A little birdie over at Oliver Spencer slung me this flyer for their sample sale this weekend at Macandi Showrooms. I would advise to get yourselves down there  to bag a bargain or two from the likes of Oliver Spencer and Folk… I know I am!

Thanks Catherine.

Short & Sweet is London’s only weekly short film evening. It’s been running for nearly four years and is deservedly popular – showcasing the very best in short films both old and new, from animation to live action, to music videos from both new talent and established directors. It’s free so grab a drink and cosy up on a sofa – it’s a perfect Monday night out after a heavy weekend.

Short & Sweet is on every Monday from 6.30, down at cafe 1001 on brick lane.

The Design Museum opens it’s doors to the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition today. If your passion or profession falls anywhere under the ‘creative fields’ umbrella this will be worth checking out. The exhibition showcases the shortlisted entries for the best things of the last year acorss 7 catagories including Architecture, Fashion and Product design. OWTIC will be heading down this weekend so check back next week to see what we liked/didn’t like.

See some of the nominations after the jump.

A wee bit slow on the uptake on this one but it’s worthy of a late post! This is a picture of the old Brighton (west) pier last Wednesday night. The people behind this spectacular laser show were… Tiger Beer! A bit of a random hook up I think you’d agree but it marks the start of a series of events, commissioned by the beer giants, that will take place over the coming months to celebrate the Chinese year of the… yes you’ve guessed it… tiger! What this has to do with the year of the tiger is anyone’s guess but it looks pretty cool anyway. Could be interesting to see what else they curate within the coming months.

McQueen is one of British Fashion Design’s true greats, and is most renowned for his unconventional and punk aesthetic, revolutionising the corset, and sticking by Kate Moss in times of cocaine trial and tribulation. Most sadly, it’s his British iconography that shot him into super stardom, the quintessential Central Saint Martins student who once apparently sewed the words ‘I am a cunt’ into a jacket he was working on for Prince Charles. With just Paris Fashion Week in two weeks time, the world has lost a true visionary. May he rest in peace.

Words by Kate Atkinson

Went to a gig this Friday night. The Gold Future Joy Machine were playing at the Stamford Works. The former were average; meandering towards Lad Rock landfill with hints of Primal Scream and Fisherspooner along the way. The latter was superb: an ex-industrial site in the heart of Dalston…where people can smoke inside! Methinks this will become a bona fide scene hub sooner rather than later.

But most importantly, I got chatting to a photographer there called Daniel Muhindi, whose site is well worth a peruse. If there is indeed something happening over there in the east, we need people like Daniel to document it. Lots of Vice-esque eye candy, all shot on film. Which is nice. More of Daniels pictures after the jump.

’20 years since the birth of Madchester, the building that started it all and ultimately destroyed it all…

FAC251 – Head Office of Factory Communications Ltd… Built by Tony Wilson. Designed by Ben Kelly & Peter Saville. Paid for by NewOrder. Broken by The Happy Mondays…’

You’ve probably heard already but the former head office of the legendary Factory Records is re-openning at the end of this month as a new club/live venue.

Time will tell whether or not it will reach the heights of The Hacianda but it will be worth a visit if you’re ever up in Manchester.

See some of my favorite Factory Records related things after the break.

For those of you in london, get down to “My Kingdom”, a group, pop-up art show orgainised by the space in between collective. Featuring up and coming artists;  Nick Roberts, Thomas Webb, Helen Carmel Benigson, Luke Montgomery, Ben Jeans Houghton, Xavier Poultney and Kazimierz Jankowski. Private View tonight. Show runs until 13/12/09. For more info visit the space in between website

Xavier Poultney and Hannah Barton

Apologies for the complete lack of posts last week, I’ve been super busy wrapping up the season, so had to keep my head down. This is what I’ve been upto..

HALLOWEEN!
..was amazing! went to the ANTIPODIUM party at the metropolis strip club, photos courtesy of seamless

Although my favourite get ups from the night were this lot, they went to thereal gold party..

As a recovery precaution me and the misses took the monday off and went for a big slice of culture pie, visiting the Hayward to see Ed Ruscha and then the Tate to see john Baldesari all in one afternoon..

Ed Rushca at the Hayward

This exhibition came highly recommended but to be honest i didn’t really get it. We both agreed we didn’t feel it was that well curated as we failed to engage with the life of the artist. I guess i’m just not that into the aesthetic although i like the talk radio painting. Not worth 11 pounds.

..much better is the JOHN BALDESSARI at the tate modern. Baldessari was a Californian based artist who was one of the pioneers of modern art. I found his work clever, witty and playful. Well worth a look..

Much to my offices disappointment George Lamb has announce he and the team are moving to a weekend slot as he wants to concentrate on his tv career. A real shame considering hes crap on telly and great on the radio. weekday mornings will never be so funny. theres only one week left to get involved..

On thursday went to the TWIN magazine launch, this is another bi-annual Faaaaaashion mag, they’ve assembled a crack editorial team so should be some decent stuff, I’m just hoping its better than love..

Also go check out the lawrence watson exhibition at the book club on leonard street. He’s one of those lucky geezers who happened to be hanging around the music scene in the 80′s and early 90′s with a camera. Some awesome shots.

Saturday night was bonfire night, for the first time me and my buddies went to another display other than the blackheath one and i have to admit victoria park was better. shock horror. Then we watched the 6’3 brit, David Haye beat 7’2 Nikolai Valuev in the boxing. Not exactly a thriller in manilla as Haye could barely get anywhere near the guy (valuev rumoured to have killed a bear with his bare hands!) but when he rocked him in the 12th it was pretty cool..

On thursday I’m attending the private view for Ellen Von Unworths latest exhibition, Fraulein, at the Michael Hoppen Gallery. The friend who invited me has said I’ll like it because the photos are all of scantily clad beautiful women. Those of you who read my blog will know i’m an admirer of the female form, in Ellens own words “(Women) are not just there to be admired, they are there to be enjoyed,”. I couldn’t agree more. Heres a taster..