Haven’t been this impressed with an identity in a long time. City of Melbourne totally nailed it– flexible, useful, fun to look at. Awesome. Via Level11

Nice shirts from a small Australian brand called Junior Massive. Above is Eclipse, Tetris and Ascii Text Lips. Available in both guys and girls cuts.

It seems Etsy’s crafty influence has rubbed off on eBay, and with good reason. Melbourne artists have donated their work for FUSION 2008, a global street art charity auction that benefits Kids Under Cover. By buying a print, individuals can help the organization raise money to construct bungalows for families and educational scholarships for homeless youth. The Aussie organizers at nearby university RMIT explain that “artists are donating fresh work for this exhibition, and all of it is available to you no matter where you live, whether it be in New York, London, Paris, Melbourne, or in some god forsaken place in the middle of nowhere.” Most of the prints and collages are only available for the next four days.

When someone like you is in need of a sweet new T-shirt design you can always count on People Like Us. No, not us. You know JS.com is always good for it, but we’re referring to our buddy Jeremy Somers. His label has recently released three hot new designs for the summer swelter (although technically it’s winter where he lives). Their fresh looks come courtesy a trio of talented artists including Somers (Beautiful Squid), Swiss artist At-elier (Lovecraft), and Paris’s Théo Gènnitsakis (God’s Explosion).

Most artists are as individual as snowflakes; it’s a pretty safe bet that no two creative talents – given a blank canvas – will come up with the same thing. That’s exactly what makes Schaffas so magical. These “gentle and un-aspiring creatures of great mystery,” that more or less resemble one of your cuspids, were sent out by Sam Barratt and Chris Edser at Screamdance to their art friends all over the world, giving them carte blanche to decorate these bizarrely sculpted little guys at their own artistic whim. The result is a family of eighty distinct characters that reflect the genius and personality of their creators.

If you’d like to ‘Meet the Schaffas’ first hand, they’ll be on display at the Urban Cow Gallery in Adelaide until the end of June. Word has it, after their exhibition is over, the individual characters will be on sale with proceeds going to Close The Gap, a campaign that aims towards closing the health gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

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It’s easier to dress all of your male friends in Saint Augustine Academy when you have the entire collection in front of you– which is exactly what I would be doing if I were in Sydney, where the accelerating line of edgy men’s apparel has opened it’s first store.

Located in Surry Hill’s, SAA’s new space takes a minimalistic approach to displaying their line of bravely designed and beautifully tailored pieces, staying true to designers Adrian and Alvin’s musically-inclined vision. The mellow palate of this season’s collection, Happy Endings, looks quite at home against the black, white and metal of the flagship – as would I, I imagine, as I slather my man friends in the kind of gear normally reserved for more professional panty-droppers (oopsie, did I say that out loud?).

On my end, it has been exciting to watch this ballsy AU label grow as it has been spotting their work on an increasing number of serious-as-shit rockers, but a flagship store– well, that’s a whole new level of awesomeness. Congrats, boys!

Distil Ennui: To extract the essence and beauty of life to appease world weariness a.k.a. the portfolio site of New York-based photography duo Alex & Cocco. They’ve approached the art of photography from the perspective that “avoiding an over dependency on post production starts with a great shot.” All of their shots are organic in the sense that they’re presented ‘as shot,’ rather than ‘as photoshopped.’ There’s something refreshing about photos that rely on their own laurels– images that are snapped not at the ‘right moment,’ but rather at ‘a moment.’ The messages within these photos are derived purely from the viewer’s imagination, not from a sort of force-fed, incontrovertible moment in time. I think you’ll enjoy browsing through their site, as I have.

If you're sick of everyone copping your eyewear look, check out the Australian-based creative think tank Colab. The group has paired up with a handful of slick designers to create a line of hypoallergenic, limited-edition, vintage-style sunglasses (there are only 1000 of each product) that give the artists complete control over their vision. This has led to some awesome and interesting (but perhaps not always so functional) pieces. Because, while we heart the rocking Seventies style of the electric blue Roller Girl, we're not sure we’d wear Like Your Haircut — the frame that features stickers covering the lenses — without managing to fall down a set of stairs or two.

We all know that protecting the environment has shifted from a nice-to-do to a must-do. One of the most promising, but still mostly unexplored, frontiers is green energy. As the world finds new ways to harvest nature to create power, it's inevitable that designers and engineers will find increasingly innovative ways to mix this technology into our lives.

Created by Australian design firm Büro North in partnership with the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab, the VEIL Solar Shades do more than just transfer sunlight into energy. They also, thankfully, look really damn cool. Unlike old skool solar panels, the shades have an organic, natural sloping design. The pattern across the top looks like the veins of a leaf, harkening to the photosynthesis that solar collection is modeled after. Partially funded by the Aussie government, the VEILs are designed for schoolyards where they have the practical benefit of shading tykes from the hot sun.

