Indholdsfortegnelse for Spaces Volume 1 i Spaces Volume 1

THE SPACES WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, WORK AND PLAY are often just as interesting as the people themselves. From the simple styling of a townhouse in London to the chaos of a shared studio in Brooklyn to the vintage accents of a café in Mermaid Beach, each place in this magazine speaks volumes about the people who own and rent them. The best ones tell stories about where people have travelled, who their friends are, what bands they like and which colours they love. They hold memories in the shape of framed posters, salt and pepper shakers, chairs found on the footpath and the occasional taxidermy animal. No two of these spaces are the same, but one thing they all have in common is that they have taken time – not…

WORKS AS STYLIST, AUTHOR & SHOP OWNER OF CARAVAN SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO JUST COME STRAIGHT OUT AND ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT, RATHER THAN WAITING FOR IT TO COME TO YOU. WHEN EMILY CHALMERS AND HER HUSBAND, CHRIS, WERE LOOKING FOR AN ABODE IN EAST LONDON THEY ASKED THE REAL ESTATE AGENT IF HE HAD ANYTHING UNUSUAL ON HIS BOOKS. THE DESCRIPTION OF “EX-INDUSTRIAL AND DUE FOR DEVELOPMENT” WAS ENOUGH TO PIQUE THEIR CURIOSITY AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE PERFECT. It was Chris who went to view the old warehouse while Emily was working. After he described it to her over the phone, her response was an emphatic, “Take it!” The stylist, shop owner and author of interior decoration tomes such as Flea Market Style and Cheap Chic…

WORKS AS FOUNDER OF A CRAFTY ENTERPRISE CALLED DOTTIE ANGEL A PECULIAR-LOOKING, BOX-SHAPED, MOCK TUDOR DWELLING NEVER FEATURED IN TIF FUSSELL’S FANTASIES WHEN SHE IMAGINED HER DREAM HOME. YET THAT’S THE HOUSE SHE FOUND HERSELF FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHEN SHE STEPPED INSIDE TO INSPECT THE PLACE ALMOST FOUR YEARS AGO. “I SAW SHE HAD AN OLD SOUL WITH POTENTIAL, AND FOR ME AT THAT TIME IT WAS ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW SHE COULD MAKE US HAPPY,” SAYS THE BLOGGER, CRAFTER AND MOTHER OF FOUR, WHO HAD RECENTLY RELOCATED FROM ENGLAND TO AMERICA WHEN SHE STUMBLED ACROSS THE ODDLY CHARMING ABODE. Nicknamed “Mossy Shed”, the house has become home sweet home and a creative canvas for the self-confessed thrift-store addict and her alter ego, Dottie Angel, who makes and…

Where was Etsy situated before its new Brooklyn home? Five years ago, Etsy’s home base was divided between the Brooklyn, New Mexico and New Jersey abodes of Etsy’s founders, Robert Kalin, Chris Maguire, Haim Schoppick and Jared Tarbell. When I started working for Etsy, I was first situated in my apartment, but we soon moved in to a large pre-war industrial space on Gold Street in Brooklyn, which featured executive offices with coffered wood walls and drafty antique window panes. You could see the summer thunderstorms floating over Manhattan, and we had beautiful sunsets. Etsy lady Anda Corrie built and developed the Etsy Labs, a community space for crafting, and the soul of the office. Where are the offices now? Etsy is located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of D.U.M.B.O. which…

NICHOLAS BUILDING RESIDENT FOR 16 YEARS. When did the Nicholas Building become full of creative studios? It was a prestige office building in the ‘20s and ‘30s, then as other prestige office buildings took over, it became less prestigious, and through the ‘50s and ‘60s it was part of the fashion centre of Melbourne. Couture designers and milliners were key tenants. These days graphic designers, T-shirt designers and desktop publishers are also residents. How has the building changed since 1926? It got a four-storey extension in 1976, but it was a sideways extension. So 10 levels – 11 including the basement – were built on a slightly bigger site in 1926. They kept an existing two-storey building next to it. They then pulled down that existing building, and built a…

