Heavenly Star I rug by Raymond Loewy for Tai Ping Carpets

January 25, 20211 min read

Dezeen Showroom: industrial designer Raymond Loewy’s Heavenly Star I rug from 1952 has been relaunched by Hong Kong-based Tai Ping Carpets.

As its name suggests, Heavenly Star I is emblazoned with a series of scribble-like spirals that evoke distant star formations.

A room featuring the Heavenly Star I rug by Raymond Loewy for Tai Ping Carpets — Tai Ping Carpets has relaunched Raymond Loewy’s Heavenly Star I rug

The overlapping motifs are handcrafted from white and brown wool, set against a tufted, almond-coloured backdrop.

According to Tai Ping Carpets, the rug is one of several Loewy pieces that “revolutionised the role of the carpet in home decor” through their organic patterns and motifs.

The product is made from New Zealand wool, which is applied in a loop pile weave for a textured and durable finish.

The Heavenly Star I rug by Raymond Loewy for Tai Ping Carpets — It is adorned with scribble-like spirals that evoke star formations

Heavenly Star I forms part of the Edward Fields Home Collection, which is produced by Tai Ping Carpets … Read more

Architecture Bedroom Etsy item of the day Exterior Home Contractor Property Real Estate Room

[Podcast] What’s happening to the wealth gap and are we better off financially than our parents were? With Mark McCrindle

January 25, 20211 min read

How wealthy are you? I guess that depends upon how you define wealth.

In today’s podcast, I chat with demographer and social commentator Mark McCrindle about wealth distribution in Australia.

We talk about what’s happened to the wealth gap between the rich and the average Australian, and we answer the question “are we better off financially than our parents were?”

And of course, I’m also going to share my regular mindset message with you.

So at the end of today’s show, you’ll have a better understanding of where you sit on the wealth ladder and what you can do about this.

My conversation with Mark McCrindle:

The rich keep getting richer, or so we keep hearing. But is that true?

And last year, the coronavirus has seemed to affect certain demographics more than others. How has that affected the wealth distribution in Australia?

With higher wealth and income levels than … Read more

Architecture Etsy item of the day Property Real Estate

A Conversation With Artist And Former Youth Prime Minister (!) Aretha Brown

January 25, 2021January 25, 20211 min read

A Conversation With Artist And Former Youth Prime Minister (!) Aretha Brown

Studio Visit

Bridget Caldwell-Bright

‘Time is on our side, you Mob’ (2018) by Aretha Brown – completed when she was in high school!

Aretha creates her pieces at a studio in Naarm (Melbouren). Photo – Jamie Wdziekonski.

New work from a group exhibition ‘Slime and Ashes’ at Westspace. Photo – Nynno Bel-Air.

Aretha with a new commission for a client. Photo – Nynno Bel-Air.

Her large scale mural works (and even some paintings!) require a ladder to reach the top. Photo – Jamie Wdziekonski.

Aretha in front of a previous commission. Photo – Jamie Wdziekonski.

A large scale mural in her signature black-and-white, figurative style. Photo – Jamie Wdziekonski.

Artist and proud Gumbaynggirr woman

This week a pink seesaw installation on the US-Mexico border was named Design of the Year

January 24, 2021January 24, 20211 min read

This week on Dezeen, an installation of three pink seesaws that allow children to play across the border won the Design Museum’s Design of the Year award.

Named the Teeter-Totter Wall, the pink seesaws were designed by architecture studio Rael San Fratello to connect children on both sides of the border wall.

“We are living in a time when people are longing for meaningful connections and we would like to think the teeter-totter can be an example for how we come together, to create balance and equality,” Virginia San Fratello told Dezeen.

The award was announced in the same week that Donald Trump, who highly politicised the border wall, left office and Joe Biden was sworn in as US president.

Line Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia announces plans for a 100-mile, car-free linear city called The Line

In Saudi Arabia, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled plans for a 100-mile … Read more

Architecture Bedroom Etsy item of the day Exterior Home Contractor Property Real Estate Room

10 lessons I learned from past property downturns that we can use in 2021

January 24, 20211 min read

What’s ahead for our property markets in 2021?

Clearly there will be continuing issues with Covid 19 affecting our local economy and the socio political problems that plagued the world last year plagued the world last year are unlikely to disappear.

Yet most analysts and economists agree that our property markets should perform strongly in 2021.

But let’s put this in context…

Australia’s property markets have been sluggish for the last three years.

This started with the APRA induced credit squeeze prior to the Haynes Royal Commission into Banking in 2018, followed by the fright of a Labour government changing property tax laws in 2019 and finally the Coronavirus induced property market lockdowns of 2020.

Then in October 2020 our property markets started moving out of their downturn phase and all capital cities other than Melbourne (which is now catching up) finished the year higher than they started.

So what’s … Read more