Archive for the ‘Exhibitions’ Category

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

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

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.

Did you know….

that the human eye can identify over 10 million different colours? No, neither did we until Ceramiche Refin launched their latest collection, Cromie.

Refin have used NCS – Natural Colour System ®© (a chromatic system which helps identify all these colours) and have integrated it within their tile range to brilliant effect. At the Surface Design Show, Refin exhibited their innovative Cromie tile collection together with a selection of the 30 colours that they have newly developed.

The Surface Design Show is the only exhibition in the UK that specialises in surface design and is a must-see for all interior designers, architects and specifiers. With an unmissable stand, it was unsurprising to see them catch the eyes of so many visitors.

The 2012 show gave us a chance to see new designs and trends from Mix, Gray Concrete, Graphic Relief (and their collaboration with Timorous Beasties), Pyrolave, and Little Greene to name just a few.

Registration is now live for 100% Design.  400 exhibitors over 4 days and thousands of launches. Sign up and see what will be happening 22-25 September at Earls Court. Great British design, international pavilions, seminars and installations.

www.100percentdesign.co.uk

Sheffield based design agency Peter & Paul have unveiled the new creative campaign for 100% Design.  The Head is a larger than life model filled with furniture, lighting and product designs from 100% Design.  See the Head at the show and in media across the globe over the next few months.

www.100percentdesign.co.uk

www.peterandpaul.co.uk

Shed Heaven

Viaduct is showing its latest furniture and lighting straight from Milan at Clerkenwell Design Week.  See the latest from Bensen, E15, Maruni and Montis in The Farmiloe Building’s Shed.

Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2011

We’re fresh from Milan, where the Salone Internazionale del Mobile celebrated its 50th anniversary. Highlights for us from our clients included Stefan Diez’s new furniture for e15 in muted colours; new furniture by Neils Bendtsen for Bensen, and new chairs for Maruni by design superstars Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison.

We also loved Davide Groppi lighting, Pastoe,  Montis, Zeus and Zeitraum (who were so pleased with the WRAP treatment at Viaduct, they invited them to design an exclusive wallpaper for their Salone stand). We’ll be showcasing more pictures from Milan soon.

SHOW TWO, a collaboration between furniture brand Zeitraum and new illustration magazine Wrap, launches on 2 March at Viaduct.

Zeitraum pieces on show will include the newly-launched Morph Lounge Chair, as well as Bondt side tables, High Noon lighting and the Side Comfort Home sofa. Zeitraum’s collection will be complemented and contrasted by prints created by Wrap. Extracting details and elements from contributions to their first issue, Wrap have used interesting mark-making, explosive colours, rich textures and humorous characters to create a range of fabric, paper and ceramic based pieces exclusively for this show.

Viaduct SHOW TWO 02.03.11 – 02.04.11