Celebrating three years of dedication to the Australian design community, Design Federation is hosting its inaugural event on Friday the12th of February. In honour of the website’s dedicated readership and supporters from the local and web community, the Design Federation founders, Klaus and Craig, chose the theme of this Chinese New Year – the year of the Tiger – to capture the spirit of creativity, courage and tenacity.

Extending an open invitation to the followers of the site to contribute their artistic creations to an exhibition showing throughout the night, utilising the unique venue space of theclub nightclub in Sydney’s Kings Cross, in what the organisers have dubbed Friends of the Federation.

Calling out to readers for submissions of their designs, illustrations, art, graffiti, film & video, fashion, photography, industrial design, custom toys, animation or any other artistic contribution, the Design Federation have been overwhelmed in recent weeks by the tremendous outpouring of talent and generosity, making for a fascinating collection on show for one night only.

With Tiger Beer and Bogong Valley Estate Winery sponsoring drinks, be sure to arrive early so you don’t miss out. If the old worldly charm of the venue and the quirky crowd aren’t enough to peak your curiosity, Julie Doye, pop art portrait artist and newest contributor to Paris Hilton’s personal art collection will be in attendance from 7:30pm painting personal one minute portraits of guests.

Prizes and giveaways will feature throughout the night, with Design Federation’s corporate supporters Sweat-Shop Productions and iStockPhoto digging deep to make the event a fantastic occasion for all involved.

Why is the Melbourne Design Market so wonderful? It’s original, fun, and full of new products that we love to see and buy.

Occupying a special place in everyone’s diary, the market is now held twice a year in July and December. Over 10,000 visitors are drawn to its carpark location at Melbourne’s Federation Square, transformed for each occasion into a design show that features the latest in fashion, homewares, furniture, lighting and so much more.

There are many recognisable brands at the market such as Body, Made in Japan, Nicola Cerini, Great Dane Furniture, Nest and R G Madden; still more make use of the Melbourne Design Market as a launching pad for new enterprises. Meet the designers, enjoy fine food and coffee, and be part of the Melbourne Design Market’s own style in fostering and promoting design. It’s open to everyone and it’s free.

What: The Melbourne Design Market
When: Sunday, 6th December from 10am to 5pm
Where: Federation Square Carpark, Level 3
Cost: Free

Meet and buy direct from the cream of our national design talent at the Young Blood: Designers Market for Christmas. Pick up original product, fashion, furniture, jewellery, graphic, landscape and lighting design from around the country at the two day market in the lower outdoor courtyard at the Powerhouse Museum. See you there!

What: Young Blood: Designers Market at Christmas
When: 10am-5pm, Saturday and Sunday, 28th and 29th November 2009
Where: Lower outdoor courtyard, Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Ultimo
Cost: $5 Museum entry
More info: www.powerhousemuseum.com/youngblood

Sydney’s most loved collaborative design market; The Finders Keepers will be making its debut in Brisbane from the 31st October to 1st November 2009 at the Old Museum in Fortitude Valley. It will showcase around 55 of Brisbane’s best emerging and innovative designers of fashion, jewellery, accessories, homewares, children’s wear, art, object design and more.

‘Akina is a villain with a button fetish. She attacks teddy bears to steal their button eyes!’ Our friend Akina has launched a brand new website with lots of new hand made treasures to feast your eyes on.

Also released is the fourth book in her series of sell out releases, Poems for Piotr is Lang Leav’s first venture into her exciting collaboration with music composer Cyrus Meurant. The elegantly hand-crafted book is accompanied by a music album, featuring the voice of Angela Little, (Ophelia of the Spirits) who was hand picked by Baz Luhrmann to perform in his epic movie, Australia.

Contemporary Sydney artist, Lang Leav weaves the enchanting world of Akina. Her imagination stretches across a variety of disciplines encompassing fashion, art, poetry and books. Known for her versatility, Lang has completed a wide range of projects both independently and through a number of exciting collaborations. The distinct nature of her work alternates between the whimsical and melancholy, expressing an underlying complexity beneath its child-like facade.

Lang is a recipient of The Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and was later granted a prestigious Churchill Fellowship. Her fashion label Akina has achieved critical and commercial success, stocked in key boutiques around Australia and later in cutting edge Harajuku, Japan.

