TEN QUESTIONS, TEN ANSWERS: Alexander Taylor

By Christine Samuelian

At 33 Alexander Taylor is one of the youngest product designers to have made it big in the international design world with iconic shapes like the powder-coated steel Antlers coathanger, the solid oak and rubber Kids Rock rocking chair, and the Fold lamp, a version of which is manufactured by Established & Sons. Alex lives in the seaside town of Deal, Kent, with his wife and two kids, Wilf, 4, and Clara, 18 months.

LittleBig: What inspired your now famous Kids Rock rocking chair [pictured bottom]?

AT: I saw an old children’s rocking chair at a friend’s house. At the time we didn’t have kids but I was instantly struck with this image of children kicking back in front of the fire, relaxing after a tough day - I just thought it was a funny concept. It also gave me an opportunity to design a very pure piece without having to worry too much about ergonomic and comfort complaints. I wanted to design something that would survive long after the children have grown up and left home. It was never my intention to do a version for the grown-ups - I like the idea of the children having their own individuality and furniture.

LB: Any other kid-related products?

AT: The Antlers coat hook [£59, pictured right]. It’s a highly graphic and functional piece that lends itself perfectly to a child’s bedroom wall. [And we also love Alex's flat Fold lamp with coloured flex, pictured below, great for older kids' bedside tables].

LB: Any more child-related ideas in the pipeline?

AT: I’ve had a few thoughts that may develop into both playful objects and serious children’s furniture. I’d love to design a good high chair - there are already a couple of good ones on the market but I think it would be a challenge. It’s such a fundamental part of the kitchen and you have to live with it and use it three or more times every day. I’d also like to design a bed that helps children sleep all night and at least until 7.30am during the week and 11am at the weekends - I’d make a fortune! Read the rest of this article

Posted 5 September 2009 in Designer Profiles

COLOUR: The new pink rules

PINK. YOU EITHER LOVE IT OR HATE IT. Either way if you have a little girl in your life, you can’t avoid it. But Gail Taylor of London-based interior design house Taylor Howes has found a way of doing pink tastefully: “It is a tricky colour to use as it’s so feminine,” she says. “But if you use different shades of pink rather than your typical baby pink and combine it with fresh colours such as citrus green or turquoise, it can be really fun and interesting.”

In this UK space for a five-year-old girl, Gail fulfilled the brief of “a multi-functional space that offered work, play and room for sleepovers, and there had to be a piano too,” with an amazing citrus and pink wallpaper, Anichov Leaf, from Designers Guild, and classic Vitra Panton chairs and mini Vitra table. So that the scheme doesn’t look “too themed, meaning less typically girlie.”

Our favourite bits? The built-in beds that make the most of the space, separated by a privacy wall, and the slide. What a way to start the day… Click on the below gallery pictures for a closer look.

*Taylor Howes Design, www.thdesigns.co.uk; + 44 (0)207 349 9017 Read the rest of this article

Posted 7 August 2009 in Real Life Interiors

TOP SHOP: Present & Correct

SURELY WE CAN’T be the only ones obsessed with retro stationery, desk tidies and midcentury graphic children’s books. Which is why we are frequently found window shopping at our current favourite original stationery and graphic goods’ shop Present & Correct.

In a bid to find out more and fuel the stationery obsession fire, we spoke to owner Neal Whittington, 29, (pictured above), a designer and illustrator, who is also a fan of “a good rummage, fun knitted jumpers, making cakes and cutting up paper” about this love of all things papery.

LittleBig: Did you just get bored one day and decide to open a shop?
P&C: Since I left college I made things and sold them in other people’s shops, but in the back of my mind I guess I was working towards having one - in some shape or form - of my own. A real life bricks and mortar store would be a dream come true, something I have always wanted to do and one day hope to have. The online store was the next best thing, and to be honest it reaches a far wider audience than a London based shop would, and of course the overheads are a lot smaller!

LB: Why are there so many (retro) stationery (and the like) obsessives out there?
P&C: It’s amazing isn’t it! I think one of the big reasons is that it is reminiscent of school and college (not always a good thing!), but also because on the high street, in the UK especially, it is quite hard to find cool, original stationery and so people put more effort into seeking out the old and unwanted. The design and feel of the older things is so nice, and hard to emulate. I think most designers love stationery of all shapes and sizes - we were the ones at school with the pristine exercise books and a different pencil case for every term and season. Stationery, to me, makes me think of birthday gift vouchers from WHSmiths - this was a time when a £5 voucher would go a long way. You could get some nice rubbers in cases, a notebook or two, some stickers AND have enough for a copy of Smash Hits! Read the rest of this article

Posted 14 July 2009 in Shop Watch

REAL LIFE, CALIFORNIA: Boodalee’s bedroom

FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOODALEE IS, says his mum, Jeanice Skvaril, owner of the mod graphic bedding company Boodalee, a naturalist at heart. In his newly decorated room in Jeanice’s 1950s California Ranch home, Jeanice has indulged Boodalee’s love of all things natural right down to the view of the camper van birdbox right outside his bedroom window that houses a family of finches.

Boodalee chose the digital print wallpaper himself, pictured left and sourced from Urban Outfitters US store (click to enlarge the picture), so that his room resembled “a jungle” says Jeanice, and the WeeGallery decal graphics indulge his love of “animals and insects.” Jeanice has added her own-range Trees cotton bedding on the bottom of the IKEA bunk. Initially Boodalee decided to sleep on top of the bunk, but he’s now decided to be down low “where Mom and Dad can snuggle him more easily.” And so the top has become a bit of a cool, jungly reading area plumped with Jeanice’s Boodalee-range cushions.

Up here, Boodalee can survey his favourite drawings and pictures on the ceiling, all his animal decals, and spend time poring over his favourite superhero books “although he’s not yet five and can’t even read!” says Jeanice. Read the rest of this article

Posted 2 July 2009 in Real Life Interiors

SMART TEAS - ceramic dinnerware

Illustration by Marina Kharkover

THERE COMES A TIME when all those melamine plates, dishes and cups seem just a little too baby-ish. And risk of breakage aside, you decide to upgrade to real life pottery on the dinner table.

Actually, we think the breakage risk is minimal - unless you have tile flooring - because the weight of real glass or ceramic usually means better anchoring to the table than lightweight plastic. The trickier challenge is finding crockery you like as much as the melamine, because there seems to be one pretty huge gap in the market for child-sized china plates.

Often the best option is to plump for adult-line side plates - we like Alessi’s Bettina side-plate by Future Systems, Muji’s Hakuji porcelain, and Habitat’s side plates by Concetta Gallo. Otherwise, these are our current favourite child-friendly crocks designed specifically for little ones.

Click on each gallery image for full caption details…. Read the rest of this article

Posted 17 June 2009 in Eating / Drinking