Who owns it? Oli and Jess. Where is the café? On Bacon Street off Brick Lane, East London. Did you start this café or buy it from someone? We started it completely from scratch. We were selling vintage clothes and antiques in a market stall for a year and a half, so we had a bit of stock. And we saved the best stock knowing we wanted to open a shop. How long have you had it for? Three months. How did you come across the café space? It used to be a boutique. I (Oli) used to sell my clothes there. Then they sent me an email saying that it was closing down. So we had a bit of a head start. Describe the layout of the café. There’s…

Who owns the cafe? Myself, Margaret, and my brother, Billy. Where is the cafe? It’s on Columbia Road in East London in an area called Bethnal Green. What’s the area like? It’s a very cosmopolitan, edgy place with lots of lovely pubs and restaurants, and very nice shops. Lots of people work in the graphic design industry. What’s the layout of the cafe? We have a vintage store at the front of the building, and down three little steps is the back of the café. There’s also another entrance through a nice set of double doors that we open all year around. Who handles what? My daughter runs the café (she took over from Billy). I run the vintage store. And how is the café different? The café is unusual…

CATHY CALLAHAN IS A GURU OF SORTS IN THE CALIFORNIAN CRAFT SCENE. GROWING UP IN THE ‘70S, CATHY WAS RAISED ON A DIET OF DIY BY A MUM WHO WAS CONSTANTLY WHIPPING UP HOME-SEWN CREATIONS FOR THE CHURCH BAZAAR OR SCHOOL FETE. INSPIRED BY HER UPBRINGING, AND HER EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF VINTAGE CRAFT BOOKS, MAGAZINES AND EPHEMERA, CATHY IS KEEPING HER CRAFTY ANCESTRY ALIVE. APPLIQUÉ, PAPIER-MÂCHÉ, DECOUPAGE, WEAVING, EMBROIDERY, CROCHET, MACRAMÉ, NEEDLEPOINT, FELTING – YOU NAME IT, SHE MAKES IT. She puts her talent to practical use, running her own freelance window dressing and merchandising business and creating fabulous displays in the shop windows of high-end stores and boutiques. Her list of clients includes Barney’s New York, Giorgio Armani and Esprit. She also keeps herself busy by blogging about craft…

AS A PHOTOGRAPHER, NATASHA CANTWELL IS USED TO SCOUTING FOR LOCATIONS. Cruising around the city of Auckland, on the North Island of New Zealand, she’s forever posting mental post-it notes on places – store fronts, back alleys, friends’ gardens – and contemplating how they might be put to use some day in the future. So it comes as little surprise that instead of just renting any old place, because it was cheap and available, Natasha, along with her partner Alex, had somewhere specific in mind when it came time to move. “Our place is in one of the few historic parts of Auckland’s central city that hasn’t been demolished by developers,” says Natasha. “Our street housed New Zealand’s first Parliament in 1854. We found it on Trade Me, which is…

“WE WERE LOOKING FOR A WEEKEND ESCAPE AND CAME ACROSS THIS GEM ONLINE. IT WAS POSTCARD-PERFECT AND CHEAP,” INTERIOR DESIGNERS JOHN LOEKE AND JASON OLIVER NIXON RECALL. “WE BOTH FELL IN LOVE WITH THE HOME. IT WAS CHARMING – HAD LAYERS AND LAYERS OF VINTAGE WALLPAPER, THE OLD HAND-PAINTED KIND. THE KITCHEN STILL HAD A 1950S STOVE – TALK ABOUT VINTAGE!” Like most things that sound too good to be true … this dream home was. When John and Jason turned the key on their fresh investment, their passion project felt less like a piece of prime real estate and more like a lumpy off-cut of real repulsive. “Honestly, it was a dump,” Jason says. “My dad walked in and said, ‘What a dump!’ And my dad isn’t known for…

