Grand Designs Birmingham competition winners!

Thank you to all who entered the Grand Designs Live Birmingham competition, we had a fantastic response but sadly only 5 pairs of tickets to give away.

So here are the lucky winners!

Alison Galsworthy from Buckinghamshire

Rose Cooke from Leicestershire

Anthony Hughes from Huddersfield

Sally Keys from Worksop

Chris Roberts from Manchester.

Image: Grand Designs Live

The download from Decorex 2011

This years Decorex event was again spectacular. Set in the grounds of the picturesque Royal Chelsea Hospital and housing some of the globe’s most exquisite interiors, luxury fabric stalls and future trend setters.

The marquee was bustling with designers, suppliers and business folk perusing each stand for something to take their fancy.

One area that certainly took the biscuit was the entrance. Designed by legendary British Interior Designer Nicky Haslam, the space was made to resemble a serene underwater bedroom and study.

Nicky Haslam

Dainty 3D flowers lined the walls, silver silk and velvet fabrics draped over the bed which was set inside a giant oyster shell, positioned in between two large statues. The floors were scattered with sea shells and a vintage film was projected behind the desk accompanied by soft Jazz music.

As a Decorex Blogger runner up, I was invited by Decorex to be involved in a special tweet-up gathering at the event where I met fellow bloggers from the design world and those involved in Blogtour2011 who had travelled over from America.

Just before the tweet-up was about to start, all the bloggers had the rare opportunity to meet Nicky Haslam himself in the Press Room and engage in a short question and answer session.

He sat with everyone for around half an hour sharing his experiences, design tips and advice. The group were hooked and I could see the severe disappointment in their faces when the time came for him to go. But not before a few pictures of course!

Then it was up and onwards to the tweet-up which was a huge success. It was fantastic to converse with other bloggers and be able to exchange tips and experiences. Although, I did have an embarrassing moment when I was asked what my “Twitter handle” was and I replied with, “sorry what’s that?”. So, I’m not as techi savvy as I thought, but on the upside I’ve learned a number of new tricks and terms from the bloggers across the pond. Thank you guys!

Among the top designs of the day for me, were a collection of stunning circle lights made by French company Le Deun Luminaires. The thin handmade lights are made from energy efficient LED’s which last for over 800,000 hours and don’t get hot whilst turned on. Believe me I tested them!

Another great find I know will be popular with the boys, is Billiard Room Ltd. They had two rather exciting tables on show at the event. One which looked like it had been beamed down from space, with it’s hollow centre, sleek white outer shell and bright orange felt lining. The other, lay on top of a metal grille base with neon blue lights fitted underneath and a steel brushed border along the table top. I hear footballers running!

There are of course many more exciting designs that I’d love to include but would simply spoil it for those who will be trotting along later this week. And for those keen bloggers out there look out for Decor8′s Holly Becker today, she’ll be giving a seminar called “Blogging your way for Designers”, I’m deeply upset that I can’t make it to see her but if anyone can fill me in please

Design of the Day – Exquisite taste at London Design Festival

This design is something I know all the ladies will just want to sink their teeth into let alone their derrière! The Muffin Pouffe is designed by Director and Founder of Design Ltd, Matteo Bianchi who likes to mix traditional Italian style with a London “edge.”

The pouffe can be made solid or to have hidden storage in the base, which is perfect because you can’t have enough places to hide things! It’s cheeky, fun, made from luxurious fabrics and in comes a variety of tastes. I’ll have mine hot out of the oven with extra chocolate please!

Matteo is exhibiting his collection of fine treats at this years Tent event as part of  London Design Festival 2011 if you want to see more. It runs from 22nd September – 25th September in the Old Truman Brewery, London.

 

Design of the Day – Little People Project

Street Artist Slinkachu was born in Devon in 1979 and moved to the hustle and bustle of London in 2002 to pursue a career in commercial art and design. Then in 2006, the anonymous artist embarked on the first installment of his street art collection, the “Little People Project” in 2006, which has attracted attention worldwide.

