backyard











I love the simplicity of what children actually need. They need love - all the time, food when they're hungry, shelter, rest, company and things to keep their bodies and brains active. 
With nothing but a few bags of ice that needed crushing and each another, those last two were fulfilled perfectly on a recent warm Saturday night in Luella's backyard. What a joy to watch & capture!


Ps. I'll be away in sunny Queensland for the next ten days, which leaves this as the last post of the year. I can almost guarantee I'll be getting more reflective when I'm home as I still am waiting to actually stop and let the year sink in but may it be a glorious end to 2012 for everyone! Who's excited for what's to come?

x

The Flower Market



I like doing nice things with Hannah. We dream a lot about the same kinds of things and when we finally live out these things they never disappoint. Here she retells our last Friday together....
"Last week we went to heaven, and it was only 35 minutes outside of Sydney's centreActually, it didn't seem like heaven at first, not with that early morning start, those drooping eyelids, that frenetic rush to throw on a handknit sweater and some strappy sandals while the car waited outside. It didn't seem like heaven without coffee. Maybe that 5 am wake up call wasn't worth it after all, we thought, arms crossed as we crested the highway. And then... No pearly gates, no shining, godly light, no crown of clouds. Just a surly parking attendant demanding $8 and a veritable army of forklifts, speeding across the parking lots laden with a treasury of fresh produce. 
A park was found, a path was navigated, and there we were, standing in the soaring confines of the Sydney Flower Markets. 
It was peonies first. Swelling proudly on the right and the left, more than we had ever seen, shy as a schoolgirl. Pink and purple and the cleanest, purest white, stained with red at the very tip of the bud. Then there were the roses, (oh, the roses!), in every colour imaginable - and some better left unimagineable, blue roses we think not - smelling like turkish delight and Sundays.
Flowers, so many flowers, grouped in buckets and wrapped in plastic or bundled with twine in cardboard boxes, filling the room with secret smiles and quietly disbelieving headshakes. We swooned over the field-like spread of hibiscus, the wily, tough bunches of natives, the stalks of sweetpeas, proud and vain (and why wouldn't you be, if you looked like that?) that were so popular with the bridesmaids and wedding planners sweeping through the warehouse in a cloud of Jo Malone grapefruit. 





It's all too much and we step away, wandering in and out, breathing in greedy gulps of fresh air before resurfacing amidst the flowers, grasping at bunches we want to take home, grasping at everything we find beautiful, which is to say, everything. 

In our imaginations heaven would have been cleaner. There wouldn't have been crushed stalks on the floor or muddy puddles of tepid water or tacky peace-sign emblazoned wrapping paper. But. Perhaps this is what makes heaven truly heaven? The heat, the short tempers, the sellers who wink and whistle. Paradise shouldn't be perfect, think how tiresome that would be? It's enough - so much more than enough - that the flowers are."

Photos: Rachel Kara
Words: Hannah Rose Yee

Eclectic metals


London calls to the smell of red brick, London parks with crocuses and nettles and the salty smell of the Thames at Dagenham.

Orientalist captures the faint memory of an Indian wedding with rose petal garlands, giant cinnamon sticks on beach stalls and the musky smells of the Chinese herbal market.

Royalty is a reminiscence of tea time with a pot of Earl Grey, scones, strawberry jam and the drive home in a '52 Bentley with tatty leather seats.

Silver is probably on the lesser side of my love for metals, but when associated with Early Grey, scones and a '52 Bentley I could be swayed. Either way I'll take all three.

Eclectic by Tom Dixon 

it's almost








 “Each day, with a renewed sense of wonder and curiosity, I would sling the camera over my shoulder and set out to explore a new neighbourhood, chase the the shimmering, golden light reflecting off skyscrapers and observe the comings and goings of beautiful strangers.”
Elize has a magical ability to shoot through a subject or scene and extract the soul of it - to so generously share with you, me, us. I look at her photos of New York and am beautifully reminded of the community spirit that can live in a city, in a season. 

I feel spent of all energy as I wake this humid & dull Monday. I worked through the weekend, hidden from the pleasurable tease of summer whilst everyone basked and boasted with their talk and pictures of sea and sand! So I'm gonna add a ittle light to my morning and browse some more of her wonderful photographs. You should really join me. 

Photos: New York by Elize Strydom

Enough about me




It had been a long day lazing in the cabana with approximately seven and a half minutes of light hanging low in the sky. I had faded zinc plus some strawberry margarita left on my face and overdue-for-a-wash salted hair blowing in the wind...but I suppose I was determined and blissed out enough to excuse the non ideal - yet perfectly ideal - circumstances and shoot a few of my favourite things (to wear at a beach resort) for you.
I have a few requirements; must fold - or roll, depending on your packing style, must breathe, transition from beach to bar, float over the body for many reasons, hopefully not but realistically including sunburn, look as good with my favourite sandals as they do with complimentary white slippers and finally, match my mood. Sunny and light.
Despite my blank stares & expressions the memory of these moments in my mind are all smiles as I madly shouted directions at Mum ("Do NOT GET MY FACE IN THE FRAME!") and she semi obediently snapped away racing against the fading sun.

one/two - LP33.3 'The Covetous' blouse
three - Amy Kaehne' frill front shirt
four - Tigerlilly bikini top, Maille side panel pant
five - Amy Kaehne shift dress
throughout - Petite Grand necklace
locations - Hayman GBR

