21/12/2011
Handcrafted angels and celestial wings in design art
At a time when many artists and designers are attempting to shock and denigrate, it’s refreshing to see so many turning to angels for inspiration. Angels are associated with light, love and protection. They are usually portrayed as guardians or messengers. Appearances of winged creatures have been documented by diverse cultures and religions throughout history - often as messengers from God, to foretell crucial events in the spiritual realm, as in the case of the
Archangel Gabriel.
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10/10/2011
Embroidery, lacemaking and patchwork
It’s all in the detail, as handcrafting and ornamental embellishment are given a new lease of life in design and on accessories. Old fashioned, domestic and artisan crafts like needlepoint, lacemaking and patchwork quilting are looking to be especially significant over the coming year:
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06/09/2011
Tea services, teapots and crafty tea time treats
Inventive designers are turning humble tea sets into extraordinary works of art. Inspired by the pomp and ceremony of teatime tradition, many are turning classic tea service styling on its head. The teapot alone is subject to quirky re-modelling, upcycling, digital mapping and imbued with erotic symbolism (as above). Can tea drinking ever get any more sexy than this?
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26/06/2011
Art v craft
If you weren’t able to go along to the Royal College of Art’s 2011 show (to see the likes of Katharine Miles' Smoke Boxes, above), you might like to take a look at my
selected highlights at The Dabbler. In response to this piece, a certain blogger named Worm asked, “at what point does art become craft and vice versa?!” Well, that’s a very interesting question and one which deserves a curious answer. For instance, I could simply respond that “I’m crafting this post for the ShopCurious website, which is a veritable work of art.”
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27/11/2010
Ancient crafts - basket weaving
Could the '
wicker man' have inspired a curious trend: the revival of the ancient craft of basket weaving? Last year everyone was at it, with specialist workshops at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Origin Craft Fair, or serious courses for budding professionals at The Basketmakers’ Association, or the
Worshipful Company of Basketmakers.
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25/09/2010
Automata and mechanical toys
The renewed and growing fascination with cabinets of curiosity has spawned new interest in the curious mechanical devices known as automata. Clockwork automata, manufactured in the 16th century, were popular ‘devices of wonder’ in the collections or Wunderkammern of the princely courts of Europe.
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