Amelia’s Magazine | Review: London College of Communication Green Week, 6th-10th February 2012

LCC Green Week 'Urban Farming Installation' by Deborah Moon

Urban Farming Installation by second year Interaction & Moving Image students as part of LCC Green Week illustrated by Deborah Moon

Within an atmosphere of playfulness and improvisation the London College of Communication organised a Green Week between the 6th and 10th of February – part of the nation wide People and Planet Green Week. It was packed with workshops, pop-up installations, film screenings and talks aiming to encourage students to share ideas for improving sustainability in their creative practice and at home. Under the motivational general title ‘You Can Make a Difference‘ the week explored the themes of ‘found’, ‘upcycle’, ‘change’, ‘waste’ and ‘activism’. Every day of the week the upper galleries of the college hosted both student led initiatives and the work of invited creatives.

LCC Green Week Sarah Bagner from Supermarket Sarah with plastic bags quilt photo by Maria Papadimitriou

As the designer of Plastic Seconds – a jewellery line that uses recycled plastic and other found materials – I was invited by Sarah Bagner from Supermarket Sarah to make a wall on the first day of the event and talk to the students about the usage of ‘rubbish’ we do not often think to use anew in design… Sarah, even though still jet-lagged from a trip to Tokyo photographing local ‘walls’ for her upcoming book, played a major part in the event making installations and collaborating with the students throughout. On the third day of the week she teamed up with Tiziana Callari and created a quilt made out of discarded plastic bags – seen above.

Supermarket Sarah for London College of Communication Green Week by Jo Ley

Supermarket Sarah for London College of Communication’s Green Week by Jo Ley

Plastic Seconds wall installation at LCC green week photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Plastic Seconds display

LCC Green Week Skip Sisters

Sarah Bagner had also invited the super fun Skip SistersJulia Burnett, Edori Fertig, Liz Honeybone, Pia Randall-Goddard and Helen Turner who search the skips of South London for raw materilas and then turn them into sculptural objects, clocks, jewellery and textiles. Apart from the installation above the Skip Sisters also rummaged through the college’s printing studios for discarded paper which they transformed into beads for jewellery making.

LCC Green Week Veja Shoes photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Veja was another sustainable brand Sarah Bagner had invited to the event.

LCC Green Week Face Shields by Jody Boehnert at EcoLabs

Some of the most striking – and possibly emotionally charged – objects on show were these ‘Face Shields‘ from Climate Camp 2007, designed by Jody Boehnert at EcoLabs, which were used as part of a mass action at Heathrow against the proposed third runway.

'Face Shields' Time2Act Climate Camp 2007 Green Week LCC by Lizzy Holbrook

Face Shields by Lizzy Holbrook

Wooden Objects by Gregor Garber LCC Green Weekphoto by Maria Papadimitriou

I was quite taken by these really well made and well presented reclaimed wood toy kits made by the college’s 3D technician Gregor Garber, who salvages good quality wood from shelving or broken easels. He thinks it a shame that maquettes by interior design students can look rather samey because of the standard materials they use, so during his workshops he encourages students to use all sorts of more interesting and varied looking reclaimed materials – as in the examples below.

reclaimed wood interior design models by Gregor Garber LCC green week photo by Maria Papadimitriou

LCC Green Week pop-up bicycle powered cinema by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

LCC Green Week pop-up bicycle powered cinema by Maria Papadimitriou aka Slowly The Eggs

The collective Magnificent Revolution brought into the college their bicycle powered cinema!

London College of Communication Takeaway LCC Green Week photo by Maria Papadimitriou

During my visit on the last day of the events I was happy to see LCC students’ Azra Bhagat and Laura Carless ‘Green Takeaway’ stall where they displayed tons of reclaimed takeaway coffee cups – along with these ceramic mugs and glasses – which they had turned into tiny city flower pots by adding seeds.