Slinkachou uses miniature figurines of people and abandons them in various satirical situations on the streets of London, based around themes of anonymity, alienation and loneliness inspired by city-living. You can choose from a number of this artists though provoking imagery in the form of a poster, badge or model from The Andipa Gallery in London.

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Wilkinsons comission rising textile design star

She’s fast becoming the hottest textile designer currently on the design scene. Laura Olivia’s vibrant colour palette and feminine prints have caught the eye of Guru’s such as Jethro Macey and now retail giants Wilkinson’s.Laura was spotted by Wilkinson’s at the popular New Designers event in London earlier this year, where she was chosen to feature in the “One Year On” exhibition. The brand was so impressed with her work, they asked Laura to cook up some fresh designs for new a stationary range.

Laura told The Design Hub, “they were clearly impressed with my work and we had a conversation about future opportunities. A while after the show they asked for some examples of work to figure out which projects they would like to work with me on and then came back to me with a brief to submit some initial ideas. They really liked my artwork and so I secured this amazing project!”

Orchid - Laura Olivia New Collection

We catch up with the lovely Architect and Presenter George Clarke

In between getting ready for the début of his new show “Empty Homes” , filming the next two series of “Restoration Man” and launching his new business George Clarke + Partners,  he managed to squeeze half an hour out of his day today to speak to The Design Hub’s Editor and PR Executive for the National Design Academy, Kellie Hill!

Discover George’s top tips and advice when re-vamping your home, his golden rules for life and what qualities he looks for in an interview.

Design of the Day – Create colour schemes from memories with iro

“Design it yourself” is now easier than ever with the revolutionary ipad app that is iro. This clever little program helps people to find that perfect colour scheme.

“Iro” means colour in Japanese and the app stays true to the fundamental rules of colour but allows you to experience an infinite number of creative possibilities.

The coolest thing about iro is that you can import a picture into your iPad and use the colours from your memories to create a colour scheme!

Design of the Day – Retro’s back and it’s all gone Swiss

Today’s Design of the Day is definitely one for those who like their designs sleek and minimal! The ePure digital telephone by Swissvoice, is the perfect modern accessory for any techi savvy home. As well as looking pretty darn smooth, this bad boy is completely wireless with a range of up to 300 metres and stores 100 numbers.

You can choose from crisp white or sexy black and for only £70 from John Lewis,  it wont burn a hole in your pocket! Champagne all round!

Design of the Day – Cheeky winter warmers

As the weather is turning autumnal the cuppa soups are coming out in the office thick and fast. So to keep your winter warmers nice and hot, this hand-knitted monkey cup cosy by Cookie Crochet is perfect.

For only £5.99 you can have your own cheeky monkey, another cute find from notonthehighstreet.com

Cookie Crochet have a huge range of knitted cup and tea-pot cosies to choose from, so beware you’ll be looking all night!

Tea party fashion exchange

Hello all! The post I’ve written today, which you may think is not specifically linked to design in sense of a piece of furniture or design scheme, but what it does have in common with the art and design world is an idea and concept are the just or even more substantial than the product itself. Enjoy!

Within certain areas of our society; work, fashion and family life, women are expected to act, look and meet certain “standards” to fit the ideological female brief. This constant self examination can breed huge competition between women and create division.

Understanding the pressures modern women face, Rastarella Falade from Nottingham (shown below, third on right) has made it her mission to break these boundaries and unite women all over the city by holding various events from open-mic nights to belly dancing, encouraging women to get together and make friends.

Rastarella teamed up with friend Iona Tamberrino to hold a fashion exchange tea party at the Vine Community Centre in Nottingham at the weekend. The initial idea started off as a small get together but as the word spread vigorously across Facebook, the exchange ended up being a pretty large event housing racks and tables full of clothes, shoes, hats and everything in between.

Even the BBC wanted a piece of the action!