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Want to see: The Bouroullec brothers Momentané exhibition at Les...

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:49:23 +0100

Want to see: The Bouroullec brothers Momentané exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs, 107 Rue de Rivoli, Paris, until 1 September 2013.

Exhibit: THE ART + SCIENCE OF SUPER NATURAL MOTION BY NIKE A...

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:57:16 +0100

Exhibit: THE ART + SCIENCE OF SUPER NATURAL MOTION BY NIKE

A collaboration between Nike and creative studio Universal Everything shown during Milan Design Week 2013. The exhibit attempts to interpret body and motion through digital art and technology. It’s another interactive 3D digital experience folks. I particularly like the bell-jars used to house the footwear and the strangely organic and elastic digital sculpture seen in shots above.

(via Design Milk Blog)

The Royal Institute of British Architects collaborates with...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:40:00 +0100

The Royal Institute of British Architects collaborates with London’s Regent Street retailers to commission sculptural, digital and architectural window displays by young architects and practices. See them until 6th May.

I think they push VM up another level. Conceptual, creative and inspirational. Particularly like the Moss Bross x AY Architects Herringbone Window.

Architectural Photography by Nicholas Alan Cope (via...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:40:33 +0100

Architectural Photography by Nicholas Alan Cope (via the Stylesight Blog) sort of blows my mind.

Aluminium, Walnut and Silicone walking stick by Matthew Kroeker...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:50:00 +0100

Aluminium, Walnut and Silicone walking stick by Matthew Kroeker for Top & Derby - a renewed fashion accessory?

Came across this video of an Adidas virtual footwear wall by the...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:42:19 +0100

Came across this video of an Adidas virtual footwear wall by the digital agency Start JudgeGill. Touchscreens offer realtime renders of footwear the customer has selected based on their needs (sport type, gender etc.) and then offers exciting interactive visuals of the product.

This won Design Week’s 2012 Best Interactive Design Award

Pinned this to my Surfaces pin-board: A prototype of a rug that...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:58:37 +0100

Pinned this to my Surfaces pin-board: A prototype of a rug that changes pattern as you walk over it. A playful, digital interactive experience.

Milan 2013 colour observations: Warm and nostalgic with...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 14:44:25 +0100

Missoni Home

Moroso's upholstery is a marvel of pale off-neutral fabrics

Vitra revisits the Hang it all

Vitra's home-set feels a little 1960s

F/W 2014 palette (via Stylesight) matches up quite well

Milan 2013 colour observations:

Warm and nostalgic with it’s burnt red and yellow ochres, which were balanced with pale tender rose tones.

Moroso at Milan 2013 Going to Milan-Salone del Mobile for the...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:43:25 +0100

Moroso at Milan 2013

Going to Milan-Salone del Mobile for the first time was always going to be full-on assault of the senses, so I’m just coming out of the design coma that it inflicted. But these pieces by Moroso really caught my imagination. Patricia Urquiola’s Fishbone Table collection, and Diesel’s successful living collection are a little bit sic-fi, a little bit exaggerated1950’s, with a murky and monochromatic ‘Night Call’ palette, that is shot with bright pastel accents. Intriguing.

See more about the Diesel Home Collection for Milan here

I am astounded by these giant, geometric floor paintings by the...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:22:00 +0100

I am astounded by these giant, geometric floor paintings by the artist Elvira Wersche.

This paintings inspirations came from the different global symbolisms of the Cross.

(Picture: Taqsim - Teilung, 2009, Landesmuseum fur Natur und Mensch, Oldenburg, Germany, 5x5m. Photography: Jarg Schwanke and Jiska Rickels).

Fathom

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:08:28 +0100

Fathom :

Trendy travel site, good for tidbits and the ability to filter based on your travel needs (culture, food etc.) but I’d like to see more variety in the city guides…

Holiday Time?

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:05:39 +0100

Am compiling a list of ~~vacation~~ holiday retreats/hotspots;

Been to morocco before but Chefchaouen looks good

California: North Coast wineries, Palm Springs architecture, South coast San Diego culture/chaos, Yosemite hikes and lake swimming.

Can you tell I’ve had a Easter break?

via the brilliant dutch design blog of Irene Hoofs,...

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:11:41 +0000

via the brilliant dutch design blog of Irene Hoofs, BloesemLiving

I like the way the camera jumps and cuts between detailed action, fading out on the edges of some shots, the audio keeps a fast, and playful tempo. Kiely presents her new collection in the form of quirky retrospective scene, and then exposes the action at the end as a live event, complete with fashion photographers at the end of the catwalk. Ingenious.

What is Lowestoft like? Looks like a candidate for a blog post...

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 08:59:59 +0000

What is Lowestoft like?

Looks like a candidate for a blog post to me.

kasperstromman: Foam finger of the month. But why...

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 08:52:28 +0000

kasperstromman:

Foam finger of the month. But why broken?

Haven’t blogged anything on here for a wee while so why not start again with somebody else’s ideas? Copying IS Flattery after all. The blog this comes from is a gem. Enjoy!

I made this...Chicken Laksa Soup

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 11:56:00 +0100

A culinary interlude for you.

My thinking (borrowed from many cooks, chefs and food-eaters) is when the weather gets hot, so should your food.

And, if you can combine this with healthy, fragrant goodness, the feeling you get from making and devouring something you’ve created from scratch is better than the feeling any tan can give you, fake-bake or not.

