fashion x design x culture x travel x food
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Things I love: watching my little crystal garden grow day by day, revisiting archived notebooks, when my friends exhibit and show off their hard work, super-energetic smiling people, feijoa cider at my favourite bar, making blackberry jelly (jellies are clear, jams have pips) and taking photographs that look black and white.
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‘Box Of Birds’ is the name of Seed Gallery’s latest exhibition. They’re releasing a new range of greeting cards featuring prints by some of their favourite artists and to celebrate they’re dedicating the gallery to both the cards and the originals.
The gorgeous work below is by artists John Pusateri (I have some of his birdy etchings hanging in my home), Annie Sandano and Aroha Lewin.
The gallery show is on till March 28, 2010, but the cards will be available to snap up beyond that. I can’t wait to go buy some… one can never have too many beautiful blank cards.
My pick of the lot? Annie Sandano’s Wise Owl. Naturally.
Seed Gallery, 23A Crowhurst Street, Newmarket, Auckland.
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On Monday the inaugural Auckland Laneways festival is taking place in the city! Exciting! It might not be a sassy wee alley like St Jerome’s but Britomart will be rocking I’m sure. Here are a few videos I’ve pulled up in the last couple of days – bands I am gagging to hear live.
Black Lips – Bad Kids
The Black Lips live show is meant to be pretty badass – I’ve heard reports of band members pashing, vomiting and getting raucous on stage. Will they show Auckland a naughty time?
The xx – Crystalised
SEXY VOICES. Can they pull it off live? And will they duet with Florence?
Echo doesn’t want me to embed his 80’s gold, but here’s a link to the video anyway. The next video is very reminiscent of The Killing Moon aesthetic:
Florence and the Machine – You’ve Got The Love
Nearly a year ago I blogged about F&TM and now she’s playing here! Felicity commented on that post, and yay, you get to see her on Monday.
The Naked And Famous – All Of This
LOVE. All of this.
I’m working on the day as a writerly type person so say come say HI! - I’ll be lurking around a giant blackboard for Red Bull. (I would love to interview some people and get their thoughts on how the day is going!)
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Hey Aucklanders! The crew at Cross Street are holding a MEGA garage sale next week on Tuesday December 22nd. There’ going to be some nice sounds, courtesy of: Dole Day Rage, Dr Octopuss, Swampy Tonk, Ivy Rossiter and Sam Hamilton.
Entertainment and fooding good times include a vegan BBQ, Dan’s Jerk Chicken Shack, the infamous Cross Street punch, Cleo from First Thursday’s jump rope play team, Mikey from Smoking Hot Bitch Fight’s rap workshop (do not miss this!) and a Cross Street ping pong tournament – MC’d by Damian from Stress Cadet. Phew! You can also bring a tshirt and get it screen printed with Tes.
But wait, there’s more! There’s the garage sale part with stalls and other fun treats in store for y’all. My darling friend Liss and I will be manning a stall of fine vintage goods, other treats – and of course will be facilitating some scintillating conversation with all the punters. Please come see us!
CROSS STREET STUDIOS 27 Cross Street | Tuesday 22 December, 4pm til late.
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My sweet ickle brother turned 22 recently, and like all responsible sisters, I rushed out and bought him a very very last minute present. Thankfully the first shop I came across on my mad dash was The Cool Store.
As the name implies, they are retailer of rather cool and covetable goods, aimed at the more masculine shopper. Working with the double entendre, the whole space is set out like a modern butcher’s shop.
There’s fresh cuts of jeans hanging from the ceiling, stacks of sweet tees in a fridge and chunky gold watches and other accessories in a chiller cabinet. To get to the changing rooms you have to make your way through swathes of industrial grade plastic. It’s heavy – and makes a satisfying thwap, thwap, thwap noise.
My favourite part of The Cool Store experience? The gift wrap. Your purchases will be nicely wrapped up in brown paper and tape. Simple yet effective. It’s just how you’d get cuts of steak at your local butcher!
So what did I get Hemi in the end? A soft cotton Deus Ex Machina Union tee. Good times! The kid was stoked…
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From my Saturday morning to yours! I found this ad in the magazine section of the weekend paper.
It’s an ad for the City Farmer’s Market at Britomart, in downtown Auckland. How could you say no to that? There’s only 12 words to the ad but it is incredibly compelling and evocative. Perfect.
