Finding Phryne - Kerry Greenwood at Burrinja

Record numbers turned up at Burrinja Cultural Centre on Sunday 10th February to see the lovely Kerry Greenwood with both brunch and afternoon sessions completely booked.

Kerry was a wonderful speaker, who captivated the audience with her tales of writing and the inspirations that drew her into creating the world of Phryne Fisher. Wearing her gorgeous "Coat of many Colours", Kerry's relaxed and humorous stories had everyone entertained from start to finish. There was also much excitement amongst the crowd when Kerry announced she had finished her latest Phryne Fisher mystery just this week!

Books from the Phryne Fisher series were also available for purchase and the lines for them to be signed were huge - a wonderful testament to the popularity of Kerry's work. "She's just wonderful, my daughter brought me along today and it has been a lovely morning out. I thoroughly enjoyed Kerry's talk - and meeting her!!" commented Elizabeth from Camberwell.
 
The Phryne Fisher model inside the gallery was also incredibly popular with many people sparking up discussions in the 1920s section. Fans inside the exhibition had this to say:

"I loved Kerry's description of Phryne - reading about it in her books is always a joy, but to hear her talk about this fascinating character is something else." - Judy, from Boronia.

"Phryne is such an exotic character - after hearing about her, I want to be her!" - Sophia, from Ivanhoe.

"Kerry's descriptions are just so vivid and Phryne is such a colourful character. I love the jacket they chose for the exhibition with the gold throughout, I can just see Phryne throwing it on as she makes her way to a murder scene." - Katherine, from Altona.

A very big thank you to Kerry for making herself available for two sessions (especially seeing as she's just finished her latest work) - it was a wonderful day for everyone. And of course, a big congratulations to Kerry for finishing her latest Phryne novel - we are undoubtedly looking forward to it!!

Facebook Competition Winner Announced!

Thank you everyone who submitted an entry to the Fashion Meets Fiction Competition. What a wonderful response, we had over 100 entries. So with a cup of tea in hand, we read them all - and my word, enjoyed them all (wow, wish we could hand out tickets to everyone!!);  and after much deliberation, chose a winner. So without further ado...

**drum roll**

Congratulations to Bronwyn White! We loved the idea that what you wear should always make you feel fabulous and for getting in touch with our inner wickedness!!

Bronwyn has won two tickets to the Fashion Meets Fiction at Burrinja Gallery.

Thank you to everyone who entered - so many awesome responses and inspirational ideas! Hope to see you all at the Gallery!

Congratulations Bronwyn - Here is her winning answer.

So fetching - Glamour Divine at the FMF Mini Market

Candice DeVille and Karla,
our 1940s vintage makeover model

On Saturday January 19, the Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition hosted a free Mini Market. With a record crowd turning up to Burrinja Gallery, it was a fantastic day had by all with lots of bargains, vintage delights, sassy swing tunes from Stacey-Louise Camilleri and wonderful workshops by guest speakers Candice Deville and Sally MacKinnon.

The 1940s makeover by Candice Deville was immensley popular with over 100 people being completely captivated by Candice's beautiful personality and advice in transforming our lovely model, Karla, into a vintage knock out. Candice was also on hand afterwards giving out advice, tips, tricks as well as a few mini-makeovers.

Stacey-Louise Camilleri also delighted crowds with her amazing voice as visitors browsed the market. So many compliments on such a beautiful voice; it was hard not to start dancing and tapping one's feet! Details on where to catch Stacey and her fellow Sisters are at the bottom - definitely treat yourself to one of the Swing Sisters performances!

Fashion stylist Sally MacKinnon also captured a large crowd with her knowledge on how to dress for your body shape. Sally's valuable advice was an inspiration for many with a very active Q & A session, with many ladies walking away with greater confidence in styling their own individual looks and wardrobe.

And let us not forget our fantastic stallholders - with so many goodies on ther stalls... just take our money, already!! Lots of nifty and thrifty items - everything from fashion, vintage magazines, vintage patterns, and  vintage inspired bridal crafts and jewellery, there was definitely something for everyone.

A lot of fun was had by all and a big thank you to all our speakers, performers and market stallholders for making it a fabulous day. There was such an array of wonderful compliments from many of our  visitors - so here is a list of all the people involved on the day! Kudos to you all!!

To see more of the fun had at the A Vintage Fair to Remember, check out our Facebook Page Photo Album!

Speakers & Performers
1940s Makeover with Candice DeVille from Super Kawaii Mama
Dressing for you Shape by Sally MacKinnon from Styled By Sally
Vocal Entertainment by Stacey-Louise Camilleri from the Swing Sisters

Stall Holders
Christina's Crafts
Vintage Butterfly
Linda's Vintage Fashion Collection
Lorri's Vintage Magazines
Voski Von Muller Fashion Emporium
Threadneedle & Bloom

Full house for the Gallery Walk with Charlotte

What a lovely afternoon - Charlotte Smith joined us again on Thursday January 17 for an enlightening walk through the Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition at Burrinja.

