word on the street
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ISSUE 8.0 // FEBRUARY 2015TRANSCRIPT
http://wordonthestreetpress.com/
ISSUE 8.0 // FEBRUARY 2015
WORDO N T H E S T R E E T
Bronte RyanFounder & Content Director
Michaela PetrofesPress & Content Coordinator
Renee GreenZine Production & Design
Imogen BakerSub-Editor
Samantha PearceFashion / Beauty
Matt CrawfordPhotographer & Food blogger
Julia SansonePhotographer & Contributor
Harriet CampbellLifestyle
Ella ThruppFashion / Tumblr Coordinator
Elizabeth SwainLifestyle
WELCOME TO 2015VINCENT THE DOG REVIEW
SUMMER TRIPTYCHEUROPEAN DREAMS
RAND COLLECTIVE SHOOTTHE CULTURE CHILD
NAVIGATING NEW YORKFALLS FESTIVALGET INVOLVED
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NAVIGATING NEW YORK PAGE 018
Hello to all our lovely readers and welcome to another amazing new year of WOTS.
We have so much happening this month, including some re-branding, rad collaborations, a fresh new zine and we will also be attending Laneway Festival Melbourne!
Enjoy our tales of travel and fun and we cannot wait to bring you a lot more content for another year.
Bron x
Welcome to 2015
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In amongst the busy streets of Carlton lives Vincent the Dog, a small café boasting a brilliant interior and exciting food that will fascinate and fill you. Located at 348 Drummond Street, Vincent the Dog offers up a cheap feed with too many fantastic options to choose from. Highly recommended is the Chinese Donut with string pork that will blow your mind and if you love a good bagel this is your kind of café. My hat goes off to the barista who makes the perfect latte. The perfect place for your daily takeaway coffee and an even better place to receive service with a smile and a plate of beautifully presented food. Vincent the Dog is sure to impress. I cannot wait to return and highly recommend you experience it for yourself if you haven’t already.
Coffee *****Service ****Food ****
Written and photographed by Matt Crawford
Vincent The Dog
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This month we launch our artist’s profile, where we’ll collaborate and chat with fabulous local artists and designers. And who’s more local than WOTS girl Imogen Baker! Imogen describes herself as a part-time digital artist and we’ve collaborated to create some exclusive summery art. Check it out!
Who are you and what do you? My name is Imogen (@imo.png) and I’m a digital artist based in Brisbane. I suppose I only consider myself a part-time artist because I just graduated with B.A. in Journalism and I’m pursuing that as well – my dual loves. But I’ve always made art and studied design, so I started making digital art in my final year of uni as a creative outlet and to hone my skills.
How would you describe your art? At the moment, I just do it for the love of it. It’s a personal experiment, I’m not an artist by trade or study but I get obsessed with colours and shapes and need to purge the obsession with a tonne of renders. At the moment I’m really into exploring pink and all its socio-cultural associations.
So what was the inspiration behind your summer triptych? I grew up in Brisbane so summer to me has always been about the pool, ice blocks and sunscreen. I wanted that to come across in a somewhat disembodied way. Also the colours and textures – bright pinks, lime-green, tiled walls and red brick – all scream ‘poolside’ to me which is where all the smart kids spent their summers.
What inspires you? I usually just start with a concept, a colour, a vague composition or texture and render all the iterations as I evolve the piece. But, to be honest, Instagram is a huge inspiration. I make sure to follow artists who produce original work and if I feel flat, I just go through my feed and it’s invigorating. Plus having a supportive community of artists (for mutual appreciation and inspiration) is a really good feeling.
Aummer Triptych
Ten weeks ago, I was packing the last couple of items into my suitcase and trying not to forget all the essentials needed for a five-week trip to Europe ( including the selfie stick of course). Before I knew it, we were at the airport saying our tearful goodbyes to the family, boarding the plane and making a start on the 28-hour trip over to London.
I’d been to London the year before, so I knew I was in for a good time. It’s one of those amazing cities that I connect with and could easily spend the rest of my life exploring its corners. We also spent five days with my boyfriend Matt’s grandma in a little town called Brabourne Lees, which was such a different way to see England. The quaint lifestyle on offer in the English countryside is completely different to the hustle and bustle in the heart of London.
Next up was Bristol, where we stayed with Matt’s aunt in an 1800s-style mansion. The house was complete with a wide staircase that wound all the way up to the third level, eight foot ceilings, beautiful old wooden floors and fireplaces in each room. And in the suburbs of Bristol, every house is pretty much just like this one. Amazing! If you have some spare time while visiting England, definitely put Bristol on your list! It’s like Melbourne and London merged together to create the perfect city.
From there we spent five days in the heart of London, doing all the typical touristy things: riding around Hyde Park, the theatre in West End, drinking cider and eating fresh donuts at the Christmas markets and watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
After a 50-minute flight, we landed in Amsterdam. I didn’t know what to expect but I didn’t expect a city as beautiful nor as busy! I felt out of my depth in Amsterdam. Cars were driving on the wrong side of the road; there were bikes everywhere and so much going on all at once. To simply cross the road we had to first cross the bike lane, which didn’t just have high-speed bikes flying past but scooters and motorbikes too. There were also these tiny little cars with just enough space for two people to be squished up next to each other flying up the bike lane. Once we made it past the bike lane, we had to watch for cars coming from unexpected directions and then cross the bike lane again on the other side. But apart from the traffic drama, Amsterdam was such an amazing, eye-opening experience! Well worth a visit.
