As I said *here* I wanted to share some favourite things (books, gadgets, products etc) and things that look worth checking out. I'm aiming to do this once a month, more or less. Please do add your ideas to the list of things to share by commenting below, and thanks to the people who have already done so on the other post, I'll be using some of them in February. Starting with a few favourite books...
*Vivienne Westwood* from the V&A. The mighty goddess of pattern cutting, shapes and embellishment published by the church of the decorative and historical arts. It's a stunning coffee table book with clout. Quality photography and in-depth exploration of Vivienne's life, style, back catalogue, inspiration, working life, and cultural historical context, provided by the curator of the exhibition the book accompanies.
(Close friends and relatives please note I don't yet own this book, if you ever need any present buying ideas...)
Lotta Jansdotter's *Simple Sewing* is a lovely book including a pocketfull of all the patterns you need. There are some really simple projects, though some of the items are a little bit fiddlier, so good if you're progressing with confidence in your sewing. She includes ideas about how to vary or personalise her suggestions so you won't end up cloned, which is nice. I've made a few things from this and would definitely recommend it.
A quick keyword search through this blog and my flickr stream will show you just how much I admire the work of product and pattern designer *Tord Boontje*. This retrospective of his work is gorgeous. With a hessian textured cover this tracks his work from the early days through to designer stardom. Once the domain of curators and collectors, Tord's designs can now be found on everything from laptops to lights, candle holders to teacups.