John Hardy, Eco-Celeb: Make Up! Hair! Get this Man a Face Blotter!
How did we miss this? John Hardy, who is adored for his earnest eccentricity, wacky warm heart, and acute eye for great Indonesian textiles, was featured in Destinasian way back in February in an article entitled “Much Ado About Bamboo”. And we missed it. How?
The article delved into some of the true grit of what John does, which is utterly organic, earthy, muddy and valourous. Good for that, I say. John is a likely chap, with plenty of grit under his fingernails. A real hands-on kind of guy who never shirks a good wallow in the rice paddy. But I must say, with all that soil-tilling, the man needs a manicure, frankly. There should be a charity to support nail care for this eco-warrior who doesn’t give a toss what people think, he just gets on with what he believes in, which is grassroots greening of everything he sees. But nails are not the only grooming issue exposed in the aforementioned Destinasian article.
Learn Pro Photography Skills in Ubud
Vincent Sung, a Korean photographer whose career has ranged across the globe is now offering photography lessons at all levels at his newly-established Visual Sponge Institute in Ubud, Bali.
Handsome, charming, fluent in numerous languages including French and English, Vincent has extensive experience teaching photography around the world. He delights in helping people of all ages and nationalities to make the most of their “visual spongeing,” whether their goal is nice holiday snaps or a successful professional shoot. His own portfolio includes edgy fashion images, interiors, architecture, lifestyle shots and feature magazine work.
Stay Well, Sleep Well in Honolulu
The Aqua hotel in Honolulu has reinvented itself as a green, sleek, design boutique property called Renew. What was basically an uninspired late-century box of a hotel is now rather splendid, thanks to its appropriate reinvention, with metro-tropical Asian interiors by Jiun Ho, Malay-born, San Francisco-based designer, whose career we’ve been following for some time. So if you thought that a tasteful, environmentally-responsible stay in a city like Honolulu wasn’t possible, think again. And rooms are priced below $200 online at various travel discount sites.
Getting tropical design right in a changing world (and in a rapidly urbanising Bali), is something we are very interested in, and here’s an interesting approach.
Picture Paradise : Early Photography in the Asia Pacific Region
Frankly, there aren’t a lot of reasons to visit Canberra in the middle of winter, which is now. Here’s one: to see an exhibition of 100 years of Asia-Pacific photography, “Picture Paradise” at the National Gallery of Australia. This is the first exhibition to survey the history of Asia-Pacific photography, showing the work of pioneering local photographers, and Europeans working in the region. Included are images which have never before been exhibited, and a total of over 400 photographs culled from seventeen public and private collections on three continents. If you can’t bring yourself to travel to Canberra before the exhibition closes on 8 November, then definitely buy the exhibition catalog.
Some Eccentric Evening : Dinner at Villa Mako
Last night we had our neighbours Alistair and Melissa Scott for sunset drinks at our almost-finished house in Pererenan, then had dinner with them at their home, Villa Mako. When they arrived at our place, Bruno was in a hot debate with our Javanese carpenter about upcharges on the cabinetry. What was eccentric about this was that Bruno was speaking English and French, and Manu was speaking Javanese. The two have no languages in common, yet they manage to have long discussions. This is beyond eccentric.
So heated was their dialog that Bruno completely forgot that having neighbours for drinks means having drinks in the house, and we had none. At T-minus five minutes I had to rush out in rush hour traffic to find some wine. Problem is, there are no purveyors of alcoholic beverages for miles around, so I drove like a bat out of hell all the way back to Seminyak, from whence I had just come. I snapped up three bottles of cabernet at Best Wines & Spirits, across the street from the Kerobokan jail (home of Schapelle Corby, and former home of the Bali bombers). As I rushed out I wondered how much custom they get from the jail, where guards can be easily persuaded to do inmates’ shopping. Schapelle surely gets her tipples from Best Wines.
I tore back at warp speed to Pererenan dodging dogs and speed demons all the way, arriving just in time to see the sun sink below the horizon and to give our guests a glass, before we went up the road to their place, Villa Mako, for dinner.
Villa Mako is one of many madnesses that have marked the life of the illustrious Alistair Scott (below). In 2005 he abandoned a super-lucrative career at Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong to become a Shakespearean actor in London. His acting experience and credentials prior to this midlife madness were none whatsoever, but Alistair was undaunted and went on to succeed on stage and the small screen. Eccentric to say the least.
Puzzling Evidence : Batik Boutique Gone Wild
About a week ago, I posted my report on the re-opening party at Quarzia, a designer batik boutique around the corner from my office and almost-built gallery in Seminyak. I promised to post photos if Marco and Simonetta, the Quarzians themselves, would send me some pics to post. Well, I got the photos, and all I can say is, the Seminyak crowd was totally unleashed by the potent Negronis served that night. These images provide puzzling evidence, shedding light on the question that begs to be asked: Is there any batik boutique so chic as Quarzia?
Marco of Quarzia, friend, painter Made Wianta, friend.
Simonetta of Quarzia, and master marquetier Etienne d’Sousa
Hot gossip on the steps. Architect Mauro, Bruno Piazza (sipping Negroni), Bona Kayaga (nose and turban), and yours truly.
(Many more puzzling picture below the cut . . . )
Tong’s Psychedelic Tigers
Illustrator Yehrin Tong has devised a stunning tiger pattern, for Maharishi Womenswear. We are mad about tigers in general, the name of our enterprise being Macan Tidur (“The Sleeping Tiger” in Indonesian).
Architectural Digest: Redeemed
I’m not a huge fan of the American magazine, Architectural Digest. Often, the properties featured cross the border between the extravagant and the vulgar, with unleashed spending taking priority over good taste and good design. My sister, a champion of simple living, refers to the magazine as Barfitectural Indigestion, which is perhaps a bit excessive, but less excessive than the properties AD usually features.
Well, AD has redeemed itself in my eyes with the forthcoming September 2008 issue, already visible online. There is more taste, restraint and reality in this issue than I recall having seen in AD for decades. The most noteworthy contents for me are the Venetian home of one of my favourite dealer-designers Axel Veervoordt (above), and the minimalist Mexican retreat of Michael Schaible (below).
Perhaps the economic “come-uppance” that America is experiencing has inspired a return to sobriety and quality after the wanton material excesses of the past decade.
Nice Luzon Tribal Art Site
The Antique Luzon Tribal Art Connoisseurs Organisation (ALTACO) website is simple in presentation, but rich with images and information. I specialise in the arts of the Indonesian archipelago, and don’t often go exploring online for information on Luzon art, but I happened to stumble on this site today. The extensive photo archives contain hundreds of 19th and early 20th century images of everyday life and rituals, including some gruesome photos: a beheaded constable, the roasting of a dog for a head-taking ritual (trophy head in foreground), and so forth. The site, which appears to have been updated only occasionally since 2005, offers a wealth of information in the links, references and research topics pages, and features a “tribal arts issues” page which is relevant to tribal art in general, not only Luzon tribal art.
Beloved Bali Hotel Starts Rehab in October
Breaking news. One of Bali’s most beloved hotels plans to close in October for a few months of rehab. The story behind the upgrade sounds like a chapter from the life of a celebrity hostess. The year before she is to celebrate a landmark birthday, she goes off to the surgeon and the health spa for a few months, then reappears in time for her fête in a grand form, looking more glorious than ever, and much younger. The hotel in question has a landmark anniversary to celebrate in 2009. You heard it here first.