out and about :: coffee and design in London

Even the most hardened of London explorers sometimes need to refuel. And the design geeks among us would always prefer to do so in a cafe or bar with some serious design credentials. Luckily, a few real gems have popped up lately. Here are my three favourites; first the V&A Reading Rooms on Exhibition Road in Kensington.

V&A Reading Rooms

A bookshop with a bar; why has no-one thought of that before?

out and about :: london’s libraries (part 2)

Now, where were we? That’s right, just outside Holborn Central Library.

Festival-style canopy outside Holborn library

In my last out and about post, we got half way through the 20^th Century Society’s tour of London’s libraries; “Lend us your books, a day ‘in Libris’” and now for the rest…

interview :: anthony burrill

I still can’t quite believe I have met and interviewed the man behind the “work hard and be nice to people” poster that adorns so many design studio walls and  provides daily inspiration for the design community and beyond.

Watching the ping pong outside Outline Editions

Arguably the driving force behind the current appreciation for typography; you might describe Anthony Burrill as a designer’s designer.

out and about :: london’s libraries

Having recently joined the 20th Century Society, the boy and I joined them for “Lend us your books, a day ‘in Libris;'” a day exploring the development of the public library from the turn of the 20th century right through to the 21st; focusing on architecture, planning and design.

Peckham library

We started the day, bright and early, at Kensington Central Library.

here’s one I made earlier :: yellow owl workshop

I love the Yellow Owl Workshop so I was very excited indeed to hear that Christine and Evan were coming to London, for the launch of Christine’s new book, Print Workshop.

My copy of Print Workshop signed by Christine Schmidt and the little fish stamp she made me!

So excited in fact that I booked the afternoon of work and went along to Urban Outfitters in Spitalfields for the launch, and I’m very glad I did.

creative spaces :: ian lettice

This month’s creative space belongs to Ian Lettice. I met Ian through the Friends of Putney School of Art and Design, and discovered his wonderful studio during Wandsworth Artists’ Open House.

Ian Lettice's studio

He first noticed the building that is now his studio when helping out with the local scouts. Once a bomb shelter to the factory building that is now the scout hut,

out and about: the temporium

On Thursday evening, I went along to London’s latest pop-up design shop; The Temporium, a collaboration between Dezeen, Deborah Spencer and Alice Breed. It featured some of my favourite designers, so I was very excited – and I wasn’t disappointed.

The Temporium

The first things I spotted were…

out and about :: tom dixon in the dock

Tom Dixon has a shop; in London; selling “spectacular everyday things”… so naturally I went along to take a look…

Tom Dixon Shop

It’s set within “The Dock“; a design hub housing…