The latest from London-based editor, Justine Aw. Today she caught up with the action at Clerkenwell Design Week 2012.

Clerkenwell Design Week always amazes me with its beautiful and unusual venues throughout East London that provide beautiful backdrops for design. In addition to the stunning Farmiloe building and House of Detention. This year, CDW have added a third gorgeous and unexpected venue, the stunning Order of St. John. The order has been taken over by CDW to create two gorgeous gallery spaces, one light, airy and very bright space and a more mysterious, but equally stunning crypt! More photos of this gorgeous space and the beautiful furniture it showcases on the next page.

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We love succulents here at NOTCOT ~ remember the amazing patterns and incredibly gummy looking ones? The geometry of the patterns they create and emerge in are just mesmerizing… not to mention the colors and flowers and how tiny they start out and how adorably they evolve! Anyhow… while driving back down the 1 from Monterey to LA, we got curious and started pulling off to see the main streets of the towns along the way, including Cambria! And my eyes did a double take when i saw a bright, playful sign reading “Rare and Unusual Succulents” ~ we HAD to stop! And it is amazing. First you go through a house of garden goods… through their large patio… then you see it. Another house! With another “Rare and Unusual Succulents” sign on top… and within the Grow Nursery is loads of air plants (even in bubble gum machines!)… and out to ANOTHER patio FILLED with truly rare & unusual specimens. It was like a succulent wonderland, and we met the lovely Jan Moon, who blew our mind with her knowledge of them, rattling off scientific names and families and lots of information on which were new hybrids, what to expect, how to water, and more!

So check out the adorable and amazing space of Grow Nursery’s Rare & Unusual Succulents as well as the assortment we gave in to on the next page!

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A little botanical inspiration from our London-based editor Justine Aw, who visited this year’s RHS Chelsea, which is open to the public from May 22nd to 26th.

The “Environment” section at RHS Chelsea was one of my favorite corners of The Great Pavilion. The section is new to the show and housed some of the most interesting displays that seemed so relevant to urban London, exploring how we can find green spaces in the city and manage to fit plants into our busy metropolis. From hydroponic air-lifted green soilless bottle walls to cress growing in a grid of bottle caps and even plants growing in old sneakers! See it all on the next page…

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Rambutan Martinis, Kahlua Pudding Pops, and Cupcakewurst are all part of this week’s delicious roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

This post is presented by Volvo! Thanks, Volvo, for supporting and sharing our passion for design!

New York Design week has just passed, and as always, design events and products took over the city… with emails and coverage and goodness appearing all over the internet, even though i didn’t make it to NY this week, i’ve been following along and here’s a roundup of designs that grabbed me! From wheelbarrow chairs and bot like modular lamps… beautiful tables made of stunning wood or grassy tops… lamps both generative and basketball inspired… and more! See it all on the next page!

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The beautiful Blooming Spark I Chandelier was created exclusively for Vessel gallery by by Hsiao-Chi Tsai and Kimiya Yoshikawa. This floral light is a mesmerizing mix of colors, uv/incandescent, and materials…

As described on the Vessel gallery blog, “Tsai and Yoshikawa come from textile and sculpture backgrounds respectively. Their joint practice has cumulated in some extraordinary pieces that marry unexpected materials such as neoprene, acrylics and UV paint with lighting and installation. Their bold use of colour and modern sensibility combine to produce joyful, imaginative work. The pieces are contradictory being synthetic, organic and hand made all at the same time. Well known for their public and private commissions, for Vessel Gallery they have produced a vibrant unique sculptural chandelier in acrylic that resembles a bouquet of alien botany launched at Superdesign 2011, London’s premier design and art exhibition. Blooming Spark I is made in an edition of 9 + 3AP. Price £11’250. Dimensions: Height 55cm x Diameter 100cm. Blossom Spark I consists of 4x lamps max 60W E27 and 9x UV lamps. It is wired as two separate circuits that can be controlled independently.” See more details of the Blooming Spark I in light and dark on the next page.

