LONDON DESIGN GUIDE has teamed up with New Designers to offer a 25% ticket discount on entry to this year’s shows. Simply quote the promotional code below when you book online or by phone.

DISCOUNT TICKET OFFER – SAVE 25%

£8.50 + £1.50 booking fee, instead of £14 on the door

Book now: 08448 480 139

Book online: www.newdesigners.com

Quote promotional code: ND155

New Designers takes place at the Business Design Centre, London N1 OQH. Nearest tube is Angel on the Northern Line.

For information on opening times and traveling to the venue, please visit the New Designers website.

Part 1: 1 – 4 July 2010 (Awards Preview 30 June)

Textiles, Fashion & Accessories, Contemporary Applied Arts, Ceramics & Glass, Jewellery & Precious Metalwork, One Year On

Part 2: 8 – 11 July 2010 (Awards Preview 7 July)

Product Design, Furniture Design, Visual Communications (including Graphic Design and Illustration), Spatial Design, One Year On

New Designers is renowned for showcasing the very best in graduate design. This year marks its 25th anniversary – and once again, the July exhibition showcases 3,500 of the brightest and most creative talents from Britain’s leading design courses. It is an event for fresh thinking and aspiration.

Discover the dynamism, ingenuity and energy of the next design generation from architecture to animation, furniture to fashion, graphics to glass.

LDG PROMOTION: Vintage at Goodwood is the latest addition to Britain’s summer festival portfolio. We have teamed up with the organisers to offer LDG readers a 10% discount on admission tickets. Be sure to book before 1st July! Details below.

Vintage at Goodwood takes place over 13^th, 14^th and 15th August on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex. It is the latest addition to Britain’s summer festival portfolio. It will bring together authentic music, fashion, food, film, art and design, making it a unique festival of British culture and its worldwide influence.

Vintage at Goodwood features an inspirational line up of world renowned bands, with performances by the latest contemporary acts, DJs and collectors from each decade who have all been inspired by the past, as well as the living legends who have inspired them.

Vintage pays homage to the best of British fashion design through a line-up of catwalk shows, hands on creative experiences and the very best purveyors of vintage clothing.  The event will explore the musical, design and cultural lineages and offer a glimpse of where we go from here.

It will be the festival of choice for those who want style and glamour rather than a weekend of roughing it, the choice to go dancing in high heels, not wellies, and prefer eating in restaurants instead of outside a burger van.

TICKET OFFER: Vintage at Goodwood is offering the readers of London Design Guide a 10% discount on admission tickets which are booked between 1st June to 1st July 2010.  Visit the ticket section of the Vintage website, enter the code VINLDG10 when prompted and away you go!

To find out about the latest additions to the lineup and other exciting things being planned, visit the Vintage at Goodwood website.

Nina Hertig, co-founder of Sigmar and an LDG contributor, is hosting the first pop-up Modern Danish Warehouse in an impressive disused Art Deco Garage in Brompton, selling an edited selection of vintage pieces.

THE MODERN DANISH WAREHOUSE, 6th – 27th March 2010

The Garage, North Terrace, London SW3 2BA (07957 207 073)

For three weeks, the Garage (in the heart of the Brompton Design District) will house up to 120 vintage chairs, tables, sideboards, and sofas ranging from £100 to £1500. All purchases can be taken home immediately.

To show the continuation of the tradition of cabinet making in the vintage pieces, young Danish cabinetmaker Anders Folke Andersen is bringing over his ‘workshop’ to make his newly designed tables.

Nina Tolstrup, the designer behind Studiomama, is showcasing the Pallet Project and making furniture and animal from the pallets being used to display the furniture.

Monocle magazine has produced a short video of the event.

EXCLUSIVE LDG DISCOUNT OFFER: from 20th-27th March 2010, LDG readers will benefit from a 20% discount on any item purchased at the warehouse. Simply show a copy of LONDON DESIGN GUIDE at the point of purchase.

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and the usual dilemma as to how to express your affections for your other half resurfaces. We’re believers that you can’t beat a special restaurant for that extra sense of occasion. Here’s our top 20 pick of London’s finest.

