All Mix Blog

'The harsh and sad reality is that for the past few decades the majority of British factories, mills, weavers, finishers and textile suppliers have all ceased to exist but we are now more determined than ever to foster and revitalise the profile and general awareness of British manufacturers and remind the world that the UK has always and will continue to make the very finest garments.' James Eden, Private White V.C Tonight at 1930hrs on Channel Four there is a 30 minute documentary on life at Cooper & Stollbrand , the factory behind Private White V.C. We are looking forward to seeing it. Image from Cooper & Stollbrand

Thanks to the ever excellent Spitalfields Life for bringing the work of Homer Sykes to our attention. We suggest that you check out his site to gain an appreciation of his excellent documentary photography, the pictures here are merely portions of larger photos. The top photo shows a factory worker in Bradford , 1983. Directly above is an image of a lady working in Salts Cotton Mill , Saltaire, 1981. Images from ' The Way We Were, England 1968 - 1989 ' by Homer Sykes

A brief post to document the documentation that comes with an Anglepoise Type 75 lamp. We particularly like how the monochromatic design communicates the simplicity of the lamp itself.

A very brief post to document the understated documentation that came with a recently purchased Brompton. There are plans for a M&I field trip to the Brompton factory premises in 2011. We see that Will Self has already visited .

We have found a new hero of documentation via Flickr, he goes by the name of Mikey Ashworth and it would appear that he has the (wonderful sounding) role of design and heritage manager at London Underground. Be warned, perusing Mr. Ashworth's collection may result in many lost hours. Photo of Jacob & Cos factory from Mr. Ashworth's aforementioned Flickr

The Milan Furniture Fair is over. According to Sight Unseen the documentation of the manufacturing process was evident throughout the show, something M&I was pleased to hear: 'The only trend worth writing home about was the diaristic glimpse into process that so many designers chose to offer this year, supplementing their finished products with sketches, models, and real-time demonstrations. Droog, Tom Dixon, and the Belgian gallery Z33 turned manufacturing into a spectator sport, churning out saleable objects on the spot, while the young Berlin duo Studio Hausen decided to forgo actual products entirely, outfitting their Satellite booth with a vitrine full of experimental bits and bobs from recent research projects. Certainly in some cases the conceit helped mask a lack of new production pieces, an economic consequence that plagued the fair in general, but mostly it celebrated curiosity, storytelling, and a growing interest in where things come from and how they’re made.'...