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A pavilion with bubbles for walls, fruits grown in juice box molds and views of the solar eclipse are all part of this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

A little botanical inspiration from our London-based editor Justine Aw, who visited this year’s RHS Chelsea, which is open to the public from May 22nd to 26th.

As you know, here at NOTCOT, we adore our carnivorous plants (remember our own cape sundew? and trips up to California Carnivores?). Well, the carnivorous plants on display at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show did not disappoint. Although I only spotted two stands of carnivores on display, they were both stunning with some remarkable specimens from glistening sundews, to delicately drooping pitcher plants. Enjoy more photos of carnivorous plants at Chelsea on the next page!

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A little botanical inspiration from our London-based editor Justine Aw, who visited this year’s RHS Chelsea, which is open to the public from May 22nd to 26th.

My highlight of this year’s show was almost certainly The Westland Magical Garden designed by Diarmuid Gavin. The enormous structure is over seven stories high and home to over 3,000 plants. From the ground, it simply looks like an overwhelming fortress, a tangle of greenery and scaffolding from below, but is home to so many treasures and makes stunning use of the space and views! It is seven stories of surprises! Above all, it remains playful with swings, ludic furniture and an incredible slide all the way to the ground from the fifth floor!

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Catch up on fashion’s finest in this week’s roundup from Notcouture. To find out more about each post by clicking on its individual image.

There’s something magical going on over at TBWA\Chiat\Day in LA ~ I’ve been following @LeeClowsBeard on twitter for years now… endless amusement, for a while it was unclear if it may be the advertising legend Lee himself… then word spread it was another “fake” twitter account… the type that people stop caring is fake because its so well written and amusing. But you always wonder who is behind this stuff, and whether their “inspiration” approves. Well, in the case of Copywriter, Jason Fox, in Dallas,TX… while he managed to last about a year before asking if Lee knew about this twitter, and whether he approved, it seems to have worked out like a dream. Lee not only approved, but now there is a BOOK and an iOS APP!

Here’s a look at Jason Fox’s digital reveal today ~ and it was amazing to get to join the team at TBWA\Chiat\Day LA for the launch of Let There Be Dragons (TBWA\Chiat\Day’s new content creation offshoot who is also responsible for the book!) as well as the @LeeClowsBeard Book! Take a peek on the next page to see the festivities (including real life Lee Clow with 2D Lee Clow and @LeeClowsBeard) and a peek inside the book!

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This week’s roundup from Tasteologie and Liqurious includes strawberry mojitos, dandelion pancakes and mini rainbow vanilla bean donuts! To find out more about each delectable post, click on its individual image.

The BIG Jambox from Jawbone is here! and much like its tinier predecessor, the Jambox, (which we unboxed poolside over a year ago) - if you order it from Jawbone themselves, the packaging is FAR more fun than what you’ll see in retail stores… playful graphics adorn the cardboard box vs the clear plastic cases that showcase the product in stores. So, what’s fun about the BIG Jambox vs the Jambox? As the name says, it’s bigger ~ but also has bass, 15 hours of battery life, play/pause/skip buttons, and their new LiveAudio. While we love having the little Jambox for running around and even in the bathroom to bluetooth music while in the shower… the BIG one, is perfect for the kitchen or outside in the yard… and they both make for the perfect conference call mic/speaker!

Head to the next page to see the full unboxing and a size comparison between the BIG and small!

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Birds made from LEGO, fitness minded furniture and camel jumping all feature in this week’s roundup from NOTCOT.org. To find out more about each post, click on its individual image.

Inspiration in the randomest of places ~ ART IS MEDICINE! I remember vaguely seeing pictures of these little Zee pill toys by swiss toy makers, URFabulous (whose website is sadly no longer up!) years and years ago, but only just ran into a case of them yesterday and couldn’t resist the adorable little blind boxes. The packaging and pharmaceutical-esque copy heavy “instructions” that accompany it are even crazier than most you will get with real medication! See more pics and a full unboxing on the next page!

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