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 with copper; oil and coal have huge values. They also have unlikely aesthetic appeal too.Numerous designers have used copper of the past couple of years and it will continue to be a  popular material if only for is beautiful unique colour and shiney properties. But there is also a beauty in raw natural states.

At the London Design Festival Faye Toogoode showed a range of pieces  at Phillips de Pury that examine iridescence using oil as a medium.

Trapped Sphere is a piece that suspends oil in a solid resin block allowing the viewer to examine its beautiful iridescence. Its a work that objectifies this precious material and imprisons it. Its a dangerous material in so many ways; a pollutant and the cause of so many wars. We all know it as a valuable commodity but we rarely see it in its natural state. Captured in the sphere its a reminder of how the world is still so reliant on it.

Element Table made of sheets of  steel with the iridescent patina of oil metal

Lex Pott allows the metal to take on its natural colours. His experiments are shown in the first image on this post “When an element like copper is found in nature it has
a green colour. Iron has an orange / brown  colour when being found inside the earth. Oxidized metal surfaces create colours that provide information about a material. The pallete is a reaction with the base material.
Therefore the coloured surfaces have an organic growth
of colour and not every colour is possible on every surface. Colouring metals requires accurate recipes. This project shows the results of a research on metals and their true colours; a direct relationship between colour, material and information.”

Lex created a series of panels showing this organic growth across different metals in his work True Colours

Lex has gone on to apply the same process in True Colours Shelf

Minimalux Ballpoint  is made of an almost indestructible solid brass. the unplated shell allows the metal to develop its own patina. “The basic ballpoint pen, or ‘Biro’ as it has become known, has been a useful accessory to our daily lives for many years. Its familiar, cheap plastic casing is synonymous with the product but also its disposability”.

Sort of Coal is  a product that acts as a water and air purifyer  but is actually White Charcoal so not coal! White Charcoal has a higher carbon content than Black Charcoal and has no dust or residue.  Made using the same techniques and processes that have been used for centuries. In this ancient Japanese method pieces of wood are baked in hand-built clay kilns, slowly at first and then at extremely high temperatures with restricted oxygen. This allows carbon to be captured in the wood, a process called pyrolysis.

Oddly enough for years I’ve had a large lump of Lancashire coal sitting on a shelf near to me. I found it in the cellar at home; we never had a coal fire so it must have been there for decades. It moved around with me as a reminder of home and because its surprisingly beautiful, with iridescent seams. I just thought it was pretty, now I’d like to think its been purifying the air around me too! (probably not)

The Light Tray by Daniel Rybakken The tray obscures the power source and gives the appearance of a self powered bulb. Sheathed in hand blown glass domes the intensity of the light can be altered by changing the configuration of the domes.

Candil by Alvaro Catalan de Ocon offers a tactile experience; a modern version of candlelight as it has no off switch. You lift the bulb from the copper bowl to break the connection that powers the light.

Trap Light a collaboration between Gionata Gato and Mike Thompson. Using a photo-luminescent pigment that was embedded into the hand blown glass body; the glass piece becomes both a shade and source of recycled light. The pigment traps and absorbs light from the conventional led bulb and emits 8 hours of ambient light from a single 30 minute charge. Its offers a wonderful way to save energy but with the slight snag that you can’t turn off the glow; so perhaps not one for the bedroom!

Ember Light by Junggi Sung. The light is set into a wooden chamber and can be increased by pushing out of the chamber.

Claesson Koivisto Rune have developed two products made from DuraPulp, a mixture of pulp and PLA, (an oil-free plastic based maize starch) developed by Sodra. First came Parupu, a bright fun eco chair for children. Designed for the heavy wear and tear that a child’s chair is put through, its sturdy and yet extremely light and water resistent. Once finished with the chair is completely compostable; DuraPulp is a naturally derived material.

Next as a contrast to the chunky chair, they have designed a sleek  light for Wästberg, launched at Stockholm Furniture Fair. The aesthetic difference as well the technical application demonstrate the breadth of potential in DuraPulp and shows that pulp doesn’t have to be grey.

