HBL Retail: Mini-Chair Exhibition at ECOLS

ECOLS, Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s eco-lifestyle store ECOLS celebrates its relocation – to The One shopping mall – with a Mini-Chair exhibition debuting in its new art space.

The Rug Company X Giles Deacon

The Rug Company at Lane Crawford, Hong Kong

For the unveiling of a new collaboration between purveyor of contemporary handmade rugs, The Rug Company and British fashion designer Giles Deacon, Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford home store set up a VM display that was reminiscent of an art exhibition.

Life in the year 2050, by GOOD

This infographic, commissioned by GOOD magazine and created by Column Five Media, visualises the results of a poll by Pew Research and Smithsonian magazine which asked the American public what they thought life would be like in 2050.

66% of those polled think that artificial limbs would by this time be able to perform better than natural ones; 53% expect space travel to become normalized; and 74% predict that our energy will comes from sources other than coal, oil or gas. More information on the findings here.

Collier Campbell Textile Design at the National Theatre

Patch, 2011

Currently showing at the National Theatre in London is a retrospective of the work of British textile designers and sisters Sarah Campbell and the late Susan Collier. The Collier Campbell designs provide nostalgic, visual memories and a special relevance for those who grew up with their iconic fabrics.

HBL Profile: Omhu, designing for an ageing population

Rie Nørregaard, Susan Towers and Susy Korb of Omhu

Meaning "with great care" in Danish, New York-based Omhu is a design studio and online retail store aimed at supporting people's abilities as they change throughout life. WGSN-homebuildlife met with co-founders Susan Towers and Rie Nørregaard during New York Design Week to discuss their growing business.

HBL News: Crafts Council June briefing

Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director, Crafts Council

The Crafts Council have released their policy briefing for June 2011, a document which details recent measures taken by the British government which will affect the craft industry.

HBL Retail News: Starbucks Android mobile payment app

Starbucks intends to expand its mobile payment application to the Android platform, reports Planet Retail. The move was spurred by the successful US launch of the app for the Blackberry and iPhone.

HBL Events: Venice Biennale

Karla Black, Scottish Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2011

The 54th edition of the Venice Biennale has already been dissected by the throng of international press and buyers who descended on the Arsenale and Giardini for the opening days in early June - but with the event running until November, there's plenty of time to plan your trip.

WGSN-homebuildlife highlights three of the must-see national pavilions to add to your itinerary; subscribers can click here to see our full top ten.

Victoria Delany at Origin 2011

CandleStacks by Victoria Delany

Craft selling fair Origin is held each September as part of the London Design Festival, and is a consistently reliable destination for finding talented, emerging designer-makers. This year will see a number of first-time exhibitors, including Victoria Delany, whose colourful tableware aims to “provoke a joyful dining experience".

HBL Tradeshows: Live from Neocon 2011

Momentum at Neocon 2011

WGSN-homebuildlife reports live from NeoCon 2011 in Chicago, Illinois, with three emerging trends from the influential trade fair.

Multi-level seating: A focus on redefining the collaborative workplace has inspired multi-level seating, which creates a dynamic environment where an arm rest turns into seating space, and people have adequate distance between each other to comfortably talk.

Modular geometry: Bringing modularity to the next level is a puzzle of shapes that create an endless array of geometric, aesthetic and functional possibilities.

Moss: Moss green is an important accent colour, seen on textiles, furniture and carpeting.

Subscribers can read our full live report here.

Patrick Norguet for Lea Ceramiche

French designer Patrick Norguet has created a range of ceramic room dividers for Lea Ceramiche, which use the company's latest innovation, Lea Slimtech - a laminated porcelain tile which is just 3mm thick.

HBL Book of the Week: Cement Eclipse

Urban artist Isaac Cordal's book 'Cement Eclipse' (Carpet Bombing Culture, 2011) documents a series of small-scale interventions he has made in his local area of East London, transforming grey and mundane urban landscapes into humorous and thoughtful dioramas.