Established & Sons have produced and ombré version of the Bouroullec’s Quilt chair.

At Milan Salone del Mobile Moroso showed a very controlled Ombré sofa that graduated from a light to dark pink. Incredibly confusing for the camera to shot.

Flip Flap Fold by textile designer Margrethe Odgaard. The dye seeps across the folds of the fabric enhancing the effect of the delicate origami folds

Textile designer  Josefine Wiel Fredén produces some beautiful fabric that has less control than the previous examples. The dye is allowed a little more of a free run. Huge patches of indigo and scarlet dyes have been manipulated just enough to create a repeat pattern; but not enough to feel mechanical produced. Each bolt of fabric is unique.

Alexa Lixfeld’s Cashmere throw uses the old method of tying the fabric to prevent the dye taking in those areas.

Underfull Tablecloth by Kristine Bjaadal At first glance the tablecloth appears to be an ordinary damask tablecloth. Its only when the cloth has been used and abused that the pattern really forms. “Some stains , like red wine, are hard to clean, but since they will be formed as figures, the tablecloth will not look stained. The figures will form a pale, shadowy pattern that will grow as the tablecloth is used over time. This creates stories and can contribute to giving the tablecloth a sentimental value.”

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 transformation with the installation of a 12m diameter timber wave cascading down the steps.  Architects AL_A (winner of the V&A’s recent international competition to design a new courtyard and exhibition galleries) collaborated with structural engineers Arup in the creation of Timber Frame, a striking three-dimensional spiral made from oil-treated American Red Oak. This material is usually used in the construction of furniture and its the first time it has been used structurally and on such a large scale.  Ultra thin laminates have been glued together and bent to create the tightly curved shapes.

The second dramatic piece is by design duo Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec collaborating with Kvadrat(if you click the link they have a lovely stop animation preview). Textile Field takes over the entire gallery that holds the Raphael Cartoons and gives the visitor an entirely new  angle to view Raphael’s work.  The gentle undulations of the fabric pieces allow you to lay back and look up at the huge canvases. Its a wonderfully playful piece, the springy foam lets you bounce along as you decide which art work to lie infront of. I’d just love to know how they chose the colour pallette I’d like to think they pulledcolours from the Raphael’s.

Beyond the Valley also created an interactive piece, inviting visitors to try out digital design. The iPad ‘Granimator’ gives you an assortment of patterns and wallpaper designs that you can remix in your own interpretation. You design can then be uploaded on to a website for all to view. Surrounding you in the room are digitally remixed pieces by Beyond the Valley.

The other installations are dotted across the gallery for you to seek out. And I personally like the way they encourage you to  hunt down pieces sited next to works in the collection that you may not have noticed before. Its a vast collection and you can be tempted to only go for things you already like; its refreshing to be sent into rooms you might walk past.

New York design gallerist and curatorMurray Moss’s collaboration with Belgium-based  Materialise takes you on such a journey. Industrial Revolution 2.0: How the Material World Will Newly Materialise used cutting edge laser and digital technologies to build 3D objects.  Angel is a wearable piece that has been placed in a spot that has been unoccupied for years. It references the classical statues that line the stairwell where the empty plinth in sited.

The dress, again wearable, pulls you to a phenomenal rococo fireplace that despite numerous visits I’ve never seen before!

I was lucky enough to chat to Murray after the tour and I’m gutted that I didn’t record everything he said. What I will take with me is the idea that museums can be seen as radical spaces; they contain the cutting edge work of their time. Its a great mind shift, you can all to often look at a museum or gallery as a place for old things but if you shift your thoughts and look at objects as radical and new it gives you a greater insight.

Do have a look at the V&A programe of events they have some great talks and activities going on across the Festival.

Inga Sempe’s Ruche bed for Ligne Roset was a last minute change. “I thought this was going to be blue!” she said as she bounced onto the bed shown at  Maison et Objet. A quick change  had been made to a softer feminine nude tone for the room set. As you can see from the image Inga left the bed unmade!

