Tag Archives: british

SPOTTED – the beautiful vignette still life photos of 5ftinf

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There is a particular art in being able to construct a beautiful vignette – a photographed still life which includes a variety of carefully balanced pieces. To get the different elements  the textures and the light to work together is a real skill and there is one artist based in Brighton who is very good indeed. We follow 5ftinf (the alter ego of artist Philippa Stanton) on Instagram, where the ‘daily table’ photo which is constructed from vintage pieces and seasonal items is a joy to behold.

Whilst visiting the Artists Open Houses we discovered that the gorgeous still lives are available as both greetings cards and photographic prints – both at the open house in 64 Sandgate Road, Brighton and online at Philippa’s Etsy store.

Plus, if there is a particular ‘daily table’ shot that catches your eye, you can request is specially.

But be warned – there are so many beautiful photographs of The Table on both the 5ftinf Instagram feed and blog that you would be very hard pushed to choose just one.

(images via 5ftinf Etsy)

Monday musings – the Artists Open Houses, Brighton

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Each May, our home town of Brighton is put into overdrive with the Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe and the Artists Open Houses, running all month. Even though Brighton is already an incredibly creative city, you literally cannot move for pop up theatre, comedy, exciting new venues and wonderful performances. It is as exhausting as it is exciting. And as official reviewers this year for the excellent EggMag, we are enjoying it even more.

However, there is one element to May that is a real joy and we look forward to each year – the Artists Open Houses.

Springing up through the various art collectives that scatter the city, they are all brought together under the Open House banner for the month  arranged neatly into trails in most of the major areas of Brighton.

Using the brilliantly produced (and free) Artists Open House brochure or mobile app, you can discover areas of Brighton which you perhaps had never visited – peeking into the homes of the artists themselves, purchasing a cup of tea and home made cake and having a chat with the people who actually created the art, design and craft.

And this is the real bonus to the Artists Open Houses. Not only do you find wonderful pieces which span the realms of fine art, illustration, photography, jewellery and design collected together beautifully, you will probably get the chance to chat to the maker themselves.

So much of the creative process is a personal thing – particularly with solo artists and designer/ makers  so having the ability to talk through the reasoning to a piece, their inspiration or even whether they could do you the same item but perhaps in grey is priceless. In an age of the mass produced, the personality that is poured into art, design and craft is something that we have tended to lose – it is this great collective that allows us to reconnect.

It does feel as though these wonderful artists, designers and makers have been hidden away in their studios across Brighton, all working independently and the Open Houses is where we all get to discover them, so get out there.

Find a piece, talk to the maker and treasure it.

We will be posting some of our favourite makers here on the Ecospot, so keep your eyes peeled for a variety of both art, design and craft suitable for the eclectic interior.

see the Artists Open Houses website for details on all the locations across Brighton.

SPOTTED – hand crafted lamps by Sarah Lock

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As yesterday was a Bank Holiday Monday, there were no Monday Musings here on the Ecospot, but rest assured – we were not sitting idle. The merry month of May is a particularly great time to be in the city of Brighton as we have the fabulous Brighton Festival, Brighton Fringe and the Artists Open Houses.

This is where trails across the city wind their way from house to house each weekend, stuffed full of wonderful pieces of art, craft, graphics and homewares. And often, the creators are there too, so you get the chance to chat directly to the makers.

sarah lock

So, this month we we will be spotting quite a lot of stuff that we have hunted out on the Artist Open Houses trails, starting with these great lamps by designer Sarah Lock.

Currently on show at 3 Florence Road, Brighton, we were instantly drawn to the hand turned decorative wooden side lamps, each of which was topped with a bespoke shade.

With an eclectic mix of forms, some of the wooden bases were painted in both bold and delicate bands to match the contours of the base, whilst others were left natural.

Shades are matched perfectly with each base, from oversized florals to plain and neutral, but our favourite has to be the shades created from maps.

We were very drawn not only to the balanced nature of the pieces, but the slightly eclectic nature that each piece had. They would be perfect in any eclectic interior – as a set of bedside table lamps or as a single piece on a side table in a living room.

Plus, the lamps and shades by Sarah Lock are available together (£150) or you can purchase the shades separately (from £30 each)

See them on the Artists Open Houses Trail or at www.sarahlock.com

(images by claire potter design and Sarah Lock)

Wednesday Walls – picture frame wall sticker from Rockett St George

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When we work with domestic clients on residential projects it is often the family pictures which need a lot of consideration as far as display goes. They are often scattered about in different sized and styled frames, or tacked to walls and cabinet doors. And with the steady stream of notes, photos and artwork that a family creates, innovative solutions are required, which is why we really like this Picture Frame Wall Sticker from Rockett St George.

