The Future Laboratory - Australian Trend Briefing

Okay so this event was a couple of weeks ago now however those that know me well have heard me talk endlessly about it since so I definitely think it deserves its own blog post!

The Future Laboratory are international leaders in the realm of trend forecasting, consumer insight and brand strategy. Based in London, UK and founded by Chris Sanderson and Martin Raymond - they are true pioneers of the trend game, having established their business over 10 years ago (before everyone in the entire world seem to have become a trend expert). I love them, their business, their philosophy and most important the quality of their work and if I won the lotto tomorrow I would be catching a plan over to London and begging to be able wash their dishes just to be able to watch them work.

I was very lucky to attend their Australian Trend Briefing at The Mint on Friday 18 February. Entitled 'The Big Intimate: Why Live has been the new way to win fans and influence friends' took us on a fascinating journey into consumer culture and an in depth look at the social landscape. From Conviviality Culture which looked at the need for Live in the current environment dominated by social media to the theme of Betapreneurs which encourages people to take risks, give it a go and be reactive, fast and fresh to the extraordinarily fast paced world we live in - this was a dynamic and inspiring presentation.

I'm Back!

After a slight hiatus, I am back. Full time work and full time mothering has not left me much time for my poor blog which has been totally neglected for two months. It has amazed me as to the amount of people who have asked about it....I kinda wondered if anyone would read it and take an interest however it seems they have so thank you!

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning and have just been reading all about the iPad 2.......WOW. As a current iPad owner (and recent Apple convert) I think the

iPad 2 sounds amazing. I Love my iPad - from playing Words with Friends with my brothers and one of my bestie's contiuously (i am still yet to beat her!) to reading books, to getting my emails, to blogging, banking and browsing - I can honestly say it has changed my life. If you are a skeptic (and I know there are many) - I challenge you to go into an Apple Store and have a look at one. I am no techno-geek by any stretch of the imagination however I can't imagine life without it.

Image:Maccanzie

toot toot

Nothing beats Brio when it comes to train sets. It is SUCH a shame it is so hard to find in retail outlets and another media-inspired train set is everywhere you look. Why can't it be the other way around? Brio is just beautiful - simple, wooden and natural. It is worth the effort to find if you wish to build up a wooden train set collection for your child.

Images: Brio

decal decal on the wall, who is the fairest of them all

Decals. People either love 'em or hate 'em. I am a lover. Here is one I came across today that I absolutely love.

It's from the Wall Sticker Company's Signature Range by designer Fi Fy Fo Fum and is called fairground. S.W.E.E.T.

Images: Wall Sticker Company

Lets get creative

I have a daughter who loves creative projects. From gluing to cooking to drawing to crafting to building - give her a creative task and she will generally embrace it with 100 % passion and enthusiasm she seems to have for everything in life. God love her. Sometimes, as working mother, I can run out of ideas of what we can do - especially on those long, wet, rainy days. I am not a naturally crafty person, as much as I would love to be . I try my hardest to come up with ideas involving toilet rolls, ice cream buckets and other household items but they never seem to quite work and Miss Chatterbox just ends up looking at me with eyes that say "Oh MUM, what on earth are we doing".

One of my best friends introduced me to Seeding, a gorgeous New Zealand company who creates different kits designed to encourage a child's creativity. From create your own tutu to create your own wooden puzzle to design your own birds house to paint your own dolls house - these beautiful yet simple kits allow curious minds to explore and create. Fantastic. A far more useful gift than a plastic toy which will get used for 5 mins and then sit at the bottom of the toy box gathering dust.

Images: Seedling

Revolution is the only solution

High up on my Christmas wish list would be ANYTHING from the Seletti - Trip Furniture range. Having gone into the new Seletti store in Darlinghurst and seen the Pois (polka dot) 3 drawers (pictured above) in person - I am so pleased to report, they are truly as amazing in the flesh as they look on the world wide web. Have a look at Seletti's 2010/2011 collection here. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Images: Seletti

Beautiful evening

I truly love orange skies. As a fan of darkness and not bright light (yes I know - I am strange), orange is the perfect hue for me. I would quite happily live all the time with this type of natural light and not pure daylight. Does that make sense? And does that make me half vampire? Quite possibly.