Sorry, no posts for a few days! I’m popping over to Paris for a few days before Christmas, so I won’t be posting anything for the next few days. I’ll be staying in Christian Lacroix’s Hotel du Petit Moulin, which is a fantastic hotel for the design-concious traveller, but I’ll tell you more about that on my return.

See you all soon!

Creative recycling. I love the idea behind Life is Suite by Raw Nerve.

A sofa is discovered in the back streets of Deptford. Sad looking, with its broken leg and ripped leather, its fate was to be left out on the streets, damp and rejected. Thinking this was not a good way for it to go, Raw Nerve took it back to the studio. It sparked the group’s imagination as we considered all the things it may have experienced in its lifetime.

We re-upholstered the sofa so that imprinted on it, like a memory, are all the imagined stories of its life so far. The surface of the sofa is essential to the telling of the stories. To read the stories the sofa has to be explored and interacted with, lifting cushions to reveal tales and listening to sounds coming from deep within, which unravel the intimate and personal secrets of its past.

Learm more about Life is Suite.

Modern tiles. I’m not really a fan of tiles, I prefer clean flat walls, but these Joint Tiles by Jan Janess Dijkstra are pretty cool. I can imagine them looking really effective as a modern accent wall.

See more work by Jan Janess Dijkstra.

Random colourful objects. I have no idea what these colourful and architectural objects from Marco Zanusojr Jr are suppossed to be used for. I assume their bowls or vases. Whatever they’re meant to be used for their interesting in their own right.

See more work by Marco Zanusojr Jr.

Designer underware. I failed to convince people last summer that the cool illustrated espadrilles available from The String Republic were hip. Now The String Republic are back, but this time with underware. So hopefully it’ll be easier to convince people to wear these great designs this time around.

Via NotCot.

Dear Santa… I know it’s horrifically expensive, but I really want Taschen’s Domus 1928 – 1999 books.

TASCHEN’s twelve-volume reprint features selected highlights from the years 1928 to 1999. Reproducing the pages as they originally appeared, each volume is packed with articles that bring to light the incredible history of modern design and architecture.

Find out more about Domus 1928 – 1999.

Great idea for a tea break! The O’s & X’s Mugs are a fun idea for passing the time on an office tea break. Marked with either an X or an O, the mugs allow a pair of tea drinkers to play a classic game of Naughts & Crosses. They would make a good christmas gift too.

See more stuff from A Freedom Of Choice.

Chairs & graphic styles. There’s something graphic in style in the design of the 5MM by Mikael Mantila. It’s reminds me of the geometric graphic works of Richard Sarson that I’m currently in love with. If I ever owned a 5MM chair, I’d sit it down next to a load of framed posters of Sarson’s work.

Industrial looking table designs with colour. I’m quite keen on the metallic colouring effects on the Dip Table designed Peter Traag & Sebastien Noel.

The Dip table system in anodized aluminium by Peter Traag and Sebastien Noel are pieces with an artistic flavour, developed using industrial technology. The surprising but austere effect is obtained through immersion and controlled rotation of the aluminium plate in an organic galvanic bath with natural pigments.

See some photos of the dip table here ( or see these photos: photo, photo, photo.)

It looks like indoor sparks. I’mnot sure if the photo of the Hoar Frost light from Jess Shaw simply makes the light look like massive indoor sparks, or whether it’s actually like that in real life. If it is, then I want one!

See more lighting designs by Jess Shaw.