Behind/Bmrng

Democratising Design - www.Bamarang.co.uk

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British blogging is it's own world. There are thousands of interesting blogs to be distracted by, about everything from design, art & style, to technology, fashion & food. After a few weeks of kind and generous blog posts on Bamarang by some of our favourite bloggers, we got thinking about how to work with them in a different way. This week we're trying something a little new by teaming up with Ellie from Pretty Much Penniless, the style blog with a hint of vintage and a twist of humour. Other than the fact we can't get enough of her musings, her impeccable taste lends itself well to selecting her top 5 buys on Bamarang this week. Have a look at her run down below and check out what she thinks of Bamarang at PrettyMuchPenniless.com.

"This Orelia Boutique tulle pom-pom alice band is perfect for summer weddings and festivals alike. I’d wear my hair in loose curls, pinned just right to hide the band, with a fitted pastel lace dress. Orelia have some very pretty accessories available in the sale with bows, feathers and flowers galore.

Fancy a game of Scrabble? I’m obsessed with these alphabetical tile cushions from Wild & Wolf. At £13 each they’re affordable enough to buy your initials, or even stretch to your favourite word. Sadly, my sofa just isn’t big enough for Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

"I’ve been a huge Rob Ryan fan for years and when he brought out a range of home-wares, they were at the top of my shopping list. These Four Seasons plates are all beautifully illustrated and, if you don’t fancy using them to eat off, would look fantastic hung on the wall. There’s also cushion covers, vases and mugs available. This set of Melamine bowls, along with all the other picnic gear from RICE Homewares, would look great in a simply decorated kitchen to brighten up even the gloomiest of corners. I personally don’t think you can ever own too much kitchenalia or bakeware, but if you have to be selective, choose colour over convention."

We're in love with Ellie's choices, which one's your favourite? Check out her whole selection on the fabulous PrettyMuchPenniless.com.

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Mexican designer Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers, is based between London and Mexico city. Using her Latin background fused with her European education, she creates furniture that is both beautiful and striking – there's always something to make you smile with VAL. As we've launched a special VAL collaboration on Bamarang, we popped over to her Shoreditch studio to see the place where all the magic happens. Filled with Mexican craft, piles of sketch books and more moodboards than you could ever imagine, the place is a hub of creativity. Val took time out of her hectic schedule to tell us about why she chose the UK as her home away from home and the curious project she's currently working on.

How has your Mexican roots influenced your work?

The funny thing is, I feel the British sensibility is very similar to Mexican. We both love colour and we're not afraid of it. The difference is the light. The light in Mexico makes everything look so vibrant, so the art reflects that. In Britain, you need to make colours brighter in order for it to stand out. Funnily enough my Mum is Welsh and German, so in a way I've come home by moving here. My whole family is made up of migrants, so I've got this resourceful, hardworking, creative attitude in my blood. If you move around a lot you need to be tough to make it work.

I try to use local crafts people as much as possible. I just completed a textile design hand embroidered by a Mexican woman in a little village. What I like to do is take the traditional and showcase it in a contemporary way. It's important to rescue the traditional crafts that are being lost.

How did you get into furniture design?

As I child I grew up on building site making things. My Dad used to build houses on the weekend so I was always around tools and creation. I became more and more interested in the things that went in the house than the house itself – I think it's because there's a sense of instancy with furniture. You can make a chair in a day but a house takes years. My formation is in industrial design but I moved to London to do a Masters in contemporary furniture. I always loved furniture because it's the closest thing you've got after clothing. It's part of our daily lives. I became really technical in Mexico – designing straight on the computer, worrying only about timelines and costings. I lost a sense of what is important. I knew I had all the technical knowledge but what I was missing was the artistic side. Central St Martins took away my computer and forced me to use a pencil and sketchpad. It was the best thing to happen to me.

Why did you choose London?

I'd hit a glass ceiling in Mexico. I'd worked with the best of the best there so really needed a challenge. London is the gateway to Europe for me. I wanted to communicate with my furniture and I hoped that London could provide me way to do this. I've learned so much by being here – my eyes have truly been opened.

In Mexico the attention is focused solely on industry, so the creative side is seen of only as fun craft. It's not really taken seriously. In London there is a huge heritage of hand made craft, making hand made goods and being proud of it. When you get a hand made product in the UK, it's not a 'cute crafty' product, it's sold as unique, high end and luxurious.

London never ceases to inspire. All you have to do is walk down the street and you see so many people, things, places that smacks you in the face. I love being able to spend half the year here.