With the tour completely booked out, guests were taken through a selection of Charlotte's favourite exhibition pieces and treated to the histories behind the fashion and how literature has inspired her to pair certain pieces with famous literature. The social history behind the garments as well as other fascinating tidbits were absolutely intriguing - who will be able to forget the story of American prison ladies sewing coal into the hems of their crinoline dresses to make them sway.

Charlotte was as charming as ever and it was an enjoyable afternoon had by all - we could have listened and talked about fashion all afternoon!!

For more information on the Gallery Walk - see the Gallery Walk Photo Album on Facebook Page.

Christmas Hours

Christmas Hours

Burrinja will be closed from Monday 24th December and will reopen on Saturday 29th December.

New Years Eve
 
Burrinja will be closed on Monday 31st December and Tuesday 1st January, and will reopen on Wednesday 2nd January 2013.


Have a wonderful and safe everyone and see you at the Gallery

Dreaming of Dior - Lunch with Charlotte Smith

Charlotte Smith, curator for the pieces on display at the Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition, was at Burrinja Cultural Centre yesterday to share with us the stories behind the Darnell Collection. With a full crowd seated at the luncheon, Charlotte delighted us with tales of how the collection began with her godmother, Doris Darnell, and how Charlotte came to be the custodian .

It is incredible how one dress can remind you of the most important moments of your life.

For Doris, it was the inspiration of dancing in a peach slipper silk-satin dress, cut on the bias with a low cut back and hundreds of buttons displayed in a Bryn Mawr boutique. Doris first spotted this vision of loveliness in the shop window in 1937, whilst she was still a student at Bryn Mawr College. However it was the Depression and the dress cost $40, which back then would have been almost half her tuition money - too much for a young lady on a scholarship. Also, Doris was a Quaker and to "covet" items was traditionally frowned upon.

These issues did not faze Doris, who visited the dress frequently - until one day, it went on sale for $20. She obtained $10 from her parents (in lieu of birthday and Christmas presents for the next few years) and saved for the rest. Doris wore her dress to a ball at Rutger's University - and on that night, she met her husband.

For Charlotte, who had always been familiar with her godmother's collection whilst growing up, her life changed when Doris arranged for Charlotte to take over as custodian. "I received a fax from my godmother saying she was going to be sending 70 boxes. Boxes of what, I wasn't sure; so I cleared out a small corner of my store thinking I was going to be receiving shoes boxes."

What actually arrived was a fully packed truck with boxes approximately waist to shoulder height. The entire delivery weighed around 1200kg and each box contained roughly 50 packaged items, creating a grand total of over 3,500 vintage pieces.

"It was like Christmas for 3 months. I remember the first dress I pulled out; it was a cream, silk chiffon dance dress from the 1920s. It was so light, it just floated in the air and the glass beads... they shone prisms all over my shop front."

It was when Charlotte unearthed her godmother's notebook, detailing all the stories behind the dresses that the value of the collection hit home. "It wasn't until then that I truly realised the importance of what I had been given. Some of the dresses had their own tags or notes attached saying "worn to at Queen Victoria's ball" or the date and event in which the garment was worn. It really is a privilege to be a guardian of not only an amazing collection but also of the stories of people's lives."

She looks familiar! One of the many mannequin
displays at the
Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition

The Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition is currently open. Don't miss out on your chance to see this incredible collection of vintage clothing - it really is something to see!


Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition - The Darnell Collection
When: November 9, 2012 - February 17, 2013
Where: Burrinja Cultural Centre, Cnr of Glenfern & Matson Drive, Upwey VIC 3158
Session Times:
Tuesday-Friday: 10.30am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10.30am-1pm and 1pm-4pm

Tickets Now Available
Purchase tickets online or call Burrinja Cultural Centre on (03) 9754 8723
For more information on the Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition at Burrinja Cultural Centre, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Fashion Meets Fiction Opens Today!!

Time to celebrate!! We are so excited!

After so much hard work getting it all set up, the gallery looks devine.

The Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition opens today at 10:30am at Burrinja Cultural Centre.

It's not too late to get tickets to the sessions, so book in now. Don't miss the opportunity to check out this display of literature and fashion from decades past - it is simply phenomenal to see how fashion and literature were so influential in characterising popular culture today.

Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition - The Darnell Collection
When: November 9, 2012 - February 17, 2013
Where: Burrinja Cultural Centre, Cnr of Glenfern & Matson Drive, Upwey VIC 3158
Sessione Times:
Tuesday-Friday: 10.30am-4pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10.30am-1pm and 1pm-4pm

Tickets Now Available
Purchase tickets online or call Burrinja Cultural Centre on (03) 9754 8723
For more information on the Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition at Burrinja Cultural Centre, follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Vintage Cocktails for a Spicy Night at Fashion Meets Fiction!

