Here’s the latest from NOTCOT’s London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw as she visits the London graduate showcases!

Wandering through the halls of the Battersea campus during press day at Show RCA 2013, I turned the corner to find a beautiful table filled with iridescent natural history curios. I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous glass domes housing beautifully arranged butterfly wings, stunning pieces by Anabela Chan. Chan is a student in Goldsmithing and Metalwork and the intricate sculptures made from butterfly wings are part of her Beauty & The Beast Collection, which she has photographed beautifully. The artist even blew the glass domes herself! The stunning pieces are showcased alongside her jewellery range that also incorporate beautiful, iridescent natural history objects like parrot feathers, beetles and of course, minerals! More photos on the next page.

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Here’s the latest from NOTCOT’s London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw as she visits the London graduate showcases!

One of my highlights from the Kensington campus of Show RCA 2013 was this fun project from Joe Pipal called Sweatshop that brings manufacturing back into cities and allows users to engage with the making process. His Sweatshop system is an all-in-one factory, but uses a minimum of mechanization, employing a traditional process of steaming hardwoods (in the chamber beneath the table), then bending them into shape using templates and clamp on the work surface. The resulting steam bent wood benefits from all strength of the original wood, unlike plywood and other laminates which rely on glue for their strength. The process also produces minimal waste and the products which can be produced by such a method are surprising, including the sweatshop chair and adorable two bend bike for toddlers. More photos on the next page.

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Here’s the latest from NOTCOT’s London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw as she checks out Clerkenwell Design Week 2013.

Parlour Lighting from Donna Bates. This playful series of lamps was inspired by the designer’s early years growing up on a farmyard near Ballyronan, Co. Derry. They look rather industrial and reminded me initially of lab glassware, but actually trace their origins to the milking parlor! The shape of the lamps is taken from the forms of receiving jars which are used to collect milk in the dairy. I love the rural, yet industrial inspiration! More photos on the next page.

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Just found a bunch of these photos on my phone… couldn’t help being fascinated by the chameleon window displays at Aritzia while wandering soho… see them all on the next page!

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Here’s the latest from NOTCOT’s London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw as she checks out Clerkenwell Design Week 2013.

Revitalizer from Merve Kahraman, a wax-lamp that re-creates itself. The wax lampshade melts over time, dripping into the mold below to reform the shade. The result is an ever-changing sculpture, but also a room that smells of candlewax. More photos of the Revitalizer and Revitalizer 2 in the House of Detention during Clerkenwell Design Week and a video of the lamp in action from the designer on the next page!

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Here’s the latest from NOTCOT’s London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw as she checks out Clerkenwell Design Week 2013.

This year Jaguar UK teamed up with RCA to create a design challenge for students of both the RCA’s automobile and textiles courses. Of the 9 group entries, the winning design on show in the Farmiloe building alongside the new F-TYPE comes from RCA students, Ewan Gallimore and Claire Miller. There’s some making imagery over at Carscoops. See more pictures of their sculpture at Clerkenwell on the next page!

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Here’s the latest from NOTCOT’s London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw as she checks out Clerkenwell Design Week 2013.

I couldn’t help but stop as I caught a glimpse of the Cloud Leopard hanging through the open doorway of Craft Central at Clerkenwell Design Week. The stunning installation was cut by hand over five months by Nahoko Kojima of Solo Kojima and actually created right in Clerkenwell! Since it’s creation, the piece was unveiled at the Saatchi Gallery and has travelled extensively with Arte&Arte’s Miniartextil. More photos of this incredible piece on the next page.

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This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes a french press for your mason jar, a 3D printer that can print onto any surface, laser tracking bubbles and more. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Here’s the latest from London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw from the 100th RHS Chelsea Flower Show!

My highlight of this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show was this incredible “Fruit of the Tree” display from Kent-based East Malling Research, who were celebrating their 100th anniversary alongside the prestigious flower show. The centrepiece of the display was a delicately extracted apple tree, showing off its incredible structure both above and below the ground. The striking display was designed in collaboration with Physical Pixels, who have been behind a few of our other favorites too (including, the Big Egg Hunt!). More photos on the next page!

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Here’s the latest from London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw!

While over at New York Design Week they have the Progetto Barrique (with the swing we loved here) with designers repurposing reclaimed casks… here in London, there’s a similar project upcycling beer barrels! This is one of my favorite projects from May Design Series, “The end of the Big Beer Barrel” from Switzerland-based Yask. The project’s premise is the retirement on 50 litre (11 gallon) stainless steel beer barrels in favor of a new smaller model. The iconic larger sized beer barrels will suddenly be retired from use and candidates for recycling or upcycling. The studio explored how these barrels might be used in variety of contexts. Take a peek on the next page!

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Here’s the latest from London-based editor and resident zoologist, Justine Aw!

It’s also a great week for design here in London with Clerkenwell Design Week just around the corner and the first ever May Design Series in London. I headed down to ExCel this morning for the first morning of the May Design Series, which brings together kbb LDN, The ARC Show, INTERIORS LDN and DX all under one roof. Some of our show highlights on the next page!

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Wow what a day ~ it’s nearly 4:30 in the morning, and i really ought to sleep before ICFF in a few hours… but i wanted to share the fun at Wanted Design with you before i got a quick nap in… i’ll fill in more about what’s what later, but take a peek at the things that jumped out and inspired me so far on the next page!

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Explorations in 3D printing + growing wearable = Xuedi Chen’s Invasive Growth! We’ve been curiously following along on instagram for some time now… and the project is now live! I love that it’s “…inspired by my fascination with cordyceps, a fungal parasite that attacks arthropods. Once infected, the fungus slowly takes control of the insect both mentally and physically. Before the insect dies, the fungus makes it climb high onto a branch and grip on, giving it an advantageous place to spread spores. Once the insect is dead, the cordyceps protrudes out, breaking through the exoskeleton.” And the final pieces play with moss growing on wearable neck/head pieces… imagine a day when you need to water your jewelry regularly? Take a peek at the process and details on the next page!

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Another amazing inspiring week is behind us ~ from video projected in droplets, animal wine bottle creatures, food cut in half, the trash bag tent, how Drive shoots their amazing videos, apps you can draw AROUND, the neoLucida, lego tats, land rover parkour, EPIC meat bars, kaleidescopic glasses and far more… click the pics to find out more!

Fun detail Shawn noticed when we were driving up Sunset Blvd in Hollywood… those street lamp banners were turned into guitar strings with a Jack Daniel’s Guitar Pick stuck in them! See more pics of it on the next page…

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