Peeping Tomasina

image; il giorno, raymond savignac, 1965; stephan for galerie montmartre

Lee wrote a sweet little post a couple of days ago, she suggested that our blogs are like windows and through these windows we can peep into each other's lives, but occasionally we may actually tap on the window (via our comments) and let each other know we're there. How lovely. I immediately thought of this vintage poster as I read the actual post.

Thanks to all of you for letting me peep into your blog windows; really, I love it!

Creative Women's Circle - Monique McNamara & Jessie Fairweather

image; gertrude st association - artist; ian de gruchy

image; measure by the foundry

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed drinking in the creativity of some very talented women at Creative Women's Circle on Saturday morning. I mean, I was sitting between some lovely creatives before anyone even opened their mouths! (ie. shannon, susan and tess, better known in blogland as aunty cookie, spin spin handmade and metremade)

Monique McNamara started proceedings speaking about her eco-design business Up and Up Creative...now, there is eco and there is ECO, and this woman is definitely the latter, having set up her business 12 years ago when she realised that her concern for sustainability and eco-friendly practices were not being met elsewhere. There was a million things she said, a million notes I wrote, but really, this quote pretty much sums up where Ms. McNamara comes from "This is why we're here - we're here to innovate." (Oh, and if she isn't busy enough directing her company she is also a founding member of The Gertrude Association.)

Jessie Fairweather is all the things in a person I tend to gravitate towards, because it is so far from who I am (!) - calm, considered, organised, determined and calm. (oh sorry, did I say that already?!) This girl had a dream and ran with it, studying graphic design in Europe before returning to Australia, writing her ideas for three months and then creating her company 'The Foundry'. 'Measure' seems like an extremely apt title for Jessie's latest project, written in five languages, it consists of every conceivable measuring chart from seasonal foods through to the lunar calendar. I am predicting world domination from her little space in Daylesford, quite frankly.

Well done, Tess McCabe on another great meeting, keep the inspiration coming!

Let's hear it for...

image; maaret from visual notes

...Mondays!

We love Mondays! L'Homme, the Petits and myself always go to a local cafe for lunch and watch the world go by. I was so drawn to this image of a Swedish eatery in the middle of parkland - how relaxed does everyone seem? It just 'shouts' community to me.
No doubt this is the kind of place the Trbuhovich clan would frequent every Monday if it was nearby.

Happy Friday - Two Birds with One Stone

images; stephan t (1) and shelley t (2) for galerie montmartre

Petit Garcon is absolutely enamoured with birds....parrots to be exact. So, I am closing the week with a lovely little piece by Raymond Savignac celebrating the 'Festival of New Comedy' and Petit's artistic impression of birdlife. They both make me smile.

Wishing you a fab weekend; hope it creates a smile line or two on your faces!

Galmont and The Age Good Food Guide 2010

Church St Enoteca
527 Church St.
Richmond, 3121
9428 7898
Fine Italian Cuisine
15/20
One chef hat
Surrounded by vintage posters in an art-deco setting.....need I say more?!

all images; church st enoteca

Beautiful Barcelona

images; 1 sagrada familia, 2& 3 park guell, 4 casa battlo; photographed by luke phillips

It appears I am not alone in my love for this incredible city. Since writing this post, I've received emails from people who have fallen completely for Barcelona's charms and those of Antoni Gaudi's architecture. Luke Phillips has been generous enough to share his photos with us, they're fabulous - enjoy!

Weekend Weblog Wanderings... (4)

image; holly becker at decor 8

...I am so pumped by the idea of a 'community bookcase' - Holly has a couple in her new German neighbourhood - Galmont will definitely get in on the act. I have found the comments so interesting regarding people thinking that it wouldn't work in their neighbourhoods; I think if it could work in Fitzroy, it could work anywhere, and can't wait to give the idea a go at the front of our retail space; I am so sure our local community won't let us down with graffiti, vandalism or stealing. Anyway, read the fuss here...and I promise to let you know the developments of our own little experiment...

image; angela at three buttons

....and the lovely Angela over at Three Buttons has given us a glimpse of her gorgeous noticeboard, encouraging others to take photos of their own and she will feature them on her site, read about it here. I daresay this will be enough to get Kimberlee more than a little excited, she loves an inspiration board, even featuring Galmont's on a recent post which you can see here.

