An Post

I can't help being cynical when it comes to our national postal service. Recently I received a brochure with "last dates for posting before Christmas" information (which was useful) and in the corner of the brochure was a rosette with "New service: movies by post". I was delighted to hear about this. So I checked it out, as directed, on the anpost.ie website but there was absolutely no further information available. Talk about lack of co-ordination between marketing departments, website updaters and on-the-ground services! And another brochure I received amused me greatly. The cost of producing it for the sake of the information contained is completely incongruent. In terms of package design, it's up there with the classy, costly. Different flaps fold out providing new paragraphs on information. Well done, An Post, for the Irish language translation; credit where due. Each brochure has a blank space which constitutes 25% waste... unless they managed to realign the printing and create a jigsaw of brochures. But how would these be folded?! No, the waste seems the more obvious result. Crazy! And the message contained in the brochure? :

...changes are on the way - changes designed to create a more streamlined network
so we can make the service to you more efficient and cost-effective.

In order to do this we've redesigned our delivery routes using the latest
logistical planning technology, which means your delivery time may change,
depending on your location. You may also notice some minor inconsistencies in
your mail deliveries while these changes are being introduced.

"...So we publish a very much not streamlined brochure which is not efficient or cost effective definitely not involving logistical planning technology to inform you that you can expect inconsistencies"

And I love the way they use an image of the GPO lest we forget their involvement in the nation's historical change

An Post knows a lot about change. With a history that dates back as far as the
1640s we've developed into a dynamic operation.

The pics don't really show off the brochure to its foldable, flappy, exciting best but here goes:

Disposable Cup

I really am catching up on my blogging ideas over these few days!

I got a train to Cork on the October bank holiday weekend and we were served tea and coffee in these cups. I couldn't wait to get home and photograph them and take them apart and try to understand them better!

The basic cup is plastic, with corrugation for heat insulation and then it's wrapped or covered in cardboard. The cardboard could have any pattern or logo of any tea/coffee etc brand on it. There is a rim on the inside about an inch from the bottom, it seems to me that this part could (and perhaps did) contain the instant coffee granules or the tea bag or whatever and could be sealed over with maybe an aluminium cap which could be removed when the hot water is being added.

Think that's about all I have to say about it! Enjoy the photos, I don't think they're bad considering they were taken on my mobile phone...

Designersblock & book-unit

The Observer Magazine, 9th September 2007.

Article about Designersblock (Piers Roberts and Rory Dodd), London design firm. Apart from my being interested in the fact that their firm is a 10-year old "organisation that mounts design shows and events, often in glamarously dilapidated, disused industrial spaces... including [London,] Milan, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Seoul, Istanbul, Cologne and Stockholm", I fell in love with one of the objects pictured and am planning to make for my own bedside: The article also mentioned the Geffrye Museum "east London's museum of domestic interiors" which was news to me.
http://www.designersblock.org.uk/

Wine Bottle closures

Over Christmas we drank some great wine. But almost more interesting than the contents of this particular bottle, was its bottle cap.

There are a variety of ways of closing wine bottles:

• corks made from cork
• rubber "corks"
• screwtops
• and now...Vino-Lok

The cork made from cork is going out of use, although it's probably the best for the purpose of allowing the wine to breathe.

This bottle was sealed using a "vino-lok". It's made from glass. Makes sense because now the wine producer only has to put in one order with a glass manufacturer (not an order each for the bottle and the cork), mind you there is a rubber seal involved but I imagine that's the glass manufacturer's problem so it probably ups the cost of ordering the bottles...

Roberto Cavalli at H&M

This thought dates back to 8th November! The front page of the free newspaper "Metro" was an ad for Roberto Cavalli at H&M.

I don't get it - why do big name people put their names to a clothing line at a highstreet store. (Kate Moss: Top Shop, Madonna: wherever etc) Especially when, in this case, going by the ad, the dress is nowhere near as beautiful as the dresses that are undeniably those of the big-name designer.

The photo on the front page picture is abominable too - with the David Beckham looklalike peering out of a red sports car. He doesn't appear to be conscious in any way of the girl that has stepped out, or the dress she's wearing. To say nothing of the eyeshadow, gold bling on her finger and knecklace of strategic length.

I first became aware of Roberto Cavalli (not being a big fashion-head) when Victoria Beckham modelled his dress on the catwalk and he designed others for her, here's three of my favourites that really stood out.

Oh to have to opportunity/money/occasion to wear the vase dress! The yellow dress is the one Cavalli designed for the Beckham's pre-World Cup party. It featured in a documentary about the event (it's was hard to track down a picture of it on the web), if I remember correctly it had to be sewn onto her. Beautiful. And such a striking, luminous colour.

I could keep going about signature architects like Calatrava producing bridges for cities in the same kind of mass production sense as the H&M Cavalli venture, but I'll leave architecture out of this post.

An Ideal Hotel

Haven't blogged in ages and feel bad about it. New job - trying to settle down and such excuses.
Stayed in a hotel with my mam back in mid-November. We don't stay in hotels as a rule but I won a prize.
Got me to thinking about my ideal hotel room:

• suitcase rack
• place to hang/place used and therefore damp towels
• underfloor heating in the bathroom
• bedside reading lights that won't disturb the other person.

They seem basic enough requirements and I'm sure there's much more that could be listed there. It reminds me of a documentary I saw - an interview with the American architect, Philip Johnson filmed in his pavillion-like collection of buildings where he lived. The guest house was purposely missing things like light-switches positioned next to the bed and nice touches like that to intentionally annoy his guests and ensure they didn't overstay their welcome.

The Smoking Ban

Walking home this eve, I noticed a white chalk line drawn around the doorway of the pub. I assume it's to indicate that "smoking is not allowed inside this box" but there was nothing written on it. It gave me the idea for more boxes outside pubs:

The Spire does what it's supposed to!

When I originally heard about the Spike, before it was built, I was very excited that this huge, tall steel pin (12o m in height I think) could be seen from all over the city and we would know where the main street of the city was. This doesn't happen. Fair enough, I can see the spike from the front door of my house, but I live centrally and there's no obstructions (Dublin is a low-rise city). And the view from my doorstep is definitely an exception, I haven't spotted the spike from anywhere else.
Until tonight - I went walking behind my house and it must be a slight hill because there was a fantastic view. Exactly what I had hoped for when I first heard of the idea. X marks the spot on Alphie Byrne road where I took the photo.
The Millenium Spire stands at the junction of O’Connell Street and Henry Street/North Earl Street. It's about 5 years old (prob should be 7 going by it's name but this is Ireland, though I'm not sure how long it's there; doesn't seem like more than 5 years...). We call it The Spike. It was designed by Ian Ritchie and engineered by Roughan O'Donovan.
I wrote this a while ago with the intention of writing a wee article to inform people a little of the background of such an idea:
"In Rome during one of the busy bout of urban planning obelisks were widely used. On a map an obelisk appears as a dot. They act as landmarks; to mark particular important points in the city or to conclude a vista. They also act as memorial statues to a particular event. Previously, on O’Connell Street, stood a pillar - Nelson’s pillar. It was bombed by the IRA."