Market

Thank you to everyone who came to the Chrimboodle market yesterday. It was very very cold, but a good day. Although I didnt sell as much as I would have liked was a good experience and it was my first market, and first attempt to sell my things since graduating, so all good experience. 

doodle

Just a little reminder that this Sunday is the Doodle Christmas market where I will be selling some things I have been making over the past few weeks.

Buttons

Been spending the day making button jewellery to sell at the Doodle Market on December 13th. Looking good so far, lots more to be made.

Revisiting my dissertation

I have noticed a few advertising campaigns and articles recently on the topic of recycling and of plastic bags, and I thought I would re visit the topic of my dissertation. Its almost one year on since I finished writing it, and there has been many new articles and company policies changed since then. So I'm looking into what has changed to see the developments.

Doodle Christmas Market

On 13th December me and two friends are having a stall at the Doodle Christmas market, at the Doodle Bar in Battersea, so if you would like to buy any of my things pop on down! Tell your friends as there are lots of stands so will prob be able to find some good christmas presents for your friends and family. www.thedoodlebar.com

Restore

I did my first day at ReStore Community Projects today. They are a non profit organisation who have furniture and appliances donated to them, and then sell them on the people with low incomes and people on benefits.

I was doing some restoration of the older furniture, and also selling it on.

I really enjoyed my day, met some really nice people and looking forward to going back.

Funny Fruit

Victor Man

The free exhibition space at the Hayward Gallery is currently exhibiting works from Victor Man. I didn't really like the paintings on display, I much preferred the illustration below. 

Design museum

Visited the design museum this week, but there was only one exhibition on currently, David Chipperfield.

"With a style that is restrained, quiet and thoughtful, David Chipperfield is of one of Britain’s leading architects. He has a huge international reputation and completed buildings in China, Japan, Italy, USA, Spain and Germany. Chipperfield produces subtle and sophisticated buildings, from museums to homes, with an acute sensitivity for materials and a powerful awareness of their environment."

vintage shop

After my visit to the book shop I came across a nice vintage shop called Calneva. Had vinyl records, furniture, clothes and bits and pieces. Also on Creek Road in Greenwich.

http://www.myspace.com/calnevavintage

Bookshop in Greenwich

While in Greenwich the other day I found a cute little second hand bookshop, just opened last week. Called Greenwich book place and gallery on Creek road, check it out even if just for a browse.

Ceramics at the V&A

A selection of images from the newly opened Ceramics gallery at the V&A. I really enjoyed this exhibition, it has a history of ceramics from different countries through the ages, and also display of techniques. They also have an artist in residence, currently it's Stephen Dixon who I spoke to about his work that he is working on in the studio. Well worth a visit, and the studio is open on Wednesdays if you would like to see a ceramicist in action.

London 2012 Pictograms

New Pictograms for the London 2012 Olympics. 

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/october/london-2012-pictograms

Graduate Fair

Today I went along to the Guardian Graduate Fair in Islington. Was a horrible experience!

Stupidly hot, like it always is in the Business Design Centre, far too many people trying to look at the same things, and me a little confused as to what I was trying to get out of it. 

There was a lot of information if you wanted to become a teacher, or do something to do with business, but for design orientated jobs there wasn't a lot there. 

Signed up to a million job agencies, so hopefully I will get something from those.

Tent London 2009

A selection of images of my favourite things from this years Tent held at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. Below is the Digital Tea party, where each cup made different sounds, and colours when moved around on the interactive table. 

Javier Mariscal

"A fascinating insight into one of the most original designer-illustrators to come out of Spain in recent history"
GRAFIK

The first UK retrospective of Spanish designer and artist Javier Mariscal. Regarded as one of the world's most innovative and original designers of our time, Mariscal's rich and diverse body of work spans kooky cartoon characters to stunning interiors, from furniture to graphic design and corporate identities.

Currently exhibiting at the Design Museum until 1st November.

Jan Kaplický

Jan Kaplický, who died earlier this year, was the Czech architect responsible for some of the most remarkable buildings that Britain has ever seen. Lord’s cricket ground holds the press box he built with his former partner, Amanda Levete – it was their first major project and won the Stirling Prize.

Kaplický also designed the Selfridges department store in Birmingham, 2003 and yet even more remarkable are the buildings that Kaplický designed, which the world will never see – to say nothing of his stream of ideas for solar powered vehicles, electric cars, jewellery, bikinis and double-decker buses. This exhibition will celebrate the work of a gifted architect and designer.

