Modern Vintage Illustration

Martin Dawber and Stephen Bayley

Past is prologue in this stunning survey of vintage-inspired illustrations that employ classic styles of artistic expression for up-to-date effects. Organized by historical or cultural period, the book features hundreds of modern retro images, including pieces that incorporate the geometric beauty of Art Deco, the bold architectural lines of Soviet constructivist posters, and the graphic design of Blue Note's record sleeves. There are new perspectives on photorealism, comic art, and punk, as well. Hundreds of artists have contributed to this witty, exciting, and international collection.

PB      $40.00      224pp

Yohji Yamamoto: The Fashion Designer Who Redesigned Fashion

As one of the most mentally rigorous designers working in fashion, Yohji Yamamoto creates garments that can be intellectual—sometimes even difficult—yet always beautiful. Yohji's free-spirited world is explored here via i-D magazine’s archives starting back in the 1980s, including his adoration for women and the female form, the painful process of creating anti-fashion through fashion and how his timeless utilitarian designs can be both avant-garde and classic at once. Packed into 120 pages is biographical and personal information as well as imagery from over 30 years of i-D's history.

HC      $54.95      120pp

Push Paper: 30 Artists Explore the Boundaries of Paper Art

Curated by Jaime Zollars

Innovative, interesting, exciting: the work gathered in PUSH Paper -part of a stunningly designed new gallery series- is some of the best paper art being created today. Thirty contemporary paper artists, from world-renowned names to talented up-and-comers, all put their own spin on cutting, sculpture, installations, pop ups, paper toys, and more. A vibrant question-and-answer section with the book's distinguished juror, Jaime Zollars, and a biography of each showcased artist complete this visual feast of paper craft.

HC      $25.00      176pp

Laneways of Melbourne

By Kornelia Freeman and Ulo Pukk

Melbourne's unique laneways are a wonderful place of excitement and discovery, and a mecca for people who love to explore, socialise, shop, eat and drink. Laneways of Melbourne is a visually stunning guidebook to the 200+ laneways, alleys and small streets of Melbourne's CBD. A fold-out map on the inside cover will guide you to laneways from Ulster Lane off Spring Street to Captains Walk in the Docklands, and the captions on each page will inform you of each laneway's fascinating history and name origins. Laneways of Melbourne presents vibrant street art, secret locations, popular restaurants and clubs, and much much more.

PB      $19.95

Maps of the World

Ed: A. Antoniou, R. Klanten, H. Ehmann & H. Hellige

Maps help us understand the world. On the one hand, maps are used to illustrate areal relationships, including distances, dimensions, and topographies. On the other, maps can also serve as projection screens for a variety of display formats, such as illustration, data visualization, and visual storytelling. In our age of satellite navigation systems and Google Maps, personal interpretations of the world around us are becoming more relevant. A new generation of designers, illustrators, and mapmakers are currently discovering their passion for various forms of illustrative cartography. A Map of the World is a compelling collection of their work--from accurate and surprisingly detailed representations to personal, naïve, and modernistic interpretations. The featured projects from around the world range from maps and atlases inspired by classic forms to cartographic experiments and editorial illustrations. A beautifully presented book.

HC      $85.00      224pp

Linde Ivimey

Louise Martin-Chew

All great artists draw on their own lives, whether by reflecting their experiences or their view of the world. But few have mined their personal histories to such dramatic effect as acclaimed Australian artist Linde Ivimey. In her extraordinary and compelling sculptures, Ivimey explores the ups and downs of a life for which the term 'well-lived' is an understatement. The construction of her figures from such unusual materials as bone, skin, fabric, human hair, body wax, gemstones and teeth already distinguishes Ivimey's works from other sculptures being produced in Australia today. But it is the intangible 'otherness' of her figures and animals that so fascinates viewers, from art critics and serious collectors to the casual observer who encounters her work. This sumptuous book explores the chronolgy of Ivimey's practice through full page images and enlightening text and is accompanied by DVD of a short film of the artist in her studio in 2012. An absolutely beautiful book.

HC      $65.00      191pp

Felting For Me Is...

Ellen Bakker

A beautifully presented and inspiring book for and by felt makers. 93 felt makers from The Netherlands and Belgium have been carefully selected to show us a selection of their recent work and describe in a few words why felting is so special to them. With more than 500 colour pictures and an attractive design, this book is a great source of inspiration for felters and textile artists alike. From practical every day items to big three-dimensional objects of art, from soft earth-shades to an explosion of colour, this fantastic book highlights the amazing array of ways felt can be applied and the artists at the forefront of felting in this part of Europe. Highly recommended.

