21st May 2013, 6-8pm, RMIT Design Hub – corner of Victoria St & Swanston St.

DESIS-lab Melbourne has the great pleasure to host a panel discussion to coincide with Dominic Campbell’s visit to Melbourne on the 21st May 2013. Dom is the Director of Futuregov, UK, leading the way on using digital technology to improve the public services. This article in The Guardian gives a good snapshot of their recent work.

A brief intro to Dom’s talk:

“Social innovators and public sector reformers are increasingly drawn to the use of digital and design as a way to transform public services from the inside and out. However so far many of these emerging (great) ideas lack the scale of impact they could and should have. It’s now time to focus less on creating more and more good ideas, and instead on taking the best of those ideas and the social innovation experiments to the next level. Go big or go home – the world can’t wait.”

Following Dom’s talk, an illustrious line up of panelists will discuss general topics on design and social innovation in the public sector. These are:

Darren Sharp: Darren Sharp is the Australian Editor of Shareable, the online magazine that tells the story of sharing. Darren has a background in social research and consulting having led a number of Gov 2.0 initiatives for state and federal government clients including Australia Post, VicHealth and the Gov 2.0 Taskforce. Darren spent years as senior researcher with the Smart Services CRC where he undertook research into communications policy, Internet futures, peer production and user-led innovation. A sharing economy evangelist, Darren is passionate about citizen engagement, social innovation, p2p systems, the commons and sustainable cities.

Adrian Pyle, Director – Relationships Innovation at Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. He is interested in enduring and universal themes within the great spiritual traditions, philosophies and models of change. He has a particular interest in Theory U and how “U shaped process” is a metaphor for those universal themes. His work involves him in a range of projects and experiments which help people get immersed in various stages of the U process and through this allow them to appreciate life as a spiritual experience (rather than spirituality as an “add on” to life). These projects and experiments include a fledgling responsible travel and learning journeys business, work in the area of relocalising and cooperatising businesses, neighbourhood co-working and maker space experiments, neighbourhood meals experiments and crowd and community funded energy reduction initiatives.

Damien Melotte, partner in System Reload. System Reload is a Strategic Design consultancy that is passionate about building thriving organisations that can adapt to disruptive change in the relationships age. Their approach is a combination of Service Design, Customer Experience, Digital and Social Business. Damien has worked with a range of public, private and Non Government Organisations in project design, social innovation, trends analysis, customer experience, strategic design, business strategy development, tactical tool development and workshop facilitation. Damien supports organisations to distil complexity through visualising and unravelling problems and working through a collaborative process to develop solutions.

Lucinda Hartley is an award winning designer who is passionate about cities, and developing new approaches to urban revitalisation that are faster, cheaper and more fun. Trained as a Landscape Architect, Lucinda spent two years working in slum communities in Vietnam and Cambodia before launching CoDesign Studio: a non-profit social enterprise, committed to helping disadvantaged communities to envision, design and implement neighbourhood improvement projects. Since its inception in 2010, CoDesign has delivered projects across five countries in Asia Pacific and engages over 500 volunteers. Lucinda is also an elected representative to the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board, focusing on how to engage young people in city making, and was a 2010 Youth Action Net Global Fellow.  Her work in design and community development has been widely recognised including being recently listed in The Age Melbourne Magazine as one of Melbourne’s ‘Top 100’ most influential people.

Dominic Campbell, Founder of Futuregov. Dominic is a digital government and social innovation entrepreneur with a strong background in policy, communications and change management.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Yoko Akama, leader of DESIS-Lab Melbourne, Service Design Network Melbourne and Acting Research Leader of Design Research Institute, RMIT University.

This forum  is nested within a broader program of the Design Research Institute Convergence Exhibition, open from 2nd – 24th May 2013 at RMIT Design Hub.

Free event but RSVP necessary via eventbrite (http://desis-lab.eventbrite.com/)

This event will be filmed and archived on the DESIS-lab Melbourne resource website.