“HOME,” ACCORDING TO DANIELLE THOMPSON IS “WHERE YOUR FAMILY IS. OH, AND WHERE VINTAGE IS TOO.” A QUICK GLANCE AT HER 1960S RANCH-STYLE HOUSE IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA, REVEALS A HEARTFELT REGARD FOR BOTH. VINTAGE FRAMES, CLOCKS AND MIRRORS ARE CAREFULLY CURATED ON THE WALLS. THERE ARE VINTAGE FABRICS DRAPED ACROSS TABLES AND COUCHES, WHILE OLD CAMERAS, MUGS, BLYTHE DOLLS AND OTHER CURIOSITIES LINE SHELVES AND BENCHES. IT’S A LOT TO TAKE IN, BUT HAPPILY, THE REST OF THE HOUSEHOLD SUPPORTS DANIELLE’S AESTHETIC FLAIR. “My husband [Ethan] has embraced my love of kitsch,” she says. “I feel very lucky. He definitely has a more innately conservative style and I know that the things I do sort of make him cringe sometimes, just because they can be ‘out there’, but the shock…

CANADIAN COUPLE KYLA AND ALLEN BOTH AGREE THAT THE SEVEN MONTHS THEY SPENT TRAVELLING AROUND AUSTRALIA IN A CAMPERVAN WAS THE BEST TIME OF THEIR LIVES. “WE SAW MORE OF THE COUNTRY THAN WE EVER WOULD HAVE TRAVELLING BY BUS OR PLANE, AND WE WERE COMPLETELY FREE TO GO ANYWHERE WE WANTED,” SAYS KYLA. THEY LIKED HOW LIVING IN A VAN MADE THINGS SIMPLE. “A BED, SINK, FRIDGE AND A TINY BIT OF STORAGE. ALL OTHER FORMS OF CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION WERE LIMITED BY SPACE AND OUR ONLY WORRY WAS WHICH BEACH TO CAMP ON.” Five years later, Kyla and Allen are living back in Vancouver. Life’s busy and the couple are working flat out, seven days a week; Kyla as a photographer and Allen as the head of his own…

WORK AS OWNERS OF VINTAGE SHOPS TETE A TETE & TWO SQUIRRELS VANESSA HARDY AND HER PARTNER WARREN CHILTON JUST AREN’T THE KIND OF PEOPLE YOU’D FIND LIVING IN A MODERN APARTMENT DECKED OUT WITH SLEEK FURNITURE AND GLEAMING APPLIANCES. AS PURVEYORS OF WONDROUS WARES FROM YESTERYEAR AND WORLD-CLASS COLLECTORS OF ALL THINGS KITSCH, RETRO AND RAD, THEY LIVE, BREATHE AND WORK VINTAGE. NATURALLY, THE SPACES THEY INHABIT ARE FILLED WITH MANY ASSORTED FABULOUS FINDS. The pair are lucky enough to have three spaces to spread themselves out in – two second-hand/vintage shops, Tete a Tete and Two Squirrels in Christchurch, New Zealand, and their own little house, which is full to the brim with their various collections. Their residence is a ramshackle, two-bedroom, 1950s, weatherboard house decorated in a…

WORKS AS GRAPHIC DESIGNER & CO-FOUNDER OF DESIGN STUDIO, DARLING CLEMENTINE WHEN NORWEGIAN DESIGN DUO INGRID REITHAUG AND TONJE HOLAND SET UP THEIR NEW OSLO HEADQUARTERS IN MAY, THEY STARTED RECEIVING SOME UNEXPECTED VISITORS. THEIR COMPANY, DARLING CLEMENTINE, MIGHT HAVE SPECIALISED IN SCANDINAVIAN FOLK-INSPIRED STATIONERY, BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP GERMAN DEATH METAL FANS FROM POPPING BY TO SAY HELLO TOO. Before Darling Clementine moved in, the place was actually a famous heavy-metal record store. “The guy who ran it was killed by this Satanist in Norway,” Tonje says matter-of-factly, before laughing darkly with Ingrid. “So we occasionally have heavy-metal men come in from Germany who take pictures of the place. It’s very strange to think that’s where we sit now.” Clearly, the history of this place doesn’t bother the pair,…

WORKS AS AN INTERIOR ARCHITECT & OWNER OF HOMEWARES SHOP SMUG AT AN AGE WHERE OTHER GIRLS WERE OBSESSED WITH MUSIC, CLOTHES AND MOBILE PHONES, LIZZIE EVANS WAS BEGGING HER FOLKS FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT: A SET OF 3X4 FLAT-LYING LOCKERS WITH INDIVIDUAL SQUARE DOORS. THEY WERE SOFT BLUE, A LITTLE RUSTY AROUND THE EDGES AND OLD AS ALL HELL. LIZZIE PLEADED HER CASE TO HER FAMILY, AND IT ARRIVED SOON AFTER AS A BIRTHDAY PRESENT. Now 27 and an interior architecture graduate from London Metropolitan University, Lizzie still cherishes the same locker set. (It’s the piece of furniture she wakes up next to every day, and stands right next to her bed.) That early, innate love of interiors and design has also led her to start up her own shop…

