The Witchery Restaurant – Edinburgh

It’s become quite a tradition for my partner and I to visit Edinburgh during the New Year celebrations and last year was no exception. It is a beautiful city and this was our fifth visit to the Scottish capital!

We thoroughly enjoyed the street party (the fact that it was not cancelled was worth celebrating) and we finally experienced The Witchery! In the past I have longingly peeked though the restaurants windows as I made the walk up to the Castle and often wondered what a magical place it must be inside...

It certainly didn’t disappoint! It was incredible: the food was excellent, as was the service and atmosphere – a real treat. Don’t take my word for it though; check out the celebrity book which details some super A-List comments! My favourite one is Matt Groening’s…




Posted by: Jemma

Tin Sardine

Fancy a can of chocolate sardines?
Saw this in a Florida deli – a can of sardines, chocolate sardines that is! I like the packaging and the curl of metal to reveal the wrapping underneath…



Posted by: Dan

Dolphin gets up close and personal

This is a few years old now – I took it in early Jan 05 – and it’s a wild dolphin in the sea off the coast of Kaikoura on the South Island of New Zealand....National Geographic eat your heart out!



Posted by: Dan

Fran’s Shark Friend

When beachcombing on Captiva Island in Florida – look who came to say hello….it’s a shark!



Posted by: Dan

MandMs

Only like certain colour M&Ms? Then this is for you! Found this on holiday in Florida – I will have a ¼ of blue ones please!!

Holiday Postcards Direct Mail

I was sent these postcards in the summer of last year and kept them as a great example of a DM campaign. The images used work really well with the copy on the reverse and the way they have been personalised as though hand written is great, they actually look as though they have!


Roll on summer - it’s getting me in the holiday mood already!

Posted by: Richard

Violent Veg!!!

I saw this card at a local exhibition, and then went on the website http://www.seedlingshowcase.com/ to find a range of fun and humorous cards you can buy for all types of occasions.

Posted by: Linda

Darth Floater

Just been researching a job and found this. I know hot air balloons come in a galaxy of shapes and sizes, but this is by far far away the best I've ever seen!

Posted by: Bew

Porsche written off

Porsche keep on designing things of timeless beauty and these TecFlex pens are no exception. The body is made from stainless steel weave and flexes slightly when you write, hence the name. Doubt they would improve my scrawl, but they certainly look good!

Posted by: Bew

DO THE D.A.N.C.E

I know this This tune has been out for a while, but whilst searching for tickets I came across Justice's video for D.A.N.C.E. Being graphic designers themselves, theres some great animation/graphics going on here (and some sweet t-shirts!)

Posted by: Matt

ROPPONGI CROSSING

I recently visited Japan and whilst in Toyko I went to the Roppongi Hills complex to see a the Roppongi Crossing exhibition. Roppongi Crossing is a series of exhibitions produced by the Mori Art Museum to introduce Japanese creative talent working in a wide range of genres. The first in the series was held in 2004 –and is to this day used as a reference point for contemporary Japanese visual culture. Not only did we see this great exhibition, but also a great view of Toyko 250 metres above see level, mind blowing stuff.

Posted by: Matt

DKPM enjoy their Brussels!

It will come as no surprise to those who know us that we like a good “knees up” at Xmas!

So what better excuse than the launch of the new Eurostar service from St Pancras (complete with the longest champagne bar in the world!) to arrange our Christmas party in the fair city of Brussels.

We kept our destination a secret from everyone at DKPM until we got on the train…a Magical Mystery Tour

The Mystery started at 1.00pm on Friday November 23, ending with our well hung-over team, loaded down with Brussels’ finest chocs, arriving back on Saturday night…

The itinerary involved a lot of 9% lager and was definitely not for the faint hearted, but if you fancy a trip to Brussels we would definitely suggest that you follow in our unsteady footsteps!

Posted by: DKPM

101 Things

http://www.dosurf.com/ is a website promoting the book One hundred and one from kessel Kramer Publishing House. It is made with over 30 designers and concept makers chronicling the current and future state of brand that all depends on what you do. Key in any numbers of your choice (as long as they come to 101) and see what you get.

Posted by: Matt

Modified Toy Orchestra

A band that plays live on modified toys – which play sounds that the designers of the toys don’t intend?! Yes it’s the Modified Toy Orchestra as we experienced on Martyn Ware’s Future Of Sound www.futureofsound.org/ You can’t get these at Toys R Us!! www.myspace.com/toyorch

Posted by: Dan

Seasick Steve

I like Seasick Steve – the rawest of raw blues singers – lived life as a hobo across the US-of-A before winding up on our blog via his “3 string trance music”… Sing the Dog House Song! http://www.seasicksteve.com/




Posted by: Dan

I opened Pandora’s box

I was lucky enough to receive one of these lovely things for my birthday. I really like the Pandora bracelet because it’s the gift that keeps on giving – you can update it, add to it, change it … it’s a modern day take on the traditional charm bracelet but without a single silver bootee in sight!!!

Posted by: Clare

Old people’s Wii?

