Wallpaper made for wallflowers 2 March, 2010
Posted by Nicola Wilkes in mydeco guest blogger.Tags: 100% Design, chinoiserie, designer, Trends, wallpaper, welsh designers
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Image credit: Michael Angove 2010
Being a huge fan of wallpaper it’s not easy to single out specific designs. To be honest, if I had enough walls in my house (and if I thought it was a look I could get away with) I’d have a different print or pattern on every wall. But I don’t – and neither would I get away with it, so that calls for a bit of favouritism…
Image credit: Michael Angove 2010
Having first stumbled across Michael Angove’s stand at 100% Design two years ago, and fallen in love with the delicate patterns of a unique wallpaper designer who looks to flora and fauna for design currency, I’ve long since had his work at the top of my interiors ‘wish list’ …not to mention the fact that Michael himself hails from a town only a few minutes drive from my own South Wales home. Which is why, when the Welsh designer announced that his newly revised website was live and ready for business last week, I was scrolling pages of chinoiserie-inspired gold and platinum gilded wallpaper within milliseconds.
After all, what more of an excuse does one need to browse page after page of wallpapers so aptly named as Wisteria, Magnolia, Clematis, Fir and Lilium? And no, nothing unique in the names I agree, but one look and you’ll see that the designs themselves are far from ’standard’ with print descriptions such as ‘Sprawling Wisteria heralds from the Peak District and is loved for the exquisite butterflies from the aviary at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Blue Sacra beetles and a very discrete and delicate praying mantis lie within the design. A shy butterfly will only be found by the most patient’.
Image credit: Michael Angove 2010
Look even further and you might discover a delicately camouflaged butterfly, beetle or ‘nimble spider’ that Michael suggests might be trying to hide from us… as the designer explains that just like in nature itself, you never know what could be hiding behind the leaves.
Monday’s News: Leona goes to Hollywood, waterworld and stylish silhouettes 23 November, 2009
Posted by katiehodgkiss in Daily news.Tags: 100% Design, art, celebrity homes, flooding, hackney, leona lewis, paperboy wallpaper, photography, print, urban, wallpaper
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According to the Metro, the British public are the biggest boozers in Europe, with 27% of the population consuming more than the recommended weekly limit of alcohol compared to 10% in Germany, Italy, France and Spain. Cause for concern indeed, but looking out the window this morning, I am forced to ask – can you blame us? Perhaps if we had sunshine in November, or a national midday nap time (this means you Spain), we would not feel the need for a glass of wine to relieve our wearied souls at the end of the day. Still, at least there’s today’s selection of design news to stop you from hitting the bottle for a few hours…
mydeco’s pick of the top three news stories:
1. Daily Mail: Leona Lewis moves from Hackney to $1.8m Hollywood home
Image credit: Daily Mail
Hackney or Hollywood? Not an easy choice – after all, both places have their charms. Hollywood is the epicentre of the American film industry. Hackney was the filming location for Footballers’ Wives. It would appear that it’s California 1, East London 0, however as Leona Lewis’s new $1.8m property investment (pictured above) means that she will be leaving her modest Hackney flat for the bright lights of Tinseltown.
2. Inhabitat: A haunting visual prediction of our flooded future world
Image credit: Inhabitat
A prophetic image that has become a reality for many residents in Cumbria, Studio Lindfors’s new project envisions a flooded world. Focusing on recognisable urban landscapes such as New York’s Times Square, Aqualta imagines a population that has adapted to its postapocalyptic conditions. Whilst it is refreshing to be presented with a visual warning against the dangers of climate change rather than the usual facts and figures, we only need to open today’s paper to see that the reality of flooding is not quite so peaceful.
3. Design Milk: Paperboy wallpaper
Image credit: Design Milk
Gone are the days when the only wallpaper options for boys were football or dinosaur themed – it would seem parents everywhere have Paperboy to thank for providing a more stylish alternative to the usual garish cartoon designs. Launched at 100% Design London in September, the collection enjoyed a positive reception from both traders and press. My favourite is this ‘hand-puppet’ pattern, not only because silhouetted prints are very on-trend for this season, but looking at all the different shapes is guaranteed to provide a child with hours of amusement – and adults with hours of quiet time.
