John Green's Blog

BANANA

2012-01-29T10:13:00.001-08:00

Say hello to the johngreen. stamp!

HOME 2012

2012-01-20T15:29:00.000-08:00

A couple of quick pics from my stand a HOME-LONDON, (the carpet didn't help with the exposure of the pictures). This was the first HOME show and I have to say I think it was great! I launched 2 new products and got plenty of new stockists on board.

Thanks to Tom for all of his hard graft on the stand and thanks to Earls Court Turkish Kebab house for providing a wonderful lunch everyday.

FRIDAY NIGHT WITH JOHN GREEN

2012-01-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Here's how i'm spending my friday night.........prepping a few prototypes for the home show!
Have a sneak peak at 45, it's a brand new product to be launched at the show. The brief behind the product was: You have just forked out £450 for your brand new festool saw. Now make that £450 back with a product that utilises the saw much as possible.

HOME

2012-01-05T17:56:00.000-08:00

After a nice relaxing christmas, the stress and late nights have begun. I will be exhibiting at HOME next week. This is a Brand New Exhibition at Earls Court and it runs alongside Top Drawer. The show will run from the 15 - 17th of January. Which only gives me a few days to finish off some BRAND NEW products and get some hi-res images ready. Oh how I wish I had time to prep some of this pre-christmas. I will be exhibiting on stand: D43

SALE = UP TO 50% OFF

2012-01-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Each year a small collection of ex-display, samples and re-conditioned 'embrace' stock becomes available. For this reason there is 50% off the RRP. All items are available on a first served basis and are sold as seen. Images are available upon request.

Click here to visit the John Green Discount store or for more info.

PRODUCT

2011-12-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

2 weeks ago I was invited by York St Johns University to help out with curating their very own Pop-Up Design Shop(PRODUCT) hosted by Bar Lane Studio's in York. The project is running up until September 2012 and I have been tasked with getting in local and national designers to spotlight. (get in touch if your interested).
We thought it would be great to get the shop open for Christmas, so I quickly asked around a few freinds and local designers in York to test how the shop would run over the period, see some images below:

if you look close enough you may see a sneak peak of a couple of new John Green products.

THE STUDIO

2011-11-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

So, i've been quite on here for a while I know. Things have been extrememly busy and i have been working on lots of new things. But amongst all of this I have finally moved out of the tiny temporary studio Angus had kindly made for me in snowhome, to share a nice big (COLD) building with 3 other York based designers:

Phil Procter (www.philprocter.com)
Will Vincent (www.mrwillvincent.co.uk)
Turner & Harper (www.turnerhaprer.com)

Over the past year, the above guys have already been using half of this building as their studio, while the other half was used a Tennis shop, but this month the whole building has become vacant as Tennis man has left. The space at snowhome was great for me and I will still use it from time to time, but it does not lend to storing stock and prototyping ideas, so when this whole building became vacant I couldn;t really say no. We are calling the place, 'the studio' and in the New Year, I'll be trying my best to spruce it up a bit, as you can see from the images it needs a bit of it, I might even take down the tennis sign from outside.....but for now it's just a nice big space to get creative in, with some safe storage for all those embrace tables.

Although I have moved out of my snowhome based studio, I will still be working with Angus at snowhome on new products, and even more so now that I have a nice big studio space that I can stretch my legs out in....I even took the fixie for a ride around some embrace stock the other day. Have a look at some pics (the only things I can find on my computer at the moment, I'll try to create a virtual tour when I get time).

IN THE PRESS

2011-10-12T07:39:00.000-07:00

A nice selection of recent press.

EMBRACE OWNERS CLUB

2011-10-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

A great picture of embrace in situ here. Thanks to: www.great-british-designs.co.uk for sharing your happy customers picture.

LDF 2011

2011-09-13T04:34:00.000-07:00

This year I have taken a break from my usual routine of launching new products at 100% design and instead I have chosen to get my head down and actually take some time over designing some new products for launch in 2012. That being said, I could not let a LDF go by without being present. So if you are in and around the London Design Festival over the next few weeks be sure to check out: Design Junction. Here i will part of a Pop-Up Shop with various other designers (listed above), at the Pop-Up Shop you will be able to buy Embrace, Pantone Wallstore and Standard (for the very first time since it's launch at 100% design last year).

