9 days of events exploring design. June 17 - 26, 2016

"We've stitched together a festival lineup to inspire, provoke and connect you to the transformative power of design. Many events are free. See you across Perth for an unmissable series of events."
Michael Grau, Festival Director

Want you know more? Well takee a lookee here - australiandesignfestival.com

Hows that flying brace? We got involved in this concrete pergola beast with the landowner who had great insight and access to brilliant trades to create an elegant off form concrete structure. The first stage of improvement works to the property along with a first floor addition to the existing house - The Death Star.....

So the Beaufort St Festival is dead. 'A victim of its own success' said the press.... I got to agree, it was painful to go down to the festival in recent years with two young kids, it was more like jumping into a river and letting the current take you and spit you out at the bottom. Lost that community 'local' feel. Dont fear - the good people of L.A.C.E. have ramped up the Maylands Street Festival on May 1st 2016 to be just that. There are so many good retailers and operators in Maylands now and i hear on the grapevine Henry on Eighth will be firing up the coffee machine for the first time also. Put it in your calendar and leave your kayak at home.

It was such a pleasure to receive the final edit of An Architectural Practice in Profile - Interview with Architect Patrick Miller, produced by the young and talented Jordan Fyfe, Julia Kirwan, Meghan Stubbs and Emma Whettingsteel and their guns on camera and mic's - Thank You. I volunteered to assist in this but it turned out 150 times better than i expected, they did a wonderful job, much better than my career choice........ ah yes, you're right - its never too late. Anyone have Ranger Stacey's phone number?

You know the mining boom is over when those larger taverns and restaurants that spent a bucket load on fit-out only years ago are re-thinking the next phase - see article here and here. 

Thats good news for punters and Perth in general as it means competition gets tough, bad operators drown and there is potential for pints of beer to go down!. And you know when the going get tough, the tough get get going (Billy Ocean where are you now?)

To help you along we provide our top five tips for getting the most out of your hospitality venue dollar;

1. Maximise patron area - The goal is to get more bums on seats. This is what pays the bills. The best place to start is to take a detailed look at the way your bar or kitchen works, what type of food and beverages you sell and stripping it down to process. Toilet areas are money pits so keep them tight and small to get your punters out of them and back to eating /drinking.

2. Keep it real - Chrome, glass and all those other plastic shiny things are gone. That was Perth circa 00's. Never use a product that attempts to imitate nature. Keep it real, raw and if you dont need to paint it, clad it, cover it up.... then dont waste your dollar.

3. Design matters - Perth is now very design concious and mature enough to appreciate the value design can have on a space - some punters will even turn away when they see a space they dont like. Dont follow magazine trends, but understand your target market, the area and the style of food / beverage you are presenting. This will result in a place which just 'feels right' and not out of place. Add somethinhg differrent, find thosse hidden suprises, additional floor area, roof tops, outside areas to add value to your space.

4. Spend 20 get a whole lot more - Spend 20 minutes with those in the industry, bartenders, chefs, wait staff, managers and the like and you will start to see ways to improve process with design. They know these spaces intimately and can show us all how to do things better. Give us a call too, we dont bite and more than happy to have a chat and run over your ideas. We love making Perth a more livable city.

5. Get flexible - The days of single focus are gone. You gotta get the most out of your space from break o' dawn to the wee hours of debauchery. The best venues are flexible and will change mood as the day moves into night, like Lyric Lane in Maylands. It will go from early morn coffee, breakfast and skip into brunch and lunch with ease. It may even tempt you to stay longer with your business deals to enjoy a few more wines, and then..... why not head down to the basement to enjoy a live show. A venue should be thinking 24 hours rather than business hours.

So you love the Mad Max original - an Australian cinematic icon - the Interceptor, the Night Rider, 'copped a plate in the throat' and all that. Lets reflect given its Oz day (in all its definitions....). Nothing is original - everything has its origins in something else, like the 1974 cult movie STONE. Filmed mostly in Sydney which many motorcycle riders love which you can see some precursors to Mad Max. Many of the cast went on to appear in Mad Max. As a motorcycle rider this movie is very watchable with the unmissable shape of the the Kawasaki Z1 dominating the screen. Yes its a Japanese bike, but Australians have a knack of taking on board overseas products and making them somehow 'Aussie' - like Meat Pies, Phar Lap, Pavlovas and Thongs. If you dont like motorcycles then im sure you will love the acting.....  Straya.

Here we go again - 2016 - despite the media slap on the economy and the downfall of the mining boom this year looks like a prosperous and fortunate year for those who didnt buy into the resource game and stuck at what they did best, formed relationships and continued to work on their craft. For me the festive season break was enjoyable, i got to go home to Melbourne and see my family who i miss dearly. I got to fix things around the house and i got to breathe, sleep, carve time with my kids and wife and slow down..... something as a small business owner with two young kids, is often extermely hard to do. I also got to watch a lot of documentaries and listen to blogs from personal idols which is a big bonus, like Tim Ferris, Max Keiser, Nassim Haramein, Todd Samson and my general interest on ancient structures, sacred geometry and history in general....... Heres to an open mind - 2016!

Its that time of year again, our annual Xmas Card Wrap Up for 2015 for some of the selected projects - found HERE. This year has gone fast indeed and its been a pleasure once again to be working with such great people - clients, consultants, builders, trades and suppliers that form the teams which make these projects come to life. FINESPUN has reduced in size this year with only myself and the multi talented Marcos Prado at the helm and the ever graceful Michelle Miller. Couldnt do it without them.

Enjoy the festive season, be nice to one another, take time enjoy the blue sky and we shall see you on the other side.

Hola Amigos, Caballeros y Mujeres - Ive travelled through Mexico and oh boy is it a wonderful place with beautiful people and culture. The food is excellent - like my favourite; Tacos de Camaron (shrimp tacos) - so fast and so fresh from this one food truck, it was all local ingredients, hand made soft tacos and most probably organic. Wash it down with a cold Dos Equis and perhaps a little later with a splash of Tequila or Mescal in the heat of the night and you've got magic memories. Well the fine men behind El Grotto intend to bring this to Perth, they've been there to source the finest tequila and mescal to serve to you right on the beach here in Scarborough. Its been a long ride for these guys, they have carried out much of the work themselves and shown great determination. They open their doors 4th Dec.

We are getting some legs on our recent mixed use tower project which is aiming very high. Many clients ask us how do we produce all this work from such a small office of 2 men? We collaborate, we outsource and we focus on whats important for the project and the client - as long as we control the steering wheel. As an architect im constantly reminded of the popular buddhist quote "with our thoughts we create the world" and projects like this is a true reminder - lookout Perth, FINESPUN is entering the high rise world.