LCC Green Week Furniture Upcycling 1 photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Also on the last day unused and ignored furniture from around the college was given pretty make-overs by the students and the resulting pieces will be auctioned on the Supermarket Sarah website!

Book Swishing at LCC Green Week photo by Maria Papadimitriou

Throughout the week there was a book swishing point, accompannied by this lovely hanging books display, where students could bring a book in and take one away.

LCC Green Week 'my apple is jetlagged' wall painting photo by Maria Papadimitriou

In terms of more student led events this wall painting highlighting the issue of food miles was created by a team of them as the week unfolded.

Other highlights were Garudio Studiage creating a ‘Lucky Skip’ interactive installation where all those unattractive Christmas presents could be put to good use or passed on to someone else, and Food for Good, an initiative by three graphic and media design students who pick up left over food from restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets and trasnport it to charities. Finally there was a lot of extra cycling related activity in the middlele of the week, which I unfortunately missed, including letterpress artist, poet and cyclist Dennis Gould exhibiting his work as featured in Boneshaker Magazine and talking about his love of cycling.

All photography by Maria Papadimitriou.
Skip Sisters photo by London College of Communication.

Categories ,activism, ,bicycle powered cinema, ,books, ,Charities, ,cinema, ,Climate Activism, ,Climate Camp, ,Deborah Moon, ,ecolabs, ,Film Screening, ,Food for Good, ,Food Miles, ,Found, ,Furniture, ,Garudio Studiage, ,Green Week, ,Gregor Garber, ,Heathrow Airport, ,Heathrow third runway, ,installation, ,Interior Design, ,Jet-Lagged, ,jewellery, ,Jo Ley, ,Jody Boehnert, ,LCC, ,Leftovers, ,Lizzy Holbrook, ,London College of Communication, ,Magnificent Revolution, ,Maquettes, ,Maria Papadimitriou, ,painting, ,people and planet, ,People and Planet Week, ,plastic bags, ,Plastic Seconds, ,recycling, ,Sarah Bagner, ,Skip Siters, ,Slowly the Eggs, ,Supermarket Sarah, ,Swishing, ,talks, ,Tiziana Callari, ,Toys, ,Upcycling, ,Urban Farming, ,Veja, ,Walls, ,Waste, ,wood, ,workshops

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Amelia’s Magazine | Christmas Gift Ideas 2012: Best Design Gifts For Men

Bianca Green in love with iphone cover
In Love With iphone cover by Bianca Green.

Most men love a bit of gadget based frippery, and there is an almost endless choice of iphone decor out there. Amidst the huge amount of guff on Society6 (it’s surprising how few things work when just plonked on, say, a hoodie), there are some gems, shown here for your delection…

fimbis iphone cover geometric glow
This neon abstract Geometric Glow is by Fimbis.

Ewan Arnolda vintage camera iphone case
The fake vintage camera is a perennially good look – particularly fun if you are into self portraits as the cover design will register in the mirror! By Ewan Arnold.

kate hasted iphone cover japanese flower
I think the most unusual has to be this iphone cover by textile designer Kate Hasted, inspired by Japanese flowers.

GlyphicBlack_Phone Pop vinyl iphone backs
For iphone 5 users why not take a look at these new vinyl backs with bold optical designs by Phone Pop?

Glove & Hate Oven Gloves, Stuart Gardiner
If the man you are buying for loves cooking why not surprise him with these fab Glove and Hate oven gloves? They come complete with hairy wrists and chunky gold bracelet: by Stuart Gardiner at Howkapow?

WOODEN KUKSA CUP - CLASSIC DESIGN brokedown palace
And those who like camping: what about this Kuksa outdoor wooden cup of traditional Sami design, available on new website The Brokedown Palace. A great place to find the perfect present for those who love the great outdoors.

derek shop notebooks
Does your man love nice stationery? I adore these illustrated notebooks (including one by contributor Lorna Scobie) from Dereks Shop.

soma gallery bike parts notebook
Or if your man is a bike lover, how about this Bike Parts notebook, by Luke James for Noodoll, available on Soma Gallery.

