100% Design: The set up

We thought we'd keep you right up to date with proceedings at 100% design. Yesterday saw the big set up. Exhibitions are always great fun to set up. Think of an enormous room with 100's of surly contractors all getting in each others way desperately trying to build their stands whilst at the same time making sure all their tools don't get stolen and their brand new carpets stay clean. Everyone's waiting for the electricians - who told you they'd be on your stand 2 hours ago and all the while your melting under artificial lights and gasping for a bit of fresh air (remember that?). Meanwhile in a bid to address your ravishing hunger you are forced to re-mortage your house in order to buy a cheese sandwich whose ratio of bread to filling would make John Montagu; The 4th earl of Sandwich turn in his grave. This isn't a jibe at 100% design, it's the same at any exhibition and quite frankly its all part of the fun. We got  into Earls court late and so to add to the sense of drama, time was very much against us. On went the tunes, up went the neon and the rest is History... here are the pics so far. Big thanks to Sean and Gaby.

100% Design: Stand 015

Were back at 100% design for a third year. Come say hello on stand 015.

Pokerstars commissions New Installation

Back in spring, the PokerStars' group (the world’s largest poker site) approached us to create a custom installation for the reception area of one of their service and support offices in London.

Something told us they were unlikely to want a copy of the “Old Dogs at Poker” painting. So we set to work developing a piece that told the PokerStars story.

We loved the idea of using materials from their world, remixing them and presenting them back as a piece of Art and decided we could have a lot of fun with cards…

Acquiring a substantial amount of playing cards we cut and assembled the cards around acrylic cubes.

Row by row, the cubes were assembled into a spiraling sphere. The cubes became the pixels; the pixels started to take their abstract form.

 

On first glance, in a slick front of house reception area, it’s a refined piece of abstract art. On closer inspection, you see the materials used and the subtle use of playing cards, their iconic symbols proudly displayed on the sides of their faces.

Refraction was born...

PPL: The Recording Studio

The PPL speaker installation is one of Acrylicize’s favorite projects.

For those unaware, we erected a giant ghetto blaster effect into the Soho studios (a music licensing company). On either side of reception we designed a sculpture made from speakers, fully functioning from the mains so it pulsates to the music as you walk to the reception. The goal, to be stunned silent by the appreciation of art, function, interaction and humour…. just as the speakers connect to the music, it connects you to the space.

Last month, they asked us back to design and make an installation for their boardroom…

The wall was big; it needed something substantial to fill its vastly white expanse. It needed drama, it needed movement and it needed context. 

We wanted to design a piece that couldn’t go unnoticed. We wanted people to interact, to engage and we loved the idea of touch.

We used 500 mixing “pots” to create a truly mesmerizing piece for the room…

Against a white wall, it still looks sleek and unobtrusive – but it’s unusual design and original use of materials produces the desired effect 

Special thanks to MoreySmith 

Acrylicize Wins Bronze 2012

It may not have been love at first site. For some, it took a little while before they understood what it was about and why we should feel proud. Some were preoccupied with the looming irritation that their all-important routine to work was at threat of being disturbed.

For those that aren’t remotely sporty it was a mere shrug of the shoulders that something was happening with sportsmen and women that they’d never heard of and took no interest in, most probably until the Olympic Opening Ceremony….

The roar of jet engines from the Red Arrows soaring over our heads on that sunny Friday evening rumbled the butterflies in your stomach. They grew more as 26million of us watched our TV screens as a stadium filled with 50,000 people celebrating the start of something very very exciting.

Thomas Heatherwick’s awe-inspiring cauldron lit more than its copper petals, it ignited a fireball of excitement, ricocheting through the British land as we were stunned into silence at what our Great Britain was capable of…

Welcome World, to the London 2012 Olympics.

June 2012.

The anticipation was mounting, East London was alive with a buzz in the air and all everyone was talking about was the Olympics, the village, and the stadiums. And what incredible venues they were! As a collective so intrinsically linked with architecture, design and space – we were digging the creative buzz in the air.

Imagine our delight when Waltham Forest Council commissioned us to make a series of bronze sculptures representing the key venues in the Olympic Park! 

