Let's gather round the campfire and let's...

For those who haven't quite come to terms with the art of camping and can't stand to be outdoors where the mosquito's and creepy crawlies are, then the Campfire Candle by Revolution design house is great for giving you a little bit of camp in the comfort of your own home so that you can toast your marshmallows over an open flame. 

The Campfire Candle was inspired by the warm crackle of a campfire on a crisp autumn evening with an almost geometrical shaped candle designed to look like a flame sat on a walnut log base, that as you burn the candle it's edges kind of curl and spit like an actual fire. Perfect for taking the adventure anywhere. And the grass base they model it on is a definite must if you want to compliment the candle. So if you see a scrap of artificial lawn, attack it with your scissors knowing that it'll make an ideal background for the Campfire Candle to sit on.

Also Revolution Design House - the makers of Campfire Candle - have another rather artistic candle on their hands that I'm in awe of. Madison: The candlestick candle tilts convention on its head by featuring the candle as the candlestick itself too.

The Candlestick Candle is a modern take on the ornate style of a vintage Candlestick; combining wax and artistic molding to create a piece that turns in to something different as it melts and shortens. The Madison Candle is great for achieving a classical look whilst attaining a modern theme. 

How?!?

There are a lot of things in the universe that we want answers to, like do plants die of old age? Can germs catch germs? What is a hiccup? And my all time favourite; how on earth can you possibly make an electrically powered bulb float?!? 

Well, if you want to crack that code then you're going to need yourself a Flyte; Levitating Light. It uses magnetic levitation powered by air to get the bulb to hover, letting you have a mini art instillation in the comfort of your own home without the use of batteries. Instead Flyte powers light through the air via this crazy thing called induction. A magnet in the attractive wooden base plate uses magnetism to repel against the magnet inside the bulb which is pushing an opposing force; and somewhere in the middle of all of that you get light...

By gently lowering the bulb over the center of Flyte's magnetic base, you'll feel a resistance as it automatically settles on the electromagnetic field and causes the LED's the light up, slowly releasing it the bulb locks in to position and starts rotating.

To turn on and off your Flyte all it takes is a simple tap to the wooden surface of the base, turning the light off whilst keeping the bulb levitated in rotation; it's effortless and smooth, using a perfect blending between modernism and science to make an attractive product to make minds really think. Best of all, Flyte can double up as a wireless charging platform for your smartphone!

Flyte comes in three different styles; the first being the original square wooden base, a nice accessory for any home. The second is the premium version with a diamond cut wooden base ideal for those who would like a little more style in their Flyte. And lastly you can get your hands on the Flyte Maker's Kit; ace for letting you have a go of making up your own artistic light using the Flyte concept.

They're sleek and clever and take mind of sustainability in their powerful yet low energy consumption bulb usage. And starting from £160 it would make a fantastic piece to any room.

Peared

Now these genius's behind Peared Creation know how to use old bottles and pipes and to turn them in to something awesome, as is proven in the creative and Industrial styled lamps and lights above. 

Peared Creations are a design powerhouse who create unique lighting products that put a twist on your conventional bottle lamps. Rather than putting a thread of fairy light in to the bottles or cutting them in to pieces to make room for a bulb, Peared Creations custom fit incandescent bulbs in to the heart of the vintage glassware's that are fit on to the frame of the lamp stand using Industrial style bolt and screw couplings. Peared lamps also continue the vintage theme with their fabric covered cord with makes the lamps feel classy and authentic. 

Peared lamps are turned off and on using rotating vintage faucets; thus adding an element of pre-mass plastic production fun, managing to bring back that Industrial style so well in the use of iron piping and vintage materials, and pairing the stripped back and bare metal design of Industrialism with the new timeless art of up-cycling glass bottles in to furniture.

They sell a series of different styles to suit all; with wall lights, to table lamps to overhead hanging piping lights, they combine the heavy duty iron with the ambient glow of illuminated glass to give a warm and inviting atmosphere. Peared lamps are utilitarian, modern and give a salvaged charm to any home. 