Pulp 2.0 Post Consumer Vessels and Furniture by Jo MeestersThis work is a further development on his TESTLAB project that has been running since 2008. The original Pulp vessels were created using a mixture of newspaper and glue applied  to a vessel that acts as a mould. The new vessel is built up in layers before drying and finally being cut away. The cut pieces are joined with more pulp then the inside is treated with an epoxy resin to create a strong water tight product.

This formed the basis of the Pulp 2.0 furniture collection where the potential for upcycling cardboard panels and newspapers to create paper furniture has been explored. Water resistant properties have been added to the paper waste to create a collection that doesn’t hide its origin; the collection retains the colour of the pulped paper. The collection consists of a table, chair, four pendant lamps and a cabinet.

Mathieu Lehanneur has designed a meeting room for advertising agency JWT turning it into a creative cavern with walls totally produced from paper fibres. The cavern is a visual reminder of just how much paper can be eaten up in every day work and how in the move to digital we can consume less.“It has literally sucked up and recycled the available paper in the agency, an archaic and useless support that JWT France eventually envisages totally eliminating.’”.  The pulp also provides excellent soundproofing, and is usually used for thermal insulating in eco buildings. Here it has been exposed rather than hidden to create a cave like space; a contrast to the sleek white interior.

Trash Me Lamp by Victor Vetterlein The body of the lamp is made from the pulp of just four egg cartons mixed with water and poured into a mould. The intention behind the project was to create a product from waste, that could then be recycled at the end of its useful life.

Metro Cabinate by Will Shannon was created as part of Will’s graduation work for the Royal College of Art. For  his Design Products Collection he explored the notion of what is a factory and how we create products. Metro is a result of found objects and a mix of skills. The main body of the piece is made from paper pulp that was moulded inside a found suitcase and the legs are traditionally turned pieces of wood.

“My ambition is to develop an informal factory whose disparate employees – professionals as well as enthusiastic amateurs – are spread throughout the city, at work in their own cabinet making production facilities: turning wood in the shed in Bermondsey, or making papier maché in the kitchen in Dalston.”

Although not quite pulp I think Jens Praet’s Shredded Collection  is worth a mention.  Skippings the pulping process and using shredded copies of Frame magazine its a great reuse of a wonderful if heavy magazine. Incidentally I’ve switched my subscription to the digital version and saved a fortune as well as a tree! But I just wonder that with the transfer away from printed paper to ebooks;  pulp will become a rare commodity before we have developed a way to reuse it en mass.

Studi’Eau is a living statue for purifying a glass of water. You and the plant have a symbiotic relationship.  You give the plant a glass of rainwater which it then cleans, the evaporated water collects inside the bowl and drips along the gutter into the drinking glass. The plant provides you with your own glass of purified water.

KasKast by Marije van der Parkis a cabinet for edible plants to grow. Made from scrap steel, glass from old greenhouses and a piece of used oak the cabinet displays the art of cultivation.

Rainforest by Patrick Nadeau has created an installation for Italian brand Boffi, consisting of hanging domes covered in a type of hanging Spanish moss called Tillandsias usneoïdes. The plants will survive from the moisture in the air, the steam generated in everyday cooking being a perfect source of water for them.

Personal Fresh Air by Julio Radesca de Carvalho shown at Dutch Design Week, Eindhoven 2010. In researching how plants can enhance the office environment Julio discovered that it takes twelve plants to filter the air indoors. With this in mind he created Personal Fresh Air’ a desk that holds the twelve plants in a hydroponic water system; white hydro stones replacing soil for easier maintenance. Not only do the plants filter the air but they act as a partition wall for privacy and a little noise reduction.

