The lates version of the rocker (next pcture I will place after Milan satelite where it will be shown a a part of the Platform10 exhibitionin Seves showroom in Zona Tortona)
One of the inevitable elements of homey atmosphere which is nowadays forgotten sees to be a rocking chair. This element of interior is commonly associated with grandma's chair and warm woolen rug or blanket. As strong as a mantelpiece and fireplace it is coded in the mass consciousness. I think it is really relevant to the theme of Geffrye Museum.
The core subject matter of the
Merchandise:
- Artist ceramics: Tea for one, Stoneware
- Hackney designer bone china mugs made exclusively for museum.
- Small Chinese porcelain.
- English pewters
- Greetings cards
- Key rings
- Gift wraps
- Slides
- Herb seeds
- Moth repellents
- Gardener hand cream
- Soap
-Wooden light pulls
-Wooden door wedges
- Wooden gardening dibbers
- All time hits CD’s (Nat King Cole, Dean Martin etc.)
- Books (Architecture, Design, Decorative Arts, Furniture, Gardening, History, Children History books, colouring books)
- Museum signed pencils, pens, rulers, erasers and sharpeners.
Merchandise specific to this Museum and signed with its name:
- Postcards depicting most characteristic artifacts.
- Exhibition catalogues and museum publications, as well a T-shirts themed after one of the exhibitions
- Jigsaw puzzles showing characteristic paintings of the museum.
- Plates by “people will always need plates” company showing the front of the museum building made exclusively on museum request as one of a series of characteristic London sites of which the Museum is exclusively authorized to resell. http://www.peoplewillalwaysneedplates.co.uk/index.html
- Fridge magnets showing their collection pieces.
- Wallets of note cards with their collection
The shop is arranged in the style between old pharmacy and bookstore,
The products are placed along the walls and arranged by theme. The cabinets are much bigger than the amounts of merchandise so it looks a bit empty. The kind of merchandise aesthetics arises due to the imperial
Their sale method is passive. Counter with Museum publications and till, behind which the quiet salesperson becoming alive and coming out of the background after asking her a question or putting desired products on the counter, makes the shopping experience really museum like.
There is no clear distinction between up sold objects and the rest though he stands with the postcards are placed in the centre of the shop. Most forward brought publication seems to be the Chinese home catalogue and few smaller ones. Shop manager Jenny Knott told me that the most awkward merchandise they sell are the catalogues of the past exhibitions which sometimes sell but soon they are going to throw it away. This is their least popular piece.
The most important for the business existence are the books and postcards, their existence is based on book selling though postcards are the next in the row because the large amounts required to be sold to have the same level of profit. Books are also the best sellers.
They are most proud of the museum facade painted plates commissioned by them and the exclusive white bone china commissioned by them which they are reselling in to the other places.
Some of the goods are found during the gift shop fairs in
Significant number of customers is asking about the white porcelain thimbles which the manager of the shop absolutely hates. People are used to see it in other museum shops and some of them are the collectors of it. Bookmarks ad umbrellas are the other things people expecting but can not buy in this shop.
There is no visible object, more special than other most mysterious, funny, unexpected, surprising, strange and exclusive only from this museum nor a story or legend useful for the marketing purposes. Before museum the building was used as a hospital, a place to stay for the poor people.
Following crisis of will I have concentrated on the crisis in the place here effects of this kind of crisis can be of grater repercussion than in others.
Motivation to work therefore is essential for our life style.
Can the work space motivate people to do what they are there for?
I have prepared a questionnaire asking people about their activities motivation related to heir work space. I have received answers from 14 people of different gender, age (21 – 32 years old), and nationality. Based on those comments I have drawn two main conclusions.
1 conclusion: cluttered workspace is highly unpopular and causes reluctance toward any activity in the place of work among over 80% of respondents
2 conclusion; regardless of the level of care about the work space people tend to personalize it with different kinds of objects of special meanings useless in the process of wok but essential for building relation to the place. To make them feel more comfortable and eager to come and work.
Those two tendencies are contrary in many cases causing the space always full of details on the surfaces which meant to be free for work. I would like to take it out off the way of other commonly used surfaces: desktop and shelves and expand it according to increasing or decreasing needs
I am introduced to Jo-Anne Bichard which was involved in the welcoming workplace' design research project with Jeremy Myerson. I am meeting her after Christmas to see whether her knowledge about this kind of space can feed my project in any way.
Until this time I came out with proposition of an element for space, being neither furniture, nor a board but can be helpful to organize the mementos in quite flexible way according to the arrangement of the place. This will be roughly based on the rule of jigsaw puzzle but not strictly in its iconic but maybe rather splash-like shape and maybe with 2 or 3 complementary elements or cluster elements with interlocking sides.
In small version it requires only one element attached to the wall, beam or a piece of furniture on which more of those elements “live”. It can grow in different directions and have different curvature depending on the stiffness of the material and be reinforced in different places of its range. They can create a frame for photograph, pin up surface, a small shelves for figurines, small models. I can imagine it made of cut wood as it is here, solid cut polypropylene, rotation melded polypropylene, cast stiff polyurethane - plain or finished with textile cover or with a layer of other material.
I can see some resemblance to some architectural elements like keystone or kind of tiles. It could be a kind of flexible wall in different sizes of basic elements.
I did found similar way of using form in Leaning Moulds of work of Maruja Fuentes, or Blob Wall by Greg Lynn,
I can imagine that he producer of this kind of objects is placed in the home-office equipment and stationary sector of market. I would consider:
Habitat
MUJI
3M
The other kind of product it could be developed is a kind of structural
wall or multi-element furniture.
