Department store mascots. First floor views. Naps on the move. Abandoned boots. This is Selfie on the Bund, a photo book by Alex Johns.
The 36 page book documents journeys through the various districts of Shanghai, capturing curious and humourous views. I just received mine, lucky number 8. You can check it out here.
Time Machines: Daniel Weil and the art of design, curated by Martina Margetts is currently showing the Design Museum and is well worth a visit. Marcus Field, critic for the Evening Standard writes, “every design exhibition should be as thoughtful and engaging as this one”.
Daniel Weil is a designer, maker, thinker, teacher – and much more. After his arrival in London from Argentina in 1978 he attended, and then later taught at the RCA before setting up his own practice and then joining Pentagram as a partner in 1992.
This simple clip designed by Hurdler Studios can solve a lot of storage problems. And hopefully help more people commute by bike. I’ve just backed them on Kickstarter and think you should too (and not just because they’re Canadian).
Over the past year there’s been a lot of hype around Medium, the new publishing platform set up by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone. Like most people, I too was a bit dubious at the start. Just what the world needs – another blogging platform. But then I started reading stories on it. I started speaking about stories I read on it like I knew the writer and like their stories were my stories. I became a Medium addict. Totally hooked.
This month Do The Green Thing in collaboration with WWF UK and Pentagram have launched 29 Posters for a Planet, a collection of inspiring posters made by world class creatives in support of Earth Hour. Earth Hour is the world’s largest mass participation event, where people switch their lights off between 8:30-9:30pm on March 29th to show their commitment to the planet.
This year’s contributor list is impressive. Supporters include Roald Dahl childrens’ book illustrator Sir Quentin Blake, Obama’s 2012 Design Director Josh Higgins, fashion designer Paul Smith, Google Labs Creative Director Tom Uglow and many more.
BRSH Collective are a subscription toothbrush service. Such a genius idea, right? Rather than trying to remember to buy a new brush every couple of months, you get sent one in the post. But this isn’t just any old toothbrush. It’s made of bamboo, beautifully designed and is completely biodegradable. You can bury it in your garden when you’re done with it. My rasta toothbrush arrived in the post yesterday and it’s quite something. I love it.
Spotted in Notting Hill: a wonderful place to stoop.
September marked my first ever trip to NYC. I’d been to New York State before but never to the capital*, and I really loved it. I came back to London and instantly declared love. Shortly there after, a good friend of mine got me a Thanksgiving gift: a limited edition print of the Brooklyn Bridge re-imagined in type. The poster was a project on Kickstarter when anyone anywhere could back the idea, and in exchange for pledging cash towards the project, the donor would receive one of the prints. Mine arrived on Friday and it’s rather beautiful.
Now for a little bit of controversy; there’s a typo.
This sweet little box is full of fun. Created by designer Magda Lipka Falck, this game is meant to surprise and delight people in equal measure, wherever they may be.
There are many versions available both digitally and in print. Have a look.
Ps – Thanks Marina for such a lovely gift.
Today my mum turns 60. For months my sister and I tried decide what we should do for her. What sort of gift or gesture would do justice everything she has done for us, our family, friends and the community. Our mum is an incredibly modest woman. She is never boastful, never seeking attention or reward. She is relentlessly positive and acts altruistically nearly all of the time.
So we decided to make a little book. A book that would share with people the wonderful person that she is and the life lessons she taught all of the children she helped raise.
Mum, if you’re reading this, your physical copy is in the post. It’s just a little late – like me and Missy when we were born.
Big love to Zoë Quirk and Alex Johns for helping us pull it together – Zoe for producing and sympathy crying throughout production; and Alex for late night lessons in book binding lessons and for laughing at us crying. Thank you x