Fabric by Donna Wilson

Scottish designer Donna Wilson has just launched a range of fabrics to buy by the meter, encouraging people to make their own products and textile items. Inspired by her upbringing on a farm in Aberdeenshire, the fabrics combine Wilson's trademark illustrative style with a sense of homeliness and comfort in nature. No need to say much more on this as far as I'm concerned, just click through and decide which pattern gets your creative juices flowing...

Grunge and 90s Fashion

Back in February I took a short course in History of Fashion at London College of Fashion. I spent four Saturdays in LCF's campus just off Oxford Street getting an introduction to the history of fashion from the 1850s to the present day, with a particular focus on British fashion. If you're based in London and have a little interest in fashion I totally recommend it. You'll have to hand over about £300 to do it but if you're willing to do that you get an awful lot in return. While I don't tend to cover fashion here that often, I do think it's a really interesting area of design. Of all design categories, fashion's the one that we tend to have the closest relationship to, and the one we make the most conscious decisions about. While we don't always get to choose all of the spaces we occupy or objects we use each day, and while we don't always choose the stuff that surrounds us based on how it's designed (sometimes cost, convenience or apparent lack of choice can be much bigger factors), we tend to be far more discerning about what we wear. We know what we like, we choose garments based on how they look, what they're made from and sometimes even who designed them. While cost, convenience and other factors can come into it, for an awful lot of us personal preference comes into play with regard to fashion far more than with the other designed objects we come into contact with. Fashion is a key way for us to identify ourselves and - when you consider fashion as a historical artefact - how nations, cultures and generations have identified themselves.

Textiles and Patterns by Alexander Girard

Opened late last year and running until 9 February, Pop Art Design at the Barbican is an exhibition exploring how commercial design influenced the art of the 50s and 60s and how that art in turn influenced design. If it's a period of art and design you're unfamiliar with the exhibition provides a really nice introduction, while there are a couple of things on show that might be new to the already initiated. One such revelation to me was the work of Alexander Girard, an architect who trained in Italy and Britain before moving to New York and beginning to work across architecture, interior and exhibition design, typography, furniture and fabrics. He became Director of the Fabric Division at Hermann Millar in the 1950s and most of his best work was done for them. Pop Art Design includes some of his wallpaper patterns, ceramic objects and mural designs while a little look online brings up a whole host of brightly-coloured playful patterns for fabric and other applications. Girard's work is fun and frivolous and I can't believe I'm only finding out about it now! Though I realise as I've looked through his archive of work, some of his stuff (such as the wooden Vitra dolls pictured at the bottom) is familiar, I just never knew the designer behind it. I'm certainly glad that now I do...

The Barbican

In the relatively short time that I've been in London, I've done what I can to explore and learn about this massive city. Though I've only scratched the surface, I'm certain I've found a place that will remain one of the city's highlights for me, no matter how long or short a time I live here. The Barbican in the City of London (London's financial and commercial centre, within ancient boundaries, is a city within a city) is an area with a long and complex history and is now the site of a brutalist complex of residential buildings, amenities and The Barbican Centre, a massive and wonderful arts venue. As a recent convert to brutalism and a long-standing fan of the arts, this place is heaven for me...

New Stuff

Lots of new products have appeared in the past two months: with LDF happening here in September, the Irish Furniture and Interiors Fair going on in Dublin recently and more, I guess now's a good time of year to get new work out there. So here's a little round up of some new stuff from Ireland, Scotland and here in England that has caught my eye. First up is Birmingham-based studio Plant & Moss with their range of Polka lights, launched at 100% Design back in September. Polka takes a simple shade in a range of bright colours (or a brushed brass finish) and applies it to two table lamps and a pendant. The tall table lamp is particularly cool, pairing the sleek shade with a wooden base and wing nut to adjust the direction of the light, combining a bright, bold focal point with a rough and ready design solution.

Gillian Kyle's Tunnock's Treats

There are many great things about Scotland (the buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Edinburgh festivals, everything the city of Glasgow has to offer...), but top of the list is easily treats by Tunnock's. A family-run company based in Uddingston just outside Glasgow, Tunnock's have been making delicious Caramel Wafers, Snowballs and more since 1890 (read about their past and present in this fab piece over on the Telegraph website). Their pièce de résistance is the Teacake, a chocolate-covered mallow biscuit that I can't believe I'd been living without for so long. How did I ever survive?! Celebrating these and other iconic Scottish food, drinks and historical figures is Gillian Kyle, a Glasgow-based textile designer. She's made a host of work from her Local Heroes (and Villains) range of homewares celebrating people such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh (and his super-tache) and Bonnie Prince Charlie to a recent collaboration creating products for Glenfiddich whisky. But the crowing glory in her body of work has to be her Tunnocks-inspired textiles, mugs and cards. The latest addition to the range is the Caramel Wafer cushion, pictured above.

