These amazing artworks by Hong Yi are the result of a self set challenge. For 1 month Hong Yi challenged herself to create a new piece of food art every day.
There were only two rules:
1. Only food can be used
2. The creations must be placed on a white plate, which serves as the backdrop
In a recent interview with DesignBoom, Hong explains:
“My ‘creativity with food‘ series has helped me push the limits of my creativity, and has taught me to work within the confines of a very small area – my previous works range from 1 x 2 to 3 x 4 meters. I’ve learned to slice, dice, stir, boil…who would have thought I’d need that to do art!”

To see more of these amazing creations head to;

http://instagram.com/redhongyi#

Possibly the quirkiest hair salon ever- MIC Styling in Slovenia by Kitsch Nitsch. It epitomises the 80’s in every way. Graphics, furniture design and colours.
Watch this space for future designs by Kitsch Nitsch – they are definitely pushing the boundary in quirky kind’a way!!

http://design-milk.com/hair-salon-in-slovenia-by-kitsch-nitsch/

We love coffee!!! There are very few people in the design world who do not start their day with a coffee. Latte art is not a new form of art but Japanese artist Kazuki Yamamoto takes it to a whole new level. His intricate and detailed designs are both 2D and 3D. Using a simple toothpick, Kazuki creates wonderful latte art portraits for customers of Cafe10g.
It proves yet again that you can find beautiful art and design in the every day.

http://twistedsifter.com/2013/04/latte-art-by-kazuki-yamamoto/

Designed by Dutch artist Diet Wiegman, these sculptures use light to create beautiful shadow art. His incredible works are unusual at best until the light hits them from a certain angle creating the artwork.

Created by designer and artist Simon Schubert this amazing paper series highlights one of the many amazing properties of paper. In this series Schubert meticulously folds sheets of paper, creating a very shallow relief. When the light hits at the right angle the paper breathes a life of its own. The image is created only using creases and folds. His work reminds us that the properties of different materials are often underestimated and taken for granted. We still need to challenge and push boundaries to explore the potential of materials.
To see more of his amazing works visit his website;
www.simonschubert.de/

We LOVE this sculpture by Japanese artist Haroshi. The amazing colour and form have been created using old skateboard decks. In order to make his forms the skateboards are stacked together and then cut, shaved and polished into shape. The pixelated forms are a mesmerising and the colours created by the different boards is seriously cool.
Although not visible from the outside all of Haroshi’s sculptures have a metal object buried on the inside. This is symbolic of the ‘soul’ of the sculpture and comes from fellow Japanese sculpture Unkei. Active in the 12th Century Unkei would set a crystal ball inside his Buddha sculptures in the position of the Buddha’s heart, becoming the soul of the statue.
To see more of his amazing designs see his website:

http://haroshi.com/

It’s about time the good old classic game of dominoes got a facelift! Lifestyle brand Billy Reid has joined forces with design agency The Principals to create a dominoes set called “Bare Bones”. Each piece is made from cast concrete and has been redesigned with a new shape, weight and numbering. The Bare Bones set is a good reminder that simplicity can be stunning.

http://theprincipals.us/

We spend a lot of our time looking for different types of furniture and are always chatting to industry specialists about the latest in furniture design. While on the hunt for some residential furniture we came across this unusual table which appears to float without support. This beautiful table has no legs and its supported by its 4 adjoining chairs. This design reminds us that there is always something new and intriguing to be designed and discovered. To constantly challenge our preconceived ideas and work towards something new and innovative.

We get to know and meet some amazing people in this industry and last week one of our Melbourne designers Anastasia sent us a link to a beautiful page featuring her best friend and artist Carmel Seymour. Recently interviewed by the Design Files Carmel is a Melbourne girl who now calls Iceland home. Her works on paper elegantly combine highly detailed pencil sketches with painterly fields of vivid watercolour. Her work is inspired by storytelling, natural flora and fauna, mysticism, psychology and science. Her works are wondrous with particular attention to textures, every strand of hair seems to jump off the page!

http://thedesignfiles.net/2013/05/interview-carmel-seymour/

Some Interiors just make you feel amazing!! This is definitely one of them!
Vintage Coffee and Music in Spain by Quespacio is a fresh and inspiring space full of cheer. The brief was to create a stylish space for intelligent people. The brief was to create a Stylish space for intelligent people and they’ve ticked all the boxes. A beautiful colour palette we all agree we would fly to Spain just to soak in this interior!

