issue 2!

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts lately...super busy with design anthology! Speaking of which, I almost for got to tell you that issue 2 has hit the newsstands.

For a list of stockists near you, check out our website www.designanthologymag.com

Design Anthology

Look what arrived from the printers today...!

Design Anthology should hit newsstands around the world later this month!

DESIGN ANTHOLOGY MAGAZINE

Hello everyone! Another exciting update about what I've been busy working away on....the magazine I mentioned just before Xmas is going full steam ahead...we have distribution set up in many countries now...just waiting on a few last minute things to come together. We are printing our inaugural issue in early April, so it should hit the news stands later that month.

You'll notice a page at the top of the blog now that links to the website (still under construction), and we ave a facebook page you can like to stay informed of news and other exciting updates (https://www.facebook.com/DesignAnthologyMag). We're also on twitter (@damag_asia).

Hopefully I'll have more news again soon!

The Pottinger

I am so excited to be able to finally share some news and an update on some of the work I've been doing!

The Pottinger, which is opening very soon, is a luxurious 68-room hotel situated in the heart of central - on the corner of Queen's Road and Pottinger Street - the first pebbled stepped street in the city, which was named after Sir Henry Pottinger, Hong Kong's very first Governor.

The design of the hotel is all about celebrating Hong Kong's heritage, and I'm very proud to have been associated with this wonderful project.

Check out the website and facebook page for activities that are happening leading up to the official opening, and check back here for more news!

Oh, and happy lunar new year everyone!

Happy New Year!

I know, I'm a bit late to the table. But happy new years anyway! I got back to chilly, smoggy Hong Kong a few days ago from my amazing trip to South Africa. If you've never been then I highly recommend you do. Plus, Cape Town is World Design Capital this year, so no better time to go really. I won't bore you with all the details, but I did spend Xmas day here...

I booked us a table for lunch at the Delaire Graff winery months ago, and I'm so glad I did. The food, wine and the service were just as amazing as that view. The winery, which is nestled in a valley and surrounded by vineyards in Stellenbosch (not quite an hour from Cape Town), is truly spectacular. And the interiors were designed by the late, great David Collins (yes, that was definitely a deciding factor).

But enough of my travel tales, I have news to share.

I have thought long and hard about how to develop this blog from what it started out as very innocently in 2006.  I may well be insane, but I have decided nonetheless to publish a magazine. I will give you more details as we get closer to the publication date (hopefully within the next few months), but I can tell you it will be unlike any other design magazine on the market at the moment.

I would love to hear from readers, especially those of you in Asia, and what you might like to see and read, and we will do our best to incorporate that into the format we are working on currently. 

I would like to thank those of you who have sent submission material to us for publication on the blog, and encourage you to continue to do so for publication in our magazine. 

So keep your fingers crossed for me, and be patient if I post even less regularly as we put together our inaugural issue.

I wish all of you the very best for 2014. I have a good feeling about this year!

INSIGHT

I have some very exciting news to share with you all...finally! Those of you who have seen some of the changes with the blog interface, and the addition of the "Learn" page up the top may have already clued on...

INSIGHT is a brand new school about to launch in Hong Kong, but its no ordinary school...it is Asia's only specialist Interior Design school, with a very hands-on approach to learning. And yours truly will be one of the lecturers! The concept (and the lady) behind this is so inspiring, and I feel truly honored to be counted amongst these highly talented and extremely qualified lecturers in the founding group.

Go check out my profile and some of the amazing short courses that are on offer, starting in November. The first intake of the Diploma course will be late next year. So...if you've been interested in changing careers but couldn't find the right course...or you know someone else who may be interested - head on over to the webiste HERE and check it out.

Squarefoot

I'm back in Hong Kong after a fab trip back to Melbourne, and have lots to update you on. In the meantime I wanted to share an article with you that was published in a local magazine, Square Foot, while I was away. Click on the images, or this link for the full article.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Today is the 6 year anniversary of me starting this blog. I'm struggling to believe it. In some ways I can't get my head around all that has happened in that time, and yet it also seems to have flown by. I've met some amazing people along this incredible journey, some who have become friends, some clients.  Either way, I'm incredibly grateful. Grateful for all of you who continue to read, leave comments and send me emails. So I'd like to mark the occasion with an open question to all of you. You're an incredibly diverse group, although a lot of you are in the design community, located all over the world. I guess what I'd like to know is why do you read this blog? And what can I do to improve it? What would you like to see more of? How would you feel about advertising here, or it turning more into a magazine format? Do you want local content, or do you enjoy the international mix?

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions or feedback is much appreciated, as I endeavour to plan the future of the blog and our studio, and what the next 6 yrs may bring...

Lavish lighting

Check out page 43 in this months Home Journal magazine for a lovely little write up about our lighting collection!

(Sorry for the bad scan quality)

Eclectic Cool

For those of you in Hong Kong that expressed an interest in our lighting collection, you are now able to buy a selection of the designs at the new Eclectic Cool store in Sheung Wan.  One of our lamps is featured in their new catalogue!