2013 wall planner calendar
This fab 2013 Wall Planner is from Present and Correct, the most fantastic website for all graphic design and stationery buffs.

office in a christmas cracker present correct
They also do an ‘Office in a Christmas Cracker‘ which is beautifully put together.

retro pop calendar present correct
And to sit on the table, a vintage rolling plastic calendar.

craig yamey hans_downe plush
Does he like collectibles? If so how about this fantastic plush toy by Craig Yamey for Constructive Studio? Hans Downe is part of the limited edition Yam Kids range: strange creatures all.

printstagram calendar
On a more personalised tangent – if you’ve got the time and you’re a social media nut nut like myself, why not make an instagram calendar with printstagram? If you don’t have time to edit you can just stream the photos off your phone and bung them all in!

seven gauge studios lambswool scarf
Moving on to clothing: I adore this lambswool scarf by Seven Gauge Studios on Two Red Trees.

Stonemen mens briefs rob yelling horses
Or if you prefer something with a bit more humour – how about these brilliant boxer shorts with wild horses stampeding all over them? By Rob Yelling for Stonemen.

Derek Shop M.hulot SKINNY-RHODESIA-BELT-AVOCADO-2
This beautiful handmade Skinny Rhodesia leather belt is by M.Hulot and it is available on Dereks Shop.

Niza Huang PETROLEUM cufflinks
For jewellery I am particularly taken by Niza Huang‘s petroleum cufflinks – inspired by the preciousness of ‘black gold‘.

Lars Beller Fjetland wood penguin
As far as beautiful objects go, I love these re-turned wooden birds created from scrap wood by Finnish designer Lars-Beller Fjetland on The Lollipop Shoppe.

lovi-birch-ply-moominmamma
Maybe he remembers the Moomins? Then this birch ply family by Lovi on Hus and Hem is just the ticket.

Garudio Studiage flat pet pug
Does your man hanker after a pet? If he’s as dotty for pugs as mine then he’ll love this festive specimen bearing Christmas antlers by Garudio Studiage.

reindeer head by armstrong ward
Or he might prefer this ace felted reindeer head by Armstrong Ward on Not on the High Street.

mozaa game
Finally – if he’s into games how about Mozaa, a colourful combination of puzzle and mosaic, bound to be loved by all design fiends.

dice for change
And in 2013 maybe he’ll fancy playing with his Dice for Change: featuring beautifully designed pictograms to inspire daily random acts of kindness.

More to come :)

Categories ,2012, ,2013 Wall Planner, ,Armstrong Ward, ,Belt, ,Bianca Green, ,Bike Parts, ,calendar, ,Christmas, ,Constructive Studio, ,Craig Yamey, ,Dice for Change, ,Ewan Arnold, ,Fimbis, ,Flat pets, ,Garudio Studiage, ,Geometric Glow, ,Glove and Hate oven gloves, ,Hans Downe, ,Howkapow. Love Hate, ,Hus and Hem, ,instagram, ,iphone 5, ,iphone covers, ,Journal, ,Kate Hasted, ,Kuksa, ,Lars-Beller Fjetland, ,Lorna Scobie, ,Lovi, ,Luke James, ,M.Hulot, ,Mens’ gifts, ,Moomins, ,Mozaa, ,Niza Huang, ,Noodoll, ,Not On The High Street, ,Notebooks, ,Office in a Christmas Cracker, ,Oven Gloves, ,Petroleum Cufflinks, ,Phone Pop!, ,Plush, ,Present and Correct, ,printstagram, ,Pug, ,Pumpkin Sputnik, ,Rob Yelling, ,Seven Gauge Studios, ,Society6, ,Soma Gallery, ,stationery, ,Stonemen, ,Stuart Gardiner, ,The Brokedown Palace, ,The Lollipop Shoppe, ,toy, ,Two Red Trees, ,Yam Kids

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