Also at Maison Object the Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec display had their Slow Chair for Magis in brighter ice cream pink.

The theme continued into Milan where any number of chairs appeared in fleshy tones through to deep raspberry.

Bouroullec’s Quilt chair for Established & Son was updated in a faded pink.

Stefan Diez Houdini Chair mixed pink with dark leather.

Floris Schoonderbeek’s Axe chair also has a pink version.

Patricia Urquiola’s Klara Chair for Moroso was amongt many pink pieces on the Moroso stand.

Comet Chair Gunilla Allard for Lammhults comes in a range of pinks from soft light through to raspberry.

Maarten Baas used very fleshy tone of pink for his Clay range at Spazio Rosana Orlandi

Home accessories have also had the pink treatment Established & Son’s new Serve tray is edged in raspberry.

For textiles pink is an accent. Seen here Sebastain Wrong’s Zig Zag rug for Established & Sons, and finally Studio Makkink & Bey for Hay Studio who’s rug also appeared on the Vitra stand.
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First theres a look at the three trend and inspiration areas.

Haute Tension by Elizabeth Leriche Displayed designs that stimulate the senses.

“Design is blowing hot and cold, modulating between heavy and light varying the intensity of light and colours, increasing the tactile effects of surprising materials”

Unplugged by Francois Bernard

“Unplugged doesn’t imply “doing nothing”, “creating nothing”, “producing nothing”. Unplugged is first and foremost an aesthetic form that considers it more important to use means that are direct, negotiable, adjustable and transformable by the user rather than having systematic recourse to a service based society that offers “packages”. Unplugged prefers the real world to the virtual world.”

Hypnotic by Vincent Gregoire & Nelly Rodi

“This is not an optical illusion. There’s future in the air. We truly are at the dawn of a new age. In a phase of reformatting.

Always at he forefront of developing worlds, designers are already decoding these transformative aspirations. They are making use of a techno sensitive engineering that can open infinite horizons for creativity”

Exsistence by Michele De Lucchi for De Castelli

Lladro presented a surprising and beautiful range by their young design team Inma Bermudez, Susana Rodriguez & Ingnacio Luenia (I’m not sure of the spelling!) . The pieces are functional as well as decorative and are unglazed to emphasise the Moorish pattern. The mix of islamic geometry with the western cityscape reflect the cultural diversity of the modern city.

Sam Baron & Peltex. Baron experimented with colour and texture in his collaboration with artificial fur manufacturer Peltex.

Losanges by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for  Nani Marquina A detail shot showing the unique colour tones.

In the corner of the room set of Inga Sempe’s new Ruche Bedroom range for Ligne & Roset I found this cozy desk – not sure who its by. The mirror is Belize by Kensaku Oshiro

Ploum byRonan & Erwan Bouroullec for Ligne & Roset

This post has nothing to do with post holiday blues and the dullness of those long dark winter days - no really. This is an appreciation of Blue and how designers have used this incredible colour in its various shades and hues. Blue has long been associated with quality work. Far back into the Middle Ages the cost of  Ultramarine led to its use sparingly for the finest works, and so our association of Blue with quality began. 

Whether a luminous iridescent or a flat matt pigment designers have chosen a variety of shades to launch and promote new products in the past year. Starting from the lighter brighter blue from a spring morning (its January - I’m feeling hopeful!) down to a deeper day-into-night shade  

At the beginning of the year in Stockholm Ineke Hans chose to exhibit her Fly Chair  in a beautiful matt sky blue. Produced by Arco  its simple oak frame has been matt lacquered, allowing the form of the chair to been seen in varying shades.

At the same show Ligne & Roset displayed Confluences by Philippe Nigro seen here in a range of tonal blues.   Launched at IMM Cologne the interlocking yin yang design not only allows different arrangements but also posture settings for the different users.   

Quilt by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec was launched by Established & Son at Salone del Mobile Milan. Using a shade of blue that expresses the moment that day turns to night . Appropriately enough, the day I got to see this the chair had been taken over by a lady in her twilight years who just wouldn’t move. For anyone.

