Sunday was this years Melbourne Open House – The one time a year when some of Melbourne’s most interesting buildings and sites are open to the public.

BoT and I headed down to the Russell Place Sub-Station at the opening time of ten in the morning where there was already a line forming to get in, an hour later the line was down the street and reaching around the corner.

Once inside it wasn’t as big as we were told it would be but it was still pretty cool. I enjoyed nerding out on some hand painted safety signs, cool looking power cords and wearing safety gear was fun too.

The guided tour was completed with a demonstration of some glass bulb mercury arc rectifiers, which was definitely a crowd pleaser.

After the Sub-Station we took a tram down to the end of Bourke Street and took a look at the Donkey Wheel House – It was absolutely amazing, and empty! I was flawed to see that it hadn’t been taken over by mega expensive pigeon-hole apartments. Upstairs was a large ballroom area and a small kitchen/canteen – in the basement there was a warren of small rooms which was being used as an exhibition space. The art itself was typical “high-brow” B.S and Sean and I spent the entire time cursing the city of Melbourne for supporting wanker conceptual artists with prime studio space and over generous grants.

There was not a single “piece” in the show that I hadn’t seen a million times over before – Even the non-critical visitors had a hard time figuring out why it was there.

Rants aside, the Melbourne Open House was lots of fun. There’s someting exciting about having free reign to sticky-beak in buildings that are usually out of bounds. My only hope is that next years event includes Flinders Street station – I’m busting to get a look at the Ballroom.

Melbourne Open House 2009 on Flickr.

Posted on July 20th, 2009 by LoungeKat
Filed under: Photos, Shows | No Comments »

My Cute Hate Bunnies by BoT has been featured over at MrXstitch
If you missed the free pattern, you can download the PDF here .

A bit more about MrXstitch

I’m Jamie Chalmers, also known as Mr X Stitch. My mission is to bring the world of cross stitch and embroidery to a whole new audience.
I started Mr X Stitch in 2008 as a way of creating cross stitch patterns that I was excited to do, and now I want to highlight new needlecraft pioneers and raise awareness of contemporary crafters.
I have been stitching for over five years and really believe in the benefits of the craft movement, both from a relaxation and a sustainability perspective.
My partner in this crime is Beefranck, ( my sista from a diff’rent mista.)

Beefranck (or Bee Franck)  is another highly accomplished stitcher who doesn’t say nearly enough about herself. After a bit of Google-stalking I’m personally taken with her generosity (thought art swaps with other crafsters) sense of humour, and unfaltering support of MrXstitch, Lets hope she takes a few more steps into the spotlight as the Manbroidery craze takes off.

Buy MrXstitch patterns on Etsy
Buy Beefranck patterns and cross-stitch on Etsy

Posted on July 10th, 2009 by LoungeKat
Filed under: News, She's Crafty | No Comments »

Sean landed this months Desktop cover! As well as that, he has a great interview on his work and philosophy for a creative existence. You can find it at all Australian newsagents, bookstores and online.

Posted on July 6th, 2009 by LoungeKat
Filed under: News | No Comments »