(Mostly) Designed in Hackney: east London designers Dominic Wilcox, Ed Carpenter, André Klauser, Barnaby Barford and Donna Wilson have created a range of alternative souvenirs for visitors to east London during the Olympic games.
Three of the designers are based in Hackney: Dominic Wilcox will make a vinyl record featuring the sounds of things being made in east London, Ed Carpenter has created a series of name badges featuring cockney rhyming slang and his colleague André Klauser offers a paperweight shaped like the bollards found along east London canals.
Donna Wilson, who’s just over the border from Hackney in Tower Hamlets, designed a series of exercise books that are decorated with pictures of Londoners exercising and include tips for enjoying the city’s parks and pools on the back.
Meanwhile Barnaby Barford has created a series of miniature porcelain houses, shops and a public house, each modelled on east London buildings with a story to tell.
The series is commissioned by arts organisation Create, and curated and produced by Thorsten van Elten.
See alternative commemorative plates for last year’s royal wedding here and rapid-prototyped souvenirs that can be emailed to loved ones and printed locally here.
See all our stories about the London 2012 Olympics here.
See more about design in the east London borough of Hackney here.
Here’s some more information from Create:
CREATE 2012 Souvenirs
CREATE has commissioned design authority Thorsten van Elten to work with five east London designers and artists to create some well-considered souvenirs to celebrate east London and its cultural heritage. CREATE 2012 Souvenirs is a series of irreverent London souvenirs made in the UK and will be the desirable antidote to the overly-commercial, tacky souvenirs on sale across London this summer. The souvenirs go on sale the first day of CREATE’s summer programme, Thursday 21 June.
The five designers are Barnaby Barford, Ed Carpenter, André Klauser, Dominic Wilcox and Donna Wilson and the designs include a series of three exercise books that illustrate some of the best places to exercise in London, a cast-iron multi-purpose paperweight/bookend/doorstop based on East London’s Regent’s Canal mooring bollards made in a local foundry and a series of bone china miniature east London landmark houses and shops. Prices will range from £10 – £50 and each item will be embossed as a ‘CREATE 2012 Souvenir’.
Hadrian Garrard, Director of CREATE, said: “We are very pleased to be working with a group of talented east London designers to create unique souvenirs which show off the best of east London designers and UK manufacturing. We have commissioned a series of fun and desirable products that will last as a special reminder of a huge year for east London.”
CREATE Souvenirs will be on sale in selected shops and online via the CREATE website from 21 June.
Deutsche Bank is the main sponsor of CREATE 2012’s summer programme.
Exercise Books by Donna Wilson
Donna has always been interested in words with double meanings and uses them often in her work. For example ‘Tell me a tale’ written in a fox’s tail and a compliments slip with a complement on it. Donna has designed a set of three Exercise Books with illustrations of people doing exercise, loosely relating to the Olympic Games. Living and working in east London, Donna is very familiar with the parks, the lido and east London cyclists and she will be sharing some tips for parks and pools on the back of the books. Donna is known for her collection of knitted creatures and cushions. She was named Designer of the Year at the 2010 British Design Awards.
Regents Domestic Bollard by André Klauser
Water and canals have played an important role in the development and connection of east London, and canals have recently had a massive surge in popularity. André has created a book end/paperweight/door stop based on the mooring bollards along east London’s canals. The bollards will be cast in iron by a foundry based on Regents Canal, by Broadway Market in Hackney. The company previously cast fences for the British Museum and National Gallery. André has previously designed the Mechano, a chair inspired by the aesthetics of industrial shelving.
Sounds of Making by Dominic Wilcox
Dominic Wilcox has created a vinyl record that celebrates the act of making things and the unusually high number of skilled ‘Makers’ based in east London. Sounds include ‘The sound of making an outfit for Lady Gaga in Hackney’, ‘The sound of a book binder at work in Walthamstow’ and ‘The sound of a record being pressed by a company which had to relocate from what is now the Olympic Park’. Dominic’s previous work includes his War Bowls, made from melted plastic army figures, as well as his Watch sculptures, built on the faces of wrist and pocket watches.
Cockney Rhyming Badges by Ed Carpenter
Ed Carpenter has designed a series of colourful gilt and enamel badges that celebrate the dying art of Cockney Rhyming Slang. Sold in sets of three, there will be three collections available based on the subjects of food, work and compliments/swear words. Ed Carpenter also designed the celebrated Pigeon light.
Houses by Barnaby Barford
Barnaby Barford has designed a set of five bone china miniature houses depicting homes, shops and a public house all with a story attached to them. The houses will depict a small part of the long history of east London and will include a house on Cable Street, scene of clashes with fascists in 1936; E. Pellicci, an Italian café in Bethnal Green which has been in the same family for over 100 years; The Golden Pound pound shop; The Blind Beggar Pub; and the former home of Benjamin Waugh, the founder of the NSPCC. The houses will be double–sided and will feature 10 different landmark buildings. Barnaby is known for his ceramic figurines, made by reconfiguring found porcelain figurines to create more contemporary figures.