Everyday Growing by Juliette Warmenhoven invites you to explore the wonder of growth through a series of incubators. Growth can be examined quickly when seeds are sprouted and their rapidly develop over just a few days. Or the slow growth of a bonsai tree can be observed over a period of decades. The incubators allow you to observe the roots as well as the branches

Harvest by Asif Khan brings London’s flowering foliage into the home and uses them as raw material for furniture. Using the process of plastination to transform the fragile stems Gypsophila into a rigid and preserved usable material. Stems are woven onto the chair frame before being plastinated, all water is drawn out and replaced by a polymer. Plastination was pioneered by the eternally creepy Gunther von Hagens who created the process as a way of preserving bodies; displaying his work in the controversial Body Works exhibitions. Von Hagens holds the patent to the process and co-operated with this project. Khan’s use of plastination on plants creates a more poetic and functional end, although process is still in the conceptual stage – it is far too complex to be of commercial use as yet.

London designer Aimée Furnival of Another Studio for Design has created a series of greetings cards that fold out into miniature gardens, in which the recipient can grow cress.

Luci by Llot Llov is an aternative to the outdoor hanging basket of begonias. Four metal rings are knotted into a macramé net; a simple flowerpot is placed in the lower ring and the macramé loops provide a frame for the plant to grow through.

Hanging Air Pods by Michael McDowell The ceramic pods are designed specifically for Air plants which hate to have their roots in standing water.

Thomas Heatherwick UK Pavilion Shanghai Expo 2010. Constructed from 60,000 transparent 7.5m long optical strands, the tip of each containing a seed from the Millenium seed bank. The Pavillion showcased the work  of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and was appropriately called the Seed Cathedral. Inside the interior is a quiet contemplative space, lit by light filtering through the optical rods. The pavilion was awarded the prestigious 2010 RIBA Lubetkin Prize and Thomas Heatherwick was awarded the London Design Medal at the 2010 Design Festival.

Jambox by Jawbone Designed by Yves Behar the Jambox is breakthrough in wireless technology being the first intelligent wireless speaker and speaker phone. The clever little box quickly and easily connects with mobile phones, computers, tablets, iPods or any other Bluetooth device, allowing you to seamlessly stream and share music, movies, games, phone and conference calls anywhere — all wirelessly and in the palm of your hand. Cleverly constructed and unlike any other speaker, the stainless steel construction is hidden behind industrial weight moulded rubber. And aside from the fact that it really does deliver on technical and audio side; it just looks so much better than its clunky rivals. I’m particularly miffed as I bought an ugly little beast a month before the Jambox came out. Its amazing that so many companies producing tech products don’t pay the same attention to detail on the aesthetics as they do to the technology. . Haven’t they learned anything from say… Apple which brings me to my next pick

Apple iPad I have to admit I just thought “hmm just looks like a big iPhone but I can’t make calls what the heck do I need that for?”  But as it gets passed around the kitchen table the kids doodle and play games(educational ones!); I’ll have a flick through a magazine that I’ve saved a huge amount in money and paper weight by switching to digital subscription. Grandparents flick through photos. Its just a magic little book  with all the information you’ll ever need without having to lug your laptop around.

Plumen by Hulgar I think I raved about Plumen on my last post so have a look here. Or… to briefly sum up: its a beautiful alternative to those incredibly ugly low energy light bulbs and its about time somebody had a go at making something so mundane beautiful.

Tom Dixon Flash Factory This was an interesting concept from Tom Dixon; an aim to connect directly with the consumer and show how designers can service world markets in reduced timescales. For this he created a digitally designed limited edition product that can be purchased and constructed on site. The Flash Factory then went on a tour of Europe popping up and offering its wares.Its a concept that we’ve certainly not seen from product designers before – we’re used to fashion designers engaging with their consumer but the world of product design has been a little more aloof and has held back from really getting involved with those who actually buy and use their work.

Scholten & Baijings Butte boxes for Established & Sons. It seems strange to put a small wooden box in my design favourites, but the reason behind this choice is that a simple object can encapsulate many different product trends and desires in one seemingly simple package. Its been made in a traditional way using raw bent beech wood, inside it hold the surprise of a bright shock of colour revealed when you open it. And finally the use of illustration not only decorates but also tells a story. Its just a damn shame that an intelligent and beautiful product costs so much… about  £366  (it sounds less than saying 425 Euros)

So there are my slim pickings from this year. All the best for 2011!