BENTLEY’S, Mayfair W1

BIBENDUM, Chelsea SW3

BOB BOB RICARD, Soho W1

THE BOUNDARY, Shoreditch E2

CECCONI’S, Mayfair W1

ELECTRIC BRASSERIE, Notting Hill W11

HEREFORD ROAD, Notting Hill W2

THE IVY, Covent Garden WC2

J SHEEKEY, Covent Garden WC2

KETTNERS, Soho W1 (pictured below)

THE MODERN PANTRY, Clerkenwell EC1

MORO, Clerkenwell EC1

PIED A TERRE, Fitzrovia W1

THE PROVIDORES, Marylebone W1

SAKE NO HANA, Mayfair SW1

SCOTT’S, Mayfair W1

ST JOHN, Clerkenwell EC1

LES TROIS GARCONS, Shoreditch E1

THE WAPPING PROJECT, Wapping E1

THE WOLSELEY, Mayfair W1 (pictured above)

These 20 restaurants have been selected from over 200 choices included in LONDON DESIGN GUIDE, each one accompanied by short descriptions.

It may be that you fancy escaping London altogether. Head down to Bexhill on Sea in East Sussex and enjoy your Valentine’s meal in the stunning Grade One listed Modernist icon – the De La Warr Pavilion – which is celebrating its 75th Anniversary with the launch of the Dining Club. Enjoy views over the sea whilst sipping Champagne with oysters, followed by a three course meal for £40 per person.

De La Warr Pavilion are exclusively offering LDG readers a DLWP mug, designed by People Will Always Need Plates. Simply mention ‘LONDON DESIGN GUIDE’ when booking your table. This offer is only valid on Valentine’s Day bookings at the Dining Club on Saturday 13th February 2010.

Need somewhere to stay? De La Warr recommend Zanzibar Hotel down the road in Hastings.

And if the prospect of going out fills you with horror, you could always indulge at home. Check out our suggestions of some of the best delis, food stores, fishmongers, butchers, wine merchants, and florists in London, only listed in copies of LONDON DESIGN GUIDE. Buy your copy here.

The legendary one day showroom sale at Vitra’s Clerkenwell showroom returns on Saturday 23rd January 2010. This presents a rare opportunity to snap up super-discounted Vitra furniture. Warning: arrive early to avoid disappointment!

ONE DAY SHOWROOM SALE, open 9:30am on Saturday 23rd January 2010

VITRA

30 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1M 5PG

This January, we decided to boycott reporting on the sale season altogether. In most cases, stores look like they are suffering a heavy hangover and they temporarily turn a blind eye to any importance that they have ever placed on smart displays and merchandising. Vitra’s sale, however, is thankfully only one day of madness and a prime time to get some quality deals. As they put it themselves, “Don’t join the throwaway society – now is the time for investing in things that you will cherish forever.”

Covetous designs are available with at least 40% off everything. In some instances, the discounts are extreme. This year, there are five ’star buys’ including the iconic Eames Lounge Chair (above) reduced from £3904 to £199! Also, there is a Jasper Morrison 3-seater sofa in red leather reduced from £4595 to £299; a special version of the Cite chair by Jean Prouve upholstered in white leather and reduced from £2450 to £99; Philippe Starck’s Baobab desk in light yellow is reduced from £1782 to £99; a set of four MVS bar stools in burgundy are only £49 for the set.

The keen are known to arrive early – sometimes several days early. This year, in order to boost morale in the queue, Vitra have teamed up with Coffee Cartel who will be selling hot drinks and snacks outside the showroom from 6:30am.

It’s December and the Christmas season is well and truly upon us. The annual dilemma as to what to buy our discerning friends and family is here, and to make life a bit easier, we have searched the stores featured in LONDON DESIGN GUIDE to bring our pick of the top 20 products from 20 great places.

Start as you mean to go on – kick off Christmas day with Champagne and sausages.

Above: Champagne Glasses by Ilse Crawford & Michael Anastassiades. £85 (sold in pairs) from Sigmar, Chelsea (page 19 in LONDON DESIGN GUIDE)

Of course, no day begins properly without a caffeine injection.

Above: Coffee & tea maker by Naoto Fukasawa. £149 from twentytwentyone, Islington (page 119 in LDG)

Right, breakfast over, its time to change out of your dressing gown and make an effort. Its Christmas day after all.

Above: Hinged Facet cufflinks in sterling silver by Hannah Martin. £335 from The Modern Gentry, Mayfair (until 5th December) or online from Hannah Martin London (page 84 in LDG)

And for you ladies, a beautiful ring should do the job.

Above: Grace Round silver ring with crystal by Jacqueline Rabun. £1500 from Jacqueline Rabun, Knightsbridge (page 15 in LDG)

Its not just how you look. What about how you smell?

Above: ‘Standard’ Comme des Garcons Artek perfume (100ml). £70 from Dover Street Market, Mayfair (page 54 in LDG)

Winter days can be rather gloomy so its important that you can see what you’re doing before plunging into that pile of pressies.

Above: Chimney Lights by Benjamin Hubert. £295 each from Viaduct, Clerkenwell (page 106 in LDG)

OK, if the kids don’t open some presents soon, they’re going to climb the walls. Perhaps that goes for the adults too? 

