A Dandy Day

Capital Craft Beer Academy Review

Capital Craft Beer Academy

“Capital Craft Beer Academy is a restaurant which specializes in serving quality foods together with the best craft beers that South Africa has to offer.”

I recently converted to the craft beer lifestyle, and Pretoria is abuzz with craft beer prospects. Capital Craft in Menlopark hit the nail on the head (or you can say they capped the beer potential) by launching Pretoria’s first dedicated craft beer eatery.

Capital Craft boasts a wide variety of Craft Beers, special imports and even some ciders and wine for the non-beer drinker. I found a special liking to the Pumpkin Ale that they have on tap, but the choices are truly endless. The beer is perfectly matched with pub-style food; baskets and burgers are the foodstuff of choice and they supplement the beer and atmosphere superbly.

It is still a new restaurant so there are some glitches to work through; new staff that get overwhelmed at times (especially if you need to find a reserved table) and on one occasion they ran out of some of the more popular beers. But these issues are minor and they will definitely iron them out in future.

I recommend:
The Pumpkin Ale and Mushroom burger.

Trading hours:
Wed – Sat: 10:30am – 12:00am
Sun – Tue: Closed

Contact:
Tel: 012 424 8601
E-mail: info@capitalcraft.co.za
www.capitalcraft.co.za

Photos by I Love Pretoria

Chic Geek Part 4 - Doctor Who Inspired Decor 2.0

Doctor Who Decor and my 5 Favourite Doctor Who Quotes

Doctor Who is a historical factually accurate depiction of a time-traveling genius. It shows his need to love and be loved. He explores the universe with his companions in a Sexy (blue) TARDIS. The Doctor believes in Humanity and our ability to see love and hope in all situations.

All of these products are from Etsy. Have a look at www.etsy.com and be inspired.

Top 5 Doctor Who Quotes

“In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important”

“I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.”

“I love humans. They always see patterns in things that aren't there.”

“For some people, small, beautiful events are what life is all about.”

“There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.”

Bonus Round:

http://www.hypable.com/2013/11/14/best-doctor-who-quotes/

7 Styling Tips for Interior Shoots

Styling tips:

It is often required in the Interior Design Industry to style photo-shoots. A styled shoots brings an ordinarily flat, two dimensional interior scene alive. With the proper use of props and design principles you will be able to make a clinical space feel inviting and ultimately inspire someone with ideas that they can more freely translate into their own home.

1. De-clutter:

Clear out all unnecessary items that do not add to the Interior. Keep fashionable/décor items out and showcase them. Examples include to keep your La Crueset pots in the kitchen or the designer coffee table books in a lounge, but lose all excessive clutter.

2. Use props to compliment a theme:
Whether it is citrus fruit or perfectly aligned bottles in a kitchen or antique books in a study, make sure you stick to one central THEME.
As a Stylist you can bring along your own props, some must have items include: · pillows and throws in many different colour options
· books, lots and lots of books!
· stacking boxes, trays and baskets to help organise clutter
· unique décor items e.g. ceramic vases, globes etc
· fresh flowers
· various vases (clear options match everything), you’ll need short , tall, large and small containers and vases
· white towels for bathroom shoots · white dishes, fruit (citrus fruit adds nice interest to kitchen shoots), food props like Italian bread

3. Balance:Use symmetry; draw a mental line through the centre and mirror-image items. Keep enough different elements to keep the image interesting.

I would advise to sharpen up on the classic design principles just to have some background knowledge. Click here for a quick recap on Balance, Emphasis, Rhythm, Scale and more.

4. Arrangements:
Create interesting focus areas. Use a tray to help streamline grouped items. Play around with colours, textures and themes.

5. Tell a story:
An interior shot should represent a lifestyle. Add reading glasses on an open book; light the fire in the lounge. It is advised to keep the dining table simple (don’t OVER tell a story just to create a model home). Use shoes, sweaters and throws to create a homey, relaxed atmosphere.

6. Use people, animals and furniture to your advantage:
Pull out a chair, show mom and daughter working together in the kitchen. A successful interior feels natural and welcoming.

7. Experiment:
Experiment with layouts. And most importantly: HAVE FUN!

Links:

Tips for displaying a collection

I am a collector of various things, but my passion lies in collecting toys and artwork especially my brother's (check out JohDel by clicking here). My toy collection includes Star Wars villains, a magnificent TARDIS, a sad little WALL-E and many more little creature that bring me joy to look at. It is always so much fun to display them and have people take notice and smile.

5 Tips on Displaying Collectables

1. Group Colours
To display collectables effectively you can group items in terms of colours. White vases, red vintage toys or a pencil collection arranged by colour.

2. Variety within collection
Use items that are similar, but still different. A variety of shapes, fabric textures, odd sized vases, themed toys, key designs all add some variety within the collection. A collection of identical items is boring, so make sure the items differ in some way.

3. Display collectables systematically
Make sure not to have too many items as this can look too busy and you lose the essence of the display. For something more unique and more substantial, like globes, hats or vintage cameras, you only need three or four or the collection may start to look boring and overdone. Display bigger items systematically; lined, “framed” or grouped is always a good starting point.

4. Display what you Love
Do not just buy bottles or vases just to fill up a collectables display. Make sure you love each bottle, vase, toy, or piece memorabilia.

5. Play and enjoy
Create scenes, artworks or even let the collectables interact. If you like collecting toys, let some of them interact in fun, creative ways.

Links:

Tree Inspiration

I draw a lot of inspiration from nature when I work and design. This is just a fun post with some images and my 10 Favourite Nature and Design Quotes.

I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy.”

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.

Anne Frank

Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.

Rabindranath Tagore

Choose only one master – Nature.
Rembrandt

No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the creator.

Antonio Gaudi

One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken.

Leo Tolstoy

But Nature flies from the infinite, for the infinite is unending or imperfect, and Nature ever seeks an end.

Aristotle

Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God.

George Washington Carver

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Copper Interiors - Inspiration

Copper Inspiration

Copper takes me back to my childhood. The nostalgia that copper invokes in me gives me a great appreciation of the past. As a modern consumer bombarded with mass-produced items copper gives a sense of quality, of being unique. I would love to see the mass-produced, industrial age get a craft-revolution wake-up call. As a consumer I would love to see quality and durability triumph over cheap and disposable.

Design is in everything we make, but it's also between those things. It's a mix of craft, science, storytelling, propaganda, and philosophy.

Erik Adigard

Have a look at some modern copper inspiration. I love combining copper with Navy or Rose Pink.

Links:

Art Stacking Inspiration

Layered art or art stacking is a method of displaying art in a more flexible way. This is very appealing for young art collectors and creative and it is also a great way to display art when you are renting a home/flat and cannot damage the walls.

Leaning artwork doesn’t require any holes that can cause problems at a later stage. It gives you freedom to move and play with our artworks. Should you decide the piece does not agree with your décor, simply remove it.

Art is a very personal thing and therefore anything goes. Add in other elements into the display that complement the artwork; a favourite ceramic vase, memorabilia from a trip or even a collector’s item that you cherish.

Remember, there's no right or wrong way anymore. Be creative!