Alvin Booth

Another artist that has grabbed my attention is Alvin Booth - an Englishman who first started out as a hairdresser before moving to New York in 1989 to pursue a career in photography.

The sculptural form captured in each shot is mesmerising. Each photograph is printed and toned by hand, giving these modern methods an old world look which I love!

His fascination with the human figure is shown using many techniques but the most striking for me have been the more abstract ones where the silhouette has been diffused and reduced to bare lines.

To create this contemporary concept, Booth has used latex, leather, metallic oils and gold powders. This simple technique highlights the curvature of the bodies beautifully and is further enhanced by his labor-intensive technique of producing grainy sepia-toned prints that have been detailed with burn marks and other calculated 'distress' effects.

If you are interested in taking a closer look at Alvin Booths body of work, pick up his book 'Corpus'.

Michael Wolf

Since I last posted, I have been working on a number of different exciting projects that have introduced me to an array of amazing suppliers and designers here in London and abroad.

Majority of my time has been spent sourcing artwork which I have always found a challenge as it's so subjective! One artist that I have completely fallen in love with though is Michael Wolf.

This very talented German photographer grew up in America and has spent the last 10 years or so working as a photographer and author in China.

What I love most about his photography is that it's both intimate and removed - one photo in the series will show the exterior of a massive city building with the next capturing the raw emotion of a commuter in a packed subway.

Each shot is raw - taking the responder inside an improvised senario that highlights the 'complex cultural identities' of the location. They truly make you think and you can't help but get lost in all the small details that have been cropped and presented to you.

For more of Michael's work visit www.photomichaelwolf.com

Window Shopping - London

With Christmas fast approaching, London city is being transformed into a shopping wonderland with amazing window concepts popping up in all areas of town.

Here is just a taste of what's in store this festive season...

Everything is so 'larger than life'. And I'm not just talking about the oversized objects but the way in which the entire window is executed. Every time I walk past one of these displays I discover something new...

This last image is definately a favourite. I can't believe that an entire piano was completely reconstructed out of old cassettes! I can only imagine how long that would have taken to put together...and all for only a couple of weeks on show. wow!

Environment vs Economy

This months edition of Wallpaper Magazine is making us all rethink "The New Sustainability". Inside, there is a completely to-the-point, non cryptic article that reiterates the effectiveness of the cradle to cradle approach of reusing old objects and materials to create new products.

The writer here, John-Paul Flintoff, delves into the past and looks at how we have evolved from a world where 'frenzied consumption' was encouraged to create a productive economy - seeking satisfaction both mentally and physically when embarking on a ritual to spend.

For manufacturers, planned obsolescence was the key. First they would design their products to eventually fall apart and then they moved to altering the aesthetics in order to entice customers in buying the gadgets with all the latest features. But now that we are all so consumed about the well-being of the planet, where does this leave the economy?

Today, all of our emphasis seems to fall on conservation. As designers, and even consumers, we are all far more conscious of the impact our choices make. If we stop buying though, we will be pushing ourselves further into debt. But if we continue to manufacture with the intention of creating products with a short life span where does that leave the environment?

Just a little something to ponder as you head to the shops this weekend...

London's Design Mecca

As a designer in Australia, I always found it a challenge to source the latest European products for my clients. Our stores and international reps are somewhat limited and mentioning a 16 week lead time to a customer never really went down well!

After stumbling across Chelsea Harbour Design Centre the other day, I have realised that this is what all designers back home have been craving - a one-stop-shop that houses only the best in Interior Design and Decoration.

When you visit Chelsea Harbour, you will be able to flick through fabrics at Fox Linton, Chase Erwin, Lelievre and Pierre Frey and enjoy the furniture eye candy that awaits you in Interior Supply, Anna Casa and Clive Christian just to name a few.

Shopping with my client was definately a lot more stress free knowing that everything we needed was right at our fingertips.