Sea Kayaks

Sea Kayaks along Shad Thames, London Bridge, taken this afternoon.

MA Graduation

MA Graduation show in the Bargehouse, near the OXO tower.
I only got a chance to have a brief look around the show, and unfortunatly missed the illustration section, but here are a selection of images of what I thought was some of the best work.

Image created using shadow, the light switches from one side to another, one image is a couple in love, the other arguing. This was a project focusing on domestic violence.

Work by Jenny Chow, on Asian pronunciation, how many Asians pronounce words wrong and give a very different meaning. Such as beach and bitch. Interactive screen with words spoken by several different nationalities.From the Product section, objects morphing and evolving.

Cyber Pac

I found this company while researching for a project at my internship.
They are really interesting, and I was particularly interested by their Harmless Packaging as I wrote my dissertation on recycling materials such as plastic bags.

http://www.cyberpaclab.co.uk/#67678

"Don’t be fooled by all the logos and titles you see on certain products claiming to be environmental champions – everything is biodegradable eventually; it just depends on how long you are prepared to wait.

This is the future of packaging – harmless bags, here today gone tomorrow. The utility is endless: protection for premium quality jean labels to NHS laundry sacks.

Harmless-Dissolve is a readily biodegradable, water-soluble polymer which completely biodegrades in a composting environment, in a dishwasher or washing machine. It has no harmful residues and will biodegrade ultimately to naturally occurring substances."

intern end

So after four weeks working on the Foldz project my internship has come to an end. I feel like I've learnt a lot and that it has prepared me for life as a product designer.

100%

A selection of images from 100% Design at Earls Court as part of the London Design Festival. As always there was lots to see, and the materials section was very interesting. Designers Block was in Earls Court this year, with stands by the RCA and Kith Kin.

Above is a folding, sliding kitchen unit that looked amazing. But very expensive so will be a while before I have one of these in my house.
This was an amazing rocking piano. It looked a bit like a sleigh from its shape. No-one was playing on it when we went up to it, but once we got on, everyone crowded around taking photos.
This was a sofa that had lots of zips and the high back folded down onto itself, to completely change the look of the sofa.

Design Festival

Went to the Rooted Exhibition in the Truman Brewery:

"Rooted is a FREE experimental exhibition that helps to showcase the talent of graduates from an array of disciplines by giving you free reign within a space to display your work to top industry figures and the public.

There are no rules or boundaries; you can put up, hang, project (or even wear) your work wherever you want for it to be seen and stand out from the rest. This means that the presentation needs to be just as creative as the work itself."

I really liked this exhibition, and the whole concept behind it. Some good work was exhibited and was a ideal space.

Maries Cafe

Discovered one of the best thai restaurants that I've ever been to this week. Near Waterloo station, Marie's cafe looks like a greasy spoon cafe, but it does really good thai food and very cheap.

New Job

I started work today as an intern product designer on a project called Foldz. Working on fittings and furniture for a shoe retailer.

Very exciting as this is my first job as a designer since graduating.

New Website

I have completely re written my website as the previous one somehow got a virus.

It's currently very simple, and I will keep adding to it.

www.naomiwinters.co.uk

Belgrade

Im currently in Belgrade, Serbia. I have been to a few quite good museums and gallerys here, and they even have their own design week. It's not a place I would automatically have thought would be a design hotspot, but it seems quite good. Mainly graphic design, they have a few independent gallerys and then main ones that host various events. There is currently some installations all around the city.

Exhibition during design festival

Date for your diary, 23rd September- the private view for my exhibition in Shoreditch during the London Design Festival. Exhibition is on until 28th September.

A group of product and furniture designers who all recently graduated from Kingston University with a diverse range of products.

Fiona Zobole

20/20 Vision? is the piece of work pictured below by textile artist Fiona Zobole. She is visually impaired and her methods of working are intrinsically linked to her loss of sight and her related experiences.
Her work challenges the sighted viewer to interpret the printed text presented to them. The tactility of the printed text draws them to explore further, yet gives no real clue as to the meaning of the words, and remains visually inexcessable.
http://www.fionazobole.co.uk/

Fun House

Fun House is an exhibition currently showing at the Hayward Gallery.In the emerging British artist Matthew Darbyshire's installation Funhouse, a fairground attraction is remade using the design language of 21st Century British public architecture. Is this a people's palace, or a very contemporary house of horrors?

