Beyond the wonky candle stuck into an empty bottle of Mateus Rose, there's a lot you can do with glass. Bottlehood, based in Colorado, recycles glass from its neighbourhood to produce eco friendly tumblers, vases, necklaces, platters and bowls, making the most of the colours, shapes and labels to create items which are really quite beautiful. The tumblers come in sets of 4 with prices starting at $20 per set.
The most painful thing to stand on in bare feet known to man, LEGO is also one of the most enduring and creative toys around. The company has for several years produced kits, designed by architectural artist Adam Reed Tucker, that celebrate the best of American architecture. You can build your own Sears Tower, White House, Space Needle or Guggenheim Museum as well as Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House
by Eduardo Rodriguez, The Designer Pad Voted the prettiest village in Andalucía, Spain, Frigiliana is a town known for its maze of narrow cobbled streets lined by whitewashed houses, their wrought-iron balconies and planters filled with brilliant red geraniums. Although the structure of this gorgeous home keeps its traditional style, the interior has been completely modernized. Playing with its organic anatomy, the owners achieved a harmonious balance between the historical
After forty years of being represented by men; favourably by good friend David Hockney in Mrs and Mrs Clark and Percy (above), and later, less flatteringly in ex-husband, Ossie Clark’s diaries, designer Celia Birtwell is publishing her own story. She chose style writer, Dominic Lutyens to help write about her life and work. In a refreshing contrast to the current trend in autobiographies she has avoided sensational revelations and has
The Octopus chair may be an amazing feat of technology and design created by artist Maximo Riera but we wonder if it's a bit too Pirates of the Carribean? The artists other chairs include never seen before Walrus, Beetle and Rhino all of which will be on display at 100% Design. Avocado Sweet will be checking it out along with other less scary exhibits at 100% Design London today, 22
Jimmy Fiction describes himself as the 'manufacturer and purveyor of the very finest letters of extraordinary size'. Made from welded steel and coated in colourful resin or powder, the letters are sturdy and weather proof and can be used free standing or wall mounted. All letters are available and bespoke commissions are taken. This monumental typography has its uses as a garden or interior feature, a frame to grow flowers
We don't usually cover fashion stories at Avocado Sweet but, with a brief to source the aesthetically pleasing and culturally stimulating, how could we not feature this stunning first collection by Russian photographer turned designer Ulyana Sergeenko? The whole collection is so womanly and so different with equal measures of 40s coquettishness and timeless authenticity – brilliant. What's especially intriguing is that Sergeenko herself is even more beautiful than her
Working eighteen hours a day to walk 3,000 miles of London's streets, the artist Phyllis Pearsall (1906-1996) not only conceived, designed and produced the A-Z street atlas of London, but founded her own company to publish it. The A-Z remains one of the most ingenious examples of early 20th century information design. Realising that she did not know the location of the party to which she was invited in the
In the heart of the bustling Edinburgh neighbourhood of Easter Road is Bra Bohag, a tiny establishment that has been described as 'without doubt the best retro shop in Scotland'. Run by the hugely knowledgeable and enthusiastic team of Jim and Louice, it's a treasure trove of mid century classic furniture and artefacts sourced from the UK and Scandinavia. The shop regularly stocks pieces by Ercol, G-Plan, Stag and McIntosh
Can it be that absolutely everything that comes out of Scandinavia is aesthestically pleasing and highly functional? Even the people seem better designed. Scandinavian products are enjoying an extended moment and – excitingly – there are now lots of outlets beyond the well established Ikea and Skandium. The glasses above are £39.99 from Skandivis, a fantastic site full of lovely things for those who 'want to live the Scandinavian way'.