live to eat

Above; yummy Granola

Above, top photo: Vegetarian pho (rice noodle soup) And Celery, Carrot & lentil Soup

Top photo: couscous, chickpea & roast vegetable salad. Bottom photo: Pesto pasta salad

We are again happily welcoming some new stockist into store. The first is a new recipe book from 3 gorgeous, local girls with a passion for food- but even better it's vegetarian! With lovely photography and illustrations the book comes in it's own little calico bag, ta-da the perfect gift.

But one thing that makes this so much fun is the use of vintage fabrics, plates and cups, it feels like you're looking at photos from past dinner parties- however with some more styling!

every bit special

We had a lovely visit from Red Cloud Design this weekend, not only to stop by and say a big 'hello' but also deliver us some goodies! Sweet little sterling silver charms turned into earrings and necklaces ready for your wearing. Some are blackened and some are made to have a pretty white/silver finish. We received some fabulous new larger pieces also, see below! Love the sailing ship pendant!

right side round

We are long time readers of the beautiful, Aussie magazine Inside Out, Five Boroughs has featured between their covers before but make no exception to showing the latest offerings in this months pages.

You can see our very own cushions, in their bursting atomic print, and the über cool Rewind Coffee canisters- yep, just like your grandma had! All available from...that address again, 345 Lygon Street, Brunswick East!

introducing.....

We've casually been waiting for the latest delivery of ceramics, we were really excited when we met Samantha earlier in the year, who is the maker behind these fabulous, pastel cups that arrived this week.

Regulars will know that we're fans of the ceramic/paper mix up that has been coming out from busy ceramicists all around, but these beauties ticked more boxes coming in an array of super, sweet pastels to choose from as well!

latest offerings

We have had a fun week receiving goodies from all different makers! Lucky us Christmas early...we have a fresh batch of the wonderful 'Rewind' coffee, including the great gift packs which include a canister of all their roasts and coco. Perfect for brightening up any kitchen.

Oh and we even received a box of goodies from 'Dani M'! Yay, this is exciting, we have a select range of water, espresso and sake cups from her and some decorative vases. Plus, some new pieces from her beautiful range of jewellery, could this girl be more talented?! Faceted studs in sterling and oxidised silver, swoon.

We have received some work from 'Shonah', gorgeous earrings made with resin, tasmanian timbers and fabrics as well as some of her fun brooches and necklaces.

And yesterday we got the latest offering from 'Milly' with a great new range of silver earrings, so pop on by and check out the recent goods.

plain, plain but different

Mattt with the 3 'Ts' delivered another batch of bags to us this week and included in the delivery are the newest creations which we have a picture of below:

These are made in the same black, weather resistant fabric but instead of featuring one of the usual fabric print designs they are plain....why you may be thinking...but LOOK at the new straps! Included in the purchase of one of these new bags is TWO coloured straps...but wait there's more...you CHOOSE which ones! You can go crazy and choose the brights, keep with Melbourne tradition and go black and grey, or perhaps keep it even with one coloured and one dark! Well you get the idea, yeah.

And we have a fatter, wider selection of the other regular bags as well, including the fabulous print of downtown Melbourne.

And, what a great gift for your dad! Remember...tomorrow!

the super duper design files

For the few people that haven't found the wonderful Melbourne based blog thedesignfiles.net click, run, skip do whatever it takes to get there!
Lucy Feagins has shone a beautiful spot light on Melbourne for us, (this little ladies black book must be the envy of many!) From studio and shop visits Lucy has also managed to sweet talk the Melbourne folk into showing off their homes too- how lucky we are.

With a lovely format and a daily dose of design news and interviews we heart Lucy and her blog....and we had the pleasure of having her stop by our store and you can check it out here... thedesignfiles.net/2009/08/new-things-at-five-boroughs.html

in print

Creative types have been waiting for the follow up to the 'Handmade in Melbourne' publication since its first outing in late 2006.

With a few changes since then, the launch was a crowd pleaser, just two weeks ago and now we have welcomed the book onto our very own shelves.

This time around the covers have filled out to fit 200 Melbourne makers, to include ceramics, chocolates, textiles, lighting, furniture, beer and us! There are so many makers everyone will find their niche is surly covered. 

It comes complete with maker and business listings to help buyers find their perfect item.

We'll, you've found us now so pop in and grab yourselves a copy for the coffee table.

springtime scarves

Finally the days are getting longer, and this means less layers (soon). Not only have we received a wonderful new delivery of bags and purses from Mingus Designs we have also got our hot little hands on their new hemp and tencel scarves. With new designs like 'lovebirds', 'deer herds' and 'antelopes' they will certainly add some difference to any outfit!