The best of the rest:
The Telegraph: The Umbrian Dream
The Times: Christmas property sales: unseasonal good cheer
The Times: Dragon’s Den entrepreneur flies to homebuyer’s rescue
The Times: Ten tips for those hoping to buy next year
The Times: A home next to a golf course: a slice of paradise
Inhabitat: Architect unveils stunning green roofed staircase
Daily Mail: Hampshire High life: You don’t need a huge bonus to buy here – but it helps
Daily Mail: Revving up for retirement: Waiting lists to by specialist houses are at record levels
That’s all for today, hopefully our selection helped to alleviate your Monday blues, if only for a short while! Make sure you come back and see us again tomorrow for the latest and greatest design stories.
Thursday’s news: Chic lounge chair, paper chandeliers and keep-fit furniture! 15 October, 2009
Posted by katykimbell in Daily news.Tags: 100% Design, active furniture, chandeliers, craft, economic crisis, floor lamp, leather, lounge chair, walnut
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This time last year the global economy was brought close to collapse. Ever since we’ve been suffering the effects of a near meltdown but reports from The Times reveal that the financial gloom may, at long last, be lifting. Stock markets in London and New York are booming and investment banks are preparing to announce huge profits. Could this mean the recession is nearly over? Read mydeco’s pick of the news for some design inspiration and get ready to start treating yourselves again!
mydeco’s pick of the top three stories:
1. Design Milk: Kruze Lounge Chair by David Fox
Industrial designer David Fox collaborated with Boss Design to create this seriously sexy lounge chair. Its wooden curves are constructed out of walnut and the black upholstery is made from the finest leather. I have no doubt that this executive chair is as easy as on the eyes as it is on the person who sits in it!
Image credit: Design Milk
2. MoCo Loco:Cloudwalk by Yu Jordy Fu
100% Design may have finished three weeks ago, but the hugely successful design fair is still making quite the impact on the design world. This morning MoCo Loco features Yu Jordy Fu’s Cloudwalk installation. The striking piece is made up of 25 paper chandeliers joined to create a paper chain 9m in length. Yu Jordy Fu hopes that his Cloud lamps will help keep the Chinese crafting tradition alive.
Image credit: MoCo Loco
3. Cool Hunting: Active Furniture – 2nd picture down please
I don’t know about you, but since I have started working, a whole day can pass without me doing any form of physical exercise. You can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across Active Furniture which uses counter-intuitive design as an antidote to our increasingly sedentary lives. Each cleverly designed product requires some sort of physical exertion on the user’s part in order for it to function. The floor lamp must be held upright, both to illuminate the bulb and keep the lamp vertical – you may get an achy arm, but the idea is so original!
Image credit: Cool Hunting
The best of the rest:
The Independent: Another rise brightens property market
Wallpaper: Video- Philippe Starck on Design and Life
Apartment Therapy: Gorgeous renovation – check out Beth’s updated London townhouse
Re-nest: Green Style: Before & After Bedroom Transformation
The Metro: Kellogg’s laser logo will fight against fake flakes
The Metro: Critics attack ‘boring’ Damien Hirst paintings
The Guardian: Frieze Art Fair – your very own private view
The weekend is approaching, the sun is shining and you’ve just had your daily design fix! Enjoy your Thursday and see you tomorrow for our final instalment of the week.
Flying the Welsh Flag 5 October, 2009
Posted by Nicola Wilkes in mydeco guest blogger.Tags: 100% Design, Angela Gidden, Attic 2, Cardiff Design Festival, design news, Freshwest, Laura Thomas, melin tregwynt, Nomad and Nest, tent london, Welsh Design
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So just who was flying the flag for Welsh design at TENT LONDON and 100% Design this year I hear you ask?
Having held a number of rather influential titles in the interiors magazine industry such as Livingetc’s News Editor, Editor of Real Homes and most recently having been made Homes Editor for none other than the interior design aficionado’s bible, Elle Decoration, Ben Spriggs, who hails from from the Vale of Glamorgan, talked to us about the hot Welsh design talent that is now emerging on the international design scene in an exclusive film made by Fflic to mark the 5th Cardiff Design Festival.