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MONDAY: New denim shirt dress, which I plan to live in this summer. So comfy!
TUESDAY:
WEDNESDAY: Yes! USA, watch out, here I come!
THURSDAY: Smooth R&B tunes and late night chilling in a Turkish cafe with the lovely Jo from Eye Heart Glasses (as expected, her own glasses are beautiful!)
SATURDAY: Roped my flatmate Willy into moving a very small pony on the back of his truck. After a bit of jiggling we finally fit the horse onto the tray – then proceeded to drive down the main street of Auckland with him.
SUNDAY: The Happening happened. All the hard work and preparation culminated in one evening of excitement, mad science and crazy experiences. Highlights included a barber giving haircuts (“I’m nearly drunk enough to get an undercut,” I squealed), the Touch Me room, a live amateur autopsy, audio visual experiments, an illusion pyramid and more. It was Cassette 9 as no-one had ever seen it before.
Thanks to my fellow bimbo scientist & all the other kids for doing an amazing job! More pictures of the Happening as they trickle in…
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COME TO OUR SHOW! If you’re in Auckland on September 20, pop along for an evening of scientific education and enthrallment. It’s going to be incredible and I would love to see you all there!
The Happening is MOTAT on crack – featuring collaborative works from 10 of Auckland’s best video, sound and installation artists.
The Happening was born in summer 2001 as part of a series of interactive multi-media events, coordinated by Scotland’s The Forest arts collective. Featuring artists from around the world The Happening encourages its participants to transform the purpose and appearance of each venue into an experience best described as “Ultra Fuck”.
8 years and 7 Happenings on, original members Krumins and Boyd have gathered sound and video artists, performers, sculptors and assemblers from across the city to take part in the Auckland Happening at Cassette Number Nine in September.
The event will involve artists working for and against each other with the sole aim of flipping Cassette over. They’re yanking the tape from its belly and reveling in the opportunity to fuck with the space in ways you’ve never dreamed of.
Auckland participants include: Genista Jurgens, Jonas Besson, Josca Craig Smith, Mikel Krumins Timothy Boyd, Amber Parkin, Melissa Jenkins, Damian Golfinopulous, Sophie Watson and Imogen Taylor.
Previous participants include: Stefan Pavlakis (Athens), Dan Meth (NYC), Aaron Mcloskey (Vancouver), Miroslav Mitrovic, (Bosnia i Herzegovina), The Arctic Circle (Bristol), Dirk Markham (Berlin) and Ryan Van Winkle (NYC).
September 20 is your chance to experience the delightfully interactive Science Museum of Nothing.
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Hello Aucklanders, just a quick heads up that in less than 2 weeks, the AKL Zine Fest is on! That means I have to get my act together quick smart and finish my zine, while you need to get it into your diary. The afternoon promises to be a lot of fun, with stalls, workshops and a great new zine library!
Auckland Zinefest – 15th August 2009, 12 till 5pm. Check out their site for all the vital programme details ❤
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Earlier in the year I read about the Mai Mai House in Ponsonby, an inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Patterson Architects designed it as an urban hide:
Mai Mai takes inspiration from Pacific design, with a carved feather motif on the outside of the building, upon which striking images of the home and its surrounds are projected at night. The building takes its name from the shelters used by duck hunters, which like the home offer both camouflage and vantage point – in Mai Mai’s case a beautiful view of the Auckland cityscape.
Embracing the architectural idea wholeheartedly, the owners chose to not make images of the house available for public consumption. Not until the residence was a finalist in the prestigious 2008 World Architecture Festival did images emerge. The wait was worth it…
Gorgeous. After reading such an impassioned story, I feel a bit odd posting up the photographs for all to see. However letting you discover the rest of the images – after the jump – maintains a bit of the mystery, doesn’t it?
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This is the Code For Something Guide To Auckland, New Zealand. This is an evolving work in progress – the best eateries, places to buy frocks, coolest gig venues and where I nurse a drink while catching up with my lovelies.
So, set forth and travel like you’re a local! Or investigate your local with the fresh eyes of a traveller. No matter how you explore it, Auckland City is a rad lively place once you scratch the surface.
CONCH RECORDS 115A Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby Funk, soul, jazz, hip hop… Conch has all the mean beats. Oh and good coffee too!
MADE 30-32 Customs St, Britomart This is where the cool kids pick up armfuls of Cheap Monday denim and buy their Kathryn Wilson shoes. Expect all the dinky Euro labels you love from the Internet to show up here.
