Stasis Lamp by Studio BAAG

I’m strangely attracted to Studio BAAG’s Stasis pendant lamp. It reminds me of a laughing buddha – friendly, cheery and reassuringly happy with its own sense of self.

This then is a lampshade for an interior less hung up on the formalities of design logic, while still retaining a feeling of contemporary freshness.

Perfect for adding a touch of individuality to any room.

Cutlery King – David Mellor

We recently revisited the David Mellor Visitor Centre and Cutlery Factory at Hathersage, a fantastic place on the edge of the Peak District, 15 miles west of Sheffied.

I say revisit, well it was for me anyway, as I cycled there in the early 1990s to check out David Mellor’s iconic factory – the then newly finished Round Building designed by Michael Hopkins. Built on an old gasometer base using local gritstone, the fabulous roof and central lantern is constructed like a trussed ‘spoked wheel’

Tapped

by Graham Powell

Gas… Hiss!     Electricity… Zap!     Water… Sploosh!

Ahh water… the utility that we really value.

Not some silent service that simply turns on the heat or flicks on the power for a myriad of consumer appliances or gadgets. Oh no.

Consider, for a moment the difference in points of delivery; valve? socket? or tap? and the experiential difference between the three; ugly? boring? or expressive? Water commands our respect and so design delivers our expectations.

Ingo Maurer – Design Illuminati?

 

This month Design Hunter focuses on lighting. In the first of a series of posts on the subject Graham Powell looks at the work of lighting designer Ingo Maurer.

 

Designer, artist, technician, poet and perhaps ‘magician’… Ingo Maurer has been a ‘free radical’ in the world of lighting design since the mid sixties. Born in Germany, emigrating to the USA and then returning to Munich to set up Studio M, Maurer has consistently wowed the design world with his experimental investigations in light – turning them into beautiful installations and accessible objects of desire.