As children, you are judged and defined by the quality and quantity of your toy collection. Especially venerated are the latest versions, the biggest, most shiny and usually the most expensive. As adults, Barbie Dolls and Transformers are replaced by paintings and sculptures as cultural capital.

Melbourne sculptor Michael Doolan addresses this transition by making trendy and collectible art pieces based on the imagery of toys. Within his work we see references to Gumby, Miffy, G.I.Joe, Mr. Potato Head and Lego, as well as a nod to the king of kitsch pop art, Jeff Koons. The highly polished finish of works such as Boo Who? resembles the stainless steel kettles and toasters that you might find in an apartment at The Melburnian. But this is all part of Doolans' grand plan to disarm the viewer, taking them back to their childhood whilst reminding them of the baggage of consumerism and their adult life complete with all its responsibilities.

If the closest you have come to art in your kitchen has been a Pollock-esque tomato sauce stain on your white shirt then the Third Drawer Down® domestic art movement is for you. As well as a magnificent range of teatowels, they have recently introduced The Artkin.

Available in New Zealand, Bangkok, London, Malta, Belgium, Paris, New York and Berlin, this is not a fad, and the Artkin is your invitation to join. Each Artkin comes with a Superstar Art Manual Poster by guest artist Emma Magenta (author and illustrator of The Peril of Magnificant Love ), a crisp white 'Lapkin' imprinted with the Third Drawer Down® logo, two textile pens, and an archival envelope to document your genius.

We don't need to tell you that this is the perfect gift for any design savvy friend or frustrated artist, they can even submit a photo of their work to be considered for limited edition prints. The Artkin could make them famous and at the very least, it will protect their trousers.

Birds played a pivotal role in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Relocate from the Galapagos to Fitzroy, and two other birds, Anita and Sophie, are doing some pretty evolutionary, nifty things once more – but this time it’s more contemporary fashion and art than beak shape and anti-creationism.

Anita and Sophie combined their powers in history, design, and creative art to dream up Bird Girl, a boutique/studio/gallery that’s as delightful as Charles Darwin was sacrilegious. The ladies do all their handiwork onsite, which welcomes customer feedback (and general chit chat); a welcomed change from run of the mill boutiques, where everything’s carried out behind closed doors like some dirty little designer secret.

Each piece is a one off, with styles ranging from bulbous calypso party dresses to chic but cheeky Heidi overalls, with menswear to come soon.

Bird Girl - more surprises than breeding season in the Galapagos.

What:
Bird Girl

Where:
155 Brunswick Street , Fitzroy

When:
Wed-Sat 11am-6pm

Cleanse and tone your inner geek with Freakonomics, the perfect nerd enema.

Using the minds of Steven D. Levitt (Ph.D. in economics, and part of the exclusive Harvard Society of Fellows) and co-writer Stephen J. Dubner (New York Times) each chapter tackles delicious questions like 'why drug dealers still live with their mums'.

The riddles of everyday life; from cheating and crime to sports and why parents still name children Brittany, are solved. Freakonomics turns conventional wisdom, very satisfyingly, on its head.

A controversial theory from Levitt (he reasoned that the downturn in crime in the US in the 1990s was due to legalised abortion in many states by 1973, thus never giving potential criminals the chance at life) landed him in a lot of hot water. It's this unusual thinking that makes Freakonomics a great summer read.

Regardless of their name sounding like some New Age positive affirmation technique, or maybe a bad lyric to a house anthem, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah are a truly remarkable band. As a five piece from Brooklyn they have developed a reputation without a PR campaign or label. The music speaks for itself, improving with each listen, it is both versatile and infinitely engaging.

If we were clever we could avoid references but we're not so we will drop them like they're hot. Talking Heads, Neutral Milk Hotel, Interpol, Modest Mouse and the soft creeping of Yo La Tengo are all in there somewhere, sown together like a technicoloured dream coat. This album is simply brilliant, so come on, face your partner, establish eye contact, clap your hands, and say, 'Yeah!'

When you see the chaos of adolescence from the other side of the looking-glass you get the kind of insight that warms you and embarrasses you at the same time. You laugh at the innocent-humiliation from incidents that now, years later, you recognise as inconsequential. You remember as you watch someone else' puberty unfold, that being a teenager sucks.

Justin (Lou-Taylor Pucci) is a seventeen-year-old boy, awkward in his skin, who turns to thumb sucking for comfort. Unhappily trudging through high school, his family dynamics and sex, Justin battles to kick his habit, find normality and understand the relationships around him.

You'll be impressed by the performances of familiar faces that seem to be living and not just acting.The awkwardness, the discomfort and ultimately the exhilaration that comes with understanding that misunderstanding is what gives us clarity. A great film from Mike Mills (with a soundtrack compiled by Polyphonic Spree) and one you definitely need to see.

With a menu that reads like the summer holiday movie program at a Hoyts Cinema, Goshen is a must-see for anyone whose knowledge of Korean cuisine is limited to Kim Chi, suspect meat and vegetarian apathy.

The advertisements (or, entrée for traditionalists) gave us the Kim Chi pancake, which was more exciting than expected, textured to perfection, succulent and laced with garlic.

The Forrest Gump tofu salad was a combination of hot and cold, sweet and sour flavours, aromatic and fresh with chilli and lime. More substantial meals are a plenty; The Sound of Sizzling's Jap Chea - gummy sweet potato noodles entwined in beef and mushroom, cooked with sesame oil and again, garlic - was perfectly complimented by one of the fruity, dry whites.

A Beautiful Fried Mind offers spicy seafood options, while the Flintstones and Lord of the Stew showcase traditional Korean hot pots with a modern twist, with vegetarian options available.

With less bogans than Northlands, and prices that re-affirm that the candy bar is a rip-off, there will be delicious Goshen re-runs for a long time to come.