Pulse 2012

I was at Pulse this week. The show is a platform for new products and ideas from established and up and coming designers who want to sell their wares to the world.

This time the mood was very much Made in Britain and I was struck by how many of the items - whether it be wooden postcards, knitted tea cosies, mugs with bums - are being designed and produced in the UK. They may only be operating on the scale of a cottage industry, from home or part time, but the internet makes small entirely possible. And if it brings work to British printers, knitters and ceramicists then it can only be a Good Thing.

Eye-catching illustration by Mengsel: screen-printed and sewn in the UK
English bone china mugs from We Love Kaoru: printed and hand painted in Stoke on Trent

Vintage Glasses from the Pop Out Card Company: designed and manufactured in the UK

Quite literally sticking it to...The Man by London-based independent printmaker James Brown 

Read all about it

Glossy pages but no expensive glossy paper: one advantage of online-only publishing

This week I've been enjoying flicking through the virtual pages of a new online homes/craft/style/vintage themed magazine called 91 Magazine. Already on to their third issue, and up to an impressive 82 pages, it is elegantly laid out with lush photography and enthusiastic writing. 
Edited and art directed by Caroline Taylor aka blogger Patchwork Harmony it has a retro, dreamy, make do and mend for the Pinterest generation vibe about it. Articles cover topics such as how to use wild flowers, vintage shopping destinations and a look inside a Parisian artist's home. 
It's a passion project and a meeting place for like-minded people. And it's free. In an earlier age printing costs would have limited the reach of a magazine like this, but online it could go anywhere. Ain't technology brilliant.



Worth the price of a stamp

Did you know that in Britain we spend around £1.4 billion a year on cards and send on average 30 each per year, which is more than any other country. It's a booming industry.
So I'm sure I am not alone in finding rubbish and unfunny cards a source of great disappointment (sorry Clintons). Fortunately when you do find a good one it can be really quite joyful; I found this lot at the delightful Southbank Centre Shop. 
This one's by Snorg for Cardelicious and it made me laugh.

Always good to find a cool newborn card. Thanks creepytree

Love prints. Love birds. Love Nadia Taylor



Best of British

I visited the excellent British Design: 1948-2012 exhibition at the V&A recently.

It's a timely look back at some of the remarkable things that have been created on this island in the past sixty years. With the London Olympics less than one hundred days away there seems no better time to give ourselves a hearty pat on the back and celebrate Britain's contribution to the worlds of fashion, art, graphic design, product design and popular culture. 
And while we may bemoan the lack of tickets and the squeeze on public transport for the coming Games, I can guarantee we'll all love it in fifty years time. I was feeling positively jingoistic by the time I left the show; my head spinning with images, see below. 

Original posters from the 1951 Festival of Britain

 Furniture by Max Clendinning produced for Liberty in 1965

Allen Jones's controversial Chair from 1969

Dress from Horn of Plenty collection by Alexander McQueen in 2009

Radical fashion by Malcom McLaren and Vivienne Westwood in 1976

Tulle dress by Hussein Chalayan in 2011

Magazine Sofa by Michael Young in 1994 and Jack Light by Tom Dixon in 1996


Makes me wanna shop

This week I headed to Earls Court to visit the new Home show.

It's a trade show where shop owners go to seek out delightful things to put in their shops, but I went along in nosy journalist capacity to get some inspiration.

And inspiration I did get. Here are some of my entirely personal and wholly subjective highlights. I'm starting with two of the standout stands.

There was a lot of lovely stuff there, I looked at as much as I could before shiny object fatigue set in.

Breakfast Express by Reiko Kaneko - I love a good visual gag

Jumpy Mug BMX by Reiko Kaneko - A mug worthy of the manchild in your life

Forest Friends (DIY paper animals) by Mibo - Too cute. Apparently their biggest fans are eight year old girls. And me.

Wise Guy by Mibo - Need I say more?



Modern Vintage: the book

Emily Chalmers' new book
This is one book I have been judging by its cover since I saw it a few months ago. I love it. And I can report that the houses featured inside the book are pretty stunning too.

I had the pleasure of talking to Emily last week and she told me all about how to get the Modern Vintage look. In a nutshell it's the fine art of mixing old with new and not ending up with a junk shop for a living room.

The interview is the cover story in the Interiors issue of The Independent's Saturday Magazine out this weekend.

Sunny South Bank

The bunting was out on the South Bank over the Easter weekend as celebrations got under way for the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain. There will be events going on all summer, but you don't need a ticket to enjoy the vibe. 
Summer in the city: the Royal Festival Hall
Fabulous beach huts: peek inside to see British holidays as they were sixty years ago
A really massive seagull
Blowing in the breeze: 'The Lion and Unicorn'
This installation of poems, both printed and spoken, caught my attention (above). It was created in a collaboration between artist Gitta Gschwendtner (who incidentally designed the wondrous oversized Plant Cup) and young people from refugee groups across London. It is an homage to the original 1951 Lion and Unicorn Pavilion which housed a flight of ceramic birds symbolising migration and freedom of speech. Very poignant.

Walls of fame: William Morris

Morris & Co wallpapers: considered quite radical in Victorian times
"William Morris prints were very big in the 1970s. Households up and down the country were gripped by the trend for co-ordinating wallpapers and fabrics. It wasn't enough to have a swirling floral print on the walls, to get the complete look you needed to cover your curtains, chairs and bedspreads in it, too. At its peak the Morris & Co fabric "Golden Lily" was selling 5,000 metres a month in tasteful shades of brown and orange..." 
I wrote a piece for today's The Independent about the legacy of William Morris's revolutionary company Morris & Co as it celebrates 150 years in business. Read the full article here. 

