In our third installment of 'Wall of Frames' Babette looks at choosing frames and there are some great more tips on hanging.

“There really are no rules about what size a frame has to be. I sometimes have a very, very wide mount around a small drawing, photograph, or etching. A very large painting can look terrific filling up a wall in a small room. Or you can fill it with a whole lot of small black and white photographs, drawings, etchings all in black frames and hang them close to each other. Old frames can be painted to match the more modern clean cut ones. Carved frames from Vinnies can look fantastic painted in shiny or matt black, white or red depending on what you are putting together.

A row of framed colourful children’s drawings/paintings with coloured mounts hung in a row down the hallway or hung tightly in groups of four and more works makes an impact in any space. A “French Style Gallery Hang” where a mix of frames and works are hung close to the floor up towards the ceiling level with the doorframe height to carry the line across the wall makes another statement. You can hang a small art work or a pair of framed photos very low just by your bedside lamp, or have a row of 4 large framed work striding across the wall over the bed - remember not too high! They need to look as if they complement, belong together.”  Babette Hayes

Congratulations to the clever team who curated and produced it.

My take home message was: With ideas, humanity, courage, energy and resilience human beings do so much. It was wonderful to hear from so many Australians who are out in the world making a difference.

 If I had had the courage to join the audience group to express my idea worth spreading it would be.

“Having listened to and watched the brave, talented and courageous Australians who took the stage. I would suggest to parents they provide experiences that encourage moral strength and positive energy - the world is a big and challenging place, we need to develop resilience combined with our passions and talents . . . this is not gained from softness, over-protection or ease, but reality and struggle.” Gillian Corban

Not so long ago we looked at rituals and their importance here at Corban & Blair. An extension of this is the ritual of gift giving. It is often hard to find the perfect gift and one where you can add that extra something special to make it unique. Aside from a selection of wonderful Corban & Blair products to choose from many of them can be personalised with a message from you to those you hold dear  You can add a name, greeting or date making your gift ideal for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion.

With Mother's Day fast approaching here’s a perfect time to give your mum/mom/mama a really special Mother's Day gift – one she can keep and enjoy for years to come.

As outlined on the Corban & Blair personalisation page you can personalise a product in three simple steps by choosing a font style, a font colour and its position. The cost of foil lettering for one standard line is $38.00 + GST.

Personalise a gorgeous album, journal or travel wallet – just to mention a few of our wonderful things!

If you need any help with your personalisation just call or email as we are more than happy to help.

The opportunity to be creative and experience the many wonderful museums, galleries, parks and streets located in our cities and towns is inspiring to the growth and development of a child’s mind and self. Encouraging them to explore and develop their world through visual arts – drawing, painting, discussing, seeing, feeling and playing – is a worthy investment. So, why not take the kids to an art class or workshop or there is a free art adventure tour at the Art Gallery of NSW these school holidays.

This week we spotted a few April school holiday ideas in this months Time Out: The Messy Spot, a creative play centre for kids in Maroubra; the Object Gallery in Surry Hills who run quirky Make Play holiday workshops; The Powerhouse Museum’s Wallace and Gromit model making workshop; creative workshops for kids at Koskela’s where you take unwanted materials and make quirky toys and sculptures out of them (as seen above). Sounds like great fun to be had and a chance to get creative with loads of encouragement and inspiration!

We have recently joined Pinterest and have been having fun pining things to inspire and delight including a Kids pinboard! We even have a competition at the moment which ends tomorrow where you could win a set of two black 5x7” Mini Box frames to kick start your child’s Wall of Frames and fill with all their holiday creations. On Pinterest? Join in on the fun and repin to win!

“A mentoring relationship is one where a wiser and more experienced person assists another person to grow and learn.

Mentors offer support, strategic advice, inspiration and sometimes a reality check; most importantly they share our commitment to developing people. “ McCarthy Mentoring.
http://www.mccarthymentoring.com

Mentoring is a wonderful development and empowerment opportunity. It is an effective way of helping people to progress in their careers and lives. It is a partnership between two people (mentor and mentee) and is based upon mutual trust and respect.

A mentor should ask questions and challenge, while providing guidance and encouragement. Mentoring allows the mentee to explore new ideas in confidence while taking on responsibility and opportunities rather than leaving them to chance.

Have you ever thought about it? It does not matter what stage of the work or business cycle you are in, a good mentor can be of great benefit to you.

Last week our very own Babette Hayes, we feel we can claim Babette in this way as she’s part of the extended Corban & Blair family, gave us some tips on hanging frames in our homes. Here Babette looks at what you can bring together to create your own collection and hang a wonderful wall of frames.

