Design treats from Budapest!

Here are some treats from my last trip. Budapest- the land of fun and Jagermeister: a perfect combination for creative explosions and idea generation! There is so much to stimulate and excite in Budapest and tons of secret cafes, bars, clubs and shops that have sprung up in squats, courtyards, rooftops and derelict buildings to house the talented, adventure seeking, ping pong playing party people! Here are some of the things that caught my eye on my adventure!

Shetland weaving adventuring!

I'm setting off on an amazing adventure today...to the middle of the Atlantic ocean!

I'm going to the small northerly island of Yell in the Shetland Islands, to start a residency in weave there, working with local people and learning as much as I possibly can! I cannot wait to immerse myself into a quiet life of weaving, looms, yarns, patterns and books! I plan to make new friends, draw, read and walk every day, and see and experience as much as I can, and will of course be Shetland blogging crazy when I get back!

First though I have to navigate several trains, laden down with a bag full of sketchbooks and warm clothes, and a 14 hour boat trip, where I am determined to spot a whale or a dolphin!

Find out more here.

Design Museum exhibitions..

Today I went to see the three exhibitions currently showing at the Design Museum London; The Brit Insurance Designs of the year, Urban Africa and Sustainable futures, and here are my favourite things:

CLOUDS- Modular systems of triangle tiles and rubber bands sculpted together by hand to create furniture/textiles/curtains/installations as a response to the cold harsh architecture and interiors often found in design magazines, this piece for the home is a way to play with and soften the home environment, and I think is a beautiful piece of fun and cleaver design.

PALLET FURNITURE- By Nina Tolstrup. "Think Global act local" Linear furniture made from reclaimed pallets, assembly guidelines can be ordered online for £10 and the pieces are also being made in Buenos Aires by a manufacturing cooperative teaching unemployed workers.

PALINDROME SERIES- Cabinet that is half mould and half cast. Project about symmetry.

SUGRU HACK- A moulding material to 'Hack things better'. A tool for a community that is no longer content with designer products and consumer culture. A design revolution bu non-designers!

MIRIAM DIDHA- Natural Hemp satin clothes. The simplicity of handmade craft techniques, knotting, fraying and dyeing.

DIETER RAM's TEN PRINCIPALS FOR GOOD DESIGN- http://www.vitsoe.com/en/gb/about/dieterrams/gooddesign

RATION ME UP- Ration book UK, by 'The ministry of trying to do something about it'. Helping people to understand what they are consuming and how it costs the earth.

Guess who's back?

I finally made it back to Franks! ie..my favourite bar/car park/sculpture exhibition/rooftop/cafe in London! Based in Peckham, Franks Campari bar and cafe boasts some of the best views of London as well as a kick ass menu, new art works, some wonderful 'hand-crafted' chairs and stools that I LOVE and is back for another summer!

I love nothing more than sipping me ginger beer under the red tarpaulin, gazing out across my beloved south London, reading my magazine and listening to some rather grizzly hip hop! I am currently working with a group of foreign students on a summer school course, and decided to take them off the beaten tourist track for a day out of inspiration and research...we ended up at Franks on soggy Friday afternoon where we had fresh lemonade and I delivered my new brief! The students were quite blown away by the place, which reignited my love for it. Reminiscent of Budapest's attitude for creativity to organize itself in any space and time available, there's a certain magic wandering up the dingy concrete stairs, like you're entering a secret bit of fun and happiness! I'm delighted it decided to come back this year, and look forward to many more soggy Friday afternoons spent there!

Repair Project..

It's not just our clothes that we need to 'make to and mend'... I saw a bench in my local park (bermondsey) that had been repaired and it made me smile.

It is directly linked or inspired by the work of Linda Brothwell and her Repair Project, currently featured in the Design Museums designer of the year exhibition. I love this aesthetically as a patchwork of time and people add and create new narratives to public spaces and furniture..it shows that care is being taken and pride in community and our environment, and it makes me proud just seeing it.

By using traditional craft techniques to repair every day objects and street furniture in the public realm, not only saves materials and resources, but could provide work or training to crafts people and add an element of design and community to things that we take for granted in their virgin state. I hope to see more of this around town, and I hope it turns into a movement that will encompass more than benches, such as lamp-posts, gates and fences.

Sketch book-Drawing week.

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I spent a lot of last week walking around London drawing things...my travels took me through Hyde park to the Serpentine gallery to see theWolfgang Tillmans exhibit, then into the new Pavilion designed this year by Jean Nouvel (where I wished a had a red pen to draw with), past some boat houses and onto the Natural History Museums room of birds, I finally ended up going from the Whitechappel Galleries 'Keeping it real' exhibition and around the east end to south London multistory car parks.

It's good to draw, it helps me to see and to remember, to manipulate, record and experiment.. and I have discovered my love of drawing buildings, which I never knew before!