Where The Wild Things Are

Everyone is talking about this Summer's blockbusters here at the moment. Lots of amazing things are coming out, but one of the films I'm most excited about isn't coming out until October 16th. Where The Wild Things Are is originally a childrens book written by Maurice Sendak in the early 1960's. Its adaptation is being done by Spike Jonze and is so beautiful I cried watching the trailer. (you can cry along with me here) The basic plot is about a young mischievous boy who, after terrorizing a dog with a fork, is sent to his room without dinner. The young boy then dreams up a world of wild animals and monsters whom he can identify with to deal with his anger. Eventually he realises the consequences of his actions and goes back to reality. I feel like this is something I really relate to. As a child who spent a disproportionate amount of time on my own, I always retreated to my fantasy world (although mine existed in the realm of Narnia, true story) as a source of comfort and companionship. Often dealing with my own feelings of unexplainable anger and loneliness in this world, I always knew when it was time to come back.
I'm really looking forward to getting lost in that world again this Summer.

Melting faces

No, for once I'm not talking about a metal band (we all know how much I love a good face melting shred as much as the next person) I'm talking about our poor friend the Goth who despite the weather continues to represent in the most sweaty of attire. The best new blog I have found is here at the Goths in Hot Weather blog. A whole blog dedicated to the vampires of the night....... in full sweltering sun.

Rock on my vinyl clad friends.

Jason, are you here?

I finally moved back to Brooklyn last weekend. Thank goodness. The move was less than great as I couldn't get a truck until the evening, which meant returning it close to midnight. Took the truck back to the rental lot which was deserted except for all the rental trucks which just looked all eery lined up perfectly. Couldn't find the key drop box and spent nearly half an hour wandering around the yard in the dark trying to find it. The only thing I could find was this

just randomly placed on the wall of the u-haul lot with no explanation as to what on earth it could possibly be doing there (not to mention the mini cane behind it. What the fuck, man????)
Not wanting to hang around and find out Jason has switched to a tribal mask for a 'Jason takes Brooklyn' special I hauled ass and took back the keys the next day.

I know what you did last Summer..... and I'm doing something else.

Okay, now I have that bad tag line out of my system we can move on. With Memorial Day weekend behind us, everyone has started talking about their plans for the Summer. Theres always lots of fun free things to do which is great, and while most people are escaping the city for at least a month, this is not an option for poor little Euro. So I decided to set myself a Summer project. Documenting the cast of characters and their inspired wardrobes that make up this hodge podge of a city I call home. It all came about the other week when the most amazingly dressed man I have ever seen was spotted hanging out side the church across from work.


Its hard to decipher but he was wearing a cropped black velvet suit, a silver sequinned blouse, short white gloves and a hat that looked like it came right out of 1950's Arab Emirates and into my dreams. He also had the smallest, cutest, fiercest (I know thats not a word, but go with me) dog I have ever seen. I so wanted to desperately ask him if I could take his picture but of course fear got the better of me and I wimped out. What it did do though, is inspire me to stop staring and start snapping. I'm going to start a series of photos documenting all of the amazing fashion I see every day here. Sort of a NYC version of Tokyo Fruits I guess. So what if I ask someone if I can take their photo? They should consider it a compliment! Keep your eyes out peeps, for this upcoming blog series.......

Pick which chubby toddler I am

So last night I was planning on writing a blog on the brilliant Tony Oursler exhibition I saw the other week (It may still happen. Its moved into the potential blog pile) until I got an email from an aunt I've recently got back in touch with. Shes one of the many black sheep of my family and has been off the radar for a number of years. Feeling a bit sentimental after being away from the family for a number of years, she sent me this old photo

Theres so much joy and love in this photo, its a shame I don't remember it. My family has been through a lot of heartbreak. Some of the people in this photo are no longer with us, some are no longer classed as members of the family. At this exact moment though, it looks like we couldn't be happier. Everyone is smiling (bizarrely, with the exception of me. Maybe because I knew a cousin was trying to give me those stupid "bunny ears" in the photo!) and looks like they genuinely care about each other. How did we get from this to where we are today? In any case, I think I actually feel comforted by this photo in a weird sort of way. Like, we may not be this family anymore, and I may not remember it but we were capable of being the family I always wanted.

If you need me, I'll be here

No, seriously. Peter and I just booked tickets to the Cinque Terre coast in Italy for 4 days and are staying in this village. Sigh......

My sisters in the struggle

For the last 5 days I've had one of my oldest gay friends visiting. He moved from Melbourne to London with his doctor boyfriend a year ago, and I haven't seen him since I left Oz. I was super excited to catch up. The first night Marcus arrived we went out for a fancy cocktail and a cheap and cheerful meal (which, by the way, is my idea of the perfect date) after dinner Marcus asked if we could go to a gay bar. I said that was perfectly fine. He wanted to head off to Christopher St (which was once the heart of the gay community) in search of a bar. Its funny, but I soon realised that I haven't been to a gay bar the whole year I've been here, and that not one was coming to mind. Although I have many a gay friend, most of them aren't the type to flock to only boy bars and stay there. Almost every single place I frequent here is a mixed crowd. I was quite surprised with his insistence on going to a boy bar, so off we went, finally settling on the historic Stonewall Inn.
This got me thinking a lot about how different it is here and how much i take it for granted. Marcus and I got to talking about why he only felt comfortable in gay bars. I knew it had nothing to do with picking up (Hes in quite a serious relationship and neither partner is the type to stray) and was genuinely curious. Marcus told me that growing up in Australia, he really only ever felt safe to be himself at gay bars. Whenever he had frequented a 'straight' bar there was almost always some sort of confrontation. He said he often felt quite fearful if he was forced by friends to go to a straight bar, so subsequently made the decision to never to to one again.
NYC on the other hand, is one great big hodge podge. I can honestly say I don't really know any 'straight' bars. Supposedly, after Giulliani cleaned up the drug problem in the city, most of the gay bars and clubs shut down. I think a combination of this and the sheer growth of the population has turned most clubs and bars into a mixed crowd. Even at a gay club I went to on Friday night, the crowd was quite mixed (i.e the group of German tourists in line before us)
Now I know New York, is pretty liberal and sometimes I forget that (I still remember a friend from Australia coming over and being shocked by how many openly affectionate gay couples you see out in the streets) but is Australia still so backward? Thats so upsetting. I guess I've been away so long that I've forgotten what its like back there. I know the rest of the world isn't quite up to NYC pace, but is it still that conservative?