Switzerland was next. Words cannot even begin to comprehend how crystal clear the water, how clean the cities and how impressive the Alps. We stayed in Zurich for one night and, to be honest, we struggled to find
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European Dreaming
something to do. The concierge at our hotel wasn’t much help either, and could only suggest an art gallery up the road. One night was definitely enough time spent in Zurich. However we spent four nights in a town called Interlaken and it was honestly the most beautiful place in the world. There was a train station 800m from our hotel which we used to take the train to a different mountain every day. If you ever end up in Switzerland, definitely use the Swiss Rail Pass. It may seem expensive but it’s worth it as it gives you unlimited access to the amazing rail networks in Switzerland. We took the train to Lauterbrunnen and from there went by cable-car straight up the face of the mountain. We arrived in the picturesque town of Murren where we sat on a bench for a good hour, overwhelmed with the one-of-a-kind view that continues to take my breath away when I think about it. No words can explain that feeling, it’s an absolute must do!
Last but definitely not least, we visited Prague. I don’t have a bad word to say about Prague. The scenery is beautiful, the people are lovely, the alcohol is extremely cheap, and there are so many things to do. We spent six days in Prague and not once did we run out of things to do. We conquered the 280 steps up to the castle (twice), checked out the Christmas markets, did a day trip to Cesky Kromlov (a medieval town with two bears that occupy the moat of the castle), visited the Prague Zoo, had a beer spa, tried out the Thai massages, and ate plenty of food and drank plenty of cheap beer! Seriously, it’s so cheap, the equivalent of AUD$1.50 for a beer!
I highly recommend visiting any, if not all, of these places and I know you’ll not regret a moment of it. I’ve since spent my days looking up cheap flights, trying to get back there as soon as I possibly can. It’s always good to be home after a long trip living out of your suitcase, but I sure do wish I could be back in Europe again tomorrow.
Written and photographed by Renee Green @reneegreen_
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Our photoshoot for this month features babe models Nissa Ryan and Ben Nasello, who are sporting Rand Collective Pouches.
WOTS girl Renee Green was behind the lens. Enjoy!
http://www.randcollective.com/
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What was it that inspired you to journey into the world of food blogging?
A range of things, I’ve always been interested in writing and media, but also love the creativity of styling, photography and just generally being artistic. Although one of my biggest interests also happens to be world affairs and politics, I found that I enjoy writing and sharing my views in a more creative and light-hearted way. I was inspired by a want to express myself in a different outlet than just Facebook or Tumblr, as well as wanting to combine my interests of food and art together. Of course I was also inspired by my mum who grew up teaching me the in and outs of Russian and Chinese cuisine and never letting me shy away from cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.
What do you think is the most essential element of any good meal?
To never be boring. Growing up in Melbourne has opened me up to try so many different cuisines and to really have the chance to understand the flavours of different cultures. From exotic breakfasts to Indian and Asian fusion, night markets, delis and places like China Town and Lygon Street, the one thing I’ve picked up is that all good meals have amazing flavours, and enough but not too much surprise on the plate to satisfy your taste buds!
Describe some of your favourite flavours this summer.
I’ve always been more partial to winter but I’m trying to embrace summer this year. Obviously seasonal fruits are topping my list of favourites - mangoes, nectarines, and peaches! I am also drinking my fair share of coconut water to stay hydrated, and have been eating avocado every morning!
Has your recent overseas trip to Europe inspired you? In what ways?
It has made me wish Melbourne made more of an effort to create delicious and cheap street food. I loved the street food in Europe, the veggie packed kebabs in Berlin, the pickle jam and sauerkraut hotdogs in Amsterdam, the cakes in Prague and waffles in Belgium, I wish we could see more of that here! Travelling obviously opens up your mind in different ways, for example I view the places I go in completely different ways now, constantly comparing and appreciating the things that make Melbourne uniquely Melbourne. I think you also just automatically feel inspired after such a big trip and culture shock to become more worldlier and open minded, and to look at everything in different perspectives.
Here at WOTS we are crazy about good food, especially in Summer when the nights are longer, the city streets are busier and, more than ever, festival food trucks are serving out delicious inventions. So we spoke to Melbourne lifestyle blogger and food genius, Tash (@theculturechild) and had a chat about what makes Melbourne’s vibrant and cultured food scene so special.
The Culture Child
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The Culture Child
Do you have a favourite go-to summer drink or snack that you absolutely love?
Yes, summer is all about the juices and smoothies in my opinion! I don’t like to have too much diary, so keeping drinks fresh and light with coconut water is my tip! For example watermelon, mint and coconut water is one of my favourite combinations, as well as frozen pineapple, pear, mint, and lots and lots of crushed ice!
