Vitra Christmas Market - raising money for Shelter

We were deligted to be asked to take part in the Vitra Christmas market in December. The stunning Vitra showroom on Clerkenwell Road in London was transformed with a contemporary take on the traditional German Christmas market (Vitra is a Swiss-German company) with lots of beautiful gifts from UK designers including Charlene Mullen, Simon Patterson, W2 Products and Shan Valla as well as Vitra products too.

We were also raising money for Shelter the homeless and housing charity, a very worthwhile cause especially at Christmas. In total £1673 was raised for Shelter, so a big thank you to everyone who came along and supported this event and also got some great Christmas gifts!

Talk at Design Event, Newcastle

We were delighted to travel up to the wonderful city of Newcastle to take part in a talk 'The Business of Design' on 18th November organised by the lovely people at Design Event . Susan was one of three companies invited to talk about inspirations and developing a design business (the others being Giles Millerand Deadgood Ltd).

We also got to visit the Baltic gallery and see the Millenium Bridge something we've wanted to do for ages.

Thanks to everyone we met in Newcastle for making us feel so welcome.

Twist - a contemporary Summerhouse at Alford Manor House

Some more stunning images taken by Museumakers photographer Matthew Andrews of Twist at Alford Manor House. The way the light catch the stainless steel braid is particularly fab.

All images copyright Matthew Andrews 2010.

Twist opened by Sir Andrew Motion

Twist at Alford Manor House was formally opened on 22nd September by Sir Andrew Motion, former poet laureate and current chair of the MLA.

It was a glorious English sunny day with afternoon tea on the lawn, live music and corn dolly making under a tree! Sir Andrew read a wonderful and perfectly appropriate poem by Seamus Heaney - The Harvest Bow.

Visit this unique contemporary Summerhouse inspired by the museums collection of local rural artifacts, in particular the corn dollies, at Alford Manor House, Alford, Lincolnshire, LN13 9HT.

Twist is part of the national Museumaker project, connecting museums and their collections with artists, designers and craftspeople. Find out more at http://www.museumaker.com/

Alford Manor House - contempoary heritage souvenirs

Alford Wallpaper brooch (above)
Alford Landmark Bookends (above)

We have designed and produced some new contemporary souvenirs for the heritage sector for Alford Manor House in Lincolnshire, who we have also been working with on Twist a large outdoor commission through the Museumaker scheme. See the blog post on Twist, a contemporary summerhouse opened by Sir Andrew Motion in September 2010.

The Alford Landmark Bookends take the towns most celebrated buildings (the Manor House and 5-sailed windmill) and translate them into functional bookends.

The Wallpaper brooch translates a small motif from the restored bedroom wallpaper into a contemporary brooch design.

The bookends and the brooch are available directly from Alford Manor House, Alford, Lincolnshire. http://www.alfordmanorhouse.com/

Contempoary Souvenirs at The Geffrye Museum

Alford Landmark Bookends above

We are part of Museumaker’s Contemporary Souvenirs Showcase at the Geffrye Museum in London which displays a selection of the products that talented designers are developing with museums across the country. The goal is to create an alternative to the conventional souvenir. With products by myself and other designers such as Timorous Beasties and Rebecca Chitty, this is a fresh approach to shopping in museums.

The exhibition runs from 21 September to 21 November 2010. Geffrye Museum, 136 Kingsland Road,London E2 8EA.

Gift Of The Year awards

We are delighted to have been runner up ('highly commended') in the Gift Of The Year Awards 2010. Our London Landmark and London Transport Bookends were selected in the Home Accessories category.

Both designs are available in our online shop at http://www.susanbradley.co.uk/