Chelsea College of Art & Design

From 20th to 24th of June, it was the undergraduates turn to show their work at The Chelsea College of Art & Design. Here is just a small selection of works on display, with the authors commentary.Marit Fujiwara, BA Textile Design:"To create a sculptural fabric, I am experimenting with the printing technique of marbling,in combination with embroidery,bonding and pleating. Applying these fabrics into fashion creates unusual and intricate fashion garments. "

Katherine Garde, BA Textile Design:"The concept behind this project was to create prints for sportswear with the dual function of being worn as highly fashionable pieces as well. The collection includes intense yet fun images aiming to capture the energy, movement and passion of sport as well as embracing my environmental responsibility as a designer."

Laura Walsh, BA Textile Design:"My knitted installations are reflective of traditional craft concepts such as Fair Isle knitting, American samplers and Scandinavian pattern. While using illustration and illustrators tools such as graph paper, lined paper and even brick walls to create humourous knitted fabrics."

Olwen Walsh, BA Textile Design

Marie Parsons, BA Textile Design:"UNDERGROUND is a collection of 17 garment shapes(canvases) used to showcase a variety of techniques, which are still evolving within the final collection itself. Mixing print with my adaptations of traditional hand embroidery techniques, the initial inspiration was the London Underground."

Tope Tijani, BA Textile Design:"I'm merging 2 design aspects: real life photography with geometric patterns, creating not only an image but also an atmosphere with the use of colour, scale and composition. Printing on plastic is a new technique I have developed, for the light consuming flexible fabric allows the print to breath as if you are seeing it through my camera."

Amy Radcliffe, BA Textile Design:"Wonderlands, fantasy and illusion are the key themes behind this collection. Through interpretive imagery investigation, with particular reference to the Rorsarch ink-blot test, and experimentation with both print and surface manipulation the collection culminates in a selection of contemporary fashion pieces that in turn distort and exaggerate the figure."

Na Yun Kim, BA Textile Design:"Remembering the places and streets in London has always been hard for me. As a result, I created my own version of the London map and incorporated it into a collection garments and accessories."

Flaminia Veronesi:"The complexity of what we perceive as reality and the role individuals have in establishing its boundaries strongly fascinates me. The project "I exist" represents the individual claiming his right to creatively participate in constructing reality."

Rachel Boxall:"Using a mix of found imagery and illustration I have created 3D sets titled Preserved Poppycock.My work is about collections, creating nostalgic often-surreal scenes out of found imagery from old manuals, found photographs, typography and found words creating captured moments in a nonsense formula."

Chloe Scadding:"This collection explores innovative textile possibilities for bespoke interior surfaces, inspired by the changing backgrounds and patterns formations within frosted glass."

Sarah Warden, BA Textile Design: "My work is centred around combining intricate colour gradations and proportions with structured patterns."

Woochae Lee, BA Textile Design:

"Love, support, hearth and home.The focus is on the past, all the colours and patterns come from my family’s clothes in old photographs. I developed woven techniques and patterns that mimic the knitted blanket look.

Olubanke Kuku, BA Textile Design:"Drawing inspiration from traditional British and Nigerian textiles, through fusing and exaggerating elements of these textiles, I bring a zest colour and shape to the traditional British 'Hound's-tooth' motif and weave pattern and texture onto the simple geometric Nigerian fabric, 'Aso Oke.’"

Another Antwerp graduate. Not sure what the meaning of the woman as teacup symbol suggests, but it sure is pretty. And Karisia Paponi illustrations also found on the antwerp-fashion/show 2009 website are stunning.

Doesn't fashion school seem fun! Much more colour for men required according to CSM graduate John Booth.

Mariel Manuel collection fantastically named 'what happens in the grotto, stays in the grotto'. Weird, but wonderful. Antwerp show 2009.

One of my favorites from this year's Royal Academy of Antwerp crop. Elise Gettliffe. All photos on antwerp-fashion website including illustrations from her 2008 collection - is that eminem modeling?

Pretty head tie and bird box -handy for your pet cuckoo. Designs from Helen Bullock (left) and Jarvis (right). For more info see dazed digital feature on CSM degree show.

