It's what I do . . .

Ensouled Objects

en·soul 
1. To endow with a soul.
2. To place, receive, or cherish in the soul.

Ensouled objects are the special things in your life.
They are well cared for and valued. An ensouled object may be as simple as a well worn wooden spoon and as complex as a family heirloom. They may have precious memories attached to them or simply be indispensable in your everyday life. 

I am collecting and archiving images of ensouled or special objects as part of my research for my Masters Project. I am really interested in what makes you keep something.

If you would like to share (and please, please do! ) you can do one of several things  . . .

:: Check out my Flickr Group here and add your own image directly to the group.

:: Email me your image to katyfrances@yahoo.co.uk - straight from your phone is fine - and I will upload it to Flickr.

And please remember to leave a few words explaining why it means what it does to you.

And the shoe at the top? That's one of my ensouled objects, made to fit my extra wide feet exactly by a talented shoe maker, by the beach, in New Zealand. The soles made from reclaimed hardwood sourced from fallen down houses. Really.

I keep them because of the memories, but mostly because they fit.

 

Turning around & The Bench

After much messing around and ummming and ahhing and all that stuff - I have decided to to steer my Masters project along a different route. Actually, it wasn't so much a change of direction - more a massive 'bugger, I've forgotten something really important and I'm going to have to go home, lose loads of time and start my trip all over again' sort of a moment. However, like turning back to check you've unplugged the iron, it was necessary.

  You see, I'd designed this bench, and with the help of a wonderful local cabinet maker, I'd produced it. It's real and beautiful and it would seem that everything was going to plan. After all, my project was about the way people sit and I'd fulfilled one of my aims - made a seat. But the seating aspect was not what was really interesting me.

I was interested in the wood, about it being a design that I loved, about the size being right for me and my family. In short - I was interested in it's qualities as a bespoke, personalised object - more than I was interested in the fact it was a bench. I was interested in what made it special. And so a new body of work starts. Thank goodness the bench is still relevant.

 

 

The Silent Indian National Anthem

Apparently this was made to be shown in Indian Cinemas before the main feature. It was an attempt to make the process of engaging in the National Anthem inclusive. Although performed by children using sign language, it is not just a comment on disability. India has countless languages and these languages often serve to distinguish or highlight divide. 

 

 

Apparently 14 Million Indians go to the cinema EVERY DAY (according to my quick Google search !) What an incredible vehicle for communication that is.

Inspiration : : Skystation

 

Peter Newman's Skystation at the Haywood Gallery.

nothing new under the sun

I had one of those irritating moments tonight when I thought I had found that someone had already produced what was a vague idea in my head. It turns out not - quite. Remember these simple lanterns that you'd make as a child? I thought they might be interesting made in carved porcelain. That's what I thought these were - but turns out they're card. 

The website I found them on - Radiance - has some beautiful work by  designer /makers.

I've seen this in a few sustainable design texts . . . 

Ash Lampshade by Tom Raffield

Ice Cube Celebrates the Eames

I love unlikely partnerships. 

 

A bit of a plug - but also a bit of good design! Shift.ms is a charity that Simon is involved with - it aims to foster a dynamic online community of people with a diagnosis of MS (multiple sclerosis).

Design Manifesto

Designers have to look forward and start making products that will sit well in all our futures, but we must do this with humility. We must be mindful that as the population swells and ages, we do not have all the answers at our fingertips. We need to reach out into the world a little more, be a little more enquiring. Instead of imposing ideas upon people from our studios, we need to go into our communities and have some of those ideas imposed upon us. I believe that involving other people is probably the only way to achieve true sustainability because if people are invested in a project they will place a higher value on it. Redstrom said “People, not users, inhabit the world. A ‘user’ is something that designers create’’ Like a post-it note at a brain storming session, the term ‘users’ implies that some kind of vague background research has been undertaken. It would be of more value to be honest about the origins of a design, to acknowledge past influences, make it – and move on. Using more of a multidisciplinary approach to design can only be beneficial to the final outcome. 

 

Doshi Levian . . . again

 Doshi Levian were commissioned by Swarovski to design this chair - and I really like the way they sit there and say they've tried to make it easier to live with crystals around you  - because 'Swarovski is sometimes difficult to live with'. I have to say that one of those chairs is the only way a bit of Swarovski would get past my front door.

Reflect

This week we had to reflect on one object from of a list of iconic pieces of design. I chose the post- it note.

Then we had to reinvent it.

So - you can't really see but it says Jess. My attempt at a permanent post -it to replace the ones I write twice a week to make sure I don't forget to pick up my daughter's friend Jess for school. I think there are about 42 weeks in a school year so I am saving 84 post-it notes a year - 588 over their time at primary school.