The American-born furniture designer has always, throughout his career, made a conscientious effort to make his pieces functional from a design point of view. This created the YingYang vases, vibrantly perfect pieces which are now produced commercially in Japan by popular demand.

Wolfson embraces functionality and art, and appreciates their singular and dual qualities. The successful collaboration between the seemingly contradictory characteristics of dynamism in a static form stands Wolfson’s work out from the crowd of other furniture designers. A unique component of this is that he is breaking the rules of the ‘ideal’. Museums and galleries have a rooted tendency to separate fine art, sculpture and products. Wolfson flies the flag for all three, proving that versatility in art can be achieved.

At the exhibition, Wolfson displayed his world renowned Origami chair, one of the first works he created now recognised by design enthusiasts as a ‘classic’. Influenced by land, contours, and the inevitable folds of origami, famous museums worldwide are now trying to get their hands on this outstanding piece.

He also exhibited his ‘Coffee Bench’, created in 2007, and the Low Lounger, created in 2008. Both illustrate a low-standing, asymmetrical form enhanced by soft curves and black sheen. These works are classic examples of Wolfson’s line series collection. The idea of the line series form stems from the movement of a line in space. The line becomes the driving force of rhythm and dynamism, creating an outcome of a natural sense of sinuosity and movement- a fairly relative concept to that of Futurism. ‘They all start with a scribble or sketch, and then they morph into something bigger,’ he told us.

Wolfson’s inspiration is a detail which fascinates even the inartistic. We watched his eyes light up as he spoke of his interest in the umbrella of early modernism, the perfection of Russian constructivism and the fluidity of Italian Futurism. Wolfson is fascinated by the innovative ways the Italians looked at movement and motion, ‘playing with objects in space.’

For ten years Wolfson worked with renowned architect Zaha Hadid, running her design studio in the years following his graduation from Cornell University and the Architectural Association in London. With such a track record it is unsurprising that Wolfson’s outstanding talent is recognised by so many. His Twisted X desk won the prestigious Good Design Award given by the Chicago Athenaeum in 2012. He was a finalist in a design and sculpture competition in Canada. LVMH chose him to create two sculptural pieces for the launch of Glenmorangie whisky in Taiwan and China, representing sound waves of liquid poured into a crystal glass.

Creator of the Tsukumogami series, Wolfson enlightened us about these sculptural fabrications. A truly fascinating aspect of his work, the Tsukumogami series are sculptures made from discarded household objects and covered in concrete canvas, giving them ‘a life of their own’. The sculptures are accurately named after the Japanese spirit Tsukumogami, a household object which comes alive after 99 years. For the near approaching summer, Wolfson is hoping to create two more Tsukumogami series pieces to add to his superlative collection.

Wolfson’s thoughts on the creation of sculptural design are refreshingly unique. He is clearly not bound by artistic rules or regulations. He stands to craft and create freely, granting him vast success and admiration. His talent, we think, is simply remarkable.

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by Eliza Horton
Gloobbi Representative
Image by Sophia Mariano
Gloobbi Representative

Reading like some DeLillo classic, there is too much to be said on the subject: the invention of the internet, the supposed death of the grand narrative, the ousting of print and the ushering in of the digital age, the obsession of keeping record, the saturation of the online media market and the power of popular culture. And having spent two years sorting through Hyman’s lifelong collection, the pair both have plenty to say about it all.

There are two things to establish first though: Hyman is not a hoarder and he is not placing himself in the path of an unstoppable digital epoch. In fact he lauds publications like Monocle and Vice as sound examples of how to do both print and digital well.

Yet for him his infatuation with print prevails: “there’s so much that goes into it,” he tells us. There are new publications also which encapsulate this old ethos despite a burgeoning trend to the contrary. Referencing the new English quarterly Delayed Gratification, he spoke of an increasing tendency to see print publications as a luxury to be indulged in every once in a while like an haute, crafted garment or gourmet cuisine.

This, he suggested, was perhaps due to this idea of the time, energy and thought put into them, which so often (yet absolutely not always) sits in contrast with online publications.

While Hyman is optimistic about the future and the evolution of popular culture into Youtube and Twitter and The Next Big Thing, The Hyman Archive reverberates with nostalgia in its aim to preserve and present the history of magazine culture. No wonder Hyman harks back to former times, he was after all at the epicentre of the last accepted “Golden Age” of Western popular culture.

Working for MTV Europe as a scriptwriter and later producer and director from 1988 to 2000, Hyman focused extensively on Rave and Acid House music and steered the channel through various other emerging club scenes- a personal passion, which explains the wealth of music publications in the collection.

A magazine, Tory Turk tells us, ” is a very social choice. It represents different parts of society and it talks to different parts of society. If you take one thread and you run it through the middle, and you’re taking it from all these different stand points, you get a very interesting view of it. It isn’t just some academic library- it’s a very human voice and it’s a very populist voice.”

