Jo O’Callaghan: op shop queen extraordinaire

I’ve known Joanne O’Callaghan for a number of years but recently she has moved interstate to pursue a career in theatre. Her award-winning shows have sold out consistently at the Adelaide Fringe and traipsed their way through the regular Melbourne circuits. Joanne’s controlled and dominant voice, together with a natural flair for comedy, have seen her performing in solo shows such as Ca Va?, which we were most fortunate to see last night.

However, there is another side to Jo that brings all of her skills into alignment, and that is her passion for Op-Shopping. As a long-time expert on all things second-hand and vintage, Joanne brings her passion together with her theatre skills (and a big bus!) to immerse participants in an afternoon filled with fun, theatre, and a whole bunch of bargains along the way.

See Jo interviewed on 9am with David & Kim.

See a review of her Op Shop tour by the Independent Weekly.

If you’re in Melbourne and looking for cheap thrills in this time of economic meltdown, Jo might just have the solution you’ve been looking for.

Feature blog: Meet Me At Mikes!

One of the only ways I can stay creatively inspired is by trawling through the plethora of AMAZING craft blogs that keep cropping up.  Today’s tea break surfaced this Melbourne-based writer and retailer, who has put together a wonderfully rich blog called Meet Me At Mikes.

Good for: tasty recipes, craft tutorials, finding other Australian creatives and beautiful images.

http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com/

Inspiration.

Its hard to stay inspired.  Especially when the TV’s are full of US election campaigns, the newspapers are full of financial crises, and the internets are full of facebooks.  Here are some places in which I have found safe havens whilst journeying through the dark winter of creative absentia.

1. Fecal Face

—> Weird name, awesome art.  Based in SF, the site is fun-filled with artist interviews, features, reviews, user-submitted galleries, forums, weekly art competitions… oh, the list goes on!  Please check it out – it is so much fun!

2. Computerlove

—> For some of that warm, fuzzy design-lover’s satisfaction, I use Computerlove.  Go to ‘Public Feed’ and then ‘topics’ to find all sorts of exciting things on your favourite medium/ style.  Or, alternatively, just click random links and see what happens!

3. Etsy

—> For the hand-made, home-grown, and dearly affordable, go and get yourself some original art, craft and design, and help a starving artist in the process.  Everybody wins!

4. Soopkichn

—> If you want to know anything about great contemporary Australian illustrators, artists and designers, Soopkichn is the… wait, we need capitals here… THE website to visit.  With regular updates on exhibitions and artist news, as well as a whole plethora of buyable goods (tasty!), it is worth regular visits.

5. Pink Tentacle

—> Ah, those crazy Japanese!  What will they think of next?!  To find out, visit Pink Tentacle.  From the wildly creative and amazingly electronic, to the scientifically insane and the simply beautiful, Pink Tentacle is like a newspaper for the Fantastic Planet.  Go get some ‘tentacle love!