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
Wayne White was born and raised in Chattanooga Tennessee. In a long and colourful artistic career he has been an illustrator for the Village Voice and New York Times, designed sets for television and made award winning videos for bands like Smashing Pumpkins. These days his considerable creative energies go into producing paintings featuring oversized 3 dimensional text integrated into vintage landscape reproductions. In keeping with White's wit and banjo
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
I know you'll never see this but you are so pretty… Missed Connections is the utterly beguiling new work by award winning Australian illustrator Sophie Blackall. Inspired by the missed connections columns in newspapers and online, Blackall has brought these most elliptical of love stories to life with chinese ink and watercolours. Brooklyn based Blackall says, 'Every day hundreds of strangers reach out to other strangers on the strength of
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'.
It would be no exaggeration to say that graphic designer Margaret Calvert has saved hundreds of lives on Britain's roads. Born in South Africa in 1936, she worked with Jock Kinneir on the design of Britain's road and motorway signage system from 1957 to 1967. Above is the picture she recently contributed to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2010, adapting one of her road signs by replacing a man at
We are delighted to announce that friend of Avocado Sweet, Jill Ireland's new venture Life is Good opens for business tomorrow, 27 August. It is a bright little gem of a shop selling a gorgeous selection of homewares, clothes and art and it enjoys an enviable location right in the heart of the boutique and cafe scene of Edinburgh's Morningside. We wish Jill the very best of luck although, with
After five years of collection and curation This is Design opened on 24 August 2011. The Design Museum is displaying highlights of its collection including the road signs designed by Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir in 1965, the K6 telephone kiosk 1951, a quaint and very chunky-looking Apple Mac form 1997, a Moulton bike, circa 1960 and the vacuum cleaner designed by James Dyson. The exhibition which examines the