Ben Spriggs of Elle Decoration talks to the Cardiff Design Festival team
As director of Attic 2, founder of brand new brand Nomad & Nest, and designer of Habitat’s best ever selling sofa – the Pacino, Angela Gidden’s studio located in stylish Cardiff Bay is a design hub for all things creative in Wales. See both websites, www.attic2.co.uk and www.nomadandnest.co.uk for more information on both brands.
The fashion brand, Nomad & Nest, founded by Angela Gidden MBE
Laura Thomas, renowned weaver and designer of this year’s Cardiff Design Festival awards, is enjoying success in Wales and further afield. Visit her website www.laurathomas.co.uk for more information and her long biography of success so far!
Ceramicist Lowri Davies takes taxidermy as the inspiration for her exquisite range of vessels, plates, bowls and cups. Find all the information you need on where her products are stocked on www.lowridavies.com.
Lowri Davies exhibited at this year’s 100% Design
Freshwest – design duo, Simon Macro and Marcus Beck, hail from Tenby, Pembrokeshire – are now well known on the international design scene. To view their range of beautifully crafted products and their latest news visit www.freshwest.co.uk.
Ashley Hall of design duo, Diplomat, www.diplomat.org has supported the Cardiff Design Festival on several occasions and has produced award winning furniture under the Diplomat name. Ashley was born in Barry and although now living in London, champions Welsh design talent and nurtures the future of good design in his MA lecturing role at the Royal College of Art.
Rebecca Ellen, textile and wallpaper designer, who lives in Mid Wales. ‘I like to blend cityscapes with the countryside,’ she says when describing her delicately feminine new range of wallpaper now sold in Paris and London. Rebecca will be partaking in two Welsh exhibitions this year so visit her website, www.rebeccaellen.co.uk to keep up to date with these events.
Melin Tregwynt are of course one of our favourite Welsh exports, and with recent international collaborations with the likes of Muji and Birkenstocks, as well as a range made for SCP under Donna Wilson’s name (Nos Da – ‘Goodnight’) and their stand at 100% Design lived up to the highest of expectations with some gorgeous new weaves and colourways. Log on to www.melintregwynt.co.uk to see their new online catalogue and cosy up ready for Winter.
Melin Tregwynt’s new collection
100% mydeco 30 September, 2009
Posted by katykimbell in Uncategorized.Tags: 100% Design, 3D room planner, competition, mydeco
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Whilst the mydeco editorial team has been non-stop blogging about all the cool stands we saw during the London Design Festival, we’ve rather neglected the most important stand of all –The mydeco stand!
Image credit: Eliot Lovell
The mydeco stand caused quite a stir amongst visitors at the 100% Design exhibition. Not only did it inspire a great deal of interest from designers and shoppers alike, but it also received some excellent feedback. We weren’t eaves dropping or anything, but we did overhear a designer exclaim that our stand ‘was the most interesting’ he’d seen ‘by far.’
I’m hardly surprised that visitors were lured in by mydeco. The striking visuals in the stand helped explain the ins and outs of the site and the funky display of furniture reflected mydeco’s commitment to sourcing fresh young talent. Most visitors left the stand with broad smiles emblazoned across their faces – the infectious mydeco enthusiasm had obviously rubbed off!
Image credit: Eliot Lovell
Visitors seemed most impressed by the 3D room planner, and lots of young designers have promised to enter future mydeco design competitions. So all in all – a positive event. Let’s hope that word of mouth will get mydeco on the lips of every cool kid in town.
Hot, new design collective discovered at Designersblock 2009 28 September, 2009
Posted by lucindamydeco in Uncategorized.Tags: designers, coffee table, 100% Design, 100%, Designersblock, Tales of design, new designer, book shelves
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Some of the most exciting pieces I found at Designersblock last week were from new design collective Tales of Design.
Fresh out of college and formed only weeks before Designersblock opened its doors, the collective consists of six fresh-faced and excitable designers whose common goal is to ‘create innovative, fun and meaningful furniture‘.
