The Newcastle store opened it's doors just in time for Christmas and what was the whole of the previous ground floor unit was now effectively Urban Outfitters reception area (!) and filled with Christmas trees to create a festive feel. I visited the store in the first couple of weeks after it opened and impressed by the scale and fantastic urban feel of the fit out chatted to one of the sales assistants. He informed me that Urban Outfitters being an international phenomenon, has it's own international fit out team. He told me that the fit out involved a huge team of eastern Europeans equipped with industrial scale tools (including chain saws) took a couple of weeks to transform the what was 'Jigsaw' on the ground floor along with the two huge first and second floors which were at that time not in use, into the stylish Urban Outfitters store. The fitters have stripped the structure of the building back to exposed brick walls with concrete style industrial flooring resulting in a loft style warehouse feel. They have put in a lift, presumably a requirement for wheelchair users and childrens buggies and two fantastic wide staircases give access to the sales floors on the first and second floor. The light fittings positioned at the top of the stairs are amazing, created from clusters of about 20 industrial style lamps grouped together to make a sort of urban chandelier.
A couple of weeks ago we visited the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle to see what was being exhibited. I'm not a huge fan of the Laing as a rule, not really being a huge fan of studying North-East heritage and culture, but upstairs we found the following exhibition which stood out as it was unusual in style and content:
Barnaby Barford, the Big Win: A Modern Morality Tale
Barnaby Barford, the artist who creates unique ceramic narrative pieces reflecting today’s society, has been commissioned to produce a series of sculptures at the Laing Art Gallery.
The Big Win: A Modern Morality Tale will tell the story of a ‘layabout’ striving to live a celebrity lifestyle who wins the lottery. Charting his rise and fall as his money runs out, the sculptures will explore our insatiable appetite for celebrity culture and living beyond our means. Loosely based on the narrative of ‘A Rake’s Progress’ by 18th century artist William Hogarth as well as the themes inherent within the Laing’s 18th and 19th Century Permanent Collection, Barnaby Barford’s The Big Win also depicts contemporary society’s problems and experiences such as gambling and luxurious living.
Producing six out of the seven sculptures, Barford will leave the completion of the seventh for the Laing’s visitors to contribute their own ideas of how the story should end. These ideas will be displayed in the Gallery where one will be personally chosen by Barford to make into a sculpture, forming the final piece of the story.
The Laing is currently under refurbishment so anyone thinking of visiting should probably be aware of this. In fact my favourite part of the Laing is the cafe which is currently located at the foor of the staircase in the main hall rather than its usual position at the rear of the gallery, actually I think this is probably an improvement! Having said I'm not a great fan of the gallery I am quite a big fan of the shop which sells interesting bits and bobs and nice handmade items! Also in terms of architecture I am rather fond of the circular gallery space on the first floor which allows you to look down those supping cappucinos and eating chocolate cake below.
I've recently become a bit of a fan of George Clarke's program Restoration Man, which is on channel 4 at 9pm on thursdays. The format is similar to that of Grand Designs in that each week focuses on a different project being taken on by a different couple. Though the theme of the series, as the name suggests, is to take on and save an unusual heritage building that would otherwise be left to ultimate decline and be lost. The first week involved the renovation and extension of what was left of a mill, last week was a small Victorian church which the couple crippled themselves financially to convert to a family home. I'm really NOT a big fan of church conversions, maybe it is my lack of religion but the idea of being surrounded by biblical scenes in the form of stained glass windows (yuk!) and other religious paraphernalia such as pulpits, lecterns or even pews to be honest gives me the heebee jeebies!
I really love George Clarke's infectious enthusiasm for his subject ie architecture and find his presenting style engaging. However I have noticed that he does adopt a touch of Kevin McCloud's style of playing devil's advocate about half way through the the program by suggesting that the project is doomed!! Don't do it George! We like you for your fresh faced enthusiasm, I am a huge fan of both Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs but it is definitely rather formulaic.
My College tutor has asked us to think about colour trends for interiors for the coming year, before christmas I read about the trend bible( www.trendbible.co.uk). The trend bible is based in Newcastle and was set up by Joanna Feeley, it is a trend forecasting company focusing on interiors which has a team of people using a mix of quantifiable scientific research techniques, instinct and sheer enthusiasm for seeking out "newness" to predict future trends and fashions for interiors and related industries. Their clients seek to translate this to commercial success by staying ahead of the game. Their predictions for colour trends for 2012 are as follows:
Colour Trends: Crown Paints 2012 Colour Panel
Earlier this month we attended the Crown Paints press day to see the results of our collaboration with the Crown Trend Panel to create paint palette concepts for Spring / Summer 2012.
Each year Crown invite a group of colourists from diverse industries to join them for lively discussion and to define the trends that will inform the design landscape for the year ahead. The event, held at the Swarovski Crystalized Lounge, London, showcased four colour palettes; New Directions, Summer Jewels, Surreal Botanical, Modern Nostalgia.
The stunning styling in the forthcoming summer colour brochure is by Living Etc Style Director, Harriet Patterson. 
”One of the key concepts I was keen to get across for emulsions ws about thinking beyond traditional colour groupings like ‘pastels’ or ‘brights’ or ‘neons’ or ‘neutrals’,” explains Trend Bible director Joanna Feeley. “So the strongest palette for me was New Directions, which cleverly blends pastel shades with bubblegum pink and acidic chlorophyl brights. Grey still underpins strong colour and we see grey as being a key backdrop to brights through 2012.”
“The consumer is increasingly sophisticated with colour in the home, and I think we’ll see a return to clever colour combinations expressed through paint replacing our obsession with wallpaper, which can give the desired effect in terms of drama and personality in the home, yet is more permanent and harder to update than paint.” said Joanna. “The ongoing post-recessional mood means homeowners will be staying put instead of moving house, encouraging them to think cleverly about creating more space, more storage and a unique hard-wearing yet characterful style at home.”
Colour Trend: Dwell Studio
Here’s a little bit of colour inspiration for our friends over at Dwell Studio! Good luck with your show! We love amber yellow mixed with turquoise and a little brown cardboard for a retro 50s vibe.
Colour Trends: Inspiration for Spring Summer 2011
At Trend Bible we work on bespoke colour palettes and trend themes for our clients all year round. We thought we’d share some of our inspiration start-points with you for Spring Summer 2011. We used this palette as a basis for work on home interiors, packaging and beauty projects. Vintage Spirit is…. pared-down functionality meets organic form, sculpted and molded shapes, intricate paper folding and micro-geometrics.
BANI ABIDI
11 November 2011 - 12 February 2012
Working with photography, video and drawing, Pakistani artist, Bani Abidi looks at manifestations of state power and resilience in civil society. For this her first UK solo public exhibition, Abidi is presenting Section Yellow, comprising the film The Distance from Here along with several photographic series.
Read more
11 November 2011 - 12 February 2012
Working with photography, video and drawing, Pakistani artist, Bani Abidi looks at manifestations of state power and resilience in civil society. For this her first UK solo public exhibition, Abidi is presenting Section Yellow, comprising the film The Distance from Here along with several photographic series.
Read more
