Well I made it to Grand Designs bank holiday Monday and had an enjoyable time browsing the show.
The stand finish and flooring are great and if you should ever think about taking a stand there as a designer maker, there is no need for much dressing of the stand itself, no paint work required here. The designer arcade was interesting and on talking to exhibitors it appeared that there was a good amount of press interest and opportunity for trade as well as retail sales.
There was no designer tableware to speak of, some ceramics but generally decorative ceramics- vases and bowls, quirky stuff or very austere functional pieces, so is it that china tableware doesn't work there or is it in the process of moving in !
How was your weekend ? Mine was a good mix of partying and culture, had a very pleasant time at a friends 40th birthday bash and then on Sunday I visited 'The Dictionary of Dress ' at Blythe House, near Olympia London.
Myself and my girlfriends had been expecting a tour around Blythe House ( which houses many of the Victoria and Albert (V&A) and British Museum artifacts) showing us costume with a guide giving us information about the conservation etc. Not the case ! we were quite a long way off the mark !
The Dictionary of Dress is a series of art installations currently staged in various locations within Blythe House, including the roof space. The tour was indeed interesting as it gave us an insight into the workings of such a building, the conditions required for storage of artifacts and the security measures. As to the installation art, really not my thing.
Blythe House itself was initially the workplace for 7000 victorians/edwardians and used as a post office sorting office. Interestingly, even though work there began at the end of the 19th Century the women and men workers were strictly segregated across the building and never met, the men entered the building through the front entrance and the women through the back door !
After a nice lunch we walked down to the V&A inself to take a refresher browse of the fashion section, the current special exhibition (entrance fee applies) showcases the clothes of Grace Kelly, movie icon and princess.
On show at the V&A was a beautiful dress by the late great Alexander McQueen, a dress made with a vivid digi-print design. It reminded me that when I was at college we did a lot of this type of design essentially exploring the pattern effects achievable with various graphics programmes.
I have been inspired to try a few one off wall plates decoarted with some digi-prints for showcasing at Surrey artists Open Studios which begins next month so I must get working on those NOW and will report on my progress later...
