Monique Germon

(inside)

2011-02-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

MG - article in the latest (inside) magazine.

STORY is OPEN

2011-01-21T17:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T04:06:00.000-08:00

10%. Does Not Equal Creativity

2010-12-16T02:33:00.000-08:00

10%.
Does Not Equal Creativity
by Tamara Maynes

'Not my normal style of post but I am feeling disheartened.

I read a wonderful post on the Poppytalk blog recently regarding copycats and

the fact that authenticity seems to be something of the past.

The internet it seems has enabled the masses to make a career of design theft......'

Read more from the darling of Australian craft design HERE

Hey Pete Hay

2010-11-22T16:56:00.000-08:00

Fellow Mainlanders - get thee to Tasmania!

Tasmanians - get thee to this!

We would fly down from the heavens to hear this man speak.

He's a friend of S T O R Y's too.

So indeed, put your hands together & enjoy!

'Shall we?'

2010-11-15T19:24:00.000-08:00

Time will tell - as will

S T O R Y
Click on the quote to be part of a new kind of narrative

We look forward to being in touch

OH YES MS WALTON

2010-11-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

SPECIAL ANNOUCEMENT
THE DARLING OF DAILY IMPRINT

HAS TAKEN (FULL) FLIGHT!

Bravo to Natalie Walton, who continually gives so many of us, so much.
It is a special day when such women step up & unto themselves.
For this afternoon at least, I can be found shooting arrows in the air in her honour.

MORE OF NATALIE'S OWN WORDS HERE

S O H I M A G A Z I N E

2010-10-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of SOHI MAGAZINE is out on the stands!

I was invited by the SOHI crew to be Fashion Editor for this issue and

we put together a darling shoot titled 'Les Nouveaux Pionniers'.

You can order your copy online at The Local.

N o t F o r L e g a l T e n d e r

2010-10-20T04:55:00.000-07:00

S T O R Y - film stills

2010-10-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to a New Chapter

2010-09-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

S T O R Y

OPENING DECEMBER 2010

Collar & Guise

2010-07-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Gratitude is Heaven Itself

2010-06-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

*Apologies if this text is too tiny - the next size up is too big & looks totally awful

Isn't it funny to contemplate that every single item of clothing you own has been made

by another human being somewhere on this planet. Perhaps not, yet for me I think I grew

up almost thinking that clothing was made entirely by machines. My great-grandmother was a

fierce shop keeper/entrepreneur who was also a dressmaker and my grandmother made her

own clothing as most people did. My mother had a sewing kit in the

house but art and craft for me was ruled out by music lessons and running free

on a farm, causing trouble with my two little Italian neighbours & partners in crime.

Basically, some gratitude is in order.

I have sold hundreds, if not thousands of items of clothing and accessories over the last five years

and each of them has been made by a small team of individuals who are just so good at what they do.

Thank you thank you team past & present, here's to the next chapter

and also thank you to Charlie Stackhouse.

Without this fellow's generosity and

genius over the last few years I would not be where I am today.

© M O N I Q U E G E R M O N 2 0 1 0

Everything Begins with a Point

2010-06-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Hello.

So something rather special is on its way.

I think it was Kubrick who said ‘There’s a new kind of beauty afoot,’

& I believe we’ve waited long enough.

Photo: 'Dutch Licorice Lion Heart'
© M O N I Q U E G E R M O N 2 0 1 0

Tuesday Girl

2010-06-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

San Fransisco Girl by the Bay

'Waking from Sleep' Huon Valley with Trudes
© M O N I Q U E G E R M O N 2 0 1 0

Daily Imprint Inspiration

2010-06-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

Natalie Walton's Daily Imprint site is one of the finest web publications around.

Have a look at her inspirational posts she's putting up whilst she takes a well earned break OS.

*Click on photo for direct link to my answer to what's inspiring me of late

The Envelope Project

2010-06-13T17:12:00.001-07:00

As you know, I totally appreciate a lovely store with an ever creative caretaker

behind the scenes . . . . also envelopes are a favourite object so

I am partaking in Pip's latest project whilst I confess to very

seriously considering opening a new store in 2011.

