely customers we have and the indie art and design community we wouldn’t have made it this far, and for that we will be forever grateful.

Very special thank yous and love go to the teams at the Finders Keepers, Frankie Magazine, Peppermint Magazine, Just Another Agency, Mongrel Creative, Design Federation, 2threads, Spit Press, aMBUSH gallery, No Vacancy Gallery, LMFF, Meet Me At Mike’s, Daydream Lily, Jessica Klingelfuss, Katie Noonan and the Captains(and elixir), Fashion Journal, Style Collective, made590, Blackbird Corner, Blue Caravan, my family, my friends, and all of the indie businesses, art collectives and lovely people that have provided us with support in any way.  Without it we wouldn’t have lasted beyond the first six weeks.

Lots and lots of love, hugs and kisses
Angela  xxoo

Please note you can continue to enjoy the artistic and humourous musings of Renee over on her personal blog, and stay tuned for details of my new personal blog which is coming soon!

Image above taken on a timer so there’s no credit – but that’s us in Berlin.

This is the time of year in Perth when the weather is warm, people start winding down for the holidays and migrate outdoors.  With this comes the excitement of the Perth Festival, which to me is one of the arts highlights of the year in Perth.

The Perth Festival officially runs from 10 Februray-3 March, 2012.  Tickets are now on sale, and some popular events have already sold out (Bon Iver and Death Cab for Cutie tickets are, unsurprisingly, amongst these).  But there are still plenty of tickets available and so many other events to see and participate in, some of which are free.

The Perth Festival website has all the details, including a full calendar and all the genres of events including film, dance, literature, theatre, music, visual arts, opera and many more.  But these are my personal picks when it comes to the three genres on which I spend the most money purchasing tickets – film, dance and literature:

Film
The Lotterywest Festival film screenings have already begun and will run through till 15 April.  Here are a few I’ve bookmarked to see myself:

The Future
Director Miranda July, USA/Germany
I dare you to resist the charm of Miranda July in this sweet tale about modern life and relationships, which also includes a cat (my kind of film).

Un Amour de Jeunesse/Goodbye, First Love
Director Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany
I love films that explore first love and coming-of-age stories with depth and complexity. So if this is your type of genre too, this film looks rather good.

He’arat Shulayim/Footnote
Director Joseph Cedar, Israel
I have to preface this by saying I’m both an academic and Israeli-born, so I’m pretty much a sucker for this film that satirically explores the academic world in Israel through a competitive father and son relationship.  Plus I know the trauma of footnotes all too well.

The Deep Blue Sea
Director Terence Davies, USA/UK
I can’t go to a film festival without viewing a classy World War II film. And if that film also happens to include Rachel Weisz, well then, I’m hooked.

Dance

Dance
Lucinda Childs Dance Company
Choreography by Lucinda Childs, Music by Philip Glass, Film by Sol LeWitt
This is one of those legendary postmodern dance pieces associated with some of the biggest names in modern dance and music. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.

Ballet at The Quarry
West Australian Ballet
Ballet at The Quarry is a bit of a West Australian dance institution. There really isn’t anything nicer than watching ballet under an open summer sky, with a picnic laid out before you.

Literature

The Perth Writers Festival is something that as a writer, I look forward to the most.  While I generally want to go and see everything on offer, this year I’m particularly looking forward to hearing Germaine Greer speak about Eco-Feminism at The University of Western Australia, my own “home-turf”.  Other guest speakers at the Writers Festival include Barbara Trapido, Jo Nesbø, Chetan Bhagat, David Levithan, Janette Turner-Hospital, Justice Michael Kirby, Marieke Hardy, Tom Keneally, Frank Moorhouse, Peter FitzSimons, Ray Martin, Stuart Littlemore and Michael Robothan. Can you feel my excitement?

I’ve only scratched the surface here, so I suggest you hop onto the Perth Festival website to check everything out in more detail.

Image credits: all images are from the Perth Festival website

Cruising solo back home down the F3 I heard a new song on the radio.  It was SO REFRESHING!!  My ears were overjoyed at hearing something that hasn’t been on high rotation through the airwaves during the last few months.  Seriously, I get so desperate to hear new music that I like, when I do, it’s like, you know, wow.

It’s called I Know, by Cameras, and you can have a listen to it, and even download it for free, right here.

The best part?  They’re from effing Sydney!  Sydney!  YAY! My home town!  Really!!…..and what a lovely looking little trio they are.

Have a listen via their MySpace to a few of their tunes and watch the video for their single Defeatist, you can buy their album online and in all good record stores (bah!), you can like them on Facebook, and you can even download this track via Triple J Unearthed.

I know, right?*

*I may or may not be addicted to Sh*t Girls Say

Image above from Cameras MySpace page

I’m wrapping up my 2011 blog posts for Leeloo with a report on a one-of-a-kind lightbox installation which is currently festooning the window at Alice Euphemia in Melbourne. The installation was created by Melbourne jewellery designer Lia Tabrah who’s the fiercely original lady behind the off-the-charts label O.T.T. by Lia T.  Created to coincide with the launch of her Australiana-themed collection A Dingo Ate My Diamond, the display features an artfully arranged menagerie of Lia’s latest razzle dazzle.

