A smoke alarm is normally one of those items that whilst necessary, is inevitably unsightly. Jalo, a Finnish manufacturer, has decided to change our perception of this humble yet essential safety item. I like the purity of Kupu designed by Harri Koskinen but can see the appeal of Lento designed by Paola Suhonen: swatting a fly when I’ve burnt the toast […]
Products
Vegetal Identity’s vertical greenery
Vegetal Identity showed an innovative way of introducing greenery to vertical surfaces at Maison & Objet. Plants are preserved using a special stabilisation technique giving supple and fresh looking greenery without any maintenance issues. I love the mix of mosses and ferns in these pieces with their variations of colour and texture. The whole thing is biodegradable so, if you want […]
Tape Gear accessories
I met Daniel at the Tape Gear stand during Maison & Objet where he told me about their collection of cork and recycled textile covers for those small sleek bits of technology now essential to so many of us: i-pad, i-pod, i-phone, tablet, laptop, Kindle… I really like the fact that it’s an indie music company that teamed […]
Plastic Fantastic – DIY upcycling from Supercyclers
Sometimes a thing comes in that just catches my eye: such a one is Plastic Fantastic ( Liane Rossler & Sarah King) with charming little containers made from thin plastic bags. featured on the Supercyclers’ website. They are a collective of designers producing collections with sustainability at their core. Please click here to see more. You can, in theory, make […]
Summer holiday wallpaper from Laura Ashley Home
I don’t normally write about high street brands but the story behind this wallpaper appealed to me. Staff were asked to send in their family holiday photos and the design team ended up with this collection of typical British holiday snaps. All the typical elements, beach huts, caravans, sandcastles and piers are here; only donkeys were […]
Men’s Society for decent gifts for men
I don’t know a single woman who hasn’t bemoaned the problem of finding a present for a man that strays from boringly obvious options. Is it because women tend to do most of the shopping? Many of the men I know would dispute that fact but somehow I know they don’t represent the majority view. Here […]