Have you booked your ticket to the Official Fashion Meets Fiction Cocktail Party to help support Guide Dogs Vicotria?

Here are some vintage cocktail recipes that were popular in the 1930s and 1940s for inspiration! During this period, cocktails mainly consisted of gin, rum, brandy or whiskey. Many of the recipes had been around for a very long time, but it wasn't until the 1930s during Prohibition and the 1940s  that they gained widespread popularity.

Sidecar
1 measure Cointreau
1 measure brandy/cognac
1 measure lemon juice
Shake with ice and strain into sugar-rimmed cocktail (martini) glass and garnish with a strip of lemon rind.
** Is said to be credited to a Parisian bar tender who was asked to prepare a beverage by an American captain that would take away the chill from being outside.

Mint Julep

2 measures bourbon (American whiskey)
8-10 fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp caster sugar
Put mint, sugar and a dash of hot water in a short glass, grind together, then spoon into a tall glass over crushed ice. Add bourbon, top off with crushed ice, stir well and stand to chill until the ice is partially melted. Garnish with mint leaves.
**One of the oldest cocktails of them all. Originiated in the southern United States, probably during the eighteenth century.

 

Gibson
half measure dry white vermouth
2.5 measures gin
2 cocktail onions
Pour vermouth and gin into a glass with ice, stir and let chill for 30 seconds. Skewer onions on a cocktail stick and place in a cocktail (Martini) glass so onions rest at the bottom. Strain vermouth/gin into the glass.
**As an alternative to the Martini, with an onion garnish instead of an olive, the Gibson is thought to have originated in San Francisco's Bohemian Club in 1898.

Manhattan
2 and a quarter measures American rye whiskey
1 measures sweet red vermouth
Dash of bitters
Maraschino cherry to garnish
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail (Martini) glass, garnish with the cherry.
 **Often referred to as "The King of Cocktails", the Manhattan is thought to have made its debut in the 1870s at a banquet hosted by the notorious Lady Randolph Churchill (yes, that's Winston's mum).

Zombie
1 measure white rum
1 measure light rum
1 measure dark rum
1 measure apricot brandy
1 measure pineapple juice
1 measure papaya juice
½ measure rum
Dash of grenadine
Shake all ingredients other than the 151-proof rum with ice. Pour drink and ice into a tall glass and top with the high-proof rum.
**Legendary 1930s recipe created at Don the Beachcomber restaurant in Hollywood as a hangover cure and became popular at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.


The Official Fashion Meets Fiction Cocktail Party
When: Thursday 15th November 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Where: Burrinja Cultural Centre, Cnr of Glenfern & Matson Drive, Upwey VIC 3158
Cost: $55.00
Bookings essential phone 9754 8723 or book online.

Guide Dogs Victoria Cocktail Party

Oh, how ever so civilised!

There is nothing quite like frocking up in your best evening attire and going out to mingle with a classy beverage in one hand and tickets for the Fashion Meets Fiction Exhibition in the other.

In honor of our fist week of opening and in support of our charity partnership with Guide Dogs Victoria, Fashion Meets Fiction will celebrate with an Official Cocktail Party at Burrinja Cultural Centre on Thursday 15 November at 7:30pm. All funds raised from this event will go to Guide Dogs Victoria.

All are welcome to partake of this enchanting evening of delightful fashions showcased from the Darnell Collection and support this wonderful cause.


When: Thursday 15th November 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Where: Burrinja Cultural Centre, Cnr of Glenfern & Matson Drive, Upwey VIC 3158
Cost: $55.00

Bookings essential phone 9754 8723 or book online.

Vintage Couture with Anne Dixon at Lilydale Library

Anne Dixon is one of our most popular fashion historians - and she is back again this October to present a selection of her Vintage Couture collection at Lilydale Library. Anne will provide a beautiful showcase of items ranging from the 1920s up the 1970s and discuss how fashion was influential on social attitudes and change. Creations from designers such as Chanel, Yves St Laurent and Dior will also be on display.

Also, one lucky guest will win two tickets to the Fashion Meets Fiction - The Darnell Collection Exhibition at Burrinja Cultural Centre that opens in November.

When: Tuesday 9th October 2:00pm
Where: Lilydale Library, Anderson Street, Lilydale
Cost: Free Event with Refreshments provided.

Bookings essential phone 9294 3120 or book online.

Willow - Our Guide Dogs Victoria Mascot

Guide Dogs Victoria were our official charity at our Media Launch at Burrinja Cultural Centre on August 17, 2012.

Here's a picture of the lovely Willow, who was our mascot for the day. Isn't she just beautiful?

To check out more photos of our media launch, head on over to our Facebook Page.