What is Limedrop? Limedrop is a Melbourne-based fashion label. We focus on men’s and women’s casual wear, with a lean towards preppy curious proportions. Who runs it? Clea Garrick and myself, Nathan Price. When did it start? We started toying with the idea while we were at university in Brisbane. Our first full collection went into stores in the middle of 2006. It was based on Clea’s graduating collection. How did it start? We decided we should work together on the label when we were studying in Brisbane and came down to Melbourne for holidays. The scene down here was very supportive and vibrant and things haven’t changed since we’ve moved to Melbourne. Where do you work from? We work out of a warehouse studio in Fitzroy. It used to…

What do you do for a crust? I make knitted creatures, cushions and home accessories. It’s a lovely job! What creative things get made in your space? I design the products and we make, sew, knit, pack and send things with love. Where is your studio? It’s near Bethnal Green, East London, and it’s an old factory space. How long have you been in the studio for? This studio for one-and-a-half years, and the previous space about four years. Who works in your studio? There’s Erin, who is my fantastic studio manager and does a bit of everything, from invoicing to knitting! Laura who deals with press and the website, Kate, who sews and makes things, and sometimes we have work-experience students here. At the moment we have a girl…

Who owns Hattifnatt Café? Mr. Wataru Takashima. Where are the cafés? In Koenji and Kichijoji. Did you start this café? Yes. The premises are actually owned by my grandmother whom I currently rent from. Before I opened Hattifnatt café, the space was an electric shop. My father and I renovated this building in just two months. How long have you had it for? I’ve had the café in Koenji for seven years and the Kichijoji branch has been going for two years. How did you come across the café space? Since I was a child I’ve always wanted to open a café. The Koenji Hattifnatt café was my first café, and seeing as my grandmother owns the building, it was rather convenient. However, finding the Kichijoji space was difficult. I…

Who owns the cafe? Andrew and Jodie Whiting. Where is it? Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast. Did you start this café or buy it? We started from scratch on May 26th, 2008. What did you do before owning this café? I (Andrew) was managing another café. What is the theme of the café? Eclectic vintage. Describe the layout of the café. You can eat at old retro kitchen tables and chill out on comfy old school couches. Who designed the interior? Jodie and I did. How did you decide what products to use? I believe you get what you pay for, so we try and use the best products available. What was your inspiration for the café? To create a space that revolves around quality coffee and ever-changing food.…

“ONE YEAR AFTER EDMUND AND I WERE MARRIED WE THOUGHT WE HAD BETTER BITE THE BULLET AND BUY A HOUSE,” LARA BURKE, FRANKIE MAGAZINE’S CREATIVE DIRECTOR, EXPLAINS. “AT THE TIME, HOMES IN BRISBANE WERE JUST ON THE VERGE OF BECOMING UNAFFORDABLE – IT WAS NOW-OR-NEVER.” And so with the stakes set high, Lara and her Northern Ireland beau Edmund set about searching for a plot to call home. They didn’t have to look for very long, only a couple of weeks, before their tiny corner of the earth presented itself to them on a gilded sliver platter. “We saw that this house had come on the market and made an appointment that same evening to inspect it. I think we were signing papers 20 minutes later. Edmund and I are…

THE BOLD COLOUR AND STYLISED DETAIL OF ANJA MULDER’S GRONINGEN APARTMENT COULD HAVE BEEN BEAMED FROM A MICHEL GONDRY FILM. THERE’S A DEFINITE LARGER-THAN-LIFE QUALITY TO THE CURATED CHAOS, WHERE TIN ROBOTS, SHEEPSKIN RUGS AND CARDBOARD CLOUDS WIELD THE AESTHETIC WEIGHT. SUCH DETAILED CREATIVE COMPOSITION MAKES IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT ANJA’S BEEN LIVING IN THE THREE-BEDROOM SPACE FOR JUST ONE YEAR. WHAT’S HARDER TO COMPREHEND IS THAT PRIOR TO THIS, SHE SPENT OVER 10 YEARS MOVING AROUND LOW-INCOME HOUSING. “When I was an art student, I always lived in something called an anti-squat,” she explains. “To prevent people from squatting in abandoned houses or places for sale, the government created anti-squat organisations that put people in spaces for very little rent. This way an owner knows that their place…