Atheists Have Soles

About a year and a half ago a group of religiously uninclined designers and shoe-makers based in Berlin (one of whom is Irish-born David Bonney) exceeded an impressive Kickstarter target and raised over $59,000 to create a range of shoes under the name Atheist. First thinking it would be funny to make shoes for Christians with water in the soles (so they could walk on water...) they then thought it would be more appropriate to create products more in line with their beliefs: believing in nothing. First came a range of low-top smart sneakers in soft leathers and a great range of colours and now they have launched Das Boot: a hi-top sneaker available in petrol blue, mustard yellow and bitter chocolate brown. If the delicious design of these shoes aren't enough to tempt you, maybe you'll be impressed by 10% of Atheist sales going to secular charities (because you don't need a god to be good). See more images below, check out the fab range on their website and keep an eye out for pop-up shops for you to see these tasty specimens for yourself :)

British Sheep Breeds

At the beginning of the month I headed along to the opening of the Craft Scotland Summer Show, showcasing the work of more than 30 Scottish-based designers and makers. One of the highlights of the show is a collection of work by Irish-born, Edinburgh-based textile designer Fiona Daly. Fiona and I studied together in Dublin but her work would have stood out from the rest of the show even if we hadn't :) Fiona's recent work is a collection called British Sheep Breeds which combines woven wool and screenprinted cotton to create beautiful functional items which also inform you about wool and its origins. Her collection of cushions are double-sided: one side is a particular wool woven in a simple pattern and the other side is organic cotton with the sheep the wool came from screenprinted on it (see Mr. Welsh Mountain as an example below). Accompanying the cushions is a range of sheep-themed (but not at all sheepish) screenprinted tote bags with the relevant wool woven to create a tag peeking out of the side (pictured at the bottom).

Recycled Bags by Alkemi

Recently Dublin got itself a new shop specialising in a variety of products, gifts and jewellery designed and/or made in Ireland in the form of Mayfly in Temple Bar. While browsing through the vast amount of stuff they're selling online as well as in store I came across Irish-based designers Alkemi. Alkemi take materials that may otherwise end up in a landfill such as rubber tyres, seatbelts, newsprint, plastics and more and recycle them to make a range of bags and other accessories. The results are great: ranging from items that look quite industrial such as the tyre-turned-shoulder bag pictured above and the rubber iPad sleeve below to chic accessories like the handbag made from recycled plastics at the bottom, Alkemi's products take upcycling away from its sometimes naff origins (stonewashed patchwork denim bag, anyone?!) to make ethical, stylish and affordable products. See more over on their website and get buying over on Mayfly.

Design for Children

This article was first published in Architecture Ireland #269

To date, this column has always focussed on design for adults, be it the visual communications us adults consume, the furniture we sit on, the lights we read under or the events we attend. But it's not just the older and taller members of society that use design, and with the recent Children's Books Ireland (CBI) conference in Light House Cinema, it seemed apt to take a closer look at design for children. In fact, when we consider the importance we place on instilling a love of reading, or sport, or music, or nature at a young age, should we not be doing the same with well-considered, attractive design too?

Summer Wish List

London-based website Blog and Buy Sale aims to shine a light on independent designers and makers creating great products and selling them online. They do this in a number of ways, including interviews and daily blog posts and have just launched this year's Summer Wish List, showcasing a host of products they think you should know about. I'm chuffed that they've selected TILEWATCH to be included this time round, along with I Like Local favourite Fun Makes Good with a range of placemats and coasters. Other highlights for me are some of the more triangle-oriented products on show: a tote bag designed by Kirsty Thomas for tote touters Totes Amazed (pictured above) and the Spear Luin brooch by London-based architectural students Triptych Designs (below). There's plenty to browse through in BBS' Summer Wish List, all linking to each designer's online shop. Happy hunting!

Here's the Heads Up #16

Designgoat at the opening of Making Things Better as part of Design Intelligence at the National Craft Gallery. Photo by Pat Moore, courtesty of the NCG

IRELAND

Tuesday 18 June: NEWNOWNEXT, Tatiana Bilbao
Samuel Beckett Theatre, TCD, Dublin 2
The latest series of talks presented by the Irish Architecture Foundation (and supported by Arup) is entitled NEWNOWNEXT, bringing exciting young architects from all over the world to Dublin - some for the first time - to speak about their work. The series kicked off with Jeanne Gang and booked out in no time: keep an eye on the IAF's site for free tickets to hear architect and urban advocate Tatiana Bilbao of Mexico speak about her diverse portfolio of work.

Tuesday 18 June: Urban Knights
Science Gallery, Pearse Street, Dublin 2
If you'd prefer something else on the 18 June, Science Gallery's Urban Knights series of talks from people in Ireland and abroad making changes in cities continues with presentations from John Lynch of the Copenhagen Institute for Interaction Design, founder of Rothar Anne Bodes and others.

