It is not every day you’re invited to design a brand identity for a deck-chaired, palm-adorned, flamingo-flocked, rooftop cinema right in the middle of the city. From the folks who brought Perth the Fringe World Festival, comes Rooftop Movies – projecting old-school retro, cult and arthouse film favourites from a vintage caravan (of course).

Custom typography in a candy-coloured palette was designed by Leah Dent to reflect the experience of going up, up, up to the rooftop. There may also have been more than a little nod to midcentury Miami. Bomba developed templates for monthly poster-programs and printed collateral.

Over 900 artists descended on Perth during the month of February, presenting 131 ticketed shows (not to mention the freebies). It was Western Australia’s first full-blown fringe festival and over 150,000 people enjoyed the fabulousness. Talk about amusements for the masses.

Bomba developed the Fringe World Festival 2012 brand identity, featuring custom hand-lettered typography and illustration by Leah Dent. Further typography, grids and layouts, maps and image treatments were designed by Angela Mitchell and Leah Dent.

Wherever possible, Perth’s icons were played about with and subverted; resulting in smarmy swans, angry tattooed boxing kangaroos (an homage to WA designer Stephen Castledine’s original), flame-detailed dump-trucks, cutesy caravans and an atomic-style Bell Tower that looks like it came straight out of the 1958 World Fair.

Event collateral included an 80-page program template, posters, tickets, passes, advertisements and award icons. An aesthetic was developed for online applications, including the website built by Studio Robot and 3D Resourcing, and e-news templates by Michelle Leslie. The branding was extended to vintage caravans, bunting, banners, flags, fans, clothing and totes.

Well well, we’re quite delighted. Our new Studio Bomba shop is the focus of a fine little article, appearing in Inside Out magazine, hitting people’s doorsteps and corner newsagencies right about now.

Did you see the West Weekend magazine in last weekend’s West Australian newspaper? If you didn’t, then you missed our man Nic Montagu in the Yin & Yang column. The interview features photographer Nic and yoga teacher Matt Dragun, talking about their friendship and their project Eight Paths, One Journey.

Nic and Matt chat candidly about their shared history, from “chasing the same girls around” at age 16, to their two year undertaking creating the Eight Paths, One Journey yoga-themed exhibition and book. Of the thousand images created, 55 became the focus of the exhibition and 120 were used to create an inspirational art book.

The Eight Paths, One Journey book is a fusion of art and movement, yoga and image-making. It is available in hardcover or e-book form, with part proceeds donated to the Cambodian Children’s Painting Project.

eightpathsonejourney.com
facebook.com/eightpathsonejourney

Hurrah! The Johnny Two Tone Club is one of ten winners selected from hundreds in the 2012 HOW Magazine Poster Design Awards. That is darn nice news to receive first thing in the morning, isn’t it?

You can view the awesomosity right here…
International Walkman Day Posters

You can see the other picks right here…
2012 HOW Poster Design Award Gallery

johnnytwotoneclub.com

We’re big fans of Pip Lincolne from Meet Me At Mikes – she writes just like sunshine and makes big books of happy craftiness. And so when she shouted out for folks to support her new online magazine project, it seemed like the perfect place for us to run our first ad. Studio Bomba – now with added shop.

Good Stuff is grand. It is 127 pages (yes, 127 pages!) of good stuff. For your online viewing pleasure. For nix. Nice.

We like design. We like designers. And we like the things designery folks make and do.

We also like shopping for the good stuff. So clearly there was only one thing for us to do. Make a shop. Our own shop. It opens its yellow door on Thursday the 10th of November 2011.

We’re very new to retail, so please be gentle with us as we get it all up and going (remind me, what’s the magic button that makes the cash drawer open? hmmm, what does that cost again? how does this barcode printy thingy work?).

What we do know for sure though, is that designery goodness is arriving daily just for you. Months of research resulted in an ace mix of artwares, stationery and designer knick-knacks from far and near, some as near as the studio and letterpress workshop that share the same digs. We like products made by independent designers, artists and craftspersons. We especially like it when the same person or group that designs the products also make the products and there is happiness and heart involved from start to finish.

You will finally be able to peruse our own Mitchell & Dent paperwares without the need to make an appointment. You’ll find more stationery stocked too, including the work of the very clever Anna Bond from Rifle Paper Co. in the US, limited edition letterpress notebooks by Serrote in Portugal and very cheeky cards by The Regional Assembly of Text in Canada.

