Without a doubt, the major highlight of my week was seeing Simon&Garfunkel perform live on Thursday night at the Burswood Dome. Oh. My. Lord. They were extraordinary… I can’t even begin to explain. From the opening notes of ‘Old Friends’, I had goosebumps and teary eyes (okay, I do cry at TV advertisements, but it was very touching). These guys are approaching 70 years of age and have been making stunning music for almost 50 years: they are musical legends to say the least.

Now, I do recognise that S&G are not the usual musical choice of my generation (my sister and I brought the average age of the concert down by at least 30 years…) but if you haven’t explored their musical catalogue yet, please do. You won’t be disappointed. But I digress… what I wanted to say is that while these guys are musical icons rather than style icons, I thought that they totally owned their own brand of casual “I’m such an awesome musician and singer, it doesn’t matter if I perform in jeans and a baseball cap” style…

Short of growing a white-man afro, you can channel Art’s look by wearing a button-up shirt (buttoned all the way up) with some slim (NOT skinny) fit jeans. Try this Rittenhouse checked shirt (at Shafto Lane, $205):

And for the amazing Mr Paul Simon (who, by the way, totally brought the house down with ‘Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes’), you can go a step more casual with a block colour t-shirt, faded jeans and an unstructured jacket. This Rittenhouse hoodie ($233) will go a long way towards mirroring his devil-may-care attitude:

Now all you need to do is become part of one of the greatest musical duos in history, and you’re set!

Anna xx

The first few days of July have been pretty busy around here! We’ve got a whole new season of goodies and I’ve felt like a busy little bee with all the unpacking and re-organising at our Shafto Lane store. And because I like you guys so much, I thought I’d give you the heads up on a couple of my favourite new arrivals!

These new ties from Swedish design company Ulterior Motives are polished enough to wear to work and cool enough to wear outside of the office confines ($65):

We’re also stocking the very awesome Assette cassette wallets ($35). From the outside they look like old-school cassette tapes- for the uninitiated, retro cassettes look a bit like this guy:

But the clever thing is that the Aussie designed Assettes open up and safely house your money! Very cool.

There will be more details on our fresh, new products coming soon, but hopefully that’s enough to get the excitement cranking. Stop by and explore the new finds!

Peace / Andrew

As I’m sure you’re aware, the weather is very cold and very grey at the moment. So here’s an idea to add a little colour to your drab winter day: colourful cupcakes with delightfully bright cupcake toppers by Mila Love!

First of all, you’ll need some delicious cupcakes. Try this recipe for traditional vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing (YUM!):

Ingredients

Cupcakes
230 grams softened unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
230 grams very soft unsalted butter
8 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter on medium speed of an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar gradually, and beat until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Combine the flours and add in four parts, alternating with the milk and the vanilla. Beat well after each addition.
4. Scoop the batter into two 12-cup muffin tins lined with cupcake papers.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool thoroughly before icing. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing
1. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of the sugar and then the milk and the vanilla. Beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add the remaining sugar, one cup a at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency. Add a few drops of food coloring, and mix thoroughly.

Make sure you add the brightest food colouring you have to the icing to make your cupcakes as cheery as possible! Then ice the cupcakes and add a Mila Love cupcake topper ($4 each, available at both stores):

Now all that’s left to do is enjoy and get happy! Make enough to share around the office/classroom/living room, so that everyone can get a piece of the love.

Anna xx

Our dear friend Yolanda at One Trick Pony is hosting an artistic spectacular called Pick ‘n’ Mix at Lala Orange on Wednesday 1st July from 6pm (that’s tonight!). The idea behind the exhibition is that 10 artists showcase a print each and then you can either choose 3 for $30 or 6 for $50! You see? It’s a Pick ‘n’ Mix, but instead of lollies you can choose some pretty and very delicious art. The artists exhibiting on the night will be Jodee Knowles, Deathbot, Kate-Anna Williams, Jeff Hansen, Henry Luong, Yolanda Stapleton, Martin Wills, Gav Fielding, Fudge and Sarah Bro. So head along for sweet treats and drinks! Afterwards, the party will be kicking on to 399 Bar (the new bar 2 doors down from Lala Orange) for some more fun times and the organisers say the more the merrier!

Johann

So the end of the financial year is here already! I can’t believe how quickly this year is going… Now, June 30th means different things for different people: tax accountants bask in the glow of a trillion customers doing tax returns; some people (like me) start rifling through their receipts, clutching at straws and tax deductions; citizens of the  Democratic Republic of Congo celebrate their Independence Day… and here at Pigeonhole, we celebrate the last day of our huge June sale!

