Filed under: Bags and accessories, Tableware, art | Tags: art, badges, Bags and accessories, modern, mugs, People will always need plates, plates, prints, tea towels
I guess naming your company People Will Always Need Plates is a bit of an unusual (an lengthy) name, but at least it’s true. If you believe their product range, then people will also always need tea towels, badges and prints, oh and not to forget coloring books for the little ones. Now what makes this company so special is its design: these are not the typical flower, fruit or animal collections, but blueprints of mostly modern architecture.
Ordering is a bit difficult though, since they don’t offer a regular online shop, UK buyers have to get an order form from their website and send it in with a cheque, while foreign customers need to contact them first. Seems like the 21st century has not arrived everywhere… Oh well, it’s their business of course, but I am certain a lot more people would like to buy their items if they had a working online shop!
Filed under: Toys and games, art | Tags: Alexander Girard, art, Gio Ponti, Maharam, memory game, Toys and games, Verner Panton
This Girard pick is actually not entirely his creation, but only features some of his fabric designs created for Maharam, the over 100 year old textile family business, which revolutionized the commercial fabric sector in the 1960s with special contract design for commercial purposes. Though Maharam has some great design to offer, the prices are a bit steep, e.g. pillows available from $150 upwards.
However, if you are searching for some nifty, affordable designer item, Maharam has repacked its most famous designs, among which also Alexander Girard’s textile designs for Maharam, into one stylish memory game that does not only look great displaying some awesome patterns, but it is also completely timeless. And since it does not contain any of the flower or animal themes so typical for memory games, Maharam’s memory is also great for any age. It consists of 72 richly colored cards, depicting 36 sets of famous Maharam patterns and does not only contain quality design, such as Gio Ponti’s “I Morosi Alla Finestra” or Verner Panton’s “Optik”, the workmanship is top-quality as well, being made of heavy stock and printed in Germany.
Moreover, at a price of $36.00, it is luckily also affordable! Available at DesignWithinReach
Filed under: art | Tags: art, colorful, Grégoire Ganter, Lea's Alphabets, modern
Though the following piece is actually designed for a modern playroom, I think it looks so amazing, you could just as well put it anywhere else in the house, and it matches really well with the LoJo Ball which I am reviewing just below. Hence, I suppose, as many adults would not mind hanging his pictures on the wall, here is a little review:
Lea’s Alphabets by Grégoire Ganter is a great example that shows how kids can have their room decorated in a fresh style, that is entertaining (many details and pictures to watch), educative (children can learn the alphabet, learn that there are different fonts, and associate objects with letters, just as in ‘normal’ alphabet imagery for kids) and timeless (his designs are not only for little one’s, but look also appeal to teenagers. But above all these advantages, his prints just look great! Take a look:
As you could see, there is a huge variety of themes available from the Lea’s Alphabets range, you can have and a-z print composed of just food, for example, or just using one specific color. Also, you may pick a one letter print, featuring a collage of many objects starting with that letter and many different fonts. Or perhaps, you just want a single letter-picture combination, maybe to have your child’s initial as the focal point of the nursery. His prints are also available as postcards, and you may even contact him for custom work, e.g. spelling out your son’s or daughter’s name. All big prints are available in several different sizes. They are limited editions of 100 pieces, signed and numbered on the back, and printed on matte, archival paper, so you will have to frame them properly, if you want to enjoy them for years to come.
Available on his website, a set of 26 a-z postcards for $52, small letter or alphabet print for $200, big prints for $500 (also in-between sizes available). And one last picture:
Filed under: art, decoration | Tags: art, British design, Mikro cube, Mikro man, Mikromart, Sam Buxton, sculpture
I think these steel fold-up sculptures by Mikromart are truly amazing. The concept of a 3D pop-up is so simple and still, there is something fascinating about the look of stencilwork, that makes these Mikro cubes by London designer Sam Buxton so interesting.
The Mikromart design is such a great combination, I think they fit anywhere in the house and make a cool, modern but still somewhat playful atmosphere, whether you put them inside your study or on your dresser. Furthermore, wouldn’t they be a true gem in a boy’s room with their timeless design? Maybe not the garden theme above, but most themes are rather masculine, like the ‘car’ and ‘mars’ themes, or check out the weight-lifter below.
Available on the Mikromart website, prices vary between 7, 25 and 65£, so you can even get a Mikro sculpture if you don’t feel like spending a fortune!