Paris

I went to Paris for a long weekend last weekend. Was really nice did lots of the typical touristy things. Went to the Pompidu Centre, which the museum bit is actually free to EU students so that was nice. Also open until 9pm which is a nice contrast to London where everything closes at 5pm.

the end of my degree!

Have now finished my entire degree! Scary stuff.

Handed everything in, it has been assessed by the external examiner, even had our degree show. Now just have to wait for the results. Feels nice to have everything finished and I think it all looked quite good.

degree show

Degree show was last week at Kingston Uni, and went very well. Lots of people came to see our work, nothing was too badly broken, and everyone seemed to have a good time. All taken down now ready for the next exhibition which for me is New Designers in July.

Below are images of my work during the show.

saatchi gallery

Currently showing at Saatchi gallery is Abstract America: New Painting and Sculpture.

I havn't been to see many art galleries recently, most of what I have been going to see is more product related, so I quite enjoyed to contrast of this exhibition. 

Below are a few of my favourites.

nearly the end!

Just a few days (literally) until the end of my degree! Surprisingly not that stressed about not being finished yet, and looking forward to it all coming together hopefully!

Exhibition during Design Festival

Along with some of my class mates I have booked an exhibition space for one week during September's Design Festival. Exhibition will be at Blackall Studios in Shorditch. This will be my first time exhibiting during the design festival so quite exciting!

www.blackallstudios.com

Tea Smith

An amazing tea shop in spitalfileds market; it has a range of tea and tea accesories on sale, and also a tea bar, where you can sit and relax. Downstairs is a gallery for people to exhibit, when I went there was someone who had made teapots.

Fabrications

This is a shop in Hackney that I recently went in for the first time. Has lots of really nice knitting and textile things, ready made items, and knitting needles and wool. 

It also has a recycling service- where you can take unwanted items, and they re make into something you now like.

http://www.fabrications1.co.uk/

Zoe Murphy

Zoe Murphy is a British textile designer who I researched into during my final major project. I really like her combination of drawings and textiles with furniture. 

Below is 'Margate' Drawers - 1950's chest of drawers, re- veneered and printed onto with drawings from Margate seaside.

Donna Wilson

RCA graduate Donna Wilson has resisted the lure of the mainstream fashion and textile industries to carve out a career path as a 3D designer working with 'knit'.

Amid the trademark tasteful charcoal greys and elegant curves of the collection launched by contemporary British furniture brand SCP in Milan last month, one glowing, Technicolor item stood out, rather like an aberrant flash of Benetton in a Cecil Gee suit shop. 

The designer responsible has been quietly making her name in British design circles for the past four years, despite having a slightly unconventional pedigree. Donna Wilson is a textile designer, but one who eschews the pull towards the textile or fashion industry that...

Matali Crasset

French Designer Matali Crasset; she collaborates with eclectic universes, from the handicraft to the electronic music, from the scenography to the furniture, from the graphics to the interior architecture.

5 and a half weeks

Only five and a half weeks till the final deadline of degree! Work seeming to be going ok, which is almost worrying as things never go as you plan them to! But enjoying this end phase, where all the hard work over the past (3) year(s) is coming together.

New Website Now Online

My brand new website, designed by my very own hands is now online. Check it out at:

http://www.naomiwinters.co.uk

Ideal Homes Show

I went to the Ideal Homes Show for the first time. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but I think I was expecting a lot more freebies! It was an enjoyable day, but there was so much rubbish being sold. And some things that seemed good but just a bit too overpriced for my liking. I did like that there were plenty of massage chairs to rest in while I was walking around though!

Brit Insurance Design Awards

The world’s most interesting and forward looking designs have been nominated for the Brit Insurance Design Awards by industry experts spanning seven categories: architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product and transport. This 91 shortlisted designs are on display in the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition. From this comprehensive list, a panel has decided the category winners in each of the seven disciplines. These finalists will go forward to vie for the 2009 Brit Insurance Design of the Year to be judged by a panel, chaired by Alan Yentob and including the designer and environmentalist Karen Blincoe, and the architect Peter Cook.

Below are a selection of my favourites from the exhibition.