Julian Plenti is Skyscraper...

I was incredibly fortunate to check out Julian Plenti at the Bowery Ballroom this week. Julian Plenti is the alter ego of Paul Banks, lead singer of another favourite band Interpol. The last few times I have visited New York I have managed to miss Interpol gigs by days, never managing to get my travel arrangements sorted to see them. This time it all worked out and I got to see this great gig in one of the famous/infamous venues in NYC.

The Bowery Ballroom is a beautiful and intimate space, reminiscent of the old Metro in Melbourne with it's viewing levels but is about the size of the Corner Hotel!

The support band was a local group called I am You (not to be confused with the Aussie group You am I). Julian Plenti played as a five piece including an amazing young man on cello! I have to admit that I did find the other guitarist pretty annoying, anyone would of thought it was his group not Paul Banks, and his over the top antics were quite distracting alongside the serenity of Paul Banks.

The group played a few covers as well, including a beautiful version of A Horse with No Name. Thank you Julian/Paul! I feel incredibly lucky to have seen the gig!

More Marimekko goodness!

Thank you to the Marimekko website which is where I got these images from! Here are some goodies that I picked up at the shop. I was really happy to visit the store in New York which is small but has loads of stock. I was also really pleased that they had lots of items in my size!




The new 'rabbit print' is one of my favourites! I bought this long sleeve t-shirt and I love the fact that it has a front and back!


I also got the rabbit print dress, however mine is in black and white print. I love the overlapping of the rabbits which is essential Marimekko design.

I also got this gorgeous little dress. It's much shorter than what I would normally wear but with tights it looks great! I love the little flare on the side and it is lined in yellow! It also has pockets which I am a big fan of! I will definitely be visiting again before I leave NYC!

New York, New York it's a hell of a town...

Yes, I've arrived back in Manhattan for what will be the remainder of my trip... except for a few days in Maine again. I took the limoliner from Boston to NYC which was pretty comfortable and cruisey. I love that most of the transportation around here has wifi on it!

After arriving I headed to my hotel in midtown, changed and then met my friend Evan at Vynl for dinner and drinks before making our way to Posh bar for bingo night! I was pretty unlucky for the night with most of my boards not coming close to winning, though Evan won a round as did some people around us. Our host Ginger Snaps was incredibly amusing and the free pizza was also good!

It felt like I had come home again, catching up with old friends and making my way around the city without too much of a thought. Was a great night and looking forward to bingo night next week too.

The Gathering of Books

One of the things I love about travelling is buying new and different books that I can’t get back home. Here is a list of kinds of some of the books that I’ve picked up while away:

• Sarah Lucas Au Naturel by Amna Malik published by Afterall Books. A great little book that looks at the works by British artist Sarah Lucas.

• The Sewing Bible: a modern manual of practical and decorative sewing techniques by Ruth Singer published by Potter Craft. This is a newly released book and covers things such as French seams, how to insert zips in a variety of ways and all of that kind of thing. I bought it as it’s always good to have ‘how to books’ with sewing and knitting and this one is pretty with some cute projects as well.

• The Eastern and Central European Kitchen: contemporary and classic recipes by Silvena Rowe. I got this book at the awesome book shop Rabelais in Portland Maine. www.RabelaisBooks.com it’s got some great recipes but I think needs it’s own post!

• My Name is Charles Saatchi and I am an Artoholic by Phaidon books. This is a cute little book that is like a very extended interview with art collector Charles Saatchi. It’s pretty funny and a lovely insight into the man.

• Pints and Purls: portable projects for the social knitter by Karinda Collins and libby Bruce. Covers projects that you can knit in pubs while drinking… my kind of book.

• The Curator’s Egg by Karsten Schubert looks at the evolution of the museum concept from the French Revolution to the present day.

• Notes from Russia by Alexei Plutser-Sarno is a portrait of the Russian street told through public notices. A beautiful look at the everyday idea of Russia, I love the typography of the notes also.

• Art Now volume 2 by Taschen. I have the first volume of this book and I got this copy for $5! It’s a great reference for myself and other young artists as well.

• Vans “Off the Wall” Stories of Sole from Vans Originals by Doug Palladini. A great historical and personal look at people who wear vans shoes (I’m a fan!)

