Textile taxidermy by Louise Weaver

Louise Weaver

Australian textile artist Louise Weaver uses crochet and stitch to create stuffed creatures in classic taxidermy poses.

HBL Profile: Sywawa

Sywawa

Belgian outdoor furniture brand Sywawa stand out in a well-populated sector of the furniture industry. Aesthetic considerations of material, texture and colour seem to play as much a part in the design process as functionality, resulting in a well-considered and commercial collection of pieces.

HBL Kids Lifestyle: Elephants

Elephant Splash by Petit Collage

Animals have been a recurring theme in children’s interiors for decades, but certain animals seem to pass in and out of favour. Elephants are currently enjoying their moment in the spotlight and elephant prints can be found on a huge range of kids' interior products.

HBL Book of the Week: Open Design Now

Open Design Now: Why design cannot remain exclusive

Open Design Now: Why design cannot remain exclusive (BIS publishers, Amsterdam), by Creative Commons Netherlands, Premsela and Waag Society, examines the emerging field of open-source design and considers its impact on society, both so far and in years to come. Set to be published in early June, it includes case studies of products as diverse as the RepRap self-replicating 3D-printer and $50 prosthetic legs.

HBL loves: that authoritative design figures have been invited to have their say, including Droog's Renny Ramakers and John Thackara, director of The Doors of Perception. Subscribers can read our report on open-source design here.

HBL Blog of the Week: Patternity

Founded in 2009 by Anna Murray and Grace Winteringham, Patternity is a London-based design studio specialising in fashion, design and interiors - and a blog of the same name, which focuses on, as they explain themselves, "seeing pattern everywhere". Today, for example, an initial fashion image is matched to: a building component, a shadow, an interior, some houses, lighting, and a hairnet.

HBL loves: its creativity, its vision - and the fittingly dynamic user navigation.

Peter Layton, London Glassblowing

Peter Layton

WGSN-homebuildlife visited the glassblowing studio of Peter Layton to observe his practice first-hand, and see some of the beautiful end results up close.

HBL Exhibitions: Turning the Seventh Corner by Tim Noble & Sue Webster

Turning the Seventh Corner by Tim Noble & Sue Webster (2011)

London-based art duo Tim Noble and Sue Webster have chosen the brand-new Blain Southern space in Berlin to stage their latest exhibition. With the aim of maintaining an air of mystery, the pair have created a labyrinth of tunnels that spiral, sprawl and ultimately disorientate, forcing viewers to become explorers.

HBL Exhibition: Knoll Textiles, 1945 - 2010

Marga Hielle Vatter (upholstery) and Max Pearson (chair). Detail, Dynamic upholstery on model 46 chair. Ca. 1973. Steel, aluminum, foam rubber, and wool upholstery. Private collection.

During the ICFF in New York last week, WGSN-homebuildlife found a feast of pattern and colour inspiration at the opening of Knoll Textiles: 1945 - 2010, currently showing at the Bard Graduate Center on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The exhibition is the first ever comprehensive curation of Knoll's work and offers a fascinating insight into the brand's history.

Stephen Burks | Are You A Hybrid? at Museum of Arts and Design, New York

Stephen Burks | Are You A Hybrid? at Museum of Arts and Design, New York

Last week American designer Stephen Burks' exhibition 'Are You A Hybrid?' opened at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York. The exhibition brings together projects  by designers who are working with artisans around the world to help preserve traditional skills by applying them to new products for an international market.

Rafael de Cárdenasat Johnson Trading Gallery

Rafael de Cárdenas

Designer and architect Rafael de Cárdenas was probably the most talked about designer during the ICFF in New York last week after he unveiled his debut furniture collection at the Johnson Trading Gallery. The collection, described as an homage to Bruce Goff and Frank Lloyd Wright, is characterised by his trademark aesthetic: a fearless combination of Navajo inspired, saturated colour and bold geometry.

HBL Tradeshows: KBB 2011 highlights

Ideal Standard Space by Robin Levien

Kitchen, bathroom and bedroom-focused tradefair KBB provides a three-day opportunity for manufacturers, designers, suppliers and retailers to get together, check out the new ranges and plan their offerings for the coming season. WGSN-homebuildlife visited this month's London show to pick out the highlights.

Food trends

Observer Food Monthly, May 2011. Photo by Martin Poole

The Observer Food Monthly, a special magazine supplied with the British weekend broadsheet, focuses on eating, drinking, cooking and all associated topics. The May edition examines the future of food and drink, in a series of articles written in association with Cafe Direct.

In A taste of things to come, Fiona Sims considers how and what we will eat in years to come, while in The way we consume, she takes a look back at the biggest food trends of the past ten years. A guide to modern eating sees the increasingly important issue of provenance debated, while The way we eat out by Emma Sturgess examines our changing attitudes to restaurant dining.