Chances are if you have any amazing ink, or aspire to get some, you're on the list at Fitzroy's Tattoo Magic. If permanent art from one of the talents behind the needles at this shop is something that you can't do without, then you're in luck. Dangerfork have curated a show featuring the artists laying down some of their imagery on canvas that is made from something other than your skin. Featuring the talent of Geordie Cole, Sean Jackson, William Yoneyama, Simple Sime, Caleb Walmsley, Danny Young and Adrian Krygsman all work is presented in both original format and prints, making it collectable or affordable. Purchase prints alone or get the Dangerfork crew to frame it up and give it away to someone special. The opening party drops tonight with drinks on offer from Sailor Jerry, which makes a fair bit of sense. WHAT Dangerfork presents Tattoo Magic Group Show WHERE 143 Johnston St Collingwood WHEN Tonight from 6pm - 15th December 2011 WEB Dangerfork or Tattoo Magic   

Online vintage powerhouse Miishka (34,000 FB fans qualifies you as a powerhouse) is bringing it's wares to the street next week. Thursday December 15th sees the gang setting up shop for one day only at St.Ali's house of coffee and hipsterdom. Bringing over 300 vintage and designer pieces into the real world for all to be inspired by and ultimately purchased, it's causing a stir amongst those in the know. For those of who new to Miishka, check the blog for a constant stream of incredible inspiration and use the Facebook page to snare the daily offerings of vintage designer goodness. WHAT Miishka Pop Up WHERE St. Ali, 12-18 Yarra Place, Sth Melbourne WHEN Thursday 15th December 10am - 7pm WEB Facebook Event [gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="title"]

Following a highly successful initial launch with it's decidely Danish offering, the crew behind the Modern Times Pop Up Shop are back for a second instalment. Launching on 9th December and running for three weeks, it's perfect for those looking to purchase a new Danish sideboard and disguise as a gift to your loved one. Focussing on furniture of the Danish variety, there is also a host of other smaller items including ceramics and artworks from local and international names. Highly curated and amazingly well styled, this is an envy invoking store. The true benefit of timeless and classic items outweighs the temporary depletion of your credit resources. WHAT Modern Times Pop Up Shop #2 WHERE 260 Smith St, Collingwood WHEN December 10 - December 31st (Launch December 9) WEB Modern Times [gallery link="file" columns="4"]

The South Melbourne markets have very traditionally been home to some of the city's finest delicatessen's, fruit shop, fish mongers and bakers. Yet, the offering of homewares, clothing and glorified trash on offer has been seemingly at odds with the quality produce offered. So it's with a good deal enthusiasm that we welcome SO:ME Space to the centre of the markets. Taking a space and transforming into a fitting but altogether more aesthetically pleasing setting, it's a combination of permanent and semi-permanent retailers to show their wares. A good mix of fresh fashion from the likes Asuza, Mr. Simple and Jane (housing some great local labels like Jesen and Life with Bird) pairs up with jewellery, bicycles and tidy little bookstore with some niche reads. Down the corner is a off shoot of the popular No Vacancy Gallery curated by the sharp eye of Andrew Chew. The middle sections of the space are available for short term lease for some of the city's up and comers, with cheap rent and an available cashed up audience giving these guys an opportunity to have their own stores without the commonly associated nightmares that going along with opening a standalone store. Right now Wet & Wendy weatherwear, maidenlove swimwear, Chip Chop! and the beautiful Livia Arena are holding court in the centre spaces. A great concept that not only gives a good chance for local designers to show their stuff, but ultimately bring the standard of the markets up for the better.   Couple of baguettes and some creamy chinos thanks. Tasty. SO:ME Space South Melbourne Market, Cecil St, South Melbourne Hours: Wednesday - Sunday Details: SO:ME Space [gallery columns="4" orderby="title"]

The Dangerfork crew have installed a pop up shop in Collingwood in the lead up to the silly season. In addition to selling a selection of prints that make awesome gifts, they're hosting two exhibitions. The first one drops tonight with Andrea Prosciutti's Roman the Green Robot. With a launch party this evening from 6pm, you can be first in to check the works and snap up some originals. The exhibition runs until 20th November with another exciting show coming up before the end of the year. The space is open Wed - Sat from 10 -5 and Sun 11 - 4. Roman the Green Robot  Dangerfork Pop Up Shop 143 Johnston St, Collingwood Details: Dangerfork

