Ombré refers to fabric that has been dyed in a variety of ways: dip dyeing, color bleeding, or gradated dyeing, it's an effect usually achieved by hand dipping fabric in dye so that it gradually goes from light to dark, or sometimes from one color to another. Controlled seeping of dye creates amazing textures in the fabric. The less controlled dyeing gives the sense of a handmade piece of textile with unique pattern. Established & Sons have produced ...Read More
Having everything so bloody smart makes you want to kick back a bit. Yes I love my smart phone, sat nav, the way certain sites know what I want to order before I do - well that's a bit annoying but useful. But I also like the simpler things in life. I haven't a clue about the inner workings of any of my smart gadgets but I know exactly how these designs work; and I like knowing how things work; ...Read More
Precious mineral and metal resources have hit all time highs in terms of raw material prices. We may be in a banking crisis but the need for raw material isn't showing any signs of a slow down. Big investors see safety in moving money into precious metals. The price and demand for copper in the UK has seen the organised theft of millions of pounds of cabling and even the Tube has been stopped by audacious thefts. It doesn't end ...Read More
With a continued sense of doom and gloom hanging over the world we need a shot of colour to lift the mood. I'm not advocating a riot of colour (best not to encourage that kind of behaviour especially here in London! shhh! nobody mention the riots....) What we can do is introduce a kaleidoscopic piece that add an instant hit of happiness. Sonya Winner's After Matisse rug is inspired by the paper cut outs of the painter. Blocks of colour are ...Read More
I went to quite a few talks at this years London Design Festival. Its a great way to catch some fascinating insights into the design process directly from the designer and; if you're brave enough, ask a question or two! The V&A ran breakfast talks at the Sackler Centre and the first talk of the festival for me was Kiki van Eijke and Joost van Bleiswijk interviewed by Surface Magazine. The talk covered their careers to date from the graduation and ...Read More
Nendo created an installation for Established & Son's in their London showroom for this years London Design Festival. The installation was inspired by looking back at nostalgic images of London fog; with the "fog" appearing to emerge from the wall to engulf pieces from the current collection . Created from thousands of pieces of transparent paper depicting random maps of London the fog engulfs the full height of the cavernous showroom. At first I thought it rather funny that London's reputation for ...Read More
The Victoria & Albert Museum holds an amazing collection of works from across all fields within Design and the Visual Arts; and for the London Design Festival it is showing 12 installations across the site. I had a preview of the pieces yesterday and its certainly a "must visit" on the design trail. If you're not able to get into London for the Festival here's a look at some of the pieces on show. The Cromwell Road entrance has undergone a dramatic ...Read More
With the ever expanding halls at Maison et Objet it can be hard to know where to start. My top tip and I do it every time I go, is to head to the inspirations section in the front of halls 1&2. There you will find an edited selection of pieces from across the show that have been pulled together to give a unique and directional look into future trends. From this you can pull your own thoughts together and ...Read More
I've always written about designers but its probably about time I looked at how it translates onto the high street. Its been a very tough time for retail in the UK; especially so in the Home sector. In June the much loved Habitat, created by Terence Conran 47 years ago, went into administration with only its London stores remaining and the brand being sold to Homebase (a DIY chain). The idea that a brand such as Habitat, which has nurtured many ...Read More
This is really about the different levels of skin tone colours I've spotted from a pink through to softer brown tones; they've been used as an accent colour or as a block. Pink is usually associated with a girls bedroom but theses are rather more grown up sophisticated tones. It also reflects the popularity of these colour tones in a wider context - in fashion they've been very popular trend and as is so often the case colour trends are ...Read More