The very zen like Heath Newman’s mantra when it comes to creating his mostly recycled installations is that “Wood is good. Wood is ancient”. A graduate of Sydney College of Fine Arts, Newman has been working on his incredible colour based aesthetic rigorously since relocating to New York and can be found most days in his Brooklyn studio or looking for raw materials for his works.

Having traveled India extensively over the last few years, Newman continues to be inspired by his environment and with his intense blue eyes and long locks, he certainly is one free thinking soul who’s outlook on life has a profound effect on those who experience it through his art.

FULL NAME:
Heath Ian Newman

AGE:
24

STAR-SIGN:
Taurus

WHERE ARE YOU AS YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
In my apartment in Brooklyn, New York.

TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR ART AND WHAT YOU CREATE:

I create illusions, perception based paintings and light installations. They are constructed entirely by hand, and influenced strongly by indigenous textiles, interactions of colour and raw natural materials.

WHAT ELEMENTS DO YOU NEED TO COME TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH IDEAS AND BE COMFORTABLE TO CREATE?
To be honest, I feel sometimes like creativity is being channeled through me, you know, like I’m separate from the experience. I’ll get a feeling, it will build, eventually it will resolve as an image in my head and I will put it onto paper. Then when I make the work a lot of the time its super methodical and meditative, so I end up giving way to that feeling again and creating some very different to the original idea, but always a similar style and finish.

ALL I NEED IS:
A Coconut! You can literally survive on coconut, that’s all I need.

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME IS…
I was the Australian Yo-Yo champion of 1996

I GET INSPIRATION FROM:
The sky, indigenous textiles, hues of daylight interacting with surfaces, Danish furniture, sign writing designs of India and geometry

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:
John Lee Hooker: Alternative Boogie. Seriously!

FAVOURITE CONTEMPORARY ARTIST?
Wolfgang Laib. He just seems like the zen-ist character creating such beautiful things, so simply and so richly.

FAVOURITE CLASSIC ARTIST?
Hieronymus Bosch, he seems like he would be a cool guy to have over for dinner!

FAVOURITE WRITER:

I would have to say Allan Watts, he seemed like he was pretty onto it. I’d like to say we think alike or at least I’ve learnt a lot from him.

QUOTE THAT BEST DESCRIBES YOU:
“There’s only one instant, and it’s right now. And it’s eternity.” – That quote describes my outlook on life pretty accurately.

SIGNATURE DRINK:
Corpse Reviver Number 2

WHEN I AM GONE I WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR:
Being buried in a suit made from mushroom spores that will absorb the toxins in my body and turn me into edible mushrooms. Check it out!

IF I WASN’T AN ARTIST I WOULD LIKE TO BE…. An ant in the desert, so many beautiful colors and forms from that perspective.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH I … check skyscanner for the cheapest flights out of JFK.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST KNOW THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE? When I work out what I want to do with my life, I’ll let you know when it was that I decided on it.

Heath wears Maison Martin Margiela for H&M suit. APC shirt. His own Dr Martens and jewellery.

Photographed by Adrian Mesko. Styled by Ilona Hamer

Heath Newman’s tumblr

Meet Rachael Rutt. She makes knitting look good. Real good.

After receiving a ball of wool in a Woolmark gift bag some year and a half ago, Rutt began teaching herself the age old art of knitting and the rest as they say is history. Since then, this fine faced beauty has become the first Australian ambassador for the incredibly ethical and sustainable company “Wool and The Gang”, a U.S based organisation that works with small communities in the mountains of Peru, helping local artisans to stay local and maintain their traditional lifestyles in the modern world.

An avid recycler and environmentally conscious young woman, Rutt was inspired by stories of her mother’s friends growing up in small remote areas in China – “When you outgrew your sweater, it was normal that your mum would just undo the yarn and knit you a larger one to last you the next few years, and then the process would happen again. I just think that is so cool – it is the ultimate in recycling!”. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal we only wear 20% of our current wardrobes and with the growing number of stores churning out fast fashion everyday, that ethos could just be the purl of wisdom we could all apply to the 80% hanging with tags still attached!

FULL NAME

Rachel Rutt

STAR-SIGN

Capricorn

AGE

23

WHERE ARE YOU AS YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?


Sydney, in my garden

WHEN I WAKE UP IN THE MORNING THE FIRST THING I DO IS….

The alarm is set early the night before so that I can press snooze

FIVE THINGS YOU COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT:

1. Mum’s cooking
2. Cheese
3. Rosehip oil
4. Linen
5. Fresh laundry

FONDEST MEMORY:

Dancing with Yevgeniy Voronin to live contemporary versions of Edith Piaf at my friend Vanya’s family home among a hundred Russian circus talent outside Paris last year

WHAT WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO CREATE OUT OF WOOL?

Hairy bodied people running through the jungle

FAVOURITE CREATION SO FAR?

A jelly-fish costume

IF I WAS A PAINTING I WOULD BE:

The Green Stripe, by Henri Matisse


IN 10 YEARS TIME I WOULD LIKE TO BE…



Still learning


SOMETHING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME IS:

I collect butterflies

WHAT HAS BEEN INSPIRING YOU LATELY?

Televised gangster dramas, Cheongsam, and the sea

ALL TIME FAVOURITE ALBUM?

‘Journey to the Centre of the Earth’ by Rick Wakeman

FAVOURITE ARTIST?