Aesthetics & India

2010-02-05T05:24:00.000-08:00

'I decided to give up on truth & focus on beauty instead.'

Robert Dessaix

These pictures were taken recently in New Delhi, whilst marveling
at the effortless nature of beauty & its difference to that of the West.
Of course one must note that money buys us things that lead to further effort
& assistance when adorning & essentially altering the body, and

without it we are left with simple grooming to look our best.
Brushed teeth, combed hair, clean shirt.

Glamour is not an aspiration for many in India as it so commonly is elsewhere (ratio wise),
yet notably, dignity seems to exist everywhere you look.
It astounds me that many of the shelter homes on the streets of Delhi
are often tidier than the insides of many wealthier homes I have seen in other parts of the world.
I am sure that gratitude plays a big part in this.

After styling for the most amazing Tara Badcock at the International Furniture Fair this week,
I was reminded again of this absolute pull we have towards glamour & perfection
as much and often more than comfort itself
(uncomfortable stools must be the tragi-comic object of the century).

Now it gets hard and we could enter into the eternal arm wrestle of wearing a cloth
as opposed to Ralph Lauren or basically acting out a conversation between Gandhi & Chanel but no.
Let us also skip the essay about the idea of Atheism as a luxury item
and its relation to beauty, transcendence & existential question marks.
One must note here the spiritual focus of (Mother) India and its major and common place in daily practice & life.
This of course might well be a very major ingredient in what enhances this beauty and dignity that I've mentioned,
both of which are of course entirely subjective so the question to self is really 'why' and 'how'.
I have to say that I do rather adore the idea of prayer enhancing beauty in a way that rivals Botox.

In conclusion, there are three stand out points which remain:

* Simple grooming such as teeth brushing seems to be the base for the 'I AM', i.e the foundation
for any further aesthetic gesture - & oh the irony that having little can enhance this.

* When I recently met His Holiness The Dalai Lama I was struck with an 'I AM'
that awed me to the point of making a mockery of both the glamour and attempts at perfection that we encounter almost everywhere else we look.
The experience was in itself; like standing near an undisturbed lake as opposed to looking at an ad for bottled water.

* And lastly, there is - without a doubt - an incredible grace
that exists in this world that cannot be bought, that absolutely transcends class &
I would argue that this kind of beauty is perhaps even truth itself.

In Context for Paris+Tasmania

2010-02-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

Styling by Monique Germon for In Context
International Furniture Fair Sydney
for Paris+Tasmania - Tara Badcock

Old British Store India

2010-01-28T06:17:00.000-08:00

Every now and then we're lucky enough to stumble across something rather special.

Earlier this year I walked into a falling down building in McLeod Ganj, India and this is what I saw.

'O, How She Blushed'

2010-01-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

'O, How She Blushed'

SoHi Magazine

2009-10-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Click on pictures for links

Narrandera Pub NSW

2009-10-25T00:08:00.000-07:00

On the first floor of a pub in a town about 545km West of Sydney there lives the

most wonderful combination of moonlight within walls,

marzipan sinks, Kafkaesque mirrors & a colour that defines humility.

Combine all and you have one of those scents from childhood - one of the ones that they

don't make anymore that you never, ever forgotten.

- especially for the NSW sentimentalists

Pop-Up Co-Op

2009-10-21T01:55:00.000-07:00

PUBLIC OFFICE is now open

Pop-Up Co-Op

Shop 7 Corbett Plaza Bowral NSW

Three Designers. One Store. One month.

Tara Badcock - Public Office

2009-10-19T04:04:00.000-07:00

The incredibly talented Tasmanian textile artist, Tara Badcock
has made some exquisite wares for Public Office

- a design banner representing various artists located at the

Pop-Op Co-Op - Shop 7 Corbett Plaza Bowral NSW
- open until 11th November

© M O N I Q U E G E R M O N 2 0 1 0

Public Office is Open

2009-10-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

PUBLIC OFFICE is now open

Pop-Up Co-Op

Shop 7 Corbett Plaza Bowral NSW

Three Designers. One Store. One month.

