An Australian-born artist living and working in New York City, Craig Redman creates colourful and bold artwork across mediums including illustration, painting, sculpture, typography, pattern and editorial design.

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The Aussie Design Federation is calling for submissions for their first, The Federation Annual.

The theme for submissions is ’1′ — given this is the first edition — and the general categories are Graphic Design, Visual Arts, Fashion Design, Photography, Illustration and Industrial Design. Submissions close August 20 and the book due in November. Yet another great publication through which Australian creatives to increase their exposure.

The Florence range of rolled candles by Queen B is said to be inspired by the intricacy and detail of European design with a distinctly Australian flavour. The result of this clever combination is a lovely candle featuring meticulously convoluted scrolls and swirls within each leaf; which make an eye-catching addition to any home.

Some fun illustrative typography from Australian-based creative designer Luke Lucas. Check out more Australian design at our sister website, The Colour

There’s a shop on Smith Street in Melbourne where all young designers go to live. In.cube8r supports all things craft and handmade in Melbourne, running like a long-term market, with the gallery divided into different areas that the artists lease for a tiny cost. There are more than 75 of Melbourne’s top crafters on show and the gallery is always looking for new designers.

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Belinda Chen will be graduating with an honours in Communication Design from Melbourne’s RMIT this year. Her vibrant design work takes its inspirations from ‘light reflections, design with interaction, sounds, Murakami, going on adventures and people’.

The bling era has been and gone, and in its wake is jewellery that’s designed to express individual style, not bank balances. Among this new wave of designers is Sydney-based Matt Weston. His pieces have been making it into sought after magazines and advertisements for years. But it’s his latest collection that really got our attention. Mixing a tribal feel in seamlessly with his signature edgy street style, Weston does his thing with black suede, heavy metal, feathered charms, white rope and knotted chains. And the result? Unisex necklaces and bracelets you’ll be adding to the Christmas list quick smart.

Newcastle is now my home town and I’m enjoying meeting some of the interesting people living here. Working under the name of Illumination Ink, Heath Killen has a strong and refined style. His diverse portfolio includes everything from album art to corporate IDs and typography. In addition to his commercial work at Illumination Ink, he’s recently been producing a series of surreal Australian landscapes, some of which are on display at Flickr.

Pioneering Australian designer Kara Smith can definitely give Urban Originals a run for their money. She creates the most innovative handbags for those that truly want to stand out. Detailed with lovely pockets and vintage buttons, Smith’s retro inspired designs literally transform original vintage fabrics into ‘one-off’ clutches, handbags, totes and accessories. I’m in love with her clutches! But yes, if you missed her over the week end at the Blue Mountain’s Leura Village Fair, she’s stocked in Glebe and Sydney’s Todae store, as well as at a variety of online outlets.

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Picture this. It’s the 1970s, and you’re a lady of leisure in a glamorous European city. If you’re like us, you’re already trying to picture what you’d be wearing. So it’s just as well Melbourne label Arnsdorf has our look covered. The label’s latest collection, ‘I think we could do great things’, has us lounging in wrap jumpsuits, asymmetrical dresses and backless trench-coats in a palette of powdered blue, chalk, nude, dove grey and milky marshmallow. Once you start wearing the pieces in the range, you’ll understand how those Europeans manage to look so damn cool without even trying. Now I don’t know about you, but we’re just about ready to slip into something a little more comfortable.

Sydney-based illustrator and designer, Jane Abma, has recently set up her own design studio — 1000 Words — and is keeping herself busy with a variety of interesting projects. I caught up with her to chat about her studio and her work routine: What time of day do you feel the most creative? ‘It totally depends on the amount of Zs I get, but usually first thing in the morning or quite late at night. Most of my ideas come about when I’m lying in bed trying to get to sleep’.
What does it take to get you there?
‘Numerous flat whites, cheese (mmmm … white Costello), thumping music (loving UK breaks DJ Tipper at the moment), and my trusty design books. Occasionally a glass of Tokay is involved when deadlines get pushed into the late hours of the night. These things, as well as burning my favourite incense (Egyptian Musk), always help me to get into the right head space to produce creative work’.

