Check out these unique award-winning collection of designs ranging from bookbags to deckchairs based on the classic Penguin® paperback book. Each product design in the collection adapts and plays with the colour, typography and iconic look of the original Penguin series first designed by Edward Young in 1935. Just love the zingy orange! Available at Artmeetsmatter
Inspiring collages from the Poireton's sketchbook. There is lots more inspirational candy at his Flickr page.
Via Modern Romantic, I learnt of "A Walk in the Wardrobe", an exhibit recently organized by a group of 7 fashion curators from the MA in Fashion Curation at the London College of Fashion. Operating under the name Glass-case, they aim to push boundaries and challenge the traditional museum approach to curation.
A Walk in the Walkrobe explores the intimate relationship between fashion and memory. Trying to go beyond the visual, it set out to trigger lost and forgotten memories through the sense of sound and smell. "A soundscape comprised of muffled noises—of what seemed to be people walking and rummaging through closets—was paired with bygone scents (the smell of moth and lilac) reminiscent of one’s grandmother’s wardrobe. "
The Orangutan House, an studio-gallery of Charles CHAM , is a landmark and a must-see for all art lovers and tourists to Malacca. It houses the contemporary paintings and a large collection of art t-shirts.
Charles CHAM started painting at the age of five inspired by the first movie he ever saw. It was a story about an artist with a magic brush and everything he painted became alive. He painted birds and they flew away. He painted fish and they swam away in the river. Finally he painted a woman, she became alive and they fell in love. When Charles came home that day after the movie, he started to draw a portrait of the painter on the floor with some cake powder belonging to his mother. That was his first portrait.
Charles CHAM’s works are based on the philosophy of Yin and Yang – the duality of life and the attraction of opposites. Just like the Yin and Yang symbol, there is no fixed top-bottom position for his paintings and can be hung in both directions.
Am back from an amazing 5 days in Malacca. It is just impossible to describe in words the sights, sounds and texture of this oldest city in Malaysia. It is like travelling back in time in South East Asia. My favourite spot there has got to be Jonker St, a place well known by antique collectors as one of the best places to hunt and bargain for antiques. Come nightfall, Jonker St closes to traffic and hawkers on pushcarts gather to sell all kinds of delicious street food and local handicrafts.
I just love getting lost in the narrow twisted streets, discovering hidden treasures and taking in the olden day charms of the shophouses inspired by the baba-nyonya culture. I have put together some of my favourite flickr pictures of Malacca. Just click here and be transported back to this historic town you would not want to miss.
I will be away in Malacca from June 9-13. Will be back soon to blog about the inspirational sights and sounds of this amazing historical town in Malaysia. Am so excited!
Senses provoking collages by Singapore-based mix media artist Ketna Patel. Ketna believes that "artists have a responsibility to reflect and project the changing society we live in." For her, this translate into powerful Asian images recently transmuted through pop art. Diverse religious icons, the extremes of real life and the rigid chaos of the Asian social landscape are displayed though bold electric colours. "This is Asia, this is what I see," she says.
Her art can also be found in lifestyle products, interiors (such as a local coffee shop below) and furniture where the cultural information is re-presented to test the boundaries between Art, Lifestyle, Marketing and Design.
As mentioned in my earlier post, this is Emily's Chalmer's home in a rented ex-industrial space in Shoreditch (London) featured in June 07 UK edition of Elle Decor.(Sorry that the quality of the scan doesn't really do the pictures justice). Because the space is rental, Emily had no inclination for major works, opting instead for quick fixes like zoning the space with curtains made from vintage fabrics. I love the way she makes use of the building's unique features such as pipes and wall recesses to form shelving units and hang decorative objects and pictures.
Unique works of art by Silvina Romero, an Argentinian jewelry designer who makes gorgeous, colorful, and tactile wearable works of art from recycled pieces of fabric and textiles. Silvina started working with discarded textiles about four years ago during the height of the Argentinian economic crisis. I have never seen fabric so cleverly manipulated before to form such wonderful shapes.
Eversince former painter Lisa Whatmough launched her label Squint two years ago, her antique-style sofas, armchairs and lamps covered in gorgeously clashing recycled fabrics have been a huge runway success. I just adore the old pattern fabrics and furniture she puts together. She even does fabric-covered teapots that are washable, but for occasional use.Two words. Gorgeous gorgeous!
{all images from Squint website}
I just found out about this super-cool Japanese website called deco boco which offers a selection of used and new designer furniture and lifestyle goods. The site may seem a little incomprehensible at first because of the Japanese text and odd layout. But with a little patience, you will soon find or be inspired by a few quirky treasures. There is even a section dedicated to Eames items!
Check out these pretty bags in gorgeous fabric from 