Until November 11th 2009

Public Office is the studio banner which is exhibiting the work of

Cat Rabbit, Gabbee Stolp, Sally Rees, Little Snoring,

Janny McKinnon, Pip Emma: in the Afternoon, Sneak Design, Tara Badcock,

Simone Pfister, Jillian Jak, Charlie Stackhouse & Monique Germon

Cube Art & Design

2009-07-23T16:11:00.000-07:00

Cube Art & Design - Rainy Days Exhibition 2009

'Tell My Wife I Love Her - piece' Mixed Media 2009

'Tell My Wife I Love Her'

2009-07-05T12:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the men and women of Stanley, the surrounding areas of the North West and King Island for their generosity in opening their homes, giving up their bar stools and sharing their incredible stories. Thank you to those who donated their shirts for this project, to ‘Geoff the Pilot’ and his single engine Cessna and a special thank you to my mate ‘Charlie’, for the caravan conversations.

© M O N I Q U E G E R M O N 2 0 0 9

The Snow Goose - A Story of Dunkirk

2009-07-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

I confess to having very little understanding of the mechanics behind coincidence
and besides, who would want to know?

Its poignancy is 'reason' enough. Something simply seems to happen,
that grips us in some kind of operatic headlock and we're guided to focus on a mystery
that rarely makes any kind of complete sense.
It's like being offered an allusion into space.

If you chase it (and one should), it just rambles on through a tunnel which often seems like eternity.

There's a reference point, an echo and then a mental note of this reference point

- the difference between coincidence and simple deja-vu.

Yesterday I was handed a book titled, 'The Snow Goose - A Story of Dunkirk'
by Paul Gallico and invited to enjoy it over the weekend.
The story tells of a man named Phillip Rhayader who lives a solitary existence
tending to migratory birds and painting landscapes.
One day he is visited by a girl named Frith,
who brings to him a wounded Snow Goose in the hope that we will help her.......

For some years now I have been living closely with an artwork
mysteriously titled 'Frith' - and tonight I read the following:

'That summer, out of his memory, he painted a picture of a slender, grime-covered girl (Frith),
her fair hair blown by a November storm, who bore in her arms a wounded white bird.'

Not so much a coincidence of existential proportions but terribly touching and beautiful never the less.

© M O N I Q U E G E R M O N 2 0 1 0

Chanel & Hitchcock

2009-06-21T00:09:00.000-07:00

This is one of the finest Chanel shows I have ever seen. The music is extremely provocative and I suspect written specifically for the show and I will try to get it on here ASAP. Everything has its own little brazen subtext going on. The fabric, the hair and of course, the oboe making loops around it all, as well as the strings finding their way up your skirt - it's all a perfect and deliberate flirtation. Interestingly, through the coyness, I find myself thinking of the jungle gym scene from 'The Birds' whilst bounding from crochet to crochet on a 3D music stave. Only the finest association allows such an inner onslaught.

Karl Lagerfeld is an interesting individual with quite a lot to say in the documentary, 'Lagerfeld Confidential'.

'They aren't jobs that fit any criterion of social justice. It's like cinema. Lots of girls and boys want to do it, but very few make it. To do this job you must be able to accept injustice. There are other careers. You can work for social security, get promoted, work behind a counter...it's a safe bet. If you want social justice, be a civil servant. Fashion is ephemeral, dangerous and unfair.'

I've met a few people who would completely agree and take a look at it, amongst other things - beauty of this kind - so perfectly refined, the epitome of glamour, taste, innovation, elegance, style, charm.........

..........beauty of this kind can be perfectly blinding and of course, deliberately so.

Happy Solstice.

'Crafty' Sidespace Gallery 23rd - 29th June

2009-06-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

Robert Dessaix - On Humbug

2009-06-04T02:52:00.000-07:00

Robert Dessaix

His latest book, 'On Humbug' (M.U.P) is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.

This essay builds to a wonderful climax of astute and articulate conclusion in relation to humbug, bullshit and mindfucking, that Robert discusses throughout the book. I am allowed to share a little with you.