The incandescent bulb is nearing the end of its life. Across the world governments having been passing legislation in favour of more energy conserving alternatives; and here in Europe a ban on selling 100watt bulb has been in place for a year.

We’ve mostly switched to the rather ugly compact tube fluorescent tube (CTF) and the ban on the frosted incandescent so infuriated lighting designer Ingo Maurer he had to come up with the Euro Condom pictured above (not sure if come up was quite the right phrase there!) The opaque condoms fit over clear incandescent bulbs – which are not affected by the guidelines – to give a similar effect to the banned bulbs. Its an amusing poke at European bureaucracy but when you look at the carbon emissions saved by getting rid of the old bulbs never mind the money saved on your electricity bills it makes sense to make the move.

So here are a few lights that have taken a little inspiration from the old bulb but been updated to comply with strict EU guidelines – its quite heartening to think bureaucracy can move design! America take note your Federal bureaucracy is years behind….

I don’t think you could have failed to notice Hulger’s Plumen lightbulb launched this year and billed as the worlds first designer energy saving light bulb. It uses 80% less energy than the traditional incandescent light bulb; and just like its ugly older brother (the compact tube fluorescent) it keeps down electricity bills and lasts around 8 times longer.  Hulger’s work came from the frustrations of the CTF; not only did it look ugly but the kind of light they give off is pretty poor.

“Make the bulb attractive and people will spend a bit more and enjoy a better quality of light and a design they appreciate every day. Glass tubes can be bent is many different shapes so why are there thousands of manufacturers but only three designs? We believe the answer is in the design.” The bulb is available in Europe with plans to launch in the USA early 2011.

Marcus Tremento is an artist who uses light as a  medium to express his work. His highly graphic and illustration based pieces draw inspiration from French Pop comics of the 1960’s his use of simple lines suggest three-dimensional form but in keeping with his source of inspiration he actually uses paper  – of a rather special kind. These lights employ Electroluminescent paper, which consists of an organic material that emit photons (light) when excited by an electric current, sandwiched between two thin layers of plastic. This method of producing light is distinct from standard incandescent lights in that there is no emission of heat. Electroluminescence was first developed in 1960 for use in automotive instrument panel backlighting.

Diamond Light by Eric Therner is a particularly beautiful alternative to the old light bulbs

“I’d like to see them as sculptures, with a function. Diamond Lights play with the concept of the light bulb. Stylewise, the common light bulbs look brilliant. I’m not sure though, if it is the shape, or it’s iconic value that makes it so beautiful.

The fact that it was “a” first, and what it meant to people when it first arrived, has surely played an important role during the years from product to icon. Diamond Lights is not a tribute or an attempt at making a better light bulb than the already existing one. I simply want to offer another choice.”

The result is an environmentally friendly, e-27 halogen lightbulb with a warm 15 watt glow and 2000- lifehours.

Pieke Bergmans Light Bulbs

Pictures at the top of this post the Light Bulbs are a series of crystal lamps, designed by Pieke  in a collaboration with Royal Crystal Leerdam. The lamps are all unique handcrafted crystal pieces, equipped with leds by Solid Lighting Design. They followed on from Pieke’s “Virus” series where she manipulates molten glass over various objects letting them gently ooze in a organic satisfying way.

There was a time when you either used synthetic materials or natural and which ever path you followed the two should never be mixed.  The idea that something natural should be tainted by dare I say it….plastic! No no no…..But why? We don’t have to be so polarised in our treatment of materials. And well; plastic in its various forms isn’t a new material is it?  It’s moving into the realms of collectible antiques and with that we are also becoming well aware of its durability. Apparently there is huge mass of plastic floating in the Pacific stubbornly refusing to decompose. Perhaps one day this floating mass rubbish will be recycled, up cycled and converted back into something useful again. I like to think that its become home to a whole range of sea creatures evolving in their own weird way but in the mean time here are some designers who have more logical thought process as regards mixing natural with synthetic.