Remember folks, we’re taking 30% off the prices of all fashion, accessories, homewares and stationery and 15% off all Lomography cameras and film. On top of that, all of the stock in the sale room (next to our Bon Marche shop) has been marked down by a further 50%! That’s pretty impressive, if we do say so ourselves. Prices go back to normal tomorrow, so come in today and take advantage of the June 30th festivities!

Anna xx

Hey, hey! We’re stoked to let you know we’ve got a new bunch of Dynomighty Mighty wallets back instore. These expandable, lightweight, eco-friendly wallets are made from the super strong material used to make express post envelopes. They’re tear and water resistant, 100% recyclable and come in heaps of different, stand-out designs, like this ‘embossed leather’ version:

The Mighty wallets are available from both stores for just $30. They sold out super-fast last time, so make sure you get in quick!

If you haven’t checked it out yet, grab yourself a copy of the Xpress Winter Fashion Magazine, available (for free!) wherever you pick up your weekly Xpress mag. The “When Betty Met Yeti” shoot will definitely give you some inspiration for warming up your winter wardrobe. Inside the mag you’ll see the fashion stylings of Xpress’ fabulous fashion/arts editor Emma Bergmeier, as well as our very own Hannah McGrath, and also some very cool fashion and accessories available from your favourite Pigeonhole store (such as the men’s Wind in the Willows jacket- $290- pictured below):

Fashion inspiration at zero cost? Get on it fast!

Anna xx

g’day folks - so we’ve got only a couple of days left of this financial year and we’re not looking forward to doing stocktake. booo! so make our lives a bit easier by helping us clean out our clearance room in Bon Marche Arcade this SUNDAY as we still has lots of cheap cheap goodies waiting for new homes.

SO… for the rest of the sale (that’s Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) take a further 50% off the price of any item in the clearance room and an additional 5% off everything else in store including Lomo…. WEeeeEEEEeee!

But come July 1 prices will go back to normal and we’ll start bringing out new gear for ya’ll so don’t dilly dally but grab a last minute bargain now!

I find that numbers hurt my head. I’d probably beat you in a spelling bee (and yes, that’s a challenge), but ask me to recite the seven times tables and I’ll go to pieces. I mean sure, I could probably swing some basic long division and algebra if you forced me to, but quite honestly, I’d prefer to eat cat food. I mean that’s why calculators were invented, right?

However, I find great pleasure in acting like I’m a number-crunching math-whiz by putting on some awesome chunky-framed spectacles and pretending that I know Pi to the 27th decimal place. I swear that wearing glasses actually makes me smarter: I feel like I could have a deep analytical discussion with an accountant about the state of the world economy. To help you get that brainy feeling, we have some super-clever specs at Bon Marche in a variety of shapes and frame colours, all for $55 each!

And just in case I get a little muddled up when someone asks me what 25% off $55 is (sale time always makes a little flustered), I’ll be able to turn to the trusty, shiny gold calculator watch on my wrist…

This beauty is only $65 from Bon Marche and is guaranteed to make you look (and I stress LOOK) at least 20 IQ points smarter. Just avoid anyone who looks like they’re about to ask you for the seven times tables… Oh man, that’s still too hard!

Hannah x

Attention Lomo LCA owners! Are you constantly worrying about your camera’s safety? Do you wake up in the middle of the night with cold sweats because you’re scared for its wellbeing? Well, fret no more! Pigeonhole has the answer to your problems. The Lomo L-Case is a handcrafted genuine leather case for your LCA camera. Its sexy, stylish and sturdy enough to keep your LCA safe and snug. It’s available at our Bon Marche and for only $70 it’s a small price for peace of mind!

So come in quick and give your most precious possession a safe place to live.

Daniel

Our end of financial year SALE started last Thursday evening and there’s been no stopping the momentum since then! Thanks to everyone who has stopped by over the past few days. And don’t be shy: they are still plenty of bargains waiting for you to come and take home!

Just to re-cap… we have our specialised SALES room opened next to our Bon Marche store, with some items hitting a crazy 80% off their original retail price. Both our Bon Marche and Shafto Lanes stores are still cranking away with a solid 25% of all fashion/accessories/homewares/stationery and 10% off all LOMOGRAPHY cameras, accessories and film. The sale ends June 30th, so there’s still time to get in and enjoy the SALE loving. The pigeon is warming up its lungs though, so don’t take too long!

