Decode

One of the most interesting exhibits I saw this week was the retrospective of Decode, a collaboration of London based product designers who have challenged conventions. Their innovative use of materials and form... who would consider concrete for a lampshade or bending fluorescent tubes into a curving Celtic shape or using steel as a sinuous ribbon.

I attended the exhibit of their retrospective in a equally fascinating venue, a 19th century brick building in Shoreditch where I met with the designers and they showed me their designs.

The expanse of the space allowed the lighting to be shown particularly well, being able to exhibit the lighting grouped together.

Cast concrete pendant shades

Plumen lamps with glass shades

The slice box, a table that fits together like a Tangram puzzle, constructed of wood with 40 coats of lacquer.

Bell, a concertina side table and coffee table.

Ribbon, a continuous band of steel made into a coat rack of differing heights and a place for your umbrella.

Vessel series 01-03, this hand blown glass is made tin varying thicknesses to reflect the curves and form of the Plumen lamp, the best way to see this marvelous light. I must add I had several talks this week with other lighting designers and we had all said what a good design the Plumen lamp is, how well it looks when hung in multiples and indeed how well it looks in this glass vessel, a beautiful light.

Light at the End of the Project

All summer over the long weekends and between times, I have been renovating my flat and now I am on the last space, the room that will be my studio/office. Wow. It is not very large, but I am stripping it back to the brick walls and have found a very Shoreditch like space and I am thinking do I want to keep those bricks exposed or give them a coat of very matt white clay paint. As attractive as the old bricks are, I like working in a white space, it allows me to think with out distractions.... decisions.

Redchurch Street, Shoreditch

When London Design Festival began last Tuesday, I started in East London on Redchurch Street, Shoreditch. It is an old street that was some time ago small factories, workshops and garages. Today the workshops and old garages are cleaned up, redesigned and made into fashionable cafes and shops.

First stop was Cafeand, a cafe and a shop selling home made foods, furniture and decorative items: www.cafeand.co.uk

A few doors down was Tracey Neuls, www.tn29.com, a chic shoe store that has teamed up with furniture maker Faudet-Harrison:

Tracey's shoes are colorful, practical and stylish and shown with the post-modern ironic accessories by Faudet-Harrison.

Lots of graffiti on the street, next stop was Cubit:

Cubit is a great shelving system of well made modular boxes that fit and stack up holding all kinds of books and ornaments. It is a system that does not have the infuriating Ikea instruction sheets and eliminates the need for a carpenter, wow... storage made easy, portable and attractive.

When I went in to Cubit, there was some great Rock and Roll playing on a portable record player, the D-Jay playing old 45's

Across the street was the Concept Lounge at The Gallery an exercise in generating ideas and a forum for interdisciplinary exchange.

Further down the street was Maison Trois Garcons, a treasure trove of vintage and antique

At the end of the street was a pop up shop of sculptural handmade leather bags by Larissa Hadjio

And on the corner was a pop up bar, Bar Alto with the DesignMarketo group featuring new take on the Duralex tumbler. 

Redchurch Street reminds me much of other urban areas that go through good times, then bad, than a renewal as a new generation of artists, designers, architects and chefs need good, inexpensive places to start up their businesses. Also along the street, but were closed when I got there, were many clothing stores. Soho in New York was much like that in the 70's, many parts of Brooklyn, Oakland and Detroit are going through revival, Shoreditch is well on its way.