Happy Friday - It's Springtime!

image; jeunesse au plein air, morvan et kouper, 1981

Ahhhhhh spring! Just love it - thanks for your support and comments and all-round loveliness, people - have a great weekend!

Dog Day Afternoon

all images; shelley t (1) and stephan t (2-6) for galerie montmartre

We've just framed-up this old Fitzroy council poster telling people to register their pet dogs. So I thought it was appropriate to show some other canine inspired vintage posters - a little Thursday theme if you will!

Let's hear it for...

images of antoni gaudi's segrada familia; britannica.com (1) and greatbuildings.com (2,3 & 4)

.....Antoni Gaudi. (1852 - 1926)

A story; In 1990, back when L'Homme and I were kids, we took off around Europe for four months. Being a Uni student with a couple of jobs (me) and a part-time youth worker (him), we had barely enough money to get air tickets, let alone accommodation, but we were determined, ignorant and a little too romantic! We bought ourselves a 28 day Europass, allowing us to travel the European train system, we'd sleep in a carriage overnight and would get off wherever we arrived at the first shaft of light. One of our first stops was Barcelona...what a gift!

As we got off the train, someone who we'd bunked with the previous night said, "Be sure to see anything that Gaudi created, his architecture is dotted throughout the city" - and better still, it was free!

So, that's what we did. We sought out every Gaudi creation there was and it was far and away one of the happiest, most memorable travelling experiences of my life. So much so that we have vowed to return every ten years for the rest of our lives (told you we were a little too romantic!) to watch the progress of this little gem, the Sagrada Familia....the Church Gaudi was creating before his untimely, accidental death. However the genius has left so many plans and notes that the building will be able to be completed.....eventually. Gaudi was so far ahead of his time, it was ridiculous! And he was a crafter, people (!), with mosaics being his calling card - along with curves, gargoyles, wonky-Seuss like walls and archways of every description.

I found a great pictorial blog post here....or just google his name and become another awe-inspired fan.

Weekend Weblog Wanderings (3)

image; captain kk

....Mirka came through....read here for the exciting postscript to this story...

Happy Friday - Wishful Thinking

image; favor girl, bellenger, c. 1950; stephan t for galerie montmartre

The weekend is here, nothing planned.....although buzzing around Melbourne on a scooter would be a nice thing to do. Now, what to do with Petit and Petit-Petit while Maman buzzes around town?!
Have a beautiful weekend. x

'Gid-dy' for Bally

image; bally, raymond gid, 1976. 57 X 43cms; michelle for galmont

Is it just me, or is this image absolutely gorgeous? This advertising poster is by Raymond Gid (1905-2000) just arrived in Galmont yesterday. I sighed when I saw it. Too pretty.

Peas in a Pod - Mirka Mora and Christina Gordon

image; together by mirka mora, 1996;eva breuer art dealer

image; diorama by christina gordon (didn't get a chance to use it in this post!)


image; mirka at tolarno dining room

I came to a realisation as I ate my birthday dinner (yes, i know....it was a week ago....) on Sunday night. I was surrounded by Mirka Mora's glorious murals and suddenly I realised the similarities between Mirka and Christina's work - beautifully big-eyed, playful, mischievious impish little people; an innocence and a naughtines wrapped up in bright colours and childlike imagery. I find their art so much fun, so inspiring, so delightful.


And here endeth the birthday indulging and epiphanies(!) until the same time next year!

Happy Friday - The Glamour of Gruau

image; miss dior, rene gruau, c. 1950; michelle for galmont

Don't you love those 'can't live without' type lists? I think it is a great way to get a quick insight into what makes someone tick. Well, Miles Redd, creative director of Oscar De La Renta Home, recently listed his twelve favourite things for Elle Decor. I especially loved that illustrations by one of our leading vintage poster artists, Rene Gruau, made the cut. It's no surprise really when you consider that before creating stunning images for French dance halls such as Lido and Moulin Rouge, Gruau was a fashion illustrator for couture houses such as Givenchy and Dior.

Here's a tiny taste for now. I'm sad to see this beautiful advertising image leave the gallery this weekend....it wasn't even here a week!

Birthday Indulgence Hangover

craft victoria shop; pic from craftvic.asn.au website

bestlite table lamp; pic from icone.co.uk

native workers stool; pic from nativecollection.com



sylvie dress by leona edmiston; pic from leonaedmiston. com

It's so wonderful to take a day out to simply indulge yourself. I did that yesterday. I loved it. Flinders Lane is such a treat, that place has everything that rings my bells.