Pictured above and seen here is  Rawtation by Adi Zaffran Weisler

“As I was learning the industrial process of plastic rotational molding I discovered the potential for combining raw organic elements in the process. I tried creating a method where the meeting point between the organic and the synthetic is made by the rotational molding process without the need for cold joints or complex adjustments. The manufacturing process uses pruned branches, trunks and foliage combined with plastic which creates the joints.”

TransPlastic by the Campanas’ brothers are pieces that use a combination of plastic and a Brazilian fibre called apui. Left unchecked apui wraps around and slowly suffocates the trees on which it grows. An so with a clever bit of irony and handicraft the fibre is reworked in wicker to “suffocate” the plastic chair. The Campanas’ brothers have continued to work with this fibre combining it with glass for their exhibition with Venini at Waddesdon Manor this year

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. Its partly about learning from the past but also out of necessity and practicality, applying a simple device to create a useful functional ethical product.

Simon Hasan has used leather straps to hold integral parts of his work together. The welded box of the cabinet is held onto the oak stand and the cushion on the stool is held in place by the use of leather straps that have been boiled to give them strength.

His work was inspired by reading about the technique of boiling leather (cuir bouilli) that turns soft mallable leather into a much harder material without the use of any resin or other chemical treatments. The strength and durability of the leather is such that this medieval process was used for amour and drinking vessels. Simon has combined this process with another ancient crafting skill that is wood cleaving.

Chairless byAlejandro Aravena for Vitra. Again taking inspiration from the ancient , Alejandro’s strap is an idea developed from the Ayoreo Indians of South America. Aimed at the “modern nomad” its very light and easy to pack down and is meant to by used when chairs are in short supply.The strap takes the strain and relieves the back and legs, and keeps your hands free for reading, eating, tinkering on you laptop etc. I’m sure this will be hugely copied, anyone going to a music festival in the next year will suddenly see them everywhere. They do take a bit of practice so it could be entertaining watching people getting tangled, rolling around…..

Bungee straps, those super strong stretchy bands loved by the camping and trekking fraternity to attach all manner of necessities to the car or bike have also been appropriated by designers .

Blow Sofa by Malafor.  It is an environmental product; made from 100% recyclable dunnage bags, the inflateable bags sit on a frame held together by bungee straps. It looks a little precarious to sit on, but as long as its not over inflated its rather comfy. The bags are paper covered so you could add your own doodled design to them.

 Lukas Franciszkiewicz’ Stool FRNKWZ* also uses a steel frame as its base with a black bungee strap to hold the square cushion in place. The sense of instability from the straps is offset by the structure of the pyramid steel frame – theres a bit of give in it but its not going to slip off.

Mugrosita by Liliana Ovalle took inspiration for her work from the way street vendors in Mexico City held their stalls and tangled bags of merchandise together by straps and knots. The wooden frame of the couch is overlaid with a serise of beanbags secured by ropes.

Autarky by Studio Formafantasma shown in Milan at Spazio Rossana Orlandi follows on from their work mentioned in my Earth post.

Again using natural materials to create the vessels the strap is used to hold things that accompany the meal either spoons, bread or biscuits.

One of the main stumbling blocks to buying any home product is the fear of getting it wrong.  After all, its so much easier to send back that hideous jumper that you thought looked fabulous, than it is to dispose of the sofa you special ordered 3 months ago. With this in mind Mydeco.com have looked into our buying habits and our fears of a interior faux pas. Their 3D planner allows you to build your room to the exact proportions and light sources and you can pretty much add in your existing furniture. From the huge database of  over 75,000 products you’re bound to find something that’s near as dammit to your current sofa or bed.  Its the kind of technology you’d expect to pay for but its completely free. The idea behind it is to encourage us to be a little more adventurous in our purchases, and to stop us making mistakes whether they be an aesthetic disaster or an issue with the proportions of your items.  You can then click through and purchase your items from a vast range of suppliers and (perhaps the area I like the most) a range of independent designer makers through their boutique

Another company to embrace the use of 3D technology is Established & Sons. Launched at the Salone Internazionale Del Mobile in Milan this year, they presented their new own label collection Estd through an interactive 3D screen created by Yoox.com. Four items were presented in an interactive way (Dip Soft Grid, Plan,Butt)that allowed the viewer to discover them, play, move turn and even throw them via a touch-screen. Although this technology isn’t available online yet, you can just imagine them tinkering away to create an Ipad App for it.

