{ DESIGN POST }

Need I say more? If you haven't already seen the new Wes Anderson film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, you really must! What a fest for the eyes! So creative, so meticulously crafted, so inspired and inspiring, so clever, so quirky, so unique… 

You can watch the trailer here. 

From the costumes, to the sets, to the colour scheme, to the clever use of miniatures (wish I could spend a day with the team who built them) – what a total inspiration!

X
Amy

{ Work in Progress }

Saying goodbye to one collection and wrapping your head around another can be a bit daunting. Where to start and which direction to go in...? Giving in to a bit of a brainstorming session means I can get these ideas out of me, whether they will go any further is unknown. Stepping into that flow of thought is what I enjoy the most and somehow after an immersion of shapes, colours and lines, a pattern appears.

BY HOLLY CLARKE

{ Inspired By }

I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening of the new exhibition at Auckland Museum – Wildlife Photographer of the Year. What makes this exhibition so exceptional is that the photographs are all back-lit, giving the images incredible luminosity and detail. The exhibition opened on the 25th April and I cannot recommend it more highly! 

Click here for more info.

Posted by Emma.

{ ANZAC }

Wishing everyone in New Zealand and Australia a lovely ANZAC Day and long weekend.

See you again on Monday x

Image found here.

{ Colour of The Week }

Rain Rain ...
I have been trying to recreate a new colour called Rain and attempting to match the TPX colour, in gouache. It always amazes me just how many colours go into making one final colour. This colour was made up of violet, black, yellow and white. It sounds simple, but in reality it's the smidgen of this and a smidgen of that that eventually gets you there. However when you overdose on one colour, you often have to compensate it with another and hope that you don't finish the entire tube without having reached the goal!

BY HOLLY CLARKE

{ DESIGN POST }

Hello! I'm Sarah the new Graphic Designer here at Citta Design. Every month I'll be posting some of my favourite finds in a feature titled 'Currently Loving!'.

I recently stumbled across Laura Manfre's work on Instagram. She is a self taught French Illustrator who creates whimsical watercolour paintings of her favourite things. Maybe I instantly loved her work because it features kittens, cute deer figurines or painted Japanese food that looks exceptionally pretty! If you've ever tried to paint with watercolours, you'll know it can be quite difficult to capture highlights and shadows without making it look overworked (I know I've tried!). I'm loving the combination of her cute and kitsch, often everyday subjects painted in a highly skilful, realistic way.

Check out her website and blog for more.

Sarah x

Cat Tee Mission Illustration

Taiyaki, Mitarashi-dango, Matcha donut, Ichigo daifuku, Peko lollipop & Anmitsu

Geiko & Maiko (section)

Photo sources from top to bottom:

1) http://instagram.com/laura_manfre

2, 3 & 4) http://cargocollective.com/lauramanfre

Posted by Sarah

{ This Week in the Office}

Hope you all had a lovely relaxing Easter break! We're back to it today: Imogen's working on the colour palette for our winter 2015 collection; Sarah is busy on graphic design for our stores; Holly and I have been creating labelling and packaging specs for summer 2014/15; and Emma is out back with our photographer Tony on a product photoshoot for next summer's catalogue. Roll on Anzac Day…!

Posted by Amy Tonkin

{ Happy Easter! }

We hope everyone is having a lovely Easter break and enjoying a delicious hot cross bun or two. Yum!

Posted by Sarah

{ Work in Progress }

Another cheeky peek at good things to come..! Here you can see some of the process that went into some new prints we've created for clothing next summer, from rough pencil sketches, to trials with Indian ink and brush, to the finished product. 

Posted by Amy Tonkin

{ CONTEMPORARY ART }

GLEN HAYWARD
I first came across Glen's work many years ago and remember the occasion well.

I happened to be on Waiheke at the local art gallery with my mum, she was aghast at the site of a flattened cardboard box for several thousand dollars hanging on the wall. I just thought it was really funny... the work and her reaction! When we both read the blurb below the work we realised it was entirely made out of wood, all hand-carved and painted. I was amazed, as for not one second did I think that it was not a real box. My mum was still annoyed that she had been fooled, but appreciated the talent and patience of the artist.

I am part of an art buying group made up of twelve head-strong women. When we choose a work, you need approval from three out of four. I wonder what reaction I might get, when I suggest we buy a wooden phone !?

BY HOLLY CLARKE

{ This & That }

We love how this delicate design, Midnight Garden from our next summer collection, perfectly complements Emma's lovely new Botanical Gorman dress. Gorgeous!
Posted by Amy

{ Inspired By }

A visit to Queenstown this weekend provided me with lots to be inspired by. I took this photo during the drive through The Crown Range located between Queenstown and Wanaka. It was pretty bitterly cold but I felt the need to escape the comfort of our car and take some snaps! The combination of the misty clouds, alpine plants and bright purple flowers capture the feel of the landscape perfectly – one that is both harsh and beautiful.


Posted by Sarah

{ Colour of the Week }

This week we are loving the new Pastels & Neons Pantone book we have in the studio. From fashion to interiors, bright neons and soft pastels add a pop of colour to classic neutrals. With Easter just around the corner, these super dreamy pastel shades make me want to get my craft on and decorate some Easter eggs.