Bags by Laura Spring

Glasgow-based textile designer Laura Spring creates bold, fun accessories using bright geometric prints. I first fell for her work when I came across her Weather Collection. Launched in 2011, The Weather Collection takes its inspiration from everyone's favourite talking point, placing patterns of windmills, umbrellas and the sun on a range of suitcases, rucksacks and totes (pictured at the bottom). More recently she's created a great range of duffel bags using a simple linear screenprinted pattern (above and below), and she launches them in a wider range of colours and sizes at Pulse 2013 this weekend in London. Check out the short video at the bottom giving a glimpse into her process.

Textured Textiles by Burel

Burel is a textile manufacturer based in the mountains in central Portugal, in the Serra da Estrela region. Burel has reinvigorated traditional feltmaking in the area by matching centuries of handmade tradition with contemporary design, and the company now makes clothing, furniture, accessories, rugs, throws, wall coverings for interiors and more. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a short video report from Monocle on Burel for a glimpse into how these fabrics are made.

Bespoke Atelier

Bespoke Atelier is a Glasgow-based studio specialising in bold, graphic printed textiles. Formed in 2010 by two Glasgow School of Art graduates - Yvonne from Scotland and Marion from France - Bespoke Atelier has been producing one-off commissions and limited run collections of interior products and garments ever since. They launched their first wallpaper pattern at The Glue Factory in Glasgow recently as part of an exhibition called Print Process, pictured above. A detailed aerial view of an imagined urban space drawing inspiration from the Speirs Wharf area of Glasgow where Bespoke Atelier's studio is located, their Neighbourhood wallpaper combines different line qualities, strokes and patterns into a busy and lively print. It's available to buy from their online shop, not only in black and white but in bespoke colours too - bespoke is more than just a name with this studio!

Nautical Designs by Donna Wilson

I first came across the work of Scottish textile designer Donna Wilson a couple of years ago via online-based design shop No Fixed Abode (here's a super brief post on the subject). It's really great to return to her website some time later and see how her own range has grown and expanded, as well as to read about some exciting collaborations she's taken part in, including with furniture manufacturer Ercol and fair-trade rug producers Node. Some of my favourite products of hers right now have a nautical theme, with boats, sails and waves making appearances. Pictured above is her knitted Sea Boat cushion, and below you'll find more knitted beauties, along with an illustrated glass tumbler continuing the sea-faring theme. Ahoy!

Concrete Collar

Concrete Collar is an Irish blog recently started up by Ciana and Rebecca, two Dublin-based architecture students. Exploring how fashion and architecture meet, the two have held fashion shoots at a number of interesting spaces in Dublin, including Elm Park, the Poolbeg Lighthouse and the Point Village Centre, which is pictured here. Abandoned or empty spaces seem to crop up often, and each post gives a little information on the space - who designed it, its history and what its purpose was/is. I think some of the shots from Tessellate at the Point Village are the strongest, with their stripy prints and bold shapes complimenting the space brilliantly, and I'm looking forward to seeing their upcoming posts :)

Linen from 31 Chapel Lane

Cavan-based 31 Chapel Lane began in 2012 to produce a range of products made from 100% natural Irish linen. Simplicity is key with their work, and they employ a really subtle colour palette and minimalist patterns to table cloths, tea towels, napkins, cushion covers and more. Their stock will be ever-changing, as their produce is completely seasonal (so if you spot something you like, be sure to buy it while you can). Pictured above is their Deirdre table cloth, directly below is their Charles tea towel, and scroll to the bottom to see their Abbey Smock Frock - a really simple and stylish garment made (like all of 31 Chapel Lane's items) from durable, natural fabrics sourced from a handful of remaining linen mills and weavers in Ireland, all approved by the Irish Linen Guild. 31 Chapel Lane's work is contemporary, yet with a classic feel, and provides a valuable link to traditional textile production in Ireland, an industry that needs support and nourishment. You'll find some of their work over on Makers & Brothers as well as on their own online shop, be sure to check it out!

Fun Makes Good

On a recent trip to Glasgow I made a quick stop in the CCA, Glasgow's Centre for Contemporary Arts (here's a blog post). Since I last visited they've given over much of their reception space to a design shop with a really great range of products, textiles, stationery and more. One of my favourite finds there was the range of textiles and tabletop products by Fun Makes Good. Based in Glasgow, Fun Makes Good started out as a studio specialising in textiles, breathing new life into old furniture with bright contemporary upholstery. Employing geometric shapes and patterns, their range has since expanded to include printed fabric cushion covers and ceramic ware, but my favourites are their pouffes and coasters, each employing brightly-coloured triangles to great effect.

Si+Lu

Towards the end of January I visited Showcase, the Crafts Council of Ireland's major trade show that connects Irish craftspeople, designers and giftware producers with local and international retailers. There was a lot of really great stuff on show (and then there was Guinness merch, but I suppose that's what some retailers are after, isn't it?), but one of the best stands had to be that of Si+Lu, a new children's clothing company specialising in contemporary designs handmade using traditional techniques and fabrics. Thanks to Conor for telling me about them before I headed to the show - with such a large number of stands to get around, I might have missed them...