Peace / Andrew

My favourite winter pastime is knitting. I catch a whole lot of public transport and I find there’s something quite special about sitting on the train, rain splattering against the windows, clicking away with my knitting needles. I also really love the little smiles I get from understanding old ladies, and the occasional tips they give me. It’s an amazingly warm and fuzzy feeling to lay out a metre or two of knitting that you’ve completed, knowing you did it all yourself and that it will keep you warm for the rest of winter!

Knitting is also a really cheap way to get yourself the perfect scarf or beanie: a decent ball of wool will only set you back about $5 (Kmart, Target and Spotlight all sell wools and needles). You can get knitting needles from pretty much every op shop (just ask the ladies who work there- you might even get a free lesson), usually for less than $3. Size 8, 10 or 12 knitting needles are the easiest for beginners.

The easiest knitting project to start with is a warm winter scarf. Remember if you are using a finer yarn, use a thinner needle (size 8), and with a heavier yarn, use a thicker needle (size 12). Now let’s cast on!

Step 1: Make a slip knot on one needle. This counts as your first stitch. Step 2: Place this needle in left hand. Hold other needle in right hand to control the yarn. Insert point of right needle, from front to back, into the slip knot and under the left needle. Step 3: Hold left needle still in left hand, and move left fingers over to brace right needle. Step 4: With right index finger, pick up the yarn from the ball.

Step 5: Release right hand’s grip on the needle, and use index finger to bring yarn under and over the point of right needle. Step 6: Return right fingers to right needle, and draw yarn through stitch with point of right needle. Step 7: Slide point of left needle into back of new stitch, then remove right needle. Step 8: Pull ball yarn gently to make the stitch fit snugly on needle. You have now made one stitch (called casting on), and there are two stitches on left needle (slip knot is counted as a stitch). Step 9: Insert point of right needle, from front to back, into stitch just made, and under left needle. Repeat Steps 5 through 9 until you have the width of the scarf you want to make.

Ok, now you’re reading to start knitting the scarf!

Step 1: Hold needle with stitches in left hand; insert point of right needle in first stitch, from front to back, just as in casting on. Step 2: With right index finger, bring yarn from ball under and over point of right needle. Step 3: Draw yarn through stitch with right needle point. Step 4: This step now differs from casting on: Slip loop on left needle off, so new stitch is entirely on right needle.

Keep doing this over and over again until all the scarf is on the right needle. Then flip it around and start again, exactly the same!

Now you’re ready to clickety-clack away on the train, the bus, your favourite armchair or anywhere at all. And before you know it you’ll have an amazing scarf, and a whole new set of crafty skills!

Hannah x

My feelings about doing the dishes have not always been fond, to say the least. You see, there was a washing-up routine in my house while I was growing up: my older brother washed the dishes, I dried them and my little sister put them away. Washing? Totally necessary. Drying? Of course. PUTTING THEM AWAY?! How that constituted an equal third of the cleaning-up process was beyond me (and still is, actually). I maintain that my brother and I drew the short straw there. My hard-done-by attitude about this injustice stuck until I graduated to the dish-washing role. At this point, I spent most of my time lying on the kitchen floor wailing and flailing my limbs (I wish I was making that up but sadly, it’s entirely true…) Unfortunately, the tantrums did NOT get me out of doing the dishes (in fact all they did was lengthen the process and give me the hiccups).

How I wish we’d had one of these Lark designed tea towels ($25) in my kitchen during my childhood:

Wise words indeed. Had I followed this advice, I would have saved myself some precious time (and also saved myself from my reputation as a bad dish-washer). The clever design is based on a wartime poster produced by Britain during WWII and is also available in apron-form ($32). These little beauties may just help to make your kitchen neutral-territory when the cleaning-up conflict begins!

Anna xx

It’s raining, it’s pouring! Got a great outdoors shot lined up but worried your beloved camera will get wet? Here’s an idea: why not use an underwater camera housing? If you own an LC-A Camera, you can try the LC-A Krab Underwater Housing. This nifty little contraption from our friends at Lomo allows you to take your LC-A everywhere from the rainy streets to your bath to your swimming pool to the deep depths of the ocean, all while keeping it safe and dry.

This faithful reproduction of the super-rare 1980’s soviet era LC-A underwater casing allows you to take your LC-A down to a depth of 20m! It’s available at our Bon Marche store for $160. So come in for a swimmingly good purchase!

Daniel