The event is located at:
Victoria House/Basement
37—63
Southampton Row
WC1V 4DA

Opening times: 22—25 September 2011 / 10—19.00pm daily.

Check out: www.thedesignjunction.co.uk for more details.

BUSY BUSY

2011-09-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to put a quick post out to say that I have been busy...lately i've been working on loads of new stuff that (frustratingly) I can't say too much about, simply because nothing I've worked on lately has been for my own brand. Above is a sneak peak of a brand new light shade :) I'm sure in the next few months I will be posting some detailed post about new products.

DAVID MELLOR DESIGNS

2011-08-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

Since the opening of my exhibition in Barnsley earlier this year when I met Corin Mellor I have been meaning to visit the David Mellor factory. In NYC when I agreed to help breakdown their stand I spent a good half hour in amazement as I flicked through the David Mellor portfolio and learnt more about what he had designed. Being a bit naive I only knew of his cutlery. And to think i never knew who designed the Traffic Light makes me feel a bit of a clown shoe. So as I broke down the David Mellor stand in NYC I stuffed a few of my products into their pallets knowing it would get me down to their factory to collect them.

Last week I finally got the chance to get myself out to the peak district for a visit and wasn't let down! That place is just amazing and whether you are a designer or not I recommend it. It was the CLEANEST factory floor I had ever seen, you seriously could eat your dinner from it. Visiting has made me realise that this is exactly what I want for my brand. Maybe in a few years time though ;).

Thanks James for the coffee, the factory tour and most importantly bringing home the things from New York. Cheers

EMBRACE OWNERS CLUB

2011-08-29T05:54:00.000-07:00

A couple more shots of embrace in situ. First one again looking well used in donkey mode.

MOLESKINE - ICFF

2011-08-29T05:39:00.000-07:00

For every trade show/exhibition I do I have a fresh Moleskine. This is used to keep business cards and write down notes from orders and contacts etc... There's always the odd inspired sketch in there too. When arriving in New York there was no need for my own Moleskine as greeting me on my stand was brand new ICFF limited edition notebook...well worthy of blogging. Even if it is a few months late. Check out the debossed ICFF logo, wrap and the note inside.

NEW DESIGNERS 2011

2011-07-12T02:05:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from a week in London for the New Designers. This year I was helping out York St John University, working with them on the stand design and build. It was a big stand to build in a day but we managed it...just.

There are some promising graduates this year. I particularly enjoy the concrete stool 'dainty' and jigamals.

EMBRACE OWNERS CLUB

2011-07-12T01:24:00.000-07:00

A nice email from another happy customer. Thanks Adam for taking the time to take the picture and send it in. Looks great below your limited edition cl O ck.

GRAND DESIGNS AWARDS

2011-06-23T06:08:00.000-07:00

Just stumbled upon this picture of my receiving the Grand Designs award from Kevin....Think he looks scared....You've gotta love that ginger beard.

EMBRACE OWNERS CLUB

2011-06-21T16:39:00.000-07:00

Great pic for the Embrace owners club album. This is a walnut embrace in "donkey" mode. Performing well I'd say. Cheers for the pic sid.....& kerry & slinky G.

TV

2011-06-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

I forgot about this. Over a year ago now I was down at the habitat HQ being filmed for an episode of Britains Next Big Thing. It was aired on BBC 2 last month and with everything being so hectic with exhibitions I never had the chance to watch it properly. I did however see episode 3 right before I headed off for Grand Designs to see that after a whole day of filming I starred on it for about 2.5 seconds...ha..what you see in the screen grab above is about all you can see. Me walking through the habitat carpark with my mate si and a couple of embraces.

ICFF

2011-06-13T01:46:00.000-07:00

Well...it's been an eventful few days, but I have to say some of my most relaxing of this month. Everything has just slotted into place quite nicely! For the first time I havn't been rushing about like mad. I like American trade shows.

A few pics of the stand above. Not very good...I need to get better at this!

NYC by foot.

