Festive Inspiration!
28th December 2010
Haven't updated in a while, what with all the festivities and excitement in the last few weeks. But it does mean that I have plenty to blog about! Although the weather across the country has been hellish for some, the odd beautifully crisp sunny morning and more frequent gloomy wintry days have given me some new ideas for drawings and designs. What follows is a melting pot of inspirational images, photographs and moments that have come to light in the past few weeks.
I've collected loads of good imagery whilst being snowed in for more than two weeks at the end of December. The scenery of the Botanic Gardens is enhanced by the cool blues and crisp silhouettes of a wintry Glasgow day. The elegant but eerily futuristic form of Kibble Palace looms majestically over the gardens, whilst cosily sheltering a spectacular abundance of tropical plants from the minus temperatures outside.
Another recent discovery of mine has been Page Cues. A perfect gift for all the boys in my family (who are really quite hard to buy for) the new take on the page marker is not only practical but apparently "well cool." There's a psychology involved in them too, to do with the association of what symbol marks the page with how you remember the information. So when my brother ranks top of his year, he's got me to thank. Or rather he can thank Page Cues, who can in fact be found here.
Glasgow Botanics
Timorous Beasties' Grand Thistle wallpaper becomes fashion, in October's Vogue.
Image from vogue.co.uk
100% Design
28th December 2010
Haven't updated in a while, what with all the festivities and excitement in the last few weeks. But it does mean that I have plenty to blog about! Although the weather across the country has been hellish for some, the odd beautifully crisp sunny morning and more frequent gloomy wintry days have given me some new ideas for drawings and designs. What follows is a melting pot of inspirational images, photographs and moments that have come to light in the past few weeks.
Emily Peacock's instantly recognisable style finds its way onto charmingly cool cushions in the form of do-it-yourself kits. Her kitsch designs advance on the now slightly out of date 'shabby-chic' trend of 2010 by incorporating tattoo-like shading and intense colour. I can't get enough of stripes, or the graphic appeal of lettering, so these initial cushions are top of my wishlist.
I've collected loads of good imagery whilst being snowed in for more than two weeks at the end of December. The scenery of the Botanic Gardens is enhanced by the cool blues and crisp silhouettes of a wintry Glasgow day. The elegant but eerily futuristic form of Kibble Palace looms majestically over the gardens, whilst cosily sheltering a spectacular abundance of tropical plants from the minus temperatures outside.
Hot mother-daughter design-duo, MissPrint are my obsession of the moment!! My favourite wallpaper Dandelion Mobile is SO Lucienne Day inspired it would have looked right at home at the Festival of Britain, but the motifs have plenty of space to breathe, giving the design a super contemporary edge. I also love their approach to up-cycling, breathing new life into pieces of vintage furniture with their cleverly applied cut vinyl. More of MissPrint's designs can be found here
Another recent discovery of mine has been Page Cues. A perfect gift for all the boys in my family (who are really quite hard to buy for) the new take on the page marker is not only practical but apparently "well cool." There's a psychology involved in them too, to do with the association of what symbol marks the page with how you remember the information. So when my brother ranks top of his year, he's got me to thank. Or rather he can thank Page Cues, who can in fact be found here.
Glasgow Botanics
Photographs taken at the gardens on 13/11/10
Timorous Beasties in Vogue
Just love this image - 
Timorous Beasties' Grand Thistle wallpaper becomes fashion, in October's Vogue.
Image from vogue.co.uk
100% Design
I am ridiculosuly delayed in my review of 100%, but the weeks since that have been occupied with manic trips between Manchester, Glasgow, London, Cardiff and Birmingham have given me plenty of opportunity to mull over the abundance of genius and inspiring pieces of design.
I'd firstly like to commend Giselle Mermelstein on a beautiful stand. Her work has a timeless elegance and her passion and care emanates through the designs, each one made to order and painstakingly hand drawn and sympathetically coloured. I also found it refreshing and encouraging to speak to a fellow new graduate and share stories of the trials and effort involved in breaking into the design and textiles world!
Other stands which leapt out were Kate Usher and her charming children's papers which have a cool fifties' vibe (which I love) and I finally had the pleasure to meet Gina Pierce, whom assisted me fantastically by providing some great information for my final year dissertation at uni. I've always admired her witty approach to textiles and wallpaper by combining digital and hand-worked techniques.
On to products, and I have to mention Siren Elise Wilhelmsen for her knitting clock - a work of surreal genius, which fascinates me all the more for the way it manages to combine time-telling with textiles.
Image from design-milk.com
Time for another clock, and this one from BGM Project, called Daily Life, is about as fun and cool as it gets. Such a simple concept yet able to provide such endless interest and amusement, the 'Park' version, my favourite, features a second hand in the form of a bounding dog, the minute hand takes on the form of a young girl out for a stroll, and the hour hand becomes an elderly lady out for her daily constitutional armed with walking stick. All in striking laser-cut silhoutte, the Daily Life clock symbolises the connection between great contemporary design, cutting edge technology and funky modern art. It's a thumbs up from me!
Image from grayconcrete.co.uk
14th September1st September
I can't get enough of Jean Paul Gaultier's new home collection for Roche Bobois. Most exciting? Storage in the form of stacked briefcases, magician's box mirrors and fantastic chariot armchairs complete with Gaultier number plates. An unexpected twist on classic Roche Bobois design, whilst maintaining a sense of practicality as well as whimsy.
11th Aug 2010
As well as creating my own Exquisite Corpses I love to google and discover other people's examples, in particular those of well-known artists. It's possible to find new ones daily, I find it fascinating what goes on in some minds...
From left, a drawing from mural.uv.es and a Corpse by Jake & Dinos Chapman (from http://www.edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk/gallery/past/fresh/jake.htm) and Corpses by Yves Tanguy, Man Ray, Max Morise, Joan Miró, c. 1926 (from http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/SurrealismLecture.htm)
24th July 2010
NICE Design
www.niceness.co.uk
Just got back from some time in Provence, France. So many inspiring little villages and artistic towns, including Fayence, one of my all time favourite places in the world (so far) where one can climb the 20 or so steps to le place d'horologie and see the view for miles and miles around. At about 375m above sea level, you can watch from above as gliders get towed up to the sky by bi-planes from the airfield below, and hold your breath at the moment when the plane unleashes its acolyte. There follows a sample of quick sketches done out of inspiration and admiration for the area.
*SOON TO COME*
A series of Provencal-inspired designs
A series of Provencal-inspired designs
Design team NICE are great for their kooky and original take on wallpaper. Can't get enough of their graphic style, that would bring life to any old space. The Hybrid collection has to be my favourite, an original take on the game Consequences. Saving my pennies madly till I can fill my home with this!!!
Rollercoaster wallpaper, Dominos and Hybrid are credited to www.niceness.co.uk
13th July 2010
I want one!!
In fact if I'm wanting stuff I'd like a set of 6 please - thrive on surreal details like this
Zipper wineglass credited to www.after5catalog.com
