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LETTERS@FRANKIE.COM.AU Dear frankie, Thank you so much for your latest edition (133). Your story on the history of fandom (“Doing it for the fans”) made my heart sing. As a proud old dork, fandom has got me through the ups and downs. It’s been there for me through chronic illness and figuring out how to navigate life with neurodivergence. From Doctor Who in my teens (trip in the TARDIS, anyone?) to an undying and impassioned love for Taylor Swift in my 20s, fandom has always been a warm embrace and a solace. Freya Bennett’s story was an ode to the rich history and tapestry of fandoms and how the experience of being really bloody into something lets us connect with ourselves and others more deeply. What a joy to read…

FROCKTOBER We love any excuse to dress up, but the best kind is when it’s in the name of a good cause – like Frocktober! Every year the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF) encourages everyone to frock up (or sport your favourite head-turning outfit – dresses aren’t required) for the month of October to raise money for much-needed ovarian cancer research. The fundraiser is also a great opportunity to chat to your mates and raise awareness of the most lethal gynaecological cancer. Register for free at frocktober.org.au to frock up, turn heads and spark a conversation. PERFECT MATCH The words ‘matchstick house’ probably conjure up images of the kitschy miniature structures you often see in small-town museums. This matchstick house is not that; it’s simply a home for your matches…

How’d you get into basketry? I never really felt like I’d found my medium until I made my first basket. I studied fine art, specialising in painting and printmaking, at the Glasgow School of Art and although I enjoyed both, they never got under my skin in the way basketry has. Basketry started through experimenting with floristry. I became fascinated by the potential of organic materials. I was keen to explore ways of working that I could do myself, from the sourcing of the material through to making the finished object. I wanted to get away from being a consumer or relying on manufacturing processes that I couldn’t access. Eventually I was given a bundle of six-foot buff willow for my birthday in 2020 and became obsessed. For a long…

I have always been kinky. Like most spicy deviants, I kept it protected and hidden from perception and judgment before I felt curious enough to explore it with others. After a string of failed relationships and a growing frustration from not meeting my own needs, I went looking for more. Some boxes, especially the ones that have stayed in a dark corner for so long, are challenging to open on your own. The key isn’t always within reach, or sometimes you just need someone else to hold it with you before you’re brave enough to turn it. I went on Fetlife [an online fetish community], read about others’ experiences, lurked, built confidence and got comfortable finally seeing more of what I kept locked away in the darker depths of my…

KALINDY WILLIAMS @kalindymillions Which movie have you chosen? Heathers. It is definitely one of my favourite films! So quotable: “What’s your damage?”, “How very,” “Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw.” Heathers is a dark teen comedy from the ’80s. The fashion is incredible, the dialogue is satirical and the storyline is ridiculous. How’d you come up with this design? The main original poster was just a press shot against a blackboard with some review quotes, so I wanted to create a poster that I would want to hang on my wall. The colour palette and the little stickers on the book refer to themes and quotes from the movie. What mediums did you use? I’m an analog angel at heart so I started with a pencil illustration, added colour and…

“I remember it vividly,” Julia Jacklin says. She was 27, fresh off the plane from Sydney/Warrane, digging up the backstreets of Melbourne/Naarm’s Collingwood for a hidden gem. She found one: “At night, it felt like a beacon of light in the dark. It had this warm, misty quality to it. It was quite romantic-looking.” Julia didn’t know anyone in the city and walking into the pub alone felt awkward. But by the time the band started playing, she’d already found herself a sanctuary. She found The Gem. Known for its Honkytonk Tuesdays and Southern barbeque menu, The Gem Bar and Dining is your favourite pub’s favourite pub. Its history stretches back well beyond its precious-stone namesake – 150 years back, in fact. In 2017, it was the first place in…

Collecting is a bug in my family. My aunt in Holland collects rocking horses and has a giant vintage carousel horse in her lounge room; my Oma (on the other side of my family) collected horses too, mostly little figurines; and my uncle collected paper fruit-wrappers. My own childhood bedroom was jam-packed with toy monkeys. I’ve always pocketed little bits of ephemera on my travels – gluing them into diaries as a youngster – and later collected nightclub flyers, gig tickets and whatever else felt important to keep. I still have the ticket from the nightclub where my husband and I had our first kiss. Food is another great love. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and would pore over the big yellow Margaret Fulton cookbook with my mum as a child.…

Swapna Namboodiri didn't set out to become an artist. A trained software engineer, she eventually swapped code for discarded plastic, turning everyday objects into colourful, tactile artworks inspired by marine life. Swapna is the artist behind the Aquarium of Tomorrow, an immersive installation created from thousands of pieces of discarded plastic in collaboration with Bank Australia. We chatted to Swapna about finding her creative path, making art from unexpected materials and the joy of not quite knowing what something will become. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your work? I've been in Adelaide for almost three years, after living in Doha with my family for around nine years. I'm originally from southern India and I'm a self-taught artist. I trained as a software engineer and worked in…

I was today years old when I learnt I’ve been singing a Curtis Bay song incorrectly for like 25 years. As it turns out, the lyric is not “Gimme the Beach Boys and free my soul”. It’s “Gimme the beat, boys”. I can’t explain why, but this kind of ruins the song for me. “Beach Boys” just feels more… right. And every time I hear it now, it’s going to feel like I’ve slipped into some nightmarish Mandela-Effect parallel universe. Turns out I’ve been the victim of a classic mondegreen: a term coined by the author Sylvia Wright in 1954, when she realised she’d been mishearing a lyric from the Scottish ballad “The Bonny Earl of Murray”. Instead of “laid him on the green”, Sylvia had always heard “Lady Mondegreen”.…