Picture Frames Wall Sticker - Exclusive to Rockett St George

Instead of worrying about framing each of the pieces, this lovely wall sticker, which is available in 23 different colours allows otherwise random photos, notes and mementos to be collected together in a pleasing arrangement.

And, if they are lightly tacked to the wall, the pieces can be easily changed, with the Picture Frame wall sticker acting as the only constant.

We think the Picture Frame wall sticker is a great piece and would be brilliant in any family home. Available now, exclusively from Rockett St George for only £28.

(image via Rockett St George)

another ethical tea towel…

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We have a bit of a confession to make. We are secret tea towel collectors.

That is right – we do not own a dishwasher here in the studio, with the crockery piling up over the period of the day until one of us gives in and washes the lot. Usually when we are having a grump at AutoCad or waiting for Sketchup to render our lighting or something.

Usually it sits on the drainer and air dries, but there is always a trusty tea towel on hand just in case we really have left it that long and are desperate for a cuppa and there are no cups.

But the choice of tea towels is quite important. Fair trade, organic or ethical cotton. It will possibly be vintage, could be hand screen printed, but it definitely will be patterned and graphical in some way.

Recently I wrote about ethical tea towel choices for EggMag, which included a great tea towel from the Radical Tea Towel Company, featuring a lovely print about Womens right to the Vote.

tea towel

But the one from the range we have in the studio? This lovely tea towel, which is of course, bright green and features the Yeats quote ‘tread softly for you tread on my dreams’. With the inprint of a foot and the inclusion of the carbon footprint down the side, it is obvious the intentions for this tea towel message are environmentally based, which is a nice thought to have when you do a bit of drying up.

Plus the tea towels from the Radical Tea Towel Company are sourced from ethical bases and printed in the UK using water based inks by a family run business.

So if you are looking to spread a message with your drying up, take your pick.

(image by claire potter design)

Monday muses – Brighton and Hove become the world’s first One Planet City

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Every Monday here on the Ecospot we look at a slightly meaty issue and today we just had to be talking about the fact that Brighton and Hove has been declared the world’s first One Planet City – very nicely timed as today is also Earth Day.

earth

BioRegional, an independent sustainable accreditation organisation awarded the title to Council leader Jason Kitcat at a presentation last week, which took place at a sustainable housing project in Brighton.

But just what does this award mean?

In essence, it means that Brighton and Hove Council’s Sustainability Action Plan has been recognised for it’s plans to enable residents to live well within a fairer share of the world’s resources.

The Sustainability Action Plan sets out clear goals for Brighton and Hove – including how we can begin to live within the resources of one planet, rather than the current national average of three and a half.

To date, this has been manifested in a number of ways, with the council investing in updated insulation for council owned properties to allow tenants to benefit from lower energy bills and therefore carbon outputs and community growing schemes.

But the Sustainability Action Plan aims to to a great deal more over the next three years – helping residents and businesses in Brighton and Hove to become more sustainably resilient whilst boosting the local economy.

Ten key principles for being a One Planet City are:

Zero carbon - Making buildings more energy efficient and delivering all energy with renewable technologies.

Zero waste - Reducing waste, reusing where possible, and ultimately sending zero waste to landfill.

Sustainable transport - Encouraging low carbon modes of transport to reduce emissions, reducing the need to travel.

Sustainable materials - Using sustainable healthy products, with low embodied energy, sourced locally, made from renewable or waste resources.

Local and sustainable food - Choosing low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste.

Sustainable water - Using water more efficiently in buildings and in the products we buy; tackling local flooding and water course pollution.

Land use and wildlife - Protecting and restoring biodiversity and natural habitats through appropriate land use and integration into the built environment.

Culture and community - Reviving local identity and wisdom; supporting and participating in the arts.

Equity and local economy - Creating bioregional economies that support fair employment, inclusive communities and international fair trade.

Health and happiness - Encouraging active, sociable, meaningful lives to promote good health and well being.

Many of these have already been initiated by Brighton and Hove City Council, with an increase in recycling collected from communual points within the city (which, although very controversial, appear to be working as a 70% increase in weight of recyclables have been reported), the Food Partnership projects throughout the city as well as them signing up to become a Living Wage employer.

How this accreditation will continue to manifest itself over the coming months and years will be exciting to see – and how Brighton and Hove can continue to grow as a city founded on sustainable principles.

Wednesday Walls – Cotton Tree wallpaper by MissPrint

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This week on Wednesday walls we are sticking to wallpaper, as we are in the process of specifying quite a lot of the stuff recently for projects we are working on in Brighton – both private and commercial interior design projects.

