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2020 – end of year reflection
These images were our most popular posts on instagram this year and have become our end of year reflection…. 1. I’ve been reflecting about this most challenging, but also most rewarding year ever (both personally & professionally). I’m so very grateful for all the incredible people in my life – BIG THANKS to all my…

#SPPHC2020 Passivhaus Conference Wrap Up!
Thanks so much to the Australian Passive House Association for recently asking Talina if she’d write a conference ‘wrap-up’ following the #SPPHC2020 (South Pacific Passive House Conference 2020). This article was originally posted on the APHA website here. Wow! What a week of inspiring learning at the South Pacific Passive House Conference 2020! This…

Finding Equilibrium
When the Parlour team asked me to be a part of this inspiring series of ‘Letters to my younger self’, they posed a few questions I could reflect upon. The BIG question that is always asked is about work-life balance, and the answers are as elusive as the quest for the holy grail… So, this…

“Taking Stock” (time for some reflection)
Hi there! It is time for a quick interlude between my new blog series of #ElementalDesign Advice posts. So if you’re interested in learning a bit more about me (and my quirks!), please read on. Otherwise we will return to normal broadcasting again soon!
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reduce reuse recycle [and rethink]: buildings
reduce reuse recycle [and rethink]: buildings When it comes to caring for the environment, we’re all pretty used to the concept of “The Three R’s”, in terms of sorting our household waste, upcycling furniture, or embracing vintage fashion… but what about when it comes to buildings? As an architect with a passion for sustainable design,…

What can camping teach us about more sustainable living?
“Take only photos, leave only footprints” We recently spent some time camping down on the Great Ocean Road, at the picturesque National Parks camping site at Johanna Beach in the Otways. There was lots to love about the experience – including sharing my three-year-old son’s joy of his first-time camping! I also noticed that there are a…

Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! May all your wishes come true! It’s going to be a great one – can’t you just feel it?! Hope you’ve been enjoying a relaxing summer break – we have been! We’ll back into the swing of the things again real soon…but for now it’s back to putting up my feet for a little…

Charity begins at home: an alternative giving guide to help ‘save the world’
[UPDATED 01.12.14] Well as the year draws to an end and with the smell of Christmas is in the air already, it engages our spirit of generous giving to loved-ones… But I do hate the over-spending and over-consumption of so much non-ethical and non-sustainable “stuff”! But this post is not a gift guide (you can find one of…

Goodbye Poppy Jack – you were an inspiration x
Well, it’s been an emotional time here for me as I very recently said my goodbyes to my dear departed grandfather. He was 94 years old and his brain was still as sharp as a tack…but unfortunately his body decided enough was enough. My pop, Jack, was a man of few words and real gentle-man…

Talina Edwards Architecture: elemental design philosophy
Talina Edwards Architecture is a Ballarat-based studio, with a passion for sustainable design, green buildings and healthy homes. We like to help answer your questions, and this post hopes to answer some questions we are often asked: “So what sort of architecture do you do?” and”What sort of ‘sustainable’ design do you do?” For out latest blog post,…

Do what you love, make money, and save the world. #BHB2014
Wow! What a weekend I’ve just had. I’ve just attended Clare Bowditch‘s AWESOME Big Hearted Business (un-)conference for the second year…and to think that both times I almost didn’t go! Last year I wasn’t sure that I (or my new business) was “creative” enough, until I kept getting signs front the universe that indeed I was and…

Top 5 New Year’s Resolutions
Ok, so I know it’s now February…but if I didn’t get a chance to say Happy New Year to you, I’m saying it now! And for those of us with school-aged kids, you may agree that now that the school holidays are over, it feels like the new work year has really commenced after the…

Spring has sprung!
Don’t you just love blossom and the fragrant scent of flowers in the air? I sure do! Spring seems to lift our moods, with sunshine and blue skies, and the optimism of brighter days ahead! New life, new energy, new beginnings… And Spring seems all the more glorious after a pretty cold and wet Ballarat Winter.…