HC      $49.95      192pp

The Secret Code: The Mysterious Formula That Rules Art, Nature, and Science.

Priya Hemenway

The Golden Section, also known as the Divine Proportion or Phi, can be observed in plant seed patterns as well as pyramids, in Gothic cathedrals and in the human body, to mention just a few phenomena from an infinite series. This book presents not only the multifaceted forms of the Golden Section in nature, art, architecture, music and science, but also variations, such as the Golden Spirals in the inner ear. With more than 300 illustrations and graphs it explores the exciting issue of the laws of the universe and the concealed "divine plan" that is revealed within it.

HC      $25.00      203pp

Tree Houses: Fairy Castles in the Air

Philip Jodidio

The idea of climbing a tree for shelter, or just to see the earth from another perspective, is surely as old as humanity. Tree houses are chronicled in ancient civilizations and their lore crosses through the history of every part of the world where trees grow. Anchored in the earth, yet suspended in the sky, the tree house is in many ways emblematic of architecture itself. This stunningly illustrated study offers a tour of the best tree houses in the world, some designed by architects, others the work of anonymous craftsmen. A teahouse, a restaurant or a hotel can all take the form of a structure in the trees. A playhouse for children, or a perch from which to contemplate life – the tree house can take as many forms as the imagination can offer. In times of concern for sustainability and ecological responsibility, the tree house may also be the ultimate symbol of life in symbiosis with nature. Whether rustic or contemporary in style, tree houses make the most of space. Climb into this trove of tree houses and enjoy a new perspective on the world.

HC      $100.00      352pp

Raw + Materials = Art

Tristan Manco

Through their imaginative approaches to medium, method and technique, the artists featured in this book are producing work that is ingenious, inquiring and conscious of its relationship to the natural world, and in the process redefining the materials of art for the 21st century. Some of the artists have invented new techniques, while others have broken new ground in the presentation of their work. The ingeniously crafted and thought-provoking results range across a broad spectrum, from intimate paper collages to large public sculptures constructed from discarded wood. Despite the diversity of the artists' methods and ideologies, their work shares an underlying current: it uses resources that would otherwise be wasted, reflecting contemporary concerns about the environment and in the process creating beautiful works of art.

PB      $49.95      256pp

Culture to Catwalk: How World Cultures Influence Fashion.

Kristin Knox

In this completely unique and innovative book, author Kristin Knox traces the roots of today's ready-to-wear fashion designers to traditional costume clothing styles from more than 60 cultures around the world and explores how local or "street" fashions are influencing catwalks in fashion capitals from New York to Paris. This is the first book to explore the cyclical and global nature of fashion's roots and future on the runway and includes interviews and quotes from leading designers and representatives from some of the world's biggest brands.

HC      $60.00      256pp

Pleats Please

Issey Miyake

First launched in 1993 Issey Miyake's Pleats Please clothing is innovative in its process: made from single pieces of high quality 100% polyester fabric, the clothes are first cut and sewn together nearly three times larger than the finished garments, then individual pieces are hand fed into a heat press sandwiched between two sheets of paper until the garment emerges with permanent pleats. For the first time, the story of this revolutionary clothing is told in a book. A wide array of texts and images explore the fundamental concept of Pleats Please, tracing its journey from inception, through material development, to public reception, including the making of the original yarn – revealing the pleating process for the first time.

Flexicover      $59.95      575pp

Sustainable Fashion Handbook

Sandy Black

A definitive guide to the complex issues surrounding modern clothing production, use, and disposal. This sourcebook on all aspects of sustainable fashion encompasses not only the environmental issues presented by a wasteful and fast-moving fashion cycle but also the social impact of the global fashion industry, which employs up to forty million people worldwide in manufacturing and agriculture. Sandy Black has assembled contributions from a range of perspectives. Each chapter presents essays by leading writers and thinkers; interviews and statements from designers; and case studies on everything from the life cycle of jeans to smart textiles and fair trade projects. Highly recommended.

Flexicover      $70.00      352pp

African Textiles Today

Chris Spring

African Textiles Today illustrates how African history is read, told, and recorded in cloth. All artifacts or works of art hold within them stories that range far beyond the time of their creation or the lifetime of their creator. African textiles are patterned with these hidden histories. African Textiles Today shows how ideas, techniques, materials, and markets have adapted and flourished, and how the dynamic traditions in African textiles have provided inspiration for the continent's foremost contemporary artists and photographers. With a concluding chapter discussing the impact of African designs across the world, the book offers a fascinating insight into the living history of Africa.