Photo credits: Tim Denshire-Key

Scenes on the Yarra is an inter-disciplinary walking performance series that takes audiences on a journey through the land and waters at sites along the Yarra River. Each site has its own history, personalities, moods and soul that are explored in each performance. The series is being produced by scenographer, Jeminah Alli Reidy and supported by Melbourne Water and Yarra Ranges Council (for the Yarra Glen installment). For each site artists are invited to be involved in a week long workshop exploring Yarra River at that particular section. This then culminating in a site specific performance along its banks evoking the unique history and surrounds of each location.

Last month was the second installment at the Yarra Flats Billabong, Yarra Glen. I was invited along with a whole host of other artists (local and visiting to the area). The artists involved were Elle Wolfhagen, Rollander Mackenzie, Mandy Pickett, Hannah Koch, Shirley Allott, Jacinta Chiron Birchall, William Veitch, Angie Macmillan, Zephlyn Neilson, Cora Zon, Thomas Veitch, Ellicia Rosemary Klimic and Jess Maguire. We spent an amazing week hearing all sorts of stories and histories, while exploring the place itself. It was an intense and rewarding experience to take all this in and then craft it into a performance. I created an installation piece referencing the birdlife of the billabong.

Big thanks to Jeminah for getting it all happening, and to all the artists, speakers and others involved over the week. Keep an ear out for the next installment coming to a site in Warrandyte in October…

I’ve been invited to be part of the next Scenes on the Yarra performance at Yarra Flats Billabong. Scenes on the Yarra is an inter-disciplinary walking performance series that takes the  audience on a journey through the land and waters around the Yarra River. Each site has its own history, personalities, moods and soul that are explored in each performance. The series is being produced by scenographer, Jeminah Alli Reidy and supported by Melbourne Water and Yarra Ranges Council.

The last performance was held at Warburton. I went along with a few friends and it was an amazing experience to walk along the river and witness the dream like scenes that had been developed the week prior in response to the surrounds. So I’m pretty excited to be part of this one. I’ll be creating some large sculptural pieces for the performance. Should be interesting…

So if you’re free next Sunday and feel like a drive to the country, come along and check it out.

Last Wednesday night I headed over to The People’s Market in Collingwood, and ran a couple of classes for Laneway Learning. The classes were in a similar furniture restoration vein to the one I held last year for L.L., though this time alfresco at the P.M. Really nice space to run  the classes. Since running the class last year, Laneway Learning has taken off, currently holding classes at 3 venues, (Little Mule Cafe, The People’s Market and Ferdydurke) in all sorts. Suss out it out.

Both classes went really well. Everyone was keen to get right into it, sanding, polishing and waxing. Thanks for everyone who came along, hope your heat mats are settling in nicely. I didn’t manage to nab any photos during the workshops, but check out the L.L. facebook if you want to see some of the action snaps.

Thanks to everyone who came along and got involved, Mark for inviting me back for a second go and The People’s Market for hosting the whole deal.

Below is a bit of a summary of the content covered in the workshop as well some starting points for getting into your project. I’ve also got some links to where you can delve in a bit deeper.

I’ve got some ideas for further classes, but I’ll let the sawdust settle for bit I think.

To get started on your own rustic restoration…

- Check over item for broken/damaged sections. Check for loose joins, legs, handles, tops etc. Signs of this may be nails rising out, gaps in joins etc.

- Plan out how you’re going to go about the restoration. Are you going to pull it apart and reglue it? Are you going to find or make a replacement part for the broken area? (eg. a leg) so it matches in? Are you going to replace the broken part with something different to reinvent the item into something new? If you’re looking for ideas on how to repair an item or reinvent it, have a scroll through sites like Instructables and Recycleart.

- Check out your piece and decide how you want to restore it? Are you going to strive to restore it as though it had been built yesterday, or bring the patina and character that has developed over time to the fore?

- Work out what tools, materials and skills you’ll need. Use websites like the Sharehood and Open Shed to possibly find tools that you don’t have and share what you do have. You may even meet a fellow DIYer next door! Go to quality hardware stores to seek out materials and get quality advice for free! You could also look at enrolling at The Victorian Woodworkers Association to pick up some more skills.

- Make sure you have the appropriate safety gear for what you are attempting. Ear muffs and safety glasses are a good minimum to always have. A dust mask is handy. Make sure to tie back long hair and don’t wear loose clothing.

- Start small and build up. You may have that mangled wardrobe or workbench sitting waiting to be fixed up, but start with something small to build up your skills and knowledge.

