Design

L’Objet desk accessories



l-Objet-Pyramid-Skull-Desk-Collection

Right, fantasy desk accessory time. I’m totally going to start arranging vintage stamps , malachite candle holders and (faux) coral-handled magnifying glasses on my shabby chic desk like an eccentric professor. These rather refined goodies are from L’Objet, the home decor brand by Elad Yifrach. The former interior designer launched his Mediterranean-inspired luxury tabletop and accessories line nine years ago, with Bergdorf Goodman as his first client. (more…)



Cartier: style, history and Jeanne Toussaint



Jeanne-Toussaint-cartier-style-and-history-exhibition

Get me to Paris and fast! Forget the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the only luxury trinkets I want to see this month are safely ensconced in the Grand Palais for the just-opened Cartier. Style and History exhibition.

Amongst the 600-odd pieces of jewellery and 300 contextual objects (paintings, dresses, archive documents – oh my!) on display at this exhibition, there’s a focus on Jeanne Toussaint. Cartier’s head of accessories and later director of jewellery, her bold and clever work has been frequently referenced by modern jewellers.

This 1944 singing uncaged bird brooch represents the liberation of France:
Cartier-brooch-1944-Jeanne-Toussaint-Cartier-Style-and-History-Grand-Palais

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Estee Lauder’s collectable compacts have just outdone themselves



Be prepared to be officially gobsmacked by Estee Lauder’s exclusive solid perfume compacts for Harrods. Estee Lauder is famous for its inventive compacts but these have to be the best yet…

‘Beautiful’ golden horseshoe solid perfume compact, £120
Estee-Lauder-solid-perfume-horseshoe-compact (more…)



Packaging porn: Aesop’s gift sets



Aesop-Gift_Kits

There are gift sets and there are gift sets. One for the design-o-phile in your life, these Aesop kits tick the style-meets-function box. Based on the Italian Futurist movement, the graphic typography and bold colour palette are pure packaging porn. And the product inside is just as appealing. There are six sets in total but these three are my favourite, Intensity, Alacrity, Agility

The best place to buy Aesop is surely from one of its standalone stores, each one designed to engage with its geographical surroundings in some way. The newest one on Marylebone High Street uses artists Francis Bacon and Lucio Fontana and indigenous UK ferns as its unique stylistic references. Alternatively, you can buy from Aesop.com and Liberty.