A look around The Sorting Office, WC1

Yesterday we got our first look at the new venue for September’s Design Junction event – The Sorting Office on New Oxford St.  We love a snoop around an old building, and we weren’t disappointed.  It has all the ‘industrial chic’ you would expect: concrete floors marked with tape (the venue has been used for various events, including fashion shows and the odd rave), partitioned offices and old bits of machinery (including a fantastic spiral parcel chute).  What really surprised us were the very on-trend touches of colour; pale green, yellow, and vivid blue.

We can’t wait to see it (temporarily) transformed into what promises to be one of the largest events during the London Design Festival.

A Table by Sebastian Bergne

Last night we went to the launch of A Table by Sebastian Bergne – a celebration of 15 years of designing products for the preparation, cooking and enjoyment of food.  A six metre long table was laid with Corian plates (designed with Sophie Smallhorn), cutlery (for Driade), exquisite glassware and beautiful oak cheese plates and boards.  Guests enjoyed tasty beetroot and roquefort soup (served in disconcerting Dizzy shot glasses), made on the spot in Bergne’s soup machine for Moulinex, and delicious wine courtesy of Telmo Rodriguez. A series of dinners, created and served using all of Sebastian Bergne’s products is to be held in the next few days – if you’re one of the lucky diners, you’re in for a real treat.

Exhibition: 23 February – 8 March 2012

Great Western Studios, 65 Alfred Road W2 5EU

Dinners: 28 February, 2 & 8 March 2012

www.buysebastianbergne.com

Long gone are the days of chocolate mini eggs, this year Easter has gone BIG, and we mean BIG. 2 1/2 feet bigger, in fact. Presented by Fabergé and in aid of The Elephant Family and Action For Children, The Faberge Big Egg Hunt, which starts today, is the most interactive and high profile egg hunt ever!

Furniture maker Paul Kelley is one of the 200 artists, designers, fashion houses, architects and artisans who have taken part in designing and decorating the eggs. Paul Kelley’s 23 carat gold-leaf egg has been sliced by patinated copper sheets. The design nods towards the luxury of Fabergé but follows Paul Kelley’s use of geometric shapes.

Also included in the project are Mary Katrantzou, Vivienne Westwood, the Chapman Brothers, Zaha Hadid, Zandra Rhodes, Rob Ryan, Sir Peter Blake, Candy & Candy, Sir Ridley Scott and Mulberry, to name just a handful. Each designer and artist has created a unique egg which has been placed in specific locations across London.

The egg-hunting public can download the map or the app and follow the clues to find each one. (SPOILER: We’ve already found Paul Kelley’s at Ozwald Boateng on Savile Row).

The hunt starts today and concludes on Easter weekend (April 8th). The eggs, which have become collectible pieces of art, are also up for auction to the bidding public, with all proceeds going to the charities involved.

To take part in this record-breaking egg hunt and download your map/app here: www.thebigegghunt.co.uk and don’t forget to send us your photos with Paul Kelley’s eggs-traordinary creation!

Photo: Benedict Luxmoore

To celebrate the relaunch of Let Them Eat Cake, the cult fashion magazine has teamed up with new East London hotspot XOYO, to host COVER STORY an exhibition that traces the development of fashion through magazine front pages.

Last Thursday we attended the private view, which fell just before London Fashion Week kicked off. The exhibition showcased ten of the magazine’s most iconic front pages, including early photographs of models including Daisy Lowe, and shots from some of the world’s rising photographers. COVER STORY puts the fashion industry in the spotlight, and examines it from the development of trends to the future of design.

XOYO is an exciting, dynamic new venue that plays the perfect host to this captivating exhibition.

The exhibition runs until March 4th.

When we discovered that Sebastian Bergne was creating a pop-up dine and design concept experience, you can imagine our excitement. Good food and good design, what could be better?

Industrial designer and RCA tutor Bergne is no stranger to the world of food having made several tabletop items, glassware and even a bespoke ice-cream machine for chef Heston Blumenthal. Bergne’s exhibition, entitled A Table, will deliberately showcase the pieces in a relaxed, informal environment. By day, all the objects will be on display but by night guests will sit down, choose from a delicious menu and use and interact with Bergne’s work to eat with. The experience is unique, exciting and mouth-wateringly good.  We can’t wait!

A Table runs from February 23rd – March 8th

Dinners on 28th February, 2nd and 8th March; £50 per person, including wine.