'To put it another way, the flood of information is what leads us to take refuge in ideology, sound bites and cliches - they keep us afloat. If I care to read a newspaper or two, or try the various television channels on offer in search of more information, or more objective information, or less proselytising information than the bloggers and other websites can provide, I may indeed glean a few extra nuggets from the odd documentary or news item, but I must stay alert because a mere handful of companies - all of them, from AOL Time Warner to News Corp and Disney, being broadly speaking right-wing owned - control the global media. It's true that many of those who front the programs and write the stories have a left-wing agenda, as you would expect, but the owners have found a solution to this problem: turn information into infotainment (a form of humbug), infantilise it, restrict the news to fear, shopping and sport (actually just big business with a human face) and keep the mass of us too depressed, anxious, sullen and hooked on personality to bother informing ourselves about anything. It is now irrelevant what the world view of the presenter is - he or she might be a card-carrying Marxist, for all it matters. Deluged with stories that 'fondle the feelings and bypass the brain' (as Penny puts it), we are ripe to be not just bullshitted, but mindfucked. And we are. We don't even care anymore.'

And then this - 'We have been atomised. Suspended alone in a state of unrelieved apprehension bordering on panic, we cast about frenetically for some story line to write ourselves into. Instead of citizens, we have been turned into individual consumers; instead of tradition, we have had fashion foisted on us; instead of history, we are force fed docudramas about the mystery of the Sphinx. Desperate for company and direction, we'll form a herd behind anyone - Princess Di, JK Rowling, the Pope, Barack Obama, Lacan, anyone. Just tell us a story. It may be humbug, it may be bullshit; it doesn't matter: we don't know the difference anymore. Just tell us a story. Any story. Please.'

(Here's Robert weeks later on The Book Show)

Opinion & Osmosis

2009-06-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

Last week Charlie Stackhouse & myself spent some time at a hotel in Sydney and through the glory of osmosis were reminded of many things. We were completely charmed by the premises and the effortless paths through which style can travel. My personal aesthetic became rather mainstream over the past five years and I've been curious to see where it would go and how it would change. Something of interest is beginning to form itself and through the hotel's visual story and Charlie's highly advanced listening skills, I was able to bathe and float and investigate some new territory and get a glimpse of its sources, which are thankfully endearing & slightly moreish.

Someone asked me last week what is it that I do for inspiration (as I don't follow magazines or blogs for complete answers to any kind of creative future). I am often inspired by art and film but complete borrowing (which arose in conversation) has always confused me. I do understand it but I find it really sad when it's so blatantly UN-translated and of course when people take credit for creativity that is simply not their own. We all know that empty feeling that occurs when you're standing in front of work which lacks an authentic relationship to the artist involved. This issue of borrowing (and also of exploitation) is an interesting one and I feel like I am discussing it a lot lately as well as the seemingly confused state of the artist's role at present.

After a morning of thought around this - we already have television - is my conclusion.

Mates.03 - Duncan Hose

2009-05-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

I first met Duncan Hose in Hobart, Tasmania. He was standing in the courtyard in Salamanca; old bluey coat, Irish four leaf pendant. Whenever we've shared time together since, I am bombarded with the strangest imagery, such as DH flying past me on horseback and other peculiar flashes.

The sound of thundering horses has also been a popular assault in his company.

Consequentially, Duncan has taught me how to listen in a rather particular way. He is also the finest editor one could ask for. His first book of poetry, RATHAUS (Inken, 2007) received a fine reception with critic Philip Mead describing 'DH's poetic instinct as almost faultless' and also observing the following: 'DH instinctively understands the stupid waste of explanation & the fact that poems are separate from us, even as they speak to us from behind the glass that seems to enclose them.'

Duncan delivers a high standard of sophistication through language - be it through poetry, prose or round-the-fire conversation. I am continually moved by his consistent and deliberate invitation to those around him to engage in thought processes that challenge one's own personal narrative, therefore inducing creativity and more so, a voice - even in the most quiet of places.