How to deal




I think once is enough for anyone to feel qualified in giving advice on how to deal with heartache/break. Someone who shares my home seems to be going through it right now so I have been letting my mind wander back a number of years and drawing on that one time, wanting to vocalise what I found helped me mend...but I quickly remembered how much unsolicited advice doesn't help so where better to indulge myself than right here, a self published archive of my life.
I will try and keep it simple.
one. READ. But not just anything, and definitely no psychology or self help books. Read fiction...things that force you to escape the present. Something like; Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - fast paced, addictive, hard assed and (hopefully) pretty removed from the realities of your life.
two. CRY a little. But not too much. Don't stop yourself from partaking in such a beautiful, natural healing therapy but don't go and just swim in sadness with the excuse of catharsis at the ready as a defence. It's a fine balance.
three. WAKE to watch the sunrise. It gets you out of bed. There's something more than metaphorical about watching a new day arrive right before your eyes. It's magic. Weeping may endure the night, but joy comes in the morning. 
four. BE alone. Try and enjoy it. Introverts - this is much easier for us. I thrived on finding I could sit and collage and read blogs and stare at the ocean and walk and potter around my room and sort through old photos and go to op-shops whenever I wanted, for however long I wanted with absolutely no regard for anyone or anything else around me. It's funny how the absence of one person can makes you feel like you are absent from any/all social commitments whatsoever.
five. REMEMBER your dreams. I believe things don't work out when at the end of the day (or month or year or decade) your deepest, inmost, core values and needs aren't aligning with the person you were  with. Which means you may have forgotten a few things about yourself along the way. Get back to that place where you remember you without the influence of another.
six. (re)ESTABLISH your ideas. On all the big things, spirituality was the major one for me. It ended up being the anchor for everything else. Educate yourself, read, research but also listen for the things that cannot be put into words.
seven. GO out with your friends. You may want to lock yourself in a cave at night. Don't. You also may want to go out and not come home. Also a big don't. Go out, have a drank, have fun, try dance even if it's just for a little bit. Be disappointed by the lack of quality men at bars, talk about it with all your other single girlfriends and pact to keep going out together but definitely not for the men.
eight. LOVE again, some day. Don't look for it. Sometimes (if you're a romantic) it's easy to forget there's more of a point to our existence than that intoxicating feeling of being 'in love'. Half the time the feelings a trap anyway so just get on with making your days and self happy.

Say cheese.

And don't take other peoples advice.

xR

Photos: Alison Scarpulla, Feaverish




sitting



I've been away.  The kind of away where you watch the sun rise and set every day, enjoy long and lazy buffet breakfasts, have chilled water delivered to your sun lounge, wear clothing only when dining, let the salt sit in your hair and on your skin even after the light has faded for the day. A holiday where you can pack light (silks, delicate cotton & bikinis as staple) and you need a good book to block the sun from your eyes as you lay and really get lost in another world...probably because you already are in one. The robes are fluffy and your sheets get turned down each night, a fresh pair of slippers are at bed side a candle is lit to set you up for the best chance at a good nights rest.

More on this to come....

xR

Photo:  Maille knit tank, Zimmermann bikini bottoms, Petite Grand necklace worn at sunset at Hayman GBR  
Shot by Mum, landscape by Rachel Kara


Shooting the breeze




 







It was smooth and smokey and had the most soul of a launch party I've been to in some time. The invite that came couriered to my door, an oversized glass jar of home made pickles, should have been a good indicator of this with it's promise of shooting the breeze with David Chang (read Momofuku), Andrew Levins (The Dip),  good ol' fashioned conversation, PLENTY of whiskey and one of my favourite Sydney pub converts - The Carrington to house the shenanigans. 
Highlights: house smoked lavendar cola, pork ribs glazed with bourbon BBQ sauce, the calamari sliders, Levins telling stories of food bloggers complaining of the poor light (for shooting) in The Dip aaannnd probably a few more pork ribs glazed with bourbon BBQ sauce. 

Photos: Rachel Kara
Event: Bulleit Whiskey 'Speak Easy' presents David Chang & Andrew Levins 


Welcome to







 



My Nanna remembers it fondly, 1975, staying in basic but beautiful beach bures, soaking up the sunshine and all the activities an island could have to offer . Mum, 2006, in all of it's luxe glory....yet a time she looks back on with turbulent emotion for the not so simple heartbreak which very shortly followed her trip. 
The whole family, November 2012!!!!!!! Hayman; I couldn't be more ready for you. May the next 11 days fly by.

These postcards were then...stay tuned for now through my lens.



look














 











I have admired every LP33.3 collection to date and the bodies that can pull off their grownup feminine shapes - my little sister being one of them damm her  - with equal parts admiration and jealousy...so as I walked into the studio on that first Monday of Spring to be greeted by racks of grey marle jumpers (with the finest most beautiful metallic Chantilly lace detailing, of course), a skater style dress (maybe even two!), a printed shirt and the perfect pair of dress up/down pants scattered amongst the signature LP staples I was more than a little thrilled.  

My pictures always seem to speak better than I can type at midnight so go ahead and scroll back up to the top and read them all over again. How saucy is Eva? So saucy. A Jessica Rabbit type minx who rocks a big wool, cashmere, felt gown like no one I've ever seen before. 


Keep your eyes peeled for the lookbook to come....

based on photographic works ‘The Ruins of Detroit’ by Yves Marchand & Romain Meffre
opening & closing title LPW1321 cadillac hotel roll-neck shift
Sales sales@undergroupshowroom.com
Press pr@undergroupshowroom.com
Website www.lp333.net
Photography Justin Ridler @ the artist group
Model Eva @ the agency
Hair & Makeup Andrea Black @ reload agency
Jewellery Petite Grand
Production White Point.er
LP33.3 is Luke Hosking & Paul del Giglio

Photos: Rachel Kara