They are available in cream, chocolate and olive.

hot of the press

We have just received our delivery of the Melbourne Design Guide, we are super excited to paw over the pages filled with exciting talent, and new places to explore for eating and shopping. Designed with two front covers which work to separate the book into two parts, the first invites you to explore the design side that Melbourne has to offer including art, fashion, furniture, jewellery and architecture plus more! And then there is the 'Learn' which brings you into the world of the designers who call Melbourne home. The makers and designers that shy away from a more public platform. 

Either way you start you'll find it hard to put down! Plus yours truly has a write up, yay!

ricco the rhinoceros and pals

If you have crept around the corner you may have noticed one of the new stockists we have...'basic shapes'. Melbourne based design team producing growth charts with a vintage feel. Measured in feet, watch the little ones grow and learn about Kendra the Koala and Carmel the Cow plus others. Available in yellow, orange, blue and lime they'll make a lovely addition to any childs bedroom.

Still working on some photos from our holiday, the last stop before leaving was L.A and a highlight was the Peterson Museum, a.k.a, big hall of cars! It was actually fabulous, we saw the Grease Lighting car, the Batmobile, heaps of amazing Presidential cars, the awesome fishbowl AMC Pacer from Wayne's World, crazy concept cars, the entire collection of HotWheels plus much more. Thought I'd share two picks from the day...  ok so the second one isn't really a car but what an (great) idea...The top image was only made as a concept at the time they wanted to suggest how an atomic-powered vehicle might be packaged if the technology existed. There was to be one centrally located wheel, although at low altitudes it was able to hover over land or water! A "protective curtain of energy" around the car would have reportedly made collisions impossible. They say that since the capability to manufacture a small nuclear reactor did not exist at the time it was not to make it on the road. Wow.

We took a walk from Santa Monica to Venice Beach, watched out for the high cut swimsuit clad lifesavers...non to be seen however there was some great shots of surfers.

Why don't our coffee shops look like this?

But by far the most exciting thing is the new addition to our shop, pop in and do step around the corner, we have put all the new goodies around there! Plus for those avid readers the FOURTH, thats right 4th issue of Chopped has finally landed! And more excitingly those who have enjoyed it so much will find that the boys behind it have decided to go quarterly with the publication! Even better!

We're back!

So we're back open and want you all to pop through the door and see the new area in the shop!

To sweeten the deal we have some super new products too! 

We have new brooches made from vintage swap cards and resin, for the bird lovers! Made by Prudence and Horatio, here in Melbourne.

In the last post we made comment about a new stockist of handmade soaps, well to pamper yourselves during the colder months we have got them in! There are some beautiful floral fragrances, an Australian bush a Goats Milk for those with sensitive skin and a loofah for the gardners.  

We also have received the delivery of beautiful Rebound Books, so time for the novel, inspired drawings or perhaps recipes. Any other ideas?

So when it gets this cold what does one do? In our case we decided to get busy and renovate the shop, adding some more space and new shelves. 

We're super excited to unveil the space early next week, we have also had some new deliveries, coloured swallow brooches, new ceramics from South Australia, we're expecting a delivery of Rebound Books, to fill with winter tales! And soon to be added to the store is a new maker of natural soaps so be sure to pop in.

Next weekend, the store will be closed, (June Saturday 20th & Sunday 21st). We're sorry for any inconvience this may cause, come see us during the week for winter purchases!

a little story goes a long way

We can't speak highly enough of the people behind the label Dick and Dora. From across the Tasman come beautiful, acrylic brooches, necklaces and timber beads. They have been with us from the start, we have just had a delivery of work including some special new pieces and a few updates too.

Above are the 'Birds on a wire' brooches, in a 'smoke' mirror finish and below are the 'Dizzy Bird' brooches with the addition of timber and mirror also.

And a newbie, the 'All about birds' brooch is a welcome friend.

First stop from San Francisco, our hire car and "cabin" at Big Sur Camp Site. It was such a beautiful spot right next to the creek, we missed out on the gorgeous shingled A-Frame cabins, they looked so cosy at night with fires going. 

On the road to Las Vegas....lots of desert and then this.....

On the way to El Mirage dry lake, found another great sign! Didn't dare try the 'good food.'

Casino watching, we walked down the strip and found the flamingos at the Flamingo Casino and the gondola at the Venetian....

Next stop lovely Palm Springs, even the tourist information centre is a fabulous modernist building! The picture below is the foyer of the Del Marcos which is where we ended up staying. It was lots of fun, small place with a heated salt pool for lounging about.

This is the view from our room, the mountain behind really looked like a movie prop. And palms everywhere for Palm Springs of course!