Duncan not only blasts the mundane as far as he can send it, but effortlessly honours the matter at hand by presenting its nucleus with complete and accurate description. He then proceeds to shove his findings in your face with a unique and elemental compound of fire & water - a fierce kind of empathy. Mutual friends will agree with me that it's not uncommon to feel Duncan's hand slam down & grip your shoulder in a moment of shared understanding, reminding you that beauty is to be savored and that the moment - the 'Arc de Triomphe' - will never come again.

As you can see, he is also a very fine painter.

Muted Colour

2009-05-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

Twice this week I've been reminded of a boat trip taken from Finland to Estonia a few years ago. On arriving in Tallinn, I walked to the nearest tavern and wrote to a friend about the significance of crossing that particular passage of water, for with it came an ever so evident change - from a major to minor key. I remember also noting the soft, exquisite something found within the muted colour of the old town walls - so perfect when the outer visuals lock in with the inner sound. The beloved Ms PJ Harvey captures this tonal shift beautifully - though it is the other way around (note the small smile it brings her) - in her song, 'Silence' from the most human, most fragile offering of an album, White Chalk.

Another note, if you play this song long enough, loud enough you might tip over into a kind of echo (the pathway to the parallels perhaps) and blast the idea of moments altogether.

Let go & hold tight.

Mates - Tara Badcock

2009-05-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

Tara Badcock's creative enterprise, 'PARIS + TASMANIA' was born one spring day in Paris in 2005, whilst Tara was seeking ways to alleviate her homesickness for Tasmania, marrying this to her design identity which evolved in Paris during her three years of residence there. Themes of beauty, utility, cultural identity, social and collective memory and personal experience form the basis for the individual pieces Tara creates, which range from homewares, fashion, accessories, her infamous Teacosy* Revolution & our Design Island 2008 collaboration, Beautiful Empire.

My house is full of Tara's creations which deliver a most elegant and ever-intriguing esteem to their surroundings. For me personally, the most noteworthy feature of Tara's work is that it somehow never loses its flavour. The only thing I can suggest is to perhaps begin with a sugar dusted, cherry flavoured eternity of crystal palaces and you might find a door handle to enter you into the ever rich world I am talking about
- delicious, sincere & highly recommended.

Water, Sky & Ice

2009-05-09T04:55:00.000-07:00

Two studies (MG 2006)

1. Train line & sky - Krakov to Prague

2. Crossing over into the Arctic Circle w/ Gorecki

They're each individuals but enjoy being played side by side.

Mates - Trudi Brinckman

2009-05-01T00:20:00.000-07:00

Trudi Brinckman is a Hobart based installation artist who works with found materials and has a close affinity with the element of water. Trudi sources objects and materials from her familiar environment such as water and plastics and examines qualities inherent in these materials that exist beneath the visible, rendering the familiar as unfamiliar. She delicately peels back layers, revealing an undercurrent that provides a visual language with the relationship to the world we construct, inhabit and build emotional connections to, presenting an alternative language for the way we understand our manufactured environment.

'Providing wonder and experience from the most humble of substances challenges and keeps me searching for not only new materials, but alternative truths.' - TB 2009

Wool & Winter

2009-04-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

Lucky am I to now have two studios in two states so the clogs are ticking over better than ever before and consequentially, the wheels for steady supply are now fully in motion. It's a great thing to be cutting out in NSW, knowing that the goods hit Tasmania ahead of other states because indeed, the snow there has already begun to fall.

I find the most enjoyable moment in the creation of a garment that pause between cutting and assembling. There's just something about piles of fabric and a real humility and contrast within the pieces themselves, all bundled together.

Today saw the completion of a line of bags and scarves,
on their way South to warm you in the very near future. Enjoy.

Paper Parachute Dress

2009-04-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

'Paper Parachute Dress' - french cotton striped shirting - Salamanca Arts Centre (Lightbox) for the month of April - an anniversary dress to celebrate four years of making, flying & landing. Thank you to Trudi Brinckman for the celebratory tune, to Matt Stolp for providing a studio as well as many layers of warmth and to my friends at the beautiful store, The Drill Hall Emporium, New Norfolk,

for kindly lending out their inhouse dress dummy.

