I know I've certainly been doing quite a bit of sewing lately but I'm not the only one. Sales of sewing machines have risen at a phenomenal rate over past few years; I heard a figure of +600% from John ...Read More

Sew

  Using a strap to tie things together is not a new idea and interestingly many of the products featured in this post have their roots in traditional crafts techniques and ideas. Just strapping a few bits and bobs together this ain't. ...Read More

Strap

Marquetry has had a make over. Bold contemporary graphics have taken over from traditional classical forms to resurrect a craft that was in danger of disappearing. Laser cutting may have replaced the hand carved, but it still takes skilled craftsmen ...Read More

Marquetry

Space saving, or a temporary addition that needs to be tucked away, there are plenty of practical reasons for products that fold down. And aside from the technical challenges there are also the aesthetics to think about.  Here are a number ...Read More

Fold

Drawn from Clay by Atelier NL is a fascinating delve into the process of converting soil into usable pottery. As students Nadine Sterk & Lonny van Rijswijck, the pair behind Atelier NL, visited traditional workshops in Peru and Brazil where they saw artisans create ...Read More

Earth

Mixing old pieces with new technology here are a few examples of the way designers have updated traditional pieces in a non traditional way. Shown at Stockholm Furniture Fair 2010 Paul Smith has taken a series of wood frame chairs and ...Read More

Reinvention

Stripped to the bare bones here are a number of designs that don't want to cover their skeletal structure . Some are perhaps a result of  too much time tinkering with designs in the 3D modelling  phase and thinking, "hmmmm.... actually, I like that ...Read More

Wire

"Colours are generated from the passage of light through an atmosphere that carries different degrees of dullness" -  Aristotle apparently This post has nothing to do with post holiday blues and the dullness of those long dark winter days - no really. This is an ...Read More

Blue

Hopefully we'll be popping a few corks over the holiday season but as the wine industry swaps cork for screw tops the vast forests of cork tree are under serious risk of being ripped up and converted to other agricultural ...Read More

Cork

                            Do we have too much....stuff? Are our wardrobes bursting at the seams, all manner of clothing bits and bobs tumbling out? I have to confess, I would love to say I have everything neat and ordered, shoes boxed and labelled, but ...Read More

Bursting at the Seams