2011-06-05T03:00:00.000-07:00

Decided not to take the subway whilst out in NYC so that we could walk about and take in as much of the city as possible. Took a pic of my feet each day and wasn't sure what to do with them, so here it is, mine and Jess's feet out and about in NYC.

LAST MINUTE PREPERATIONS

2011-05-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to BA throwing my case around a little bit more than I expected, I'm having to do a last minute spray touch up in the hotel room. Thanks to jessy for setting up the spray booth.

New York, New York

2011-05-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

well, it's been an eventful few days, but I have to say some of my most relaxing of this month. Everything has just slotted into place quite nicely! I arrived in New York on Tuesday afternoon, wasn't jet lagged felt good had a nice stroll round. The city if everything I thought it would be....BUSY!

Decent view of the Empire state building from my hotel room:

Got to the Javits centre yesterday to set up the stand around 9.30 only to find my pallet had not been delivered despite an email to say it's waiting on my stand. So as you can imagine I was slightly nervous. Anyway after a few phone calls back to the UK I was re-assured it was on it's way. Waited for a good hour but nothing came and I was getting a bit stressed out with it all.

There is only so much thumb twiddling you can do when your in NYC. (Think I'm actually weeding some vinyl in the image below).

Went for a burrito and a quick sight see. Once we returned, as promised the Pallet was there. A couple of hours later and I was up:

Back in the Hotel room now trying to get some good shipping prices and burning press packs. I'll be finishing off the stand later and will hopefully get some nicer images up!

embrace in situ!

2011-05-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Just burning my new Press packs for ICFF and are adding some very nice situ shots of embrace taken by the amazing photographer Alistair Nicholls. You can enjoy more of his work here: http://www.alistairnicholls.com/

I have a few more shots that I will post when I'm not right in the middle of the worlds most exciting city!

GRAND DESIGNS LIVE 2011

2011-05-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Well, well...what a show. I have just returned back up north after 10 days in London at the Grand Designs show and all I have to say is.....I'm knackered. With less than 24 hours before I depart for New York I will keep this post as short as possible. Sorry in advance for the grammer...i'm rushing!

So, just incase your not aware. I shared my stand at Grand Designs with snowhome. I showed embrace and snowhome had the word map. A nice collaboration between Angus @ snowhome and Alison Hardcastle, Click here to view.

This was my first time at Grand Designs so I didn't really know what to expect. The biggest difference with this show to the others I have done is that this is a Retail show rather than a trade show. So I was expecting to be selling direct to customers, market stall style! Man......what a rollercoaster. I don't think I'm cut out for market stalls, too stressful.

To sum up the show: the first few days there were no embrace sales (Maps were moving slowly) and then mid-way through the show I found myself up on stage with Kevin McCloud being presented with the Grand Designs 'Highly Commended' Award for Product of the Year 2011. (a pic of me on stage will follow at some point). After this Embraces started to sell like Hot Cakes. Good show in the end.

9 days was a long long slog, but ont he bright side it gave me enough time to chat to some of the other exhibtors and I met some great designers you should check out: JamesUK, Tandem, and AssemblyRoom

Sorry the pictures aren't too good, i was hoping for much better but the poor lighting made it difficult!

Right I have 23 embraces to pack up now for collection in the morning, a coat stand prototype to finish off and my bags to pack for New York, I'm sensing an all nighter on it's way :( at least I can sleep on the Plane.

Highly Commended

2011-05-05T14:35:00.001-07:00

Embrace = Highly commended for the Grand Designs Product Design Awards 2011.......NICE!

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Edgware Rd,Paddington,United Kingdom

Grand Designs LOVES

2011-05-02T03:22:00.001-07:00

Nice little present from the organisers of grand design last night! It was nice to chat with organisers of the show and hear that Grand Designs LOVES embrace! :)
(Appologies for the GASH photo's. I'll get some nice ones on the SLR asap).

So......If your in the London area and would like to pick up a bargain on an embrace, then get your self to Grand Designs. For this week only I'm offering a SHOW PRICE for all orders and sales made at the show....upto £100 off! This was never intention, but I have been here 2 days now and not sold 1 table. I've soon found out that the visitors to this show will not part with their cash unless your offering a show price. So it's day 3 and within 20mins I had sold 2 tables.

