Design Academy Eindhoven

Studio Formafantasma - Autarchy - seen here

We went to London on Monday - first stop - Sotheby's in New Bond Street to see a show curated from the 2009 graduates of the Design Academy Eindhoven. This exceptional academy has been incredibly influential in current design concepts and products. Beautifully curated, displayed and lit, the show used a series of design led questions as catalysts for the work on show. For instance: "Can we use easily available ingredients to produce?" is tackled by Studio Formafantasma in a beautiful range of domestic ware called Autarchy (Vessel).

Other questions included like things : "Where do you like to take a bath?", "Why aren't we using a hot water bottle anymore?", "What kinds of feelings does hair provoke?". One piece I really liked was in response to the question: "How can we make tender the last goodbye to a loved one who has died?", responded to by Roos Kuipers with a beautifully crafted elmwood bier which replaces the harsh physical and emotional idea of the coffin with a softer ritual for saying goodbye.