Image credit: Tales of Design
Sensibly, the group support and inspire one another but are not tied to the collective. Each member has free rein to venture out on their own, giving their individual talents room to flourish and allowing for personal successes. The result of this flexibility and understanding is a collection whose pieces are totally diverse but beautifully cohesive, much like the collective itself.
We interviewed one the designers, Jenny Walsh, who encourages people to ‘make friends with her furniture’. The Chase bookcases (above) store your favourite books while keeping your favourite pages open for quick reference. Clever design with a beautiful abstract style.
Image credit: Tales of Design
Her My City coffee table (above) has a map of Dublin city embedded in its surface. The white, angular shapes represent the city’s buildings, whilst the walnut plan ‘reflects the more organic pattern of human movement visible just below the surface of every city’. Not only is the table clever and considered, it is also designed to encourage interaction and engagement. Jenny told us that she writes ‘meet me here’ notes for her housemates and leaves them on the corresponding points of the map. Love it.
This is a collective with warmth and innovation in abundance and pieces to match. Definitely one to watch.
Another favourite from Designersblock 2009 28 September, 2009
Posted by lucindamydeco in Uncategorized.Tags: 100% Design, Designersblock, mugs, new desi, new designers, peter Ibruegger
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I said I’d be back with more delights from Designersblock and here I am, true to my word.
After my ride on Chichi the Rocking Piano I was left in a lighthearted mood, and followed my nose for fun to Peter Ibruegger’s stand. As it happens, I found the perfect companion for my discerning nose in the form of a moustache. A family of moustaches actually.
Image credit: Peter Ibruegger
Ibruegger has created three, cheeky mugs (above), with a different moustache on each side to let you masquerade as you sup your coffee. You can choose from feisty Fu-Magnum, enigmatic Mustafa-Chaplin and cheeky Maurice-Poirot. I’m definitely going to be investing in a Magnum mug for my PI-loving best friend.
The best of the rest at 100% Design 25 September, 2009
Posted by katykimbell in Uncategorized.Tags: 100% Design, cabinet, colour, texture, Thelermont Hupton, urinals, wall hangings, wallpaper
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After schmoozing with young designers at 100% Futures, I took the opportunity to swoop around the rest of 100% Design and picked out a handful of my top designs and products.
Do you ever feel fed up with having the same old wallpaper in your bedroom? If so, Tears off Wallpaper is for you! When you first get the wallpaper it just looks white and simple with a light perforated pattern. But here comes the secret – the design of perforation is made in such a way, that you can tear off pieces of paper to reveal a cool and colourful pattern behind.
Image credit: Tears off wallpaper
Talking of funky walls, Anne Kyyrö Quinn’s textile wall coverings were astoundingly beautiful. Resembling artworks more than conventional fabrics, the creations are cut, sewn and then lovingly finished by hand. In overall design, the products are simple, yet they make space for bold colours, rich textures and striking motifs.
Image credit: Anne Kyrö Quinn
Aarevalo lighting made quite an impact at the show with its stunning chandelier installation looming above the stands at the centre of the exhibition centre. The chandelier was made up of miniature versions of their signature Stealth light, which is a big seller in mydeco’s Design Boutique. The Stealth light is not only visually aesthetic, but on closer inspection, the shiny perspex made it wonderfully tactile.
Image credit: Aarevalo
One product that really caught my eye was the Philip Watts Spoon urinal- it’s good to know that designers can bring a sense of humour to the most necessary and mundane of objects.
And finally my eyes fell upon the Thelermont Hupton stand. mydeco already stocks the brand’s wacky selection of hooks, but at the show they were especially plugging their latest piece de la resistance. The product is a divine red lacquer cabinet, which is an updated version of an 18th Century French Cabinet. Shiny, red, and oh so tempting – I have got my beady eyes on that one!
Scooters, kaleidoscope rugs and saucy tea cups at 100% Design 25 September, 2009
Posted by katykimbell in Uncategorized.Tags: 100% Design, 100% Futures, apron, Jamily, mugs, rugs, scooter, teacups
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Yesterday afternoon, the mydeco editorial team moseyed down to Earls Court to check out the first day of 100% Design. As we bounded through the revolving doors, with our press passes swinging in the wind, we stood slightly bedazzled by the labyrinth that spread out before us.