What are you working on at the moment?

I recently travelled back to my home town of Mexico City. My friends and I went on a camping trip into the wilderness and ended up in a hidden port. It's lovely, very rustic and isolated. As we were driving, I saw this log cabin with beautiful furniture outside. The work really struck me. The place is so out of reach – no internet, no mobile signal – so I knew I had to act fast if I was going to work with the guy who made it. I went right over and from there we started sketching together and talking about ideas. Luckily he had an email account so I could stay in touch with him and a few months later I returned to spend a week with him in his wood cabin to create the furniture I envisioned.

What we ended up creating was a natural version of a porters chair. There was no electricity so we worked every day from 8am to 6pm. It was incredible. We got green branches and bent them into curved shapes, developing a basic structure. It looks very organic. It's important to build a creative synergy when you're working with someone else – I knew I liked his work, but in a collaboration you really rely on each other as a team. It's funny because we are worlds apart, but we met through art. When it comes to hand made things, we speak the same language.

The hand crafted VAL chair is now on display in the Pinta Art Fair from June 6th - 10th in Earls Court, London. Check out the selection of exclusive Ghost chairs with up to 43% off on Bamarang now!

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AARDVARKONSEA

AARDVARKONSEA is the design collective that integrates art and life. Founded by Pea and Lesley, the company started in a tearoom as the women gave away posters as gifts. Striking a chord with customers, their typography designs became cult classics and now they dedicate their time to printmaking on their Vandercook Universal 3 full time. With a love a bit of good old fashioned British fun, Pea and Lesley create striking and meaningful vintage inspired posters - we just had to ask them where their inspiration came from...

How did you get into this design career? Completely by accident – we used to run a tearoom and made a poster as a gift for customers, which became a cult item. We discovered the joys of letterpress and decided to devote our energies to printmaking rather than cake-making. Aardvark is a collaborative and mutable practice: we don’t limit ourselves as we find it pleasurable to be open to new ideas and methods. We both have formal art school degrees, in 3D Design and Fine Art but other than that we are self-taught mavericks.

What does good design mean to you? Good design needs to be relevant and have context, responsibility and integrity. Aardvark’s personal preference is for craftsmanship and human involvement and we despise self referential and mediocre design. Our mission is to devise and produce art-type products of real cultural capital.

Where do you most like to create? Ideas tend to surface at unlikely moments – in a field, in a village hall, in the bath. We’re not very good at keeping sketchbooks, so we use phones, cameras and scrappy bits of paper to record. Everything from words and phrases, obscure paint colours on buildings, handmade signs make up our vernacular delights. Since we acquired our own press, the mighty Vandercook Universal 3, we are able to get ideas into print much more quickly.

What does your average day look like? A typical day starts off with good intent – get up early, walk the dog, go swimming (we live at the seaside), then off to the studios for a full day of production followed by a delicious, nutritious dinner and 8 hours refreshing sleep. In actuality we spend about 30% of our time actually making prints, and the rest is administration and sales. Our official working day is entirely contingent, but like Kurt Schwitters we do not separate art and life.

How do you like to spend your free time? Pursuing many mutual and separate interests: Pea’s hobbies include mid-century design, B-movies and DIY. Lesley enjoys knitting, singing and is president of a WI. Together we enjoy walking and visiting English cultural outposts such as tearooms, village fetes and pubs that serve egg and chips.

What would you say is your biggest achievement to date? Designing a print for the Victoria and Albert Museum ‘Cherry on the Cake’ event, which is still selling in the V&A shop.

What do your customers respond best to? The juxtaposition of contemporary text with a vintage aesthetic. There are dozens of typographic prints and posters on the scene but few if any capture the zeitgeist. We strive to avoid mediocre and meaningless words – everything we make reflects our own values: we’re not fashion-oriented and care very little for keeping up with trends. We seem to have inadvertently created a’ brand’ which thrives on humour and integrity.

What place in the world inspires you most and why? The English landscape – Lake District, Sussex Downs, Seven Sisters, Romney Marshes, West Dorset: anywhere with monumental scenery which reminds you of your place in the world.

What are your plans for the future? To keep doing what we do best, work that makes us happy and not to feel obliged to jump on the latest bandwagon. Also to build a house, adopt more lurchers, keep bees and possibly a donkey.

Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artists: Jeremy Deller, Grayson Perry & Miranda July are equal favourites. Favourite Food: Fruitcake Favourite Album: Whokill by Tuneyards Favourite City: Stockholm Favourite Book: Delia Smith’s Book of Cakes

See the full collection of original vintage inspired prints at Bamarang.co.uk now!