Working with Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering and East Architecture as the lead architects, we installed on the pathway from Leyton station to the Olympic Park as part of the Leyton Mills Access Improvements project..

The idea was that the architects had left these models on the rail for all to appreciate, creating a sense of anticipation for the real thing.

Fast forward through weeks of project development, a series of 3D printing machine prototypes, a specialist bronze fabricator and hey presto…

On your marks, get set, ready… Acrylicize hits the Olympics! 

A proud moment for all of us.

Here are our little bronze beauties…

Here they are being positioned by the team…

Securing safely onto the handrail…

And the finished result…. 

Special thanks to Waltham Forest Council, Balfour Beatty and East Architecture for inviting us to be a part of their project.

Heinz Announcement

It gives us great pleasure to announce our latest commission with Heinz. We have been commissioned to produce a large scale Installation to form the centre piece of their new Innovation centre in Nijmegen, Holland. We're very excited to be involved as its a brand thats close to our hearts. and stomachs. Watch this space...

Our new Shoreditch Studio...

It’s hard not to be inspired by a giant 20 foot Native American Chief emblazoned over a brick wall on the way to work.  I’m sure he wasn’t there yesterday. It’s not the normal thought processes on a Monday morning; then again, this isn’t a normal street in London.

The next day there’s giant wizard casting his spell over a cartoon munchkin from the legendary DDS crew. The day after, it’s a pair of kissing budgies round the corner from the convenience store. You get the idea. Shoreditch is full of graffiti, Shoreditch is full of art.

Isn’t the best art the type that makes you stop and wonder? Interacting and making you connect to the environment you’re surrounded by.

We agree. It’s why we do what we do. We make Art and believe in its intense power to make people not only stop, but positively connect with their environment.  Whether it be your work place or your home, a community building or an out-door space the idea of bringing Art to people outside of the gallery space is something that we embrace and love to explore.

Which is why we moved studio last month and are now brand new residents of Shoreditch. (And, the proud next door neighbour to our new Native American friend).

There couldn’t be a better place for us.  Back in June, we were thrown head first into a pool of creatives and now we happily swim in a sea of constant exhibitions, galleries, designers, happenings, fashionistas, artists, hobo’s, crazy people and yes a few Shoreditch twats too.

It’s a colourful place for our colourful collective – so it didn’t take us long to turn an empty studio, into an exciting space for creative thought and action.

This is where the magic will happen from now on….

While we're on the subject we'd also like to introduce you too Brunel and Marcel. Our new benches lovingly made in-house by Sean.

Here's him making it happen…

Here’s Gabby filling some of the shelves with some of our beautiful books…

We love how much light we get flooding into the studio everyday by the huge windows! The amazingly high ceiling aids the vibe and who doesn't love a bit of exposed brick work.

It’s exciting to think of all the possibilities for the space and to envisage what mad things we’ll be collecting over the next few years!

If the last studio is anything to go by, it’s going to be an interesting journey… 

PS.For anyone wondering what our Native American buddy looks like, here is he….

The Art of Distribution...

The unique personality of all of our clients is really important to us. We represent people through art, we like to tell a story, to celebrate their character, values and personality. 

Which is why when one of our clients approached us for a new art piece for their reception - we were pretty keen to represent their eclectic world using the most imaginative and creative concepts.

As a leading disc and digital solution provider for entertainment, education and information industries, our client offers world-class optical media replication services, digital and physical supply chain solutions and software services. 

They were opening a stunning new facility and it needed something special. First things first, this couldn’t just be a picture on a wall. This had to include technology, this had to incorporate entertainment and information.

We wanted the art to represent depth, to inspire and engage. Following themes of film, music and technology, we set to work. Step one was to set about sourcing items…  

Those of you that know our previous projects will know how we love reclaimed materials, using everyday items and presenting in different contexts.

This is what we found…

Next up, on a sunny Friday afternoon, music blearing through the speakers and sipping on a celebratory glass of champers (to celebrate our new studio) we started sanding down these beautiful relics…

After we mapped them out….

Then came a lot of white paint…

Then the installation on site…

And there we have it… you’ve been Acrylicized!

Special thanks to Nichola Mcann, Cann Creations on this project.