r~

The Little Yellow Boat

MELANIE CURRY AND THE ULTIMATE LIFESTYLE

Simple lines, clean-cut images and vibrant Australian colours have come to epitomize the outdoor /beach lifestyle enjoyed by th~ majority of Australia's shore-dwelling population. Weiss, Done Art and Design, Jimmy Pike's Desert Designs and Jenny Kee are some of the major players who are firmly ensconced as market leaders, promoting the ultimate lifestyle, their distinctive designs and logo 1 household words not only in Australia but way beyond our sun-drenched shores.

Quite another world is that of the surfing fraternity-a world of wetsuits, leg ropes, Gorilla Grips, surfers' sandals and sports sunglasses. Clothing with names and logos reminiscent of bikers and rodeo riders, as well as the mainstream surfer fashions produced by Kuta Lines, Rip Curl, Billabong, Quiksilver and Mambo.

~ -- 9

ry Live At Home, inspired by the ught of Harry Connick Jnr. ictising piano at home.

10

Melanie Curry is an independent spirit-a talented, spontaneous artist-entrepreneur whose world lies between the mass market's big names and the masculine world of the wetsuit. Melanie lives on the Gold Coast. She is 'nearly 30' and 6 feet tall. In her words: 'I like surfing, swimming, diving, taking photos, loud music, talking, watching and I love making things .'

Among the 'things' which emanate from Mel's Art Room Under The House are the distinctive yet simple designs for her own swimwear label. Melanie started her first business at the age of 15 . It was called MAD IF YOU DON'T and produced 'Togs to swim and play in and clothes to have fun in for all of the people most of the time'. She did that for eight years. A local factory which produces football and winter sports gear had spare capacity and Melanie's swimwear complemented perfectly their output.

After visiting the United States in 1988, Melanie returned refreshed and inspired. 'Back in Oz, I headed straight down to the local artshop and went beserk-bought lots of materials and started experimenting. I've never been afraid to paint-I just go for it, big and fast with lots of colour-bold statements, not pretty pictures. The style of painting I do I call 'expressionoptic', i.e. expressing an emotion visually-happy, content, intense, bitchy, relaxed etc.'

BACK2BAY6 is her present label­'Nice clothes and comfy togs for long swims and big adventures'. The range consists of a core of basic swimwear designs in a number of different fabric patterns expanded by the use of several different colourways.

In addition to designing all the fabrics and garments, Melanie puts together all of the advertising and marketing materials for BACK2BAY6. Her personal logo is a caravan which looks like an egg on a wheel. Apart from appearing on her letterhead, the caravan has a cheeky habit of turning up elsewhere­on t-shirts and on posters.

Since finishing school, Melanie has gone on to study fashion, photography, woodwork and ceramics. 'I enjoy smashing tiles and doing mosaics for shops, kitchens, bathrooms and furniture .' In fact, there's very little that Melanie isn't inspired to turn her hand to; ideas start out in a notebook on her bedside table with drawings of gardens, fabrics, ceramics, ironwork and ideas for paintings . 'I get an incredibly clear picture in my head-in living colour­then I make it happen. Sometimes I have so many ideas in my head I feel as though I'm going to explode! I get really emotional and frustrated because I feel as if I'm not going to have time to do everything-life's too short.'

It's the ultimate Australian lifestyle-living by the beach, swimming beyond the breakers and playing underwater games with the green sea turtles, doing the work one loves and, when taking a break, heading for Bali with just a surfboard and a box of paints.

Carolynne Skinner

Nana 's Loungeroom

Tea-Shirts

~ 12

At the Beach: Commission for Cape Byron Imports Diving Catalogue 1994 featuring all of the staff members

By the Pool: Back2Bay6 poster Summer 1992

13