LOUD FLASH: BRITISH PUNK ON PAPER at HAUNCH OF VENISON

Popped by the opening of this exhibition on Thursday night.  Sadly I was born about 6 years too late to really get involved in the original London punk scene.  But I did manage to catch the latter years and loved coming up to London and heading off to the Greater Gear Market to breath in the atmosphere.

Somewhere deep in storage I have albums by many of the bands featured in this exhibition of posters, flyers and fanzines.  It brought back some good memories and it was great to see so many other people wandering around being taken back in time and to (hopefully) some equally fond memories.  Read more here

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RETROUVIUS at LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

Off to one of my favourite places in London today, somewhere I find constantly inspiring and always a source of joy, the wonderful RETROUVIUS.  Read more about them here  As well as their involvement with the V&A for London Design Festival this year,  they have also created an exhibition  at their showroom in Kensal Green with a project called Off The Floor.....

Two RCA graduates were given the remit of interpreting three salvaged materials; fossilised limestone, meranti parquet and oak drawers.  The boys, Fabien Cappello and Daniel Heath, have produced some wonderful ideas, and all in keeping with the Retrouvius methodology and approach to design.  Lovely.

Fabien Cappello's work made from meranti parquet overlay...

Daniel Heath's incredible wall piece created out of oak drawer bottoms, laser cut to produce beautifully delicate imagery.  Loved this - a lot.

And some great fabric by Dan as well....

 
Read more about the exhibition here

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TOM DIXON SHOP and MOOOI SHOWROOM at the LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

My second day at the London Design Festival and heading to local venue, Portobello Dock.  Always keen to see what TOM DIXON is up to - a big inspiration for me. His website is enough to get you inspired - see here The new shop was full of things I wanted to take home like these polished granite platters (think that's what they are) and these brilliant toadstool like stone side tables - a lovely natural feel to them.

 

Another thing that caught my eye was a brilliant display of Arts & Crafts brass and copper salvers, jugs and platters, all of which were a prelude to what hung above. In conjunction with Brompton Bicycles, Tom Dixon has designed an incredibly sexy copper plate bicycle that seems to almost glow.  I started to wonder how long it would last chained up outside Waitrose on Porchester Road before being nicked.  Probably 5 minutes tops - in broad daylight too.

Quick bite to eat at the Dock Kitchen....

....and then round the corner to the new MOOOI SHOWROOM
Mad and brilliant and really good to see all the work together in a great setting.  It's a fabulous showroom.  Read more about them here

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THOMAS HEATHERWICK & STUDIO TOOGOOD at LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

So, first day out and about enjoying the treats of the London Design Festival.  With the Pope in town traffic melt down was expected, so cycled down to the South Bank Centre to see the brilliant THOMAS HEATHERWICK's Spun Seat.  Really great design and everyone rolling around in them seemed to love them too.  Lots of smiles and laughter which is always a good thing.  Read more here

 

Then on to STUDIO TOOGOOD's "Super Natural" project in South Kensington.  Foraging, collecting and observing in the English countryside is the theme of the show and, as usual with all of Faye Toogood's work, it's a real visual treat.  The pungent smell of wild, exotic mushrooms, laid out on barrows as you enter the building is overpowering, both for the eyes and the nose!  

And then into the main space which instantly makes you feel like your entering a magical minimal forest, full of strange and beautiful things to marvel over.  ASSEMBLAGE 1 is being launched at this event, a simple but clever furniture collection, the first from Studio Toogood.  Love it.  Read more here

 

A quick snack care of the on-site Bramble Cafe 

 

and then head home - happy and tired.

Looking forward to the next 10 days of London Design Festival - so much to see......read more here

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WILLIAMS BRITISH HANDMADE

Stumbled upon something rather oddly beautiful and intriguing today.....old school craftsmanship and a sense of humour mixed together equals something for my Christmas list.  Check out the collection here

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BEAUTIFUL FREAKS OF NATURE

I live in Notting Hill and on a Saturday, especially when the sun is out, extraordinarily beautiful people seem to arrive from nowhere and amble up and down Westbourne Grove doing very little but looking beautiful.   I'm used to it now so tend to keep my head down and go about my business, but while out walking my dogs yesterday I noticed a couple of things that took my interest - things that I personally find truly beautiful in a freaky kind of way.....

A very normal looking tree had, almost overnight, sprouted this remarkable fungus.  It looks like some weird ear, listening in on the passers by.  The colours are unreal.  Custard yellow and salmon pink.  Haven't worked out how I would put them together yet, but I will.

And then there is the Passion Flower.  It's freak of nature beauty is kind of obvious, but always gets me every time.  So much detail, so many incredible colours, so many patterns.

Food for thought for sure........

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