Launchpad at Pulse 2011

Just a super quick review from Pulse London, featuring the Launchpad area.

Pulse ran from Sunday 5th to Tuesday the 7th of June this year, and took up it’s usual residency at Earls Court, London.

Below are some quick snaps of what caught my eye, apologies for the image quality, I only had my phone!

In the Entrance were a selection of Pulse highlighted products. I loved the buttons!

As you will have seen in my previous post, Design Exchange magazine and my self joined forces for their stand, featuring the Hound Occasional Tables; a modular design with a tessellating shape, so the user can change the configuration to suit their needs, or just stack them away after use.

DeMagazine, were offering half price subscriptions £10 for 5 editions; a bargain. To see the most recent online e-edition or to subscribe, visit the DEMagazine website.

My favourite products in all of Launchpad were on the Fun Makes Good stand.

With a refreshingly simple stand layout, letting the products do the talking.

The designs are by Elenor Young, who I met back in 2009 at 100% design. The use of shape, colour, print and textiles really appeal to me.

With small affordable gift ideas.

And also high end, hand made Origami inspired, cotton and leather patchwork pouffes. I would like one!

Peter Ibruegger, has expanded on his The Moustache Mug range, adding a bowler hat sugar bowl. So no mug ever need to be under dressed again! It think these two look like the Thompson twins from TinTin.

Some new cute additions to Shan Annabelle Valla’s ceramic animal range. In front you can see the porcelain bunny range, with gold lustre decoration Available as a pair for £50.

Over to We Love Kaoru next, with her new range inspired by the Rorschach Test. What can you see?..Butterfly, horses, fox and rabbits? Well depending on what Kaoru saw, the subtly overlaid images of the animal within the ink blots. Below; horses, how clever is that!

I wasn’t bribed to say that with her sweets either.

Designedmade exhibited their Molecular range. The pattern, which represents the combination of iron and carbon atoms that make up the material itself.

Onto some 2D designs, here is a card by Lesser Spotted, which brought a smile to my face. All cards used are photos of real locations, with no Photoshopping. On the reverse of the card is a map of the UK and where the place is located.  I feel sorry for the people that live in Nobby!

On a more naughty note where cards and products by Polite.They are most recognised for their ranges by David Shrigley, above is a limited edition from a card set.

One of their new products is the Venice box set by Peter Blake.

The Box contains 20 Postcards, Lithographically printed in Britain, and is presented in a hand finished box, designed by Blake and made in Stockport.

Tamsin Howells has been busy with some new ranges. I really love the brooches using vintage clothes patterns.

There were textiles and knitwear by Hilary Grant, these knitted cushions were great, the layering effect was a great idea.  This is one way I’d always keep my cushions tidy!

Then Finally this brightly coloured stand, created quite a stir, most of the day surrounded by keen buyers. The Animal mugs, bowls and hooks by Yas-Ming Ceramics.  you can catch them again soon at New Designers, as part of ‘One Year On’.

I hope to see them and lots of budding new designers work there myself.

Come visit us at Pulse!

5-7 June 2011, Earls Court, London.

Kirsty Whyte and Design Exchange Magazine have teamed up this year at Pulse.

De Magazine are offering half price subscriptions.

The Hound Tables will be on display at the De Magazine STAND LP53A. 

The Array Fruit Bowls will also be there on the Aarevalo & Idea International STAND L5.

There is still time to pre-register for your free trade ticket and save £20.

Clerkenwell Design Week - 2011

Through the grey clouds and lashing rain CDW shone through!

The three day show returned to EC1, bigger and better than last year. Sprawling around and in the streets of Clerkenwell. (The name Clerkenwell comes from the Clerks’ Well in Farringdon Lane, where London parish clerks performed mystery plays in the Middle Ages.)

With my snazzy pink wristband on I was ready to see what I could squeeze in, in an afternoon.