Posted by Sarah

{ DESIGN POST }

This month In My Humble Home
There hasn't been a lot of action on the DIY front this past month – it's hard to keep up the momentum sometimes, as well as the cash flow! We have however been dreaming of new shelving in our lounge. There are so many beautiful designs out there! The challenge is choosing something that is both beautiful and practical, and an added bonus would be something we can make ourselves… Oh, what to do!?

With any luck, next month I'll be able to share some progress of our own!

See you again next month!
Emma x

Photos found on Pinterest (where possible the design/source is linked): Top left going clockwise: 1. Unknown 2. Lundia Shelving 3. String Shelving System 4. Mid-Century Shelving 5. From Style Me Pretty blog 6. From The Style Files blog

{ Work in Progress }

Exciting! Our beautiful new sterling silver chains have finally arrived – with logo tags attached. Now we just need to thread all the pendants on, package them up and they're good to go to the stores!

Posted by Amy Tonkin

{ Inspired By }

COSY SPACES ...

I have loved the idea of building for as long as I care to remember. My father built seven different family homes over his life time and eventually succumbed to the fatigue and stress of a heavy work load and the demands of building and council woes. Despite his rather sad ending he passed on a love of making something. Working with the skills of a team of 'makers' creating a space that made you feel a certain way is some thing I know I want to do before I go too. 

So I find myself ooohing and aahhing over homes that are often in far flung places. It seems I have now collected quite a stash of pictures of some of my favourites. 

Built on a World Heritage site in the Norwegian Island of Vega by architect Erik Kolman Janouch who designed the house together with his colleague Victor Boye Julebäk, it is the epitome of 'cosy'.

I imagine walking around on such a dry, crisp and frosty landscape only to return all rosy cheeked with a clear head and a desire to drink copious amounts of hot chocolate. The luxury of time to sit and read or cosy up with loved-ones all rugged-up in jerseys. Not only does such a place and space help me to unwind, but it inspires me to create, to draw or to paint.

New Zealand has many beautiful landscapes to inspire such a cabin. When I find the right site and enough bravado I will pluck up the courage and build something of my own to oooh and aahh over.

Posted by Holly Clarke

{ Snapshot }

A monthly feature showcasing Citta Design product in the homes of Citta Designers - not only do they design the product, they love to own the product too!

Like every season, I have been trying to hold back from buying too many new cushions. It's harder than you would think when you're constantly surrounded by so many lovely designs! I was delighted at how beautifully my new velvet cushion in Orchid pink fit in with designs from two completely different collections. 

From top to bottom: 'Junction' from the New York collection (Winter 2011), 'Orchid Velvet' from the current Copenhagen collection (Winter 2014) and 'Ebisu' from the Tokyo collection (Winter 2012).

Posted by Emma.

{ This Week in the Office }

We recently teamed up with Australian interiors stylist and author Mr Jason Grant, who styled our new store in Surry Hills for our official media launch. Jason sprinkled some winter magic over our store to create a fairy-tale wonderland for media and customers to enjoy. With beautiful paper leaves hand crafted by paper artist Jo Neville from Paper Couture and large rustic branches from Garlands Florist, Jason created a woodland scene to surround our cosy winter collection.

Pop in store over the coming weeks and see his work for yourselves! Tag in your photos of the store on Instagram @cittadesign and #cosyuptowinter 

{ Work in Progress }

It's always nice to see the 'behind the scenes' of a design... 

Here's something I've been working on for our summer 2014-15 collection, inspired by the city of Hanoi. You can see some of the journey I've gone through, from the original inspiration – a piece of vintage Vietnamese Hilltribe embroidery, to some of my sketches and notes, and on to creating the final artwork to be sent to the printers. In the end the design was quite simple and unfussy - in keeping with the more contemporary Citta Design aesthetic. 

After the artwork is sent off it's time to wait patiently till we receive the first test strike-offs… it's always exciting when they arrive and there isn't much to tweak!


Posted by Amy Tonkin

{ DESIGN POST }

From time to time I find myself thinking about Africa… What an amazing, mysterious and diverse place it is! I would so love to go there one day… 

Today I came across these stunning photographs by photographer Zack Seckler, while perusing a post on one of my fave blogs Miss Moss, and was reminded of when I was a girl and my big sister went off on her big O.E. – straight out of high-school – backpacking around Africa. 

I'll never forget the emotions when we farewelled her at the airport (it was the days before email and easy contact so for anyone you loved to be going so far away seemed like a huge deal). And I'll never forget the intense excitement on the days when one of her battered and bruised aerogrammes arrived in our letterbox! We would all gather together as a family and read it out loud, savouring every tiny handwritten word and smudge of African dust, and turning the paper this way and that to read the crammed-in words that took up every spare millimeter of paper. Her stories of hippos in the camp at night; hitch-hiking in a time when the segregation and racism of Apartheid meant that mixed-race car-rides were technically illegal; a joyous day-trip to the coast with a local boy who'd never seen the sea – these have all stayed with me till this day. 


Posted by Amy Tonkin