This offer willl not extend past the show, and just so you know, I'm accepting all major credit cards :).

I'm on with it:

2011-04-29T23:28:00.000-07:00

Every time I do an exhibtion it always seems that I have loads to do 2 days before it starts. And I always end up working stupid hours and forgetting what I've done. So I've decided to document a few of my goings on from my iphone 2 days before my show at Grand Designs.

It's not to moan about what I'm doing but just to document stuff, so that I have a record of what I've been doing and stupid hours and locations I'm doing them in. See a few I'm on with it posts below.

I'm in with it: 7

2011-04-29T13:36:00.001-07:00

Man I'm getting tired! (2am) Just printing some last minute tags for the embraces I dropped off at Grand Designs yesterday! Hopefully I'll be selling a few and will be putting these to use! Once these are done I'll be heading home to pack for London & NYC. Not looking at many hours sleep!

Train at 7 in the morning back to London! cheers! See you at the show!
- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Diamond St,York,United Kingdom

I'm on with it 6

2011-04-28T10:13:00.001-07:00

Grand Designs is set up now! Just embarking on my 4 hour trip home! It doesn't really feel right building the stand and then leaving it again, but the Royal Wedding has left me with no choice, the hotel prices for tonight were HUGE. SO I'm heading back to york and I will get the Train back down hear on Saturday morning for when the show opens.
Instead of street parties tomorrow morning I will be indoors finishing off my things for ICFF New York!

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Sandstone Ln,East Ham,United Kingdom

I'm on with it: 5

2011-04-28T00:48:00.001-07:00

Just arrived at the Excel centre ready to set up for Grand Designs! Definitely set off this
Morning at 4am and now I'm queuing to get in! Just what I want!
- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Seagull Ln,East Ham,United Kingdom

Im on with it: 4

2011-04-27T22:39:00.001-07:00

Good Morning A1. Best part of Setting off at 4am......sunrise!
- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Oakham,United Kingdom

I'm on with it: 3

2011-04-27T15:32:00.001-07:00

Setting off to Grand Designs at 4am. Currently 2am and I'm weeding vinyl.....cheers!
- Posted from my iPhone
Location:Healey Wood Rd,Halifax,United Kingdom

I'm on with it 2

2011-04-27T09:10:00.001-07:00

laser cutting some nice Oak market style price tags for Grand Designs.
- Posted from my iPhone
Location:Bootham Crescent,York,United Kingdom

I'm on with it: 1

2011-04-27T08:56:00.001-07:00

Quick spray Job prepping prototypes for NYC before I set off for Grand Designs.

- Posted from my iPhone
Location:Bootham Crescent,York,United Kingdom

EMBRACE OWNERS CLUB

2011-04-20T06:39:00.001-07:00

Another one for the embrace owners club / andrex advert. Thank you heather for sending in the pic. Enjoy the puppy!

IN THE PRESS

2011-04-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

A nice feature for the Pantone Wallstore in this month's living etc.

MILAN

2011-04-15T13:58:00.001-07:00

The above image is the Ex.T advert for their new range currently on show in Milan. See my product "standard" on the ground floor. Nice!

GRAND DESIGNS LIVE

2011-04-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

I will be exhibiting at Grand Designs Live, I know, I know........this is stupid especially after confirming ICFF, Grand Designs Live runs from 30 April - 8th May at the London Excel Centre, this gives me Monday 9th of May to get back up North (home), do some washing, re-pack and then on the 10th of May I leave for New York in time to set up ICFF. So may is going to be a busy one.

A few people have said to me I'm mad, and they are probably right!

Grand Designs is a public show, so I'll be selling embrace direct to the public at a special show price. Snowhome has sponsered my stand, and in return for the sponsership I will be displaying a new product that Angus (owner of snowhome) has been working on with Alison Hardcastle (ex snowhome employee and illustrator) check out Alison's work here: http://www.alisonhardcastle.com/ . It's a nice collaboration!

I look forward to seeing you there!

ICFF

2011-04-10T17:56:00.000-07:00

New York. Over the past 18 months since Embrace has been in production I have had lots of demand from the US. However my ability to gain a cheap shipping price for shipping to the US has stopped most potential orders.