The Studio Bomba shop is an exclusive Australian stockist of Nikki McWilliams biscuit-y cushions from Scotland, ceramics by JeezVanilla! from Spain and porcelain jewellery by Me Me Me from the UK. Lots of clever recycled products too, such as Hoooked Zpagetti yarns made from the remnants of new garments and Helveticus’ bags made from vintage Swiss Army blankets and super soft leathers.

Photography by our super-clever studio-mate Nic Montagu.

Studio Bomba
Studio and Shop of Designery Goodness
379 Oxford Street, Mt Hawthorn

Opening hours
Monday and Tuesday: by appointment only
Wednesday to Sunday: 10am to 5:30ish

Two Brothers was founded by Ben Gould – the winemaker behind Blind Corner – and his brother. It is a boutique wine project forged from many years working in the vineyards and barrel halls of Margaret River. The grapes are sourced from exceptional family-owned estates and traditionally made in small ferments.

As it is for Blind Corner, Bomba’s design focus is to highlight the crafted nature of the wines. The labels feature custom hand-lettered typography, are letterpressed and each varietal sports its own oversized overprinted ‘2’.

The gocco is a little print machine that originated in Japan in the 1970s. Bomba loves the simple and somewhat unpredictable nature of the medium and Leah Dent was delighted to be invited to participate in a group gocco exhibition curated by Gemma Jones.

Leah’s print was a part of the Go Go Gocco Go exhibition held at Outré Gallery in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in September 2011. It sat alongside prints by lowbrow luminaries such as Angelique Houtkamp, Apak, Beci Orpin, Cat Rabbit, Creepy, Gemma Jones, Ghostpatrol, kozyndan, Lab Partners and Shag.

As a part of Outskirts 2011, Bomba’s Angela and Leah joined Isabelle Trolio of Ruck Rover and Gemma Jones in a little gocco demonstration at Outré Perth. A grand old time was had by all.

Ben Gould is a young winemaker using Old World techniques – his wines are organically grown, foot crushed and hand plunged – in the New World region of Margaret River. Listening to Ben talk about what he does is exciting. We’re convinced we’re working with a trailblazer in Australia’s new generation of premium winemakers.

Blind Corner is a premium wine label – estate-grown and made in small quantities of exceptional quality. Following some time spent together identifying the intent of the brand and its current and desired positioning, Bomba gave the Blind Corner labels a little love, retaining distinctive elements but bringing them more into line with the handcrafted aspect of the artisan’s wine itself.

Q: We have been invited to an overseas wedding. The invitation included a gift registry card asking guests to contribute cash. Travel and accommodation is already costing us a significant amount of money and I’m a little put off about being asked to give cash. Do I have to give a cash gift? Is my presence enough?

A: Oh my. This is indeed a conundrum. The mesdames believe there is sweetness in choosing something special for a couple, as one must consider both the bride and the groom and make a selection that will delight them both equally in their new lives together. A monetary gift is amity made easy and Madame Mitchell is certain your friends are being considerate in their suggestion, saving you the anguish of excessive choice and fees for excess baggage. Madame Dent however, thinks a little differently. She suspects they’re greedy gits.

Congratulations to Perth gals Natalie and Erin on the launch of their brand new venture and if you wish to lose yourself for a few hours in a world full of darn pretty weddingness, do visit. You can even subscribe for free and have Smitten delivered direct to your inbox.

You’ll also spot some delicious photographs by the divine Angela Higgins of our recent First Comes Love Fair.

smittenmagazine.com.au

Gosh, aren’t we just a little bit lucky? The kind folks at We Love Perth featured us today in their series called ‘The Creatives’. We bang on a bit about the studio and Mitchell & Dent and Herbert and bunnycams – that kind of thing. Much more importantly than us, We Love Perth is your go-to guide for goodness in Perth.

If you haven’t visited yet, go now. Scoot.

weloveperth.net.au

Studio Bomba welcomes illustrator Minneth Nguyen, aka Noodlez, to our shared space. Min is a man of many talents. He is an exhibiting artist, an editorial illustrator, a designer, an entrepreneur, a DJ and music producer, a cross-trainer and he even speaks a smattering of Finnish.

He’s brought a sense of fun, a lucky bamboo and an inordinate amount of sugary treats to Bomba. Did we mention that he also used to work in candy design and production?

minnethnoodleznguyen.com

Butterbomb are big kids, lovely happy smiley big kids hiding out in the bodies of adults. Lucky they specialise in children’s photography. Tristan and Monika Cameron believe it is the quirks and idiosyncrasies of children that make them who they are, so their photography isn’t about sitting pretty in Sunday’s best and smiling at strangers.

