THE THEN-NOW SHOW is an exhibition of 15 designers who were originally amongst the graduates selected by Zeev Aram to take part in Aram Design’s Annual Graduate Shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The exhibition revisits the work of these designers, representing their designs at graduation, THEN, alongside recent work, NOW.

THE THEN-NOW SHOW, 11th March-24th April 2011

THE ARAM GALLERY

110 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5SG (020 7557 7526)

Participating designers include Jane Atfield, Sebastian Bergne, Adam Brinkworth, Konstantin Grcic, Thomas Heatherwick, Victoria Jessen-Pike, David Keech, Wakako Kishimoto, Tom Lloyd, Kevin McCullagh, Corin Mellor, Peter Naumann, Ben Panayi, Luke Pearson and Sonya Winner.

The main objective of this exhibition is to show to the public, undergraduate designers and those in their early careers the progress that these 15 designers have made over the last two decades.

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!