Whether it’s fresh talent, design inspiration, or just a keen snoop around some fantastic stands, 100% Design is quite simply a design lover’s paradise!
Our first port of call was, naturally, the mydeco stand which seemed to have lots of interested folk milling around and wanting to find out more about our website – positive response indeed.
Then the editorial team split up and each took on a different area of the exhibition. I hit the 100% Futures area, which was showcasing some of the best emerging talent in the design industry. It was impressive to see so many young and professional designers cheerily selling their products.
Image credit: Jamily
Without a shadow of a doubt, my favourite brand was the practical and fun Jamily, which was launching its first three products at the fair. The products included an apron with oven mitts cleverly embedded into the corners, a collapsible scooter and a set of interlinking mugs. The simply practicality of the products, combined with their playful and colourful edge made them really stand out.
Image credit: Jamily
I also coveted Claire Alderdice’s carpets from the brand Print Tuft and Fold. In her work, Clare explores the idea of order and chaos by taking inspiration from the optical illusions found in kaleidoscopes. Her daring carpets would add a touch of flamboyance to any floor or wall.
Image credit: Print Tuft and Fold
A bonus of swanning around the100% Futures section was bumping into Undergrowth Design, one of mydeco’s hottest labels in the Design Boutique. It’s good to know that mydeco has already picked out the talent before anyone else. I took the opportunity to chat to Undergrowth’s founder whose design ethic is based on sex, lace and lingerie! The saucy tea cups and cake stands are beautifully made and would certainly add a touch of naughtiness to your daily cuppa.
Image credit: Undergrowth Design
Rocking pianos and NASA tested chairs at 100% Design 24 September, 2009
Posted by lucindamydeco in Uncategorized.Tags: 100% Design, chairs, Chichi the rocking piano, designers, Designersblock, LYX, Sarah Davenport
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I’ve just returned from 100% London and am so excited I decided a blog was in order. Immediately. Before I’ve even had a cup of tea. Yes, it was that good.
As I type, Earl’s Court Exhibition Hall is teaming with more forward thinking designers and beautifully formed, innovative designs than you could ever hope to see in one place. And some of the edgiest pieces can be found at Designersblock, which is exactly where I scampered off to when we arrived.
Image credit: Sarah Davenport
There was a whole lot of exciting design to take in, from story-telling ceramics and cactus chairs to Design Boutiquer Ella Doran’s welcome hut, with a roof made of her beautiful tea trays. But I can’t give everything away all at once, so here are two of my favourites:
First up was glamorous, flame-haired designer Sarah Davenport with her coquettishly-named rocking piano, Chichi (above). Chichi is a beautiful and whimsical piece which rocks you gently as you tinkle her (I think she’s a girl) silver keys. Inspired by a sense of liberation that was awakened in Sarah at the Milan Furniture Fair, Chichi is her way of putting the soul back into design and communicating the value of making dreams happen. I love how the piece pushes the boundaries of traditional design with a subtlety and softness that makes her quirkiness seem graceful and her rebellion romantic. She’s very seductive is that Chichi.
Image credit: LYX
Next up was the amazing furniture range from Scandinavian designers LYX. I fell in love with the Wing chair (above), which is absolutely huge, beautifully formed and perfect for cuddling up in. But that’s not all. This amazing piece is made from the biggest single piece of bend wood ever used to create a chair and was the first chair to be certified by NASA. Sitting in the recliner is ‘the closest you can get to weightlessness’, its designer Micheal Malmborg told me.
Image credit: LYX
But the crowning glory in LYX’s collection was the brand new Hyperlounge chair (above). This little beauty is so new that Designersblock 2009 is its world premier. Wowsers. Described as a ‘chameleon that can adapt to a setting or dominate it’, the chair is futuristic and very funky. I saw it in understated wood and wool, but it is also available in seriously sexy polished aluminium and white leather.
And that’s your lot for today. But fret not – by lunchtime tomorrow I will have shared some more of my highlights from today’s trip. Can’t wait!