Babushka... matryoska...

As a child I was a little obsessed with the Kate Bush song and film clip for Babooska. I don't know if this had any kind of influence on my love for matryoska dolls (or Babushka dolls) but I do remember watching the film clip on Saturday morning television and being mesmerized by the dance moves and switch from black leotard to the above foxy/warrior woman outfit in the chorus.

My new friend Silje who is a native Norwegian did the gorgeous matryoska design above. I love it so much, it is a modern take on the doll but the body is still very traditional. I also think that her face is very expressive. You can check out Silje's flickr page here and her wonderful etsy store here! Stay tuned for another matryoska surprise soon!

While I've been in Portland Maine, I found this really cute store called Eli-phant which is on Congress Street up near the excellent Squid and Whale Tattoo. I spyed this cute matryoska bag in the window and had to buy it! Check them out, they stock beautiful artist made prints and other goodies, so support artists who make cool stuff! The girl in the store was lovely and we had lots of chats about comics, tapestry and printmaking.

Cat woman...

Oh my! I had to buy this balaclava. Partially as it's a little ridiculous, a little creepy but also because of my love for weird and ugly cat things (not my awesome engagement ring though!)

I have to say...

It's pretty bloody warm in that thing!!! Breathe, breathe!

Harvard Travellers Club...

Menu from the evening and the nifty 'Harvard Travellers Club' notebook too!

I had the fortune to go with my Boston host Anita to the 800th meeting of the Harvard Travellers Group. It was a big dinner group of about 150 visitors and the guest speaker was Conrad Anker. Conrad was the man who discovered George Mallory’s body on Mount Everest (please excuse any details that I may be getting mixed up or wrong here - I’m not an expert on any of these matters!).

His talk and presentation was amazing!!! It was inspiring, funny and very entertaining. He talked about a recent expedition to climb a mountain in India. Amongst some tough times, they fell 100 metres short of the summit! So close yet so far away.

The Boston Harvard Club itself is pretty amazing. I think I have some research to do on the origins of their tapestries that hang in the main hall… really beautiful stuff.

Dinner was pretty special too. My favourite part was the dessert which reminded me of my mum’s ice-cream Christmas puddings (I think there was a good dose of rum in there!) The menu was a re-creation of the menu served at a dinner given to Theodore Roosevelt at the Exchange Blub boston, on December 12, 1911, at which the former President told of his then recent East African safari… bit of a history lesson for us all!

Here's a bit more info on Conrad's talk from my host Anita:
"

CONRAD ANKER: THE SHARK’S RIB

In September of 2008 Conrad Anker and his partners attempted to climb Mount Meru, a 6,310-meter peak in the Garwhal Himalaya of India. Their goal was the Shark’s Fin, a massive high altitude wall that had yet to be climbed despite attempts by many climbers. A week-long storm pinned the team at 5,300 meters. In perhaps the toughest climb of their lives, Conrad and his teammates delved deep into their souls to find the will to continue. The team spent 19 days on the route, including 17 days on the wall, despite having just 10 days of rations with them. Low on endurance and faced with the prospect of negotiating a large granite block that would have meant a night exposed to the elements, they turned back. While they did not make the summit, they cherish the climb for the lessons learned along the way – particularly the role that teamwork and trust plays in surviving difficult times.

Conrad Anker has made a specialty of climbing the most technically challenging terrain he can find. This search has taken him from the mountains of Alaska and Antarctica, to the big walls of Patagonia and Baffin, as well as the massive peaks of the Himalaya. His climbing resume includes first ascents in three regions of Antarctica, all three towers of the Cerro Torre group in Patagonia, including new routes on two of them, and climbs of Latok II and Spansar Peak in Pakistan's Karakorum. Among rock climbers at Yosemite and Zion he is well respected for his numerous speed ascents on El Capitan and difficult new lines that have yet to see second ascents. In addition to all of this, Conrad has reached the summit of Everest on two occasions, the first time as a member of the Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition of 1999. On that occasion Conrad discovered the body of George Mallory, the preeminent Everest explorer of the 1920s.

Conrad is active in numerous charitable causes, including serving on the board of the Conservation Alliance, the Rowell Fund for Tibet and the Alex Lowe Charitable Foundation."