“For those starting out it’s an opportunity to be adventurous when it comes to choosing what to collect and frame, what to put up and where and how to display it.  I think it’s important to only have what you really like around you, remembering that whatever it is it is an expression of who you are.

Home is about memories and experiences of how you have lived, what you have discovered, what is meaningful to you. You might have some photographs, bought an artist’s sketch or a poster of the festival you went to, or an art exhibition.  A group of favourite photographs, family, places that bring back happy memories can be blown up very large with simple black or colourful mounts which look great with black, white, or silver frames. Silver frames with angled edges catch the light, which adds to the experience of the room. Mind you the glass does too, which I enjoy. Non reflective Perspex can deaden the look. So be careful.”  Babette Hayes

Images featured above:

Elliot Mason's 'Puriri' in the Corban & Blair 12x14" Slim Box Frame (with Black Mat); "Lewis Morley Photographer of the 60s" National Portrait Gallery (London) exhibition poster 1989-90; "Posters" exhibition poster V&A (London);  Street art photographed by Arabella Hayes; "Marble" B&W Photograph by Sandy Hagenbach; Miniature "Garden" scene by Vincent Bousserez for Louise Vuitton; "Hope" poster of Barrack Obama; "Easter Dinosaur Egg" by Emilia; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts poster for "Miles Davis" 2010.

Babette Hayes is an Interior designer and Stylist respected for her work in promoting quality design through her pages in Belle, Vogue Living and House & Garden. She is the principal of Babette Hayes Design and has been working with clients, architects, builders and developers for the past 40 years as an interior designer/decorator and colour consultant, as well as publishing numerous books and presenting lectures.

Arabella works here with us at Corban & Blair and Babette is her mother, so we asked Babette for some advice on hanging pictures - something close to our hearts with all the wonderful frames we sell. Here is the first installment of her words of wisdom, keep an eye out for the next one!

"Personalise and transform your home – make the walls work for you.

Putting a home together is one of the most satisfying experiences…whether starting with the smallest apartment space or a large multi bedroom home. What you put or don’t put on your walls makes a difference to the feel and look that you want to establish. I have sometimes gone into someone’s home to give advice and ended up simply rearranging the furniture and re-framing the art work, and totally changed the feel of the place.

Rather than have one art work hung in the middle of each wall, I group them so they relate to each other and the furniture, I hang low rather than high (beware of picture hangers who are tall as they go by their own height). When viewing you need to be able to feel your relationship to the work, it needs to be accessible, so you can really look into it, and it needs to relate to the furniture or the location."  Babette Hayes

The above Wall of Frames is available from our Lewisham store or our online shop. Buy between now and 7th April and receive 15% off RRP.

Photograph of Babette is by Lewis Morley.

We have many rituals that have developed over the years. Sharing morning tea everyday is a must attend activity and an important ingredient of our culture.

We also have rituals around birthdays. These always include a cake usually made by Kathy. It is a big challenge for the person who has to make Kathy’s cake.

We also have rituals around those that sadly leave us. Here is Carolyn at her farewell lunch where we get a chance to acknowledge and thank her for many years of contribution at Corban & Blair.

What rituals are important to you?

For more information Wikipedia defines rituals:

“A ritual may be performed on specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals or communities. It may be performed by a single individual, by a group, or by the entire community; in arbitrary places, or in places especially reserved for it; either in public, in private, or before specific people.

A ritual may be restricted to a certain subset of the community, and may enable or underscore the passage between religious or social states.

The purposes of rituals are varied; with religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthening of social bonds, social and moral education, demonstration of respect or submission, stating one's affiliation, obtaining social acceptance or approval for some event—or, sometimes, just for the pleasure of the ritual itself.

Even common actions like hand-shaking and saying hello may be termed rituals.”

Travelling in Australia or over seas has never been so easy.

See Dymocks front window Travel with Corban & Blair in George Street Sydney.
Our banner features icons to suggest the pleasure and mystery of travel. These icons are reflected in our Journey Range found in the Dymocks store.

Old suitcases evoke nostalgia for past travel, along with photos, framed images, boarding passes, maps, travel wallets & luggage tags.

Creating this window display was lots of fun as people passed on their way to work on Wednesday morning.

We were very honoured when Suzi Dafnis from the ABN included us in the 2013 Businesswomen's Hall of Fame, honouring top female entrepreneurs. There are some wonderful women with great ideas included on this list. Have a look.
http://www.abn.org.au/businesswomens-hall-of-fame/about/