Fake boys

What is it about faux bois that makes it the thing of the moment? It's horrible and seventies and reminds me of the cabinets in my mum's kitchen. Faux bois = laminate peeling from chipboard. Not an aesthetic I need to reproduce. But if you do, at least have the dignity to paint your own. No more wood print vinyl, please!

Hisano Takei

I really like these forms Hisano Takei has created in pure wool felt, but I can't help thinking they have an unfinished look to them. I can see how colour would detract from the shape, but wouldn't it give each piece a little more emotion? I'd love to see Grotesque in shades of green and blue-grey.

Rock 'n Roll Machine

MAKE blog points us to the Visible Sound project, a realtime sound wave sewing concept. It's cute, but seems limited. What I really like it the idea of a sewing machine that looks like a stereo component. If mine looked this rock 'n roll, I'd sew every day!

Vintage Hidden Secrets

An article in The Age today features the only shopping tour that has ever appealed to me - a Vintage Outing. A 4.5 hour tootle around the eclectic vintage boutiques of Melbourne in a chauffeur driven restored Fiat 1500s with guides Betty and Miss Shirley.

But I only want this for a Christmas present if it comes with a large wad of spending money.

New crafty blog!

I'm quite aware that the internet is not in need of another craft blog, but I'm not going to let that stop me, dammit.

I read so much by designers, artists, and craftypeople that I may as well post some of my findings. Also my bookmarks folder is bursting at the seams with projects I will never have the time to do. If I tell you about my ideas that's almost like doing them, right?

OK, today's discovery is that 2009 has been declared the International Year of Natural Fibres by the UN. And my question is, could they have come up with a worse logo?