Eating out in a cold, funky city. On a day and night which was bitterly cold – as cold as Canberra has been this year, with the hint of snow clouds overhead – I was reminded why I live here.
It had been a long day, with a bus ride to one of my favourite national cultural institutions, the National Library of Australia, to hear a talk like a detective novel, about the search for Indigenous words hidden in the vast collection. In a preview of the remainder of the day I had a tour of the newly refurbished Reading Room and Special Collections Reading Room, fitted out by local design firm, Designcraft, just as it should be, like some luxury apartment for books and manuscripts.
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| The National Library with Mt Ainslie wrapped in mist behind over the Lake. |
At the end of the day I ventured forth again for the launch of the new Craft ACT design store, ‘Agency’, in the heart of hipster heaven, the rapidly funkifying precinct in Braddon. When I moved here almost 15 years ago, Braddon’s main feature was its car yards. The new store features top end craft and design work – you can even buy the lighting, shelving and display cases and hand-made clothes hangers – but not yet, we’re still getting in stock!
