London Mini-Guide: Bermondsey Street, SE1

Images: Laura Nelson

A Saturday afternoon recce for my flatmate's sisters hen night brought us to Bermondsey Street - just a stones throw away from Tower Bridge, but a world away from the tourist buzz of the SouthBank. It has a village feel, as is filled with independent shops and bars.

I got a delicious Banh Mi (spicy Vietnamese baguette) from Caphe House - a small little Vietnamese cafe and coffee shop. They also sell a few Vietnamese staples that are really hard to find in London - they even had the smallest bottle of sriracha I've ever seen!

We also had a drink at The Garrison where we were surrounded by a group of people who had done the bull run in pamplona for years - and were out celebrating the life of a friend who had done the run with them.

The Shard officially opened last week - and there's an amazing view of it from the top of the street.

There are always the best signs and carvings on old buildings - it helps you imagine what the streets were once like.

Images: Laura Nelson

The White Cube Gallery is right in the middle of the street, and we were lucky to catch the last weekend of the Damien Hirst show Two Weeks One Summer - which I really enjoyed.

Images: Laura Nelson

Interior Fixation, No. 3

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Bauhaus: Art as Life

Images: 1/2 Otto Umbehr/3 Enrich Consemulller

Taking advantage of my week off I went to the Bauhaus: Art as Life - which is on at the Barbican Centre until the 12th of August. The exhibition walks you through the entire life of Bauhaus 1919 to 1933, it was a child of the inter-war years founded on idealism and an ethos of community living and working. At the Bauhaus your art was your life.

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The developed standardize typography for the school.

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Marcel Breuer began at the Bauhaus as a student and rose to the head of the Bauhaus' carpentry workshop. One of the most iconic chairs to come out of the school may be Breuer's Wassily Chair (1927 - 1928). The exhibit at the Barbican has his set of colorful nesting tables displayed next to Josef Albers' set, which you can see below.

Images: 10/11/12

To see these two takes on one idea was really interesting, it showed you how the ethos of the Bauhaus - the Josef Albers set has become a design classic. 

Dutch Light

A few years ago I went to a fascinating exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery: Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art Masterpieces from The Rijksmuseum - in many ways it was a typical exhibition of the Dutch masters from the Golden Age. I grew up spending a lot of time in Holland and went to University there for a year, so I'd seen most of the art before, but they took a unique approach to how the art was displayed, and what stays with me the most was a video on "dutch light". Now every time I'm in Holland I stop and look up at the sky - and it does seem much more vast than the sky in London or Seattle. The only other place I've been that has rivaled the Dutch sky was when I lived in Iowa - it must be the flat land. 

It's even beautiful in the puddles.

Biking in Leiden

Gangs.

Image via W

This came up on my Pinterest feed yesterday, and it's great. More things should be written on typewriters. But I also find that social media has become really overwhelming in a lot of ways, once you're on Pinterest, should you be on Clippings too? Should success be measured with how many people following you, or how many new pins you have? I only tend to use it when I'm working on a project and just do a quick search and re-pin anything that might work. Generally I find my tumblr feed much more inspiring since I've really tailored it to my aesthetic, and I love the look of scrolling through a well-edited tumblr page. 

I feel like I have a lot of small gangs in London, and they're the reason it's such a great place to live.

Leiden!

I'm in Leiden for the week, riding bikes, drinking Grolsh, and generally relaxing after finish my course. It was a crazy last couple of weeks, with a great end of year exhibition at the Haworth showroom in Clerkenwell, an inspiring day at the BIID's annual conference, and a very fun night at the BIID summer party. When I get back to London next week I'll hit the ground running with mentoring and work experiences, but until then, I plan on going on this walk everyday.

Design Classic [2] Tolomeo Lights

Designed in 1986 by Michele de Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina  for Artemide this light has become the icon of Italian design and a design classic the world round. In 1989, it won the Compasso d'Oro, an Italian Industrial Design award. 

It is such a versatile design, with three types of mounts (wall, desk clamp, and heavy round base), it can be used in almost any interior in any room.

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Interior Fixation, No. 2

After Emily Henderson did a post earlier this year on her favorite indoor plants, I developed a fixation with the Fiddle Leaf Fig plant. I even went so far as to scour multiple B&Qs in search of them - The Chelsea Gardener does carry them, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the £200. It's amazing how much of an architectural and structural impact they have on a space.