'Only Poor People Have Sores'

2009-03-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, an apology was asked for -

that I had sympathetically commented on a child's mozzie bites, referring to them as 'sores'.

Due to the obvious fact that I had quite instantly morphed into a human question mark,

I was then informed by the child's mother that 'Only poor people have sores'.

I had never heard of such a thing. An unfamiliar & strange kind of nausea followed.

Shame itself seemed to be shaking my hand.

Classism.

Exhibition work (TAS)

You're Welcome

2009-03-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

Whilst falling for a particular town these last few weeks, a kind of biopsy is occurring - a curious examination of the place, looking for evidence of matters yet unknown...?

Who the hell knows.

The only link to this riddle is a memory of Robert Dessaix (who has an exquisite understanding of the pause, reaching into his pockets & taking time to find words and then delivering them to you on the palm of his...hand) speaking about how he 'just really, really likes to feel...'welcomed' in a place and how he does NOT feel...'welcome' in a place such as the Myer store in Hobart.'

Listening to Robert speak reminds me of those paper parachutes one

used to run cross country to claim on fire cracker night.

The entrances above are small findings of such 'lights through the cracks' of the post-modern void we're seemingly betrothed to. The subtle grace of the good old entrance allows one a moment to kind of agree or disagree with the premises before entry (promise) takes place.

For example, on entering pic three I was hit with a fantastic inner visual of two sheep in

a field named The Sullivans which consequentially, made me...smile

Classism Enquiry - Used Flannelette 2009

2009-03-04T01:34:00.000-08:00

'Shirt Studies l-lll' for upcoming exhibition work. Cheers to the people of Stanley for their generosity with this project, especially to Rose & Mark for their continual support & to my mate Charlie, for the caravan conversations.

Consumer T-Shirt

2009-03-02T04:18:00.000-08:00

CAST Member's Exhibition 2008

I will do more of these when I have another hilarious conversation,

such as the one that prompted the above.

In the meantime look at this video.

Thank you to S, Duncan Hose and Trudi Brinckman.

Letters with an Other

2009-02-28T22:57:00.000-08:00

Late last year, a Tasmanian artist & myself began a project which involves writing to one another on a daily basis. It was an honour to begin this process and over the last three months, she has become a very dear friend. We've now shared over 70000 words and today we've hit three months.

Here are some moments:

S: I sent back an enquiry, 'Do I know you? The reply, 'I am the way, the truth and the light.'

M: We felt large and then small and shared the twilight with Bonnie Prince Billy singing us all the way back to Stanley.

S: It's a beautiful day and the birds are behaving like human automata, designed specifically for human amusement.

M: I sat all proud staring at him from the seat about to reach for my headphones when he smiled at me and said, ‘If you want me to fly the thing you better move over to the passenger seat.’

S: An hour of sheet lightning and then a small but perfect tornado of dust and leaves enveloped the car. Then a furious wind and bucketing rain. Then enormous hailstones that made us pull over and frightened me but also made me laugh as if I was on a roller coaster as we sat trapped on the Eastern Shore - our hands pressed against the windscreen in the hope of preventing any major damage.

M: I will spare you the details of the experience so let’s just say that five hours and four thousand words later, there was silence.

S: I made a Christmas tree from fallen branches yesterday and dressed them in silver ornaments and wrapped them in lights. The shadows on the wall at night are like we have an entire forest hiding somewhere behind the heater.

M: These days I don’t think idealising anything is fair, though it’s always so innocent at the time. It’s rather childlike in a sense, kind of like hope rolled in sugar.

More from this darling project later in the year........

Love & Other Matters

2009-02-28T20:14:00.000-08:00

Since leaving Love & Clutter, many of you have been

asking when I will open another store.

Will it be in Tasmania, Melbourne, Sydney........

the answer to all of this is I don't know.

It will happen when and if the thing itself desires to be.

So here is at least a something - a new blog where I will keep you informed.