HBL Book of the Week: The Art Museum

The Art Museum (Phaidon, 2011)

At last week's If Conference, art publisher Phaidon's editorial director Amanda Renshaw personally introduced delegates to The Art Museum - a new, curated guide to the history of art captured in 2700 works and 992 pages. The book is organised like a physical museum, containing a 'permanent collection' as well as rooms dedicated to especially important artists or art movements.

HBL Retail: MFI relaunches online

Laken bathroom collection by MFI

British furniture brand MFI relaunched as an online-only venture this morning, three years after its collapse. The new website hosts a 3000-piece collection of living, bedroom and bathroom furniture, and customers are being enticed back to the once-market leading brand with a 60% discount, in place until 12 December.

New lighting designs by Triode

Frame by Arnaud Lapierre

Previewed at Paris Design Week 2011, French lighting brand Triode Design has released three new lighting solutions by Arnaud Lapierre, Simon Naouri, and Pierre Gonalons. Frame by Arnaud Lapierre is a desk light with a functional tray underneath. The shade hangs over the frame like a curtain, creating interesting angles of diffused light.

HBL Blog of the Week: Objects & Use

Objects & Use is the offshoot of Copenhagen-based designer Gitte Christensen's online shop of the same name. Just three months old, but worth keeping an eye on, the blog contains a mix of recipes, Instagram-shot lifestyle posts and design coverage.

Top Picks at Design Miami/ 2011

Apache Table by Konstantin Grcic as presented by Galerie kreo

Design Miami/ has compiled a list of top picks of Design Miami/ 2011 selected by curators, collectors and academics. The design show runs along with Art Basel Miami Beach from November 30 – December 4.

A Memphis collector in Memphis

Previous HBL blog of the week Obsessionistas today features a collector of Memphis furniture. Photographer Dennis Zanone lives in Memphis, Tennessee and owns over 120 different Memphis pieces - as evidenced by his living room, shown above.

HBL News: New Tribal Labyrinth by Atelier van Lieshout at Giò Marconi gallery in Milan

For its New Tribal Labyrinth exhibition, Atelier Van Lieshout presents 14 new works which will be on display in the ground floor spaces and in the courtyard of Giò Marconi gallery (via Tadino 15, Milan). From November 30 until January 14, the gallery will host the Atelier van Lieshout’s fifth solo show in these spaces.

HBL Retail: Selfridges' Christmas sales update

Dr Dre Beats Studio headphones, £269 at Selfridges

With less than five weeks to go, Selfridges reveals the Christmas winners so far from stores in London, Birmingham and Manchester and online - including headphones, British-themed decorations, a children's tablet and the Kindle. Click through to read the sales trends across technology, the home, and Selfridges' world famous Christmas shop.

HBL Analysis: Designing for an aging population

Ruth, who is 100-years-old, doing pilates in New York City, as seen at advancedstyle.blogspot.com

Last month the UNFPA reported that the world's population had reached 7 billion. Of this number, 893 million people are aged over 60 and the figure is likely to nearly triple to 2.4 billion by the middle of the century (CNN). This week WGSN-homebuildlife published a report that investigates the needs of the new 21st century, 60+ consumer and how architecture and design is responding to their needs. Subscribers can see the full report online here. Below are some of the product highlights from the report.

Rugs inspired by the city of Hong Kong

Image Copyright: TREE

Hong Kong-based sustainable furniture company TREE launches limited edition rugs that pay homage to the city and to the colder Autumn/Winter season.

Repetto Christmas tree for The Grand Hotel de Bordeaux

The Grand Hotel de Bordeaux & Spa have embraced the festive season and collaborated with ballet company Repetto to produce a ballet-themed Christmas tree centrepiece for the grand lobby of the hotel.

Crystal Matrix II by Erwin Redl

LED artist Erwin Redl has created a multisensory installation at Design Miami, Miami Beach in collaboration with Swarovski Crystal Palace. The project, entitled Crystal Matrix II, combines light, sound and Swarovski crystals, which are placed on 16 rotating disks suspended from the ceiling. The disks are lit by floating multi-coloured LEDs, which work in conjunction with a meditative sound sequence.