So, here’s my Chicken Laksa recipe, which I made last night. And will eat again tonight, as I left enough of the chicken broth for extra portions.

My recipe was adapted from an Ottolenghi vegetarian Laksa recipe - but I love chicken, and didn’t have any green beans hence this.

Makes 2 Large or 3 Small portions

2 large cloves Garlic

1 thumb-size nugget of Ginger

Half an Onion

1 stick of Lemongrass

1 tablespoon ground Coriander

2 tablespoons red Thai curry paste

1 whole red chilli

Roughly chop all and pulverize in a food processor, add

A bag of fresh Coriander

A slug of Vegetable oil

And whizz up into a smooth-ish paste

Fry off the paste into a wok, stirring a lot so it doesn’t stick.

Add a can of coconut milk

and a big glass of chicken stock

Gently simmer for about 10min

Add thin slices of chicken breast and cook until done (about 5min)

Add sliced Spring Onions, and Pak Choi and a splash of fish sauce to taste

Cook vermicelli rice noodles for 3min in a pan of boiling water, add a big handful of bean sprouts at the end, then immediately run under the cold tap

Put the noodles and bean sprouts in a large bowl and ladle the chicken broth over the top

Squeeze a quarter of lime over this, and eat!

Craftsmanship in Design

Wed, 02 May 2012 18:03:46 +0100

Using Craftsmanship in Design has been a theme swimming around in my head since spending a month in Helsinki this Spring.

And, it’s not just the Finns that realise its potential. Monocle magazine’s video on the subject is an example of how businesses and designer-makers innovate to create value through craft, and showcases successful combinations trade-crafts and technologies.

Brand experiences are a part of this too. Sensorial marketing, the creative kind of communications and events that bring consumers and products together in more meaningful ways, can have real impact on growth. In the case of product design which uses craft, it can be that graphic design, retail interaction and customer participation collaborate to present designerly product in a more emotional manner.

One example are Iittala home-wares, who demonstrated to the typical affluent Finnish (and odd tourist) shopper how their glassware was made, by mouth and hand, in Stockmann department store in Helsinki during March 2012.

A master glass-blower from Iittala crafts a small animal glass figure in Stockmann, with portable furnace and a selection of coloured glass powders.

Iittala’s products are styled on display as part of a Helsinki World Design Capital promotion alongside the product craft demonstration also, with all ranges available for purchase.

The clever thing Iittala have done, in my opinion, is to use the illustrative folkloric designs of Klaus Haapaniemi’s Korento ceramics range, together with their ‘standard’ serving ware, glass and metal-wares, to style and present a ‘complete’ image of their brand in a particular event.

A screen-grab of Iittala’s flash-heavy, socially engaged Korento micro-site

And going even further, Iittala’s micro-site for the Korento steps further into a hedonic atmosphere, with fluttering dragonflies and the noise of summer gardens assaulting your senses.

[This post was originally published on my Communicating Nordic Design Blog]

Liike 51 is a small-but-perfect shop in the Helsinki suburb of...

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:29:00 +0000

A little nostalgic branding

Kick-sledge display

Tasty and very organic fruit and veg

Doft soaps and more household items

The deli counter at Liike51

Tapanila old houses are a little crumbly

Liike 51 is a small-but-perfect shop in the Helsinki suburb of Tapanila, where I’m staying at the moment. In fact, it’s the area where my mother grew up.

It’s a former Kiosk that’s been simply and cleanly changed into a delicatessen, whole-and-organic foods and coffee shop, which sources local suppliers.

I love it’s simple white and wooden displays created from old furniture and play-things, like the kick-sledge which acts as a display for crates of little gourmet food-stuffs, and the exotic and unctuous smelling hand-made local soaps from Doft. My favourite was the Citron & Grapefruit mix - gorgeous!

The bread is hand-made and the coffee strong and continental. Perfetto!

Liike 51, Vanha Tapanilantie 51, 00730, Helsinki

This post finds me amongst metres of fabric, that of the...

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 08:14:56 +0000

Viiskulma fabric by Elizabeth Salonen

Punavuori cushion by Elizabeth Salonen

Sitruuna Jaffa by Erik Bruun

Hellekesa shower curtain by Howard Smith

This post finds me amongst metres of fabric, that of the Helsinki based home-textiles and interior design firm Vallila Interior Oy.

I’m currently based at the company from a wonderful desk in Vallila, east Helsinki, researching for a Masters project all about communicating nordic design.

Not incredibly well known outside Finland and the Baltics, there’s a feeling this is soon to change. This family-run firm established in 1935 is embarking on a concerted effort to export it’s products to Europe and beyond. [link to Finnish Kauppalehti article]

So, in the spirit of disclosure and openness, I wanted to share some pictures of a few of the products that surround me here.

If you have some opinions or comments on them, or indeed want the password to read my research blog on communicating nordic design please send me a note: enquiries[at]laurakatri.com

How to shop Helsinki Visit Stockmann and the Academic...

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:27:53 +0000

The Brilliant Academic Book Store

Intriguing large-scale poster book

Some WDC12 neon, classic advertising

A game everyone plays as a child

Difficult to pronounce: Barbapapa

How to shop Helsinki

Visit Stockmann and the Academic bookstore

and the Design District of course, but it was too cold to make it there yesterday.

Links

Barbapapa - French children’s animation dead popular in Finland

Afrikan Tähti (Star of Africa) - apparently the most important board game ever, it’s pretty simple but really nice to play.