The Basics

Gluing
When gluing up pieces with PVA glue, be sure to clamp the piece securely while drying. This is generally best done using a clamp. Clamps can be improvised from everyday items for some jobs. For small jobs, old bicycle inner tubes can be tied around the piece to keep it in compression until dry. If it is a small piece that has chipped off, masking tape can be used to hold it in place.

The other way to get around having clamps, is to use a counter sunk screw(s). This will have the effect of ‘clamping’ the pieces together and will create a strong bond once the glue sets.

Sanding
It is best to sand either outdoors, or in a designated workshop area. A dusk mask is recommended for small jobs and a ventilator mask is best for big jobs. Always work from the roughest tool/sandpaper to the finest. As a rule electric sanders will speed up the job considerably, but will leave marks that will need to be hand sanded to be removed completely.
It is best to use hand tools such as chisels or planes first to get rid of splintery bits etc., then power sanders, then finish hand sand the piece.

When buying sand paper be sure to get a variety of grades, 100, 120 & 180 is a good start. Get 240 grit for a fine finish. The higher the number on the sand paper means the finer finish you’ll get. So you use 80 or 100 grit to rough out the general shape and get rid of splintery areas etc. then go up the grades to get the finish you want. The amount of sanding you do will depend how damaged the piece is and what finish you want it to have.

Staining
Be sure to read the instructions on the container about how to apply it and safety precautions. Applying stain is best done outside in a well ventilated area. Test out the stain on a hidden part of the piece to check the finish before starting on the visible areas. Be sure to leave the piece for the appropriate drying time to allow the stain to dry fully. Suss out the container for this info too.

Polishing
Polishing is best done outside in a well ventilated area. Before applying polish, use sandpaper of 240 grit or above to very lightly sand the piece. This is called ‘cutting back’ and will cut the grain back, giving the surface a lot smoother finish. If using shellac, create a mix with shellac and methylated spirits. If you use more shellac, you’ll have a thicker finish but it’ll be harder to apply. If you use more methylated spirits you’ll have a thinner finish which is easier to apply but requires more coats.

Generally to get a nice finish you can do the following. Apply 3-4 coats, waiting 30s-1minute between each. On the first coat be sure to squeeze polish into any cracks or diverts so the whole surface looks ‘wet’, then wipe it with grain to get an even coat. Once you’ve applied 3-4 coats, leave the piece until it’s touch dry and doesn’t feel cold. This’ll take considerably longer in colder environments.

Once the piece is touch dry and doesn’t feel cold, cut it back again lightly, then apply another 3-4 coats. The amount of coats you apply is up to you and the finish you’re after. Remember that when using orange shellac, it will tint light coloured timber and get more ‘orange’ with each additional coat.

Once it’s done, leave it to dry for a day.

Wax
Bees wax mixes can be applied by simply cutting back (lightly sanding) the surface lightly then rubbing the wax in. It is important then to buff it off with cotton cloth (old t-shirts are good for this) soon after before the wax solidifies. If it does solidify it’ll leave smears in the finish. These can be removed carefully with a cotton cloth and some pure turpentine. A little pure turps can be added to pure bees wax or wax mixes to soften them if they’re a bit hard also. Keep buffing the surface and changing clothes until you get the lustre you want.

The main thing is just to get in there and have a go, and you’ll pick it up over time. Like life really…

SOLD OUT! In March I’ll be running a class again with Laneway Learning.

It’ll be on furniture restoration basics, covering similar ground to the first time round.

This time however it’ll be held at The People’s Market, that has recently set up shop down in Collingwood. (Just around the corner from the warehouse in Rokeby st as it happens…)

I’ll be running two classes covering:

• Introduction to furniture maintenance: fixing dents (hot wax), wooden table cut back and wax.
• Intro to polishing: using shellac (French polish)
• Intro to sanding: take home your own rustic wooden heat mat for the kitchen!

There will also be an opportunity to get advice on how to do basic repairs on own items.

So if you’re interested in trying your hand at a bit of sanding and polishing, check all the details and sign up via Laneway Learning.

Last time it sold out in a few days so get in quick! Both classes have now sold out, so looking forward to meeting everyone in a few weeks.