Auckland really turned on the weather (at least for most of the day), and the design savvy were out in force for Urbis Designday 2012. Rather than give you a blow by blow account, we’ve decided, as we did last year, to give you a ‘best of’ …
Auckland really turned on the weather (at least for most of the day), and the design savvy were out in force for Urbis Designday 2012. Rather than give you a blow by blow account, we’ve decided, as we did last year, to give you a ‘best of’ the day. As well as some great photographic evidence to back up our conclusions…
Best First Day Showing At Urbis Design Day definitely goes to Douglas & Bec. They turned their car park into a very hip village fete decked out in their signature yellow, and their store into an exhibition space that you could peer into from the windows and doorways with models completing the space.
The very family-oriented Douglas & Bec team were all there, and we got to chat to the charming Douglas – while Bec (his daughter) was meeting and greeting many of their friends and clients.
With Bec’s brand new daughter there being cared for by Nana, it was very much a family affair. The ease of all of this belies the beautifully-designed products that Douglas & Bec stock – designed and made by them. They do not wholesale, so they keep the prices as low as they are able, and this makes a New Zealand-designed-and-made object just that bit more accessible. They make my all-time favourite desk lamp, the 2.0 Table Lamp in signature yellow (also available in white and pale blue).
One lucky person is going to win one after leaving their details to be picked at random at the end of the day. Lucky them. We also got to chat to Paul (husband of Bec) who seemed to be having a fabulous day even though they had all been up half the night putting the finishing touches to their exhibit. He said that some people had started with them, and then finished their day off with them! For a first time effort – it was second to none. And they also got the Best Food Of The Day with food supplied by Cool Food – lemon and chocolate tarts… and Foxton Fizz.
The Best Use of Greenery goes to not one, but two stops on the tour. Hafele and Xanthe White converted their shop space with Xanthe covering the entire shop floor with turf. The ENTIRE floor space was covered in grass. Very simple and very effective. Then she added little touches of plants in the corners of the rooms. It was very beautiful.
The collaboration between Coast Design, A Touch of Spice (concierge company) and Kathryn Wilson shoes saw the Coast showroom converted into a Mad Hatter’s tea party complete with a plant wall bedecked with shoes!
We loved the tea party, and we loved the shoes. Kathryn Wilson appeared to us to be having a fabulous time, and she told us that three cases of champagne had disappeared in less than an hour in the morning.
She looked exceptionally glamorous considering she had just got off a plane from Hong Kong. (All photos above by Anya Brighouse. Photos below: Kevin Robinson.)
The Best Use of Insects most certainly went to the collaboration of the Auckland Museum, Zambesi and ECC. One section of the showroom became an exhibition of lighting, pieces from Zambesi winter 2012 and video footage of insects from the archives from the Museum.
Elizabeth Findlay from Zambesi got to go though the archives herself and choose the pieces to be shown. The exhibition has a clinical, detached feel as we viewed the video insects and the plastic covered clothing like they themselves had been putted out of the archives. They even used a dress from the new collection, with the fabric called “Web”. Very appropriate.
The Fisher and Paykel colab over at The Cloud got the “That is an Exceptionally Long Time to Wait” Award for the day. This was a real pity as the exhibition itself was slick and well done. It was just a very long time to wait in line (one hour and fifteen minutes in our case) and it took the shine off the incredible food being offered.
You got the chance to cook your own food on hotplates (amazing beef with mushrooms), and then try shaved ice with sugar syrups, finishing with melted chocolate with liquorice shortbread.
We all got to take away a black and white printed teatowel – which was a nice surprise. The wait was tempered by the great (nameless) wine they plied the long queue with. Maybe next time you could have two stations running, and not just the one… just sayin…
The “Best Famous Person Dressed in a Panda Suit” Award goes to Francis Hooper from World who welcomed everyone into Design55 in Newton.
The entrance was kitted out like a jungle with Francis (in a Panda Suit) and his sidekick in a parrot costume. Design 55 is a treasure trove of high design – with Fornasetti plates, jars, desks, chairs and tables to be gazed at. Many of us have only seen these pieces in magazines, so it was a rare treat to be able to see them in the flesh (so to speak). With work by the Campana Brothers, and amazingly beautiful pieces from Jaime Hayon’s colab with Lladro – it was all good food for the creative soul. We loved the animal biscuits as well – tres chic.
Easily The Best Find of The Day Award must go to Timothy John. He is an artist represented by Design 55, and they converted their basement into an exhibition space for five pieces of his. His practical sculptures are bandaged with black insulating material giving them a strangely organic feel.
Of the five pieces (and we loved them all), the clock, the vase, the table and the two lights – we loved the lights and the table especially. We could see them fitting perfectly into a slick, ultra modern space, with the organic softness of the lightshades being a perfect counterbalance. Find out more about this very talented man by contacting Design55 or at www.timothyjohn.net
The Most Colourful Award most certainly has to go to the colab at Bo Concept with LeeAnn Yare with her new store within a store Collected- By Leeann Yare and Huffer. With a real carnival atmosphere – and the best front window of the day (by Leeann Yare) – nobody seemed to want to move on.
With fabulous macaroons on offer, face painting (and body painting) and Huffer offering a prize wheel – it really was a lot of fun. Sometimes design shouldn’t be taken too seriously – and fun is the order of the day.
The Best Use of Photographic Equipment goes to the ever-smiling duo of Material Creative (Liv Harper and Toni Brandso) and Mini Garage. It was a great place to kick off the tour from, and the Material Creative Girls gave us a mini journey which ended with a crate of dress ups and a photo booth that not only gave you a set of photos to take home, but also put your photo on line to tag. They always do things with such attention to detail – and always with a smile… thanks for giving us such a great start…
Below: 9000 paper cups create an ice cave at the MINI Showroom exhibit created by Material Creative.
Words and iPhone photos by Anya Brighouse
All other photography by Kevin Robinson
25 March 2012
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