Any advice to hopeful foodies reading this?
Blog because you want to and love what you are writing about - that is what makes everything you put from pen to paper believable to your audience. Be creative, and be an individual. Don’t shy away from blogging about other interests; suit your content to what you’re interested in. Most of all don’t just upload pictures of your oats!!!!! Make different and interesting content and people will respond!
You can follow Tash on her instagram @theculturechild (which never fails to make us hungry!) or find her doing what she does best on www.theculturechild.blogspot.com.au.
Interview by Julia @sansberry
In the words of Alistar Cooke, New York City can be “the biggest collection of villages in the world”. So while New York is widely known as a walkable city, if you don’t know what you’re doing, it can be very easy to get lost.
If you’re staying in Manhattan for a week you will soon grasp the New York City “grid”. For the most part, Manhattan is ordered very systematically and logical. Although initially intimidating, once you get the hang of it, navigating becomes second nature.
The streets run east-west and the avenues run north-south with 5th Avenue dividing east and west, anything after 5th Avenue is considered east and anything before is west. Broadway runs diagonally through the avenues and at each intersection there is are “squares.” (Think Washington Square or Times Square.)
The grid follows a simple numerical system until you get to Houston Street or visit another borough. Nav-igating south downtown can be a bit trickier when streets have names instead of numbers. This is where Google Maps comes in handy. Although, some dis-tricts have acronym which make it a bit easier to figure out downtown geography
SoHo: South of Houston StreetNoHo: North of Houston StreetTribecca: The triangle below Canal StreetNolita: North of Little Italy
So basically, the streets and house numbers are in order and by looking at the intersections you can de-duce where you are located.
Riding the subway can be a tiny bit daunting at first. After all, over 4.3 million people ride the subway sys-tem each day, and with 26 train lines, it may seem like an underground maze.
The first thing to do before riding the subway is to get a map. You can pick up a free map at station booths, though it’s easier to download the New York Subway MTA Map app. From the map you can determine the stop nearest your destination. The subway lines are assigned a colour and number/letter. The colours of lines refer to the streets in midtown in which they travel and the numbers or letters are the distinct lines. Trains with the same colour may end up in very dif-ferent directions so it’s best to make sure you board based on the names or letters, not the colour.
Navigating New York
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The next thing is to make sure you are heading in the right direction. The NYC subway uses Uptown/Downtown/Queens/Bronx/Manhattan as direction-al indicators. Entrances and platforms will say which direction they are heading, such as “Uptown and the Bronx/Queens” or “Downtown and Brooklyn.” This is where knowing the grid and the subway map comes in handy. Uptown corresponds to North and Down-town corresponds to South.
New York City also has local trains that stop every sta-tion, and express trains skip certain stations. Being able to tell the difference will save you a lot of time and frustration. On the map, the express stops are indicated by a white circle or bar and all trains on that line will stop at the express stops. Local stops are indicated by a black circle or bar. On some lines this is indicated on the side of the train through digital signage. A red diamond for express or a green circle for local.
The best thing about the subway is that it is quick and runs 24 hours a day. It is also pretty cheap, around $2.50 for a single ride, although if you are staying for a week I would recommend a 7 day unlimited pass for $30.
What other guides might leave out is that many trains are overcrowded, especially in peak hour. The older trains are noisy, sometimes dingy and it’s very com-mon for panhandlers to roam the carriages as they
are guaranteed an audience. Depending on how you look at it, the Subway can be a frustrating part of your travel or, part of the charm that makes New York City so great.
Taxi’s are a really convenient way to get from place to place in the city. They can also be pretty affordable when you have a group of people and you can avoid being drenched from the rain. Fares begin with an ini-tial charge of $2.50 and are roughly $0.52 per 1/5 mile. For peak hour and night time an extra surcharge will occur and any tolls taken during the ride are also to be paid by the passenger. If you are worried about the cost, use the New York Taxi Fare finder. (And don’t forget to take in count the tip!)
Hailing a taxi in New York is pretty standard, it’s just like the movies, stepping off the curb and holding your arm out. It is only difficult when taxis seem to be driving right past you. If this is the case, look at the lights atop the cab.When the center light is lit with the license number, the taxi is availableWhen the license number and side lamps are lit, the taxi is off dutyWhen no lights are lit, the taxi is occupied
When you get into the cab, be prepared to tell the driver closest intersections rather than the actual ad-dress – East 42nd and 2nd Avenue for example.
Written by Elizabeth Swain
We attended Falls Festival Byron Bay this New Years, and what an amazing few days it was.
Alison Wonderland’s DJ set brought in the new year in Byron. Then on day two we caught Cold War Kids, Jagwar Ma, Sticky Fingers, Joe Badass, The Temper Trap, La Roux and Empire of the Sun.
The final day saw amazing sets from Glass Animals, Bluejuice, SBTRKT and the final act in an amazing weekend was Alt-J. Falls definitely saved the best for last, we all had chills throughout the entire set.. Thank you Falls for an absolutely incredible week!
Falls Festival
Written by Bronte Ryan
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