One day I will own one...after I commit to living in one flat for more than six months.

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As Seen on TV: Charlie's Apartment, GIRLS

Like every other twenty-something, Girls is one of my favorite new tv shows, it's really honest, funny, and totally speaks to my recession oppressed generation. Plus, I like to day dream about living in Brooklyn.

In episode 5 we got to see Charlie's Studio, and it was AMAZING. They've turned his tiny apartment into one amazing little space - that feels huge!

The space is designed by Laura Ballinger Gardner - who is the set designer for the show.

Sketch Artist: Anne Allen Goelz


The concept sketches by Anne Allen Goelz (who is my new rendering hero) sell in space - and show how much you really can do in an itty-bitty space. Though super high ceilings and exposed brick dont hurt either. 

In a recent L.A. Times article they go through the details of the set, which has garnered a lot of praise. The article says that "it's Gardner's Mondrian-inspired birch plywood furniture that prompted fans to pause the DVR for a closer look. Her team built Charlie's wall storage unit, had it pigmented to achieve Mondrian-esque color blocks, and filled it with guitars and what seems like an impressive vinyl collection..."

One of the coolest details is the mattress spring hanging from the ceiling and being used at a pot rack in the kitchen.


Images via Laura Ballinger Gardner

London Mini-Guide: Houseboat Living

Image: Laura Nelson

To be honest, I know nothing about living on a houseboat, I grew up seeing them on Lake Union, and have even sailed a little too close a few times. But the houseboats in Seattle are literally floating houses, and aren't exactly mobile.

Here in London it's a different story. People live on narrowboats and reconfigured barges. My flatmate and I have been looking into how one goes about renting one - of course we'd want to live near Chelsea or Battersea and can only probably afford one located in some dodgy canal in East London. This all came about when we were planning our Diamond Jubilee Weekend and realized that if we lived on a houseboat on the Thames, we'd have the best view ever.

Here are a couple amazing boats currently available for rent:



This one is on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, is a four bedroom house, and a mere £26,000 a month to rent!

While this 3 bed on Cadogan Pier, also in Chelsea, and arguably better located is a steal at only £4,312 a month!


Images via NeedAProperty, NeedAProperty

Design Classic [1] Thonet No. 14

The iconic Thonet No. 14 is the staple of cafe seating, and is better known as Konsumstuhl Nr. 14 or coffee shope chair no. 14. It won the gold medal at the Paris World's Fair in 1867. 

As with many classic designs, the genius is in it's simplicity. Made of only eight pieces, the chair could be mass produced by unskilled workers and assembled on site. Making it the original flat-pack chair. Typically the seat was made of a woven cane or palm, which allowed any spilled drink or liquid to drain.

"[I]t improves with age. The iconic Thonet No. 14 is the staple of cafe seating, and is better known as Konsumstuhl Nr. 14 or coffee shope chair no. 14. It won the gold medal at the Paris World's Fair in 1867. 'As the screws and glue loosen, the structure becomes softer,' noted Grcic. 'It's a chair that becomes nicer and nicer to sit in as it ages. Most chairs feel odder when they're older and clapped-out, but the No.14 just seems safer and more comfortable. Michael Thonet probably didn't intend that to happen, but it's a beautiful sensation. I've tried to do it with new chairs, but it's amazingly challenging.'"  and is now a design classic that is over 150 years old.An excerpt from this fascinating article in the New York Times in 2008, No. 14: The Chair that has seated millions, and is now a design classic that is over 150 years old.

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Product Envy: Contemporary Moroccan Tiles

I stumbled across these amazing tiles on Design Boom and worked them into my final project. They are moroccan tiles made by hand using traditional methods, the results are beautiful, with each tile varying slightly. All of the patterns come in a hexagon, allowing for multiple different patterns to be formed with a single tile design. Developed by the Swedish design studio claesson koivisto rune and produced by the Swedish tile company Marrakech Design they have created a beautiful product.

Images via Design Boom

Interior Fixation, No. 1

It might be because I am losing my drawer in the plan chest at College in two weeks time, but I've become obsessed with the use of beat-up vintage plan chests in interiors.

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Final Project!

