House of Bricks

Monday 28 March 2011

Square Eyes

It's been a while...this project seems to be getting the better of me. Never done so much research in my life, i swear my eyes are about to turn into squares i have been staring at computer screens and books for so long. Right so, for my project at the moment i am looking at really amazing shops and displays. Focusing on visual merchandising, branding and basically just really original techniques and quirky little shops. I have found hundreds which are really inspiring, so i thought i would display some of the best here;

Maison Martin Margiela in Tokyo has adopted some amazing display techniques, i love the changing rooms and the way in which they have stuck to such a strict and minimal colour palette and style. It looks really modern and fresh, combining the industrial and clinical feel with old objects and accessories.





Another store which i thought looked amazing and makes me want to visit straight away is called Hurwundeki, i saw it in the Time Out book of the best shops in London. The shop is set out in a really interesting way where everything is a bit miss match but it still seems to look really sophisticated and inviting!




Another shop which i absoloutely love alot is Palette in London, not only down to the fact that i worked there shortly during my placement and met the wonderful owner Marco Ellis, but also because of the way in which the vintage garments are all of such a high quality and they are mixed in with some amazing, innovative and very Modern newer more contemporary designers such as Avsh Alom Gur and Anna Aichinger. They also are so knowledgeable when it comes to sharing information about the garments and accessories and provide helpful and honest personal styling advice.

The shop itself is just off the main road (Upper Street) between Angel and Islington tube stations and is one of those small but perfectly formed gems of a shop which are becoming increasingly harder to find.



Finally, here is a shop that makes me want to drive down to London right now and break in...ha. Its in Hoxton/Old street area and it's called Paper Dress. The interior is really lovely and friendly, it doesn't look like one of those shops that you walk into and immediately feel like you shouldn't be there. It isn't pretentious or intimidating and it doesn't hurt that there is a coffee shop in there too so the boyfriend can get distracted with all the cake and biscuits....= more time to shop. Perfect.






Thursday 24 March 2011

Movement & Mechanics

For my final year project I produced a selection of printed scarves using both silk screen and digital printing methods.  Influenced by the Soviet Art and Constructivist movements the notion behind the collection was to address the visualisation of motion within mechanical objects.  By adding colour and abstracting geometric shapes I was attempting to add a more dynamic and feminine approach to otherwise static mechanical imagery.


Friday 18 March 2011

Industrialised.

Considering that we have just purchased our new beautiful flat in the crazy, sunny Brighton it has become impossible to no become obsessed with furniture and it all seems to be of an industrial meets the 60s kind of vibe. That is how you know that you're becoming an adult...when the idea of a table or set of chairs excites you! Ha. So me and Georgia have this solution to the fact that we are skint we thought, lets buy one item a month and pay half each. This was a great idea although we havn't got past December (the first month). Still though we got some pretty cool chairs off ebay and we also managed to haggle the guy down quite a bit! Two of these refurbished chairs mark the beginning of a beautiful journey...


As far as January goes we have seen a rather amazing massssive lava lamp which would look splendid in our flat. We are definitely doing this the wrong way round though...not a table, bed or sofa in sight! we will post a picture of the lava lamp when we come to a choice of colour, thinking purple and orange though.

This Hollywood floor lamp from M&S of all places is definitely going to be February's piece...still need to let Georgia in on that little detail though!

Thursday 17 March 2011

Amazing new designers at work

We have been looking for exciting young designers who are creating amazing new designs. We stumbled upon a great new talent called Verity Brown who graduated last year from Brighton University. Here are some examples of her recent work which are both fun and completely individual...




Researching into the unknown

Right so for my (Josie's) current uni project i had to write my own brief and so bearing in mind that me and Georgia want to start a boutique in a while, i decided to create the basic look of this hypothetical dream shop and design a look book and other details for the store. As far as the aesthetics of the shop itself goes, i am about to start collaborating with an interior designer/architect who will hopefully help me to draw up the simple blueprints of the shop and then i can illustrate and collage all of the detailing accessories and clothes etc. Here are a few images that should help to give a sense of what we want the store to be like....enjoy!







Wednesday 16 March 2011

The beginning...

Well hello there...we are two sisters; Georgia and Josie and have decided to start this blog. It has taken a lot longer than it should have but here we are. Georgia is 23 and has recently graduated from the University of Brighton studying printed textile design and I'm Josie, 21 and currently studying fashion design at Birmingham City Uni. We have really similar tastes as far as fashion, art, design etc goes and the end goal is to hopefully start our own fashion/interiors boutique in the heart of Brighton. So, this blog will become the story of how it all begins and hopefully transpires into some sort of career for us. Other exciting news is that we just hopped on the property ladder, having just bought a small, charming flat in between Brighton and Hove which should provide the perfect starting platform for all of this fun and excitement!

Between us we have a ridiculous amount of clothes and random other items and accessories. We are both quite creative people and think that the most important thing is to offer something new and a bit different. This blog will hopefully become a massive moodboard of inspiration for all of the creative and fun things that we find along the way that is our lives.....thanks for listening. Also, bear with us because this whole computer blogging thing is a bit more confusing than we expected so we may be a little slow to start!