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Forget about ACNE, Cheap Monday and COS, Dr Denim is the Swedish fashion dynasty that everyone's talking about. When it comes to the most essential piece of clothing in your closet, it’s best to get geeky with the brand that leaves nothing to chance - that's why Dr Denim have become the vanguard of the industry.

These chinos and shorts are the result of four decades of obsession by three generations of the Graah family, on a mission to create a perfect-fitting pant that also performs in hot summer weather. Designed to suit all sizes, this kit is desired by discerning men with an eye for a great fit and our design scout Gui is no different. As soon as he got his hands on a sample, he whipped them on and we got snappy in the Shoreditch sunshine. To see the full range of deep and pastel coloured denim go to Bamarang.co.uk.

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Whether it's music, photography or design, John Cheves' has mastered the lot. He's been a photographer for NME magazine and played a session for John Peel but it's his 'Wasted and Wounded' letterpress prints that are getting everyone talking these days. Taking inspiration for his musical passions, he's created a range of witty and warm prints that are currently rocking the Bamarang office. This week we spoke with John who, as it turns out, is as witty and warm as his work. How did you get into this design career? Design is something that has always interested me. I studied photography at college and a large part of that involved design, whether putting together photobooks and exhibitions or using design as an element within the photographs themselves. After working as a photographer for a number of years, I was looking for a new challenge and that’s when I started working with design more and making these typographic prints. When do you look at an item and think 'Now, that's great design'? Good design should have an elegance and grace to it. For me, it’s about trying to retain a certain simplicity but it’s also about paying close attention to detail, not just to the initial design, but through the whole process of making something. Do you have a scared place of inspiration? I moved from London to St Leonards-on-Sea six years ago. I find it a very inspiring place to live as there are so many creative people living and working here. One of the advantages of moving here is that I’m able to have a nice space at home which I love working in. Along with a couple of small letterpress machines my studio also houses my record collection, my books and a couple of guitars. If I’m short of inspiration I can find some there, or I can at least distract myself.

What does your average day look like? It usually lasts for about 24 hours, though I can’t say for certain as I’m not conscious the whole time. It involves in no particular order the following elements: Thinking, writing, talking, plugging and unplugging, turning things on and off, listening to music, staring into space, eating, staring at a screen, printing, sleeping. Well that's an awful lot to fit into one day! If you have any, what do you do in your free time? In the daytime: Wandering the streets with my camera. In the night time: Drinking a beer and listening to the blues. What would you say is your biggest achievement to date? I feel quite lucky in having achieved a few things along the way. When I was 15, I made up my mind that I wanted to be a photographer for New Musical Express and within a few years that’s exactly what I was doing. When I played in a band, I had the great honour to record a session for the John Peel show, which is something I’m still very proud of. In terms of my design work, I’m just pleased that I’m able to work on my own terms and do things that interest me. The fact that people want to buy my work and hang it in their own homes is achievement enough. Which is your prints are most popular? A lot of my customers love the letterpress prints for the unique quality and craft that’s involved in the process. No other printing process has the look or the feel of letterpress, and for typographic work nothing can compete with it. I think all my customers love music and they like the fact that my prints reference the music they love but in a new and original way. You have a very clear vision of what you represent - who inspires you? Mostly it’s those people who follow their own path and stay true to their vision, regardless of commercial value. There’s a guitar player from New York who I really like called Loren Connors. He’d put out his own records, all self-financed, and no one really paid any attention to what he was doing for years and years. He’s known quite well now in certain circles because bands like Sonic Youth picked up on his music and he now has an audience for what he does. It’s that purity of vision and determination to carry on regardless that I find really inspiring.

Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artist: I can’t make up my mind between Caravaggio and David Shrigley Favourite Food: Falafel from Gaby’s Deli in London Favourite Album: Tom Waits – Mule Variations Favourite City: London Favourite Book: The Americans by Robert Frank

Check out the full Wasted and Wounded range this week on Bamarang now!

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"Mr. City" is a Civil Engineer and freelance artist in the St. Louis area. We were instantly drawn to his intricate city maps (including our Capital City, London!) and fell in love with the human touch he's given to geography. The result is a combination of art and travel which we find irresistible.

How did you get into this design career?

I got the idea of starting Mr City Printing when I was looking around for some inexpensive but unique art to hang on the bare walls of my house. I had little luck finding things that weren't generic, so I decided I could create my own. The idea of a map art print was inspired by job as a transportation engineer.