Set your great southern style ablaze in a gold-plated cane-toad head bowtie, a swarovski-encrusted boomerang pendant and earrings, or a map of Australia-shaped fly swat bangle whose chrome coating crawls with plastic blowflies painted neon pink!

These humorous accessories celebrate Australia’s unique character and are fresh from the mind of a lady who’s as influenced by the tropics of  Darwin and crocodile death rolls as she is by the big-hair, glitzy glamour we associate with the high-rolling hedonism of the 1980s.

Happy New Year and see you in 2012.

December 28 – January 3

The Taste Festival is Tasmania’s largest annual event and is held on Hobart’s waterfront at Salamanca.  This annual event attracts more than 250,000 people over seven days.  Celebrating contemporary food culture, the festival features dozens of stalls from local wineries and producers of fine foods.  As well as the amazing food on offer, there are kids cooking classes, musicians and other performers and various workshops.  It’s an internationally renowned event that is always well worth the trip and the inevitable food baby you may develop.

December 29 – January 1

Falls Festival has some big names and amazing acts performing at this three day event. Some tickets have sold out but you can still snap up a two day pass – but you’ll have to be uber quick.  With names like Fleet Foxes, Lanie Lane and Kimbra, it promises to be an amazing few days of music and arts in the glorious sunshine.   (Weather may or not provide said glory…)

January 21

Mona.  You just have to go there to discover it all for yourself.  It’s confronting, thought provoking and offers a new way to experience art.  One of the less controversial events to happen at Mona is the start of the Rooftop Markets.  There will be food, fresh produce, live music and workshops in a pretty spectacular rooftop location.  The first market will be held on January 21 from 1:30 – 6:30, then ongoing from that date.

The Mona Foma Festival – the Museum of Old and New Art Festival of Music and Art, is happening from January 13 – 21 and has dozens of exhibitions, concerts and events happening, including a not to be missed performance by PJ Harvey. Ya-huh, THE PJ Harvey is coming to little old Tassie.  Be sure to have a look at the program, going to Mona should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Image credits :: Image one from australiantraveller.com, Image two from here, Image three from Art Grants Finder.

One of the things I get to do is help out other stylists.  One of the stylists I assist from time to time is Mr. Jason Grant (that’s him in the top picture!).

He’s a lovely fella, with a penchant for hand-made, an eye for great design and is known for his spectacular use of colour (see his collaborations with Murobond and Officeworks).

A while back, when Christmas seemed ages away, and is now of course right on our door step, we did a little photo shoot with the lovely Maree Homer featuring some clever, cute and crafty ideas for Christmas decorations.

For this particular shoot I helped out with the hands-on stuff, like….. painting the door, the walls, spray painting Christmas balls, making decorations and the usual general helping out one does.  The other awesome thing was that I got to work with Renee Anne on this shoot, which is always fun (and it of course gets quite silly when we are working together).

Strangely I wasn’t really feeling Christmassy until I saw this.  Mr. JG has obviously captured the essence of the holiday season very well!

To see the full post including item credits, and even more images of Christmas goodness, head to Mr. Jason Grant’s blog right here.

but lately this song is regularly STUCK in my head.

This clip features pretty people, live music, a cool song,

and it’s on French TV.

What’s not to love?

Then there’s this more acoustic version with them in duo mode,

at Glastonbury earlier this year,

which just made me die, for nothing if not

for Jenny’s outfit.  Srsly.

(THAT DRESS!! THOSE SUNGLASSES!!!! THOSE SHOES!!!!!!!!!!).

Enjoy the tuneage!!!

(especially those of you facing the ennui of work this close to Christmas!)

Seasons greetings everyone! I can’t believe we are now only 7 days away from this joyous holiday.  Like myself, I imagine that every one of you must be in full holiday swing by now which is why I my post for this month has a very Christmassy feel to it.

Pinkbow has been a long time favourite photographer of mine on flickr and I wanted to share this set of photos of a Christmas lunch she had with some of her friends.  What a lovely way to spend Christmas with your friends, eat some delicious food (macarons!) and listening to Christmas jingles.

I hope every one has a wonderful Christmas planned ahead of them with friends and family. So with that I wish you all a Merry Christmas and I will see you in the New Year.

Happy holidays everybody!

Images above from Pinkbow here

Okay folks, today is the last day to take advantage of the little (hey, MEGA!) Frankie giveaway promo we have going on here at Leeloo, so if you had planned on grabbing a few bits and pieces as pressies (and perhaps even something for yourself) then NOW REALLY IS THE TIME. $20.00 is all you need to spend, you get free shipping A N D the potential of winning one of those much coveted Frankie Diaries and Calendars.  We are already looking forward to 2013 (eek!), because it means we can start framing those beautiful prints from the calendar (see, longevity in a product is what we love!).

Anyway, it would seem we are now rambling, the message today is fairly straight forward… shop local, buy handmade, support small business and potentially win!

By the way, if you need any help with gift choosing etc, you can always send us a tweet or facebook comment, we would be more than happy to help and offer suggestions.  Happy Friday!