Born in the UK - as seen on StyleHive

Well, this is it...my final blog about how I saw some great design in the UK this Summer - blah, blah, blah....at least I had the decency to bore the folks at StyleHive with it this time.

SEE the slideshow // READ the post:StyleHive.com

lighting from INNERMOST

There is something about lighting that when it's not the most functional it is often the most enlightening.

These pieces from Innermost are all about the emotive qualities of light rather than being purely task-oriented. Although, I wouldn't want to try and read a book with their "asteroid" light, I most definitely would love one glowing to the side of me while I sipped a cocktail.

Innermost was started in 1999 as a collaborative design brand - delving into the deep pool of talented designers within London. Their product line extends beyond lighting, with forays into home accessories like cocktail muddlers and a petit four cake stand - obviously.

Their work has been shown the world over at places like Design Walk in Sardinia, Fei Space in Beijing and Shizuoka Castle in Japan. In September, they return to their home town with the 100% Design show in London - I would love to check it out, but I'm back in sunny California!

Check out the INNERMOST website for more information: innermost.co.uk

oxo tower xoxo

I'm back in California after a month in England. I squeezed in one more day to look at independent design with a visit to the South Banks', Oxo Tower.

If the East End is a hot bed of new designers, then the Oxo Tower is definitely the place to go to see designers ready to take their work to the next level. Located on the South Bank and a short walk to the Tate Modern - the Oxo Tower was a revitalization project that brought shopping, galleries, restaurants and housing to the former derelict site.

The work here is excellent and ran the gamut of product design from fashion to home to art. The idea behind the Oxo Tower is to allow designers to combine studio and shop space in a format that allows the public to meet emerging designers and buy directly.

FEATURING (clockwise):
+ Pantone Mugs, £72/set of 10, W2 Products (now shipping to the US)
+ Time Zone Clock, £25, j-me
+ Whitby Jet Necklace, Jacqueline Cullen (through Studio Fusion Gallery)
+ Bag of Light, $34, Black + Blum
+ Roca Napkin Rings, £60/set of 6, Bodo Sperlein
+ Loop Cushions, Anne Kyyro Quinn

in the spotlight : snowdon flood

I occasionally flirt with delicate and pretty, but my heart belongs to bold and graphic. This is why I love, love, love the work of Snowdon Flood. Her work has that "oh so British" wit and whimsy - topiary race horses, Liberty-type prints form the Union jack and a graphic rendering of the Battersea power plant.

Being British myself, and spending some time on and around the Thames growing up, I have a soft spot for the river series. Ah, Blighty!

Available online through the Snowdon Flood website