What would you say is your biggest achievement to date?

The first print that sold. I was like "what, someone bought it? It was a confidence boost to get such a positive response to the prints so quickly. Im excited about how far Mr City Printing has come in less than a year.

What do your customers respond best to?

My customers love prints of places they have lived, grouping them together to make a talking piece for their homes.

What place in the world inspires you most and why?

My home town of St. Louis, Mo. It may not be the perfect city, but it has shown me that there is some perfection in everything.

Check out Mr City Prints on Bamarang here, for one week only!

Fast Favourite Five

Favourite Artist: Jimi Hendrix

Favourite Food: Thai Food

Favourite Album: Currently, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Favourite City: Vancouver, Canada

Favourite Book: I really like reading Fodor's books

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Mary Fellows is an artists with over 20 years of success under her belt. Best known for her quirky, British heritage screenprints, she's re-emerged as a star in the English art world with the revival of cool Britannia. Today we launch her range on Bamarang so we asked about her inspirations and her journey from Manchester to New York, Notting Hill to Lewes.

How did you get into this design career? It was what I always did. I studied 3D design at Manchester Poly and basically just kept making things when I left. I got a loan from the Princes Trust who also subsidised a stand at a Birmingham trade fair that got me started selling pots to shops. The textiles and prints are a newer thing that came along when I’d got so fed up with packing ceramics and wanted to make something that was easy to post! You studied in New York – how did the city influence you? I was Upstate in the middle of amish land with one bus a week, so it was not city life, but it was amazing. The students were so passionate about work and creativity that it made it all seem worthwhile and important, rather than an second option.

You had a store in Notting Hill – whats your favourite neighbourhood in London and why? Notting Hill with its market was great fun as I love the shops, market, carnival, even the buildings and the nearby parks. I was lucky to live there too but I’m glad I’m out of London now – Lewes rocks! Getting out of the city, you must now have a haven to let your mind run free. Where do you most like to create? Ideally the treehouse at home looking at the South Downs, but more often the studio in the middle of chaos.

You were a bestseller at Liberty's for over 10 years, is that your biggest achievement? Still in business after 10 years – I think it's basically doing what I like. My business was 20 in April which is a real achievement for me!

What place in the world inspires you most and why? I like the process of getting there. I’m ways inspired while sitting on a train or bus going somewhere. There are no distractions.

Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artist: Edward Bawden Favourite Food: Bread and butter Favourite Album: Cabaret - soundtrack Favourite City: It's not a city...but Lewes Favourite Book: My many coloured days by Dr Seuss

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Me and My Beretta

If you've not heard of Dutch brand Usuals, it's about time you got acquainted. Founded by Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe, their dream of designing and producing a range of beautiful products was realised in 1998 - 14 years and still going strong. 

"Our designs raise questions, we work with forms and style we all know, we add benefits to them to make it Nowadays products without loosing Their Own Characteristics. They make you change your perspective to things, and challenge you to look at another way to the world around you."

Mixing edgy surrealist design with traditional craft, the collective never fails to inspire us. Our favourite release so far is the Me and My Beretta bag, which we're excited to announce launches on Bamarang UK with 15% off tomorrow! See our range of colours at Bamarang.co.uk. 

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Matt Needle creates powerful iconic graphic imagery from the world of music and film. We loved his take on the greats like Bob Dylan, Bowie and Elvis so much, we launched the collection on Bamarang this week! How could we not? He's already worked with the likes of Nike, Tiger beer and Hugo Boss! We caught up with Matt who told us of his life of late nights, sketchbooks and travel.