Eclectic Cool, G/F 58 Po Hing Fong, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Open 12-6 Wed - Sun.

the Studio Annetta collection

OK, I've held out long enough....its finally time to make an announcement. I am very proud to show you the fruits of my labour...a collection of lighting that has been several years in the making.  I finally got fed up with not being able to find lamp designs for myself and for clients, and after sketching ideas for many years now, I produced a collection of my own!

While the inspirations for the collection are a bit eclectic (they vary from 1930s and 40s French moderne design up to the 1970s and more contemporary in style) the pieces are united by the quality of their materials and their manufacture. Locally-sourced materials (including cast bronze, solid marble, exotic skins, lacquer work and local hardwoods) that give a luxurious feel to each piece, are brought together by the hands of skilled artisans reviving skills that not long ago were dying. Each piece is individually crafted, so every piece is a one of a kind and can be customized in size and material if so desired.  I hope you like!

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For more information or sales enquiries about the lighting collection (trade, retail or otherwise) please contact us at products (@) studioannetta.com

Copyright. All rights reserved, Studio Annetta (HK) Ltd.

Just a little something I've been working on....

BRAT

Seriously Awesome Sausages

7 Elgin Street

Soho, Hong Kong

All photos by seriously awesome friend and photographer, Haf Saba

Sharing the pain...

I wanted to share a little something with you all...this article was published in the South China Morning Post last week - and I finally got around to scanning and posting. Voila!

* Thanks to those of you who let me know that the image will not enlarge...don't know how to fix it, but I do have a link to the article online if you're interested - click here.

Exciting things afoot...

...will keep you updated...

Space Odyssey: 2010

We are now officially in the year of the Tiger according to the Chinese Lunar New Year, so Kung Hei Fat Choi everyone! I'm rather pleased with how the new year has started out, in addition to the long weekend a few of my tips about living stylishly in small spaces was published in local guide The List - available as of today and on local newstands for the next 2 weeks!

(Click on the images below to enlarge).

A new year, a new you. A new decade, a new...?

I'm sure I echo everyone else's sentiments by remarking on how fast last year seemed to fly by...let alone the whole decade. I still think of the 90's as a few years ago...how frightening! I am so excited about the possibilities for this year though, starting the new year in my own business venture is quite thrilling. I won't bore you with my resolutions...or lack of....but I will fill you in on a few plans and news.

1) The Studio Annetta website will soon be finished! A bio and the beginnings of a portfolio will be available online by the end of the month, so anyone wishing to hire me will be able to take a look. My contact details are already there, and a more comprehensive CV / Portfolio is available upon request.

2) As part of my portfolio I will be uploading the remainder of the "Studio Apartment" renovation project I posted about last year here, here and here for everyone to finally see (Thanks for your patience!), along with a project I've been working on recently.

3) Move into an office space. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying working from home, especially while the weather is so cold. And as much as I love having my two cats here with me all day...I'm discovering that is not easy sharing a space with two animals who have a mind of their own. Between them wailing at me for food or cuddles or more food and perching themselves on my lap or the desk (their preference is between the keyboard and the monitor, or right on top of the mouse...) its not an environment conducive to working at the moment. And then there are the multitude of books, magazines and samples that have overtaken our spare room. So this goal is definitely a priority...and I certainly wouldn't mind if it ended up looking something like the space below.

So stay tuned for more news and updates, and thanks as always for tuning in!

Gallerist Patrick Seguin's stunning Paris apartment photographed by Marc Seelen for Elle Decoration (UK) Feb 2010 issue.

Studio Apartment update

a sneak peek of what's to come...

* Sorry guys, this might be all you see for a while...I'm holding off on posting any more images because I'm hoping to get the full project published later this year....hope you can wait til then!

Busy busy busy...

To say I've been busy these last few weeks is somewhat of an understatement. The studio apartment I've been working on is due to be finished this weekend, and all the furniture and appliances we've purchased will be delivered the following weekend. We spent last weekend shopping for furniture, mostly in Ikea because of budget restraints, but we did buy a few little pieces from Lane Crawford when they were on sale a few months back, including

2 Series 7 chairs by Arne Jacobsen

a lovely Jielde task lamp for the bedside

and a funky little Tivoli i-pod docking station..I think I want one of these for me!

I promise to post some photos once it's complete...

Progress...

Here are a few of the photos I took at the studio apartment over the weekend. Work has come to a standstill because of the impending Chinese New Year holidays...so these might be the last photos for a few weeks. But I'm excited...they've made real progress!

Looking in from the front door - to the left is where the new walk-in-robe will be...and a glimpse of the new opened up space and new window.

Its very much a construction site... but I'm excited by how much bigger it looks already without the internal walls, and one large window instead of two. Unfortunately the temporary balustrade they built outside the window is still there so its hard to get an idea of the full view...

From this angle you can see the new, slightly larger bathroom on the right...and the space where the kitchenette will be on the left (where all those power sockets are in the wall)

Looking into the new bathroom...

Looking out into the living space from the bathroom...


And the roof....the old ugly light fittings are gone, the floor has had a new layer of concrete, the concealed light fittings are almost there...and we now have the structure of the cabinetry that will house a sink, mini-bar fridge, washer/dryer and the hot water system. Its going to be a nice place for a BBQ when the weather gets better here!