This year I have decided to exhibit at ICFF, New York in search of US distribution. Since visiting micky mouse in Florida as a young kid I have always wanted to return to the US. And since being aware of product and furniture design, ICFF is one of the shows I have always wanted to visit. So as you can guess, I'm pretty excited about this one.

Unfortunately I will not be launching any brand new products at this show, as I want to make sure that embrace is the main focus, and that I get every little detail correct. To add some colour to my stand I will also be showing the Pantone Wallstore.

EX-T

2011-04-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

So.......there has been 100's of enquiries about this product over the past few months, when will it be in production? How much will it cost? Where can I buy one?

It's finally here, standard has been signed off to a new Italian design brand called Ex-t. Ex-T will be exclusively manufacturing and distributing 'standard' worldwide and will launch it along with 12 other new products at their flagship store on via Tortona 34, during Milan Design Week. April 12-17.

It's a massive shame for me not to be able to get out there for the official launch, but my wallet is totally empty after forking out for New York & Grand Designs at the end of this month :(

The good news is im currently prototyping a wall mounted version of standard and a couple of products to come under the standard broom stick inspired range, so keep your eye's peeled.

Just for the crack

2011-04-06T15:33:00.001-07:00

Still emptying out the studio, thought it would be funny to try x2 small Embraces together. Just for the crack!

- Posted from my iPhone Location:Grosvenor Terrace,York,United Kingdom

Happy Customer

2011-04-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

Amidst all the stress's of moving studio and struggling to find storage space for too many prototypes, a few emails have put a smile on my face today. The first from Rob. A happy 'Woodskin' customer. Rob says:

"I follow your blog and occasionally see people send in pics of your products and while i cant afford the embrace or any other your other creations at the moment I hope one day I will! (I am debating the standard when it is available) however i thought i would send you a pic of something i can afford".

Thanks for this Rob and don't worry, I can't afford many of my pieces neither. The one thing I have always said to myself is to: "never design what you can't afford"..............I'm still trying to master this.

The second was an order for an embrace from somebody with a great address:

For anybody that isn't aware, that's the Isokon building. See info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isokon

I really hope this owner sends in a nice pic of the embrace in situ.

I really enjoy the fact that an embrace will be situated in such an iconic design building. I also enjoy the fact that embrace was designed for a university brief to design a modern take on the penguin donkey. A product that was designed for Isokon by Egon Riss, a former resident in the Isokon building. :)

THE LAST ONE HERE

2011-04-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I'm currently coming to the end of what has been an exhausting all-nighter, (forgive any spelling mistakes now). I have been packing my crate for my exhibition in New York, and then checking it over and over and over and over......and over to make sure that I haven’t forgotten anything. The show, ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) isn't until 14th of May but my crate has to leave this morning to get the slow boat (cheapest form of transport). I think it's so hard for me to pack up because I never do anything this far in advance. If you know me well you will understand. (check out the crate above, thought I'd put the fixie in to give you some ref/scale...and because I havn't blogged it once in the 2 years I've had it).

Another reason for the all-nighter.......My crate for New York isn't the only thing I've been packing up........My 2 year contract for DesignWorks @ York St John University has finally come to an end. The uni has been amazing to me, it's where I studied and found my passion for product design for 3 years and for the last 2 years (straight form graduation) it has been the backbone of my career so far as a designer. Without YSJ I could not of done what I have done.

Every prototype I have ever made has been here, every exhibition I have done has been built and tested in the H-U-G-E studio space we have here. I will never lose touch with YSJ and DesignWorks, after all it is the birthplace of 'embrace' and we all know how important that is.

I officially leave the studio space in DesignWorks on 6th April (this weds), I will be relocating my studio into the tiny but neat backrooms of snowhome. A 2 minute walk from YSJ. I still plan to utilise the YSJ prototyping facilities the best I can over the next few years/until I can afford my own. Although the thought of leaving DesignWorks makes me sad the prospect of moving to Snowhome makes me excited, things have to move on and I think it's finally time for me to move to the next level. (above images show design works right now 5am monday morning....me packing for ICFF and Grand Designs and moving out all happening this month)
Look out for more johngreen & snowhome collaborations.

