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The second room I decorated in Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer was for Goldie, the golden retriever. She's one of unofficial animal mascots of the game and has featured in a number of the boxes and manuals for the Animal Crossing franchise. To match her elevated profile, I kind of envisioned a blogger persona. Or that of a respected university professor who graduated from college at age fourteen. Naturally had to give her a laptop, as well as piles of books and coffee to drink. So far each room has been the same size which has been limiting in what you're able to do and how you can decorate it. 
The space is kind of quaint and full of antiques like the phonograph and suitcase which makes it feel like a vintage installation. I saw how someone else interpreted this room and well... my effort pales in comparison but I'm still having a lot of fun with the game. You can also revisit clients and change aspects of their room once you're finished. It's important details like that which add longevity to the game. More importantly this game makes me rethink my relationship with interior design as well as the style icons who inspire each room. In this instance it was Alexa Chung and Susana Lau of Style Bubble.
Amidst working a double shift on Saturday I miraculously found time to attend Minna Gilligan book signing for the National Gallery of Victoria Art Book Fair. Her book, entitled 'Poems, Prayers and Promises' is limited edition and was compiled by the Melbourne artist and Rookie Mag contributor specifically for NGV. It also includes a series of emotionally-charged poems by Gilligan, reminiscent of her art school days in which she composed zines for Sticky Institute in Melbourne. Poems, Prayers and Promises also happens to be the title of a John Denver song, which reminds me of when my dad first taught me to play guitar and years later when I found and bought one of his vinyl's from a thrift store. I don't feel like it necessarily detracts value from it though, but I did think it was an idea originally conceived from Minna's brain. There were a number of blogs I enjoyed reading whose names were conceived from song lyrics, or in reference to some other fragment of popular culture. In a way these links are inevitable unless.
It was also a good opportunity to meet with other Rookie readers, I got to photograph Kelly and Amy as well as Bonny who left a little earlier but sat with me during Minna's short interview. I admit I was an unashamed fangirl who sat in the front row and was first in-line to get my book signed. I've met Minna a couple of times for Rookie related events, as well as a drawing class hosted at the NGV and at the Romance Was Born Bush Magic show for fashion week. Given how accessible she is on her own blog and being able to read through the archives written when she was a student in art school I feel a close affinity. However, these feelings are through the veil of an admirer and someone who does not know her personally and I should make that distinction. It'd be really cool to know her on a personal level, but I feel like I have more growing to do before I can transcend the status of fangirl. I'm not ashamed to admit that I am one, but once you approach someone as a fan it's difficult to then be seen as a peer.
The book is absolutely beautiful and I got my copy signed (of course) with the cutest message written in pink Sharpie. *Did anyone else get three loves written in theirs I don't think so* The cover reminds me of National Geographic with it's iconic yellow frame and beautiful photographer which, incidentally, Minna sometimes compiles into her dreamy collages and paintings. I also got three new pins for my psychedelic arty farty collection which I am super excited about. Kelly and Amy are also wearing their new pins in the photos I took which were both totally amazing. I haven't been able to sit down and immerse myself in its pages yet but I'm saving it for a special occasion. Finally, for international fans who missed out, fret not! Minna is publishing her ~*official*~ book which is due to come out in September this year. Minna also had some pins leftover so I recommend following her on instagram as she may do a giveaway soon ( BIG disclaimer: I have no idea and am not representing her in any official capacity).
By some sort of accident I found this book at a thrift store for $4 containing information about some of my favourite Japanese designers including Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, her protege Junya Watanabe, mainline Issey Miyake as well as Pleats Please and Yōji Yamamoto. I was pretty much speechless that I found something so relevant to my interests and containing a wealth of information in the suburbs of south eastern Melbourne. More importantly the book's preface put the historical nature of Japanese clothing to better understand and contextualize its origins. Importantly it looks at the ways in which the brands advertised, how they conducted their runway shows (with pictures you won't find on style.com) and the way in which people interact with the brands. It's always more interesting to me when people wear their archive pieces, rather than passing their pieces along in order to wear current season.
While you could read it from cover to cover the book isn't quite structured to give the same satisfaction or indeed organisation. Instead it's something that would happily live on a coffee table to entertain guests or spark a conversation. This particular version has also been translated into Dutch and artfully balances the visual nature of these clothes while reinforcing their intellectual content. The above photographs are merely a selection of what I found to be most enjoyable but I suppose there are aspects which it did not include which I'd love to uncover. It echoes this sentiment of 'cool having a certain mystery to it' (thanks Chloë Sevigny). While that's something which I cannot personally live by, I love reading and gaining insight into different things especially when I cannot discuss the subject matter in day to day life. It's a handy little book to hand so if you do come across it in a pokey little book store and you have a love of Japanese designers I implore you to invest in it- you won't be disappointed!
