Bodging Milano One Year On at Designersblock

Long Bench by Gitta Gschwendtner

Bodging Milano One Year On is a project with a rich back-story. British furniture designer Chris Eckersley developed an interest in 'bodging' (back to nature woodworking) and after trying out the process for himself, invited eight UK designers to come along with him for the next go. A week was spent in Clissett Woods, Herefordshire, creating chairs by hand from unseasoned timber, and the results were shown at Designersblock in Milan 2010.

They proved popular. So at this year's show, prototypes of the now refined collection of 12 chairs were on display - and are available to order now from Warwickshire-based furniture-makers Sitting Firm.

Autoproduzione Italiane

Travasi by Andrea Gianni at Autoproduzione Italiane, Milan 2011

Subalterno1 showed a collection of imaginative furniture, lighting and accessories by Italian designers under the umbrella theme of "autoproduzione" (self-made) in Ventura Lambrate during Milan design week.

HBL Analysis: Doreen Westphal

Doreen Westphal

German designer Doreen Westphal presented Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers at Designersblock Milano last month: a collection of vases made from Quantz concrete and based on the first weather forecast following the ousting of Mubarak earlier this year.

HBL Analysis: Michael Verheyden at New Times, New Heroes

Michael Verheyden at New Times, New Heroes, Milan 2011

Belgium-based designer Michael Verheyden showed a collection of finely crafted leather accessories at New Times, New Heroes during Milan design week - a perfect example of our Honest leathertrend for the next few seasons.

Royal Retail

Liberty London as seen on www.BoyMeetsFashion.com

Retailers have joined in the royal wedding festivities, featuring windows bursting with commemorative goods and merchandise that screams British patriotism.

Consumers are expected to be buying up royal wedding goods; but retailers expect a footfall slump on the big day. Retail Week reported that the royal wedding celebrations will cause mixed retail trade, speaking to Inditex UK managing director Dilip Patel who said: “Half a million visitors should be coming and they’ll be shopping when they’re here.” But hopes are that consumers will be celebrating the wedding tomorrow by shopping: “hopefully they’re also out spending money as part of the festivities” said Harold Tillman, Jaeger chairman.

HBL Analysis: Urban Fog

WGSN-homebuildlife's Eco Hedonism macrotrend for autumn/winter 2012/13 talks about how designers are moving towards designing an atmosphere, an experience or an object with meaning. This trend is becoming ever more present and the opening of exhibition Urban Fog in Dalston, London next week further confirms this as an emerging theme.

The Makers Project

Lena Corwin, the printer, from The Makers by Jennifer Causey

Brooklyn-based photographer Jennifer Causey is the force behind The Makers, a photo blog which beautifully documents the studios and making processes of creative companies all around her local area, including a ceramicist's studio, a chocolate makers, a florist's and a perfumery.

At Liberty magazine

Liberty London

Luxury department store Liberty London will be launching a bi-annual glossy magazine titled At Liberty. The publication will present the best of Liberty’s product offer- showcasing what’s new and exclusive for the season. The magazine’s team will be headed up by consultant editor Melanie Rickey; currently fashion editor-at-large of Grazia. Produced by River, At Liberty magazine will be available in targeted consumer magazines and weekend broadsheet supplements. The first issue will launch in September.

HBL Book of the Week: A Taxonomy of Office Chairs by Jonathan Olivares

A Taxonomy of Office Chairs by Jonathan Olivares

American industrial designer Jonathan Olivares takes a zoological approach to design in this categorised guide to office chairs, published by Phaidon in February this year. Recently reviewed by Alice Rawsthorn for the New York Times (read her verdict here), A Taxonomy of Office Chairs caught the attention of the WGSN-homebuildlife team at Viennese museum MAK's design shop by virtue of being the only design book on the shelf to offer something completely different.

HBL loves: the innovative approach to design analysis. Olivares details hundreds of office chairs, categorising each component (head rest, angle of tilt etc) and chronologically tracking the evolution of the office chair from the 1840s to the present day.

HBL Analysis: Eggy Candle

Eggy Candle by KaCaMa Design Lab

Seeing countless eggshells being discarded in food production, Hong Kong-based KaCaMa Design Lab found an opportunity to create a simple yet fun candle.

Milan 2011: Eric Klarenbeek

Eric Klarenbeek at Flight of Objects, Milan 2011

Self-described "designer of the unusual" Eric Klarenbeek showed two interesting collections at Ventura Lambrate during Milan design week this month. Appearing as part of impressive Dutch design show Flight of Objects, Klareenbeek's imaginative textiles and lighting designs were stand-out pieces.

HBL Analysis: Styrofoam art

Styrofoam Art by Cheeming Boey

Armed with just a Styrofoam cup and Sharpie pen, illustrator Cheeming Boey has created a series of monochrome illustrations on a typically unvalued surface.