Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams?

Lord Alfred Tennyson, The Higher Pantheism

Editor-in-Chief & Creative DirectorZara Duffy

Music Jacob Warren

PhotographyTori Cranstoun

Zara DuffyKrista Durand

Nano KatoJarryd LynaghJesse Mullins

Xavier Ryan-McInallyFraser Stanley

Izzy TaitAdam Thomas

ContributorsArkie BartonChloe CreedNano Kato

Jacob LambertMegan Lumley

Kale Munro

rommmag@hotmail.com

Boasting a carefully-edited collec-tion of LP’s, BSR offers good music, using emotive paragraphs to tanta-lize both nostalgics and newcomers alike. Buy yourself a new lullaby.

http://bedroomsuckrecords.com/

All Sorts , the luscious Spring/Summer Collection from Edwi-na Sinclair’s wonderlabel, SOOT., provides a teasing preview of candy dreams and summer nights. Due to be released mid August.

http://www.soot.com.au/

Silver Tooth Vintage, a testament of times past, is chock-full of vintage beauties, from whimsical dream-dresses to lux coats.

http://www.silvertooth.com.au/

Ella Mobbs, creator of Little Lala, uses her crafty hands to put her hauntingly sweet illustrations onto almost anything. Turn your dinner into a nightmare..

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Little-LalaShop

Visting Luke Maninov’s online store is akin to discovering a brooding cave. This treasure trove of darkly beautiful jewellery is handmade and inspired by nature, enough to make you feel like a king.

http://www.lukemaninov.com/

Take Clothing encourages you to create trouble and chaos in the night. In style, of course.

http://www.takeclothing.com/

What drove you to pick up a camera? Injury!! I hurt myself and was temporarily disable, so I found myself searching for something to kill the huge amount of time I’d never before had to deal with. A few month earlier, a Brisbane photographer had inceptioned the idea of taking photos, and being disabled was the trigger I’d been waiting for.

Did you ever think it’d take you around the world?No, never!! I knew I’d travel, but didn’t expect to be as ideal as I’ve been doing it so far.

Digital or analogue?Both. I’d love to shoot analogue all day, the aesthetic is so ideal and even before you consider the photos, it’s just a much more pleasurable experience. Big viewfinders and each photo having a dollar value incites so much more thought and care! Which is ideal, it forces you to learn faster and take better photos ... but on the other hand, getting everything perfect at the time of shooting, thanks to digital’s ability to review and and reshoot for free, is EX-TREMELY ideal. If I’m ever documenting properly, I’ll probably carry both on me.

Most surprisingly photogenic place?Brisbane!! Plus there are so many epic landscapes nearby, the Gold and Sunshine Coast Hinterlands are beyond glorious, and then there’s the beach and Nebo, etc... it’s an ideal place.

Most dangerous photo you’ve taken?Probably during the [Brisbane] floods... I’d stayed out all night photoing the flood come in, and by the following morning, around 4am, I’d venture around to Sydney Street to shoot the city on sunrise... I knew the Riverwalk would be an ideal vantage, but it was underwater and fenced off. I figured the adventure would be worth it anyway so I jumped a few fences to get onto the pontoon, and it was already knee deep! The photos were good and I became extremely distracted by the sunrise adn my tired mind had forgotten the danger until the feeling of cracking con-crete under me grabbed my attention. I immediately knew I had to get out of there was the water was now almost to my hips. It’s exciting to think I was probably the last person on that path before it got washed away.

Dreamiest photo you’ve taken?I don’t know... My dreams are elusive adn intriguing things that stand in the way of reality but seem to guide it at the same time.

Where are you off to next?I decided yesterday that I’m going to the Czech Republic in 12 days for a skateboarding race. Team Spontaneity woo!!

To chase more of Jacob’s dreams visit: http://jacoblambert.blogspot.com.au/

My name is NANO KATO and my blog is called NANOKATOPHOTO. I started this blog in 2010

because HAVING A TUMLR GIVES YOU SICK HIPSTER CRED. You’ll see lots of FILM and DIGI

TAL, but I’d rather commit than post anything related to MODEMS. I’m inspired by MY SURROUND

INGS, INTERNET AND FRIENDS, and on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll find me DOING YOGA AT

THE LOCAL YOGA PLACE and daydreaming about INDUSTRIAL FANS AND CHICKEN NUG

GETS. If my blog was a person, it’d be REALLY BORING because IT’S SIMILAR TO DRINKING

ICED WATER. My blog in one word is NOT-TOO-SHABBY. If you take a look, I’ll GIVE YOU A

FREE HUG – I’M GOOD AT HUGS xo.

Let’s face it, most dreams are pretty fucking weird/sexual and can leave you wondering if you’ve been slipped some hallucinogens. But, you’re not alone. Even the Babylonians in their hanging gardens had wack dreams. And some bright spark decided to look to dreams for the meaning of life.

