Pulse, London 2012: Finale

S/S/A/W LOVES: Compat Notebook &  Keyboard Memo Pad, Katy & June

 

 

FINALE:

Pulse featured 500 exhibitors in five sections, Home, Gift, Fashion Accessories, Wellbeing and Launchpad. It is a must see show for retailers to discover brand new collections and innovative products. The highlight of the show was the excellent Launchpad section, it is an integral part of the success of Pulse showcasing 120 emerging and enthusiastic designers, who were delighted to be presenting their work to the 7000 serious buyers from independents, multiples, e-tailers and department stores for the first time. Without further ado here are the final highlights of the show plus another one of my trend boards.

 

 

BEST OF THE REST:

 

 

Laboratory card, Dicky Bird / Laboratory Silk Scarf, Red Brick North

 

 

Both Dicky Bird and Red Brick North have emulated the theme in their own signature style to print for different products, Dicky Bird created cards and RedBrick chose to translate images onto scarves. A special mention goes out to the designer Karen Mabon of Red Brick North not only for the scarves but also for her innovative packaging which I tweeted about live from the show @SSAWhometrends.

 

 

TREND: the Laboratory trend appeared at the shows in January 2012 and now moves into the card and textiles market.

DETAIL: graphic prints and muted brights

CONTEMPLATE: Linear graphic prints with bright accents.

 

 

Pigeometry Spliced Necklace, Lovely Pigeon / Swimming Pool Necklace, Red Brick North

 

 

Amongst the quirky retro inspired papergoods at Lovely Pigeon I discovered Kirsty’s brand new contemporary collection of geometric jewellery. In contrast Red Brick North offered a graphic feminine approach in enamel, both highlight the considered selection process by the shows curators i.e. high quality design led goods.

 

 

Captain Hook Lamp, Dan is your soulmate 

 

 

S/S/A/W loves the Captain Hook Lamp and also the product name. This very versatile lamp designed by Brooklyn designer Dan McMahon has an extra long coloured lead and is aesthetically appealing when unravelled or wrapped around the handle. Take a look at his website to discover how he approaches other products.

 

 

Cluster, Jill Shaddock

 

 

The ceramic work at Pulse was particularly strong and here is another example of the craft at its finest. I like the composition of the clusters, the number detail and the mix/match colour palette. A winning combination and also Jill ticks all the boxes for the Cluster trend with this combination.

 

 

Wood print, Mr Wingate

 

 

Refreshing to see a print not so figurative, here Sam Wingate plays around with trompe l’oeil effects.

 

 

Archeology/10′ plate/Bone China, collaboration between Marc Schulhess and StudioLAV

 

 

Studio Lav successfully experimented with print and scale, zooming in and out with the geometric linear prints on bone china.

 

 

Archipelago, My friend Yarn 

 

 

Eva and Lisa Holst, mother an daughter team fuse graphics and textiles disciplines making cushions that evoke Swedish nature and jumpers from the 1970′s. Look out for the prints that will follow shortly.

 

 

NY Bike Lovers, Emma Cowlam

 

 

Finally: The last tip would be to check out the embroidered / printed illustrations by Emma Cowlam. As you can see she can draw, but she can sew also. Head to the site to see the selection of images available, I particularly like the fantastic bride and groom.

 

 

That all design folks!