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 The gavel-to-grapes auction house offers bottles ranging from $13.95 to $40,000 at the new retail space, as well as online.

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The independent design scene in Canberra consistently rumbles, but perhaps not as audibly as it does in our larger, and assumed cooler, cities. The recently opened Shop Handmade however, is turning some curious eyes towards the nation’s capital.

Established by the avid women behind Canberra’s popular Handmade Market, Shop Handmade labels itself a designer collective; a retail space offering indie designers a unique opportunity to sell their creations. Shop Handmade showcases both local and interstate makers in a dynamic retail environment right at the heart of Canberra’s CBD. The two-fold brilliance of the shop is it offers designers a much needed retail space to have their work seen, and allows the public daily tangible access to these independent products, something that was previously limited in Canberra. (Two already existing but petite places of note however are the Hive Gallery in Braddon and the Craft ACT gallery shop).

Utilising a rent-this-space system, there is an ever-rotating collection of handmade products on display at Shop Handmade. At any one time there will be work from around 80 individual designers available, meaning the breadth and variety of treasures is superb. Products range from recycled lamps and hand-printed textiles to customisable cookies, and are made using intriguing techniques such as letterpress or silver-smithing. Each designer that sells their wares is selected through a detailed application and interview process, aiming to ensure integrity of the items being sold. Another endearing quality of the store is the mix of established makers and debut designers being shown simultaneously. Admired products previously seen floating around can be found here, or sensational new talent can be discovered.

The ambience of Shop Handmade is sweet and pretty. The space purposefully acts as a blank canvas, (and a glossy one at that), to appropriately feature the product designs. Small details such as wall-papered panels and cute little cupboards give the store a fanciful feel, and this dewy glow fuels a desire to seek out some raw and challenging products in contrast. Importantly, Shop Handmade is welcoming and one can either take a thorough and satisfying investigation into each shelf, cubicle, hanger and cabinet, or engage the help of the knowledgeable staff to pinpoint an exact item or designer. Overall, the unwavering dedication to independent art and design that Shop Handmade revolves around means it is an alluring concept to be involved in, whether a shopper, a maker, or both.

Shop Handmade is located at 20 Allara Street, City Walk Blvd Canberra, and open:
Mon – Thu 9.30am to 5.00pm
Fri – 9.30am to late-ish
Saturday – 9.30am to 2.00pm

To take a virtual look inside visit the blog at www.shophandmadecanberra.blogspot.com. (This also provides information on applying to retail).

Enquiries can be made by emailing shop@handmademarket.com.au or phoning: 02 6156 3274.

All images courtesy of Shop Handmade.

As we all know, residential real estate in many countries such as the US, Europe, and some Asian countries shows signs of deteriorating price rises. Coupled with a slowing economy which gives less people the opportunity to buy into the market (or at least, pay a premium), this leads to asset depreciation. Its largely believed by investors that retail and commercial investing is immune to this effect. Unfortunately, each part of the real estate market is tied into the same business cycle, and like every other option in investing, nothing is the perfect hedge against economic recessions.

The retail real estate market has already started to slow. In the third quarter of 2007, 7.4 percent of retail space nationwide was vacant, according to Reis Inc. A vacancy rate of 7.4 percent isn’t tragic by any means. But it’s the highest level since 2002, and it’s up from 6.8 percent at the end of 2005. The third quarter of 2007 marked “the tenth consecutive quarter of flat or deteriorating retail occupancy at the national level,” noted Sam Chandan, chief economist at Reis Inc., in a recent report. Thanks to continuing growth in supply and flagging demand, there was about 140 million vacant square feet of retail space in the third quarter of 2007, up from 124.4 million vacant square feet at the end of 2006.

That’s a lot of wide open space, considering that on paper, retail hasn’t started to slow yet. My advice is this — be wary about investing in large REIT or other types of real estate funds. As Centrino found out, being over exposed to one type of asset can make it a difficult task to offload and free up extra cash flows.

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WSCA is looking for ideas of new shop styles, new spaces for objects and people to come together.
As a Special Entry Category “Limited Time Pop Up T shirt Shop Design Award” will be held.

Submissions should be based on the premise that they can
be used for executing development of a shop for one of the WORLD Group’s brands.
WSCA will consider all submissions addressing any area of this business development
process, including space design, installations for shop visuals, means of expression,
etc. As such, WSCA will accept submissions on any scale, from partial propositions
to total design concepts.

• Professional Competition Interior Design Category:

  Floor space should be no greater than 170m² (50 tsubo). There are no restrictions
  to the design, shape, or height.

• Professional Competition Shop Visual Design Category:
  Means of expressing display ideas, installations within a retail space through
  the use of art, craft, graphics, structures, etc. Entrants are free to address
  any area of interest they choose.

• Student Competition:
  There are no restrictions – submissions may represent interior design or visual
  design propositions. Entrants are free to address any area of interest they choose.

*Entrants are free to decide whether or not they wish to specify a specific
brand or shop name.
WSCA is looking for original ideas realized from taking an innovative perspective,
and that are viable in a retail space.

• Special Entry Categories for “T shirt Shop Design Award”
  Designs for a Pop Up (limited time) T shirt Shop, including interior design,
  shop visuals, T shirt retailing ideas, and actual T shirt designs are welcome.
  Entrants are free to address any or all areas of interest they choose.

