Design Debate

As you may know that I am a graphic designer at Pickle Design, and every year we design a calendar for our clients and we always like to do something different. In the past we have used our signature style of illustration on concertina formats or even pin badges!  This year we have designed an A2 poster celebrating chair design. I have illustrated 12 of our favourites in layers of red and blue to create a bold and quite retro piece of artwork.  It is quite hard to work out my favourite chair, I am quite partial to the Barcelona chair by Mies van der Rohe or perhaps the Molded Plastic Dowel-leg side chair (they need a catchier name!) by Eames. Which do you like?

I was very happy when I stumbled across The Smallest Printing Company . Small things are always so intriguing, miniature cakes are more delicious (albeit I just eat more) and I just love little notebooks, to write little notes. The people behind this mobile printing installation is Letterproeftuin. Based in Rotterdam, they are a traveling open-source design studio. They emphasise the creative process and exhibit its results. A counter-action to todays fast design tools and an invitation for designers to get their hands dirty in order to inspire, discuss and share knowledge!  This project brings out their passion for printmaking, combining craftsmanship and technology with inspiration, collaboration, hard work and, well, a sense of fun! The Smallest Printing Company is a mobile printing installation for small posters and books and is part of the International Poster and Graphic Design Festival Chaumont 2013. Smaller things are by their nature more tangibl...

Chiswick House Whilst perusing This is Glamorous , a blog which is such a joy to feast your eyes on, I came across the work of Derry Moore . To give him his proper title, Henry Dermot Ponsonby Moore, 12th Earl of Drogheda (born 1937). A British photographer of style and substance.  Leeds Castle Michael Casey, Dublin His work is split into 3 themes on his website, India, Portraits and Architecture; namely that of stately homes. I just love wondering round British grand houses, every room echoing with history. Still ringing with secret conversations, family life and pivotal moments of change.  Clouds Hill, T.E. Lawrence Villa d'Este Bernard Steinitz What Moore manages to capture is that atmosphere. I especially like how he uses the light in his landscape shots.  Protestant Cemetery, Calcutta Villa Gamberaia Moore's work his been used in Vogue, Country Life and Architectural Digest. He has photographed the Queen, Indira Gandhi, Ron...

Some of you may remember a post I wrote back in April about new Dutch company By Mölle . Their honest textiles made with natural wool and linen use traditional methods to create lovely contemporary homewares. The latest addition to their ethically minded collection is Chunky Denim.  Taking old jeans and removing zips and buttons, the fibres are spun into a double thread creating these chunky and irresistibly soft throws and cushions.  The sisters's ethos has always been to help you dress your home in a responsible manner. By Mölle work in collaboration with European artisans and craftsmen to create something quite unique. 

Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay, F.H. Varley 1921 I came across this painting by artist Frederick Varley and set about finding out more of his work. The movement and light captured in Stormy Weather, Georgian Bay (1921) is so real. It reminds me of my time studying in Falmouth, Cornwall. Seeing the storms from the beach and walking the coastal path, where the light is indescribable.  Quiet Inlet, Georgian Bay, F.H. Varley 1924   Gypsy Head, F.H. Varley 1919 F.H. Varley, as he was known was actually mainly a portrait artist, and during the First World War he became a 'war artist' in France. This experience deeply moved him, something he wished he could forget. I am drawn to his landscapes though, a range of colour that find captivating. Varley grew up in Sheffield where he was enrolled in the Sheffield School of art at 11. From there he studied in Antwerp, at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts. German Prisoners, F.H. Varley, 1918 - 1920 For What? F.H. Var...