Giles Miller

Previously I posted about Greypants cardboard lampshades...then Stephanie showed me Giles Miller's cardboard work which takes it alittle furthur - working in floral designs. It's lovely but so expensive! I guess it must be alot of work. I'd like to have a go though :) Work in some sillhouettes! Giles Miller is part of Farm...so that's where you can see all his stuff and other lovely stuff.

Richard Burel

I was in Castle Combe's gallery on the bridge when I saw Richard Burels work :) Mmm texture and simplicity...also he lives in Bath I think. And I think these paintings are of Bath. And I love Bath.

From Atoms to Patterns @ Wellcome Collection

I heart the Wellcome collection! It's free AND open till 10pm on a thursday. This is genius! More stuff should be open later in the evening...some people work in the week and don't want to cram in on a saturday!

From Atoms to Patterns is really interesting and beautiful. I love the connection between science and design, and that these designs are representing something real yet just look like beautiful geometric patterns.

Villages and Gardens

Last weekend I popped back to the countryside to see my parents :) It was so beautiful! I love spring flowers and their garden was full full full of my very favourite forget-me-nots :D The first 4 photos are the garden. My mum is neatly inside a rectangle on the 4th :) It looks creepy. Much walking was done in nearby villages. The last 3 photos are Castle Combe. The last picture looks like a fairyland :D

Jean Nouvel

I LOVE this! I wish I had done it...beautiful translucent lit up kitchen storage sillhouetting the contents :D lovely lovely lovely. It is by Jean Nouvel for the Corian Nouvel Lumières project. Now i'm looking at this Corian, it's so nice! Some kind of acrylic mix with minerals or something...with lovely translucency. I need to get hold of some...

FAT

Ahh! I've discovered who is behing the lovely design of Peyton and Byrne (beautiful delicious bakery I've mentioned before) and Meals at Heals :) It is FAT, a London based architecture/interiors group. They've done much lovely stuff :) Including the KKoutlet, some sort off bookshop/art gallery I really want to go to.

The Economist

I've been enjoying this ad for The Economist while waiting for the tube. It's attractive and clever I think.

Grand Designs/Icon Experiment - Stuff I liked

http://www.silkwoodtraders.com/ Beautiful hand crafted fair trade lacquerwood products. I heart this bowl. It's beautifulness. I've bought it for my mum's birthday.

These guys are by http://www.reestore.com/ Very fun recycled furniture!

And this is http://www.anorakonline.co.uk/ Sillhouttes :) Animals :) Of course I like. So clean and simple and pretty. Nice colours too. I want deer bedsheets.

Julia Lohmann - Kelp Construct - Grand Designs/Icon Experiment

The second talk I went to was really good. Julia Lohmann showed her experiments with using seaweed to make lights. She collected lots of seaweed and wrapped it round geometrical forms so it hardened in pretty shapes. She also talked about her other work, leather sofas in the shape of cows. All her work has a sort of message, somethings she is trying to bring attention to. Like the sofas are about eating meat/using leather. She made lovely lamps out of animal stomach and made the good point, why should that be disgusting if leather is not disgusting? The seaweed I think is about ocean sustainability and over fishing. I like that she has something to say but that she does it rather beautifully and usefully. It is very experimental and more like art than design. I tend to feel alot of art is ugly and pretentious, saying something no one can understand. So I like art to be beautiful. I like design because it can be beautiful and useful. Julia's work is a nice mix I think.

http://julialohmann.co.uk/

http://www.iconexperiment.co.uk/

http://www.granddesignslive.com/home

Design Debate - Grand Designs Live and Icon Experiment

Went to Grand Designs/Icon Experiment at Grand Designs :) It were good.

There was a design debate, with Jurgen Bey and Tony Dunne vs Dick Powell and Luke Pearson. I missed the start but I couldn't quite figure out how they were making different points. I think they were all saying the same thing. That designers are not designing for real needs but for brief wants. (Obsolescence) And that designers need to take responisibility. Really think about whether what they want to do is neccesary and what materials etc they use. Future design should be positive and attempt to change things. Sustainability should be forefront. It should be more than lip service. (ie. rather than ooh this is 20% recycled, stop and think is this product neccesary at all)

At least, that's what I understood. And I agree...but I don't know that consumption can decrease, especially just because designers stop designing. I think they said something about educating consumers, but how can that be done, really. Bah, this is too much for me to think on right now. I'm not sure I'm making sense or that I understand myself.

http://www.iconexperiment.co.uk/

http://www.granddesignslive.com/home