In a bid to get in touch with the consumer and take the work  directly to them Tom Dixon has come up with his Flash Factory . Appearing in many locations over the next year products will be assembled according to the customers need and demand. Its an interesting experiment on the inefficiency of our current means of production and delivery whereby products take months to be shipped across the world to the end user. The Flash Factory kicked off in Milan with members of Toms London team creating the Etch light for customers. The Factory then moved to New York for ICFF where willing volunteers created the products, there payment being other Tom Dixon products. In a quote from the man himself “Flash Factory demonstrates Future Industry and the new found power of the designer, able to service world markets with the latest products in greatly reduced time scales.”  Its an interesting concept and people visiting the Factory do enjoy engaging, and chatting and buying the work. Yes I did buy and Etch light – it was only 30 Euros for a bit of design history!

Friend and contemporary of Tom, Piet Hein Eek is also keen to engage the consumer in the process of production, although his factory is in no way portable! Its real and its huge. The concept is to rennovate an old Phillips factory to create a space where products will be made and sold. Its interactive but in the traditional sense, people can meet, talk, watch, create, shop and eat under one roof. Visitors can wander round without losing site of the workplace and offices; and workspaces will be rented to like minded creatives to create a community of production in a space that was once for mass production. Its a wonderfully idealistic response to an economic crisis and I can’t wait to visit it when it opens in October, in time for Dutch Design week.

Folding Plug by Min-Kyu Choi. I remember seeing this design at the Royal College of Art last year and immediately loving it. Its such a great move on from the bulky plugs we’re used to. Inspiration came from the anomaly of having a wafer thin laptop and an oversized plug, as he says here.  ”When people carry laptops with U.K plugs in a bag, it always causes problems such as tearing paper, scratching laptop surfaces and, sometimes, it breaks other stuff. The main problem is the UK standard 3-pin plug is not considered in the process of designing for mobility. My intention of the project was directed to make the plug as slim as possible and follow the British Standard regulation at the same time.”

I’m sure this design can be adapted for the varoious international  plugs and he has already developed a USB version. It will be interesting to see the product through into production and in its various guises across the world.  Its also astonishing that the design of the UK plug has hardly changed since 1946.  Little wonder that his radical redesign has won the Brit Insurance Design of the Year.

Desile Chair by Christian Desile for Vange  This is quite a beautiful graphic work, it looks wonderful folded down and hung on a wall. But the practicalities of the chair are also rather stunning. Its made from bamboo, a sustainable environmentally friendly material. And packed  down 100 chairs can be stored in a 2 metre stack. Its a chair that works in both in the home and for commercial use.

Robert Haslbeck’s Under-Koffer table Inspired by a rather more humble but functional trestle table table, Roberts version is less cumbersome. Easy to set up and pack down, once folded the table looks like a suitcase. The supporting frame slides up as the table is folded to create the handle. I rather like his choice of muted colours for the table top. 

Sanna Lindström and Sigrid Strömgren’s Grand Central Folding Coffee table. Inspiration for this came from the New York street map. Its an ingeniuos use of a traditional paper fold, and also a refreshing change to see a folding table that has a round top.

PEGA have created a range of vinyl decals or wall stickers that unfold to perform different functions. Influenced by origami; as its always useful to go back to the masters of folding when creating a folding piece, the work only reveals its function when opened. The light switches on and casts its shadow when the lampshade is pulled out.  The radio emits sound when the gramaphone trumpet is pulled out. The scent diffuser releases a puff of fragrance when the perfume bottle is pushed.