The shades are also meant to actively engage both kids and adults in their operation: markings on the base show which positions are best to get maximum energy collection at different times of the day, and they are lightweight enough for a child to adjust. Underneath the awning, an LED feedback system shows whether the shades are getting enough sunlight. A pattern of indicator lights glows green if the shade is getting enough power, but turns red if the shades need to be re-positioned. Brilliant.

A lot of artistic expression can be attributed to the loss of one’s mind. The artist at his creative best as he descends into madness with a little help from drugs and alcohol. Head Case, an art contest being held in Australia to benefit victims of Acquired Brain Injury (which covers the debilitating effects of substance abuse, as well as other physical trauma that causes brain damage), doesn’t subscribe to that romantic notion. They’re more focused on the serious business of creating awareness, not only for the injured, but the people close to them. If you live in oz, and can paint, sketch, or shoot, submit your work on the theme of ABI to Skye Luckins (skye@buronorth.com). All submissions must be in by July 15, with final judging taking place at the Sofitel Hotel September 1 through 3, during a joint brain injury conference in Melbourne.

How many times have you been in this situation? You’ve just taken what seems like a 92-hour flight to the Australian mainland, hailed a taxi to the beach, plunked yourself down in the sand and said, “now what?” Please don’t answer, it’s a rhetorical device to help us talk about Two Birds One Stone, a new online lifestyle mag that focuses on not just partying, art, and fashion down under, but really anywhere you can run around in a tiny swimsuit. You have to register to participate, but as part of their launch, TB1S wants to give you a chance to win either a trip to Queenstown, NZ to indulge in board sports and casual sex, or Barcelona, Spain to see Jack Johnson and eat in some swank restaurants. So, that seems like a fair incentive to sign up. Which leads us to our next rhetorical question: when is a banana hammock not appropriate?

It takes a tough man to live Down Under…what with all of those poisonous animals, arid Outback, and the possibility of Paul Hogan at every turn. Which is probably why they make some damn fine denim. The Imperial Denim label hails from the country of murderous ex-pat criminals (writer’s note: sincere apologies to our staff Aussie Heather). The mantastic styles, made of Japanese dry weight selvage, come in a few different offerings: Duke, King, and the nod to hard working sheep farmers–Shearer. If this press release is to be believed (and they most always are) you can wear these pants an entire year without them disintegrating on you. We wonder if they make underwear? Get your pair exclusively at Context (and order online using the special code: MEMBER at checkout).

If you had to make a list of the five greatest inventions ever, you can rest assured that somewhere in the top five, cushions would make a surprise appearance. They may not be as important to civilization as the wheel or the shoehorn, but they’re up there. Luckily, for other folks who realize the importance of cushions, there’s Emma Jay Designs. Founded by ex-performer Emma Goody out of frustration with the lifestyle of an entertainer and “a lust for texture, a respect for simplicity and an affinity for interiors,” the Melbourne, Australia-based home furnishings brand has an astonishingly wide variety of designs on all things comforting. At their website you can view and order from a seemingly endless array of prints and textures for products such as floor cushions, scatter cushions, bean bags, and wall panels that would be at home in any abode. If we’re comforted just looking at all of these soft items, imagine how comfortable you’ll be owning them.

I can’t say it any better than the guys Down Under at Schwipe have already, because this sale is cheap, and not only is it just cheap, it’s Cheap Ass. One caveat: it depends on which side of the dollar, U.S. or Australian, you’re on. We last covered their myopia-inducing prints in the Eyes Don’t Lies collection, but while this sale covers more ophthalmologist-friendly designs in winter garb like hoodies and sweaters, the patterns are still reliably bright and blaring. You’re benefiting from the fact that Australia is going into summer as we head into winter; their Class Grass and Ass collection of tees and funky not-your-grandpa’s track pants are also on sale. Move on this now — the recently fickle American dollar is worth $1.13 Australian bucks today.

You know what sort of irks me? When the bottom of your snowboard matches your zip-up hoodie; if both the hoodie and the board were by the same company, shame on you for using both at the same time, but if the hoodie and the board were by separate companies- separate big companies- shame on them. (And okay, if you want to get technical — I’m talking about a certain ‘06 Burton Freestyle and an Urban Outfitters item. Those matched.) What I’m trying to say is, in today’s wide world of textiles, there is no reason or excuse not to be individualistic. Companies do exist that will sell you fresh fabrics and designs (and I should probably clarify that by “fresh” I mean your sweater won’t be matching your neighbors couch anytime soon). If you’re on the hunt, a good place to start is the Sydney-based Sixhands. Owned by three ladies specializing in fashion, textile, and graphic design, Sixhands makes environmentally conscious, locally-produced fabric treatments that will keep your clothes (boards, couches…) looking like, well, yours. And, for those of you accustomed to matching your socks to your sweatband, that’s kind of a good thing. A very good thing.