The Internet now arguably serves this purpose. Yet as a community the Internet is so vast, offers room for so many different associations based upon interests and tastes (however weird or wonderful), that it is questionable if we will ever experience the same sense of social unity. Before the Internet, a particular magazine could tell a whole generation what to wear, listen to and watch, Hyman explained. If with the Internet we gain greater choice and diversity, perhaps then we lose a certain generational collective consciousness.

Currently the archive sadly remains Hyman and Turk’s private universe, but cracks of light have already been let in. For a brief time at the beginning of the process the archive was opened up to the public and a huge cross-section of visitors streamed in from advertisers to film-makers, producers to students, stylists to creatives.

Anyone who visited the recent David Bowie exhibition, one of the V&A’s most successful exhibitions to date, would have also unwittingly experienced a sneak preview of the Hyman Archive, since it provided magazine research which culminated in an illustrious wall of quotations.

This is how Hyman and Turk see their archive developing: into a museum, a research library and a cultural destination within London. This in itself is indicative of the duos attitude towards the project, as Turk concluded: “our comment on magazine history [is] that it’s important and it should be displayed in that sort of museological environment because it is that important.”

A selection from The Hyman Archive is currently on loan to the “Mod” exhibition at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery as well as to the forthcoming “Cosmetics A La Carte” exhibition at London’s The Gallery in Redchurch Street.

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by Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn
Gloobbi Representative
Images by Doug Rimmington

The Parisian producer Francois X and DJ Heartbeat have a specific philosophy on the music currently being produced in Paris: with the recognition that techno is very much in style right now, they are conscious that the music released from their label, Dement3d, is of the highest quality, with disregard for the sense of urgency that comes with a possibly fleeting trend.

We spoke with them about their perceptions of what is currently happening in the city and got their insight into the world of techno.

Gloobbi: What are your musical backgrounds?

Francois X: I grew up with two different cultures, a real background in black music through my father: salsa, soul, African music, Latin music, and a bunch of more white stuff through my mom, rooted in classical rock, new wave and poetic French songs. I think that techno, even if sometimes very straightforward, is a good translation of that mixed culture combination that I’ve been exposed to during my life.

Heartbeat: I’ve played piano for 15 years and I have a Jazz group, I got into electronic music very early, as a teenager.

Gloobbi: Why did you choose to produce techno music?

Francois X: Like most people in the scene, I cut my teeth in those memorable nights back in the late 90’s. I’m passionate about the music and loyal to it too. I am still in kind of an apprenticeship, so there are plenty of things to learn before being able to be comfortable with my production process.

Heartbeat: We’ve always played techno, but still today when we play a set, it’s not just techno, and it’s never formatted. I often even play jazz and experimental music. Techno is now “happening”, but we have never changed our approach, or our style, sticking to a constant point of view on music.

By finding new ideas and styles we hope that we can say the same thing in 5 years’ time. [Our label] DEMENT3D is more about a close family of artists than about signing acts and records. It’s a scene within the scene before being a record production hub.

Gloobbi: Can you explain what is currently happening in Paris with the so called ‘techno scene’ and whether these underground parties could be drawing in a new generation of people who may fuel the demand for a “real” techno scene?

Francois X: We’re talking about a ‘Paris scene’, what is a scene? For me it’s a place, where a bunch of artists create a typical and acclaimed art. When we talk about a scene in Paris today it’s just the parties, there isn’t a real scene yet.

Heartbeat: Today, in Paris, we have a new generation of young people who haven’t been properly educated [in techno]. For the last 10 years there has been almost nothing serious enough going on, so these new people haven’t been immersed in techno for years like those who are really big in Berlin right now.

There’s also a good side to it, because there’s a certain freshness, but in the end, some of those techno copycats, just looking for gigs, they won’t last very long.

To hear more from Francois X and Heartbeat you can check out the Dement3d HERE.

Francois X will be playing at 12h at this weekend’s much anticipated electronic music festival Weather.

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by Jessica Saxby
Gloobbi Representative
Image courtesy of Francois X

Game plan: Be sure to get the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer and fully frozen before starting this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
6 cups raspberries (about 1 3/4 pounds), thawed if frozen
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly. (Alternatively, place the sugar and water in a container with a tightfitting lid. Shake vigorously for 3 minutes. Let rest for about 1 minute. Shake again until all the sugar has dissolved, about 30 seconds more.)

2. Place the raspberries and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl and strain the mixture, pressing down on the solids and scraping the inside of the strainer with a rubber spatula until mostly seeds remain (you should have about 2 1/3 cups raspberry purée); discard the solids.

3. Whisk the sugar syrup into the raspberry purée. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

4. Whisk the raspberry mixture to recombine. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to a container with a tightfitting lid and place in the freezer until completely frozen, at least 3 hours. Let sit at room temperature to soften for a few minutes before serving. The sorbet will keep for up to 1 month.

