Monday 28 November 2011

'For All Mankind'

 

A combination of my two favourite things, space travel and Brian Eno. I love everything associated with space travel, be it the spacesuit designs, the sleek colour palette of the rockets, or the endeavor of man the push ourselves to new boundaries. The documentary 'For All Mankind' shows the voyage of the first men on the Moon - shot using mainly their own recorded footage, it also uses their own words and diaries for the narration. The added bonus of a soundtrack by Brian Eno makes it a must see.


  
"We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." John F. Kennedy September 12, 1962.





 

Saturday 19 November 2011

Late Night Lounge Lover


In the same space as the monthly pop-up store is held, the guy I work for chose to also put on a pop-up restaurant event. Named 'Late Night Lounge Lover' the intention was to provide a different experience from a regular restaurant. Set over two nights, it had a Moroccan theme with food and cabaret. 

The restaurant was laid out in three sections, with a bar, restaurant and dance area. To be involved in an event like this was very inspirational - seeing what can be created in the top floor of an office block really gave me ideas for possible projects in the future. It also gave me even more experience for possible future employment, the things I learnt whilst helping set this up are invaluable.



  




Monday 14 November 2011

Innovative Cut

My inspiration for my Innovative Cut project came from x-rayed luggage. I liked the idea of being able to have something both hidden, and on view.


With the x-rayed luggage as a starting point I designed a bag that has it's shape determined by the contents of a typical 'everyday' bag. The various items, such as a phone, wallet, camera, bottle of water, became my pattern pieces - which could then be arranged in any order to provide shape.


The pattern pieces were sewn together and then I filled them with wadding. When they were stuffed they gave the illusion of the contents of the bag being on show. The pieces could be arranged in any order, so the possibilities were almost endless as to the shape of the bag. 



ADD IMAGES OF FINAL PIECE



 
I wish my sewing skills were better, I think someone more talented than I could have made the final product to a lot better standard. However, I like my overall concept, and think it's possibly something I can carry through to future projects.

Wednesday 2 November 2011

"Beam Down" Solar Tower.


"The 'beam down' process inverts conventional tower solar tower technologies, which uses mirrors (heliostats) to direct the sun's rays onto a receiver at the top of a central tower to heat a heat transfer fluid (molten salt, oil, or water) in order to generate steam, which is then used to drive a steam turbine. By placing the receiver at the base of the tower (ground level), the research team believes that they can reduce energy losses resulting from pumping the fluid to an elevated receiver, raising operational efficiency and lowering electricity generation costs."  ameinfo.com