How did you get into this design career? I am a Designer, Illustrator and Experimental Film-maker based in Cardiff, Wales. I graduated University Of Wales in 2009 by which time I had been freelancing, and submitting work to magazines & design competitions. My aim was to get it seen by as many people as possible. I worked for a few studios and magazines from 2006 and towards the end of 2009 I decided I wanted to go out alone and set up a freelance studio. In the past two and a half years I have worked on all kinds of briefs, for clients of all sizes, worldwide, including Nike, Big Chill Festival, Wired Magazine, CNN and many others. As well as working for many varied clients I have also been part of a fair few exhibitions worldwide; including places such as Sydney, Paris, New York, Manchester, Cardiff, and London. You use a lot of iconic imagery in your work which is widely recognised, is that good design to you? Good design is the marriage of style and function. By function I either mean registering an emotion, conveying a message or an actual physical function. Something that is over stylized and hollow is quite shallow design and pretty run of the mill. All my work is created in a minimal / iconographic style as I believe that something doesn’t need to be cluttered to make a point. I also approach every piece in a different way, hence why some designs are created in different and more experimental ways. Where do you most like to create? I work from a home studio, and even though it does get a bit of a cabin fever feel to it sometimes its still where I produce all my best work. I have a desk with my scanner, printer, Mac and lots of sketch pads around me. Most creative freelancers tell us the biggest perk of the job is not having an average day. What is a Matt Needle day like? I start work at 10am by answering emails, setting a work list for the day and doing any development work/sketches for projects and work solidly through to 6pm. From 6pm till midnight is my personal time, then I come back and finish of a few things before going to sleep at around 4am. I find it really relaxing to work really early in the mornings when everyones asleep. What would you say is your biggest achievement to date? My biggest achievement yet is probably that I've put my degree to use and set up my own business from nothing. Although its still small and early days, I've already worked with great people worldwide including Tiger beer, Hugo Boss, Big Chill festival, Wired magazine and many others. What do your customers respond best to? My print customers seem to like it when I come up with stuff for iconic films but in a fresh way that completely differs from the film studios output, yet still completely represents the subject matter. As for my design clients, they like the fact that I am approachable, accommodating, willing to work effortlessly till we come up with the perfect solution. What place in the world inspires you most and why? I recently travelled to Amsterdam. I'm toying with the idea of moving out there but I would say it would have to be there, New York or India. All because of the culture and the architecture amongst other things. Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artist: Magritte / Warhol / Saul Bass Favourite Food: Jerk Chicken. Generally anything with spice on actually. Favourite Album: Violent Femmes – Violent Femmes Favourite City: Amsterdam / New York Favourite Book: American Pyscho – Bret Easton Ellis

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Yeah No Yeah founder Hannah popped by the Bamarang studio in Shoreditch to show off her new alphabet prints, have a cup of tea and chat about her secret London. The results are below.

How did you get into this design career? I moved to London to go to art school and moved into corporate design when I graduated. It wasn't long after I realised that I didn't want to work in the corporate design world. I started to work independently as a graphic designer. I love being my own boss and have been lucky to work with some great clients. I'm a bit of a control freak and always dreamed about producing work that I love. I've always craved the freedom to design exactly what I wanted to and thats how YNY came about. It takes guts to go solo! How did you muster the courage to do it? I was still quite young when I made the decision so I didn't have much to loose. More importantly, the thought of continuing in the corporate world was motivation enough. Where's your favourite place to create? I have a lovely studio in Angel that I share with other creatives, its in an old factory so it has lots of character and natural light which is really important to me. The area is quite busy – like most of London in fact – but the studio feels like a safe haven, away from all that. What does your average day look like? I'm a bit of a slow starter but gradually pick up pace throughout the day! Most days are spent juggling my design work with sending out orders and promoting YNY. I love the freedom of working for myself and choosing my own hours. People always say London is a city that constantly changes, have you discovered anything new recently? Maltby Market in Bermonsey, tucked away behind Tower Bridge is amazing. It's where St Johns and Monmouth Coffee have their warehouses. It's only open on Saturdays so you can go, get a fresh coffee and eat a yummy donuts in the morning. Bermonsey has spread from Borough market and split from the foodie thing over there – it's changed so much recently. Is there someone in particular that inspires me? Whilst I try not to pay too much attention to what other people are currently doing there are some peoples work that really inspires me. Charlie Harpers' work is wonderful, super stylish, I love Alexander Girard's work and Paul Rand is very inspiring, especially his children's illustration work. It's really simple, yet full of personality. I went to see the Bauhaus exhibition at the Barbican recently and found that inspirational. Other than London, are there any other cities that feed your creative brain? New York is high on the list but any big city inspires me. There's always so much to take in at street level - street art, posters, signage. If I'm on holiday then I can really take the time to pay more attention to my surroundings. What's next for YNY? I'm definitely planning on adding to the poster range, especially limited run prints, but would also like to work with textiles and other products. Watch this space!

Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artist: Kandinsky Favourite Food: Avocado Favourite Album: KC Rules Ok - King Creosote (at the moment!) Favourite City: I have to say London really but New York when London's not behaving itself. Favourite Book: The Happy Helper Engine

Yeah No Yeah prints launched on Bamarang this morning - check out her range, at a very special price of course, at ProjectBamarang.tumblr.com.

