CHRISTMAS!

went out on thursday as it was our final day at uni before christmas and we had our traditional product one week project- this year it was titled reverse. we did a film called the reverse olympics which came joint top and won some CAVA which was very nice.

we then all went out as Carl clerkin was leaving so we went and got him truely drunk, it was a really good night and everyone had a good laugh. Carl mentioned he may have some work for me over christmas too which would be cool- although he mentioned this before and after his drinks im hoping he remembers. maybe a reminder is in order.

currently working on my portfolio as i have a broken foot- literally snapped playing football which was extremely painful. so havent been able to get out and about. should be fine by the end of the week though- well good enough to hobble around town. also trying to sketch out my fresh designs for my sustainable transport project- as i found an example that was too similar to mine. godamm it back to the drawing board!

design xmas market...

christmas market down at somerset house this weekend 19- 21st I beleive. loads of good stuff going down there, michael marriott, offcut, gita geschwentner, and of course carl clerkin. ill take loads of pictures and post them up after my visit.

Mega busy

been really busy with a big uni project- urban environments in lavapies madrid- check the project blog untill im done.

http://lavapies2008.blogspot.com/

cheers

joe

Obama.

Staying up to watch the election. think he has done it.......fingers crossed.

Bottom Drawers.

Gitta Geschwender draft stopper

Michael marriotts window bench

These are some pictures i took at an exhibition by Carl Clerkin called bottom drawers in Ealing. Carl took us down there on a big red bus to have a look around and gave us a chat about the background of the exhibition. I have to say that it was a really beautifully thought out, and thought provoking exhibition. The gallery area was filled with photographs/ close up snap shots of all the people who contributed to the exhibit- most being Carl's friends and family. It was a look into peoples homes and how people live, and a look at how "stuff" makes a home. All the contributors had also made pieces for the exhibit. of furniture and products- some of which are included above.

The whole exhibition was so beautifully delivered and there was a real honesty about the whole thing. There was also two films being shown one about hoarders which was pretty horrifying and sad, and also a more light hearted one of Carl's families "red spaghetti" cook off- which i stole the recipe for and tried and it is good. It really had me thinking about it afterwards and left me feeling really comforted in some ways because it was a insightful and charming look at how people live.

Thanks Carl.

Frustration:

Woah!!! haven't updated this for a long time but I have had so much stuff on recently. Been working on two college based projects, a personal furniture project, and also been trying to get some portfolio ideas together.

I have been feeling more and more frustrated lately with university. As i have said in previous posts the changes at the college in terms of workshop facilities have been extremely disappointing. To be honest there was a part of me that was really excited with the new 3d CNC facilities we have there, and I have made use of the 3d printer already which was amazing. The problem I am having is that making things is my passion, and the workshop has more or less completely gone. I feel so let down by the university it is untrue, and although as students we have stood together on the issue it seems the "men in suits" are not going to budge. It really pisses me off when people who have no idea about what we need seem to completely neglect a course that has produced some of its finest graduates, and also has some of the best tutors.

I'm feeling frustrated because I am thinking that could be quite detrimental to my development and experimentation process with different materials. I literally cannot explore metals in any way shape or form now as we do not have the facilities. although I am in the process in having an old project sand cast- outsourced, but its not the same as doing it yourself.

I'm also frustrated because to be honest university is turning out to be nothing like I had hoped. Many of my peers on the course have so little enthusiasm or passion for design and making things, or any motivation to seek out designers, materials, new processes and no idea of taking risks and having fun. I feel a bit lost at the moment and am desperate to meet like minded people who are creative and want to actively pursue interests and projects that arent directly given out by the college. I figure that if you do not want this enough- you will never make it, and being around creative people and people who are inspirational and enthusiastic massively helps in a creative environment. I had that when I Lived in Nottingham and i really miss that now.

anyway that's my rant over, I have decided that I am going to try and take full advantage of all the new technologies at the college as much as I can whilst I am there- and take part in anything else I can extra curricular to try and get together with some other people and design and make things together!!!

On the plus side going to Lavapies in Madrid this week for research for a community project out there with IDEA students as well- who i must say are awesome and really into it which I am finding nice- also working within our group is Wumi- who is one of the people on my course that actually do inspire me because she is pure crazy!

will try and get some pics up when I'm back.

ciao!

HANDLES.

These are some pictures from a Handle project conducted alongside IZE handles. I designed a range of handles for the Kitchen- an area that the company had yet to move into. I decided i wanted to design handles that were extremely functionally orientated and that were tactile and honest. The cupboard Handles are small and sit upright on the cupboard door making them easy to wipe down . They are based on the relationship a user has with the door as we generally only use a few fingers to open them. The door handle follows the same priciple and is a reduction in size in terms of more common handles. It gives a more natural feel and tactile nature to the handles giving the user a comfortable experience.
I think it is interesting that we do notice the feel, weight, and strength of a handle and its mechanism- and this contibutes to our experience.
The final product would be Cast in Blackened brass to give a Matt look, and an honest and manufactured/ Crafted look to the products.
IZE has expressed some interest in taking them on I believe although I havent heard anything directly yet so fingers crossed.