HBL Events: Christmas traditions at the Geffrye Museum

Christmas decorations in the 1870 room

WGSN-homebuildlife this week paid a visit to the annual Christmas exhibition at London's Geffrye Museum, which tracks Britain's changing interior tastes from the 17th century to the 1990s via a succession of room sets, each one fitted out in the seasonal decor of its time.

HBL News: Architectural Review's Emerging Architecture Award Winners announced

The Waterhouse at South Bund by NHDRO. Photo by Pedro Pegenaute

The Waterhouse at South Bund, a former Japanese army headquarters turned into a hotel by Shanghai-based designers Neri and Hu Design and Research Office (NHDRO), is one of the three first prize winners of this year's Emerging Architecture Awards, organised by Architectural Review.

HBL Events: Siren Elise Wilhelmsen at Normann Copenhagen

In August earlier this year, Norwegian designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen won the Time to Design Award award with her project, Developing Time – Time Developing, which is both a clock and a knitting machine. Siren is currently exhibiting a whole family of knitting clocks at the Normann Copenhagen store in Denmark. The clocks have been created at the Danish Art Workshops and will be on show for two weeks. See more images below the jump.

HBL Events: Brancusi's Rare Functional Objects

Saucepan, estimated to sell for 1500-2000 euros

A selection of works by renowned Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi will be auctioned today by Artcurial in Paris - including a collection of objects made by the artist for his own domestic use.

HBL Kids Lifestyle: Carton Furniture Series by Riki Watanabe

Japanese industrial designer Riki Watanabe originally designed this set of children's furniture in 1965, and it's now being manufactured by Metropolitan Gallery Inc. Tokyo in a range of bright colours, just in time for Watanabe's 100th birthday next year. Each piece is made solely of folded cardboard and the set can be neatly packed away when not in use.

HBL Analysis: Diamante by Jacob Jensen

Danish design brand Jacob Jensen has produced a collection for Tommerup Kister, one of Denmark's biggest funeral directors. Inspired by gem-cutting, the range is made up of three coffins and an urn.

HBL Retail News: Artek opens in Stockholm

Finnish design brand Artek have opened their first Stockholm branch. Located in the Southern region of the city, the store has been designed by Harri Koskinen, a well-known Finnish designer, and will carry a range of concession lines alongside its in-house collections - including its own 2nd Cycle range of vintage Artek products.

HBL Events: Collacqueration: Designed in the UK - Lacquered in Japan

Lacquered Mugs by Max Lamb and Akira Sugimura. Photo by Daniel Katz

The exhibition Collacqueration: Designed in the UK - Lacquered in Japan aims to highlight the ancient Japanese tradition of lacquering by bringing together the imagination of young UK based designers and the traditional skills of the lacquer craftsmen of Wajima.

HBL Events: Comfort by Konstantin Grcic at Saint-Étienne Biennale

German industrial designer Konstantin Grcic has curated an exhibition for the 2010 Saint-Étienne Biennale which attempts to deconstruct the idea of comfort, celebrating common items which have enhanced our lives.

HBL Retail News: The Temporium pops up for ten days

New retail space The Temporium will launch in Brompton Design District, London, on 9th December. The pop-up shop will host a range of homewares and accessories by established and emerging design brands, including Faye Toogood's customised binocular cases, above.

Food and Design: a report by Dezeen for Scholtès

Image: Dezeen

Online design magazine Dezeen today published a report on the subject of food design, covering aspects including the use of food as material by the new generation of product designers.

WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers can also read materials expert Chris Lefteri's recent report on the subject here.

HBL Retail: Crown Paints Colour Influences 2011

Last week, Crown Paints announced their colour influences for 2011. The palettes are decided by a diverse team of industry experts, invited by Crown to identify the key colour influences for the coming year. Amongst the nine panel members were head of fashion and textiles at the RCA Wendy Dagworthy, furniture designer Tom Price and architect Miles Falkingham. The team identified seven key influences, which will inform the development of the Crown Paints portfolio. See below for details.