Dear Noah

Plumen 001. Samuel Wilkinson// HULGER

Compact fluorescent bulbs have never been pretty.

But the cogs in the Hulger factory have been turning for four years, with the intent to create “The world’s first designer lightbulb.”

 

Is it possible to have ‘masculine curves’? Yes, its gorgeous, but its form suggests durability and resilience. The plumen bulb uses 80% less energy and lasts 8 times longer than its incandescent brothers. This fact in itself is somewhat impressive. Couple that with the knowledge that this bulb could be used in basically any situation that requires lighting, from classrooms to art galleries, because of its soft, non-invasive light, and we’ve found the winner of the Brit Insurance Design Awards.

The bulbs are on sale for around £19.99, which isn’t cheap, but they last for about 8 years.

So. It is actually.

Buy them here.

Jason Hawkes- Aerial Photographer

Tower Bridge

When Jason Hawkes first took to the skies, Global Positioning systems were still in their infancy. Apparently, it’s quite difficult to figure out just where you are when you’re dangling out of a helicopter in nothing but a harness.

Lloyds building

Jason has been shooting from the skies since 1991, and has specialised in aerial photography through-out his career.

Not only does he produce these stunning snaps of London at night, but he manages to create a sense of beauty in the banal; sights that we would usually struggle to admire. For me, it is because of that, that these shots are the ones which truly show his talent.

Fawley Oil refinery

Power station chimneys

 

To read more- http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/london_from_above_at_night.html

USB Locket- Emily Rothschild

Seeing as this will be my first post in several months, I think I should probably tackle something that is easy for both myself, and you, to evaluate…

This classic turn-of-the-century locket has been redesigned by Emily Rothschild to fit more appropriately into the current era. With this, its what you see is what you get. Instead of opening it up to discover a picture of your beloved, you can find many, many pictures. And also word files. And excel spreadsheets. But whatever turns you on….

 

St Ives

A reflection of Porthminster beach

Ok, I lied…

I’ve been hassling my ‘Guest Writer’ for quite some time now and he is yet to come up with the goods. I know lots of you are interested in the section (I’m watching you… no not really, it tells me everything you click on) so I will keep on hassling and see what happens!

If any one wants to write an article, on any design piece at all, please email me at lucistephens@hotmail.co.uk .

x

Zaha Hadid- Neil Barrett

An important reason to hire a professional to create a truly unique retail interior is that they will strive to parallel the approach taken by the designer of the product.

For example the Neil Barrett Flagship store in Tokyo, by Zaha Hadid. The design concept is based on the minimal cut of the brand`s fashion design and corresponds with this approach in using the same design parameters of fixed points, folding, pleating and cut outs. As with many of his clothing collections, the shop is entirely in monochrome.

The design of the store plays with the complementary characteristics between men and women. This is echoed in the furniture design on both floors through the formal language and tactile quality of the materials used. The furniture on the ground floor is designed as a strong, masculine and dynamic form whilst the piece on the first floor enunciates femininity through more fluid contour lines.

Zaha Hadid was the perfect designer to choose for the flagship store, because of her affection for black and white, and her tendency to design buildings that look like they’ve been folded, rushed and pleated, exactly like Neil Barretts creations.