Design Debate

Not only is this cabinet a beautiful piece of furniture, but what lies behind is an interesting concept.  Swedish designer  Jenny Ekdahl  decided to create a piece of furniture which would aid recovery for people effected by natural disasters. Her product is very much 'please do touch' creating a tactile and interactive piece to help to reconcile the person with nature.  Jenny says  "The moveable structure is meant to give an outlet through which the user can express his emotions and personality and on which he can leave his own individual imprint. The patterns are based on water and waves, creating a tactile and rhythmic interaction with ever-changing images and underlying meanings."  The cabinet is called Dear Disaster and is made from  4000 pieces of beech wood.  One side of each wooden scale is painted blue, white or grey, while the other side has been left plain, so that they can be flipped to create patterns based on water and waves....

Blueberries and Kale by Laura Berman We have had quite a trying week and a half at work! Our internet has been missing! Thankfully all is back to normal and I could once again explore the great wide web. Today, what took my fancy was this beautiful food and plant photography from Canadian Laura Berman. Apple blossoms by Laura Berman I love how she finds pattern in nature, something I am drawn to myself - and the full palette of colour she explores too.  Oyster Mushroons and Miscanthus Grass by Laura Berman She is a very experienced photographer and many of her images have been used in editorial. Her background has evidently fed into her photographic work and given her a really good eye for framing an image. After 20 years as a landscape architect, horticulturist, and community garden animator, she turned her focus to photography.  Flower garden in the sun by Laura Berman Her interest is in food - the farmers, the people, the gardens, the plants and t...

New Dutch company By  Mölle have a gorgeous debut collection.  'Mölle' being Dutch for 'mill' is perfectly chosen for this new brand. Started by 2 sisters this online shop houses some really beautiful homewares, in thier own words, celebrating the world's oldest materials of linen, wool and denim.  Some of the wool they use for these fresh and contemporary throws is UK sourced, the linen comes from the oldest flax mill in Lithuania and, my favourite, they use recycled denim. By  Mölle takes old jeans removing zips and buttons, washed thouroughly and reduced to fibres and create something completely new.    By Mölle is the creative talent of two Dutch sisters  Eveline and Marianne Maat, and quite fittingly they live in a millershouse with a windmill next door. The designs are pure, while definitely looking back to those traditional crafts which once underpinned whole economies, their style is modern, as fresh as a breath of sea air...