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The sun has come out in the nick of time for this years Clerkenwell Design Week, East London’s three-day celebration of modern day design and culture. Across crowded cobble streets open showrooms, talks, films, food, pop-ups and street installations, more than enough to keep the Bamarang design scouts busy over the past 72 hours. This year, originators Darren Newton and Henry Pugh continued their search for distinct exhibition spaces. CDW’s venue The Farmiloe, once an ex-Victorian glass factory, is the central point for local and international designers like Ligne Roset and Hitch Mylius. Just a five-minute walk away in The House of Detention, a once fully-functioning Victorian prison, shows work from a number of exciting up-and-coming designers including Evil Robot Designs, Toby House and Antron. The final new venue on the block, Order of St. John was a 12th century crypt and helped provide an almighty holy setting for a Zanotta installation.

Over the past few days we've been busy snapping all over and saying 'Hi' to a few Bamarang friends including the team from Flux and Custhom. There were a couple of brands that really caught our eye, so here's a round up of what stood out to us.

Artemide: Since the 1960’s Artemide have been spreading their ‘human light’ philosophy. Better known for the Tolomeo and Tizio desklamps, Artemide continue to win awards and establish themselves among world-leading galleries. The new collection of works continues to display originality and a sense of freshness, the rounded table lamps helped softly lighten up a darkened corner of the Farmiloe factory.

Johnson Tiles: Stoke-on-Trent’s, Johnson Tiles winding exhibition stand captures each stage of the design process brilliantly. From the sourcing of renewable ceramics (2 piles of smashed crockery greet you on the right) to 12 buckets demonstrating depth of colour, right the way to finished product. A highlight of the event.

Swedese: New to Clerkenwell this year are Swedese, bringing with them new designs fresh from the Stockholm Furniture Fair. Occupying a larger space than the majority of exhibitors, Swedese adaptable furniture was nostalgic and well presented. 

Liam Treanor: Liam Treanor’s new range of upholstered products and furnishings drew many in an instant. Imogen Heath’s integrated textiles in these stacked cushions proved a perfect picture opportunity for many in the Farmiloe...us included!

As Jaguar was the official sponsor, they took pride of place in the centre of  The Farmiloe.  The design studio gave an exclusive insight into their design process, bringing a C-X16 with live clay modeller. Fascinating to watch a such a skilled professional at work.

Best of the Rest...

Vitra Showroom: A new film documenting the lives of Charles and Ray Eames "Eames: The Architect and The Painter" - free popcorn and a nice break for tired feet! Mischer’Traxler Studio: Vienna based artists Katharina Mischer and Thomas Traxler bring their ideas to Clerkenwell, focused on processes related to humans and the sun. Ping Pang Pong: Grab a wooden bat and two friends for a game of three-way ping-pong! F-a-c-e Lovehut: Make sure leave your post-it to a loved one inside this crafted wooden structure before you go.

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Why do you think the retro type work is important? We don't think of it as retro, we think of it as iconic or a classic type work that deserves an airing to new generations. The poeple who weren't around the first time. It’s also amazing what forgotten phrases and slogans can be dug up, that are still relevant today. Do you think the trend in 'type' will continue for much longer? As long as the design and execution is cool and keeps fresh, then there will always be a place for it. Is it just a British thing? Like many aspects of design we often appreciate things pretty quickly here in the UK. Type face artworks have potential to excite anywhere though. Do you think the masses are ready for this? Some things will never cross over fully into the mass market. “Keep calm and Carry On” is about as mass as things are going to get with type face / slogans, but even that is harder for much of the market than say a painting of a coastline. What was the selection based on? Quite simply, fonts and slogans in our LOLC collection that we would have on our walls. Things that make us smile and feel good. Does it matter that these are anonymous works?  Thats part of the attraction of LOLC, the Lost Content bit, trying to imagine the process and original uses. Considering how they were designed and artworked is fun, occasionally the original artwork pops up and that adds extra interest. Why do you feel people like words on their walls and not pictures? Some people are more graphically minded. It also just looks cooler, in the right place. Can you predict or do you want to start the next trend in wall art? This collection is the past, now and the future rolled into one. It's timeless.

Check out the full range of Hemingway Design prints on Bamarang NOW.

Interview courtesy of East End Prints.

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Sugru is the sort of thing that's difficult to explain. Or at least it's difficult to explain the sheer amount of genius that is Sugru. Thought up by Jane in 2003, it took a good seven years to become what it is today...but those 2556 days were worth the wait. It's helped up mend desks, secure electrical cables, protect handles and also make a cool bouncy multi-coloured mask. Now it's your turn to see how Sugru can mend your life.