Starting at Craft Victoria where I saw so much handmade goodness, my head almost fell off, making my way to Corporate Culture staring at the beautiful shapes of the chairs and tables and my absolute favourite item, the Bestlite. I was enjoying the Native furniture series at Format furniture. And the Tom Dixon collection at DeDeCe. So many highlights.

The thing I wasn't expecting, however, was discovering Leona Edmiston's winter sale, as I headed back up Little Collins st. Now it looks like I have something very special to wear for my b'day dinner with L'Homme on Sunday night!

Gotta Love Birthdays!

images; Martha Stewart

And I do. Really! I love them. I'd have one everyday if I could, but one a year is our quota and tomorrow is mine and I am going to lap up every single second of it. L'Homme is taking care of Petit and Petit-Petit and I am hitting Flinders Lane to gallery hop and drool over some gorgeous furniture. No doubt, my little cup will be overflowing with inspiration by the time the day is over.

PS. A quick personal birthday fact, on one particularly important birthday - not so long ago - I ate a flourless chocolate cupcake(as featured above) for breakfast every morning for two weeks.

Weekend Weblog Wanderings (2)....Christina Gordon

There's been a some interest in the Christina Gordon prints that we all have in our bedrooms at Chez Trbuhovich...so I thought I'd look into the artist a little more. Christina has an assortment of work on her livejournal, Jam Fancy.

Christina's work seems to be influenced by her collection of Blythe dolls - she has around 40 of them. And that's an interesting fact to me, because when I describe the prints to people, I often say, they all have 'big eyes, like those Blythe dolls that were popular in the 70's'! (I should mention that I have spent many hours on e-bay losing auctions to other Blythe doll enthusiasts for about the last twelve years!! Who knows, maybe I've been losing to Christina!!)

Christina Gordon seems to be quite a prolific artist, as she creates dolls and a clothing line for her little Blythe dolls along with her prints.

I'm drawn to Christina's work, as I think they are a fun balance of innocence and mischief. I'm attracted to that dynamic in people, so it was inevitable that I would find Christina's work irresistable!

images; lucy feagins (1), christina gordon (2,3,4)

Happy Friday - Apartment Therapy

One minute you're 'minding your own business', the next minute your stylish friend photographs your home and puts it on her fabulous blog (thanks again Lucy) and by the following day Chez Trbuhovich is posted - along with beautiful editorial comments - on interiors mecca Apartment Therapy.
I've received gorgeous personal emails from some lovely creatives and I am loving the blog comments - one person wondered if we have zap collars on Petit and Petit-Petit Garcon which go off everytime they touch something pre-1992 (!) Hilarious! (And the truth, it's only been the last little while that I've been able to display our collections knowing they'll pretty much stay the way they've been arranged....I mean really, how does a bakelite radio match the excitement of thomas the tank engine - or drawing all over the dining room chairs with navy oil pastel??!!)

Add to this Kimberlee's visit and that pretty much makes for a blogger's dream week.

How fabulous....I think I need a good lie down! Happy Weekend!

image; relax by rene gruau, 1960; stephan t for galerie montmartre

Chez Trbuhovich on The Design Files

images lucy feagins at the design files

Well, what do you know? Someone actually deems your humble abode worthy of photographing and putting on their blog. Not just anyone, but someone with an eye for design! I think Lucy's done an awesome job, after following her around for the first ten mins of the shoot asking her if she needed me to move this or that, I relaxed, left her to it and simply said 'surprise me' and she really has.

It's interesting to see the place that you live in, play in, relax in, argue in (!) through the eyes of someone else. It's amazing how many details just pass you by as you go about daily life and you're focussing on the next project that needs doing.....I'm glad we weren't doing a story on that!!

I love what Lucy has done, I'm looking at Chez Trbuhovich with new eyes, you can see that people actually live there (eg. the toys on the floor of Petit-Petit Garcon's room are just as he left them that morning (!!)) - which is exactly why you can't get to every little project as you'd like - and I'm really grateful for that new insight.

Thanks to The Design Files; that Lucy's so clever, which is why I am her no. 1 'cheerleader'!

Go across to her site and check it out.