design – Wandering Cows

Curiosity Cloud Room

September 29, 2015October 13, 2015Posted in london, ukTagged culture, design, London, museum, phone camera, Victoria & Albert Museum6 Comments

Once a month, the V&A have their Friday Late event, each with a different theme and free entry in the evening until the museum is full. I went to the London Design Festival one last Friday and totally loved it.

My favourite was the Curiosity Cloud installation room. We had to queue for about 10 minutes, our excitement matching the soft whirring buzz we could hear in the room. When we entered, we were struck by the soft illumination of 250 glass bulbs suspended from the ceiling. Some of the globes had fabric moths inside them which whizzed around as you walked through the installation. I didn’t know whether it was motion- activated. Nevertheless, it made me think of the phrase “moths to a flame”. And I felt smugly cultured for the week.

~ Spotted Cow

Summer lounging

June 30, 2015July 14, 2015Posted in london, ukTagged Bauhaus, British summer, design, Hampstead, iconic design, interiors, Isokon Gallery, Isokon Long Chair, Marcel BreuerLeave a comment

The summer heat has arrived and I’ve been looking longingly online at sunloungers. I can tell you that the one I truly want is the Isokon Long Chair, designed by Marcel Breuer –although technically it’s a lounger rather than a sun lounger.

I saw it when I visited the Isokon building and gallery in Hampstead, North London. The building dates back to the 1930s and was an early experiment in busy modern living. The modular apartments included a set of furniture designed by its Bauhaus tenants, and the Isokon Long Chair was my favourite piece.

I can imagine myself lounging on the long chair, reading a book in languid fashion. Its shape supposedly aids digestion if you choose to catch forty winks after a meal. That suits me right down to a tee.

The long chair’s design has been mimicked and copied many times over through the decades. In fact, we bought an Ikea bestseller – the Poäng armchair and footstool – for our Dad years ago. But I have to say that the Isokon Long Chair is far more elegant, with its smooth lines and tactile curves.

You can get one made for you at the Isokon Plus workshop, which as it turns out, has a sale on now.

~ Spotted Cow

Weekly Photo Challenge: Symmetry

February 17, 2015March 1, 2015Posted in europe, weekly photo challengeTagged Copenhagen, Danish design, design, postaday, Signs, symmetry, Weekly Photo Challenge10 Comments

One of the things I love about Copenhagen is Danish design. I normally wouldn’t take a picture of the public convenience sign, but in this case, I thought it had a certain symmetry, which appealed.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Symmetry

~ Spotted Cow