Bomba worked with Butterbomb on naming, positioning, design, collateral and web and enjoyed every second. The brand is childish – in a good way. Full of colour, fun, cheekiness and good cheer.

butterbomb.com.au

Johnny Two Tone Club is an ongoing collaborative printfest involving a handful of creative folks from various studios in Perth and Melbourne. Pushing paint through screens is good for our souls. Even better if it uses just two tones.

The second instalment in the Public Holiday Project series celebrates the Walkman, that portable music device from days gone by. Gone perhaps, but not forgotten.

From top to bottom:
Michelle Leslie, Angela Mitchell, Leah Dent
Ben Hagley, Marcus Taylor
Dan McKeating
Marcus Taylor
Brendan Hibbert

johnnytwotoneclub.com

Today is a sad day and a happy day for Studio Bomba. Our favourite employee Michelle Leslie is no longer our employee.

But before the scuttlebutt begins, let us explain. All is definitely jim dandy. Angela and Leah are loosening up their lives and business and Michelle is setting out on something very exciting – her own consultancy. She is still an important part of the Studio Bomba space, but we are no longer hogging all her skills.

Michelle works best in interactive mediums – web, animation, social media, designing for spaces that people congregate in and creating items that people can connect with. She is in-demand with both designers and clients who wish to work with her directly. Michelle is currently available for project work.

michelleleslie.com.au
0409.091.588

First Comes Love (and then comes marriage) is an alternative bridal fair for people planning pledges with parties – chock full of sweetness and sass, inspiration and independent retailers. It celebrates creativity and pooh-poohs carbon-copy weddings.

The inaugural First Comes Love weekend on 18-19 June 2011 was held upstairs at the Oxford Hotel, smack dab in the middle of Mt Hawthorn’s bridal mile.

Created by Bomba’s Angela Mitchell and Leah Dent with the support of fashion dilettante Emma Bergmeier of All of the Above Creative and Dropstitch fame, First Comes Love was a wonderful and warmly received affair. Over 50 exhibitors took part and close to 1200 people attended the first of what we hope will become an annual celebration of wedding wonderfulness in Perth. And not a stretch Hummer in sight.

firstcomeslove.com.au

Test Tube Objects is a store in Mt Lawley that curates a collection of some of the world’s most interesting contemporary objects. It is a dream for lovers of design. Creating their website was the perfect job for Bomba’s resident dreamer – designer Michelle Leslie. No reigning in her ideas on this website.

Incorporating brand elements by Block and developed by Doghouse, the Test Tube website is an online representation of the store itself. It is a gallery of products, it is an online store, it is a gift registry, it is design-centric and it has unexpected elements to surprise and delight.

Awarded:
2011 Australian Web Award:
WA E-commerce Finalist

testtubeobjects.com.au

Jen and Oli are two of the sweetest people we’ve ever met and we did a little happy dance when they came to Mitchell & Dent for their wedding stationery. The desire to create something distinctive and personal to them could not have been more in keeping with our way of thinking. Yay Jen and Oli!

The result? A suite of items hand-lettered by Leah Dent and illustrated in pencil and ink by Angela Mitchell featuring the church they married in, their wedding car and flowers unique to their garden. Their attention to detail knew no bounds – with stitched invitations, typewritten envelopes and placecards housed in teeny tiny little envelopes.

Designed for Fremantle Press by Angela Mitchell, A Tale for Our Generation: An Account of the ‘Winter Journey’ chronicles the journey of Edward Wilson and Henry Bowers, two members of the ill-fated expedition to discover the South Pole, led by Robert Falcon Scott (Scott of the Antarctic) in 1912.

After a harrowing 11 month journey, they reached the Pole to discover a Norwegian team preceded them by just 33 days. Tragically, the entire party died on the return journey and the journals and photographs included in this book were discovered many months later. They are currently held in the private collection of Kerry Stokes.

This hardcover 96-page book features an embossed tri-fold case and uncut text pages.

We’re delighted to announce two new retailers of Mitchell & Dent goodies here in Perth. And it is no coincidence that they also happen to be two of our favourite places to drink coffee. Find these cheeky letterpress cards and others at Distracted Merchants of Fancy and Hobart Street Deli.

Distracted Merchants of Fancy
324 Oxford Street, Leederville

Hobart Street Deli
45 Hobart Street, North Perth

Studio Bomba was dead chuffed to be asked to customise a camera for the Diana World Tour in February 2011.