“I OWE A LOT TO A TRADITION OF STYLE IN MY FAMILY, STARTING WITH MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER AND ALSO THE FACT THAT I GREW UP IN SWEDEN. THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A LOVE FOR BEAUTIFUL THINGS AND TEXTILES PAIRED WITH LOTS OF IMAGINATION AND DO-IT-YOURSELF SPIRIT SURROUNDING ME.” MARIA-KLARA GONZALEZ’S BARCELONA FLAT WAS A “SLEEPING BEAUTY” WHEN SHE AND HER BOYFRIEND ROGER FIRST HAPPENED UPON IT THREE YEARS AGO WHILE BIKING TO HIS PARENTS’ HOUSE FOR DINNER. “IT HAD A KIND OF DREAMLIKE ATMOSPHERE WITH DIFFERENT WALLPAPERS IN ALL THE ROOMS,” THE ILLUSTRATOR AND FORMER ARCHITECT REMEMBERS. “It had been empty for years and unfortunately the last inhabitant had been a heavy smoker and the flat was extremely stuffy. So it was a hard decision, but when we tore out all…

IT WAS DURING A STINT AS A HOUSE PAINTER THAT WIL SMITH GREW A LONG AND LASTING DISTASTE FOR BEIGE, WHITE AND ANY VARIANT OF GREY. AS AN ARTIST (MOSTLY PRINTMAKING AND DRAWING) TRAPPED PAYING THE BILLS BY WHITEWASHING ROOM AFTER ROOM, HE SPENT HIS DAYS DREAMING ABOUT THE VIBRANT COLOUR SCHEMES HE’D PUT INTO PLAY GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY. It wasn’t long before Smith had the pleasure of ditching commercial painting to become a full-time artist and teacher, but he didn’t get to have his revenge on those anti-colours he grew to loathe until just recently. “When we bought the house it had a fresh paint job of rental beige, white and forest green,” he says. “The inside was neat and clean and not very interesting.” Equipped with a few…

EVER SINCE AMANDA JOHNSON WAS A LITTLE GIRL SHE’S LOVED OLD BUILDINGS. SHE FIRST SPOTTED HER CURRENT APARTMENT AS A YOUNG BALLET STUDENT ON THE WAY TO LESSONS. “THE BUILDING WAS DOWN THE STREET AND I ALWAYS ADMIRED THE ROMANTIC TUDOR FAÇADE AND THOUGHT I’D LIKE TO LIVE THERE SOMEDAY. AND NOW FINALLY I DO.” The building, situated in Northeast Ohio, was built in the 1920s and houses various-sized living quarters. Amanda’s top-floor apartment is 1300 square feet of charming space complete with leaded-glass windows and diamond-shaped panes. The ceiling follows the architectural details of the roofline, creating beautiful, open curved lines throughout the interior. Amanda and husband Phil moved into the space a few months ago and were delighted to discover they didn’t need to do much to make…

WORKS AS OWNER & CURATOR FOR SHOP LARK BONNY LASS ALLISON JONES AND HER AUSTRALIAN HUSBAND PAUL WERE LIVING IN ENGLAND WHEN THEY DECIDED TO DIVE HEADFIRST INTO A WILD SEA CHANGE. THEY FOUND A HOUSE FOR SALE ONLINE IN COUNTRY VICTORIA, AND AFTER MAKING THE MOVE DOWN UNDER WERE DELIGHTED TO DISCOVER THE ADDRESS WAS STILL ON THE MARKET. THE SMALL COUNTRY TOWN OF DAYLESFORD IS A FAR CRY FROM THE GREY-CLAD HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF LONDON, BUT IT WAS HERE THEY CHOSE TO NURTURE A SIMPLE WAY OF LIFE FOR THEIR YOUNG FAMILY AND HOMESPUN BUSINESS, LARK. “The house is on a big corner block in the centre of Daylesford. It originally had two old cottages dating from about 1860, and various outbuildings,” Allison explains. “It was originally…

