If you’re planning a trip to Wellington soon (which you should- it has good bars and nice, friendly people), make sure your itinerary includes a visit to Swonderful; the cutest thing to grace the windy city since hobbits. Described by co-owner Virginia McMullen as “cute & crafty with a DIY attitude” Swonderful is “anti all things mass produced, over-priced and over-hyped”. McMullen- an artist who’s work has been featured in publications such as Frankie and Vice- recently opened the store with her Mum, after they both found themselves frustrated with working boring jobs that didn’t allow enough time to devote to creative pursuits (don’t you love stories like that?).
Not only is Swonderful home to Virginia’s own label Papercup but it also supports other clever folk by stocking toys, bags, Jewellery, clothing and other “gifty things” from local and emerging talent. The owners are also lovely people, so if you're in the area be sure to pop in and say hi!

I recently read somewhere that Sydney has more Thai restaurants per-capita than Thailand itself. For those of you who prefer your food trivia a bit more high end though, you can delight in the knowledge that the waiting list for a meal at (famed Sydney eatery) Tetsuya’s quite regularly backs up into the months. Yes, whether it’s an $8 pad Thai from your local or $500 on a thirteen-course degustation menu, Sydneysiders love their food. No wonder then, that the Sydney Food & Wine Fair has over the past 17 years become one of the most important dates on the city’s calendar. Held annually in conjunction with the Sydney morning herald good food month, this year’s fair boasts it’s best ever line-up of restaurants, wineries and entertainment. Food plates will be going for as little as $5 and wine for $2.50, I also guarantee that this is the only chance you will get to dine on fare from restaurants like Buon Ricardo and Quay whilst wearing jandals. Proceeds go towards the AIDS Trust of Australia- which should make you feel a little less guilty about loosening up the old belt a notch or so.

So I’m sitting here writing this entry whilst simultaneously posting inane and poorly spelt comments on friend's MySpace pages about how lame television is at the moment. Meanwhile the radio is on and the DJ can barely contain his own laughter at cleverly bringing up Kevin Rudd’s “strippergate” scandal again.
It's suddenly dawning on me just how many of us take our freedom of speech for granted.
In 1949, Tibet was invaded by the communist Chinese government- a move that paved the way for an overthrow of the country's leadership, years of turmoil and the death of millions of Tibetans who dared protest. Currently there is still no freedom of speech, religion or press there and, as filmmaker Lara Damiani puts it, Tibet "remains an oppressed and violated nation”. Damiani’s film ‘The Tibet project’ provides a contemporary view of the Tibet situation; an issue she believes extends beyond Tibet itself to embody “the struggle against power, greed, injustice and exploitation on a global level”. Currently available for purchase from the films website are stunning 2008 ‘Pictures of Tibet’ calendars. Not only will money raised from the calendars help fund the continued production of the ‘Tibet project’ (due for release in early 2008), but a portion of the proceeds will go to the private, family-run Dickey orphanage in Lhasa, Tibet.

It may be over for another year but there's one emergent name from New Zealand fashion week that remains on the industry's lips. Alex Kim only graduated from Auckland's University of technology last year but his debut show under the name Jaeha left fashion editors spluttering with “next big thing” praise- influential kiwi Stylist Stacey Gregg even marked him out as a designer "with the potential to be one of the most important New Zealand has ever produced". With a leaning toward knitted garments (a strong point for many well known NZ designers) and the clever use of deconstruction and volume, Kim’s garments have drawn comparison to those of English enfant terrible Giles Deacon. Jaeha certainly looks set to be a name we'll be hearing more of.

You know how annoying it is when you hit up a friend like, "Hey, where'd you get that sweet (insert item of clothing here) from?". And then they just casually say, "Oh, you know, in Japan/ France/ NYC", then you feel bummed because not only are their clothes evidently cooler than yours but you also start to realise that you've barely left your own neighbourhood in like, a really long time? Yeah, well that's how I feel every time I see someone rocking a certain little red heart logo with big cut and paste eyes. The logo belongs to 'Play'. the diffusion label from iconic French fashion house, Comme Des Garcons. Until now, Sydneysiders have had to travel far and wide to get there hands on some. Imagine how excited I was then to learn that those classy folks at Our spot will soon be exclusively stocking both the Comme Des Garcons Play and wallet lines. Launched in 2003, Play focuses on "fun, wearable garments" and this season will feature designs of soft-jersey T-shirts, lightweight knits and colourful leather wallets. If I know anything about Comme fans I can almost guarantee that this stuff won't hang around, so get into Our Spot, when 'Play' becomes available on the 25 October.

According to The Scare’s front-man Kiss Reid, the Australian post-punker's have always had one vision; “to make a really great record, and tour the shit out of that record”. With the former already achieved with their debut album Chivalry, the band described by one journo as “dirty, deranged and damn right raucous”, look set to complete the goal when they embark on a nationwide tour this November. Chivalry is a “blistering, paint-stripping, show-stopping, play-me-if-you-dare” number that retains everything fans have come to love about the band’s live act. Having recently completed a successful tour of the Northern Hemisphere (including appearance's at the feted Reading and Leeds festival), this will be The Scare’s first tour of their homeland since relocating to the U.K in early ’06. The tour kicks off November 2 in Melbourne and with plans to head back to Birmingham I advise you get on it at Moshtix now and catch them before they go get all famous and stuff.

He’s widely recognised as the world's best DJ and has collaborated with the likes of MC Spank rock and the Pharcyde, now for the first time Japan’s favourite record spinner DJ Kentaro is bringing his mix of “hip-hop, breaks, drum and bass and turntabalism” to Australia.
Kentaro first appeared on the scene in 2002 after taking out the DMC/Technics World DJ Championship with the first perfect score ever in the competition.  Since then he has gone on to sign with lauded independent label Ninja Tunes, headline his own tours as well as lend support to hip-hop legends The Roots. With a style that puts a sense of performance back into Dj'ing this is your chance to see a real mix-master at work. For more head here.