Joy of Living

If you've ever sat staring at a blank page waiting for inspiration to magically appear then you will feel some empathy with the designers involved in the Joy of Living project. 
Over 100 designers were invited by Max Fraser to create a work of art from a simple piece of A4 graph paper to raise a total of £50,000 for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres. 
The challenge was put out to creative minds including Terence Conran, Tom Dixon, Ella Doran, Donna Wilson and Rob Ryan among others, and the wonderfully varied results will be available to see and purchase next week. 
Joy of Living exhibition for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres from 15th - 21st March at Somerset House, London.

Switched on

Decanterlamp by Lee Broom
Here's an inventive use for wedding presents you don't know what to do with. 
Port and wine decanters were piled up to create this rather elegant lamp base. Made by award-winning designer Lee Broom it has been produced in an original crystal (clear) version and a more modern lacquered white. 
A limited edition will be on sale shortly at the always ahead of the curve The Shop at Bluebird. I've no idea on price, let's just assume quite a lot.
And one with a white lacquered finish

The fabulous fifties

Miro wallpaper from Sanderson
Today's post is an homage to the print and pattern of the fabulous 1950s - a decade which is proving to be an enduringly popular reference point in the interiors world.
Last year we had the Heal's Rediscovers range of chairs, cushions and china inspired by Lucienne Day archive prints. Now we have the Sanderson collection of 1950s-inspired wallpapers and fabrics (pictured) which will appeal if you are a fan of bold, graphic prints. 
Yep. Guilty. 
Mobiles fabric from Sanderson
This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, the 1951 exhibition of ideas and innovation on London's South Bank designed to lift the spirits of the nation in the post-war period. Highlights of the exhibition included buildings such as the futuristic Skylon, the Dome of Discovery and the Royal Festival Hall (the only structure still standing today) which feature on the very retro new Festival wallpaper by Mini Moderns.
Festival wallpaper by Mini Moderns


Domestic delight

Saving the world one sock at a time
I'm on a bit of an eco-trip this week as I've been road-testing a revolutionary (so they tell me) cleaning product. Method is the brainchild of San-Francisco-based Adam Lowry, a chemical engineer and environmental scientist, and Eric Ryan, a former graphic designer. 
Together they combined a passion for green living with some savvy design and marketing skills and created a range of non-toxic cleaning products that appeal to the fair-weather end of the eco-worrier market as well as to the truly committed. 
Rather like the Plumen low energy light bulb I mentioned earlier in the week, this is a way you can ease your green conscience without dramatically altering your life; which - as the smart companies have realised - is one of the more effective ways of getting people excited about environmental issues. 
And it works. 

The laundry detergent actually works, the bottle looks good, plus it ticks all the right eco-boxes.
It is 8x concentrated (so you use much less), it's made from 95% plant-based ingredients (which are biodegradable), it comes in a handy pump-dispensing recycled bottle (you squirt it straight into the machine). The packaging uses less plastic, energy and oil to produce. It was given a rave review on sustainability website Tree Hugger. It is so right on it practically has a halo. 
And, as if that wasn't enough, last year it received Cradle to Cradle (C2C) product certification which is like getting a big GOLD STAR in the green world. C2C is essentially a philosophy for doing business in a socially responsible way: from the ingredients, through to manufacturing and packaging, right down to the corporate structure. 
The innovative company is 10 years old this year and has a turnover of $100 million. This how to do green in the 21st Century.

Bright idea

Plumen: the bulb that looks better naked
We all want to do our bit for the environment, but sometimes doing the right thing can feel like a drag. That may be about to change with the recent launch of the Plumen low energy lightbulb.
The Plumen 001 bulb uses 80% less energy than a traditional incandescent bulb and lasts eight times as long. So it's got the eco-stamp of approval - just like a standard CFL (low energy bulb) - plus it has two winning features: it is much better looking and it gives off a warm glare-free glow. So appealing is this bulb it can be hung up without a shade. 
As with many eco-innovations, however, it comes at a price: £20. But this doesn't seem to have put people off as the bulbs are currently sold out at the Design Museum Shop. Existing bulbs come with screw in fittings, but the bayonet version is coming this month. 
Designed by Samuel Wilkinson with concept and design direction by Hulger the bulb has been short-listed for Best Product in the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year 2011. 

Low energy bulbs just got interesting

D is for Danish

'Fonts and furniture' for sale at the Modern Danish Warehouse
Here's a date for your diary: The Modern Danish Warehouse pop-up shop is back for a second year from 5th - 20th March. 

 On sale will be vintage delights such as tables, chairs, sideboards, desks and sofas ranging in price from £100 - £1,500. This year there is a back to school theme with some original pieces by Arne Jacobsen for a school in Copenhagen which he designed. 
"It is still possible to get great pieces that were designed for schools in the 1950s and 1960s for a good price", says the pop-up's proprietor Nina Hertog. "It was a time when great efforts were made to make fantastic furniture, believing that the quality of your surroundings would improve learning and overall quality of life".
Let's just assume that a generation of Danish school kids haven't been left sitting on the floor...
This year also sees a collaboration with Copenhagen shop Playtype (a type foundry which is part of the Danish design agency e-Types). So if you are mad about type - like me - you can pick up t-shirts, coffee mugs, posters and decorative letters in Playtype's range of bespoke fonts.