It’s nice when philanthropy is marketed to people who aren’t old and rich but still do care. Shelter, “the housing and homelessness charity” of the UK, is putting together a deck of cards designed by 52 artists and designers, including hype-y names like Damien Hirst, D*Face, Amelia’s Magazine, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and a bunch more.

The whole project is another leg of 2008’s integrated ‘House of Cards’ campaign, drawing attention to the housing crisis in the UK, where a home is repossessed every eight minutes – about as much time as it took me to eat this delicious orange. The video campaign was directed by music video duo Dom and Nic and has a Radiohead soundtrack, just in case you needed more proof that Yes, We (the internet) Are The Target Of This One.

SO HERE’S THE FUN PART: One card of the deck – the eight of spades – was left open as a competition for aspiring designers. The comp closed on Friday, and all of the entries went up this week. Even if you’re not in the UK (and we have reason to believe you are not), it’s worth a look/vote because What A Good Idea, Lets Do It Here? This one’s our favourite – not only does it feature a preposterous pidgeon with a pipe and a top hat, but it’s also by TS-friend Simon Barrett, one third of National Grid

Posted by steph in Art, News

Tags: amelia's magazine, campaign, Charity, damien hirst, homelessness, marketing, Radiohead, shelter, simon barrett, the National Grid Gallery, vivienne westwood, way to do a

Even though most of us are desperate for any cash we can possibly muster at the moment, Recession and all, some people are still doing that thing called charity. The Footpath Library combines charity and literature, giving books to people who can’t afford them.

All the people involved in The Footpath Library are volunteers. They’ve organised stock libraries for many locations, including the Aboriginal Medical Service, St Vincent de Paul, Wesley Mission, The Salvation Army and Street Mission.

They also take donations of books. So if you’re stuck for space, or you don’t like a bunch of books anymore, or never liked them in the first place, send them over to Kennards Self-Storage, 25-29 Winbourne Road, Brookvale, contact Paula for more info.

http://www.footpathlibrary.org

Posted by amelia in Events, Words

Tags: books, Charity, footpath library, homeless, reading

The Wayside Chapel opened in 1964, and has since become one of Sydney’s most well-known and inspirational halfway houses for the homeless, abused, dispossessed and anyones-who-need-it. To the side of the chapel is “Beatniks and Bohemians” – an miniscule op shop which, while all too easy to overlook, raises around 25% of Wayside’s annual revenue.

For the last five years, the Chapel has teamed up with the op-shop to put on a bit of a a fashion and art show for fundraising. We spoke to Beth James, who’s been working on a project which had humble beginnings, but has now become a bit of a beast…

Posted by steph in Art, Features

Tags: Archive, Charity, Eamo, Fait Accompli, Love Ariel, Rebecca Wetzler, SmittenbyStephanie, the Ripping Dylans, Tokyo Blonde, Wayside Chapel

Brooke and Sarah are typical Slurries (inhabitants of Surry Hills. Minds out of the gutter, thankyou). With backgrounds in design, art and other various creations, they have first-hand experience of trying to get a leg-up in the local industry. They decided to do something about it. They started a market…

Posted by steph in Culture, Events

Tags: Archive, Charity, Markets, Surry Hills