There are two ways of looking at dreams: 1. Our homeboy Sig-Freud coined the ‘unconscious mind’, something uncontrollable buried deep in the mushy grey stuff, mostly concerning sex and death (sup).2. Dream interpretation, where meaning is made through interpretation of symbols in said dream.

The simplest way to interpret your dreams is to write down key symbols and consult a dream-interpreting dictionary (hooray for late night interwaves surfing), but we prepared for this like kids for a solar system project, and logged on dreammoods.com (we also decoded some famous dreams ourselves too).

“I totally understood that dream, you guys!” – said no-one ever.

Words by Zara Duffy, Photos by Tori Cranstoun

Paul McCartney – Literally dreamed the melody to “Yesterday” Dreammoods: Harmonious and soothing music signifies pleasure and prosperity.ROMM: Beatles never really sleep.

President Abraham Lincoln – Dreamt of his own assassination (then was assassinated shortly after).Dreammoods: Assassination signifies a hopeless situation that needs immediate attention.ROMM: This is just plain scary.

Naked & Famous – Punched in a dream to breathe life into their nightmare.Dreammoods: A punch represents hidden anger and aggression.ROMM: This song represents violent raving.

“I totally understood that dream, you guys!” – said no-one ever.

Words by Zara Duffy, Photos by Tori Cranstoun

What got you started on papercutting?A couple of years ago I was stuck with an art assignment where I had to create something to do with my mind. I ended up making a papercut that looked like lace, to represent the intricacies and links between everything in my headspace. So I guess I started by trying to recreate lace, instead of just wanting to work with paper.

How did the maiden cut work out?It was surprisngly well recieved by my class, whcih gave me the push to keep designing more. I’ve made plenty in my own time since, but the first one is still my favourite. I gave it to a friend to use as his album cover when he makes an EP.

Any major injuries?Oh man, my work area is so messy, and I leave Exacto and Stanley knife blades around all too often, I’m really asking for an injury. Luckily, my main problem so far is just getting hand cramps from working so small.

Do you dabble in any other mediums?I do! When I’m not papercutting, I’m making digital patterns, or I’m out in the garage painting. I think I’d get bored if I just stuck to the one medium all the time. Paper cuts are the most fun though, especially since they’re on the crafty side of art.

Any hidden talents we should know about?Ooh, that’s a tricky one. Perhaps drunk socialising? I feel like I make friends with the entire club each time I go out somewhere. Having said that, a lot of people are more social when they drink, so it’s a pretty average ‘talent’ I’ve got.

What’s the average day in Megan’s life?For a while I did art at BIA and TAFE, but now my days are free. I love my life! I wake up around 10am, and I’ll spend most of the day painting or papercutting, or out around Brisbane to keep my mind inspired. Lately I’ve had a lot of custom art orders from people, and so they’ve kept me busy at home.

Where can we get our paws on your art? You can view the art I make on tumblr (meganlumleyart.tumblr.com), at the Four Zero Three Six Cafe in Bald Hills, or on Facebook (facebook.com/meganclarelumley). I will also be exhibiting and selling work at the RAW Emerging Artists Showcase in September. It’s at Oh Hello on the 26th at 8pm!

Here’s another order, could you cut ROMM something dreamy?Sure! This one has a quote from 10 Things I Hate About You, just \before the massive house party starts. I love it.

The Kramers are two local lads - Ethan on guitar and vocals, and Aiden on drums. I discovered their 2011 demo, Lizard King, on bandcamp, and from there, I found their new album, The Kramers. I clicked the link and my jaw dropped. This album is 13 fucking songs long and 100% free. The music The Kramers produce befits a montage of drunken adventures and just plain ol’ fun times. The Kramers produce a raw rockabilly lo-fi sound that is best listened to on those long rides on public transport. The album starts off refreshingly laid back and the track Tribute to Dex is a good hint of what is to come. It is followed by a cover of Pearl Jam’s Last Kiss that reminds me of live recordings of King Krule (formerly Zoo Kid). The album has so much depth and is so diverse, and that is what makes it so unique. Combining quiet acoustics (Spoonful), rock solos (Lounge Act, Trip), horror movie samples and playfully disguised deep lyrics, The Kramers is an amazing album. Rounded out with The End, a track that leaves me wanting to scream YOLO from a car park rooftop as it reminds us of our impending doom come December. I caught up with Ethan from the band and he enlightened me and made my jaw drop again, by telling me he was 15. When asked about aspirations, Ethan told me that he and Aiden share a general idea of world doination for the band. Influences include Rasputin (google him), The Flat Duo Jets, the whole wild man rocker type thing, Hasil Adkins and Bloodshot Bill. WHen I asked how the duo formed, Ethan said that the “sec-ond time we ever met, we ended up recording an EP in Aiden’s bedroom... since then it’s been a blast!”. That just shows how much musical chemistry The Kramers have as a band. Ethan has some pretty attentive insights into life and experience, and draws inspiration from daily existence.