After the slightly bonkers wallpaper last week which featured musical instruments and woodland animals by mini moderns, this week we are looking at a subtle and delicate wallpaper which would be perfect for a bedroom space.

We are big fans of the prints and colours that MissPrint produce, and we have specified them on a few design projects due to their great impact and ethical foundations, with all their wallpaper being created in the UK from sustainable sources.

This print, called Cotton Tree comes in six different colourways, from the very bold sunset (grey and orange red) through to the very serene sage grey, which we will be using.

The delicate white print has a lovely metallic sheen which is not overpowering but provides a beautiful shimmer across a wall.

Perfect for a space that needs to be a little feminine, but with a nice strong graphic edge.

(image via Miss Print)

Wednesday Walls – Pet Sounds Wallpaper from Mini Moderns

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This week on Wednesday Walls we are looking at a wallpaper which we will most likely be specifying for an interior design project we are currently working on in Brighton. It has a really nice strangeness to it, if you know what we mean.

The lovely Pet Sounds wallpaper from Mini Moderns comes in three colourways, but it is the Heather and Bitter Chocolate colourway that fits the scheme we are working on beautifully.

Image of Pet Sounds Wallpaper - Heather and Bitter Chocolate

With a pale lilac background, the print features an eclectic mix of woodland animals and musical instruments, from a pigeon in a French horn to a squirrel on a trombone (completely biased personal favourite part).

Perhaps a bit too much for an entire room, but we are treating just one wall with this wallpaper so it does not overpower the space and we get the full benefit of it’s wonderful strangeness.

Plus, the Pet Sounds wallpaper is printed with water based inks on paper from sustainable sources, so it is not only an interesting choice but an environmentally friendly one too, and only £45 per 10m roll.

Check it out at the great Mini Moderns website.

(image via Mini Moderns)

Monday thoughts – CRASH – Constructing a Future for Homeless People

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CRASH

Even though we had heard about CRASH, it was not until very recently that we learnt a great deal more about the fantastic work that they do as the construction and property industry’s charity for homeless people when we met them at EcoBuild 2013.

 

CRASH is a charity which functions at the very heart of the construction and property industry which through patronage in different forms, helps to create positive change for homeless people.

CRASH

CRASH achieves this in three ways:

  • Providing pro-bono professional expertise courtesy of their patrons
  • sourcing free building materials from patron and supporting companies
  • awarding cash grants for projects

Through these types of direct industry partnerships, CRASH is able to help an average of 80 homeless projects each year – including the building of new hostels that are well designed, clean and safe.

As well as expertise, supporters work with CRASH to donate materials to projects, making a really big difference to many peoples lives at a point where a stable and safe environment in critical to moving on.

St Pauls Homes Completed 024

We all know how buildings effect our lives – the way we work, how we live and those we interact with on a daily basis, but sometimes we can all miss exactly how important the function of our built environment can be.

The great work of CRASH highlights exactly how the building industry can create direct, positive change for those who really need it – in a way that actually makes a huge difference.

We are very lucky to have worked with the local homeless charity, Emmaus Brighton and Hove on a variety of projects and we know from working and speaking to the companions that safety, security and stability are three of the main aspects that provide a starting point for rebuilding their lives.

CRASH is a fantastic charity that as well as supporting the building of projects, are supporting the rebuilding of peoples lives.

As they aptly put it, CRASH are ‘constructing a future for homeless people’. A positive thought for the whole construction industry.

(images via CRASH)

UK company creates first food safe, 100% recycled plastic products

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Recycled plastic is now widely used by companies to create goods and sheet materials, but until recently, 100% recycled plastic could not be labelled as food safe.

Until now. 

UK company Invicta has revealed a new, patented process called rPETable which can recycle plastic and remove any toxic additives, meaning that the resulting injection moulded plastic can be classified as food safe.

 

food-safe plastic, Invicta Group recycled plastic, injection moulding technology, toxic plastic bottles, health issues, toxic plastic food containers, Bisphenol A plastic, recycled materials, polycarbonate plastics, toxic additives

There are a few toxic ingredients in plastic which can leach from packaging into food stuffs, the most common being Bisphenol A, or BPA, which can interfere with the bodies hormonal processes.

The trial stage of this new process has taken around four years and millions of pounds of investment  but it is hoped that it could herald a new drive forward in the use of recycled materials in industry.

And with Coca Cola, Guinness and Reckitt Benckiser already involved in the testing of the process and products, it could not be too long until you will be sipping beverages from a 100% recycled bottle…

(image via inhabitat)