Introducing the Kanteena Dining suite concept

In my furniture design work I often produce ideas that may be useful for a variety of situations and applications such as the Kanteena Dining suite of furniture.

As yet only in concept form the Kanteena as seen below, the Kanteena would form a stylish addition to the Industryindesign collection of furniture designs and future projects.

Inspired by the study of Industrial architecture that Kevin has always held a passion for,the Kanteena is a modular system that in multiple form could have a striking effect in any cafe or restaurant situation with its clean lines and contrasting colour detail.

What do you think?

Simon Armitage gets upgraded, interesting documentary about design and technology

Must see documentary on BBC4 tonight 28th September where poet Simon Armitage discusses our obsession with replacing existing technologies with newer "better" versions.

Along the route we see some good examples of modern design from recent decades as well as making us think about the utter disposability of our consumer goods.

This discussion also poses quite a contrast to the ethos of designer/makers such as myself who strive to create possible "Heirloom quality goods" in their funiture designs

BBC description..."Poet and gadget lover Simon Armitage explores people's obsession with upgrading to the latest technological gadgetry.


Upgrade culture drives millions to purchase the latest phones, flatscreen TVs, laptops and MP3 players. But is it design, functionality, fashion or friends that makes people covet the upgrade, and how far does the choice of gadgets define identity? Simon journeys across Britain and to South Korea in search of answers."

Broadcast on:BBC Four, 9:00pm Monday 28th September 2009
Duration: 60 minutes
Available until: 9:59pm Monday 5th October 2009

Link to BBC I player.....Simon Armitage in Upgrade me

Industrial Architectural History blog launch

Following the success of Kevins study of 20th century industrial architecture during his M.A study he has launched a blog to publish his work and share his findings with the rest of the world.

The Blog entitlled "Industryinform" will concentrate on post 1900 industrial architecture and its allied contexts, alongside comment and insights of how this research has influenced Kevin's contemporary furniture designs

So far Kevin has started to publish extracts and images from his extensive research into industrial architecture and intends to combine this with up to date news of the industrial heritage scene.

So why not take a look and let me know what you think..

European Design day...

Snippet form design Week online September 28th 2009... by Emily Stacey

"The Bureau of European Design Associations will celebrate its lobbying achievements on 1 October, which BEDA has named European Design Day.

The inaugural day, which will become an annual fixture, is intended to highlight design as an important innovation tool for European industry.
‘Design is rapidly becoming an integral part of European innovation thinking,’ claims BEDA president Jan Stavik.
European Design Day will this year celebrate the publication of a European Union consultation document identifying design as helping ‘companies that invest in design… to be more innovative, more profitable and grow faster than those that do not’.
The document, which was published this summer, is a milestone in BEDA’s long-running campaign to persuade the European Commission to include design on the innovation agenda.
However, Stavik believes that there is a long way to go before the level of design knowledge is consistent across the various European countries.
‘Tough times, pressure on prices and greater competition from other parts of the world mean Europe needs all the advantages it can get in the battle to stay ahead,’ says Stavik.
The Design Council has welcomed the introduction of a dedicated European Design Day, and is calling on European nations to work more closely to share information on their design industries."

Hopefully news like this can only help to further our cause in promoting our particular design businesses. Focus is needed towards our skills which affects everyone in their everyday lives whether they are aware of the fact or not.
 
Why not make a comment to Kevin hallsworth furniture designer with your opinion .

New Design Book launch "Creative Island II", by Sir John Sorrell

Design Week online announces the launch of a new design book "Creative Island II" and discusses the role of U.K design

"British design is taking a bit of a beating at the moment. In The New York Times last month, British critic Alice Rawsthorn complained that it’s not what it used to be. Jonathan Glancey in The Guardian concurred, saying, ‘You have to shop around for it.’ And then on BBC Two last Monday, French design star Philippe Starck revealed that he would like to help us to ‘create English style’, as none currently exists.