Words & Photos by Jacob Warren

The home style recording of The Kramers allows them to comfortably release big albums and EPS just like The Kramers. On home recording, Ethan says “Something about it is kind of so raw and unpolished that the artists true intent seems to be displayed right there. Smacks you right in the teeth. It’s powerful and that’s why I like it”.

The near future of The Kramers looks pretty hectic. In the next few weeks, The Kramers are making an EP with the singer of surf punk band Wilde Child, so be sure to look out for that. They are also getting a plenitude of gigs around the Brisbane, so keep an eye otu and get along to one. To finish off, Ethan quoted Mr. Joe Strummer in saying “from there on, the future is unwritten” and added “So if you’re reading this, come along and do the hand jive or whatever!”.

I saw these guys in a heavily soundproofed garage with the discernible scents of beer, sweaty bodies and pot wafting through the air. Seeing The Kramers live is definitely something to experience. Feeling the head-bopping melodies that mask the dark lyrics live is amazing. But the best part of the live show is the energy the duo has. Ethan churns out rockabilly solos while writhing on the floor, and Aiden keeps him in line with solid beats. Just to round off this feature, I want to say that you should keep an eye on and support The Kramers, but also keep an eye out for Ethan. I hope the pair will be around for a long time to come and start getting recognition for the work that they do.

by Kale Munro

Pictures

Who is Arkie Barton and why did she start a fashion house? Um, I’m Arkie haha, and I’m 17 and in my first year of university. I guess opening my own fashion house came about quite naturally. I had been developing mmy owwn deisgns and working at fabricating them into wearable garments, so I decided to just put a name to what I was doing.

Does studying fashion at uni aid your creative process?Most definitely! I do a double degree in Fashion Design and Business (majoring in Marketing), adn even the busi-ness subjects I have been studying are impacting on how I have begun to build up my company. Because of the double degree, I don’t start my studio subjects until next year, however, I think a lot of people underestimate the importance of theoretical subjects in their respective creative degrees. My fave subject was “History of Fashion”, it was crazy looking back to the very beginning and tracing trends throughout history to present day.

Are you focussing more on bespoke services or ready-to-wear?Initially, to get myself out there and sewing, I had been focusing on bespoke services adn I am still available for this, however, I’m trying to transfer more over to ready-to-wear garments, through developing bi-annual collections for everyone to peep at and purchase!

What’s your view on the current state of Brisbane fashion? Honestly, it’s getting there. Of course we aren’t at the standard of some of our sister cities, Sydney or Melbourne, but I think we have some magical street style emerging and some great new designers and boutiques popping up all around the place.

Your most notable creation so far?I guess it would be my entry into the Queensplaza Avant Garde competition. it was a white full skirt minidress that I made for the Sustainable Design Category by using old wedding dresses I found opshopping and recycled paper. It was a pretty fun dress to make, but I don’t think I slept more than 4 hours in teh 3 days it took me to make it haha. It led on to inspire a few dresses that were commissioned with pretty floral and garden inspired embellishments popping up everywhere.

What’s your ultimate dream for ABFH?My ultimate dream for ABFH is to take it overseas, to create somethign that is successful and ALWAYS employ ethi-cal practices. I would love to be at the standard where I am showing my collections at international fashion festivals, and shown in Vogue. I’m pretty determined.

What/who are you inspired by? This is such a difficult question! I am inspired by the entire fashion world, it is so fast-paced and full of creative souls... I find the whoel industry really pushing my artistic direction. But if I had to choose a few, I’m always a sucker for designers who you can see strongly drawing on their cultural heritage to create; Akira, Jenny Kee (omg amazing, amazing!), Sass and Bide. But seriously this question is too hard haha, I’ll end up listing every deisgner if I keep going.

Karl Lagerfeld’s kitten has two maids. Excessive or you in a new years?You know, if it was anyone else, I would say too excessive. But Karl Lagerfeld is amazing. Love him. I actually watched the most amazing documentary on him, such a driven, amazing, successful man. It probably won’t be me in a few years though, I don’t like cats, they scare me.

Winter or summer?Another difficult question! I love the feeling of summer, being able to visit the beach and ice cream and it’s just so much brighter! I associate good times with summer because of the holiday season, etc. But if we are talking in terms of fashion, winter all the way. Coats and scarfs and stockings and boots. Winter is, hands down, the best fashion season.

What’s up next for ABFH?Well, I’m off to Sydney to intern with Akira for a few weeks in August, so I am preparing for that. I actually cannot wait, it’s goign to be such an incredible experience! I am a lucky gal. After that, uni will be my main focus, although I’ll try to get some actual designing and creating in there as well.

Where can we get hold of ABFH goodies?At the moment the best way to contact me, however, I have a website in development where my ready-to-wear collec-tions will be available as well as an additional little something I am developing for you all ;). The best way to contact me and keep up-to-date with what is happening would be through the fashion house’s facebook page, Arkie Barton Fashion House.

Could you draw us some dreamy ROMM threads?

http://jarrydlynagh.tumblr.com/ http://www.jessemullins.com.au/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelittlewings

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blahadam

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fstanley/