Our London-based editor Justine catches up with the latest action from the London Design Festival!

I’m a huge fan of the work of Noma Bar, who does wonders with negative space and always achieves so much with clean lined minimalism. So I was very excited to hear about his project ‘Cut-it-Out’ at Outline Editions as part of this year’s London Design Festival, especially when I heard we would have the chance to take part and make our own cut outs with his incredible dog (and cat and rat) shaped cutting machine!

The image making machine is a a 2 m high die cutter that weighs over 750 kg and applies 4 tonnes of pressure when the joysticks (located in the dog’s mouth) and depressed. Visitors during workshops can create their own Noma Bar patterns by selecting an A3 sheet of paper (in any of 36 colors) and their favorite of 8 designs. The paper is then careful set between the die and board and swivels the dog’s head into cutting position. Then, a quick and steady push of the joysticks applies the pressure and cuts the image. Great fun and a beautiful way to create a stunning piece of art. More pics of Noma’s screenprints and cut outs, the stunning machine, and our own die cut experience on the next page!

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Fresh in from Anna of Sub-Studio who caught up with James Dyson’s latest inventions at Skylight West in New York.

The event was full of Dyson goodies, including the brand new Dyson Hot fan heater and the recently released DC41 Animal vacuum and DC34 handheld vacuum. The star of the show was definitely the the Dyson Hot - a “fan heater that warms the whole room faster than any other”. Although, since you can set the temperature anywhere between 32 and 99 degrees, it could work as a cooler too.

The Dyson Hot sucks air in from around the room and pushes it out at 6x the rate of intake, creating a jet of hot air. This causes the air in the room to circulate efficiently, allowing the Hot to take a much more accurate temperature reading of the room than your standard thermometer. As a result, it can heat the entire room to the desired temperature before it shuts off.

The new model is packed with fun design features too. Unlike traditional heaters, the heating coils are hidden in the oval frame, leaving no visible heating elements. Even the frame doesn’t get hot to the touch, even when on a high heat. If the unit is tipped over, it shuts off for safety. And the head is adjustable so that you can angle the heater up or down. The unit comes with a magnetized remote that is shaped to sit on the top of heater.

Check out more photos of the heater and vacuums on the next page, including some dissected Dyson machines (it’s so fun to look inside!), and even some Dyson marketing ingenuity in the bathroom!

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This year’s coverage of the London Design Festival kicks off with a post from our London-based editor Justine!

It is truly amazing what a perfectly designed, executed and situated lens and mirror can do to transform a space! John Pawson and Swarovski Crystal Palace have created a minimalist masterpiece that really showcases the beauty of the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral. Undeniably artistic, ‘Perspectives’ piece shows great understanding of the science of the optical experience and makes excellent use of light, space and proportion to capture and reflect the beauty of Sir Christopher Wren’s cathedral, 300 years after its completion.

‘Perspectives’ allows all visitors to look both up at the staggering beauty of the Geometric staircase as well as down from the top (a view accessible only to a privileged few). Pawson has accomplished this through a crystal meniscus of Swarovski crystal, situated on a reflective hemisphere. The view from above is then reflected downward from a spherical convex mirror hanging above in the tower’s cupola some 23m above. The project is a beautiful celebration of St. Paul’s and brings Swarovski’s role as a lens maker to the fore. The minimalist design of this impressive 14kg lens puts Wren’s architecture at the fore and provides a beautiful, unique perspective of this London landmark. London Design Festival is off to a great start! Check out more images of ‘Perspectives’, as well as photos of the champagne breakfast overlooking St. Paul’s on the next page!

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There’s something fun about pieces that take on such a mesmerizing yet sculptural form… like the The Limited Edition Melting Chair by Philipp Aduatz. It has a beautifully mirrored surface that captures a transitional state somewhere between solid and liquid. To capture this liquifying (or solidifying) effect, Aduatz studied the solidification of fluids as well as the melting of solids using 3D animation software. The chair is made from a fiber glass reinforced polymer that takes on a mirrored appearance due to a special silver coating and scratch resistant polyurethane lacquer. Feels very… terminator, doesn’t it? Take a peek at more pics on the next page!

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Walrus chairs, skulls made of fruit and a concert of goldfish are all part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

The new bat cave, perfectly rearranged alphabet soup and wing-powered mind-control circuitry are all part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. Find out more about each post by clicking on its individual image.

This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org includes Star Wars blueprints, a look inside the Mercedes AMG Driving Academy and a Gregor scarf/calendar. To find out more about each post, click on its indvidual image.

Running around San Francisco this weekend, popped by a few of the old spots ~ and had to go by Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery on Haight. My other old neighborhood fav that we also went to this week, their sister spot up Haight, The Alembic. Food and drinks at both were spectacular as always ~ but what made me grab my camera was the menu redesigns… both the their interior and branding were done by Nothing Somthing: NY. The attention to detail ~ beautiful typography ~ the little type snippets hidden about ~ the images on the flip sides of the pages… also Magnolia had some delicious Devils on Horseback (goat cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon) and Pulled Pork Poutine. And we couldn’t help but try two cases of the 6 beer samplers to work our way through all of their latest brews. Take a peek at it all on the next page!

p.s. If at The Alembic - Slow Cooked Farm Egg (with quinoa, chorizo, fava beans, maitake mushroom, idiazabal) is a must try. Also the Bone Marrow. Mmmmm.

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The latest edition of Assouline’s Proust Questionnaire is beautiful ~ leather bound and printed on vellum paper with silver foil edges. The filled questionnaire on the cover in gold is a nice touch, and it would look great on any bookshelf. This classic interview question list is quite the personality test ~ Perhaps the best detail is the inclusion of blank questionnaires you can have friends fill out… or turn it in to your new guestbook and really get to know more about who you have in your house… take a peek inside on the next page

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Teaser from the Keystone Design Union just came through with these awesome designs featuring iconic creatures of the pacific northwest for K2 Snowboards’ 25 Year Anniversary Collection. I’m already lusting after all of the stickers and shirts ~ everything from owls and beavers ~ bears and deer ~ to bigfoot! Nice black and white, fun “Don’t Mess With The North West” slogan, and illustrations that just scream ROAR. Take a look at more graphics on the next page!

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This week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org captures genetic similarities, includes interactive painting robots and the world’s smallest interchangeable lens digital camera among many others! To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Last night, we previewed the Gooding & Co Auction at Pebble Beach and the collection is mind blowing. Each iconic car flashes you back to a nostalgic time of its own… and of course amongst the fun, i got lost in the amazing details… so here’s a roundup of hood ornaments and a bit more that grabbed me… i think i’m also lusting after classic cars in black and white, but more to come on that later… to the next page!

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Cats on scanners, epidermal electronics and a plane that can go from NYC to LA in less than 12 minutes are all part of this week’s NOTCOT.org roundup. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

The Thinkspace opening tonight ~ Dabs Myla “The Best of Times” was like stepping into a twisted colorful wonderland ~ think that disney version of Sword in the Stone where the teacups and such come to life at Merlin’s… meet the psychedelic part of Dumbo… and then make it all a little less PG. It was crazy, colorful and a mix of objects coming to life in all of the installations of painted found objects and wondrous typography. You have to see it in person to get the full effect, but take a peek at some of my favorite little moments hidden within the show on the next page!

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Penciled skulls, rainbow ants and a house in a book are all part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.