This is inside the amazing Farmiloe Building on St John Street. Untouched by city developers and trendy wine bars, this building was a great choice for the varied designs and brands within it.

This is a short video of the 1st floor on the opening night. If you know the Band name, please let me know and I’ll credit them on you tube.

The event was sponsored by Jaguar, so there were a couple of concept cars on display. 

Also in the Icon area was the Flux Chair by Flux Furniture BV, which just won the Grand Designs Best Product category that just one best product for the Grand Designs Awards.

In a darkened archway was this installation was sponsored by DORN BRACT, Transforming Water Installation, Tryptic film by Daniel Askill.

Dorn Bracht Installation

On the ground floor was ASAP an exciting new design collective,  consisting of four British-based furniture brands which have featured on my blog before: Another Country, Scene, Assemblyroom and Pli.

Ella Doran’s prints and wallpapers was brightening up the walls, in the background you can see the award winning Geo wallpaper.

Deadgood had a large stand with a mixture of pre-existing products and new designs. Below is the Strip Light by Viable London.  ‘ The strips lock together with a nifty little design feature allowing this floating shade to fit any bulb’.

The new Collection by Lee Broom for Deadgood was on show, I love the mix of polished brass and the rich parquet wood veneer, but it really comes into it’s own in situe, as you can see in the newly fitted personal shopper area for Topman.

James UK returned from ICFF New York in time to show their whole collection.

Pinch showed their new collection recently launched at Milan in April. A highlight is the Willo coffee table, which has a more feminine feel to it with its steam-bent ash legs.

The Buildings interior was so varied an eclectic mix of industrial concrete and wooden partitioned rooms. Within the rooms were, a pop-up shop from the Design Museum and one from the Dezeen Watch Store.

Up the staircase, there is a warren of small office spaces, untouched since the building was vacated, you can just see the built in wooden units with brass handles at the back – ace! DesignMarketo took up residence in one room. Which is a platform to help young designers reach a wider audience.

Their quick and simple shelving units are a clever way to occupy the space without having to fix anything to the vintage wallpaper.

Hitch Mylius is an award-winning British manufacture, below is the pebble like hm63a, b and c, designed by Designed by Nigel Coates.

Dare Studio had plenty of room for their ever increasing design collection. With there new evil genius Wingback Chair Hardy, and side table Drone.

I’ve always been a fan of Swedish design brand Swedese, but their new Fisherman lights are fab, the oversized scale mixes tradition with the modern…if only I had space for one.

Designersblock were Bodging Milano.

This photo gives and Illusion of sunshine, but on Thursday the 26th of May the heavens opened across the UK, so it was a very swift and soggy walk to the House of Detention.

As we ran for cover, we found the entrance; walking down some stairs into a dreek looking Victorian brick building.

In the Dark and Damp Victorian prison several people had found refuge! As I walked along the main corridor there were cells flanking on each side. Thankfully the doors of the cells were open and within them a mixture of design, art and installations.

Although sometimes it was a bit of a squeeze with you, the designer & the product!

Bark furniture is based in Cornwall, and a collaboration between husband and wife team, Jonathan Walter and Lakshmi Bhaskaran.

Instrospection 2011, by Sarah Weistner ...’creates and interesting play between mirrors and light questioning the viewers perception of space...’

This was a new bubble lamp by Tobyhouse who I exhibited with in Milan back in 2009.

Cyril Sideboard by Liquid Design.

Theo, had this product installation and a pop-up shop with in the Farmiloe Building.

Giles Miller installed this bar in a disused petrol garage, unfortunately the freshly ground coffee wasn’t enough to entice passers by in the wind and rain.

There are some great photos on Dezeen.

With very squelchy feet I Came to Craft Central, where rather than the rooftop market they had to squeeze inside .  This Supa Frank illustration as well as the others inside really brightened my day!

A retro feel with Lulu Guinness' life-size pin art machine, allot of fun had by all.

I wish I only had more time to see what the rest of the design week had to offer.