Lost AT E Minor

Events / This Charming Man exhibition

November 13, 2007 | Events | by Is Not Magazine |

Ed Janssen is famed in Melbourne for his jewellery designs, sold through cult Morrissey-friendly label This Charming Man. ‘The Knuckle Sandwich’ charm necklace (two pieces of bread on either side of a tiny set of brass knuckles, as pictured above) exudes an oddly amusing menace. More recently ‘The Bear Trap’ has been dangling from every second neck, wiping out hope for Melbourne’s unsuspecting tiny forest animals. Janssen is about to launch a new range inspired by the iconography of various secret societies. Melburnians can check out their old and new favourites at the first This Charming Man exhibition launching this week at Alice Euphemia’s new store. Flex those tiny knuckles and watch those tiny feet. Read more

Illustration / Tin&Ed

April 23, 2007 | Illustration | by Is Not Magazine |

Melbourne illustrators, designers and men-about-town Tin&Ed are known and loved for many things. Their lost-in-a-forest illustrations, their science-meets-whimsy line-based art, their collages, their photographs, their escapades and their generally unexpected solutions to design problems. Tin&Ed’s work is great, probably because they strive to find the best answer to each design challenge rather than aiming for a distinct studio style. Their recent work for Crumpler is not only awesome to behold, but has applications way beyond the commercial. Check out the animated alphabet and behold your ticket to the best graphic email signature ever. Spend a few minutes on the site and you’ll work out what we mean.

Fashion / This Charming Man

March 13, 2007 | Fashion | by Is Not Magazine |

With one foot in Melbourne and the other in New York City, Ed Janssen has found such a big fan base for his hand-made jewellery that he has had to cut back on his other great love in life - making the best espresso you’re ever likely to sip from a cardboard cup. But Ed’s charm necklaces are still inspired by his experiences in the cafes of Melbourne and Manhattan. Under the label This Charming Man, his cult item is known as ‘the knuckle sandwich’. Fashioned from sterling silver, it’s a set of three charms - two pieces of bread to hang on either side of a tiny knuckle duster. Other pieces include ‘the knuckle bagel’, as well as steaks, burger patties and single slices of cheese. We don’t know about New York, but every man in Melbourne worth his winklepickers is wearing these right now. [see also Lynda Holt]

Photography / Amanda de Simone

February 18, 2007 | Photography | by Is Not Magazine |

Amanda de Simone is a Melbourne photographer who has a fine fine haircut. We also think she is the most exciting photographic artist in the city right now. Her portraits combine emotions like rage and grief with questions about masculinity, femininity, desire and … well … the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll. Her new exhibition at McCulloch gallery is called ‘Cock Fight’ Playing with the idea of the men’s club, ‘Amanda explores men’s lust for undying fame, their internal prowess in battle, their sensitivity to insults’. We think the idea is to pit the portraits against one another in a kind of imaginary Battle Royale. Then maybe pick some fights with some jocks, which we do quite frequently anyway, or at least whenever we walk past The Prince. Those who saw ‘Crying Boy Fanclub’ last year will know this exhibition is going to be hot.

Products / The Litmusphere

January 18, 2007 | Products | by Is Not Magazine |

The mysterious Melbourne-based Litmus Journal has been in bookstores for a while now - from Australia to London - starting with Litmus Minus Three and building momentum through Minus Two, Minus One and Zero to the inevitable Issue One, currently on sale. Each issue is themed and publishes work by an expanding community of emerging writers, artists, illustrators and photographers. Recently the founders launched Litmusphere, an ‘online magazine fashioned by the faithful’ released in weekly installments online and with a limited print run. According to editor Chris Flynn they are totally into new contributors. We started by bolstering their worthy ‘zombie haiku‘ campaign: ‘I thought I shot him; The thing is to kill the brain; We got a twitcher’. [illustrations by Pat Dalton]