Robin Day

It was good to see Robin Day's polyprop chairs made it to Sicily.

La Cité Radieuse

A few more images from Le Corbusier's Masion du Fada.

I've written a guest post over at the brilliant YHBHS.

the real thing - part 3

These pieces of Aalto & Aino glassware had a very different feel from the mass produced ones you find today. The golden hues were especially lovely; the quality of the glass more fluid & natural.

the real thing - part 2

More Aalto goodness with a selection of the light fittings in his home.
The chairs in the second image are from Venice where Aalto & Aino honeymooned.

the real thing - part 1

Whilst in Helsinki, I went on a little excursion on the tram out to the suburbs to find the house Alvar Aalto designed and lived in for 40 years. It was his home and also working studio for many years.
It's a mixture of his well known furniture, vases and lights and also one off sample pieces which never went into production. Alongside Aalto's pieces, are designs from both his first wife Aino - a superb designer and second wife Elissa - also an architect.

These are from the upstairs bedrooms.

into the woods

As part of The London Design Festival the Chelsea Space is exhibiting a collection of Finnish glass design from Iittala, curated by Finnish designer Harri Koskinen. The exhibition has some rare and extraordinarily beautiful pieces on loan from the design Museum in Helsinki and from Iittala's own collection.
The last image shows pieces Harri has designed for Iittala's Art Works series.

summer fruit & le corbusier

There's not much in common between summer fruit and Le Corbusier. However, I have been enjoying this fruit from my neighbour's garden and imagining what it must have been like to find this furniture.
What a scoop!

skandium

Skandium is one of my favourite shops and it's on my regular list of places to visit when I'm in London. I walk around planning what I'd buy if I won the lottery!
On my last visit I found these little thorsten van elten door stoppers. They come in an array of colours and I came away very happy without having spent a fortune!
I've been looking for a clever design to stop the wind slamning the doors shut in our apartment. It's also much neater than the random piles of books we've used previously.
The story of this designer is over here.

industrial facility

As a huge fan of Muji I've been keen to find out about some of their designers. Industrial Facility have been responsible for designing many of Muji's signature pieces and have also designed some of their quirkier products. For example the 'Puzzle Cookie Cutter' is a brilliantly fun idea and the 'City in a Bag' is simple and witty.
I remember as a child my godmother bringing back to New Zealand a huge bag of goodies for me after one of her European trips. Included in the parcel were a set of wooden buildings very similar to these Muji ones. The only difference is that Industrial Facility have cleverly taken the iconic buildings of Tokyo, Paris, London and New York, and minaturised them in wood.

kaj franck

Finnish design is sometimes slightly overlooked as it perhaps doesn't fit neatly into the Scandinavian design box.
However, the tradition of creating beautifully designed objects for everyday use is very Scandinavian and is what is so appealing about Finnish design. It's not necessary to spend a fortune. Everyday furniture and household items which are robust and sturdy, yet beautiful to look at and functional to use, this is what's impressive about design from Finland.
Kaj Franck is a great example. These glasses were designed for littala and can be found in Finnish department stores and even in many supermarkets. You can collect one colour or collect them all!