We are sustainably passionate bunch here are Siren and the fantastic article by Design Build shows you a few great ways to up-cycle some common household items to make amazing vertical gardens. Vertical gardens and green walls are all the rage in interior design at the moment and Marcelo Rosenbaum installed these amazing design designs across 50 Brazillian homes. Check out more of his great designs and see what will work in your garden!!

http://designbuildsource.com.au/the-art-of-up-cycling-in-vertical-gardens

Street Art and Urban Beautification

Over the last few weeks the topic of Graffiti keeps cropping up around the office. We have a few jobs on the go that call for some graffiti style art work. Vic found this inspiring project whilst looking for some conceptual imagery;
A series of murals within overpopulated townships in Africa… a little ray of sunshine for the local community.
Diamond Inside is a feature documentary of Spanish urban art coming to Cape Town. Boa Mistura is an art collective where artists collaborate with artists and neighbors in Cape Town in Khayelitsa or Woodstock. The documentary catalogs the experiences of the artists who come to paint these murals to inspire change through art.

This beautiful store in Sydney is home to some beautiful hand crafted fabrics from France. One of our designers Jack stumbled upon this gem whilst looking for outdoor and canvas fabrics.

Want to hear our viewpoint on activity based working? We were recently approached by The MP Report to discuss the latest work place strategies and trends. Check out the full article below!

http://thempreport.com.au/2013/04/15/mia-feasey-ceo-of-design-firm-siren-on-activity-based-work-space-one-size-doesnt-fit-all/

Philip Karlberg
We are absolutely loving the revival of pegboards at the moment, and Philip Karlberg’s work certainly caught Charlene’s attention – the photographer ‘sculpted’ six faces using around 1200 pencils and some sunglasses for a shoot for Plaza Magazine. The faces are based on celebrities and were photographed over six days. Can you guess who they are?

http://www.philipkarlberg.com/?p=2109#more-2109

Here at Siren we are currently crushing on Brooklyn NY based designer Karl Zahn. The three designs we have chosen to show you are his Phrena Light, Energy Savings and Animals Boxes.
The beautiful Phrena Light is a gorgeous organic design that plays with the nature of light and refraction. The light itself creates a sense of play and has a material simplicity creating an elegant form.
In this very simple design Kahn challenges our perception of consumption and encourages the idea of conservation. A standard junction box behind the face plate catches your coins and saves them. This very clever idea is constant reminder to SAVE!!
Finally the figural box’s represents a “power” animal – a totem for our individual ambitions. On the shelf, it is sculpture. On the side table, it’s a totem. On the counter, it offers a hiding spot. His incredible craftsmanship is clear from these gorgeous pieces.
To see more of his playful designs check out his website http://www.karlzahn.com/

“I’ve always loved the idea of being able to live in a home unplugged from the grid that works into the land and biosphere that it has been set. My family were amongst the first in our town to invest in solar power 35 years ago. Everyone thought we were mad!” – Jeanne GM

We love this gorgeous design which was part of a competition/project to build zero energy buildings made from sustainably sourced silicon-glass cloth whilst carrying out energy-efficient building practices.

The architects have specified the use of lightweight bamboo frame wrapped in a pull and environmentally friendly fabrics. The silicon-glass cloth reflects sunlight whilst keeping the interior cooler and reduce air conditioning needs. The homes, which are also equipped with water recycling system of grey water from sinks and showers back into storage tanks ready for use, are located on Bird Island in Malaysia.

We ADORE this is awesome idea sent to us by Nathalia from our Melbourne office. This is such a cute way to bring a little more green into your life and a really easy and effective DIY project.

Click this link to check out how it’s done…

http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=7466

Perfect for any empty wall we think there will be more than a couple here in the office giving it a try!!

‘The Chest of Suitcases’ by Maarten de Ceulaer for Nilufar

This super fun and quirky arrangement by Maarten de Ceulaer for Nilufar is a playful take on the notion of travelling furniture. The custom-made leather suitcases can be stacked up to make chests of drawers in various configurations, from tall and narrow towers to wide and low benches, arranged either in neat lines or chaotic, overlapping piles. Ceulaer works closely with leather artisan Ralph Baggaley and the finish is exquisite. We absolutely love the colour palette which consists of soft shades of green, blue and cream with an alternative monochrome palette of white, grey and black. The versatile and playful design evokes luxurious and sophisticated atmospheres, but at the same carries the dynamic vibe of modern nomads.

To see more of Maarten’ work check our his great website and blog https://sites.google.com/site/mdeceulaer/

One of our amazing designer’s Victoria recently came across this awesome design by BlackLAB architects. We spend a lot of time trawling the net looking for inspiration and are constantly stumbling upon new and amazing designs. The team at BlackLAB is made up by a group of seriously talented architects who constantly challenge and push design boundaries. This particular piece is based on an aerial photo of their neighbourhood which they have brought to life using 50,000 golf tees. The incredible graphic transforms throughout the course of a day as the daylight and shadows move across the piece creating an every changing and dynamic effect.

Check out the video link below to watch this innovative piece come to life

http://blacklabarchitects.com/blog/content/43964-steps

BlackLAB are always pushing the capabilities of ordinary objects to create something inspiring. They remind us that there is beauty in everyday objects. Make sure you also take a look at their work with coloured pencils, absolutely mesmerising!

http://vimeo.com/58320507