Christmas Break

Dear Friends in Blogland,

it is time for me to take a deserved break, last weeks were extremely crazy here in real design world.

I will be travelling in Italy, enjoying family attentions and meeting dear old friends.

To you all my Best Wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Super Creative New Year!

See you in January.

Anna

Bernadette Deddens

"City Scape" is the title of this necklace collection from english designer Bernadette Deddens.

The neklaces are acrylic beads that are designed to let a string flow differently through a necklace than just linear. The beads are modular and can be piled up and strung together to form cityscapes. I am always very critical towards necklaces, some but these are just so contemporary, you could pair them with a LBD as well!

See more and buy on the designer website.

Small Nature Design

Equo by Gianluca Arena

Small Nature Design presents green urban solutions designed by young italian designers.They give their personal point of you about how we could live more connected with nature in our cities.

Marie Christophe

I am completely seduced by the charme and beauty of these incredible wire sculpture/products made by the french artist Marie Christophe. See also Marie works for Dior and Hermes!

Richard Sweeney

A special paper installation at the Somerset House in London by artist Richard Sweeney. See here his incredible paper made objects.

Lizzie Thomas

Artistist and Maker Lizzie Thomas makes these incredible pop up boxes where she captures the seasons with hand cut paper.

Christina Kim

{photos via photograph1803}

Thanks to a friend I discovered the poetic work of Christina Kim, artist and designer of the Dosa fashion brand. Christina investigates the artistry of handmade objects, and the integration of recycled materials and traditional techniques into modern garments. Kim’s designs are: "informed by contemporary ideas about clothing and an understanding, often tactile, of production processes, especially regional handwork techniques. Much of her work uses organically grown materials and traditionally produced fabrics." An important goal for her is to create a fashion which is ethical and sustainable while exploring new design ideas with craft communities from India to Mexico.

Reinhard Dienes

German designer Reinhard Dienes is the brain behind these clever Stool, Chair and a Barstool series. As we read on his web : "The family’s materiality consists of a 5 millimeter thick plastic sheet with indents that allow the surfaces to be bent creating a stable volume. They are folded from a flat state to a highly robust volume, which gets secured by straps, additionally the chairs can be unfolded flat anytime for storing or whatever need for saving space."

They are light and practical, I love them!

Nina Bavasso

NY based artist Nina Bavasso is well known in the art world for these decorative and abstract images. I find her works somehow cahotic, pleasent and playfull at the sime time.

iiiceramique

Really special ceramics structures, by Marc Albert (iiiceramique), France.

Pollen bijoux textiles

On Etsy I just spotted these lovely broches. Are made by Julie Pollen who has just started her Etsy shop, she is a French textile designer living in Canada. Julie describes the broches as following: "are wool felt, the image on is a "transfert" on coton, around this image I make hand-embroidery with coton or metalic thread". I think they are a lovely sweet present for the coming holidays.

Li Edelkoort Goodbye Party

{sorry for the poor quality of the images, it was an emotional moment!}

Last Thursday evening a very special Party took place in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The Design Academy did say goodbye to Li Edelkoort, who was during the last 10 years the Academy’s Creative Director. The party was held in the city music hall, 500 guests (teachers, students, and the Dutch Design Ghota) gathered for thank this very special Lady. It was a very sentimental and inspiring moment.

