Perks and Mini P.A.M. The idiosyncratic Melbourne design label has found its way to Tauranga.
Holly in P.A.M.
Art and design are everywhere, they are integral elements of our everyday lives. Advertising graphics, vehicle shape, shoe shape, building design, trees, stones, the personal expression of art and design of our clothing, hair, jewellery and makeup.
Tabbard-style in dusty blues and creams this loose-fitting dress swings and moves as Holly walks through the small Parisian-style tables of Le Petit Four the small cafe in the Chapel Street complex on the Downtown Tauranga fringe.
This beautifully constructed collage garment is worlds away from the current Tauranga cafe “uniform” and its cosmopolitan style is part of the ambience of Le Petit Four with its deliberate francophile cafe food
I’ve never been to this small boutique cafe before. It was suggested as the place for an ARTbop meeting by a longtime member of the Tauranga creative and theatre community. The traditional bicyclette and panier give a clue to the cultural and cuisine leanings of the cafe and the name Le Petit Four have to be a complete give away.
The Chapel Street complex bustles: there are several cafes, major sporting goods and homeware stores. I frequently slide into Freedom and often come away with one or two of their contemporary coloured and patterned amazing good value tea-towels. The complex is in the vicinity of the Mount Maunganui on-ramp – don’t turn there just go ahead to the next set of traffic lights and turn right. There’s plenty of parking.
and then there is the tarte citron!
And the creators of the dress: Perks and Mini also known as P.A.M. They’re described as “Melbourne’s favourite fashion duo, Shauna and Misha….P.A.M. Lifestyle brand …food, music arts, fashion, graphics….” www.perksandmini.com
Rosemary Balu. Rosemary Balu is the founding and current editor of ARTbop. Rosemary has arts and law degrees from the University of Auckland. She has been a working lawyer and has participated in a wide variety of community activities where information gathering, submission writing, community advocacy and education have been involved. Interested in all forms of the arts since childhood Rosemary is focused on further developing and expanding multi-media ARTbop as the magazine for all the creative arts in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
