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 ...Read More

Natural Fusion

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

The economic climate has changed the way designers have thought about delivering products to us. In a fast moving world with a lot of competition its important to engage the market. Its no good just sending your product to a ...Read More

Democracy

It must be something to do with our inability to grow up;  maybe after a childhood that has been shrunk down into just a few innocent years we're  perfectly happy with little characters dotted around the house.  I confess, I have ...Read More

Character

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

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

A trend that reminds me of an exhibition I worked on a few years ago at the Hayward Gallery called Africa Remix. It featured the work  of artists across Africa and sought to change our opinion on this vast continent and ...Read More

Africa Remix

 Knitting along with other traditional crafts has enjoyed a revival in the past few years. We've rediscovered the art of making and experimented with materials old and new to create a whole different product From a childhood spent in part in the ...Read More

Knit, Loop, Knot

In a time when we are being urged to use less and recycle  here are three products that allow you to reuse exsisting bits and bobs you have lying around to create a liveable room. A chair and a table and somewhere ...Read More

Reuse, Recycle