It’s that time again when you need to head out east - Brunswick East to be exact - and check out Kumo Izakaya & Sake Bar.Kumo ('cloud') Izakaya opened during the first week of August in Lygon Street, Brunswick East. Izakayas are known for having have a great range of small and large dishes ordered as-you-like-it as the night unfolds and this is no exception.Andre Bishop who also runs the two Chuji’s, Nihonshu and Robot Bar has put his sake knowledge to the ultimate test and is focusing on what he knows best. Andre was nice enough to walk us through the full sake list and give his recommendations. With his help we settled upon a bottle of Kitzakura Draft Blue Sake. It was a mellow sake with the aroma of pear – light easy drinking.We started with the ceviche which was glorious and the chef must have had some fancy knife-work to dice the chives so finely. Next up was oysters served natural with Ponzu and Lemon were a perfect mix of cream and understated heat. The Asian mix of juices complemented the salt of the oysters.Another standout dish was the King Prawn Fry Wrapped in Potato with Green Tea Salt with its outer layer of crispy beautifulness and a fat prawn that was cooked perfectly. The Braised Kurobuta Pork Belly Pie kicked a goal with pastry done to perfection with chunks of pork belly in the centre. The accompanying sauce played a major part adding to the succulence of the dish.The Fruity Plum Wine Karaage Chicken was another star dish. It was perfectly tender inside and crispy on the outside – just how it is meant to be. The plum sauce is drizzled over the top to give the chicken and accompanying salad a nice sweet edge.Andre Bishop has served up a great location to lose yourself in Japaese Sake, food and culture on the main drag of Brunswick East.  Take the time to visit Kumo Izakaya & Sake Bar where they are keeping up with the traditional elements of izakaya but also breaking new ground.Kumo Izakaya & Sake Bar152 Lygon StreetEast BrunswickPh. (03) 9388 1505Monday-Saturday, 5:30pm-lateDetails: KumoBy Nic Crilly Hargrave

Of all the shops that 'pop-up', it's hard to say that any make more sense than this one. Wet & Wendy have popped up to deliver umbrellas and sexy ponchos to cater for those sudden rain showers. Their opening collection focuses on delivering a healthy dose of style and practicality, something that is sorely missing from women's rainwear, especially at this attractive price point.It opens today and it looked like it might rain, but disappointingly, it's just cleared up. So head down and grab yourself a brolly just in case. Otherwise, you know where to run next time you get caught in a shower and you have to protect your head just after you got 'yo hair did.'If you miss the pop up, be sure to check out their online presence or head to FAT stores and CycleStyle. Wet & Wendy Pop Up Umbrella ShoppeCnr. Swanston & Lonsdale St, CBD16th August - 25th August (Weekdays Only)Details: Wet and Wendy

It's fair to say that the pestering of your high end barista to force you to drink black coffee has filtered down enough to make it so that you actually enjoy that Brazilian Cup of Excellence through a Hario siphon. Or, in lamens terms, it's not just baristas heading to other cafes that order black coffee using methods other than an espresso machine. It's gone mainstream.Enter Mark W Free, long time man behind the machine at Brother Baba Budan has set up a temporary space to showcase some of the best black coffee styles and the beans that go with them. Located in the gallery at the top of the stairs inside Somewhere store, you'll be able to grab a cup until 18th August.With a host of baristas and roasters coming to the party, all the big names have been keen to get involved. Seven Seeds, Market Lane and Small Batch should be pretty familiar to everyone, with each of them being pioneers in getting Melbourne folk excited about drinking their coffee black.Artist collaborators, volunteer baristas, the roasters and Somwhere store all get props for bringing together an impressive initiative. Open until Thursday, August 18th, 10am - 6pmSomewhere Store Gallery Level 2, Royal Arcade 314 Little Collins St  Details: FacebookTwitter: @blackcoffeeshop

CIBI, placed on Keele St in Collingwood offers a unique retail and café space with on-point coffee and delicious eats. Their design aesthetic abounds and somehow they’ve integrated food and drink seamlessly in their space, it all just works. They’ve teamed up with Aesop to bring a little of this flavour to the city. The Flinders lane arm of the growing Aesop skincare house is hosting CIBI by giving them a place to sell their goods and welcome all shoppers with a tasty little green tea to imbibe while they stroll around. This is a unique partnership that seems to have been born out of a great mutual respect for each other’s work and is sure to be well worth a look, for reasons that reach far beyond free tea. The collaboration will be installed for a whole month, from August 12th. Aesop Flinders Lane268 Flinders Lane, CBDWebsite: Aesop or CIBI

Clean cut, classy, oozing-with-cool clothing springs to mind at the mention of Incu. But until now the best collection of styles under one roof have only been available to the men of Melbourne with deliciously good taste. Ladies, the time has come. You don’t have to haunt the men’s store asking for the smallest size anymore. Incu Women’s has landed. The shop is a fresh, open space housing a family of killer labels-Acne, A.P.C., Karen Walker, Rittenhouse, Something Else, Elke, Antipodium, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Peter Jensen and more. Incu is short for the company’s philosophy of incubating young talent, unique collaborations and projects. The opening of a women’s store proves Melbourne’s positive reception to this mantra of creatives backing fellow creatives. Ignore the Zara hype, those clothes will buy you zero cred. Get to Incu Women’s and spend your pennies on something standout and sublime. Incu Women's Store12 Albert Coates La, QVDetails: Incu

