Design Debate

I’m a graphic designer at Pickle Design , and every year we design a calendar for our clients. We always like to do something a little different. In the past we’ve used our signature style of illustration on concertina formats and even pin badges. For 2014 we designed an A2 poster celebrating classic chair design. I illustrated 12 of our favourites in layers of red and blue to create a bold, quite retro piece of artwork. It’s quite hard to work out my favourite chair. I’m rather partial to the Barcelona Chair by Mies van der Rohe, or perhaps the Eames Molded Plastic Dowel-Leg Side Chair – they need a catchier name! Which do you like? I came back to the calendar later in 2014 to look at some of the individual chairs in more detail in Take a Seat: Classic Chair Design and the 2014 Pickle Calendar . The fascination with design classics clearly stuck – it’s a theme we’ve returned to many times since. You might also 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 Frederick Horsman Varley was born in Sheffield in 1881 and began studying at the Sheffield School of Art when he was just 11. He later studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Antwerp before emigrating to Canada in 1912, where he found work as a commercial artist in Toronto. Although Varley became famous as one of the Group of Seven, he actually thought of himself first and foremost as a portrait painter. I am drawn to his landscapes though, and the wonderful range of colour he used in them. ...