Just around the corner in my local Paris neighbourhood I came across an exhibition by L’Ecole Bleue, a private design college taking part in the city-wide D Days. Now I don’t know much about design schools in France, never having taught there, but I’d always wanted to look inside this building, a former church, so […]
L’Ecole Bleue design graduates seen in Paris
The Artful Project – a new online gallery for prints
Joshua Blackburn, who I met during Clerkenwell Design Week, recently launched The Artful Project with his partner Rachel Hotchkiss, selling limited edition contemporary photographic prints. They spotted a gap in the market for affordable prints, either framed or unframed at incredibly reasonable prices (starting from just £75). No need to go to a standard shop […]
Jewellery or objet d’art?
Definitions can be very restrictive for any category and jewellery is no exception. This fully articulated parchment fish by Babette Boucher for example, seen on the Marzee stand at Collect, may be worn as a necklace but I was impressed by the painstaking work and sheer craftsmanship of this one-off piece. Look at the inside…so […]
Jewellery from Galerie Ra seen at Collect
Galerie Ra never disappoints in its selection of innovative and thought-provoking makers. Here are only three from a wide range of creators who were on display at Collect. A simple yet clever idea from the kitchen jewellery collection by Gesine Hackenberg – a game as much as a necklace and that’s even before you think about the concept. […]
Upcycling and bikes
Upcycling, bikes and design – what’s not to like? I saw this when popping in to Grand Designs Live to collect some stuff and it was probably my favourite thing there. Harry Dwyer is one of the designers in a TV series Kevin’s Supersize Salvage challenged to use every aspect of a decommissioned Airbus A320 aircraft to make something not […]
Leather by Sabel Saddlery
As an urbanite I relate more easily to a handbag than a saddle. That doesn’t mean I can’t recognise a quality one when I see it. Mia Sabel of Sabel Saddlery makes individual items and small batch runs for people, the home and animals; her bespoke watchstraps and belts are currently doing a roaring trade. […]