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Recipe courtesy of Chow.com

There is no room here for mass production or fakery, when you commit to the Secret Emporium, you commit to their ethos of one-of-a-kind individualism. To find out more about the Secret Emporium, Gloobbi spoke to co-founder Lucy Peacock about the rise and aspirations of her company:

Gloobbi (G): How did the Secret Emporium get started?

Lucy Peacock (LP): Well, Tess (Secret Emporium co-founder) was an art teacher before we started out and I had just graduated from the Royal College of Art. I was working for the Secret Garden Party originally when they challenged me to spark some creativity into the retail and merchandise on offer at the festival and help with the creative side of the festival. From this point on, we began scouting original designers that we could showcase at the festival and the Secret Emporium grew from that point.

G: You still attend these festivals in the Summer season. Would you say they are still an important part of the Secret Emporium’s work?

LP: Absolutely. Rural festivals are our heritage and even though we’re now concentrating on expanding in London and beyond, they still hold a great importance for us.

G: Why do you think that is?

LP: I’ve always hated trade shows. Often they’re so bleak and sterile that creativity really falls flat. I think it’s far better to create a more organic atmosphere where artists and designers have the opportunity to showcase themselves and work hard but also have fun.

Festivals offer such a unique selling space for retail. You have four days or so to sell and showcase and such an intense time period really pushes the designers involved together into a little community.

Often this means that collaborations spark as a result. That’s the great thing about such rural, eccentric festivals like Bestival or Wilderness – they’re full of creativity. You’re surrounded by people who know what it is to throw their heart and soul into dressing up, into costume culture and the projects, products and future collaborations that come out of that atmosphere are really exciting.

G: How do you go about selecting the artists and designers that are showcased at these festivals?

LP: In the early days we used to scout out independent designers and in the very first year at the Secret Garden Party a lot of them were my friends. Since the company has grown, we’ve been able to become quite selective but I’d say it’s still a mix of us approaching designers and vice versa.

There are only about thirty spaces and every year, as our name and brand gets out there more and more, we’re becoming over-subscribed so it’s a hard fight for designers. On the other hand it’s great because we can pick and choose and make sure we tailor the style of the artists to the different festivals and curate according to the customer base.

It’s important to tie the art together with the environment you’re selling in. A clear example would be our Christmas market last year where most of the designers we choose were those whose products and work fitted Christmas gift ideas.

G: Your company promotes originality as of paramount importance triumphing over the mass commercialism and fakery manufactured by big conglomerate companies. Would you say that a display of authenticity is of great importance when selecting your designers?

LP: Authenticity is a funny old word. I’d say that we definitely pick designers with a strong sense of style and personality coming through their work. We look for it because that’s what the company is all about. We want to offer an alternative to the high street; we want people to know that a pair of earrings or a t-shirt bought from a Secret Emporium artist are one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

G: What is next for the Secret Emporium?

LP: While our festival seasons are really important to us, we’re looking to expand even more into London. Our pop-up shop at Shoreditch box park was a great success and offered worthwhile exposure to our chosen designers. We’d also like to create a global correspondence with places like New York and Paris. We want our designers to become serious contenders in the fashion industry and really believe they deserve to be showcased in the capitals of design, fashion and art.

To Learn More of the Secret Emporium’s activities, visit its website HERE.

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by Miranda Blazeby
Gloobbi Contributor

-What is one working tool that you could not do without?

A pencil or a brush or some kind of mark-making thing or writing instrument. I write things down and draw pictures a lot.

-What is on you bookshelf?

A lot of books, family photographs, a piece of pottery. Books are all different kinds: “Patty Hearst” by Patty Hearst, “Revenge of The Lawn” by Richard Brautigan, “The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Work” by Alain de Botton, “Relief Printing” by Michael Rothenstein, etc, etc.

-If you were a place you would be…

A coffee shop that sells records and free tacos.

-Who is your favorite contemporary illustrator/designer?

This changes day to day. Right now I like Tucker Nichols and Kyle Field and Marcus Oakley.

-Are you a team player or lone wolf?

A lone wolf with a team player in need of a coach.

-Most exciting city for illustration and/or design right now?

There seems to be a lot of exciting things happening all over the place. I mostly see things on the internet.

-What three words would you pick to describe your work?

Present, here, there.

-Milton Glaser once said: “computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking”. Do you agree?

Nope. We all have different ways of working that are comfortable. I think a computer is more like a food processor. It might taste a lit better if all the ingredients were chopped, mixed, and blended by hand, but who wants to wait 3 hours for a smoothie?

-Which record do you wish you could have designed the art work for?

Dadawah’s “Peace and Love” or Mayo Thompson’s “Corky’s Debt to his Father” or Paul Mccartney’s “Mccartney”.

-What can you tell us that we do not already know?

I don’t think I’m qualified to answer that question.

Check out a few of Russell’s illustrations on the link above. To see more pieces by Russell, visit his website HERE.

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by Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn
Gloobbi Representative
Images Courtesy of Nathaniel Russell