The Shop of (Design) Delight Pops Up in London
by Bonnie Alter, London 
on 12. 1.08
Pop-out to a pop-up has got to be London's theme this month. Everywhere temporary shops selling Christmas goodies are appearing...and then disappearing. Last week's was an eco delight with ecological and green gifts for everyone and this week's caters to the design crowd. Brought to you by Designersblock, the group behind the most interesting displays at the London Design Festival, they are calling this a "pop up thrift shop, where people can find economical solutions to Christmas."
Findings range from the beautiful to the completely quirky. In the beautiful category are the cashmere blankets and throws (pictured), woven from Scottish cashmere using the traditional weaving skills. Quirky: the wallets made out of recycled music cassettes from around the world. Ceramic dinner plates have a hole in the rim so that they can be stored by hanging them on the wall: no packaging and no shelf space.
Also part of the fun was the world's most eccentric "Kredit Krunch" swap shop. You just turn up with an object, and swap it for any of the items on display. These included a package of tissues, a loaf of bread, a pen and a tin of soup. Then a picture is taken of you with your new acquisition and projected onto the wall for everyone to see. That was organised by KithKin, an equally eccentric group of young designers who sell things that are fascinating and inexplicable.
Delighted to see the cutlery by the Italian feminist architects, Arabeschi di Latte who were also at the London Design Festival. They are popping up everywhere too with their performance art pieces about food and architecture.
The heli wallet is made of recycled traditional japanese flooring which looks surprisingly like brocade. Tatami mats have a fabric border (called heli) and these purses and belts are made of the discards. Designersblock
More on Design Products
Conceptual KithKin
Gnocchi Bar
TreeHugger Holiday Gift Guide
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