Great Western Studios, 65 Alfred Road, W2 5EU, T. 020 7221 0100

We are delighted that our newest client, Tania Johnson, has been selected as a finalist in the Carpet Design Awards 2012 at Domotex. Tania was nominated in the Best Studio Artist Design category for her rug, GLOW.

The international competition seeks to celebrate outstanding craftsmanship and innovation and to award designers whose creations have contributed to the current carper renaissance.

GLOW is as a unique rug, with an intricate and striking design.

Congratulations to Tania for the nomination!

Comprising over 10,000 household possessions, Waste Not is a tribute to Song Dong’s mother, Zhao Xiangyuan, who made this extraordinary collection over a period of five decades. The activity of saving and re-using objects of all kinds is in keeping with the Chinese adage wu jin qi yong – waste not.

Song Dong’s mother died suddenly in 2009, but each time Song Dong remakes the work – assisted by his sister, Song Hui, and his wife Yin Xiuzhen – memories are rekindled and personal family objects are rediscovered. In each iteration of Waste Not (the Barbican installation is the eighth) the objects vary slightly, as different possessions are re-discovered and others kept back.

Even the overall layout of each installation of Waste Not varies – at the Barbican, the shape of the gallery presented Song Dong with the opportunity to create a landscape of discovery; as you walk amongst the family possessions following the building’s curve, more of the exhibition reveals itself. Small groups of objects fascinate; the perfect folded triangles of saved plastic carrier bags; a collection of paintbrushes; tied bundles of fabric scraps and the patched and worn dining chairs. Well-loved soft toys are presented on a mountain-like range of saved cardboard boxes and polystyrene packaging. Many of the objects are dirty, broken, faded or rusty, but nothing feels like rubbish. Waste Not is a touching and poignant show; a story of shared family endeavour, love, loss and eventual order amongst chaos.

See more images and a full review on FADwebsite.

Song Dong: Waste Not
The Curve, Barbican Art Gallery, London
15 February – 12 June 2012
Admission FREE

It’s Valentines Day and if there’s one duo we love right now, it’s the Gandia Blasco and Stefan Diez collaboration…

In the past year, Stefan Diez has scooped two Red Dot awards and been nominated in the Designs of the Year Award 2012, to name just a few of his achievements. Now, the prestigious designer has teamed up with Valencia based Gandia Blasco to create a range of outdoor furniture entitled Tropez.

The collection takes inspiration from 1920s and 1930s sportswear fashion and is reminiscent of sailing boats, the riviera and lawn tennis. Each piece adheres to the 20s ethos of linear shapes and simple designs and in doing so maintains absolute elegance.

As well as beds, sofas, armchairs, stools and benches there are also modular sofas, pouffes, high and low-level tables and chaise longues. Marrying outdoor furniture design with the comfort of indoor seating, the range is multi-functional and flexible.

Gandia Blasco is available in the UK from Viaduct.

They’ve been described as ‘the Oscars of the design world’ and with big names from all design disciplines – from architecture to transport – the nominees list for Designs of the Year is one that everyone wants to be on.

As big fans of his work, we were delighted to discover that Stefan Diez is on the list. His design for Chassis echoes everything that we have loved in his previous collaborations with e15, Thonet and Gandia Blasco: abstract organic form, minimalism and refined furniture design.

We have everything crossed for him!

Amongst the nominees in the furniture category include an earthquake-proof table designed by Arthur Brutter and Ido Bruno, and the Lightwood chair conceived by British designer Jasper Morrison for Maruni.

An exhibition showcasing the works by all the nominees across each category is on at the Design Museum in London until 15th July, with the winner being announced in April.

For more information, click here.

imm Cologne 2012

January was a busy month in the design calendar this year, and with numerous exhibitions at home and abroad, we haven’t stood still in what feels like an age.

Cologne was buzzing with activity, with design hungry visitors seeking out the most exciting exhibitors at one of the world’s leading furnishing shows.

We loved the e15 showcase and the Philipp Mainzer tables in particular. The playful collection explored different combinations of material and shape juxtaposing steel against marble and presenting contrasting colours.

Germany’s largest bath and bathroom furniture manufacturer, Burgbad, also exhibited a fantastic range of luxurious pieces. Burgbad are long-term exhibitors at the show and 2012 was another successful year for them. They showcased a selection of high quality designs that, as always, made it onto every interior designer’s wish-list.

Dutch furniture brand Pastoe launched Shift, a new series of cabinets by Scholten & Baijings. Their translucent doors create an intriguing play of colours when the cabinet is open or closed.