Do you consider you workspace to be inspiring or just a place to get inspiration elsewhere?
‘I love my studio as a place to chill as well as get projects completed. I usually have illustrations and design pieces that I have collected tacked to my walls to encourage me down new paths. Having said that, you can often find me trawling through books in the design section at Kinokuniya for hours at a time. If you see me there, please tell me not to spend any more money!’

Any colours you’re gravitating towards — both with your fashion and your illustration/design?
‘I quite fancy yellow and melon pigments at the moment. My illustrations are usually done in black and white, initially using pencil or ink. Then my colours of choice are incorporated at the last stages of the piece, or sometimes not at all’.

See any work lately that has blown you away?
‘I’m always a fan of Alex Trochut’s work. I check out what he has been up to when I need an extra kick of inspiration. I am also impressed by the work of Grand People and Non Format. All of the above have a deep appreciation of design and typography, which I constantly aspire towards’.

Says Australian designer Josh Brown on his beautiful collage work: ‘A lot of my inspiration comes from artists like Kill Pixie, Alex Trochet, Damn Sea Legs, and Jonathon Zawada. I have recently started creating a collection of portraits using pencil. I am intrigued to branch out and use a range of different media in the near future. But for now I am loving the pencil look!’ ‘In a lot of my earlier works and still now I have a love for illustration in really old childrens books. I use a lot of characters from books in my artwork and manipulate these through collage to create my own characters which tell a new story, creating an entirely new purpose for the character’.

The White Book will be staging their first fashion exhibition during Australian Fashion Week. Featuring Alexi Freeman, BelleBika, Charmaine Baltis, Ghost & Lola [above], Kanchi, Lady, Limedrop, Mwasi Kitoko, Premonition, Smena and Vicious Threads, the exhibiution will showcase key pieces from their Spring Summer 2008/09 collections from the intimate and innovative space at Gaffa Gallery in Sydney’s Surry Hills. The exhibition, which runs between April 24 and May 6, is free and open to the public.

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This collection of gift cards features five unique illustrations, each of which has been inspired by the stories and activities of childhood. It’s the work of Sydney-based Non Fiction, who also produce a range of cool t-shirts and have a weblog ‘of products made by independent Australian artists, designers and craftspeople’.

Until recently, Australian-born, New York based designer and illustrator Deanne Cheuk was the creative force behind the stunning and progressive visuals in art and culture magazine Tokion. We spoke to her recently about her eclectic work schedule. Many people know you through your art direction of Tokion. You really pushed things on that magazine. It must have been fun to work on? ‘It was great, especially to come from a history of self-publishing. I didn’t have to deal with the stress of funding and content, I just got to have fun with the design and typography. I was really bored of the design of other magazines at the time, and I felt like there was a lot of opportunity to do something different, so I just went with it. As far as pushing things visually — at the time I was developing my illustration style too so that really influenced the design of Tokion’. What projects have you been working on this past year? ‘I’ve been working with the fashion designer Sue Stemp on prints for her collections, and also working in my studio on new paintings and drawings in preparation for an art road trip to China in October with Jose Parla, Ro Starr and Young Kim’. Ever pine for the beaches and fresh air of Perth? ‘Never. I pine for my family and friends there, but I don’t miss Australia. I love New York!’ What state of mind do you need to be in order to really create something special? ‘I usually work on a few jobs at a time but I spend as much time as I can on each before I move to the next. Ideas generally come for one job while working on another. I guess my mind is wandering while I work. Maybe that’s why I can’t work with music on — I like to work in silence’. What was the last piece of work by another illustrator or designer that totally blew your mind? ‘I just saw the cover of Beautiful Decay the other day that Alex Trochut did, I thought that was incredible!’ [read Deanne Cheuk's posts for Lost At E Minor] [ more about Deanne Cheuk]

Internationally feted designer Marc Newson first turned his hand to Qantas first class Skybed seats and now has had a crack at their Sydney First Class Lounge, as shown here. This is a new look for Qantas in its airport lounges and interestingly is no longer trying too hard to have that uniquely ‘Australian’ feel. Instead it’s uber-slick and universal in its appeal.