Manic Street Preachers………not….
Ok, I’ll come clean. In a previous blog I have described awhiteroom’s team as being hungry and passionate about design but one of us ie: me is really just the office manager, the organiser, the picker upper of rubbish and general dogsbody. 24 hours ago however after putting my pippins to bed and grabbing a half hour to myself I decided to tune into BBC 2′s second episode of ‘Design For Life’. You probably know a whole lot more about it than me but to put it in a nutshell the prolific designer Philippe Starck is on a mission to find a British designer to train at his Paris Agency. According to him the like of which has not been seen ‘since the significant design movement of Terrance Conran’. I hardly dare utter the likes of Matthew Hilton, Russel Pinch or the Naught One boys…..but hey!
I was obviously onto a loser when I immediately latched onto Rob Richardson (evictee number 1 of episode number 2), typical me always favouring the underdog, a very likeable chappie with a cool hairdo and an easy charm about him (apart from the fact he had a distinct lack of socks….what’s that all about?)
However back to Starck, well obviously the showroom www.awhiteroom.com is bursting with his design: Miss K from Flos, Moor(e) from Driade, Juicy Salif from Alessi and Gnome from Kartell but as for the man himself well what was I expecting?……scary, intimidating, sexy, brave, incomprehensible…..oh yes all of the above but also to my surprise, kind, funny, compassionate and approachable. (The burning incense was just inspirational…..)
For those of you who don’t know me in a former life I was a nurse (for 18 years) culminating in running a neonatal intensive care unit in the heart of Pennine Lancashire, (well Burnley in case you’re wondering) probably as far removed from Starck’s Paris Agency, his school for design, as you like.
The ethos of a neonatal unit is based on science, routine, practicality, investigation and procedure and to me the arts equal music, literature, design, floristry, painting, drawing, theatre and has always meant freedom of expression, off the wall thinking, liberty, creativity, passion and vision. 10 years ago I couldn’t see any comparison between this marvellous concept and the clinical area but now at least I can…..and I do!
‘A Beautiful Mind’ it’s subjective isn’t it?
The medical staff on a neonatal unit have beautiful minds: clever, remarkable men and women who work relentlessly to save lives and souls.
However the beautiful minds of Philippe Starck, Rob Richardson, Nebil Avas (the second evictee of epsode 2) and Polly Firth (the most successful canditate of episode 2 and a hospital matron if ever I saw one) are simply compelling viewing….I can’t wait until next Monday.
P.S. The Kartell Gnome is so my favourite Starck design!
author: kellie riley
I read that he that he wanted do a Home and Away appearence! :O. Sounds a bit dodgy to me. There’s a bit of me that sort of hopes this is true lol.