Like lots of people during Melbourne’s 2020 lockdowns, Cat Bloxsom and Morgan Collins took up a new hobby to keep themselves from going stir-crazy. They taught themselves how to knit on YouTube, and quickly became obsessed!

After months of mailing each other yarn samples, and knitting on park benches in lieu of daily exercise – they realised they had something special going. Within months they launched Cardigang, a DIY knit kit company tailored towards beginner knitters.

Alongside their full-time jobs in marketing, these business-minded besties are doing cool crafty things!

In theory, opening a new cafe in March of 2021 might seem like a terrible idea. But against all odds Florian, the Carlton eatery opened by childhood besties Dom Gattermayr and Rose Richards, has flourished.

Less than 6 months after opening, Florian has well and truly become a neighbourhood favourite, with a real community feel. But of course – this didn’t happen by accident! Dom and Rose have been working tirelessly behind-the-scenes, steering Florian through a staccato year of lockdowns and lunch service. Their small cafe is doing big things!

Growing up with a Mum and Dad who owned and ran many successful restaurants and cafes, you could say that Dom was built for the hospo life. Although she didn’t always think that!

We spent a day with Dom to find out what it’s like on the other side of Melbourne’s fave new cafe.

PS. Full disclosure, if you recognise Dom’s last name, it might be because Dom is our Junior Editor Sasha’s little sister!

After presenting Emma Currie’s debut solo show last year (which sold out in a matter of hours!) we are so proud to have Emma back again almost a year later for our second TDF Collect exhibition together!

Venus In Repose is a collection of 14 layered, lyrical female nudes that explore the contradictions and conflicts of contemporary womanhood, and Emma’s own self inquiry about painting the female body in a way that draws on traditional feminine ideals.

Emma’s work is imbued with a sense of stillness and reflection, and while we are under eerily similar circumstances as we open this show in the middle of another wintery Melbourne lockdown, these works almost feel their most potent in this time.

We’re hoping to be able to open this stunning show in person (fingers crossed!) on Saturday August 28th… but for now, pre-sales are open!

View the full catalogue here and email art@thedesignfiles.net for sales enquiries.

Now in its 38th year, the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) are considered the most exciting and prestigious art awards for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, bringing together entries from established and emerging artists, and reflecting the incredible variety of artwork being created by artists all over the country.

On Friday last week, seven artists were celebrated as the winners of this years Telstra NATSIAA across seven categories. All 65 finalists’ powerful works are now on display at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) – and while many of us can’t be there to see it in real life, you can take a virtual tour to see the work here! 

Whether it’s touring through his legendary home garden at Stonefields, or joining him for a guided tour of the beautiful Daylesford region, everybody loves Paul Bangay! So much so, in fact, that his classic book Paul Bangay’s Guide to Plants has recently been updated and re-released in a new expanded edition.

With tips for gardens in a changing climate, anecdotes and insights into successful landscape design, this fresh edition features two new chapters!

Read on below for an extract on how to choose the perfect plant for your garden: big or small!

When Jo Briscoe was younger, she wanted to be a costume designer, an environmental…

There’s nothing The Design Files does better than find promising new up-and-comers in the world of design, if we do say ourselves! But the finalists in the Emerging Designer category of the TDF + Laminex Design Awards 2021 are a cut above the rest.

From furniture makers and fashion designers to blossoming architecture practices, these ten talented finalists represent the future of our national design industry. This category is presented by Phoenix Tapware.

Seldom do we see themes of harmony and hope tangled up in the art of today. In a world filled with anxiety, busy-ness, fear and darkness, art feels increasingly like a space of political resistance. But what about the more gentle emotions? In such a bleak climate, can bursts of care and optimism be radical acts?

Inspired by a childhood in Mullumbimby charged with imagination, innocence and play, Melbourne artist Louise Tate paints gentle utopias that act as a refuge from our current world. Her bright and balanced canvases depict a universe where human life and the natural world happily co-exist, and where softness and slowness are valued.