Thursday 28 March 2013

Sign of the Times

Moving with the times, Connect International has decided to become more ecologically aware, by producing the Connections as a digital publication. 

With 10 issues per year we hope you enjoy the new format.

So, without any more ado, here's the April issue no. #39 and the first link: 









Illustration: Alison Day Designs

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Come Buy With Me



Spring will have definitely sprung...

Alison Day Designs) will be appearing at the Design Market: 11.00 - 17.00 Sunday 7 April on the Grote Markt, Groningen. Joining about 50-ish other stall holders offering their imaginative creations for sale.

So... if you happen to be in the area, why not drop by for a look, and who knows you may find something you just can't leave without!

Monday 11 March 2013

Pyramid Hacienda






Continuing with the Vertical Gardens theme I champion,  I found this rather ingenious design for one that not only maximizes space, but is quite attractive too. Featured by Green Renaissance, its construction looks a relatively easy design to replicate if you are handy (and so inclined).

A wall brightening and more organically shaped solution is the pot tree, where pots can be interchanged, as well as reorganized to get the desired effect.







The lettuce wall, however, I think is ingeniously simple. It is a good use of vertical space in order to grow ecologically friendly and pesticide free crops, hands stay clean, and it serves as a decorative divider in the planning of a landscaped garden. 

If you want a bit of inspiration when it comes to construction, take a look at the Florafelt growers from Plants on Walls  - they are created using recycled plastic bottles and an indestructible nylon non-toxic fibre. Once the plants have 'settled in', the effect is amazing!









Saturday 9 March 2013

Howzat!





The Connections -  publication of which I am editor, designer & writer.
Select a cover to view an issue

Wednesday 6 March 2013

Hanging Ladies



Unlike their exhibition, where they were hung in a single row, finally9 Women are hanging on my living room wall, as I had envisioned they would when I created them. 


To view them up close and in more detail, see them on my website here


©Alison Day Designs

Sunday 3 March 2013

Porcelain Favours


Funny how things go sometimes... 

Not being a great lover of newspapers (I generally only see them as fodder for papiermaché pulp, and my artistic creations), I was surprised recently, when in a Dutch local rag (Nieuwsblad van het Noorden), I came across a photo of a 19th century porcelain dog - a Staffordshire Spaniel to be exact - a popular ornament in the Victorian era. The article was entitled: 'Turfstekers en Hoerenhondjes; - 'Peat cutters and Whore dogs'.

Nothing remarkable in that, I hear you bark? Well, co-incidences of co-incidences, I have recently inherited a couple of said beasts, which now sit proudly, if somewhat arrogantly with spoilt little expressions, facing each other from the corners of adjoining book shelves, in my living room.

It is interesting to discover that throughout history, Spaniels (the living ones), have been the pet of choice with royalty. Ladies of the court would often hide them under their skirts to keep their legs warm. Apparently, a black and white, toyCavalier King Charles Spaniel, was found under the skirts of Mary Queen of Scots, shortly after she was beheaded, in 1587.

By the 1720's onwards, the porcelain variety began to be manufactured in Staffordshire potteries, with their popularity increasing throughout Queen Victoria's reign. As a result extra labour - children - were hired to keep up with demand; they helped in the decoration by painting on the whiskers and splotches on the spaniels backs. Generally made in pairs and with no two Spaniel faces alike, the Staffordhire Spaniel became:

...the quintessential Victorian bourgeois status-symbol knick-knack: no mantelpiece was complete without a pair of 
spaniels standing guard.



Apart from their obvious decorative appeal, Victorian brothels would put a pair in their windows, pretending that they were in fact a porcelain shop! 

In modern day windows, hearsay has it that how the dogs are placed is of particular interest to potential clientele - If the dogs face each other, it is a sign that the husband is in the house; if they have their backs to each other, well I think you can guess the rest...