Li gave a presentation about the Trends for the 2010-2050 seasons, with the title “The Farm of the Future”. She is absolutely sure that there is a return to the “farm”; the new city will be a new “rural urban space”, where the farmers will feed us, fuel us and be powerful. The farm life is also to find in the material which will be used for the interiors, simple wood and hearth, naturals colors. In the fashion we will see a use of the patterns, patchwork and layers. The evening was full of thank you moments, like the introduction of a special Design Award with Li’s name, the very important title of Order of Orange-Nassau from the Queen, and the Academy Departments Heads who surprised her with a beautiful and very much alive chicken called “Li”. Symbolic was also the huge biscuit swar, personally gaven to her by Job on the name of the many already famous Alumni of the Academy, and as a thank for how she did promote the students works outside the Academy. Li also introduced her successor from january 1st, Dutch fashion designer Alexander van Slobbe. I had the pleasure to get to know and to work with Li, I did learn really a lot, she has an incredible intuition, great taste and she can spot creative talent from far and in any form. I think the Design Academy Eindhoven is going to start a new phase, at Alexander the task to print his mark now and to bring this istitution to next level. Fo what concern “la Li” is already busy with new projects and ideas, perhaps she will start her own “farm”, she will still inspire us from her Studio in Paris, but I am sure she will be missed in Eindhoven. Dear Li, a special thank you for the inspirational years! Anna

Sartoria Vico

I am happy to have found the wool collection designed by the Sartoria Vico.

These series of clothing and accessories are hand made in a small italian knitting factory (Milan).

They are fashionable, functional and perfect for lazy days spent lounging!

Laborabosco

Laborabosco is a small private press, located in the mountains of Piemonte region, (north Italy). Here artist Piera Luisolo works at beautiful hand printed papers, watercolors publications, paintings and more. See her work and collections here.

Mika Ninagawa

Mika Ninagawa is a young and already well known Japanese photographer. Her images are strong, vivid colors and surreal scenarios.

Sayaka Yamamoto

A personal fascination for dinosaurs brings Sayaka Yamamoto to design a collection of huge interior objects made of rubber-coated foam rubber, in the shape of dinosaur bones. These objects are great seating comfort, and encourage user interaction.

Lizzie Fortunato Jewels

I was looking for something special to wear in the grey autumn days. On the web I found the new and very creative collection from the Fortunato sisters. If you do not like the bling bling stuff, like me, perhaps you must take a look at the Fortunato’s fall collection necklace instead!

Guus van Leeuwen

Today is grey and cold, I wish I could enjoy one of these new kind of "radiators". Actually they are just simple heating pipes shaped like the skeletons of animals and covered with their own fleece. The project is from young designer Guus van Leeuwen. Imagine the soft warm feeling.

Simon Moore

I just discovered the beautiful ceramics designed by Simon Moore. He works from his studio in Devon where you can also attend courses in ceramics and glass.

Patrizia Iacino

After a super intense and busy Dutch Design Week, where not all the stuff was actually that nice, here some italian design with a new approach. Patrizia Iacino has developped a line of rings and necklaces made from recycled rubber bands which her friends collect from the vegetables, with a base in 925 sterling silver. Patrizia is selling these lines on Etsy or you can visit her web.

Design Academy Graduation Show 2008

The Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2008 shows the works of the BA and MA graduated students. There is a general "safe" feeling if you walk through the exhibitions, it is a bit like if these last year students had the necessity to stay still, to think more and to not show off. This is my personal choice between the many nice projects:

Maarten De Ceulaer - project Pile of Suitcases

Willem de Ridder - project GlamMore GlamMore details of the cabinet

Nathan Wierink - project What it is, it isn’t

Joris Weerdesteijn - project Meshmerize

Gwendolyn Huskens - project Medic Esthetic

Medic Esthetic

Danka Sórell van Veeren - project Square Skin

Anke Louwers - project Preservations

A beautiful project developped by the Identity department with Desso a Dutch company specialized in carpets.

Identity project with Desso

Lianne Kuijpers - project Covered in the nude

Covered in the nude: love handles, wrinkles, pores, and creases translated into polyurethane rubber, glass, and ceramic. An inspirational book shows the collection in the setting of an interior.

Mieke Cuppen - project Coccyx Every bag is related to a specific body part; the neck, hand, hip, or arm - and emphasizes its particular body shape. Moving, stretching, revealing their contents, the bags are stylish accessories. A crossbreed between bag, jewellery, and garment.