WORK AS OWNERS OF VINTAGE HOMEWARES SHOP, THE PEANUT VENDOR A FEW YEARS AGO, LONDON COUPLE BARNY READ AND BECKY NOLAN STARTED SNIFFING OUT LOCATIONS TO START UP THEIR VINTAGE FURNITURE SHOP. BARNY WENT ON HIS BICYCLE AND PEDALLED THROUGH NEWINGTON GREEN, WHICH WAS NEXT TO WHERE HE AND BECKY LIVED IN ISLINGTON. ALTHOUGH THERE WASN’T MUCH GOING ON IN THE AREA AT THE TIME, BARNY KEPT HIS EYE ON ONE PLACE, WHICH HE SOON REALISED WAS GREAT. IT WAS AN EXCELLENT SIZE, A GOOD PRICE, AND HAD DECENT FOOT TRAFFIC FOR THE TYPE OF CUSTOMERS THEY WANTED. “But it was a mess,” Becky says, laughing. “You wouldn’t have even known it was a shop. After we moved in, lots of people came in and went, ‘God, we didn’t even…

WORKS AS GRAPHIC DESIGNER & OWNER OF HOMEWARES SHOP, NECK OF THE WOODS SIMPLE, COSY AND A LITTLE BIT RETRO WITH A DASH OF SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN, NICKY CROWLEY’S HOME IS SO PERFECTLY PRESENTED AND PUT TOGETHER THAT YOU CAN’T HELP BUT BE A LITTLE BIT ENVIOUS OF HER STYLE. Some might say she has an unfair advantage when it comes to decking out her house with lovely things – as owner of Neck of the Woods, she has a whole shop crammed full of organic, vintage, ’70s-inspired homewares to choose from. As she describes it, entering Neck of the Woods is like walking into someone’s lounge room in 1974. Friendly, nostalgic and warm, it’s the kind of shop you enter with the best intentions just to browse, but always leave…

Describe your space in a sentence. It’s a two-storey workshop in an East London mews. How long have you been in the studio for? Since August 2009. How did you come across the space? It’s two streets across from my old studio. My cousin was buying the one next-door to live in and told me there was another one available, so I moved fast! When you moved in did you have to renovate or change anything? Everything. Besides the roof and walls, it’s all new electrics, plumbing, fioors, windows – the whole fucking lot! How important is your working space to you? Since I spend most of my waking hours here, I need it to be a happy and relaxed place so I feel good. This enables me to work…

PENCIL FACTORY RESIDENT FOR TWO YEARS. Is there someone that runs The Pencil Factory? No, The Pencil Factory is a big warehouse with a lot of spaces that are individually run. It just so happens that a lot of illustrators and designers have found space here. How many blocks does it span? About a block and half. What do you know about The Pencil Factory’s history? It was the Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory from about 1872 until 1956. There are large decorative pencils and stars on the sides of the building, which brings about a whole new level of authenticity! How many studios are in The Pencil Factory? There are about 50 or so studios in the whole Pencil Factory building, five of which belong to fellow illustrators and friends.…

Who owns the cafe? We are two young women, Elvira Gumnista and Sarah Rappmann. Why call it Café Johanna? It is named after the previous owner who ran a kiosk in that space. Where is the café situated? It is on Venusberg 26, near the Landungsbrücken and the Portuguese Quarter. Did you start this café or buy it from somebody? It was a kiosk when we discovered it. How long have you had it for? For two years now. How did you come across the café space? A friend of ours, a photographer, had his studio near the kiosk. So we came past it quite often. What is the theme of the café? We serve breakfast and lunch. We use mostly organic food. All the furniture is second-hand. Describe the…

Who owns the café? Margo Orr and Kellie-May Grigons. Did you start this café or buy it from somebody? Started from scratch. How long have you had it for? We recently celebrated our first birthday with champagne and fairy bread. What did you do before owning this café? We’re co-founders and designers of The Order of Melbourne, a 300+ capacity bar in the city. We sold late last year after owning and running it for close to four years. How did you both meet? Through boyfriends, who were housemates. And yes, they are both out of the picture completely. Have you been in business together before? For many years – eight in total now. What’s the theme of the café? Vintage milk bar meets nanna chic. Describe the layout of…

