Dudes! ok. brace yourselves. a giant wave of awesome stuff from down under is about to hit your screen. it’s gonna inundate your rss feed and any other places where i post my stuff. don’t fight it. just take it in, all in.

k, so i’m still working on my back-from-australia posts (holy shit, it takes a lot of time to select the perfect photos). so in the meantime, i’m gonna share with you artful things from the land where the ‘roos roam free. first off – the coolest of them all – the design files 2013 open house.

as you may know, the design files is one of australia’s most loved design blogs, i mean, how can you not love it, it’s bursting at the seams with colour, creativity, and beautiful photos. well, apparently, that’s not enough. so what’s the next logic step? bring all this radness into the real world with an open house where EVERYTHING you see in it is for sale. kind of a dream home that you can buy in pieces.

they started this project in melbourne (the coolest city on planet earth – sorry NYC, but it’s true) back in 2011 and obviously it was a total success. now, for the first time, they’re hosting two open houses! one in sydney and one in melbourne. like whoa.

all the products displayed in the house are carefully curated by the design files team, and they’re nothing short of amazing. they have people of the caliber of esther stewart (paintings above) who we all love – oh! and whose work I got to see in person!! gah! – there’s also established aussie talent like beci orpin and harvest textiles, and many other up and coming gems.

what i love about this is that they are promoting local talent, peeps down there are totally into supporting their own. just the way it should be!

i selected a few favourites for this feature, but feel free to peruse the full list of participants on the design files’ open house page. talk about inspiration! Are you lovin’ it?

art by kirra jamison

leather goods my mademeasure

neoprene tote by witu (i so wanted to get one but the store were i found them was closed, womp womp)

art by miranda skoczek

art by laura jones

lovely design by stampel

OH EM GEE. Grab on to your panties because we are about to embark on a musical journey thanks to the as-per-usual radness of Arcade Fire’s new interactive Video Just A Reflektor . Remember when they launched The Wilderness Downtown? (the one where they used Chrome and pop-ups), well this one is 10X better.

Ok, I won’t keep babbling. I will let you experience this on your own.

Things you’ll need:

- A smartphone
- Chrome on your computer (make sure to not have 1000 tabs open so it runs smoothly)

Once you have those, head over here: Just A Reflektor, and follow the instructions on screen. If it doesn’t run smoothly the first time, just refresh the page and try again (like a gazillion people are watching it right now).

When you’re done, let me know what you think? Was it too much? Was it awesome? I personally think it’s kind of brilliant; the music, the graphics, the effects, the interaction, so good! Plus, you gotta give them credit for making us wave our phones in front of the computer like total geeks that have no fucks to give. So yeah, let me know what you think and enjoy!

PS. If you can turn off the light in your room, that’s even better. Oh! and if you don’t have a smartphone, that’s fine, you can use your computers mouse.

PSS. If you want geek out, visit their technology page and read all about the effects.

Thanks to Jordan from Minimograph for sharing this!

Oh man, I am in love with these paintings by Lou Ros
, they are so fabulously grungy! And I say fabulously because of the use of a few pastels here in and there, especially pink. Just take a look at his other pieces and you’ll find a common thread that it will surely please your eyes.

A cluster of Lou’s paintings on a HUGE white wall surrounded by mid-century furniture would be paradise. Sigh…let’s go daydreaming for a bit, shall we?

This ad campaign for Harajuku clothing store Laforet titled Be Noisy is as quirky and weird as the world-famous style this district is known for. Directed by Rikako Nagashima, these looks merge all-time favourites such as florals and art – the art being those crazy installation-like wires coming out of the model’s mouth. Only in Japan.

You should definitely check out the short videos below to see the whole thing happening. I mean, when was the last time you saw someone spitting flowers and wires out of their mouth all while looking super kawaii? (Yes, I’m totally pulling my Gwen-Stefani-2004-Hollabackgirl lingo in here, which is as Harajuku as I’ll ever be).

Click through to see the videos!

