Focus on… Tom Dixon’s Pressed Glass Light

…STOP PRESS… This is the first in my series of ‘focus on’ pieces – picking out particular items which have caught my eye to focus on and talk about in more detail. Stay tuned for more…  

You would be forgiven for mistaking pictures of Tom Dixon’s bottle green pressed glass lights for an extravagant (and large!) piece of jewellery. But this piece is in fact part of the next iteration of his Utility project where he focuses not only on individuality but also robust, ‘honest’ design and functionality.  

Dixon's Pressed Glass pendant light

Image via Mocoloco

http://mocoloco.com/archives/011867.php  

Tom Dixon says: “I have always been inspired by the no nonsense approach of industrial artifacts and military engineering, science and mathematics, alongside materials and processes for manufacture. So this season, nothing has changed! Our theme of Utility talks of usefulness and longevity, which feels appropriate right now.”  

The visibly well crafted construction is clear – the pendants are satisfyingly heavy and the manufacturing indents nod to the industrial roots this collection has stemmed from.  

Dixon is hailed as an ambassador for British design and his statement of intent ‘Extraordinary objects for everyday use’ is certainly being fulfilled with this great design.

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House Maarten

This post isn’t about the small birds who make clay nests in the eaves of buildings - it’s about a different sort of clay architect. Maarten Baas, the Dutch designer has done wonderful and unusual things with clay - his Dali-esque collection ‘Clay Furniture’ elegantly distorts brightly coloured cabinets and chairs giving them almost arachnid legs. 

Baas's Clay Chairs

 

Baas's Elegant Distortions

 

My favourite of his collections is the intriguing ‘Smoke’ series (where does he get these strange but great ideas?). These pieces are each literally burned with a blow torch and then salvaged by layers of translucent epoxy resin coating. He has applied this to a range of furniture – from baroque pieces to design classics. The effect is different on every piece – the charring forms an unpredictable but intricate surface. 

This collection was born out of Baas’s interest in how furniture ages through wear and damage. He found that worn pieces became more interesting to him and so the experimenting began. Scratching, throwing and soaking furniture didn’t have quite the right effect – but burning gave it that personalisation and uniqueness he was after. 

Smoking Chair

 

Burnt Baroque

 

His other collections are equally intriguing – ‘Sculpt’, ‘Hey Chair, be a Bookshelf’ and ‘The Haphazard Harmony’ are definitely worth checking out: www.maartenbaas.com. 

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Working the Utilitarian look in the Home

In the fashion world, catwalk shows and the high street are full of sober utilitarian hues and styles. We’re most definitely out of winter now and firmly into spring but the bright colour of summer is still yet to materialise. Interior design isn’t quite in the same place, but the utility look is one which translates well to the home. 

The very nature of utilitarianism is that pieces are designed for use rather than beauty, but there is plenty of simple beauty in these useful pieces. 

  

Graham and Green's Industrial Lamp

St Paul Trestle Table - as featured in July's Elle Decoration

Classic DSW Eames Chairs

  

  

Benjamin Hubert – EDIDA International Young Designer of the year 2010 - has a utilitarian style. His simple designs use un-pretentious materials which complement the bold shapes he creates.  

Hubert's Pebble

   

Heavy Lights - Benjamin Hubert

If you like these, check out his Heavy Wall Lights and the ultimate utility magazine racks ‘Fold’ on his website (www.benjaminhubert.co.uk).

It’s so difficult to narrow down all the great utility designs out there, but the last pieces I want to give some attention to are from Blodwen (www.blodwen.com) – a company set up in Cardigan Bay selling ‘modern traditional’ items made from local Welsh materials.

Blodwen Ceramics

Blodwen Bottom ;o)

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Are we going to talk about the big white elephant in the room?

Walking  into the Hoxton Hotel this week to meet some friends for drinks, I was greeted and totally distracted by a new addition to the bar – Nathan McKenna’s white elephant.

Elephant Parade Comes to Hoxton

Now, you may just think this is a querky, arty, off-the-wall statement typical of the Hoxton area, but in fact this beautiful beast is part of the Elephant parade taking over London (www.elephantparadelondon.org) . The parade is raising money for endangered Asian elephants and placing 250 of these decorative gems across London.

All this got me thinking about statement pieces. Here are some of my favourites of the moment:

FLOS Zeppelin designed by Marcel Wanders

Statement Baths from Fired Earth

bonbonoiseaudesign.blogspot.com

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Cool Britannia

St George’s Day is over for this year but if you still have a patriotic disposition, why not show it off with some bold cushions? I’ve spotted some great ones this week and some of the best are from Jan Constantine (www.janconstantine.com):

Jan Constantine's brit cushions

A Cupboard Full of Cool

Her funky, fun designs add a bit of spice. But if you want a more understated nod to Brit Cool, check out these Charlene Mullen (www.charlenemullen.com) ones. You’ll feel like you’re hugging a piece of art on your sofa.

Eye Eye

Bridge Over Cushioned Waters

Londonscape

Lastly, if you prefer your surroundings to have a little more British querkiness, look to Barbara Coupe (www.barbaracoupe.co.uk) for these brilliant tongue-in- ‘chic’ designs

Home Grown

Vintage Jack

The Ultimate Patriotic Cushion

London Cool

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Hello world!

Welcome to Interior Alchemist!
This blog has been set up to give you musings on interior design and a source of ideas, ideas, ideas.
Clearly it is fairly embryonic now but stay tuned to find interior inspiration from many sources including the world of fashion, days gone by and hotspots around the world.

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