MID CITY ARCADE 239 Queen St, CBD Can’t make it to Tokyo this year? Visit Mid City and the nearby gaming parlour for all the latest Nippon fashion, Dance-Dance-Revolution and sticker booths you need to satisfy your cravings!
KAREN WALKER 15 O’Connell St, CBD K.W. is perhaps New Zealand’s most internationally lauded fashion designer. Get thee here for quirky frocks and charming accessories. Fancy an owl cocktail ring?
REAL GROOVY 438 Queen St, CBD An emporium of music, DVDs, games, books and clothes. Real Groovy has an excellent selection of second-hand records and CDs – it’s well worth spending a few hours here just browsing…
TANGO Little High St (access off Durham Lane and High St), CBD An inner city vintage store with lots of stock to choose from. For more AKL vintage destinations, read my detailed guide to Auckland’s best VINTAGE SHOPPING.
UNITY BOOKS 19 High St, CBD By far the best book store in town. Personalised, intelligent service; from physics to graffiti the well-versed staff can advise you.
WORLD DELUXE 57 High Street, CBD Luxuriously eccentric New Zealand design – really fun pieces and colours. I bought my velvet bow tie from World. They have a few retail stores around town (Man, Beauty) – see the World website for other locations.
MEZZE 9 Durham St East, CBD Mezze is the place I take my loved ones for coffee and lemon tart dates. Snuggle on the couches and share a few tapas. ‘You must try the sangria, darling’.
PONSONBY FOOD COURT 106 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby (upstairs) What do you feel like? The food court has the best and cheapest Thai, Mayan, Japanese, Indian and Malaysian food in town. It’s also famous for cheap drinks, like $4 freshly squeezed orange juices. Vegetarian friendly.
RAW POWER Floor 1, 10 Vulcan Lane, CBD Raw Power Café is amazing – healthy salads, juices and fantastic falafel sandwiches. Loads of vegan* and vegetarian goodness.
*N.B. Vegans, I recommend you check out Moira’s blog – An Auckland Vegan. Full of great recommendations and hot tips on where the yummy stuff is at.
RENKON 10 Durham St East, CBD // 2/175 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby Cheap Japanese eats, in convenient locations (there is also one in Parnell). The Katsu dishes are excellent. 
SANTOS 130 Quay Street, Britomart Santos is my local coffee house. They’re super friendly and the coffee is always beaut’. I like to settle in here – observing the portside action across the road and read stacks of magazines.
SHEINKEN, 3 Lorne Street, CBD A central city cafe with a really cool space – stark and white. Have lunch here and people watch.
TANUKI’S CAVE 319B Queen St, CBD (down the stairs) Tanuki’s, or more fondly – The Cave, is my favourite place in Auckland. Why? Because of the yummy yakitori skewers, cheap beer and a buzzing atmosphere. Despite the fact you will smell like a delicious piece of deep fried cheese when you emerge from the cave, I promise you it will be worth it. Vegetarian options ahoy.
INK/COHERENT 262 & 268 Karangahape Rd, Newton Ink and Coherent are your favourite set of non identical twins. Sitting right next to each other they can be separated or opened up to share a garden area. Regular nights like Chicago Disco set Ink & Coherent off. When you’re tired of dancing like a madman, take a breather at the top of the stairs – outside the front doors is always a good place to watch the exquisitely interesting creatures of the night go pass.
CASSETTE 9 9 Vulcan Lane, CBD Cassette goes off most nights of the week, thanks to a dazzling array of club nights. Fuelled by cocktails in teapots and fun indie electro/disco (recent acts include Le Castle Vania, Horsemeat Disco), it’s a decent place to spend an entire night dancing.
THE KINGS ARMS TAVERN 59 France St, Newton The King’s Arms is wonderfully intimate; the ultimate place to see your favourite alt band live. One of my Kings Arms memories involves smoking cigarettes with the guys from Battles and discussing Alaskan crab fishing. Also noteworthy is the King’s Arms’ giant beer garden – perfect for beverage in the sun.
RAKINO’S 1st Floor, 35 High Street, CBD Urban funk and in a space you wish was your living room. Rakino’s is a great bar to have a few cocktails, and then dance the night away (they will also do you a killer brekkie the next morning). I love the balcony; from there you’ll find the best view of Auckland.