Submission details will be posted on this site in early November 2009.

Jury president:
Naoto Fukasawa, product designer
Other jury members:
Nacása & Partners: Takeshi Nakasa, photographer / Atsushi Nakamichi, photographer
Yasuo Kondo, interior designer
Jamo Associates: Norito Takahashi, designer / Chinatsu Kambayashi, stylist
graf: Shigeki Hattori, designer

WORLD Co., Ltd.:
Interior & VM Development Division / Product Development Division

• Professional Competition:
  Interior Design Category – open number of winners
  Shop Visual Design Category – open number of winners

Winners will be invited to be part of a new project development for WORLD,
beginning in 2010.
*Although the WSCA is based on the premise that winning submissions will be realized,
the project contract may specify changes in the submitted work due to the nature
of the project involved.
*The detailed terms, timing, and form of the project will be determined subject
to discussion between WORLD Co., Ltd. and the winner(s).

• Student Competition:
  Student Grand Prize:
  - 1 winner: Gift certificates worth ¥200,000
  Outstanding Performance Award:
  To be awarded to submissions meeting the jury’s selection criteria.

  Open number of winners: Gift certificates worth ¥50,000

This competition is open to professional as well as non-professional
entrants of all nationalities and ages. Entries may also be made by groups or
companies, in which case an individual from that group or company should be named
as the representative entrant.
For the student competition, a screening of qualifications applies. Post graduate students are welcome.

Each submission should be presented in no more than 4 files
(4 images).
*When printed, only the first 4 pages will be considered. Any additional
pages exceeding this 4-page limit will not be considered as part of the submission.
Although there are no presentation style guidelines for the submitted work, proposals
should be presented in such a manner that facilitates visualization of your idea.
Entry data should follow the format guidelines outlined below:

Acceptable file types: JPEG or PDF
*If submitting work in PDF form, any text included as part of the design should
be outlined when you prepare your data.
File names: File names can be freely determined by the entrant.
File extensions (“.jpg” / “.pdf”) are required.
*Please note that all file names must use standard single-byte Roman characters.
Amount of data: 1 entry (up to 4 files) should not be more than 8MB in total
Color mode: please use RGB
*Any data submitted in CMYK mode will be changed into RGB when it is received.
This process may cause subtle alterations in color.

Winners will be notified by the middle of March 2010.
Winning entries will be announced on the official WSCA website set up within
the WORLD Co., Ltd. homepage.
Winning entries will be announced on the WSCA2010 website in the spring.
Responses will not be made to any queries, objections, or requests for explanations
regarding the judging or final results.

Opening: Friday, January 8, 2010
Closing: 24:00 Japan Standard Time (JST) on Friday, January 29, 2010

Submission Form link will be uploaded to this page upon entry period opening

• Submissions are limited to original, previously un-presented work.
• Please refrain from submitting identical entries to other projects or competitions.
• In the case of works which risk infringement on any copyrights, rights to likeness,
  trademark rights, design rights, or any other rights held by a third party, the
  entrant is responsible for obtaining any necessary permissions and stating all
  such clearances upon submission of the entry.
• As a rule, please refrain from using copyrighted images reproduced from sources
  such as magazines, books, or websites.
• Should any third party initiate claims of infringement of rights or should any
  other dispute arise, the entrant will be held responsible for addressing such
  action or dispute and shall bear any costs incurred, including any damages incurred
  by the competition organizer.
• Submitted entries will not be returned. If necessary, entrants should make and
  retain copies.
• Intellectual property rights (including copyrights) of submitted entries reside
  with the entrant. However, the competition organizer retains the right to publicly
  announce winning entries.
• While the copyrights of submitted entries reside with the entrant, the competition
  organizer retains the right to print, publish, include in websites, display,
  or otherwise announce any submission for the purposes of WORLD Space Creators
  Awards publicity.
• Only this website’s page on ‘ENTRY GUIDELINES’ is offered in Chinese.
  Other pages are only offered in Japanese and English. Requests for additional
  information, as well as your work’s concept description and other comments should
  be made in Japanese or English.

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The RIAI (Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland) is administering a single stage ideas competition on behalf of the competition promoters, Galway Harbour Company http://www.galwayharbour.com.

Galway Harbour Company is seeking ideas for a significant building to be located on the Centre Pier, in Galway Harbour. The building should reflect Galway’s importance as a maritime and cultural city and offer a clear image and potential branding for the City of the Tribes. Competitors should assume a budget of €3,000 per m².

Competitors will be asked to design a building which incorporates a public stage, exhibition area, retail space, marina facilities, tourist information kiosk and commercial offices.

There will be two separate categories for submissions. Category A is open to architects. Category B is open to recent architectural graduates and current students.

Prize Fund of €10,000 is to be awarded at the discretion of the jury in Category A.
Prize Fund of €1,000 is to be awarded at the discretion of the jury in Category B.

This is an ideas competition, however, Galway Harbour Company reserve the right to use the winning entry in Category A for a live building project at any date in the future. In this instance, the author of the scheme will be formally engaged by Galway Harbour Company in association with a full design team.

http://www.riai.ie/?id=7447

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