Resources

Twitter: @coadg

Follow me on twitter @coadg for daily design snippets.

Book: Design*Sponge at Home by Grace Bonney

I am so excited to finally get my hands on a copy of this book. It’s every bit as inspirational as Grace’s blog, but in hard-back, ‘read it in bed without getting told off by your other-half’ form. Is there no end to this girl’s talent?!

Book: London Buildings by Hannah Dipper and Robin Farquhar

A gorgeous collection of the inimitable People Will Always Need Plates illustrations coupled with a little bit of background information on each building and a guide to where they all are – in case you want to do the tour!

Book: Print Workshop by Christine Schmidt

A must-have for all wannabe print-makers, Christine shares the secrets of her her Yellow Owl Workshop success. It’s very accessible and a lot of fun.

Book: Ceramics, Tools and Techniques for the Contemporary Maker by Louisa Taylor

Ditto for wannabe potters – a beautiful book with step-by-step guides, tricks of the trade and inspirational images.

Book: How to be an explorer of the world, by Keri Smith

Artists and scientists analyse the world around them in surprisingly similar ways – by observing, collecting, documenting, analysing and comparing. In this book, Keri Smith encourages readers to do just that, setting them the mission of documenting and observing the world around them as if they’ve never seen it before. Great for reawakening a creative spirit in familiar surroundings.

Walks and Talks: 20th Century Society

Existing to safeguard architecture and design in Britain from 1914 onwards, the 20th Century Society offer members a range of events, tours, lectures and short courses – often with exclusive access to buildings not open to the public.

Social Media: Elle Decoration on Facebook

Elle Decoration are on Facebook! If a monthly Elle-Deco-fix just isn’t enough, join the Facebook page for instant gratification.

Courses: Creative workshops with a social twist

The Make Lounge offers contemporary craft workshops with a stylish, social twist and invite you to; learn a new skill in a short time, take home a gorgeous completed item, relax in a fun, friendly atmosphere and enjoy drinks and nibbles as you work! What’s not to like?!

Film: Design Museum films on Vimeo

The Design Museum now has 54 films on vimeo. Exciting stuff – I’m going to settle in with a hot chocolate and watch everything I’ve ever missed – and probably some of the ones I was there for!

Courses: Short-courses at the V&A

The V&A run an amazing range of short courses throughout the year. Led by experts and curators, they take place over few days or a number of weeks and include lectures, gallery talks and seminars.

Course: Glassblowing for Beginners

It might just be the aftermath of ‘Kirsty’s Homemade Home,’ but I am super-keen to try out glassblowing, and this course by ZeST looks great. Where do I sign?!

Book: Obsessive Consumption: What did you buy today, by Kate Bingaman-Burt

Every day Kate Bingaman-Burt draws something that she’s bought that day. This book is a selection of three years of such ink drawings. Having seen some of Kate’s work I was expecting a collection of quirky drawings that would make me smile. What I wasn’t expecting was just how much they’d draw me into the minutia of her life and what they represent. A great read – well recommended. Buy the book or check out the blog or indeed follow Kate on twitter.

Book: The Making of Design, edited by Gerrit Terstiege.

This book follows the stories of 21 products ‘from the first model to the final product’ and includes goodies like an interview with Dieter Rams.

Book: 100 Chairs in 100 Days and its 100 Ways, by Martino Gamper.

‘There is no perfect chair’ declared designer Martino Gamper who made a chair a day in a bid to make 100 chairs in 100 days. Buy the book, or watch this short film for a flavour. (I love Martino Gamper!)

DVD: The Genius of Design

This BBC2 series was excellent. If you missed it, the BBC have released it on DVD. If you liked Objectified, you’ll love this.

Website: Sketchbookspace

A great resource for sketchbook ideas and inspiration. We all know we’re supposed to keep sketchbooks, but a browse around this site might give you the kick up the bottom you need to actually do it!

Book: Norman Potter – What is a designer : things. places. messages 

A charmingly intellectual and precise account of the world and remit of a designer. It’s a little hard-going and I won’t pretend I understood all of it, but I definitely learnt a lot.

Magazines: idfx, Blueprint, icon

If you’re an Elle Decoration addict like me, idfx is a great magazine to make a change from your normal reading habits, and much more professionally focused. Definitely worth checking out. I’ve also discovered Blueprint and icon magazines – again; both worth a read.

Film: Objectified

Objectified is the second film in a design trilogy from the makers of Helvetica. The subject matter is broader, so it lacks some of fascinating niche passion of Helvetica, but it’s a must-see for anyone interesting in design. (Urbanized, which I haven’t seen yet, is the third film.)

Book: London Design Guide 2012-13

I loved the 2010 edition and this one doesn’t disappoint. It’s filled with every design spot in London you could need to know about, plus ‘design walks’ and interesting essays from the experts (and one from me!). You can buy the book or there’s also a great website for more info.

Podcasts: Design Museum

Very excitingly, I’ve just discovered that the Design Museum has a series of podcasts on its website. Seemingly you can’t download them, but have to watch them on the site, which is a shame, but exciting nonetheless.

Film: Helvetica

Helvetica is without a doubt my favourite film of all time. I wasn’t particularly into typography when I first saw it (I am now!), but just watching people who are so passionate about such a specialist small thing is wonderful to behold. It’s also fascinating if you’re into any sort of design, just to see how Helvetica has crept into every walk of life. Is ubiquity the ultimate aim of any designer? I could watch it over and over again (and indeed do!) Buy the film or check out the website.