HC      $59.95      256pp

Textiles: The Art of Mankind

Mary Schroeser

This lavishly produced books is a comprehensive celebration of the spectacular and enduring appeal of textiles across time and cultures. Textiles are the most ubiquitous, diverse, and consistently creative art form on the planet. This major new work comprises more than one thousand images that highlight the beauty, subtlety, simplicity, or complexity of textiles created around the world. Based on knowledge accrued over a lifetime of immersion in the textile arts, Mary Schoeser's definitive text offers sweeping insight into the role that textiles have played throughout human civilization. Highly recommended.

HC      $120.00      568pp

1000 Artist Books: Exploring the Book as Art

Sandra Salamony with Peter and Donna Thomas

The book is a timeless art form, one that is as alive today as ever, as artists continue to explore and explode the boundaries of what a book is and can be. In this beautiful collection, you will experience various aspects of hand-crafted books: covers, bindings, scrolls, folded and origami structures and books made from found objects, altered books, and book installations. You will find richly illustrated and calligraphed pages as well as books created from a variety of printed processes. Ingenuity and creativity abounds in this carefully curated collection of historically important modern works of art.

PB      $35.00      320pp

Diary of Friday Kahlo

Carlos Fuente

The intimate life of artist Frida Kahlo is wonderfully revealed in the illustrated journal she kept during her last 10 years. This passionate and at times surprising record contains the artist's thoughts, poems, and dreams - many reflecting her stormy relationship with her husband, artist Diego Rivera - along with 70 mesmerizing watercolour illustrations.

HC      $39.95      296pp

Practical Basketry

Stella Harding and Shane Waltener

Basketry is experiencing a resurgence of popularity, and enjoying an exciting comeback at the hands of a new and dynamic generation of makers who are not afraid to experiment with mixing materials and techniques. This book will give you all the information you need to learn the basic methods, and then the confidence and inspiration to expand your making as far as your imagination can take you. Highly recommended for those interested in basketry and the fibre arts.

PB      $40.00      160pp

New Treehouses of the World

Pete Nelson

One of our best sellers, now back in stock. In New Treehouses of the World, world-renowned treehouse designer and builder Pete Nelson takes readers on an exciting, international tour of more than 35 new treehouses that reveal how treehouses are designed, constructed, and appreciated in a wide array of cultures and settings. Both beautifully photographed and thoughtfully written by Pete Nelson, New Treehouses of the World documents Nelson's travels, discoveries, and epiphanies, and explores the ever-growing new frontier of arboreal architecture.

HC      $39.95      223pp

The Artist As Jeweler: From Picasso to Koons

Ed: Diane Venet

Numerous leading artists of the 20th-century showed an interest in jewellery. Despite the opening of art from the 1910s onwards to the abstract and conceptual, they happily bridged the gap that seemed to be deepening between art and craftsmanship. This book presents over 200 pieces of Jewelry designed by the greatest artists of the 20th and 21st century including Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, Salvidor Dali, Roy Lichtenstein and Louise Bourgeois to name a few. The collection of Diane Venet, which she regularly exhibits as in the New York show in the early autumn of 2011 is set out like a veritable intimate museum, narrating a specific history of art. A beautifully produced book.

HC      $90.00      240pp

Drawing Autism

Jill Mullin

Drawing Autism celebrates the artistry and self-expression found in the drawings, paintings, and collages created by people diagnosed with autism. The work of over fifty contributors exhibits an array of unique perspectives on how these individuals see the world and their places in it. A stunningly produced and thought provoking book.

HC      $49.95      160pp

Scarves

Nicky Albrechtsen & Fola Solanke

From Art Deco through 1950s Hollywood, the Swinging Sixties, and beyond, scarves have expressed the constant evolutions in style, representing every major decorative arts movement over the past century and into the present one. This marvelously illustrated compendium showcases the work of a wide range of international designers: Paul Poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Mary Quant, Gucci, Christian Lacroix, Yves Saint Laurent, Zandra Rhodes, Nicole Miller, and many more. Here are more than 250 scarves, beautifully reproduced in color, and many never before seen in print.

HC      $70.00      303pp

Cutting Edges: Contemporary Collage

Editors: R. Klanten, H. Hellige, J. Gallagher

Cutting Edges documents the revival of collage in current art and visual culture. Today's artists, illustrators, and designers are increasingly drawn to this artistic technique by the challenges of seamlessly melding traditional craftsmanship with skilled computer montage. They are not only composing a wide variety of visual elements, but are also deliberately omitting, deleting, and destroying them. This book is an inspiring collection of these unique examples of contemporary collage.

HB      $85.00      224pp

Australia in Maps: Great Maps in Australia’s History from the National Library's Collection

Australia in Maps is an essential read for all bibliophiles, cartographers and those who simply love beautiful books. Aimed at introducing readers to the breadth and diversity of the National Library of Australia’s collection of more than 600,000 maps of Australia, the countries of the world, the oceans, and the skies, this richly illustrated book showcases some of the finest items from the Maps Collection.