The Lomography tour visited cities including Tokyo, Seoul, Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Shanghai, Beijing, New York, Los Angeles and London. Bomba’s knitted ‘bunnycam’ artwork was exhibited in Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland; alongside artists such as Beci Orpin, Cat Rabbit, Gemma Jones, Ghostpatrol and Mel Stringer.

The artwork was later auctioned for charity with proceeds going to See Through Me.

Thanks to the fine folks at Artrage, Perth has a spiegeltent. Its very own 95 year old grande dame of a spiegeltent ‘De Parel (The Pearl)’. And so Fringe World was born – a taster and teaser introducing Perth to the idea of an annual fringe festival. The Pearl became home to a cornucopia of cabaret, burlesque, comedy and music acts during February 2011.

Bomba developed the brand identity, featuring custom typography by Angela Mitchell. Event collateral including programs, posters, postcards, tickets and advertisements also hosted an ever-changing suite of mad little illustrations by Angela Mitchell and Leah Dent. Michelle Leslie designed the websites with an online launch site of videos counting down to the event, followed by a fully integrated site.

We suspect no other client could be more suited to the design aesthetic of Michelle Leslie than Iku Sushi. The owner of this Japanese fast food eatery in the city is a gal with grand ideas and they seem to go hand in hand with Michelle’s love of animation and kawaii.

Bomba developed the Iku Sushi brandmark and custom packaging sporting cheeky copywriting and Michelle’s unmistakable illustration. Design extended to surface graphics including exterior and interior signage, large format posters and a mural.

The Soda Studios in North Fremantle, founded by internationally renowned ceramic artist Fleur Schelland her partner Richard Hill, hosts an annual exhibition called Gift. Angela Mitchell and Leah Dent joined resident artists Fleur Schell, Alana McVeigh, Karen Millar and Rachel Zimmerman, as guest artists along with Georgina Cresswell and Magali Dincher.The November 26-27 exhibition featured ceramic objects, jewellery, works on paper and canvas and wood, textiles and toys.

Angela’s works (above) are pencil, ink and tea on paper. Leah’s works (below) are acrylic on ply. The original artworks have now sold, but prints are available through Mitchell & Dent at the Studio Bomba Shop.

The website for Rewind Coffee was a finalist in the Digital Media category and Angela Mitchell’s illustrated alphabet for Lad & Lass was a finalist in Miscellaneous Design category.

Silvana takes one Italian family’s coffee-making heritage, know-how and expertise and pours it all into a little cup of perfection, as they have done for the past seventy years.

In updating their brandmark and packaging, the challenge for Bomba was to a create fresh new look without sacrificing any of Silvana’s provenance. Starting with elements from the original packaging (a cup of coffee and a hint of orange), a new Gran Caffé product was created with the Exclusive and Originale packaging change to follow soon after. This six colour packaging also uses an unique combination of high gloss and matt finishes – a first in coffee pouch manufacture.

The world’s first Earth-orbiting space satellite was launched on the 4th of October 1957 by the Soviet Union, sounding the starting pistol for the space race between Russia and the United States of America. Catching America by surprise, the panic and paranoia sparked by this crazy little gadget resulted in the US going giddyup and a few decades of one-upmanship ensued.

Let’s give Sputnik the positive PR it so rightly deserved and dipped out on. Why not take the day off today and orbit around a vodka-based beverage of your choice. I’m sure JTTC will petition the boss on your behalf.

And who is the Johnny Two Tone Club? A collection of fine folks who like paint and pushing it through screens, in both Perth and Melbourne.

Designs from top to bottom:
Ben Hagley, Lauren Jury Armitage
Brendan Hibbert, Marcus Taylor
Leah Dent, Michelle Leslie, Angela Mitchell

johnnytwotoneclub.com.au

Designed by Leah Dent and illustrated Angela Mitchell for Fremantle Press, this 144-page coffee table book showcases a selection of their stunning gardens from low-maintenance coastal retreats to city courtyards to sprawling rural properties.

Studio Bomba’s founding designers Angela Mitchell and Leah Dent were very lucky to be featured in The West Australian newspaper’s West Weekend magazine. The style edition showcased a Bomba initiative Mitchell & Dent, purveyors of paper ephemera of note.

We really must say thank you to journalist Amanda Keenan who told our story so charmingly. Also photographer Rob Duncan, stylist Jess Ruiz, hair and make-up artist Rebekah Clark and designer Vickie Papadopolous – all exceptionally good at what they do.

And the biggest thanks goes to our Felicity, writer of sneaky e-mails that turn into epic events.