Pedal to the Metal

Finally Diesel have created something relevant to their namesake; a whole collection of home ware and lifestyle products aimed at the mechanical edge of design. The Machine, Transmission, Lace Race and DIY collections by Diesel use the aesthetic elements of mechanics to create an awesome display of items.

In the Transmission collection, you've got candlesticks modeled to look like actual transmission pieces with a porcelain body painted an antique bronze colour to pick out the natural industrial colours of the car parts, bringing a motor-driven edge to the art of laying your table; great for masculinizing any room. 

And if you're looking for a place to store your keys and loose change then these large porcelain jars from the Machine Collection are great for storing all your crap. The thread detail in the porcelain looks artistically extraordinary, and the theme of these jars is shared in the design of these Diesel glasses; both managing to bring a minimalist style to a warehouse and junkyard themed design. 

By far the best design in the new style is the DIY flatware cutlery, made of your bulk standard knife, fork and spoon set except for they've got an awesome spanner head and handle. They're so authentic in their design that you'll probably end up with these in the toolbox and your actual spanners in the cutlery draw. Much like a kid with their special knife and fork set, any motor head would feel young again with these to cut their stake with. 

Last but not least in Diesels range of motor themed home ware is their Lace Race collection; which is a series of different sized towels in varying colours, displaying several different car parts. You've got the dark grey bath towel with a nut and bolt car part displayed on the front, the gears in the background giving amazing detail to the towel and lending to the overall mechanical vibe of the material. 

All I know is these would make great gifts to any tinkerer out there. And if you're interested in buying some then you can get some of the newer designs at the Diesel website, whilst several special items (such as the mars plate) are available at Fancy.  

Craighton Berman

Designer Craighton Berman really impresses with his prototypes, products and sketch ideas so I thought I'd talk about some of his awesome inventions and what makes them so amazing and innovative. 

First of all is the Coil Lamp which is a genius design composed of only a laser cut acrylic lamp frame and a long length of electrical wire, designed to coil around the frame to make the volume of the lamp's shape. The lamp challenges convention by making the electrical component the main attention, the coiled design doing all of the aesthetic work as well as the functional. Coil Lamp is so well proclaimed that it's a permanent fixture in the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the "Rethinking Typologies" Exhibition which features many creative designs. 

Another of Craighton Berman's witty designs is the Daily Aspirations collection of bedside trophy's created to inspire daily aspirations. 'Fiscal Responsibility' is the trophy made to keep your wallet at hand and remind you of your monetary duty's, whilst 'Honest Communication' provides a neat space to keep your mobile docked, helping to remind you to be friendly, and last but not least 'Civic Engagement' which provides a nice nest to keep loose keys in place. These trophy's act as a gentle reminded to stay happy throughout the day and to live up the message on each trophy. Although they do also make an attractive trio of functional trophy's to keep your gadgets in. 

The last of Berman's stylish products I'd like to talk about is his highly practical 'Stimulation' mug and ash tray combination. Stimulation is a helpful stack-able mug and ash tray which allow you to get your daily fix of legal drugs in the form of caffeine and nicotine. It's a simplistic design that allows for an easy stimulation boost and can be tidily stacked. 

Lego Clutch

I can't recall how many of these plastic bricks I've had lodged in my feet over the years, but I can recall long day's spent trying to build the most insane towers. And what better way to feel that nostalgia again than with these fun and funky accessories made out of Lego bricks?

Agabag are the company behind these cute items that collaborate fashion with play in a series of clutches, handbags and bracelets that immortalize our favourite Lego building past time. Agabag offer multicolour, outrageous pieces that boast of their Lego heritage whilst on the other end of the spectrum also sell classy clutches that combine 24k gold plated Lego with solid colours to create bags worthy of socialites.

Asides from being attractive and playful, they're also very practical with careful stitches running up the sides to sustain quality and offer a great finish that keeps the bags from looking too bulky. Agabag also make funky lamps that use classic lines and different transparency's of Lego to make an effective looking house accessory.