At Design Miami/Basel 2009 designer Tomáš Gabzdil Libertiny of Studio Libertiny  The Bic Blue Cabinet. As the name suggests  Tomáš has used the ink from the ubiquitous Bic pen to colour his cabinet  not for him the finest most expensive natural pigment! That said though he hasn’t just coloured in an MDF cabinet and whacked on a bit of varnish. For 26,000 you get a handmade American Walnut cabinet, coated with Bic ink and hand-finished with French Polish; layer upon layer applied as you would to antique furniture. The combination of ink and polish give the cabinet an iridescence; a reminder of why this colour has been inspiring and intriguing artists for centuries. The finishing touches of gold plated hinges and Libertiny logo are hidden inside, there is no handle, it is a push to open system.

At the London Design Festival Benjamin Hubert chose blue for Splay his Coat stand for De La Espada. Seen here with all the other products this prolific new designer has launched in the last year.

And if you wanted to completely immerse yourself in blue, you could have visited the magical art installation Seizure by Roger Hiorns. Created by pumping 75,000 litres of copper sulphate into an abandoned council flat at letting the evaporating liquid form incredible blue crystals. It must have been quite some moment cracking open the seal to see if it had actually worked. Thankfully it had. Sadly the block and its crystal contents will be demolished – but then they said that last year… http://www.artangel.org.uk/

There is always something fascinating about the use of geometric construction in design. The extrapolation of a simple pattern into a more complex one tweaks the senses into looking more closely, trying to understand where the pattern begins and ends. As Karim Rashid said “It’s a way to move the eye and break up surfaces to bring illusion or entropy , to embellish and give richness to surfaces materials and objects. It can add emotion and meaning to the flat dull world”Islamic design has employed the mathematics of geometry to dramatic effect for centuries.  Here’s a few examples of how designer and artists have stripped back the ornamentation and used colour and geometry.

Above is the work of Matt W Moore the painter designer and illustrator. His work is inspired by sacred geometry, asymmetry and optical illusions. His Vectorfunk series uses a vivid colour palette.  “its about adding and refining layers to the point where I’ve got a well balanced, unique, powerful composition.          

www.mattwmoore.com

Coming up for AW09  Basso & Brooke Collection features their signature digital prints but this time with a distinctly geometric feel.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 Swatch by Hella Jongerius  Identical in shape, sections of coloured tiles are set in walnut marquetry on a simple low table. The coloured sections are made of individually cast polyurethane. Within each colour, different hues can be seen, orange within red, blue greys within white. Light can flow through some sections but not others. The piece holds with Hella’s vision of design offering options and possibilities.   www.jongeriuslab.com 

 Above is Pentagon by Thomas Tritsch   Inspired by medieval fortresses it demonstrates the innumerous possibilties of geometry. Each of the elements can be slotted together to suit the space or your mood! You can create curves, circles, straight lines.

http://www2.quinzeandmilan.tv/#/en/home/

Of course geometry isn’t just about the creation of flat tesselated patterns. Messing about with the angles and you suddenly have a chair – oh it sounds so simple! Thomas Feichtner’s FX10 Lounge chair pictured below is an example. Invert an angle or two and you have a chiseled chunk of a chair. The designer likens it to the angles cut to make igloos, and although it does look rather hard edged, the soft upholstery doesn’t make the sitter feel their on a block of ice! It does look really cool though…. yeah bad joke

Clouds by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec is a 3 dimensional installation that you construct yourself to create your own unique cloud. Using tiles that can be bent on the crease lines and elastic bands to join the tiles together the installation can either be hung from the wall or ceiling. You can rearrange your cloud or add to it create a multicoloured cloud. Its up to you how you use the pieces.

www.kvadratclouds.com

 And should you wish to have a play with geometry you can’t go wrong with David Sutton’s beautiful little book Islamic Design  A genius for Geometry. Available through Wooden Books  www.woodenbooks.com