Melbourne Places » Arcades

Sticky Institute for zines, creativity and the rumble of trains

Melbourne — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:21:35 +0000

The Sticky Institute was a great Melbourne Place to find. I came across it one day when I was hurrying through the underpass from Degraves Street to Flinders Street Station. I ducked into the subway under Flinders Street to speed up the journey and came face to face with the sign. I pulled up short, stared and trotted in and was so absorbed I missed my train.

I hadn’t heard of a zine before. It is pronounced ‘zeen’ and is a small, self published magazine with a small circulation and is usually reproduced by photocopier.

You can make your zine at the Sticky Institute. I haven’t made a zine yet but I enjoy browsing though the dozens on display and always buy one or two. For a couple of dollars, and that is all they are, you can share someone thoughts and get a peep into their world. The zines come in all shapes and sizes and they are a personal publication straight from the author’s mouth as it were – there is no editorial input. The ideas, the style of presentation, the layout and illustrations are the authors. Zines give complete freedom of expression and allow anyone to express themselves.

This is called ‘Mixed up Files of an Unusual Teenager’s Brain’ and made at the Sticky Institute. It comes with a badge which was also made at the Institute.

This is an American zine ‘Love Letters to Monsters #2′ and sold here in Melbourne.

Zines can be any size or shape you like. This is locally made zine is called ‘ The Day of the School Bag.’

Anyone can use the The Sticky Institute’s shop/workshop to make their zine or badge. You can also spend as long as you like browsing and reading and when you feel the creative urge talk to the staff. They are mostly volunteers and of course love the world of zines.

The most you pay for a zine is $5.00 but many are just $1 or $2.

The Sticky institute is alive with creative energy and music. This is often intensified by the rumble of a passing train, just to let you know you are underground.

The shop/work space has been around since 2001 so it definitely works as a creative space . On the shelves you can find zines from all around Australia and the world.

Getting there:-
Shop 10 Campbell Arcade
Degraves Street
Melbourne Phone 9654 9559

If you are getting off the train use the center stairs and find the exit to Flinders Street.

If you are on Flinders Street duck down the subway, opposite the side entrance to the Flinders Street station, at the end of Degraves Lane – there are two entrances.

Opening Hours:-
Monday to Friday
12.00 (noon) to 6.00pm
Saturday 12.00(noon) to 5.00pm
Sunday closed
CAMPBELL ARCADE IS CLOSED ON SUNDAY.

Find out more about the Sticky Institute from their web site here

Prahran Market –the food lovers market in South Yarra

Melbourne — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 23:16:25 +0000

The Prahran Market is a foodies market. It is all about food, preparing it, cooking it and eating it. If that sounds like you The Prahran Market is the place to explore. Take your recipes and search out those unusual ingredients.

I think it is best on Saturday. The produce seems to be fresher as if it was whisked from the soil or picked from the tree that very morning. It is also the day when the market is flooded with locals doing their weekly shopping – a great ambiance that is unique to this market.

Shopping before the Saturday crowds.

It’s good to be there early on Saturday and miss some of the crowd but on the other hand from about 10.30 onwards the place is full of free nibbles – you can lunch your way around the stalls eating a bit here and there. If you watch the shoppers you can see them sampling and snacking as they weave from stall to stall.

This is a produce market. There is a hardware stall but it is about food: fruit and veg, meat fish and poultry, delicatessens, coffee, flowers and a very popular organic stall (Ripe the Organic Grocer), selling everything including wine and cakes made with organic ingredients. It is not a market for clothes and bric-a-brac.

A good place to start is Cleo’s. It has an entrance off Commercial Road and a window full of bread. You can wander through the delicatessen and straight into the market.

From Cleo’s I head to stall 108, MJ Mow Gourmet Potatoes. Every variety of potato is available including the increasingly popular kipfler and one I had never heard of before, Purple Congo. This is good to mash and because of its colour good to use as a decoration. There is a flier available that lists 17 varieties of potatoes and their different uses. It is fun to experiment and I do but I love my old favourite the King Edward.