Above: Playshapes by millergoodman. £79 for a set of 74 wooden shapes from Aram, Covent Garden (page 76 in LDG)

Feeling peckish already? Time for a mid-morning snack served in style.

Above: hemDing platter by Andreas Fabian. £109 from Thorsten van Elten pop-up shop, Brompton (2-13 December) or online (page 72 in LDG)

Christmas is a time of celebration so do just that, and assemble and scatter illuminated balloons.

Above: Balloon Lamp by Kyouei. £25 from placesandspaces, Clapham (page 154 in LDG)

Argh, is that the time?! Must be time to start cooking the almighty roast…

Above: Red Wrist Watch by Uniform Wares. £85 from Uniform Wares online store (available from 4th December – its that new!)

OK, pots and pans to the ready…

Above: 20cm Casserole by Jasper Morrison. £38 from Jasper Morrison Shop, Shoreditch (page 131 in LDG). The other products in the image are also available from Jasper Morrison Shop.

So, who is going to set the table for lunch?

Above: Tonale tableware range by David Chipperfield. Prices from £13 from Alessi, Mayfair (page 52 of LDG)

After a long boozy lunch, it is time for a snooze on the sofa wrapped in warm blankets.

Above: Nos Da cushions, throws, and blankets. £60, £160, and £275 from SCP, Shoreditch and Notting Hill (pages 31 & 136 in LDG)

Wake up sleepy head!

Above: Braun Alarm Clock AB5 by Dietrich Lubs. £29.95 from Design Museum Shop, Bermondsey (page 150 in LDG). Be warned – these clocks are out of production and have been sourced from a savvy collector in Japan, so they are strictly limited!

If you’re not the snoozing type, have a read of your latest cultural tome.

Above: Anish Kapoor, published by Phaidon. £59.95 from Phaidon Store, Mayfair (from 6-7pm on 11th December, Anish Kapoor will be signing books in the store. To secure a place in the queue, pre-order your copy with a 20% discount)

Time for some Christmas cake already?

Above: Pedastal (grey) by Harri Koskinen for iittala. £329 (limited edition) from Skandium, Brompton and Marylebone (pages 20 & 42 in LDG)

Of course, you can’t have cake without a cup of tea, right?

Above: Adonde stoneware teapot. £79 from Mar Mar Co, Brick Lane (page 134 in LDG)

OK, revived, its time for some more presents. 

Above: Wallet by Porte Monnaie, made from paper-like flash-spun high density polyethylene. £69 from Darkroom, Lamb’s Conduit Street (new store opening 8th December)

Wow, a knockout sculptural centrepiece if ever I saw one.

Above: Yellow Loop by Merete Rasmussen. £780 from Contemporary Applied Arts, Fitzrovia (page 89 in LDG)

At the risk of being really boring, I’m off to bed…

Above: French tin candle box with drawer of refills. £19 from Few and Far, Brompton (page 14 in LDG)

So that’s the end of our pick of 20 great Christmas presents from 20 great places. Explore over 100 more fantastic design destinations that are featured in LONDON DESIGN GUIDE 2010 – buy your copy for Christmas! Only £10 directly from this website.

We’ll leave you with a nerdy statistic: each year Britons spend on average £435 on Christmas presents, but now researchers have calculated £36 of that will not be appreciated. Last year, eBay saw two million unwanted Christmas gifts listed, but a huge number are discarded and end up in landfill. 

It is predicted that Londoners will be given £86 million of unwanted gifts this Christmas. Don’t be one of them. Buy well, buy quality… don’t buy crap.

Source: Western Union via Evening Standard

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

From now until 20th December, Max Fraser, the editor of LONDON DESIGN GUIDE will be signing copies of the guide ordered from this website. He will also add personal messages should you be giving the book as a gift.

Simply click on the Buy the Book icon and click the link for your destination country. You will be taken to a PayPal page to complete the transaction. Add your message/dedication to the Special Instruction panel before you complete the transaction and Fraser will be sure to add it to your copies before we dispatch. Simple as that!

This offer ties in with, in our opinion, the first official day of the Christmas shopping season (25th November), which we see as being marked with the illumination of London’s only beautiful street decoration – the Swarovski Snowflake – designed by German maverick Ingo Maurer. 

Photo: Nick Harvey

Located outside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge, the 5 metre crystal snowflake has been installed in aid of UNICEF. An ornamental version can be purchased from Harvey Nichols, Harrods, or Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED London store for £95, with 40% donated to the charity to provide children with clean water and decent sanitation.