The design industry’s first major event for the year has just kicked off with the Australian International Furniture Fair (AIFF) which once again showcases the latest designs from both local and international furniture manufacturers and importers. A definitive event on the design calendar, the great thing about the show is that it not only allows the industry to learn of the latest developments and shop for the latest wares, it also features keynote talks with leading lights in design (an army of international speakers as well as local). The AIFF is co-located with Australia’s premiere interior and soft furnishings trade fair, ‘Decoration + Design’, this year bringing together over 100 suppliers from here and beyond under the one roof. Visitors to the 2012 fair will see the latest collections in wallpaper, decorative accessories, fabrics, furniture, homewares, lighting, soft furnishings and wall art.

Alongside established labels such as About Space, Craft Enterprises and Crowley & Grouch, ‘Decoration + Design’ Sydney 2012 will also boast stands by new homewares exhibitors Design R Secrets , Inside Africa and Homepride across the largest floor space the event has seen to date. Attractions include ‘Hotel + Hospitality Furnishings’ (highlight on products that are suitable for hotels, motels, clubs and restaurants), ‘The Edge Design Competition’ (renowned for unearthing our next generation of furniture design talent) and ‘Design Futures’ (an inspirational trend feature at the heart of ‘Decoration + Design’). Probably the most exciting drawcard is the ‘International Industry Seminar Series’, a coveted attraction luring some of the biggest international and local design names in the industry who will be discussing their individual ethoses over the span of the event.

On his first visit to Australia, US designer to the stars Martyn Lawrence Bullard (pictured above) will headline the series, talking about “creating a superstar interior”, that is, mixing classic chic with contemporary glamour. A celebrity in his own right with his reality TV show Million Dollar Decorators (airing last year in Australia on Foxtel), Lawrence Bullard’s clientele includes Elton John, Cher, Christina Aguillera, and even Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. He has also completed commercial projects for Jimmy Choo, Warner Brothers, and Paramount Studios and has written a book, Live, Love & Decorate. Joining Martyn in the series is UK’s Suzanne Trocmé, curator of the London Design Festival and Special Projects Editor for Wallpaper magazine.

From our own shores, local speakers include style leader Melinda Ashton Turner, lighting designer Petra Kleegraefe, and interior designers Chelsea Hing and Sarah Davison. Genty Marshall, Decoration + Design’s resident trend forecaster will again join the series, giving a seminar on ‘The Collector, The Creator and The Connoisseur’. Based on her installation area at ‘Decoration + Design’, Genty’s talk will look at three distinctive ways of relating to design while demonstrating some of the trends we’ll be seeing in 2012.

On a more organic level, the event’s ‘Student Award’ continues to thrive as the leading category, boasting an impressive 27 out of 50 competition entries, with designs entered from a vast array of leading design centres, colleges and universities around the country.

‘Decoration + Design’ Sydney is co-located with the Australian International Furniture Fair and ‘Hotel + Hospitality Furnishings’, all on at the Sydney Exhibition Centre February 1-3, 2012. Seminar and event tickets are priced from $44 and available online at www.decorationdesign.com.au or www.aiff.net.au. Pre-booking is essential.

Created by Lesley-Weymouth Wilson, a stunning combination of contemporary style and classic design, and launched in late 2011, Duoviva’s exclusive design furnishings offer a signature look for every room, from décor cushions to a complete suite of cushions, throws, bedspreads, coverlets, valances, headboards and lamps, with the mood and tone reset on reversal, introducing a five-star hotel look into the home. The exquisite velvet and metallic linens, available in timeless palettes, and the lustre and patterns of the designs, complemented by the sumptuous duck feather inserts, present a luxurious tactile experience.

The eight ranges’ palettes and lustres acknowledge the regions and cities of Italy, with Duoviva, “two lives”, denoting the dual fabrics of the design furnishings that present and alternate mood and tone.

Duoviva design furnishings can be viewed at www.duoviva.com or step into the showroom at 41-49 Smith Street, Fitzroy, Melbourne, at the Gertrude Street end.

Once upon a time, Hyundai made dependable, practical, everyday cars that weren’t known for their looks or style. It wasn’t that style was ignored, it just didn’t seem to be a priority. That changed when German Chief Designer Thomas Bürkle came on board and decided things were going to be different. Jetting to the company’s global headquarters in South Korea, he was impressed by the city’s local architecture and sought to uniquely incorporate it into the next generation of the i40 Tourer series.

While many car designers claim to be inspired by divine intervention in some form, very few can claim to be directly inspired by places of worship. Bürkle is far from your average car designer.

“I noticed the very sleek lines of the Buddhist temples around Seoul and I used those curves to design the rear end of the vehicle until it was something that was quite sleek,” he proudly claims. Not just from the back, the i40 Tourer is great to look at from all angles.

In a single word it is impressive. Whether driving to the office in peak hour traffic or propelling you through the twists, turns and unexpected bends on a country road trip, it’s a very comfortable ride. That’s partly due to the interior heated seats (both front and rear) and partly due to the fact that they’re just so well-designed, even if you decide not to flick the switch and in an instant increase the temperature on those cold days (and strangely, there’s been a few of those on the east coast of Australia this season).

Further assisting your drive to be as effortless as possible the dashboard has the latest features of what you’d expect from a high-tech production vehicle manufactured in 2011. There’s an LCD display, trip computer with clever features like an alarm reminder for your next service and seat adjustment memory, but it doesn’t overwhelm the driver with excess. The interior is spacious enough to allow you and your passengers to relax. In fact, Hyundai have ensured simplicity is the order of the day and its high-tech control features are all simply laid out in a user-friendly format. From the first time driving, it is clear that everything is where it should be.