...some little things...

Hello again, slowed down on the old postings, trying to catch up on all the work that was neglected while we were away....better now!

The in house illustrator has come up with some swell gift tags to top off your pressies- all hand drawn therefore, one-off. Pop in and grab yours quick!

Issue #4 of Chopped Magazine should be hitting shelves soon and we'll be sure to keep you up to date, we have just received another delivery of Issue #1 for those who missed it. Perfect place to start your collection.... 

Kindling Cards have also just sent a beautiful selection of cards including 2 brand new designs. We some some fabulous handmade 'Puff' necklaces made from vintage fabrics, a lovely addition to the winter wardrobe. 

a brunswick hello

Ok, ok lots of photos from overseas but you may be asking what is actually going on at the local Boroughs...your boroughs in Brunswick well and our answer would be WINTER STOCK! Yep thats right the local favorite 'Otto and Spike' have delivered a fabulous range to keep heads, necks and fingers warm this winter. And just to indulge my holiday spirit I'll let you know that these guys are responsible for keeping us tucked in and warm all over America on our trip. Their scarves turned into wraps over heads and keeping ears warm up the Empire State Building in fact!

Some styles have returned from last winter as they were such winners and there are some great new additions we will predict a return from next winter perhaps....Pop in some great colours and these are going fast! 

next stop San Francisco

So another flight back to the West Coast, and some amazing views of snow capped mountains and we landed in San Francisco. We stayed downtown, the hotel provided muffins and coffee (which was decent!) every morning in the lobby which was great. We walked up some gigantic hills and back down, caught the cable car and of course walked the Golden Gate Bridge. There was some fabulous signage here as well, check out the images below.

The bird below was from a shop called Monument, a gorgeous store filled with 20th Century goodies, the bird was the pick.

On the first Sunday of the month there is a big market at a place called Alameda, at this stage of the trip we were still feeling like nothing was too much of a challenge, we had worked out all the public transport pretty well and decided, with muffin and coffee to set out early on the Sunday we were in SF to find this market. We left with no actual address and got a train, and two buses and directions from the two drivers and a Fireman out to a disused Army base to find the BIGGEST, and BEST market ever. Well worth the effort, it was a beautiful day and there was great veggie food for us too! Bliss. I took some photos for the memories as Coburg Trash and Treasure will sadly never live up to this.

Below is the first purchase of the day, more to come which included a suitcase to carry the loot!

Great big letters.

There were tables full of wooden block sets, type writer letters, clock faces, plastic and brass numbers and letters.

The good fat men above x 3.

The blue bike above made it home, in a large bike box, and now has fat white walls and speedo and is proving to be a great cruiser! Circa 1948, they don't build them like that any more.

Great television and small cooker for a very small person.

We couldn't resist this diner for dinner, with a side of fries and cherry soda...Above their front window they had a line of vintage cereal boxes, (RIP Seinfeld, which seems to be on 24/7).

New York streets, ahh, what great signage for a travel agent on the pale cream wall, and the sight of the water tanks on buildings.

Walking along Madison Ave, steam stacks were all along the street, as were the Monster trucks, below, is a shop front we lusted after, check out the size of their fabulous, arched window! 

On our trip to the ferry we found 'The Sphere' which stood in the plaza of the World Trade Centre for 3 decades. It was conceived by artist Fritz Koenig as a symbol of world peace. You can see it was damaged during the events of September 11, 2002 but was kept and placed there on March 11, 2002 as a temporary memorial to all those who lost their lives. There is also an eternal flame that was ignited on September 11, 2002 in honor of those lost.

This was quite an amazing piece to see, as the World Trade Center sight is still wrapped and under construction, yet to see the size of the area and to think of what had once stood there, had collapsed around this sculpture it really stands as an icon of their hope and spirit.

Brooklyn is sweet, so long as you get off the correct subway stop....Could Brunswick have a sign like this?

Skating in Central Park, we walked around and sat by the small lake and ate bagels while watching some little remote boats sail around- so cute.

I know, I know but how could I resist this photo opportunity? Walking though Central Park too.

Looking uptown from The Empire State building, you can just make out Central Park, so many fabulous shops down there!
What an estimated $190 million could buy you, the Flatiron Building, they say we'll have to wait another 10 or so years until the Italian company that bought it earlier this year turn it into a hotel, for the lucky few hey.
And who could deny you a photo of the Chrysler Building, another great piece of architecture. The corners of the 31st floor are replicas of the 1929 Chrysler radiator cap and on the 61st floor you can see the replica eagles from their 1929 hood ornament. What a tribute. Still more to come.