Stall 116 is Damian Pike the Wild Mushroom Specialist. Wild mushrooms are those that come up in a field after rain and have the best taste ever. There not always available – it doesn’t always rain. The stall is interesting not only because of the selection of mushrooms but for unusual seasonal items like flat peaches from China which they say they stock. I have never seen them but I believe they exist!

You can grab good coffee or dine on something more substantial in the Market Square which is partly covered and has a play ground for the kids.

Coffee in the Market Square.

Information:-

Damian Pike Wild Mushroom specialist Phone 0411 438 465

MJ Mow Gourmet Potatoes Phone 0417 382 354

Market Web site

Address:-

163 Commercial Road, South Yarra

Opening Hours:-
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday – dawn to 5pm
Friday Dawn to 6pm
Sunday 10am to 3.00pm

Closed:-

Monday and Wednesday

Getting there:-

Tram:- 72 and get off at Stop 30

Train:- Take the Sandringham Line to Prahran Station and walk to Commercial Road. It’s about 2 minutes walk

Window shopping in Greville Street, Prahran

Melbourne — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:55:16 +0000

Greville Street, Prahran is a favourite street of mine. My first encounter was a few years ago when I walked from the Prahran Railway Station along Greville Street on my way to Chapel Street

The late afternoon sun gave an orange glow and a touch of magic to this unique street. I feel in love.

I fell in love with the funky edgy designer shops, the retro and second hand and places. There was a feeling of being outside the mainstream – a place where exciting, new and experimental things were happening. I felt it strongly then and I still do

The street has changed over the years. Less funky and ‘out-there’ but the magic is still there. Where else in Melbourne would you see a window mannequin wearing a purple dress with fuchsia tights and a pair of yellow Doc Martin boots.

A couple of my favourite shops have closed and disappeared but Palm Beads is still there as it was on my first visit and the Greville Street Bookstore gives personal service as it has for over 20 years. Greville Records has been there for ever and although other shops have come and gone the vibes have re-adjusted themselves and evolved as everything evolves with the time. The street is still one of Melbourne Places that is unique.

This a pictorial stroll showing you what caught my eye during a recent visit.

Greville Street, Prahran is a great place to be from midday onwards and in the weekend. Cafes do open early to catch the morning-workers trade and many have regulars who come at the same time every day. However many of the shops don’t open until 10am or 11am.
Coffee and food is good at most places and people-watching is a fascinating past-time in Greville Street.

Getting there

Train: The Sandringham Line to the Prahran Station and you are there.

Trams: The 72 from the CBD crosses Malvern Road and Chapel Street, get off at that junction and head north. Greville Street is on your left by the Stonnington Town Hall.

The 78 Tram runs along Chapel Street from East St Kilda and Richmond.

Beautiful glass at the Kirra Galleries Federation Square CBD

Melbourne — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:10:51 +0000

Every month or so I drop into the Kirra Galleries in the Atrium of Federation Square to catch their latest exhibition.

This gallery is full of wonderful and magical glass. It specializes in Australian Glass and we’re not talking wine bottles and chunky water glasses, we’re talking delicate and whimsical designs made from hot glass by glass artists. When you look at these works of art it is hard to believe that these artists use the same material that makes that empty vodka or wine bottle you chuck into the bin.

The exhibition at the Kira Gallery at the moment is the work of Nick Mount one of Australia’s leading glass artists. It runs until the 16th of August when it will be replaced with another exhibition of amazing glass sculptures. The Kirra Galleries are all about glass.

These photos were taken from the Atrium looking into the gallery. They give an idea but you need to see each piece individually. There is a ‘no photographs’ sign at the entrance to the gallery and felt I should respect that.

Since I found this gallery I have come to love their exhibitions. The glass can be so mesmerizing. Its beauty and fragility feeds my senses. I need to keep getting the fix.