Before we begin, there's a little something we'd like to clear up. What is Sugru? Sugru is a new air-curing rubber I invented to give everyone an easy way to adapt, modify, improve and repair their stuff to make it work better for them. Sugru is an amazing product, how did you come up with the idea? I studied various applied disciplines. Sometimes I called myself a designer but I always enjoyed messing about with materials and thought I could bring something to design through that. My idea was to think of everything as unfinished, half-made and for the consumer to complete. In the early stages that was just a concept, but I was used to working with all sorts of materials – clays, silicones, resins, sealants, materials used in dentistry and knew between those there had to be a way of creating a formula that would work. Products are designed to suit as many people are possible rather than to suit the needs of the individual. I think of Sugru as more of a tool to make things better. A small amendment would make it easier or more pleasurable to use. You have to buy into the notion of being able to shape all your stuff to make it more suitable for you rather than accepting what the manufacturer has offered. That's quite a radical idea. We loved reading the Sugru story on your site – it's really quite touching actually. In a nutshell...how did it all start? I bust my balls in 6 years of R&D to achieve the material properties I wanted. It was a really long slog and a long time to be broke, but definitely worth it! Something that's so interesting about the product, is consumers have a big part in the future of the product. We've seen some incredible, inspiring and hilarious YouTube videos showing the different uses for Sugru. What's your favourite Sugru hack? A user in Germany, Stefan, modified his digital camera so his 3 year old budding photographer could take photos without fear of dropping it. We replicated it to see how good it was and spent an hour or so throwing it around our yard. It was robust. You must've had a lot of products that needed altering over the years. What was your main reason behind it's creation? We’re very used to adapting, personalising and extending our homes – so why can’t we treat products more like this too? If your food processor rattles, shouldn’t you be able to make it work quietly? If your shoes give you blisters, you shouldn’t have to put up with it or go off and buy another pair, you should be able to make it better. Sugru can help.

We've got three coloured multipacks with up to 23% off this week on Bamarang! Check them out here.

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Working with the likes of Nobrow, Corraini and Zombie Collective, it's only right that Anthony Peters gets a place on the Bamarang Hall of Fame (or at least the chance for you to hang a piece in your hall). His art brand IMEUS is a powerful mix of simplicity and colour, always with a touch of humour.

We always find it interesting to discover why artists do what they do, especially when it involves grandfathers and dinosaurs...we had to ask more. How did you get into art? I was about 5 or 6 years old and my grandfather took myself and my brother to visit the Natural History Museum in London. I can vividly remember how awesome it felt to be surrounded by these giant skeletons and stuffed animals for the first time. My grandfather bought me a fold out poster containing amazing pictures of the main dinosaurs, when I got home I drew each one in meticulous detail and my mother told me they were excellent and that I should be an artist. For a few years after that I actually wanted to be an archaeologist, but pencils and paper are more readily available than sites of pre-historic importance. Your work often features typography, what interests you about that? Typography is an incredibly important part of all the visual communication that we consume everyday, and sometimes is far more beautiful than the image for which it is propping up. I use typography in my work as I love the balance between type and image. Somehow things can be completed when the two are balanced beautifully. I have a bit of an obsession with vintage packaging and advertising, as well as poster art, headline fonts and decorative typefaces and all this feeds into my work.

Where do you most like to create? My home office is where I do the actual legwork. This is a lovely glass extension flooded with light and surrounded by trees, flowers, birds and the odd fox or hedgehog. I am blessed to work in such a great place! Ideas seem to come to me when I am on trains, in the shower or at 2am when it’s a real pain in the arse to find a pen and paper! There's often a child-like quality to the work – how has this developed? Sometimes my work features un-cynical direct graphics that are as much about reducing an image to its most easily communicable form as they are about being naïve or nostalgic. Other times I use a childlike aesthetic to communicate something a little more sinister or humorous. Since having kids of my own I have been reunited with artists such as Eric Carle, Maurice Sendak, David Mckee, Dick Bruna, Quentin Blake & Dr Seuss for the first time in 25 years. I've also been exposed to amazing artists such as Ella Doran, Oliver Jeffers, Kevin Waldron and M.Sasek for the first time, as well as discovering that Paul Rand had made some wonderful children’s books in his career. These artists definitely have an influence on my visual style but I like to try and make my work as much for adults as for children. What would you say is your biggest achievement to date? Most of my biggest achievements are more creative than professional really. I was really honoured to have work in Nobrow and was really proud of my little Monograph for Corraini last year. This year I've been working on illustrating and art directing some kids apps and I've had work in a group show at the Hayward Gallery with the awesome Zombie Collective. These are my high points of the year so far! Also, it looks as though I may have my first solo show later in the summer!

