Tag Archives: Customized

Mega International Hipster Points

My favourite person in the world Teva is on the cover of Pedal Speed this month. A Japanese magazine dedicated to bicycles and riding, particularly fixed gear and BMX bikes or whatever’s taken everyone’s fancy at the time.

They also apparently go around the world to different bike shops and different cities and feature their cycling scenes. New Zealand’s turn, an article inside the magazine features Teva and T-Whites bikes, the bike shop he works at. Launched just in time before he travels to Tokyo, we joked that he should casually read the magazine wherever he goes.

Peep the feature. Cute boy, cute shop.

Card Party

Thought I’d blog about my new cards because they are the business! The other day I found these boxes of blank cards made from handmade paper in a store and I had to make them mine. I’d already decided that printed, glossy cards were just not going to cut the mustard.

I love me some of that handmade aesthetic but I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted. I still have the handwriting of a seven year old  so that was out, cutouts were ridiculous and tedious, I suck at Photoshop (unless you want to hire me in which case its like I was born-to-edit), letterpress was favoured but my family’s printshop has been reduced to rubble and then I had it – my grandfather’s beast of a typewriter!

So yes, each card is individually typed out, which leaves lots of room for imperfections and I am okay with that. I chose the tan for the paper because with age and the crinkles and creases, it starts to look like well worn suede. It does take a little while longer than handing off cards to a printer but who am I kidding? I have lots of spare time. I had enough spare time to make a card tower. Also punching those keys makes the most satisfying sounds.

Only card party I’m throwing. Happy Diwali. I’m off to Calcutta tomorrow.

Fancy Fast Food

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You probably know by now that I’m big on culinary pornography. So when I found Fancy Fast Food, I did a double take. What you see in the pictures is actually a Big Mac, Popeye’s Chicken and a Wendy’s Baconator, and on the site are the how-tos. Yeah it’s still bad for you, but see how good it can look!

DIY: studded jeans pocket

AKA MY FAVOURITE DIY EVER.

Hi! I’m in the Gold Coast living with my friends Grace and David wearing these babies! I love them and Grace wants to do something similar to her shirt. My friend Matt just left us (booooo) but we had a great time. I’ll post some photos tonight. It’s been beach trips and margaritas and all day breakfasts and sunshine and the paradox of high end designer stores sitting alongside shady motels. I’m going to Tokyo tomorrow which is incredible, and feels so surreal. This was the last thing I DIYed in Melbourne, the pocket was just your average, and I ripped it and studded an inverted pyramid into it while watching Indian indie films like The President is Coming and Page 3. I love the grain of this denim more than life itself.

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DIY: Studded kicks

General Pants were at Fashion Palette, hosting a little workshop at their stand, where people received free Converse Chuck Taylor shoes and Levis jeans to customise with studs as they please. Each person was given 15 minutes but studding by hand takes far longer and tonight I finished my pair. Believe it or not, these are my first Converses. I fucking love them. I’d been wanting to get some and stud them for ages so I’m incredibly pleased that I got the chance to. I’m going to add more studs, maybe some smaller ones in a few weeks once I tire of them being like this. Here are photos from both Sydney and of my attempt.

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Not mine ^

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Mine ^

I just used a bunch of big silver studs, a flat-nose jewellery plier and my late-night perfectionist tendencies. You do not know what thumb pain is until you a) break your thumb and/or b) stud canvas by hand. I’ve done both. Bike riding and stud symmetry are well worth it.

Beaded Tights DIY & diary

5am: I discover these Doo.Ri A/W’09 tights and this dreamy DIY by Park and Cube, thanks to Krisatomic.

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8am: I’m slashing a perfectly boring bracelet and anklet to make my own. It’s an easy DIY, as easy as ‘sew beads onto tights’. I see no point in waiting or buying supplies when I already have something I can use.  I store the beads in bottle caps.

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8.15am: I search through my handbags and find the beaded belt that popped and broke thanks to my food baby Barry. I put it into a recycled sardines tin. So now I have pretty rainbow coloured beads, black beads and muted gold beads and bobs.

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8.3oam: I begin. These are the patterned stockings from the other day. I’ve been mending them since the day I got them, they’re positively vintage in stocking lifespan and they’re easy to sew and sew onto. I fear that I won’t have enough black thread, I only have one of those tiny sewing kits from my last hotel room. Please let it be enough.

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9.30am: I’m a third done and thread situation looking pretty dismal. However, while scouting for more I find a couple of cute charm and bead earrings from my adolescence and decide they must be added to the embellishment. I love playful pieces. Thread’s almost gone. Oh noes.

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9.40am: Eeeeeeeee! Nutella on toast for breakfast and I find a fat spool of black thread. Jackpot.

10.30am: Halfway mark. Mine don’t look like either of the above but I used rainbow swarovski crystals and smiley faces so I can hardly expect them to. Errant beads and delicate needlework. I am not bovvered though.

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What I Wore

It was Adidas’ 60th birthday party in Melbourne yesterday so two detours to a bar and art gallery later, we ended up in the Chapel Street store for beer in plastic cups and paperbag dresses, photos to come. In the meantime, here’s what I wore.

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Note my customised Adidas canvases in accordance with the event. They used to be purple till my friend Sushant made his moves on them. 

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And if you’re wondering, the answer is no, I don’t own any regular pants.

Omotenashi

The art of Japanese tea ceremony, Cha-do has this amazing concept called ‘omotenashi’ which I love. How a single word can encompass such wonderful, complex themes always beats me. Translated directly into English, omotenashi means hospitality through reception, service, entertainment.

Sort of how they scream ‘Irashaimase’ or welcome when you enter a shop or restaurant in Tokyo, and Japanese restaurants will serve you complimentary tea without having to ask. Or how sometimes food is such a visual display such as in bento boxes – especially kyaraben – colourful, elaborately arranged and decorated, kitsch and cutesy pop culture lunch boxes that fill your stomach and all your senses with omotenashi.

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From here

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Hurro!

Rollercoaster

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Got you!

We’re not really on a rollercoaster. My friend Red just showed me this amaaaazing thing called Photobooth on my Mac which I’ve had since December, and all you technophiles are probably disgusted at the fact that I didn’t know how to use it but now we can’t stop vlogging and being silly. And you reap the rewards. 

The end.

DIY 1: Shredder

So yesterday after compiling my projects into one list, I set off to complete my shredded tshirt as per the instructions in this tutorial here while I watched In Bruges. It was pretty easy once I got the hang of it and I’m very pleased with the results. I think if I do it again, I’d shred the back of a grey tank top.

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One down. Yusss!