My homepage has been stuck on Pikaland for a good few months now and I thought I'd share it with you. Amy Ng (an Illustrator from Malaysia) updates Pikaland almost daily with inspirations and wonderful finds she thinks the world should hear about.
Amy aims to help connect illustrators + artists with their audience by pointing readers in the direction of their online stores and projects. I think this is a great idea.. us emerging makers need all the help we can get and I love learning about the work of others around the globe - reminds me that there is a future in the handmade even if Ikea can sell a mug for 50 pence.. millions of people still want the beautifully made!
A recent post bought a photo project by Jennifer Causey to my attention. The Makers Project seeks out handmade and artisan-produced products and the people behind them, documenting their studios, workplaces and the hard work which goes into making a success of a creative adventure. Beautiful photos and mini interviews + the project is still growing!
..teams up with Converse and strikes again. Just realised they were founded in 1951 too, no wonder I love the prints so much.
+ photos from my Stockholm trip, taken in a real life Marimekko store. I bought a purse and a little mug as treats. If you ever have a spare weekend/cash visit Sweden, it's such a perfect place.. beautiful design, food and people. I wish I'd grown up there. I could write a separate post on my trip, but this is meant to be a quickie! photos can speak for themselves HERE.
FIFTIES..
Last weekend I spent my Sunday in London. I bought a ticket for 'Designing the Decades: The 1950s'... a day of lectures at the V&A, just £5 for students!
The first lecture, 'The Festival of Britain' was taken by Lily Crowther - researcher for 'British Design 1948-2012', which will be the V&A's headline exhibition for the Olympic season. She spoke about how the festival came about, who was involved and the impact it had on society after the effects of World War 2 - design to boost morale. This year it's the 60th anniversary of the festival and the Southbank is holding a summer of events to commemorate, including exhibitions by Tracy Emin and food by Heston Blumenthal. More HERE. The fourth lecture, 'Robin and Lucienne Day' by Lesley Jackson - Author of Robin and Lucienne Day: Pioneers in Modern Deisgn was joint favourite. Again, I could write for hours about what I learnt. A description of the fifties aesthetic as 'modernity, with warmth' stuck with me, this sums up for me what I love about the decade - quality design without being elitist.
+ I pottered to Portabello market in Notting Hill. I could only squeeze in an hour between lectures which was nowhere near enough but I managed to pick up some lettered stamps I'm going to use to initial my ceramics with from one stall. I only made it half way around and will surely be going back when I have more time on my hands.
