365 Days of Clutter

Moleskine 12 Months Daily Planner

Technology: our friend and our foe. As much as I love the fact that I am able to compact the details of my day-to-day life into my Blackberry, it's completely void of the tactility you experience when putting pen to paper. 

My journal and diary planner have become as much of a staple necessity inside my handbag as my purse, Blackberry, keys and red lipstick. I'm an incredibly disorganised girl by nature, and having a diary planner creates an element of structure to my life whilst still remaining personal. Choosing a diary to accompany me to Uni, work and coffee dates this year saw me agonising over a variety of styles and brands - who knew diaries could be the cause of personal anguish? 

Classic, compact and chic, Moleskine always provide for the simple and androgynous. This is the diary I have opted for to serve me throughout survival during my first year of Uni. I have a creative mind and so when it comes to finding an outlet for organising my chaotic thoughts and so on, I relish simplicity - and that is everything this diary encompasses. $32.95

Swedish stationary company kikki.K always know how to make me yearn after their cutesy designs and delicate materials. This TWOTHOUSANDANDELEVEN paperback diary  is perfect for those who are positively useless at remembering the important stuff. Though you may feel silly pasting in your next dentist appointment with the sheet of stickers provided at the back of the diary, there's a childlike element of creative freedom to this diary, something that makes jotting down points of significance less tedious for those expressional characters out there. $29.95

Ah, Frankie: you truly are a God amongst magazines. Though I haven't actually got my paws onto an actual copy of this beautifully crafted creation, Frankie's Daily Journal 2011 appears both feminine and a little bit eccentric, in true legacy of its sponsor. Frankie is a magazine that makes itself personable to women of all ages, interests and occupations, a quality that can be translated into this nifty daily journal. $24.95

Remember, a diary is something personal, so when you're selecting one to spend every day with you in your handbag or under your pillow for the rest of this year, choose the style that seems most personable.

Grace Louise Photography

Model: Irina Fuehrer

Model: Molly Smith

Model: Molly Smith

Model: Molly Smith

Model: (This is me, I am not a model; I am just a perpetually awkward girl!)

There is a disheartening sense of falsehood when it comes to our generation opting for career paths that yield the wonderment of creativity. There are too many young people who yearn for talent and success as photographers and graphic designers alike, yet lack the essential ingredient: passion. Grace Louise Photography is an individual initiative of my good friend and creative spirit, Grace Newnham, who has driven herself from humble beginnings to emerge as a young photographer with raw talent to succeed and an unfaltering sense of passion for her work. 

Drawing inspiration from a vast array of sources, Grace is able to capture the delicateness of lace and frills, whilst conjuring an element of edge through pillows of cigarette smoke and sharp contrasts of colour; her portfolio is an impressive display of eclecticism. 

As a young artist, Grace's prime motivation is to constantly learn, develop and grow as a photographer, an attribute that is really quite admirable. Indeed, it seems as though those that succeed in the creative industry are those that are able to meticulously strive for improvement, adapt to the inevitably of diversity within culture and essentially place their mind outside the realm of conventionality. If this is the case, Grace Louise Photography is definitely a forerunner for success within the Australian cultural sphere.

Click-through links to Grace Louise's Flickr are available via the images above and her work is also displayed for purchase on her website here.