It’s almost graduation time, bring out the beer and celebrations, you’ve earned it! But don’t think it’s going to get any easier. Luckily there is a large amount of resources for you out there. I’ve recently been reading some great interviews and advice for all you graduates and young creatives on Junior; celebrating life at the bottom .

It’s not going to be all sunshine and lollypops being a junior in any of the creative fields but you will learn a lot, meet awesome people and should even have a good time although at times very challenging. Junior has heaps of advice and articles for all creatives so definitely check it out. The best piece of advice I was given when starting out was “I’d rather be at the bottom of the ladder I want to climb than to be at the top of the ladder I don’t want to climb”.

Article brought to you from our friends at Design Federation .

For the first time Art & About will include an Indigenous art program featuring a range of contemporary works by urban and rural artists; from traditional dot painting to stencil art, from shell art to sculptural weaving.

A large traditional Smoking Ceremony in Hyde Park will launch the program of exhibitions, workshops and talks.

“Art & About will bring beautiful Indigenous art and stories into the public domain, sharing and celebrating the contemporary culture of the first Australians,” Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP said.

Events NSW CEO Geoff Parmenter said that major events and tourism are an excellent way for the community and visitors to engage and explore our Indigenous culture and heritage. “The Indigenous arts program offers something new for the community to experience and enjoy and we are thrilled to be supporting this important part of Art & About this year,” he said.

NSW Aboriginal art will fly from street poles across the city in this year’s Open Gallery, with original works on display in the AMP foyer at Circular Quay.

Open Gallery curator Djon Mundine OAM said: “We paint the land is not a cliché, and it is appropriate that here and now we ‘paint’ Sydney.”

The City of Sydney produced arts festival brings stimulating and engaging art and events to Sydney residents and visitors from 1- 25 October 2009.

Art & About is part of Crave Sydney, a major celebration of Sydney’s unmatched way of life, offering 31 days of food, outdoor art and fun.

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With the launch of her first collection as recently as 2007 at Rosemount Australia Fashion Week, Donna Sgro has taken great strides in creating her fashion design label from the ground up. Reflecting her independent and creative attitude, Donna has designed a label that reflects a spirit that is quirky, playful, colourful and light-hearted.

Donna studied Fashion & Textiles at the University of Sydney, Technology, where she graduated with First Class Honours in 2007. While still studying she built a solid portfolio of achievement including having her work displayed in exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum and winning the Fresh Fruits Competition.

Prior to studying fashion design, Donna competed an Arts Degree at the University of Sydney, where she studied Art History & Theory and Philoshophy. It was during this time that Donna developed an extensive knowledge of modernist art movements and cinema – with surrealism, dada and futurism defining the background to her creative thinking.

Set in the theme of the Curious Deep Sea, help celebrate and send local fashion designer Donna Sgro to Paris! Special underwater deep sea screenings and music from hosts Jay Katz & Miss Death Featuring a Mini Market Installation from some of your favourite designers Donna Sgro, Made by White and Twiggy. Plus a Lucky door prize for the best dressed, Squid and Jellyfish Performers and raffles with great prizes!

What: The Octopus’s Garden Party
When: Saturday 5th September 2009 from 8pm
Where: Mumeson Archives
Address: Cnr Parramatta Road & Trafalgar Street, Annandale.

Worried about the gentrification? Rising rents? Apartment blocks popping up on every corner and yuppies taking over your local neighbourhood? Well you’re not alone… There Goes The Neighbourhood: Redfern and the Politics of Urban Space is a book produced in conjunction with an exhibition in Sydney which explores these issues. From Collingwood to Redfern to New York to Copenhagen people the world over are negotiating life in the city – squatting, living space, evictions, rents and so on. Come along to a launch of the book and a discussion about spatial politics in the city.

There Goes the Neighbourhood begins with a close study of Redfern before expanding into international examples to provide a detailed exploration of how the phenomenon of gentrification is altering the relationship between democracy and demography around the world.

There Goes The Neighbourhood
Melbourne Book Launch & Tea Party!
Brunswick Bound, 361 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Saturday 4th July 2009
2:00pm to 4:00pm

There Goes The Neighbourhood is edited by Keg de Souza and Zanny Begg from You Are Here, a Sydney based art collective which focuses on social and spatial mapping. For more information: http://www.theregoestheneighbourhood.org/book.htm