Ideal Home Show

Every year the Ideal Home Show rolls in and designers, home owners and buyers alike are all inspired by the amazing products and show homes on display; and this year was no exception. It was a cacophony of noise in the shopping area as sellers displayed their new kitchen tech, cleaning products and exotic foods (even I succumbed and ended up with two cheese mills). 

Six of Britain's horticulture colleges battled out for the Young Gardner of the year competition displaying some beautiful sustainably friendly new concepts that you can't help but love; such as recycled tire and rubber mixture floor, scaffolding board walls and a watering can waterfall. 

The show homes this year were targeted towards 'gap' houses and Eco friendly living with a house designed to fit between number 11 and number 10 downing street, and another house full of more green energy solutions than you could possibly think of.

A display of awesome new art was available in the home-wares and interiors section; showing works from budding new artists who use a variety of creative mediums to create their pieces such as Kevin Bandee, Dale Bowen and Kealey Farmer. Bandee and Farmer of whom both use mixed media to create abstract, three dimensional, glossy surfaces whilst Bowen focuses more on colourful animate artwork with 3D stuck on aspects. All three artists offering art work that I'd love to have decorating the walls of my house.

There were several company's that really stuck out to me with their fantastic products, Jam Jar Lights being the first with their upcycled jam jars fitted with electrical lights and fabric cable of your colour choice and in clusters of your demand. The hanging jam jar lights look gorgeous in clusters and would fit well in a rustic kitchen.

Another designing company that particularly sparked interest in me is The Fire pit Company, who specialize in handmade custom fire pits for your garden out of cast iron and intricately cut designs. You can either buy from their collection - which features designs such as that of the globe, a forest scene and a fairy ball - or you can go for a bespoke fire pit made in a choice of your design and materials.

And last but not least, the crazy amazing designer behind these upcycled oil drum creations; Think Outside who are responsible for the ee-i-ee-i-o collection of cute farmyard sculptures. They're cleverly crafted and made using the multicoloured oil drum metal in a mish-mash of bits and pieces; each sculpture different from the other. The ee-i-ee-i-o collection features a bull shaped ice bucket and a hot air balloon hanging, as well as my favourite The Three Blind mice who are sold in a trio of cute metal intended as garden creatures.

So all in all a good day out, packed with things to see and to draw inspiration from. Note to self: don't wear heels next time ;)

196° Below

With the likes of Heston Blumenthal and other gastronomical chefs out there bringing science and art to food, it was only a matter of time before someone made artistic food that can be sold out the back of a van. 

Well, technically 196 Below operate out of a pop up store, but it's still fast food, right? 

196 Below are the geniuses that paired nitrogen with gellato-anglaise (basically liquid ice cream) to form almost instant ice-cream that has no preservatives, colors or stabilizers and is probably the creamiest texture achievable in an ice-cream. It's clever as it really is instant ice-cream that can be made on demand, and guess what? IT GLOWS! 

Yes, this nitro gellato glows like neon lights in the dark; giving ice-cream a clubbing vibe. This would be perfect for a summer party in the park and would be a great companion for night festivals. So here's hoping that it takes off in the UK. 

Rack and pinion chick!

With the flick of a switch you can make life a whole lot more interesting. Presenting the Switch Plate designs of Etsy shop Green Tree Jewelry, who give the common switch plate a vamp with kinetic movements and cognition's that make turning the light on and off a whale of a time. If you feel like you're clunky white light switch sticks out like a sore thumb in your house, why don't you cover it with these quirky switch plate designs that bring an industrial look to the home.

On their Etsy site you can chose between levered movements, rack and pinion switches and planetary gear switches that come in a variety of colours all with a similar rustic wooden style. And if you're all for confusing your house guests (especially great if you run a hotel) then having a different style of light switch in a each room could give you hours of entertainment.