I saw this story in one of the national newspapers and I love the fact that men and women up to the age of 103 are enjoying Nintendo Wii as much as we do.

Posted by: Jemma

Flight of the Conchords

We’ve all fallen in love with the latest show from HBO, featuring “New Zealand’s 4th most popular parody folk duo” If you haven’t seen Jermaine and Bret trying to make it big on the music scene in New York City, check it out Tuesday nights on BBC 4.

My favourite moment so far is Bret serenading his new girlfriend with a bit of help from Jemaine, listing “realistic” things he would do for her after dismissing climbing the highest mountain as too unlikely …

Posted by: Tom

3D or not 3D?

I really like the new 3D cinema technology created by Real D http://www.reald.com/… and I was really privileged on a recent trip to LA to see a demo of the technology, which is completely incredible – it’s like you are actually there!

It has been used for the recent Robert Zemeckis blockbuster, Beowulf: http://www.beowulfmovie.com/. I can’t wait to get my 3D specs on again!!!

Posted by: Dan

The cure for road rage? Quite possibly!

I love this, what a fantastic way to get to work, both fun and practical… and it’s just my size! This miniature tank has a fully integrated ready-to-fire paintball gun, built to order with rollover bar and roll cage, with six colours to choose from and it’s only £8000.

Looks like I’ll be trading in my motor sooner than expected.

Posted by: Yvette

Tower Bridge Exhibition (our father who art in Brussels)

I like the fact that my Dad, a sculptor who lives in Brussels, has an exhibition of his Tower Bridge postcard collection, on at – wait for it – Tower Bridge! You couldn’t make it up. Make sure you don’t miss out; it’s on until December 31st.
http://www.towerbridge.co.uk/TowerBridge/English/SpecialEvents

Posted by: Dan

Sci-Fi Hi-Fi

Posted by: Dan

Beyond Limits

I like the modern sculpture at Chatsworth House www.chatsworth.org in the leafy Peak District...

"Beyond Limits" is a selling exhibition by Sothebys (which means that people can buy them eventually!) showing 23 spectacular pieces of modern and contemporary sculpture in Chatsworth's famous gardens.

It includes artists as diverse as Rodin, Lynn Chadwick, Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Mark Quinn. For more see www.sothebys.com/images/home/flash/chatsworth2007

It's on until 4 November 2007... well worth a trip.

Posted by: Dan

It's Back! It's Big! It's at Battersea!

Following the huge success in 2006 of the British Academy Video Games Awards, we are delighted to be continuing as the Official Brand Partner for 2007.

This year will be even bigger and better, and we are honoured to continue our strategic partnership with the BAFTA team.

We have been working closely with BAFTA to further build the Games Awards brand, with an integrated promotional campaign and the design of all event literature.

We launched the fantastic microsite in the summer, showcasing the excitement of the evening, while giving all industry professionals the opportunity to get involved. See for yourself at www.bavga.co.uk

Following last year's spectacular televised ceremony at the Roundhouse, this year's Awards will take place on Tuesday 23 October at Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park, and will be televised on E4 and T4.

Posted by: Tom

Newsworthy

These two items that I like follow a theme; they’re both produced in newsprint.




The first is a catalogue produced for Blanka's “An Exhibition in Mono”.
28 Designers from 28 Locations on 28 Posters write 28 Words, for 1 Exhibition… all in 1 colour – MONO!
It's a broadsheet paper consisting of all 28 posters all at 58.9% size. It’s very nice, but I do keep getting black ink all over my hands - a small price to pay for a lovely bit of design though!

Secondly, London agency Spin has produced the first in an ongoing series of publications of things that are close to their hearts, a collection of their most recent work. Yet again, a really nice piece of work and with an unusual format too.

Posted by: Matt

Ooooh Yvetty!

Apparently, the opening bars to the theme tune for classic TV program “Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em” spells out “some mothers do ave em” in Morse code!

Click here to hear the tune...

What a genius idea from the late composer Ronnie Hazlehurst (who apparently was paid £30 for the work!)?


Photo supplied by Tom – inspired by the “Some Mothers Do Ave Em” story, he created this picture of our very own Frank and "Yvetty"!

Posted by: Clare

By ‘eck, it’s tha Great Yorkshire run!

Is it the next Seb Coe and Paula Radcliffe (or just a couple of contestants in a gurning competition – in which case, I win!)?

Nutters and Chiddy rocked in at 54.25 mins on the Great Yorkshire Run, coming 1425th and 1426th out of 4500 runners.

Not bad for a pair of veterans!

Posted by: Yvette

I like the pub!

It’s a proper traditional pub with a twist – The Rutland is just down the road from our Sheffield office, in the middle of a really trendy cultural business area. It was going to be knocked down, but petitions from local businesses have saved it. The distinctive murals on the walls have helped to make it a real feature for the neighbourhood, and a great attraction (as well as the obvious magnetism of a good pint…)

Posted by: Richard

Fruity Branding

Branded fresh fruit - this is a different way of thinking... and what a delicious way to get your brand some attention?

Posted by: Richard