The latest issue of Est Magazine features our creative director, Tom Adair and his home in Melbourne’s inner city suburb or Richmond.

Appropriately titled “The Creative Thread” the article is written by Sian MacPherson and accompanied by beautiful shots by Toby Sctott and styled by Stephanie Stamatis.
Throughout the article you can see select pieces from the Abode Living Range and how Tom has put them together in his own house to accompany some of his artworks by his alias Juan Mcarb.

For the full article click here: Estmagazine.com.au

In recent months, some of the lucky people who get to visit our showroom may have noticed the shop windows have been evolving.

Myself and Jennie (one of our lovely retail staff who specialises in VM) have put together a September window to re-launch the Neon quilt cover range. The Neon quilt cover range was a massive hit last summer, and with huge demand we bought it back. So we thought it would be appropriate to make a statement in the main window of our showroom.

The window has been themed with white, and neon pieces and then to add the pop we used UV Blacklights. We love it and if you’re in the area after dark, it’s well worth a drive by.

As I was taking the shots for the blog, Sookie (the un-official Abode pup) made an appearance with her neon collar which made her look quite the part.

On July 28th in The Age – Home Life magazine Abode were given a very flattering mention by one (if not the best) interior design firms, Hecker Guthrie.
As well as the wonderful comments, Simone Haag’s home/bedroom is featured, a beautiful little home called ‘the log cabin’. Simon’s Blog can be seen here  and home can be seen here on The Design Files.

“Don’t underestimate the value of quality pillows either. (The Abode pillow) It’s sublime, a luxurious feel, and with 100 per cent goose down, retains its shape. Also ‘extraordinary’ is the Abode mattress topper”
-Paul Hecker

For the full article see below (images will enlarge to readable size).

The products Paul refers to in the article are:
Cashmere Pillow
Mattress Topper

As we get deeper into Winter it’s clearly getting colder and colder. As the nights in Melbourne get down to zero, i find myself adding more and more warmth to my house; Flannel sheets, Angora throws, Nordic cushions (Hairy cushions, as we call them in the office) and an extra down quilt! With all of that in mind we have put together our latest Winter 2013 catalogue which is due to be sent early July.

Our catalogue is something we hold very close to our heart. Each edition is planned, shot, styled, designed, produced 100% in-house, by us. The only thing we don’t do it print it. We let the professionals do that! So on Monday morning i flew up to Brisbane to do a ‘press check’ and to watch the new catalogue as it was being printed.The point of the press check  is to make sure all the colours are printed correctly and to make sure our products look as close as possible to the real thing. I thought it may be interesting for you to see how the catalogue looks before its turns up in your letter box, so here are a few pictures from my trip (plus a sneak peak at some of the pages).

If you’d like to receive a copy of the new catalogue and you’re not already on our catalogue list you can subscribe here!

Press check of the inside cover

Colour reading the cover

A stack of covers printed and finished

The catalogue in action

All hands on deck adjusting the monstrous printer

Printed, Folded and Cut on the production line

Collated sections of the catalogue, ready to be bound

Pillows and quilts (or doonas for the local Australian) are a large part of our business, however are less than exciting visually…feathers in a white sack. We wanted to try and make them fun and inject some life into them so we held a photo shoot leading up to the peak of the winter with our Australian made pillows and quilts.

Now…who doesn’t love a good pillow fight!?
I remember my youthful days being spent riding bikes and beating my little brother up with  feather filled pillows, which would lead to endless laughter. I recently saw an image of some kids mid-pillow fight and the nostalgia got the better of me so i planned this shoot to vicariously relive the fun of my childhood.

When we told two gorgeous girls, that after the ‘boring’ stuff we could have a pillow fight, their eyes lit up and they screamed with excitement! For the rest of the day all we heard was “When can we have the pillow fight?” Finally after we had shot the pillows, quilts, bathrobes and sheets, we set the stage for the main event. I handed them two hand-filled pillows with a small opening on each for visual feather effect. Lights, camera, fan…ACTION! It was a gentle start, but after 2 minutes they were throwing handfuls of feathers, blowing feathers and eating feathers! After 5 minutes they were knee-deep and doing snow angels in the feathers. We couldn’t drag them away, they were covered – head to toe. The fits of laughter and tears were very contagious as the ‘adults’ watched on.

Unfortunately i was volunteered to clean up. But it was well worth it. I hope you enjoy the shots!

Keep your eyes out in the next catalogue for the final images!

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Late last year our Creative Director, Tom Adair was very lucky to have his house shot by Inside Out magazine, it features in the May/June 2013 issue . Tom just completed his kitchen renovation (yes they are concrete benches and he cast them in the backyard) and the face lift of the facade. Styled by the clever and sought after Glen Proebstel and shot by Mark Roper he said “this was a great shoot to be involved in”. The house looks great, and his artworks, under the name nom de plum Juan Mcarb (juanmcarb.com) feature heavily throughout the shoot.  If you look carefully there are a few of Tom’s favourite Abode Living pieces that he uses himself.

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In late 2012 we were approached by the new Flinders Hotel, on the Mornington Peninsula as their number one choice to supply their Quarters establishment with our luxury percale Milano sheets, waffle Meko quilt covers and Classic 600 egyptian cotton towels. The decision to trust the fit out to Abode Living was made easier for Flinders Hotel when they learnt that we are the manufacturer of our own products and that we make them on-site in our Camberwell sewing facilty. This meant a super fast turn-around, which enabled them to open in time for summer. The whole order of Milano bed linen and Meko waffle quilt covers for 38 rooms, 24 king beds, 24 king single, 12 double beds was made within 10 days in Camberwell and sent directly to Flinders for the first opening weekend.