"And we're gonna let it burn"

There's almost something poetic about having the ability to set the world on fire, and I guess this Earth Shaped Fire Pit by Rick Wittrig lets us imagine what will become of the world eventually. 

Not only is the piece of metal that makes up the Fire Pit structurally amazing, but the cut out continent shapes make it utterly beautiful as flames lick through the gaps and set the world ablaze. 

This Fire Pit would make a gorgeous adornment to any garden both when in use and when not due to the cast shape and rusting colour that fits naturally with an earthy garden.

In loving memory

There's no better way to heal and remember our loved ones than through dreams, and this incredibly beautiful light is both a sensitive and touching way to rest easy with our loved ones in mind. 

Italian designer Agnese Dal Pont is the mind behind the tURNlight which emits light and helps you feel closer to your beloved dead ones, therefore balming the grief of their passing. By mixing cement and ashes, Agnese sets it into a globe shape and pierces several holes through the orb. After placing a light bulb inside the globe, the holes allow for specks of light to filter through and send the room aglow with a galaxy of stars created by and in memory of your loved ones. The lights give you a soothing space to reflect and can help you to dream when the emotions get too much. It's a much more subtle and personal way to pay homage to the deceased. 

Dissolve

Coca-Cola, Photogenic Alchemy

Photographer Micheal Cetta has been experimenting with his film in his recent photographic collection "Photogenic Alchemy" in which he abuses his film by developing it with an assortment of liquids that you're really not supposed to.

 By developing each of his images with a different substance, Cetta manages to create a distorted perception in which his developed images come out as if they've been disolved, turning "unfullfilling pictures" into ones that look battered and beaten. 

Lemon Juice, Photogenic Alchemy

Each of these effects were captured by using a range of liquids; from Cola to Ammonia to Vinegar, Febreeze and Kerosene. These experimental photos are a unique and interesting portrayal of everyday life, and Cetta has managed to combine clever toy camera shots with altered film to create these wavering images.

Hydrogen Peroxide & Nail Varnish Remover, Photogenic Alchemy

When pigs light up...

This little piggy went to market, this little piggy carved roast beef, and this little piggy... Was a lamp.

Spanish designer Ariel Rojo is the genius behind the spirical light up tail of his pig lamp. Any curly light bulb can be plugged into the ceramic piggy banks tail to bring light to the world in a design that's both cute and innovative. A piggy bank with a light is so genius in putting across the message that we should save money on lighting that its almost humorous. At £50 its a perfectly sweet light to shine the light on any situation- literally.

Lights, Camera... Take out!



'Light Up' project- Take out Lantern

It's about time I showcase some of my, erm, talent?

One of our earlier projects saw me designing a light shade using just card, a bit of 3D printed plastic and no glue whatsoever. So after a few clueless weeks, the idea finally came to me in the form of a 'Take out' carton.

This lightshade can be assembled from flat into its shape by slotting tabs together, and to provide legs for the stand, the 3D Printed base table can be slot into the bottom. The legs were designed to look like chop sticks and fixed hole in the base of the box allows a light to be placed from beneath and up into the carton like a side light.

Using the reflective card to better utilisie the light, I laser cut butterfly's into the box to allow light to excape and be reflected by the card to give this overall gentle light.

Let There Be Light



Breakdancing Skeleton

 Artist Darren Pearson has blown the conventional concept of painting out of the water with his smudge proof, erasable, luminescent concept of painting with lights. This new form of painting without the neccesary components has only recently become accepted as a form of art due to its temporary nature, but when put into motion as Darren Pearson does, it is truly a phenomenal work of art.






Skategrind Skeleton





My favourite pieces are the ones in which he has gone through the luborious process of drawing it out frame by frame until an amazing GIF has been created. And as he has stressed it is difficult to achieve a perfect light drawing as you have no recollection of which shape is where- thats the cameras job- so you're drawing purely from memory. And for anyone intending to trial this new technique, he's created a 'how to' guide on what you need to do, in which he takes it step by step with his video tutorials, showing you exactly how you can achieve an effective light painting.