SUITE 2 Hobson St, CBD Enjoy late night adventures? Suite is always open and the drinks are grand. Or pop around the corner to teeny tiny Mo’s (corner Wolfe & Federal) – it’s open till at least 3. 
THE WINTER GARDENS Auckland Domain If you’re going to the museum (which is pretty awesome now days), you should also take the time to visit these beautiful gardens. They have a hot house and a temperate house, both filled with crazy flora.
FRENCH FARMERS MARKET 69 St Georges Bay Rd, Parnell Here you’ll find fresh produce and other gourmet treats. I’m a sucker for the in-house bakery – the almond croissants have my heart.
HOME BAY BEACH Access from Wallace St, Herne Bay Firstly, pick a gorgeous evening. Then buy some fish and chips from up the road (Jervois) and walk out to the end of the wharf with a few beers in your pocket. Sit, eat, enjoy the view and marvel at what a beautiful place the world is. Sigh!
This love letter could go on but that’s it for now. It will be updated soon however. In the meantime, if you have any questions or need advice, please ask! I am more than happy to share my AKL knowledge. Arohanui.
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It’s summer… and that means blueberries. The humble blueberry is known have some of the highest levels of antioxidants in foods. Apparently they are even better for you than green tea and red wine. To boot, they are delicious – one of my favourite things to gobble!
Recently blueberries have been adopted as a key ingredient in many skin-care and healthcare products such as Sweden’s Vitaberry. That’s because blueberry extracts have been found to aid the healing process and revitalize cells. Yup, it’s an incredibly successful relationship… we love blueberries and blueberries love us.
Conveniently, my parents live down the road from a blueberry farm so I am very lucky to be able to buy loads of cheap fresh fruit in the summer. The farm has recently opened an organic ice-cream parlour in the local village, Matakana. There you can buy yummy blue sorbets and bottles of fresh juice, and wander down to the nearby river to enjoy your goodies. It’s completely idyllic!
For those of you without a blueberry emporium nearby, here’s the recipe for one of my favourite treats: Easy Yet Brilliant Blueberry Smoothie!
You will need:
- 2 tablespoons of drizzly honey.
- A good, overflowing handful of blueberries (preferably fresh).
- 2 cups of a milky product of your choice. I like rice milk!
- A handful of ice (if you use frozen berries you don’t need so much).
Then:
Take all of these ingredients and whiz, whiz, whiz them in a kitchen blender until smooth. If your smoothie is too thick, add more liquid to taste. Voila! Makes enough for 2 – so share with a loved one or save some to enjoy later on.
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Berlin based electronic duo Booka Shade are coming to AKL on the 21st of November 2008. Squee! Their myspace says ‘Get Booka Shade’ and yeah, we got ‘em!
Oft’ described as “the best live electronic act in the world today” you will most probably be familiar with their songs ‘Body Language’ and ‘In White Rooms’. I well recommend a listen if you haven’t heard them already. If you’re in AKL you can get tickets here.
Aussies: you can also catch them on their “The Sun & the Neon Light” world tour. On the 22 November they will play Brisbane Stereosonic in the afternoon, then again that evening in Sydney. On November 29th Canberra kids can see them at Transit in the afternoon, then at the Melbourne Stereosonic that night. Finally they are playing at the Perth Stereosonic on the 30th. Holy smokes, what a schedule! I’m glad to be seeing them while they are fresh.
Ahhhh can you tell I’m excited? It’s going to be a banger!
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The Parnell French Market is amazing. A perfect way to spend an early Sunday morning. The almond croissants baked there are unbelievable. Layers of sticky flaky pastry, filled with almond whip, rolled into a crescent and scattered with fine icing sugar. I swear, there is nothing better than that first drop of hot almond cream on the tip of your tongue.
Epicurious has a mighty good recipe if you’d like to try make them yourself, but I would get thee to your nearest European bakehouse!
While at the market I also bought some astonishingly strong scented French Earl Erey tea for my sister’s birthday tomorrow. Rose petals, Chinese black tea and other mysteriously luscious flora. I hope she likes it. ❤
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Code For Something by Amber Parkin is a stylish & witty commentary on fashion, design, food, travel and culture. Make yourself at home.
“Style is the dress of thoughts”
– Lord Chesterfield
CFS wants to know what you love/hate/think - email amber@codeforsomething.com