Pieces of Eight
>> Morning Possums! Oh wait, it’s morning here in Hong Kong, late into the night back in London and sort of late morning time in Aussie land, where possums – both the animal and affectionately called human beings – might be found. There is a reason why I’m confuzzling you all on Instagram (ooops… how ru-ude of me to assume actually that you lot follow me on Instagram) with my jaunty travels from Sydney to Tokyo and now to Hong Kong. The reason being is that I’m gathering pics and words galore for my upcoming book. Yes, I’m writing a book. Has it been formally announced? I don’t think so… does it require a formal announcement? Probably not. And for good reason too seeing as I haven’t quite formulated the right words (or media blurb) to describe this thing that I’m penning.
In the meantime, I’ll be backtracking a little on the blog. Real time, from-the-locale real blogging will be on hold for a while. Back in Sydney just as MBFWA was coming to a close, I paid a visit to Little Hero’s PR showroom and was greeted with a table of colourful magpie-attracting lushness. Lushness that hails from different corners of Australia by way of Melbourne, as compiled by Pieces of Eight – a jewellery collective that represents, showcases and gives workspace to mainly Australian jewellery designers and artists. I visited their workshop site in the Fitzroy area of Melbourne a couple of years ago where Lucy Folk is based. They have a more centrally based gallery, where their large scale installations and exhibitions can really flourish. If Melbourne is a touch too far and remote for what I’d imagine would be the majority of you guys, then Edition X, Pieces of Eight’s online e-commerce and showroom arm will be worth a click.
It’s where you can purchase similar if not the exact pieces that I ogled at in the showroom. Like Melbourne-based Hamish Munro and his obsession with rubber balloons – scrunched up and compressed into bangles and rope necklaces or wrapped up in interlinking rainbow chains. Or Renee Damiani from Adelaide and her use of plastic friendship bracelet lace and squeegy balls clustered into cartoonish formations. You might be familiar with artist Kate Rohde‘s psychedelic coloured resin world, as she has previously collaborated with Romance was Born on their Dinosaur Renaissance collection (incidentally the first ever RWB show I saw). That prompted Rohde to create more accessible jewellery pieces. Self-described as “the natural history museum on acid”, Rohde’s work definitely adds impressive scale to Pieces of Eight’s roster. Last but not least are Sophie Stone‘s beaded beings, which go bump in the night. All of which of course made me wish I had added in a few days in Melbourne to revisit the left field side of Australian fashion that I tend to gravitate towards. Just couldn’t really wreck the schedule for that thing I can’t quite articulate yet.
