We’ve had a secret love affair with Joss Whedon for a long time now, and this week we found out that Joss has a secret love affair with Shakespeare!

We love how eclectic and deliciously nerdy Joss’s work is; kick ass vampires, superhero’s, enemy mutant productions (you know, the little “GRR ARGH” dude that walks across the screen at the end of awesome tv shows & movies!?), pirate cowboys in spaceships(our favourite!) Internet musicals… and did you know that he co-wrote the song “My Lullaby” from The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride…. what the?! *sigh* he’s so awesome!!

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is the first feature from Bellwether, a small studio formed by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole to produce small, independent narratives
for all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a
somewhat older story.

The movie, a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy that was filmed in 12 days in Santa Monica, is shot in black and white by Jay Hunter, the film stars Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof as Beatrice and Benedick, the world’s least likely lovers headed for their inevitable tumble into love.

As Joss Whedon puts it: “The text is to me a deconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a love letter – to the text, to the cast, even to the house it’s shot in.”

The supporting cast includes Nathan Fillion (“Castle”, WAITRESS) as Dogberry, Clark Gregg (AVENGERS, IRON MAN) as Leonato, Fran Kranz (CABIN IN THE WOODS, “Dollhouse”) as Claudio and Reed Diamond (“Franklin & Bash”, MONEYBALL) as Don Pedro.

The film should be completed March 2012 ready for the festival rounds

www.muchadothemovie.com

We’re also looking forward to the Marvel movie – The Avengers – written & directed by Joss which is set to be released April 2012!

~ROBIO!~

The old favourite, the samurai umbrella…

Release your inner knight with the sword umbrella!

Lead the charge against rain. A weapon of preference in the cavalry and so loved, that even today they stand as the dress sword of choice of many armed forces. The time has come to turn this sword into a new way to chop through rain and sleet and snow. Presenting, the Sabre Sword Handle Umbrella, it is a wonderfully elegant way to keep yourself dry. Once you hold one in your hand, you just feel like you can battle the elements. The slightly curved grip will easily let you point out the umbrella at your sprinkling foe and exclaim, take that rain! L. 100cm

Here are our top three picks who won awesome robio prize packs worth over $150!!

Did you hear it click?

“this makes me smile every time! i lve rita and frank”

http://devour.com/video/did-you-hear-a-click/

~ from laura mah ~

She said yes!

“Walking around Fitzroy, and discovering local artists attacking bland walls with inspiration and talent!”

~ from tess mac ~

Get the Bacon!

What makes me smile is my pug Miguel. He is a little clown and a constant source of entertainment.

The picture explains a lot.
~ from elli mahon luca ~

We love really obvious ideas that make you go “duh! of course!”

That’s what we thought when we were first approached by the lovely folk at Thirst Impressions about their take on the age-old beermatt….of course! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this before?

We went on a search for cool coasters and whilst there are some lovely examples of one off letter-pressed and shnazzy permanent coasters (our mates at darkhorse make some lovely examples!), we haven’t found anything like these and we simply LOVE them.

What have you seen lately that’s made you go “duh!!” ?

check them out here

~deb & byron~
Team Robio

We’ve been searching the globe to bring you the coolest umbrellas around for the rainy season and during our travels we came upon some amazing and unusual designs.

Here’s 6 umbrellas we found in a travels…

The Samurai Umbrella

We love this umbrella and they now come in sword and sable designs. Their understated cool factor combined with their durability makes them one of our top picks.
Available at Robio here.

The Cloud Umbrella

We’re not entirely sure how practical this umbrella is but darn is it CUTE!

The handle is basically a bike pump to blow up the cloud section when it starts raining.

The Duo Umbrella

Ok, another disgustingly cute umbrella to follow the cloud. There’s been so many times I’ve been with my love and thought “darn I wish I had a duo umbrella right now” although once again, we’re not entirely sure how this would work in practice…i go this way – you go that – splat! Umbrella rips in half and water comes rushing in.

Senz Umbrella

We LOVE this umbrella, it’s for people on the move! And it’s so dam sexy. Maybe you disagree but we think this scrumptiously Netherlands design is beautiful. Also, it was created by an industrial designer after he was so frustrated when 3 of his umbrellas broke in one week that he set out to design the ultimate umbrella and has now made it his life – so we figure it must be pretty good.

Superbrella

It sure is! Check this thing out! It’s got ventilation and all. I guess it would get quite steamy in this umbrella super dome.

Umbuster Umbrella

POW POW! In the same vain as the samurai umbrella range this bad boy could get you into some trouble (although if you’ve seen the ‘gun umbrella’ this is soft in comparison!)

If you’ve got an umbrella you think we should stock or are a designer who needs help launching their RAD umbrella, drop us a line: enquiries@robio.com.au

So we’ve launched - Do It Yourself; a blog & online gallery dedicated to showcasing independent artists, designers and creative souls who are “doing it for themselves”.

Each month we will feature one creative soul who has caught our eye, ask them about their philosophy on creativity and give them an opportunity to share with the world what they are creating at the moment.

Each featured artist receives a featured artist prize pack from www.robio.com.au

check out this months featured artist here

~Team Robio~

Set to hit town on 13 & 14 May, the 2011 event will be the ninth year in a row that Semi-Permanent has inspired Sydney with it’s lineup of creative talent from all over the globe.

We’ll be there.

~team robio~

Nevertheless, there are great things and people in both Sydney and Melbourne and we thought share a tidbit from both.

Gaffa Gallery – Sydney
281 Clarence Street, Sydney CBD, NSW 2000

I first stumbled across this little gem quite haphazardly whilst waiting for road side assistance one day. A hole in the wall with great coffee turned out to be so much more.

In their own words:
“.. committed to nurturing cross-platform collaboration, collectivity and cohesionwithin the contemporary arts community. We endeavor to provide creative space to both established and emerging artists and designers to create and exhibit their work in the inner-city.”

I’d highly recommend popping in next time you’re in Sydney CBD, grab a coffee. Check out their website http://gaffa.com.au/ for current exhibitions and projects.

Eamo exhibition – Melbourne
http://www.eamo.com.au/blog/knuckle_sandwich_AUGUST2010.htm

Illustrator Eamo Donnelly, is holding his Inaugural solo show in September, we loved his poketo wallet, hopefully we’ll plaster another wallet or tshirt with his work soon. The opening night will also double as Lamington Drive’s house warming into their new space.

‘Health Food of a Nation’
LAMINGTON DRIVE GALLERY, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
OPENING 2ND SEPTEMBER 6 – 9PM

Lamington Drive has moved to 19-25 KEELE STREET IN COLLINGWOOD- check their website for other upcoming exhibitions http://lamingtondrive.com/

Have fun in Melbney!

~Deb~
team robio

Inspired by a post on design sponge yesterday, I went on the hunt for imagery of paper art for inspiration and came upon a plethora of beautiful examples of this art form.

Hina Aoyama has so many great pieces it’s hard to choose just a couple, her work is like a piece of fine beautiful lace. Definitely worth a look.

Helen Musselwhite has some really cute designs that remind me of old fashion fairy tales and patchwork.

And getting back to the original piece of art… Andy Singelton is responsible for this incredible beauty (my friend and I were musing about how the hell he transported this to the gallery?)

David Stark created this amazing installation at this years Dining by Design, an annual event hosted by DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) where a group of creatives and corporations get together and showcase some innovative dining installations.

We love David Stark, his ‘sketchbook’ blog is worth checking sporadically for inspiration.

~ deb ~

TEAM ROBIO