 Where will we be grabbing a warming bite to eat on a miserable winter evening? One of the two RamenYa outlets on Bourke Street. Already a lunchtime staple at GPO, a second venue opened just weeks ago opposite the Australia Post Offices, and we couldn’t wait to check it out.Occupying a wide open space, pretty white paper lanterns hang from the high ceiling, softening stark metal pipes and adding a touch of elegance to what is essentially a fast-food outlet. In fact, overall, it’s definitely more aesthetically pleasing than your average grab-and-go CBD Asian lunch stop. Actually, you might find yourself wanting to linger a while longer there with a Asahi or Sapporo beer, plus there are a few sakes on offer.Grab a menu and order at the counter, meals come out pretty quick and are presented in stylish wooden bento boxes and huge steaming bowls, a generous-sized Japanese fix that comes in at around $10 per person.If you opt for soup, choose your base: tonkotsu (pork) / shoyu (chicken and soy) / miso, and then think about toppings – seafood gyoza, kimchi, tofu, pork and more. Thick ramen noodles swirl in the flavourful broth that is swimming with herbs, veggies and an obligatory hard-boiled egg. Extra toppings seem to come at no extra cost, but maybe we were just lucky on our visit. We say: deliciously balanced and probably enough for two.As for the bento box – compartments are filled with teriyaki chicken (also on offer is tofu teriyaki, and beef and chicken katsu curries – to name a few), gyozas, steamed rice and thinly sliced radish and carrot salad with a sticky sweet dressing – all working together to provide a tasty and varied meal for one.For the best of both worlds, and if you’re hungry, go for a bento box and a ramen noodle and find someone to share with you. Green tea thick shake optional.Service is spot on – speedy and efficient.While extras and sides are on offer – you’ll probably find everything you could ever want is heaped onto the ramen, just a little tip for the thrifty out there… And for a cheap date – the new venue is open until 9pm Wed, Thur and Fri, and 8pm on Saturdays.Go eat.By Nic Crilly Hargrave@shark4chipdrinkRamenYaShop 25GMelbourne GPO350 Bourke StreetANDShop 9 The Paramount108 Bourke StreetDetails: Ramen Ya

Nestled among the galleries and exhibition spaces of Flinders Lane, self-proclaimed ‘social hub’ Cumulus Inc. is open seven days a week, from 7am to 11pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 11pm Saturdays and Sundays. Service kicks off with breakfast, which features a cardiac-inducing farmhouse slab bacon and blood sausage on toast fry-up, but also a number of light and fresh options, such as watermelon salad with strawberry, vanilla yoghurt and mint. In fact, if you discount the muffins and madeleines, homemade granola, muesli and candied orange and raisin toast make brunch here a relatively sinless affair. Lunch and dinner are all about sharing plates with an emphasis on oysters (with eight varieties ripe for shucking), charcuterie and hearty meat and fish dishes. Arriving at three in the afternoon, the place is half full with people finishing up long leisurely lunches, popping in for a post-shopping glass of wine or, like us, looking for a mid-afternoon grazing session. Wait staff recommend ordering four of five plates to share (there were two of us – me and photo monkey) and then the kitchen sends them out one by one. Kind of like designing your own degustation menu. You can also have your own chef’s table (ish) if you grab a stool at the white marble counter overlooking the kitchen. Chef Andrew McConnell and architect partner Pascale Gomes-McNabb’s ‘eating house and bar’ consists of a light and airy open dining room dotted with circular tables and space to eat and drink at the kitchen and bar, which is framed by high frosted windows that, combined with the vault-like door, add to a sense of being tucked away, a haven of bustling gourmet activity on an otherwise deserted strip, on the weekends, that is. Wine by the glass – quality not quantity when it comes to options – and homemade bread set the scene. First out the kitchen: creamy foie gras parfait with toasted brioche. Smooth foie gras, crunchy buttery brioche, heavenly. Then the $4 sardine on toast with caramelised fennel and orange. Two bites and it is gone, but at $4 a pop it is fantastic value – could easily wolf down a plate of these. Subtle fish and orange flavours complement each other brilliantly, and it looks oh-so pretty. Smoked corn and mussel chowder is split between two glasses for us and really benefits from a sprinkling of punchy paprika, lifting the earthy comfort food flavours to something all together more refined. Could have had more mussels in mine, but I think that is just luck of the draw. There are loads of cured and fresh meats to choose from, so we opted for the kitchen charcuterie selection (a taster of four) – pork and pistachio terrine, jamón serrano, Wagyu bresaola with beetroot and gherkins, hand-cut Sicilian salami with mustard fruit. We will definitely be heading back for the one of the meaty mains (whole slow-roast shoulder of lamb, mustard-crumbed pig’s tail or roast rabbit saddle) or fish dishes (tuna tartare, line-caught baby snapper or steamed clams with sorrel sauce), but on this occasion we were just too full. However, I think this is the beauty of Cumulus Inc., a place where people can slow down and take time to taste their way through the menu and, with regular pauses for quiet contemplation, even reach dessert. Cumulus Inc. 45 Flinders Lane CBD Tel. (03) 9650 1445Website: Cumulus Inc. By Nic Crilly-Hargrave