Nick Mount’s work is an example of what I’m talking about. It is breathtaking with clear vivid colours. But there’s no magic in the titles. They’re named rather prosaically. The big red one in the front window is called ‘Scent Bottle Combination Piece’ and it has a number because there are many pieces with the same name.

This one, my favourite, is called ‘Bob in the Landscape’. Such a dull name for something so beautiful. I have gone back to look at this piece a couple of times and I would love to know who buys it and where it is going to hang. I thought of a large vestibule but it would need to be high up or you would have people wanting to touch it and fiddle with it……I thought of my place, there is no harm dreaming but there isn’t a spot that comes to mind that would show it off. Where do you hang these beauties other than a gallery?

The gallery has a shop next door selling smaller glass items. Creations that you would find a place for in the home. I have bought several presents here. You don’t have to spend a lot to get something unique. For example there are some charming glass earrings.

Getting there:

The Atrium in Federation Square opens off Flinders Street. This is the easiest way to access it but you can enter from the main square.

Kirra Galleries opens from 10am to 6pm every day. Check out their web site here

John Brack @ the Ian Potter Center, Federation Square, Melbourne CBD

Melbourne — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:04:08 +0000

The Ian Potter Center in Federation Square is a great way to spend a damp and misty winter’s day.

The Atrium Ian Potter Centre.

This wonderful space houses part of NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) . This Gallery shows only Australian Art – which, as far as I know, makes it unique in Australia. Take one of the lifts to the galleries.

There are permanent exhibitions in NGV such as Indigenous Art and selections from the Australian Collection. Then there are special exhibitions. A year or so ago I saw one of Margaret Preston’s work.

At the moment there is an exhibition of John Back’s works. The collection is wonderful, spanning works from all periods of his working life.

The NGV shop’s John Brack display and you can buy postcards etc of his works and of other artists.

My favourite paintings are his suburban ones. These were mainly painted in the late 1940s and 1950s and are painted in browns. I’m not sure what that says about Australian Life at that time but it does conjure up a fascinating atmosphere when viewed all these years later.

These are two of my favourites.

The ground floor of the Ian Potter Centre, the atrium, is a huge open space available for exhibitions, market-style stalls and entertainment. There are also permanent retail outlets selling exciting Australian craft work and design.

Something is always happening in the Atrium.

The Block Arcade – Downtown Melbourne – CBD

Melbourne — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:50:22 +0000

Add some magic to your shopping

There is magic in the Block Arcade. It grabs you and takes you back to the past. It’s a romantic past where imaginations were given the money to roam. The Arcade was designed by David Askew for local financier. The brief was to produce something like the Galleria Vittoria in Milan.

There is a distinct European flavour in The Block with its beautiful glass ceilings, a glass dome in the centre, wrought iron and carved stone finishings.

It is shaped like an ‘L’ with identical entrances on Elizabeth Street and Collins Street. Strangely, most people enter from Collins Street and that is the busiest section.

The mosaic tiled floor runs throughout the precinct and the wooden shop fronts are elegant. In fact the whole area is elegant.

This stunning mosaic is under the huge central glass dome. The dome is so large I didn’t manage to get anything decent in the way of a photo to show it off. You’ll have to see it for yourself and try to take a photo.

I suggest you have coffee at the Cafe Duomo. It’s on the corner of the ‘L’ and runs into Block Pace that comes out in Little Collins Street. You can gaze at all the splendor from an outside table and watch the passing parade. Coffee is strong and good.

Another favourite place to eat is the Hopetoun Tearooms at the Collins Street entrance but I prefer outside at Café Duomo so I can see where I am and enjoy the experience as I watch people wandering around admiring and staring in that ‘gob-smacked’ sort of way. You can tell the visitors from the locals.

The Block Arcade is in the CBD Running between Collins Street and Elisabeth Street. You can also enter from Little Collins Street and walk through the cafes in Block Place