I was lucky enough to be invited down to stay in the boutique accommodation early 2013, which was a welcome weekend getaway after the busy period since returning from Europe. The Quarters establishment is set behind the old Flinders Hotel pub, which has recently been refurbished and converted into one of the locals favourite eateries, now known as The Deck.

First and foremost the Flinders Hotel is a conference centre, in a serene  location away from distractions at arms length from the city. A pleasant one and bit hour drive (thanks to the new Peninsula link freeway) south of the city makes it a convenient and easy place for small business conferences. The accommodation is very clean and offers a variety of rooms configurations for different guests, while the rooms offer all the essential amenities of the travelling folk or weekend getaway-ers. Wifi, luxury Aveda soaps and moisturisers, contemporary decor, air-con, flat screen TV, iPod connectivity and separate work desks for those who are inclined and last but not least luxury Abode Living bed linen and towels.

The Quarters accommodation is a great place to stay if you are planning a trip to see the Mornington Peninsula. It’s the quiet side of the Peninsula but offers so much to explore, wineries and restaurants of Red Hill, Main Ridge and Balnarring. Some of my favourites are Montalto winery (i highly recommend the private picnic in the vineyards during the warmer months, which is also a really thoughtful gift idea), The Red Hill Epicurean Centre for breakfast or 10 Minutes By Tractor for a casual lunch. Or if you are after something a little more back to nature, there are plenty of local hikes and drives through the quiet country dirt roads. While in Flinders we walked up to the main lookout and down to the Flinders pier, where usually the local surfers can be found when there is decent swell.

For further details on Quarters at Flinders Hotel or contact details please see their website.

Flinders Quarters – Mornington Peninsula Victoria
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With one exhibition under our belt and out of the way it was time to shoot over to Paris, but not without a quick stop off in London for some personal shopping and retail inspiration. We were lucky enough to wake up in London to the biggest, fluffiest snowflakes I’ve seen for a long time. Luckily the Metro in London kept me out of the snowy weather for most of the day as we journeyed from store to store. One of my favourites is Liberty’s  which for those of you who haven’t been, is in a grand old building with 5 levels of high-end shopping for men, women and the home. But my favourite section of Liberty is actually the tiny florist out the front, on street level entrance. These girls were dedicated! Minus 3 outside and not one heater insight and they were still putting together arrangement’s with gusto and serving customers. The retail in London is very grand and puts some of our larger local department stores to shame, they really know how to do it overseas.

After London we took the Euro Star train over to Paris under the channel, which was a very pleasant experience at this time of year. The early morning sunrise with cool blues and pinks in the sky, blended beautifully with the fresh white snow that had fallen overnight as we came into Paris. The photos just don’t do it justice. Paris is a beautiful city. The achitechture and the street scapes are so grand. The city goes on forever and with dirty white sandstone walls and iron balconies. With a half a day to kill time, i ventured down to Saint Honore L’Rue, where two of my favourite stores are situated, Surface To Air and Colette.

The following day i again woke to a very light snowfall. It was like a dream…snow in Paris. I think everything looks better when it’s had fresh snow fall on it, and Paris is definitely no different. The primary reason we was in Paris was to attend the Maison Objet January exhibition. It was an amazing fair with so much to see, that again we were walking nonstop for 4 days through booths and semi-permanent mock mansions that had been purpose built. The effort some companies go to is quite extreme, but amazing. Like Heimtextil, it was heavily regulated with the amount of photography that was permitted (so unfortunately you will have to make do with my tourist snaps from around Paris).

After one Camembert baguette too many and lack of Melbourne-standard coffee, we were ready to  head back to Melbourne. A great trip overall, with great new finds and ideas for the Abode Living product range. So keep your eyes on our New Arrivals section for product starting to filter through.

Liberty London – The best florist

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The first post of 2013 and of our new blog…welcome.

I thought it would be fitting to get the blog off to a start during my recent trip to the worlds largest home textile fair, Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany. You should see the size of this place, it’s 11 halls (roughly 20,000sqm each), and some of them are double storey! It really is an amazing fairground, and must be seen to be believed. Not even 4 days is enough to cover all the exhibitors.

The first time I visited Heimtextil 2 years ago, I wasn’t prepared for the enormity of the stands/displays, however this time I knew what to expect and came fully prepared. In the larger European halls the stands are literally planned a year in advance, then built and flown in by the air, to be constructed quickly in 1-2 days before the fair opens. They are like movie sets or houses in their complexity. Cameras are strictly not allowed in the fair, however I did manage to get a few photos (with permission). I did get rounded up by 2 German security guards who interrogated me like an espionage spy, just for carrying my camera.

Each year suppliers, designers and businesses congregate to showcase new technology, new designs and the latest trends in home textiles and products. As a designer this place is heaven. All the colours, textures, fabrics, techniques get new ideas coming, thick and fast. In a way it’s really good to attend this fair at the start of the year because it helps to clearly set the new products that can be introduced into our Abode range. And trust me there are some AMAZING products that have been selected that will appear in our upcoming ranges. Like always, the products will come from the best european suppliers who are masters of their craft. We are now branching out to companies from Netherlands, Denmark and San Francisco (although not European, they use Belgian Linen).

I can’t wait to share the new products with  new and existing Abode customers. My job gives me great pleasure, finding the finest home textile products in the world and bringing them back for everyone to enjoy. And as a bonus I get some of the new stuff for my home!! As soon as things start arriving, we’ll be sure to let you know.

But now it’s off to Paris for Maison Objet.

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