AS A TALENTED ILLUSTRATOR, DESIGNER AND TYPOGRAPHER, 26-YEAR-OLD JESSICA HISCHE OFTEN FINDS HERSELF TRAVELLING FOR WORK, WHETHER FOR A CLIENT PROJECT (SHE’S DONE STUFF FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES, AMERICAN EXPRESS AND VICTORIA’S SECRET JUST TO NAMEDROP A FEW) OR TO SPEAK AT DESIGN CONFERENCES. HER APARTMENT IS TESTAMENT TO THESE TRIPS AS THE SELF CONFESSED “CRAZY SHOPPER” NEVER FAILS TO GRAB SOME UNIQUE FINDS TO ADD TO HER EVER-GROWING PILE OF TREASURES. Of her favourite possession, the large typography piece on the lounge-room wall, she says: “The artist Alex DaCorte made it. I originally saw it in a gallery in Soho and immediately lusted after it. It just looked so amazing in the gallery and I loved that it looked like spray paint even though it was a 3D…

“I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SPACE… THE VIEW… THE OPEN PLAN OF THE LIVING SPACE, THE WATER REFLECTIONS ON THE CEILING. IT’S MAGIC!” THERE IS SOMETHING DELICIOUSLY WHIMSICAL ABOUT LIVING ON A HOUSEBOAT, FLOATING ON A PICTURESQUE AMSTERDAM CANAL, WITH THE LEAVES OF CHESTNUT TREES RUSTLING GENTLY OVERHEAD. IN FACT, IT’S SO RIDICULOUSLY DIVINE IT SOUNDS LIKE A FAIRY TALE, BUT PIA JANE BIJKERK IS LUCKY ENOUGH TO CALL JUST SUCH A DWELLING HOME. As an internationally acclaimed stylist, blogger, photographer and author specialising in interiors, still life and food, Pia divides her time between Sydney, Paris and her houseboat. Her home is her workshop, and although the space is small, Pia finds endless inspiration there. “My home is my life – it is my work, my passion, my inspiration,”…

IT’S NOT OFTEN YOU GET INTERVIEWED BY AN ACTRESS IN HER UNDERWEAR WHEN SEEKING OUT SHARE-HOUSE ACCOMMODATION, BUT THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED TO MATHIEU GALLOIS. HAVING MADE THE MOVE TO SYDNEY FROM CANBERRA AFTER STUDYING ART, MAT FOUND A LIKE-MINDED GROUP OF PEOPLE LOOKING TO SHARE THEIR WAREHOUSE SPACE IN REDFERN. “The warehouse was a NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) share house when I first moved in,” he says. “I responded to an ad in the paper and when I went for an interview there were about 20 people milling around. It was hard to know who was living there and who was seeking to move in. A very beautiful young actress was conducting interviews in her underwear.” The space was run-down and lacking light, so Mat told his prospective…

“… I REALLY NEED A PLACE WHERE I FEEL COMFORTABLE AND AT HOME … I’M SPENDING A LOT OF TIME HERE, AND BEING SURROUNDED WITH MY OWN PERSONAL AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS REALLY MEANS SOMETHING TO ME.” STANDING ON THE WOODEN TERRACE OUTSIDE HER CERAMICS STUDIO, NINA VAN DE GOOR CAN PEER OUT ACROSS THE GREEN STRETCHES OF SOUTHERN HOLLAND. IT’S A BRIEF MOMENT OF REFLECTION BEFORE A TEETERING PILE OF SECOND-HAND TEACUPS CALLS HER BACK INSIDE: THERE ARE SUGAR JARS TO BE PAINTED, FABRICS TO SCREEN-PRINT AND DINNER PLATES STILL SITTING IN THE KILN. Nina’s workspace is creatively cluttered with equal stacks of her handmade tableware and primary-coloured domino boxes salvaged from years ago. “The studio is decorated with a lot of vintage and colourful stuff, like the rest of…