But in a new book commissioned by UK Trade & Investment, Sir John Sorrell picks British design up and smooths its Ozwald Boateng-tailored suit.
The sequel to Creative Island, published in 2002, Creative Island II contains more than 100 recent design projects chosen for their innovation and excellence.
Taking in work from 25 design disciplines, the book features projects by Jason Bruges, David Pearson, Martin Lambie-Nairn, Sebastian Conran and others, arranged by ten themes, including subversion, humanism and precision.
To be considered for the book, the designers had to be based in the UK, although their passports could be non-British and their work international - this, says Sorrell, still counts as British design. UKTI agrees, and intends to arm Government ministers with limited-edition hardback editions of the title. These will be proffered to their political counterparts on international visits.
Starck’s cryptic observation in his programme Design for Life - ‘In England there is something very strange, which is today there is some good designers but nobody really arrives on the market’ - receives a bullish response from Sorrell. ‘Give me his address and I’ll send him a copy of the book,’ he says.
‘This is a golden age for design in this country,’ claims Sorrell. ‘I am not being derogatory about Milan, Paris or New York, but I don’t think that anywhere else on earth has 25 disciplines all at this very high quality [level].’
He reasons that a blend of international talent, ‘great design schools’ and our small, crowded island have, together, generated a creative ‘hothouse effect’.
‘There is a cross-fertilisation culture here, with a sharing of ideas that is totally unique in the world,’ says Sorrell. ‘It comes from having a huge number of designers working so near each other geographically.’
The suggestion is that it is impossible for a single, unifying ‘English style’ to emerge.
Unshackled by a national style, British design is booming, says Sorrell. Although, as Transport for London reinstates the Thames on its latest Tube map following public ridicule over the decision to omit it, Sorrell does accept Rawsthorn’s point that public design is languishing in the doldrums.
‘We haven’t got Frank Pick sorting things out now, and [Rawsthorn] makes a very good point - that pillar boxes and phone boxes are very important. We have let that sort of product design go’, he concedes."


"Text-book Design


Creative Island II features more than 100 design projects and their inspirations:

Sebastian Conran talks about how his walk on Chesil Beach inspired the Equilibrium Scales

Terence Woodgate describes how his jealousy of Formula One’s materials prompted a collaboration with ex-Ferrari designer John Barnard, leading to the launch of the Surface table

Simon Heijdens explains how, in his light installations, his focus on the random in nature came out of the ‘rigidly defined’ Dutch environment of his youth


All designs featured in Creative Island II, by Sir John Sorrell"

Designer Tom Dixon comments on design education in the United Kingdom

News breaking from Design Week online Friday september 25th.....by Angus Montgomery

"Tom Dixon says British design needs to focus more on service design and problem solving, and not just on ‘creating objects’, in order to remain relevant and economically viable.

Speaking at the Victoria & Albert Museum this morning, Dixon focused on what he saw as failures in British design education, saying, ‘I am having to bring in kids from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia to my studio, because there are no good kids in the UK – they’re all concerned with making stuff in the old way.’
Dixon held up Sir Joseph Bazalgette’s Victorian sewage system as the sort of example British designers ought to be following, although he did concede that, as someone who made his name in furniture design, he was ‘being hypocritical’.
Speaking at the same event, Nigel Carrington, rector of University of the Arts London, raised fears about the future of design education.
He says, ‘Universities have been forced into very rapid expansion by Government policy, and we are now faced with the reality that there won’t be any more Government money. We’ve built up a complex educational infrastructure that we may have to dismantle.’
He adds, ‘I do think that, in the future, we will have to consider if there are enough really, really talented kids to be educated.’"

A strong heart felt comment from a leading light in the design world. I does beg one to wonder what is the furture of hands on courses in the U.K, often seen as expensive and resource dependant by their organisations.

What do you think?

Helmrinderknecht Contemporary Design, opens in Berlin today

Breaking new from Design week online 25th september..by Tom Banks

Could be good venue for U.K designers to show to a new audience on the continent.

"Helmrinderknecht Contemporary Design, opens in Berlin today.

The space in Linienstrasse 87, Berlin Mitte, will be dedicated exclusively to ‘contemporary design where it interfaces with contemporary art’, according to co-founder and director Martin Rinderknecht.
Rinderknecht, who has set up the gallery with Petra Helm, says, ‘Art and design are mutually inspiring and enriching creative fields to guide form, function and content.’
Coinciding with Art Forum Berlin, the city’s international art fair, the inaugural exhibition will be Chairs and Fireworks, by Catalan designer Marti Guixe.
The exhibition will include a series of chairs by the designer – three of which will be seen for the first time at the gallery with a series of illustrations.
Rinderknecht says the exhibition will explore ‘tension created between free installation-based and classic product design’, setting the tone for future exhibitions at the gallery.
Helmrinderknecht will work with ‘internationally established designers and young upcoming design talents’, according to the owners. Prototypes, unique pieces and installations will feature in future exhibitions."