Blog

It’s a tremendous honour be asked to spend an evening with a British design great and that’s exactly what I’m doing on 15 May at 7pm at The Lightbox Museum in Woking.  You simply have to join me too!

Kenneth Grange is responsible for the design of many products that we use or see in our everyday lives from the re-design of the London Black Cab and the Intercity 125 train to Kodak cameras and Parker pens. In 1958 Kenneth Grange founded the company Kenneth Grange Design Ltd of which electrical appliance manufacturers Kenwood and Kodak soon became the initial chief clients.

I last had the opportunity to interview Kenneth Grange when I was writing my book on Post-War household design (Are You Rich?).Then we delved into his work for Kenwood, most specifically his redesign of the iconic Kenwood Chef in 1960, which he crafted on paper in just four days.  Grange transformed the ‘Chef’ from an industrial looking mixer to a sleek, modern, squared-off design that gave the Kenwood Chef a high-tech desirability.<!> Good Housekeeping Magazine voted Grange’s resulting “sheer look” food mixer, “the British housewife’s all-time favourite kitchen appliance.”

This neatly dovetails into the Exhibition that’s the backdrop for my “In Conversation” evening:  ‘The Art of Design: Kenwood in the Kitchen’  – runs until 24 June.

The exhibition unwraps the tale of Post-War appliance design, following the creative journey of Kenwood products, including products designed by Kenneth Grange. He continued designing for Kenwood (amongst other companies) for 40 years, designing over 100 domestic appliances for the company.

Grange’s innovation-led product design, during a career spanning over 50 years, has recently been the subject of a major retrospective at the Design Museum, which showcased just how big an impact one product designer has had on products and appliances that shape our everyday lives.

‘In Conversation with Kenneth Grange’ will be a unique opportunity to hear the inside story of such a prolific career as well as his personal reminiscences of working with Kenneth Wood during the early years of Kenwood before being sold to Thorn Electricals in 1968, all whilst supporting The Lightbox Education Programme.

Tickets £20 (adults) £16 (concessions) – includes a glass of wine and a chance to chat to me too! Advance booking is required, tel 01483 737837.

All proceeds will support The Lightbox Education Programme.  

Those of you who watched the first epsode of my new series ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is‘�saw me fall in love with this glorious Austro-Hungarian ring.

What a pleasure it is when you’re surrounded by the finer things in life. And you can’t get much finer than the thousand or so compacts, carryalls, handbags and accessories that formed the centrepiece of the BCCS (British Compact Collectors’ Society) convention (www.compactcollectors.co.uk).

короткие свадебные прически воспитание детей 3 лет
скалолазание спб ремонт офисов под ключ
дания отдых самый лучший крем для лица
меню для малыша места отдыха в россии
гимнастика для лица отзывы авто
отдых с детьми дизайн комнат

When you’ve spent months curating a world-class exhibition (“Snap, Crackle and Pop: British Pop Art meets the High Street in the Swinging Sixties”, you’re always anxious on the opening night.

It’s wonderful being a Club member of Brooklands Museum (www.brooklandsmuseum.com) – you get to sneak over there whenever the moment takes you to savour Britain’s aviation and motoring heritage.

It struck me whilst looking at the new season�s collections that this year, the fashion industry is doing what it does best � drawing respectively from the past. Black lace was all the rage from the HGH mid to late Victorian era, beloved by Queen Victoria and the Empress Eugenie of France (Napoleon III�s wife), the latter even expressing a preference for lace over jewellery.

It was a real treat to get up close and personal with one of Victor Stiebel�s most magical creations � the ball gown he designed for the British film actress, Margaret Lockwood. I can barely describe how glorious it is to see the midnight blue tulle, which overlays lashings of cream chiffon, sparkling with golden embroidered stars and spangles. Lockwood chose to unveil Stiebel�s design at the inaugural Royal Film Perfomance in Queen Elizabeth�s reign, which saw thousands gather at The Empire, Leicester Square on 27^th October 1952. No doubt it turned heads as she floated through the crowds with film director, Herbert Wilcox.