HBL Retail News: DesignMarketo at the Barbican

DesignMarketo at Barbican

To coincide with the Barbican’s new show, Pioneers of the Downtown Scene, New York 1970s, DesignMarketo has opened its first retail space in the London venue’s gallery shop.

R&R at Contemporary Applied Arts

Dorothy Hogg

A new exhibition at London gallery Contemporary Applied Arts aims to highlight the benefits of makers' residencies, which provide designer-makers with research time and newly stimuating environments, and offers a rare insight into the working process of the contemporary designer-maker.

Essentially Me: scent inspiration

Essentially Me at the Secret Arcade

The Secret Arcade, an online retail space which recreates a traditional shopping arcade, have published an interview with the owners of scent boutique Essentially Me - who are also one of their online 'tenants'. The piece covers the pair's influences, inspirations and upcoming product launches, and offers an insight into the increasing importance of scent, be it personal or home, in today's market.

Read the interview here; Essentially Me's perfumier Alec Lawless also writes a blog about his continuing inspirations. Subscribers can view our recent trend analysis on the subject of scent here.

HBL Analysis: Cocoon furniture

Xistera by Samuel Accoceberry and Jean-Louis Iratzoki

Cocoon furniture was one of the biggest trends we spotted during this season's trade shows, and is one of the many recent interpretations of extreme comfort. Our latest report, which can be viewed here by WGSN-homebuildlife subscribers, surveys the latest exanples and profiles the six main interpretations of the trend by designers and brands.

The direction confirms the emerging mindset forecast by A/W 11/12 macrotrend Your Space, which sees the consumer "creating a sense of personal space... increasingly creating self-contained, portable, self-generating environments". Our recent report on Shelters illustrates the idea taken to an extreme - with cocoon furniture providing a more commercially viable alternative.

HBL Events: Arthur at Moss New York City

Last night marked the opening of ARTHUR, the latest exhibit at Moss, which runs through April 15, 2011. The exhibit opened concurrently with The Armory art show in New York City and challenges function’s place as the traditional line between art and design.

Earth Hour 2011

Edinburgh Castle during Earth Hour last year

At 8.30pm on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour. Richard Simmonds, contributor to Lighting magazine, asks if it’s a futile gesture.

Greenhouse by Joost pops up in Sydney

Greenhouse by Joost, Sydney

Greenhouse by Joost is a pop-up cafe-bar which has just opened at The Rocks, Sydney, and is built entirely of reused and recyclable materials. Furniture is made of shipping containers, packing crates and even irrigation pipes.

Why Not Together? Marimekko launch new design competition

Scandinavian design brand Marimekko, in collaboration with the Aalto University's School of Art & Design, have launched a new design competition in honour of the company's 60th anniversary year. Marimekko have invited students from leading international design schools to participate, including the Design Academy Eindhoven, the Royal College of Art, Parsons New School of Design and Tama Art University.

The titular theme is a tribute to the intent of Marimekko founder Armi Ratia, who proposed in 1969: "I only want to bring people together so they can get to know each other and gain something from one another."

The competition will include three categories: products for everyday living; actions, events and encounters generated by aesthetic thinking; and service. More can be found here.

Geneva Motor Show

Acrobats perform to cover a Porsche with their bodies prior to the 81st International Motor show in Geneva, Switzerland

Car lovers are probably having an amazing time this week: the 81st edition of the International Motor Show in Geneva is opening the doors tomorrow! There's already a commotion and buzz around it, since the press had the privilege to check the latest novelties in the past couple of the days.

The image of acrobats enveloping a Porsche (above) was all around newspapers and websites today, and it just goes to show how anticipated this motor show is.

HBL Analysis: Expiry dates in design

Preserved Exp. 25/1/2111 by Boris Mogilevsky

Israeli designer Boris Mogilevsky's latest project uses compacted table salt to encase meat, in a new take on a traditional preservation method.

Vent, by Jessica Hoad

Artist Jessica Hoad is the creator of ‘Vent’, an experiential installation in which a continuous cycle of air is exchanged between sculptural object and audience.

A large rubber balloon hangs from the ceiling which is connected to a large industrial vent that’s installed onto the gallery wall. As the fan starts air is sucked from the shared gallery space gradually filling the balloon until it inflates to a 7ft voluminous sphere. As the balloon expands the viewer is forced to negotiate the space around them. Eventually the vent expels air and the balloon gradually deflates. This repetition of emptying and refilling tests the strength of the material as it moves towards a whole.

HBL Blog of the Week: Zap Design

Zap Design

French video blog Zap Design was founded by Maison et Objet's former head of PR, Véronique Thouvenin, and Pascal Nottoli. New videos are regularly posted, always relating to design, with only a few lines of text each so that the emphasis is kept very much on the content.

WGSN loves: the considered choices - with unusual, inspiring and often poetic videos uploaded.