Margo, a young ceramic artist and teacher wants to create a live work space in a Victorian Hansom Cab garage in Queen’s Park, London. She runs a small ceramics studio that teaches both children and adults in small groups. The studio space needs to accomodate the entire ceramic process as well as having a gallery space to display the students work. It was imporatant to her that the living space retain the architectural integrity of the building while being an open loft-like living space. 

Entrance Gallery: The ground floor of the front of the building will act as a gallery for the public to access throughout the day.

Studio: The studio will need to function as both a professional workspace as well as classroom for ceramic workshops for up to eight students.  

Division of Space: A key part of the brief was to ensure that the flat had the ability to act as an autonomous unit. To achieve this I have created a communal Gallery space in the entrance of the building with an inconspicuous door to the flat as well as windows and a large door into the studio. This will allow passers by to enjoy the ceramic art with out disturbing classes that are taking place.

To preserve the architectural integrity of the building the original wooden truss has been kept, as well as the original brick on the party walls. Oversized French doors lead you onto a large terrace atop the 3m extension in the Studio.

Hansom Cab Garages, Queens Park

Our final project of the Diploma is to convert a 19th century Hansom Cab garage into a space of our choice. I have decided to create a ceramics studio and one bedroom flat. The building that we are working with is across the road from our school, but the entire street is made up of these former garages. It makes it a unique place in London as the street is privately owned and filled with semi-industrial companies mixed in with bars, cafes, offices, and our school. We visited three different offices, all of which used the space in very different ways - and I've also found a photo of the garage during the hay-day of Hansom Cab's in London. 

World's Ugliest Sofa.

For my final project I'm sourcing as much furniture as possible from Ebay, and I stumbled across this gem. Listed as ART DECO 3 PIECE SUITE BEEN FULLY RESTORED AND UPHOLSTERED and all for the bargain price of £495. If there were a contest for world's ugliest sofa these would win. 

The Biltmore, Coral Gables

While in Florida we ventured out to The Biltmore in Coral Gables for a look around. The pool there is amazing and all of the grounds were gorgeous. There is an interior courtyard that is surrounded by the most beautiful tiling, as you can see above. 

Feed the Tarpon

In all of the marinas in the Keys there are Tarpon - this crazy-huge dock fish that are described as being a bit like giant herring. We made a stop at Robbie's Marina which is basically the the Florida Key's version of Wall Drug (the iconic I-80 South Dakota tourist trap, best doughnut I've ever had) and fed the Tarpon.

Lucian Freud Portraits

Girl In Bed, 1952 Private Collection © The Lucian Freud Archive.

Photo: Courtesy Lucian Freud Archive

Today I had brunch with a friend at the huge Whole Foods on High Street Kensington (which, by the way, does not carry Kombucha, what's the point of whole foods without kombucha?), and then because it was a sunny-with-the-imminent-threat-of-thunderstorms type day I decided to boris bike trough Hyde Park where on the other end I was meeting a friend to go to the National Portrait Gallery.

There is a huge Lucian Freud retrospective on, with more than 100 of his portraits. I really enjoyed the exhibition, and we made it just before the rains. 

Reflection (Self-portrait), 1985 Private Collection, Ireland © The Lucian Freud Archive. 

Photo: Courtesy Lucian Freud Archive

Art Deco, South Beach

Conch Key

While in the Florida Keys we rented a house on Conch Key. It was a traditional Pine Key house that was built in the 1940s and had withstood numerous Hurricanes. The decoration was amazing. 

Adam Buick Ceramics

I just got back from two weeks in Miami and the Keys, which were amazing, and I took almost 900 pictures that I have to sort through. But I'm already back at school and a new project started today. We all get to pick what type of space we want to design, I've chosen to use a friend as inspiration and to design a live/work space. The living space will be for a single female ceramic artist. The studio portion will act as both a personal studio as well as a space to run workshops for up to 10 children or adults at a time. I've spent most of the day researching ceramic artists and came across Adam Buick, whose moon jars are beautiful. 

Tip Ton Chair

We had our photos taken today in the Vitra Showroom in Clarkenwell as part of preparation for our degree show. Everyone picked a different chair and the one that I chose is the Tip Ton chair designed by English designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby in 2011. They won the 2011 FX Design Awards, Product of the Year for this chair.