Malike Sidibe

FAVOURITE BOOK:

‘Women in Love’ by D.H. Lawrence

FAVOURITE FILM:

The Princess Bride

Visit Rachel’s tumblr

Rachel wears Miu Miu jacket. Vintage swimsuit. Prada bag. American Apparel socks. Wool and The Gang Wool.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY HOLLY BLAKE
STYLED BY ILONA HAMER
HAIR BY JENNY KIM
MAKE UP BY NAOMI MCFADDEN
MODEL: RACHEL RUTT AT CHIC MANAGEMENT

Trust Linda Farrow and The Row to have created the perfect update on Peter Fonda’s highly coveted shades from Easy Rider. For those without a motorcycle licence (myself included) I suggest taking cues from Fonda and accessorising with a jaunty neckercheif like those no so surreptitiously styled on the likes of Hanne Gabbe and Robert Rabensteiner during Paris fashion week. Here’s a tip – the sweatier and dirtier the better. A freshly pressed kerchief is not your friend. The more natural oil and sweat from wear, the more authentic your knot. Captain America hardly washed and neither should you.

Linda Farrow X The Row sunglasses $363 from Matches

Festival season is about to arrive in the northern hemisphere. Instead of breaking out the high waisted denim cut offs, I propose a new denim development: Luxury denim. Miu Miu, Marni, Chanel and Chloe all have great options this season and if you’re doing distressed denim make sure it has a good story. This jacket was my dad’s from London in the 60’s. Its seen The Who and The Rolling Stones. I’m going to wear it to see The Make up and Nick Cave at Coachella in 2 weeks. Got to make Dad proud.




Sophie wears Chanel Denim dress, pants and pearl headband. Jacket from Richard Hamer

PHOTOGRAPHED BY HOLLY BLAKE
STYLED BY ILONA HAMER
HAIR BY JENNY KIM
MAKE UP BY NAOMI MCFADDEN
MODEL: SOPHIE STROBELE AT CHIC MANAGEMENT

Somewhere between buying trips in Paris and Milan and renovating her 19th century church house on a river just outside of Sydney, the gamine and gorgeous Elise Pioch Balzac found time to launch a candle line: Maison Balzac. This 100% organic candle line is very much like its creator – beautiful, understated and uplifting.

Pioch hails from a very small village in the south of France, Villeneuve de Beziers, where she grew up spending her days following her 2 brothers around on fishing adventures (she can fillet a fish like it’s nobody’s business) and dancing to her favourite 80’s pop band Indochine in tie dye t shirts. Fast forward to her early 20’s where she worked for Hermes in Paris under Martin Margiela, then to Sydney working as a buyer for luxury retailer Belinda. Pioch now spends her days getting back to nature working in the garden of the Church that her and her husband have converted into a beautiful family home. This reinvigoration from the outdoors combined with her luxury experience and innate French good taste will ensure Maison Balzac is burning an eternal flame.


Elise wears Chanel jacket. Gucci pants.

FULL NAME:
Elise Pioch Balzac

AGE:
36

STAR-SIGN:
Taurus

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE:
To make my dream life a reality: Marry the man I love and start my own brand.

FIVE THINGS YOU COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT:
1. Thyme
2. Olive oil
3. Planes
4. Nature
5. Chanel New York red lipstick

SIGNATURE SCENT:
Shalimar by Guerlain

FRAGRANCE YOU WOULD MOST LIKE TO CREATE:
The smell of that pine tree heated by the sun on the beach in summer in Cadaques, Spain. It sounds complicated but it’s a simple pleasure.

IN YOUR TIME AS A BUYER FOR BELINDA, DID YOU EVER MISS OUT ON THAT ONE PIECE YOU DIDN’T BUY THAT YOU STILL LOOK FOR?
Oh yes! The Dries Van Noten denim sleeved navy jacket and the Christopher Kane fluro orange lace dress (both from SS11) are two of my regrets. I even remember pieces I didn’t buy as a kid too! Namely a Fiorucci jumper (I was 8). I have ALWAYS been obsessed with clothes.

FAVOURITE DESIGNERS:
Marni, Dries Van Noten, Chanel

TIPS FOR PACKING THE PERFECT TRAVEL WARDROBE:
• Take as many pairs of underwear as the number of days you are travelling
• Always remove the last minute additions (I promise you won’t wear them if they weren’t the first things to be packed)
• Take minimum outfits but maximum accessories (jewellery, scarves) as they can change the way you look (without changing clothes!)
• Stick to 3 pairs of shoes: chic flat, chic heel and casual flat (converse is the best).

FAVOURITE STORES:
PARIS: Astier de Vilatte, Merci and Martin Margiela Palais Royal
NEW YORK: Opening Ceremony
SYDNEY: Belinda & The Corner Shop

ESSENTIAL WARDROBE ITEMS:
Bassike tee shirt, black denim, tres chic heels and a Marni necklace.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO:
FIP and Nova Planet (very cool French radios)

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF HAPPINESS?

The life I live right now!

IN 10 YEARS TIME YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE…


Splitting my time between Sydney and a chateau in the South of France surrounded by friends, sipping Aperol, and cooking up a storm for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME IS:
I studied Latin for 9 years. Carpe diem…!

FAVOURITE ARTIST?

Coco Chanel and David Lynch

FAVOURITE FILM:
Lost Highway by Lynch

GUILTY PLEASURE:
A pain au chocolat

FAVOURITE COLOUR:

Black


Maison Balzac is available from selected retailers including Colette, My Chameleon and various brick and mortar stores Australia wide.


Photography: CHRISTOPHER MORRIS
Styling: ILONA HAMER
Hair: GAVIN ANESBURY
Make up: JUSTINE PURDUE