A trip to the Design Museum is always a treat, and last weekend certainly proved so. As I made my way up to the Designs of the Year 2012 exhibition I thought about the wonders I was about to experience. Last year I was so greatly impressed by the Dyson Air Multiplier that it still sits at the top of my wish list.  

I was immediately drawn to the London 2012 Olympics Torch (designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, winners of  the Product Award).  It was quite awesome to see it up close. The design is sleek and elegant, and most befitting it’s purpose. Holes are punched through to keep heat from the bearer but they also add a textural layer which really impels me to have a feel and poke. If only I could have a hold… please. I won’t run far… 

As a great fan of stationary I was highly impressed with the Kokoro and Moi (Finland) packaging commissioned by Stockmann. They created a colourful wonderland of patterns and tapes based on Stockmann’s past designs and branding. A hint of the old with a fancy flash of the new. 

And finally, as a cycling enthusiast, the Hövding bicycle helmet held great fascination and posed many unanswered questions. The idea was born from the fact that so many people choose not to don a helmet, and from interviews it was ascertained that fashion (or lack of) was the main reason.

Hövding has designed a bike helmet that is worn like a scarf but contains an air-bag helmet that inflates with movement similar to an impending accident. 

I’m not sure how affective the apparatus is, but it certainly looks better than my black, aerodynamic helmet. 

We ventured out of the Handstand offices and down to GFSmith’s Beauty in the Making last week and were not disappointed. We were treated to a display of paper making (in gorgeous Colourplan blue – which of course I want to start making now), got our hands on a letterpress and sat down for a lesson in folding envelopes – no, not cheap labour, just a great opportunity to get our hands on some wonderful paperstock and do an bit of craft working – harks back to fabulous times spent at primary school (and university) gluing and sticking.

And after all that hands-on was the Monotype section with amazing pieces of typographical history. Original pages from the hands of Eric Gill (putting his personal life aside for the moment) had me completely starstruck.

One of my favourite pieces from Monotype was the poster The Monotype Universe, Big Bang 1887 which I (and several others) wished to purchase – sadly it was not for sale.  I did not leave empty-handed though as GFSmith provided a superb little goody bag to ensure everyone left with a smile. A big colourful smile.

The Monotype Universe, The Big Bang 1887

When the rains fell this weekend and everybody wanted to stay indoors, one of the Handstand-ers braved the wet and went to see the Damien Hirst Retrospective exhibition at the Tate Modern.

With works spanning his whole career on show it was exciting to see that infamous shark and cut-in-half-cow in the flesh. The fact that the artist is still very much alive made it all that more interesting, what weird, dead thing will he show us next?

A favourite room in the exhibition included the ‘live butterfly paintings’. Butterfly pupae are glued onto large canvasses where they are left to hatch, fly around the room and live out their lives. All very lovely… or so I thought.

Minding my own business, entranced by the colourful heliconius, I was quickly roused by a collective gasp of the room and then silence. Turning around, all eyes were on me… my foot, to be precise. I slowly lifted it after what seemed like an eternity and yes, I had stood on one, span around on it and made a mess.  Apparently it was the first time that had ever happened and now I own an original Damien Hirst – albeit on the bottom of an Adidas trainer.

Apart from the ‘accident’, the exhibition itself was definitely worth seeing. His work is very thought provoking, uncomfortable and a bit gross but I would be tempted to go back later in the year and see how that cows head has decomposed.

Words of advice – be prepared to queue and mind your step…