Grass Knuckles

I'm in love. With these AMAZING moss growing rings.

They're by an extremely talented (and kinda dreamy) Iclandic product designer, Hafsteinn Juliusson I love the way these rings cater to my lifestyle right now. I was having a discussion only the other day about how New Yorkers shop and how we all live in such small spaces, we mostly only really invest in pieces we can have on our person, instead of spending huge amounts of money furnishing a house. Having a garden on my finger seems to articulate that in a way I didn't think possible. I love the fact that you have to care for them, like a real garden.

Sadly, they're only available at the Reykjavik Art Museum. Maybe i need to plan another trip back for these..... Meanwhile I will drool over his other products here.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!

Peter just booked his next flight over. I feel like this

What have they done to you Hello Kitty?

MAC's latest Hello Kitty cosmetics range. Gets bizaare around the 2:20 mark. I feel dirty after watching that.

My other love

Everyone this is ColbyHe lives in my sharehouse and I'm in love with him. Sadly hes moving to Austin, Texas in a month and I'm afraid I'm not dealing well with his impending departure. Colby has been my surrogate love for the last year and now hes leaving me for a more chilled out life on a ranch to make music, chase rabbits and turn from city living hipster dog into a Ralph Lauren ranch loving free spirit. Colby's mommy (and because shes American, I have to spell it that way) asked if I could come and be his au pair. If the job offered sponsorship, I would take it in a heartbeat.

I need a holiday

And I have to stay here
At the Hix Island House on a tiny island just off the Puerto Rican coastline. Its amazingly designed and at a reasonable price. Want to come?

One year on......

Hello Dears,
So in a plot to avoid doing work at work while on my own, I decided to post a blog. It had been on the cards for a while but only now am I finding the time. I've had a busy start to the year. I've had multiple employees resign, I've had a near lawsuit from an employee fade off into the sunset (thank gawd!) never to be spoken of again, I've had old friends meet my beloved, a whirlwind trip back to Oz and this week I celebrated my one year anniversary of living in the big smoke.
I can't believe its been a year already. Where did the time go? How has a third of my time here passed me by already? Have I done anything really creative that I'm proud of? Honestly, not really, but I think thats okay. Work here has been so much more than I ever imagined. I've gone from fancy cocktail receptions at the Guggenheim, to standing a foot deep in poo water with only a sponge and a bucket to keep me company. I've been hotel concierge to many of the designers friends and confidant to most of my staff while we have all gone through some sort of personal tragedy.
I was reflecting on a conversation that I had with my predecessor not so long ago about how involved this job was and how impossible I would probably find it to still successfully run my own label while doing this job. He said that my main focus should be this job and just enjoying what time I have in NYC. At the time I laughed it off, and thought that I would do things differently and that I would be able to deal with it better than he did. Its only now I realise that he was right (to an extent) and that this city is a tough one that constantly challenges me, but is ultimately preparing me for when I set up my own business/family/home when I finally return to the motherland. I feel like there isn't anything I couldn't face, or that I don't know about starting a business and for that I'm forever grateful.
Its not come without hard times though. Spending a year in a long distance relationship has been one of the most difficult things I've ever chosen to do. Its strange to think that I've actually spent more time away from my partner than I have with him. Sometimes I worry that he will eventually move here, but we won't connect anymore because we've grown so much in the last year, but in opposite directions, but thats only something I will know when it acutally happens, so I guess theres no point dwelling on it now.
I had a friend from home come and visit and meet my dearest for the first time over the holidays. I think it was tough for all parties involved at the start but I'd like to think that everyone got on fine by the end. I think its acutally a good thing that my 'worlds' are crossing over, and my overseas life is making its way into my Australian.
The trip home was good. Sydney was nothing but work, but Melbourne was quite relaxing for a 5 day trip. Managed to get some beach time at Sorrento, ate at my favorites places, saw some art and even got to see Evol on my travels.
I also happened to be home for the fires. I still can't quite believe it. Its been so painful hearing about how much people have lost. Everyone seems to know at least one person who was affected directly by them. Some friends of mine have absolute horror stories about them. One in particular just sold her house in one of the towns that got completely burnt down. She was lucky to escape them but sadly everyone in her street died. Every single person that lived on that street died trying to save their house. She said that out in those rural parts of Victoria you are taught to stay and defend your home, which they all did. To the end.
And now I'm back and Australia seems like its a world away. I want this year to be a memorable one. I've realised that I'm not going to be here forever and I need to make the most of my time. I want to create things, I want to succeed at my job, I want my beloved to be with me, but above all else I want to enjoy myself and know that its okay to take some time off and just have fun here. I don't have to do anything ground breaking but I do have to enjoy myself a bit more and not let work take over again.
Rant over.