The i40 Tourer with its choice of a 2.0 litre petrol engine (1,999 cc) or a 1.7 litre diesel engine (1,685 cc) is not the most powerful car on the road. Hyundai never designed it to be, but what they have claimed is that it will deliver maximum fuel efficiency and power response output at all times – a wise choice for the inevitable peak hour traffic rush and the ever-increasing cost of fuel. That’s not to say it’s a slouch. Put your foot down and you’ll notice the performance is there. Ultimately the i40 Tourer is a sensible road choice for anyone who wants a well-designed, technologically-loaded car so they can make their journey in complete comfort for themselves and their passengers. And it doesn’t look too bad either.

For more information visit www.hyundai.com.au.

By all rights any restaurant named after ’80s cult TV classic ‘Monkey Magic’ should have patrons summoning waiters by whistling their fingers looking to the clouds, stick-fighting mayhem with other diners, and limiting conversation to small but influential Buddhist figurehead – none of which would make any sense whatsoever. Monkey Magic, the restaurant, on Sydney’s Crown Street in Surry Hills, doesn’t have any of those features – a fact excused only by the quality of its food which, in a word, is spellbinding.

Modern Japanese is the order of the day with some other Asian dishes like duck pancakes (cute miniatures made from buckwheat, pictured above) thrown in for good measure, and an exotic blend of mouthwatering sushi and equally impressive sashimi with some clever takes on traditional Japanese favourites. The Blue Swimmer Crab roll, for instance, works by cleverly substituting soy with curried vinaigrette.

Skewers of prawn and vegetables tempured to a golden brown and uniquely served lollipop -tyle on thin wooden sticks are a great choice of entrée while the salt and pepper cuttlefish boasts a texture and taste far better than the standard calamari ubiquitous in Sydney restaurants. Thanks to just a hint of chili, it proves to be a worthwhile standout. The coriander and garlic mayonnaise accompanying it is the perfect dipping sauce.

The Teriyaki chicken could well be Monkey’s signature dish (pictured above). Soft and succulent, it melts in your mouth faster than the miso candied butter it comes with while the sauce itself is dark, sweet, rich and, yes, quite possibly the best of its kind in the city. The steamed snapper with broth emanates a subtlety of textures; the white flesh deliciously falls apart while the snapper skin is sharp and crisp. Not just a tokenistic gesture for vegetarians the restaurant’s steamed Asian greens with a sticky citrus miso is a flavorsome side the most voracious meat-eater would happily sink their teeth into. 

Desserts include spring rolls wickedly filled with white chocolate and banana plated with a refreshing green tea ice cream or the salted caramel semifreddo with crunchy meringue which tastes as good as it looks. The wine list boasts a wide selection of international and Australian drops, focusing on WA’s Margaret River. Cocktails should come with a warning: addiction is likely. The ‘Monkey Gland’ of gin, orange and grenadine quickly becomes a favourite. If that’s not enough, there’s an impressive array of sake, whiskey, rum and just about everything else you’d expect  to find at a well-stocked bar.

With its dark hardwood floors, brown brick walls, minimalist lighting and spacious interior, Monkey Magic is one restaurant you don’t want to miss out on. Twin Head Chefs Shea Crawford and Shinsuke Tsurita have carved themselves a well-deserved reputation for fusing modern and traditional dishes to very high standards ensuring the success of this restaurant is not down to magic, but to hard work and a shared vision of excellence.

Monkey Magic is situated 410 Crown Street, Surry Hills.

Visit www.monkeymagic.com.au for more information or phone (02) 9358 4444 to book.

During the Christmas and New Year’s season, there’s one thing you can count on in hospitality, and that is that the prices of hotel rooms go through the roof. But not so with Holiday Inn. Just launched by the quality and affordable hotel group is its ‘Stay Summer’ promotion offering holidaymakers the choice between inspiring city breaks or relaxing escapes in getaway spots across Australasia.

City slickers and shopaholics, for example, might like to take advantage of a package that includes overnight accommodation, breakfast and parking in CBD Holiday Inn properties situated in Darling Harbour, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Darwin, Auckland and Port Moresby.

Alternatively, those desiring a little R&R can enjoy a package that includes overnight accommodation and a $100 food and beverage voucher at properties in secluded spots in Cairns, Gagudju, Suva, Vanuatu and Rotorua.

Rates are very generous with city stays alone starting from $119 a night (eg: Townsville) and $220 (Potts Point, pictured above) to $239 (Burswood, Perth) and $320 (Old Sydney, The Rocks). Visit www.holidayinn.com/staysummer for more information or call 138 388 to book for affordable stays between December 16 and February 29.

It seems even the ampersand in its brand name can’t stop &Beyond from being the world’s leading ecotourism company, this year celebrating a whooping 20 years of successful business, 20 years of  conservation triumphs, 20 years of  luxury responsible tourism. Pretty much 20 years of kicking butt.

With their first Mountain Lodge opening in October 1991, &Beyond have grown into an award-winning hospitality success with more than 35 safari lodges throughout Africa and India, and even better stories to go with them.

Because 20 obviously seems to be the number on &Beyond’s lips, they have compiled numerous lists, all with 20 as a common factor: community empowerment victories, bucket list moments,  insider travel tips and more.

They’re just sharing the love. Why don’t you give on back and check out what &Beyond has got going on at www.andbeyond.com. Take a peak at the amazing adventure holidays that are just a click away.

Image courtesy &Beyond.