Ah Hong Kong without the heat and 110% humidity... late winter really is a lovely time to visit. With spring just around the corner, floral inspired windows were everywhere. The super luxe Lane Crawford was more in Mod Squad mode whilst Chanel was sporting flaming red locks which could be spotted a mile away - quite a feat in this city!
Turning heads in Honkers
Pull up a chair
A display table that incorporates the bar stool look caught my eye. Ocean Terminal, Hong Kong.
Smoke screen
What is nice about walking through this open air foyer is that you don't really notice workers having a cigarette until you walk past their smoke screen, and even then you could easily miss it / just not notice. People smoke... so the clever building management in Hong Kong have thought about how this presents to the passing parade. Somewhere on Canton Road HK.
Cool coke
A traffic stopping decal treatment of this delivery truck certainly stopped me long enough to take a snap whilst walking the streets of Hong Kong yesterday.
This boxer is likely to pack a punch
I often sit in high-end thinking sessions relating to retail developments ... sessions where the suits know the shopping landscape is changing around them, and will change again by the time the plans on the table have turned into a mall or new precinct ... who know the business model needs a bit of a tweek too but their good ship Shopping Centre has already set sail ...
Whilst squeezing in some retail research before I head to Europe next week I came across this new development. For those who face the complex challenge of master planning and leasing retail developments I say, "get yourself a latte, put your feet up and take 15 mins to listen to what the developers, designers, marketers and targeted retailers have to say about Box Park". Initially I was a tad disappointed to discover it's due to open August 2011 but I perked up immediately at the thought that I'll just have to plan another I spy with my retail eye trip later in the year!
www.boxpark.co.uk
Mann oh man she’s talented
How many times have you said to your 3 year old ... 'don't draw on the walls!'? Little did you know you might have been stifling a potential super star. British based Charlotte Mann draws on walls and does it brilliantly.
OMG it’s OTT
Super chef Shannon Bennett has opened an outlet of Cafe Vue in the departures hall at Melbourne International Airport. It is merely my personal opinion that if you are up at some ungodly hour of the morning to catch an iron bird to an exotic locale that you couldn't miss this even if you were sleep walking. Whilst we saw a hint of the dramatic counter pattern at Shannon's St Kilda Rd cafe (top pics), this newbie takes design drama to a whole new level. I look forward to picking up a brioche for brekky and picnic box for the plane next week (particularly given how horrid the food was on my last international escape). Photos by Diana Snape via Broadsheet.
Oliver Brown goes to town
The friendly design crew at Morris Selvatico in Sydney sent me some snaps of their latest project (actually I've never met them but their logo looks friendly so I've decided they must be!). Given that I am running with a 'dramatic tiles and wallpaper finds' theme today I thought I'd share this striking looking new cafe with you. Specialising in handcrafted chocolates, the design intent was to capture an ambience that is both vintage and contemporary, that celebrates both the timeless art of chocolate making and our modern cafe society. Morris Selvatico also wanted the design to set the store apart from the surrounding competition, which by the look of these pictures suggests all the boxes on the design brief have been ticked. You can find Oliver Brown at Westfield Chatswood.
Italian illusionists
Love these dimensional wall papers by Italian designers Wall and Deco.
So Soon
Having a snoop around the Queen Vic Market I spotted this striking ceiling and some quirky 'knitted' light fittings, so I stuck my head in the door to find out more. With English not being a strong point of the staff, I gleened the owner and designer is an architect called Soon. The penny dropped immediately that it 'must be' the work of McGauran Soon (but I will verify this as I could be wrong). In the meantime don't let that minor detail stop you from checking out Sushi Kissaten. It's on Peel Street at the Franklin Street end of the Queen Vic Market.