What place in the world inspires you most and why? I think the sea is a big inspiration, maybe nature in general, it’s so epic and chaotic. Since moving to the South Coast I have definitely seen the theme of the seaside creep into my work more and more. I think the typography of seaside towns has crept into my subconscious, be it Ice cream vans and hot dog stalls or grand signage on piers or 100 year old hotels! What are your plans for the future? I want keep doing new things instead of repeating myself. I'd love to do some animation collaborations, and maybe Art Direct a music video or some large scale installation work! For now, I'm getting ready to work on my second app and preparing for the solo show.

Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artist: Sigmar Polke

Favourite Food: Mexican

Favourite Album: Animal Collective - Feels

Favourite City: Austin, TX

Favourite Book: Cormac McCarthy – The Road

Check out Bamarang.co.uk for our favourite selection of Anthony's prints. Each one is signed and numbered so you know you're getting something special, naturally.

Thanks to Simon Lee for the great photography.

[projectbamarang-blog]

Brace yourself for an overload of adorability: our first themed sale is KIDS, and we couldn’t be more excited. The Bamarang team is mostly made up of commitment-shy twenty-somethings, but there are a couple sage mums in the room with a great eye for children’s design. After all, why wait to introduce your children to excellent design? They’ve got baby neurons firing at light speed as they learn about the world around them, and we think they should be surrounded by beauty, comfort, and great ideas.

This curated selection of brands will prepare you for everything from baby shower to Primary School. Leading toy maker Trousselier makes adorable fleece bunnies, mobiles and dolls to keep babies engaged & happy, and your little one will be soothed into magical dreams with beautiful Le Petit Prince music boxes. For the older tumbling tots, French icon Vilac creates exquisitely crafted toys, from cars to airplanes to guitars. As your child gets more adventurous, so will their games! To top it all off, we’ve found the perfect clothes for playtime, lunch at Granny’s house or a day at the beach in Juliet & the Band.

Stop by Bamarang this evening to find everything you need to surprise the bundle of joy in your life. We think you’ll be rewarded by great, big, toothless smiles!

[projectbamarang-blog]

Here at Bamarang, we take our love for you guys pretty seriously. Over the past few months we've had Tweets, emails and even a box of chocolates showing love for what we do – searching for great design in everyday life, at incredible prices. So after 5 months of continued support, we decided it was about time to give something back.

For one week only, we're offering you a £20 bonus for every friend that you invite to our site as well as £10 toward each new member’s first purchase! But that’s not all. The three members who successfully invite the most friends will receive a supremely awesome BIG JAMBOX wireless speaker, worth over £250, absolutely free. BOOM, right? Yeah, we’re pretty excited too. Just think of all the wireless fun you could be having this summer watching movies in the park or having impromptu parties on the beach with the beautiful crisp sound of this portable sound system.

So, good luck. And in the words of Technotronic, PUMP UP THE JAM, PUMP IT UP…

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Formation Collection is the super-stylish souvenir design house, headed up by Maria Holmer Dahlgren. To celebrate her launch on Bamarang, we chatted to her in true 21st century style from London while she worked away in her Swedish cottage.

Tell us about your background. I have always worked with design concepts as an art director. I co-founded Ordning & Reda and also Bookbinders Design so in 2005 I felt confident enough to start my own mission! I wanted to design modern souvenirs with form and function for commuters. I really spotted a gap in the market for something high quality made in the country of origin so decided this was my calling.

What three words best sums up good design. Form. Function. Timeless.

If you manage to get any, what do you do in your spare time? Travelling. It's wonderful to see different people and new places. It's a wonderful planet we live in and I want to see it all. I do feel very lucky though, as our little country house in the Archipiligo is my favourite place to be creative.

You've done so many incredible things in your career, can you pin down your top achievement? My two fantastic daughters! Today they are 18 and 19 years old, and they are absolute the best!

Most inspirational place? I love big metropoles. London, Paris and New York all feature in my work a lot and that's because they're all melting pots of people and style. I love to study details.

What are your plans for the future? There's always room to travel more! Fast Favourite Five Favourite Artist: Picasso, both his work and lifestyle Favourite Food: Healthy slowfood and rawfood Favourite Album: Puccini “ La Boheme” Favourite City: Stockholm of course Favourite Book: My Gardenbook that tells me how to create paradis outdoor

Check out the full Formation Collection range here.