Yah! Lots of colour to get the week started. Locomotor by Kirra Jamison are a series of prints that are definitely needed to brighten one’s Monday blues.

It’s kind of amazing how a few pops of colour can totally change your mood huh? As I sat down at the pool with friends yesterday, I realized how colour-STARVED we are, at least up here. We should challenge ourselves to add more energy-inducing visuals in our life, whether it be a mood work right by your desk at work, or a bright piece of art hanging on your wall at home. Every little bit helps!

To read more about Kirra Jamison’s work, head over here.

Wowee. Talk about beautiful things for the home! These cheerful rugs are the work of Swedish artistJonathan Josefsson. Yes they are rugs, but honestly, I don’t think any of us would like to have such artful pieces laying on the floor waiting for a spill to happen. Eek! They are too precious for that – unless you have one of those spare rooms that no one goes into. Or a private gallery at home. Either way, we can agree that Jonathan’s work is kind of unreal.

The free form and colours used in this large scale pieces remind me of the work of Xochi Solis – which I’m sure I’ll be featuring later on. It’s not everyday that you find such abstract work that can be used as part of your decor at home. Are you feeling the colors? Would you get one of these for your home?

Once again, Jen Mann has given an erection to my eye balls. What? Don’t look at me like that!

Her new series Strange Beauties, which opened last February in Toronto (lucky bastards), is all about illusions, dreams, the circus, the strange and the beautiful.

There are a couple reasons why I chose this feature for today – one being that Jen Mann is one of my favorite artists, and the other – I am currently unable to sleep because I am getting all of my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. And yes, I am a pussy and for the past week, I have tried to insert the phrase “I am getting all of my wisdom teeth out on Friday” in every single conversation. For example: Hey Gab, coffee is good today, no? – “yah, love it…even though I am taking my wisdom teeth out on Friday” or, Hey Gab, look outside, it’s gorgeous! – “Totally, let’s have lunch at the park and be hopeful that I don’t bleed to death when they get my wisdom teeth out on Friday”. Debbie-Gab-Downer at your service.

Tomorrow, at the same time you’re reading this, I’ll be cruising at an altitude of 20,000 ft, all while the dentist inserts his fists in my mouth. The whole process makes me dizzy and confused. And just like in Jen Mann‘s portraits, I’m sure I’ll be seeing lots of trippy things – hopefully they’re as beautiful as her paintings.

Have a fun weekend! And hug your wisdom teeth while you can, ’cause those fuckers will turn on you when you least expect it.

Love. Gab.

When you’re back and ready to chill in front of some delightful art, you should browse through the work of these 5 artists. I discovered all these little gems through my submissions inbox and the magic of the interwebz. They come from all corners of the world and have very distinctive styles, so there’s a art for everyone. Check’em out!

Laura Collins. Chicago / Mixed Media / Painting

Vincent Junier. France / Mixed Media

Heather Teran. California / Contemporary Painting

Pierre Roy Camille. Paris / Painting (photo)

Brendan Smith. Philadelphia / Watercolor

Guys, help spread their work with the world by sharing the post or giving them a pin.

To the artists: Thank you for sending your beautiful submissions!

Oh Alana Dee, how I love thee. Brilliant work, yes? The patterns and fashion elements are – as per usual – one of my favorite combination. I swear I was a clothing designer in past life, that’s the only reasonable explanation with clothes, pattern, and design.

Miss Haynes has tons of delightful images on her tumblr. It was actually kinda hard choosing just a few of them for the post. My personal favorite is the 3rd one, the one with the 70′s inspired look and the groovy black bubbles around it. So dreamy! I bet a shirt printed with that image would look fantastic. Heck, a whole line of fabric with Alana’s patterns would be quite trendy.

Do you also day dream a lot about different designs that would look good on clothing?

IMAGES: Alana Dee Haynes

In awe with this installation by Pae White. Craft, art, color, all mixed together. Wishing I could see it in person!

IMAGES VIA: Contemporary Art Daily