HC      $59.95      148pp

A Brush with Birds: Australian Bird Art from the National Library of Australia

Penny Olsen

Drawn from the National Library of Australia's collection, A Brush with Birds showcases bird art from 1788 to the present day. Reproductions of work by artists John Hunter, George Raper, John Lewin, John and Elizabeth Gould, the Cayleys, Ebenezer Gostelow, Lilian Medland, Betty Temple Watts and contemporary artist William Cooper are beautifully presented and accompanied by studies of the artists' lives. This lavishly illustrated book is a wonderful display of some of the extraordinary birds that live in Australia and the amazing art that first brought them to the worlds attention.

PB      $39.95      120pp

Patricia Piccinini: Nearly Beloved

Helen McDonald

The first major publication on Patricia Piccinini, one of Australia's most celebrated artists ever since her Young Family exhibition caused a sensation at the 1993 Venice Biennale. Piccinini creates an imaginative world peopled with families of charming and slightly unsettling beings. There are mutants who are half human and half beast, baby trucks and humanized scooters, sentient lumps of flesh and delicious bits of car. This book reproduces and discusses all Piccinini's major works.

HC      $69.95      180 pages

Botanical Riches: Stories of Botanical Exploration.

Richard Aitken

Century after century, intrepid plant hunters and botanists travelled to exotic climes, collecting seeds and specimens. Searching for plants with economic value, medicinal benefits, or purely for lavish display. Botanical Riches is magnificently illustrated with some of the world's most glorious engraved, lithographed and hand-coloured botanical illustrations. From the earliest Renaissance herbals, to the more elaborate and beautiful volumes from the birth of printing, books celebrating plants from far-off lands brought with them a sense of wonder. With illustrations of extraordinary splendour and beauty, Botanical Riches is a colourful history and enthralling tale of botanical exploration. Highly recommended.

243pp       $55.00          PB

The New Artisans: Handmade Designs for Contemporary Living

Oliver Dupon

The practice of handmade craft has undergone a huge resurgence in recent times. This book captures the new mood—a return to the unique and the artisanal. The first part of the book profiles over 70 international artisans who represent an astonishing array of crafts. The profiles include information on what inspires each artisan and how they create their products, often in innovative or eco-conscious ways. The second part of the book consists of an invaluable directory of products, divided into categories: art, ceramics, furniture, glasswork, jewelry, lighting, metalwork, paper and woodwork, stationery, tableware, and textiles. More than 800 color photographs illustrate the huge variety of design work on offer. Resources include contact details for the artisans, recommendations of shops, websites, and blogs to visit.

319pp         $49.95           HC

From Felt to Fabric

Catherine O'Leary

Acclaimed Australian fiber artist Catherine O'Leary introduces her distinctive, painterly approach to nuno felting with trademark techniques that make the craft easier to master, more creative, and more personal. Her exciting innovation, nuno pre-felts, integrates commercially printed fabric into the process and then uses these patterned pieces as design elements to create artful wearables and accessories. O'Leary explores principles of art and composition, like shape, colour, and texture, and offers aspiring feltmakers inspirational projects plus a gallery of works illustrating the wide-ranging possibilities of her method.

127pp             $25.00          PB

INDIGO: Egyptian Mummies to Blue Jeans

Jenny Balfour-Paul

Indigo: Egyptian Mummies to Blue Jeans tells the compelling story of the world's oldest and best-loved dye, the iconic blue behind one of the world's ubiquitous fabrics: denim. Brilliant photographs and eloquent text describe the process of making indigo dye from plants and how indigo is used. It weaves stories of indigo's producers, its cultural traditions and history, its importance in global trade, and the modern textile artists and fashion designers who are reviving indigo for sustainable development. Highly recommended to all those working with indigo or merely interested in the cultural history of that dye.

264pp    $39.95      PB

Pot Book

Edmund de Waal

The history of ceramic art is ingrained in the history of mankind. Clay is one of the very first materials 'invented' by man. An essential part of our lives, it has been moulded, thrown, glazed, decorated and fired for over 30,000 years. In more recent times clay has been used not just by artisans and potters, but also by artists, designers and architects. The Pot Book is the first publication to document the extraordinary range and variety of ceramic vessels of all periods, in a comprehensive and accessible A to Z format. Each entry is beautifully illustrated, sequenced in alphabetical order by the name of the artist/potter, the school, or style, creating a grand tour through the very finest examples of the art form.

319pp          $59.95             HC