CSM graduate Maria Hill looks like the next Christopher Kane. Amazing what can be done with some thread and a couple of ribbons.

I haven't done much photoshop work recently, it's all been vector based. But I needed to do a bit of texture research for a print that needs to be finished by Monday! So played around and this was the result, with a bit of help from a Computer arts tutorial.

We're planning to go to a few degree shows. I haven't been for ages, but my favorite show is usually the work at the Bartlett - the UCL faculty for the built environment. These images are from 2 current graduates: Ruairi Glymn and Tobias Klein. More photos to follow. The grad show at the Bartlett runs from 26th June till 4th July.

Another appealing seat by Moroso and Kim Beck. It reminds me of Campanas brothers designs for Melissa jelly shoes.

I can't remember where I came across Sergio Rodrigues, but I like his style. His chairs are pretty cool too.

Treehouse Gallery

A friend of mine posted facebook about a fund raising event at area10 in peckham for The Tree House Gallery. I missed it, but the photos on the site were really appealing. When I was stuck for something to add to the blog this eve, it came back to me. Anyway, it turns out that tree nests I really liked were designed by Ryan Frank that Simone mentioned in her last post. The sight of these leaves makes me want to run away to the countryside and climb a tree. I might just make it to Regents Park where The Tree House Gallery runs from 13th July till 6th September. 

Ryan Frank

My final spotlight is on East London based South African born furniture designer Ryan Frank. In asking around if anyone knew a good 'carpenter', a friend of mine, who's linked to Ryan through the Burning Man community (and projects), suggested I make contact. What a treat to discover Ryan is a very talented and well established, free-range furniture designer. Materials used to create his unconventional, unique and functional range of eco-sensitive furniture objects are often reclaimed, recyclable and of a sustainable nature.
The featured product is Ryan's Isabella Stool made from Strawboard (compressed straw) and wrapped in soft 100% felted wool. Love the colours!

Heath Nash

This sexy South African takes 'craft' to a new place and I absolutely love his work.
Heath Nash was named 2006 Elle Decoration South Africa Designer of the Year for his treasures from trash. This white flowerball light is fashioned from recycled plastic bottles and hand crafted into a beautiful functional lifestyle piece.

Willowlamp

I have always been a big fan of 'lights' and the bigger and more dramatic the better. The frustrating thing for me usually is the spaces we inhabit are rarely big enough to house a huge, gorgeous light installation such as the ones I found from Willowlamp.
The South African team behind Willowlamp are the design duo 'TeamTwo' Adam Hoets and Sian Eliot. Adam, a registered Architect specialising in Eco Archectecture, and Sian a distinctive voice in the field of jewellery design, are responsible for these beautiful creations.

"Our design ethos fuses organic forms with high tech elements without compromising on the highly personalised level of craftsmanship. We industrially manufacture the elements but each lamp is painstakingly hand-assembled. Each of the hundreds of chain strands are cut and attached by hand. Both artistry and technical development are evident in the pieces. Willowlamps are dynamic – every movement of air can be seen on their surface, suggesting something quite ‘impressionable’ and delicate."

Monkeybiz

Monkeybiz is a fantastic Cape Town based non-profit organisation providing disadvantaged women with employment and empowerment. And they achieve this through the ancient tradition of beading.
I'm a big lover of colour (and beading) and the creations the 450 women involved in this project produce are exquisite beautifully colourful hand beaded artworks.
How it works is Monkeybiz supplies the glass beads to these women who live in the townships of Cape Town. The women are paid for each piece they produce, and since they work from home, can look after their families and avoid transport costs.
I think it's a brilliant and inspired concept and Selfridges in London thinks so too, with a Monkeybiz concession on the lower ground floor.

Fly-Pitcher

Although I don't think Petra's post intended to be Slovene specific from the original outset, I was inspired by her patriotism to highlight some incredible design from my home country - South Africa!
Fly-Pitcher is the creative vision of a Mr Piers Mansfield-Scadden who is an old friend of mine. Piers and his lovely wife Nikki (and baby Sefton) left the craziness of London in favour of a better quality of life in the absolutely stunning Cape Town. I've been a collector of Piers' fabulous pieces since the start of our friendship.