The 27 Club: :: This Is My Life :: Michelle Mackintosh

Name :: Michelle Mackintosh
Lives :: Carlton North
Who do you live with? :: my husband Steve Wide and my British short hair cat Bronte
Official Job :: Graphic Designer and Illustrator
Favourite Creative Pursuits :: Drawing and making collages, collecting things for our house, cooking, travelling
Favourite Designers :: Paul Rand, Trisha Garner, Geoff McFetridge, Saul Bass
Favourite Illustrators :: Frederique Bertrand, Keiko Minami, Sara Fanelli

What do you eat for Breakfast?
I eat breakfast around 11, so it's more like brunch. It could be anything from home made muesli with oats, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit and yoghurt or bread from Natural Tucker with a mix of something like Jarlsberg, tomato, avocado, hummus and cucumber or a Babka Shoo Fly bun, or a "green eggs" omelet and toasted bread from Sugardough

And lunch?
I really just eat brunch and an early dinner

And dinner?!
Dinner is always something with vegetables and carbohydrates. Lentils and rice, salmon, rice and steamed broccoli, pasta with tuna, tomatoes and salad, couscous or rice salad and, always, always dessert!

What is your favourite snack?
I like to have a cup of tea with soy milk and honey in the afternoon and perhaps some 9 Grain Vita Wheats, butter and Vegemite

What music do you like to listen to?
Indie folky melancholy pop. At the moment I can't stop listening to Scandi-pop like Shout Out Louds, The Radio Dept, Laurel Music, Ronderlin and Club 8. My husband always makes me compilation CDs of songs he thinks I will love, I have so many of them, they are my favourite things to play whilst working.

What do you like to watch on telly or DVD or download?

Not much on Television perhaps an SBS movie, or Artscape. I love historical dramas. At the moment we are are watching The Borgias and Camelot. I'm also watching Bored to Death, Breaking Bad, Portlandia, and working our way through the Luis Bunuel collection. We've been re watching lots of Edwardian movies (Maurice, Remains of the Day, Gosford Park ) after watching Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs.

Music docos on the history of Electronic Music, Brian Eno, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, Kraut rock and The birth of the synthesizer. I love watching documentaries on anything to do with diseases, cults or polygamists.

How do you feel about the place where you live?
I love Carlton, so close to the city yet really villagey in feel. We can walk to Brunswick, Fitzroy, the city, Collingwood.

Do you have any collections, or beginnings of collections?! Do other people in your life collect things?
I love to collect Scandinavian mid century, 60s Carlton Ware, enamel tea pots, Japanese books and stationery, vintage classic literature and children's books, mid century fabrics, pretty paper and vintage things to use in collages. Steve my partner has a massive music collection (for his radio show, Dj-ing and our pleasure!)

What projects are you working on at the moment?
I'm designing your new book (!), I'm also working on a lovely cookbook, 2 diaries, some other cultural books, a children's series and I'm drawing a series on Genies! Apart from that, I have a few small cute corporate id jobs.

What are some of the best projects you have worked on in the past?
Your last book Sew La Tea Do was lots of fun. It's nice to style a book, art direct the photography and then design it. My husband and I have had 6 books for children published. It's so nice to work on projects with the person you love! My Grandma's Kitchen was also a gorgeous job to work on, being paid to make collage is like heaven to me. Designing the German covers for the Twilight series was very interesting. Designing type in a language I don't understand was a real experience.

I know that you spend a lot of time in Japan, what are a few of your favourite things to do when you are there?
Everything about Japan I love. The people are so kind, the food is amazing, everything is done with care and enthusiasm. I love the old and the new, contemporary art and ancient temples, kimono fabrics and modern fashion. Vintage fashion as just started to become huge in Tokyo, and if you're a small size, everything fits!!
I love neighbourhood Tokyo, away from the bright lights and craziness. There are so many cute cafes, craft and vintage shops to discover. I love riding on the Shinkansen with a bento box. I love department store food halls.

Where else have you travelled to, and what did you love there?
I try and go overseas at the start of every year. For me it's very important to remove myself from day to day work and go somewhere inspiring, see some art, eat lovely food, sleep in and generally relax and feel inspired.
Favourite places are London (The V&A is my favourite museum in the world), Stockholm, Paris and New York. I love going somewhere big with lots of cultural stimulation and also being able to take a trip out into the country or spending time in gardens and parks.

And what are the first things you do when you come back from a trip?
Eat salad (we mostly go in winter when there is not a lot of fresh produce to eat!)
Give Bronte a full grooming make over (because I miss her so much)
Make our favourite food, see our favourite people, get excited about the projects I'm working on.