STOCK

2011-04-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all, just to let you know I've had a nice new delivery of embraces. All finishes in good stock and a nice few images to go with it.

OFF CUT'S

2011-04-03T21:42:00.000-07:00

Check this out, some the lads were hacking up a pallet in the workshop to helping me out to build my case for New York. I picked up these little off cuts in the workshop. Great coasters......wonder if it's been done!

WELL PACKED

2011-03-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

When I received this yesterday, it put a smile on my face. Firstly because the embrace that was inside it was in absolute perfect condition and secondly because it confirms my packaging is actually worth the whole £6 I spend on it. The image shows the box that took my embrace from the UK to Germany for the Red Dot awards where it was taken out, judged and then packed up and sent from Germany back to the UK.

Incase you were wondering.......no, I didn't win. But I did win free entry, you wouldn't catch me paying over a £100 to enter a competition.

LIVING ETC INDIA

2011-03-15T07:41:00.001-07:00

Living Etc.. India. Nice! It's a great read as well.....who knew I would be reading Indian magazines when I don't even read the English ones.

EMBRACE OWNERS CLUB

2011-03-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a great few snaps that were kindly sent to me by an Italian customer called 'Tomaso'. Tomaso looks to have a very cool house and it looks like he certainly reads the right books.

John Green D - SPACE

2011-03-12T15:55:00.000-08:00

A few snaps of my timeline style exhibition at D-Space.

BATCH 02

2011-03-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

Lots of packing and sending going on lately catching up on back orders as the first part of BATCH NO. 2 arrives in the studio. A quick snap of the B-E-A-UUUUUUUUUUTTTIIIFFFUUULL walnuts that have come with this batch, these are the best I've ever seen, i'd be proud to be the owner of one of these myself........one day......next to my walnut eames lounger and ottoman.

Also a quick snap of the results from the new debossing stamp on a birch embrace, (the old one was getting a bit worn).

OPEN EVENING

2011-02-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

Man, it's been a hectic 48 hours getting a 'standard' made for the opening of my exhibition at D-Space in Barnsley. You may be wondering why I don't already have one, since i launched it at 100% design back in September. The original prototype is now out in Italy somewhere visiting various manufacturers for a good quote, as soon as I returned from 100% 'standard' had been signed off to an Italian design brand who plan to distribute it worldwide....a post to come on this soon.

Anyway, the open evening was a success I had every product I've ever done on show and they seemed to be enjoyed by everybody there. A few free glasses of wine were had and then Corin Mellor opened the exhibition with a nice lengthy speech, and then next thing I know I'm doing a small speech! Haha.

Above are a few pics of the opening event taken by: Gavin Joynt (www.gavinjoynt.co.uk). Thanks to everybody that came, I hope you enjoyed it. Also a massive thanks to Patrick Murphy for selecting me and making the exhibition happen.

D-SPACE

2011-02-16T09:14:00.000-08:00

Ambiente and Frankfurt is finally over...........what a show! I've never ever been to an exhibtion so big, I can only describe it as disney world florida. A lot to take in..............Anyway as promised here is a little post about my current exhibition in Barnsley at the DMC, in the D-Space gallery.

I visited Barnsley for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I went to have a look at the exhibition space and was pleasantly suprised to see that the exhibition was going to be housed in the building below:

D-Space is a 12 month programme with various creatives exhibiting over the year each with a 6 week time slot. I was invited to open D-Space with the first 6 week slot.

Info:
D-Space is a contemporary gallery at the DMC in Barnsley. It is dedicated to showcasing digital innovation through the work of emerging and established regional, national and international artists, designers and makers. Our programme of exhibitions and events is designed to provide a platform for new ideas, collaboration, knowledge transfer and networking.

Opening Times:
10am - 4pm, Monday to Friday.
9th Feb - 18th March
Entry is FREE.

My exhibition will be officially opened on the 23rd of Feb by the inspirational designer Corin Mellor: (http://www.davidmellordesign.com/whoWeAre/cmBiography.php) I'm a fan of his plywood work.

The room is 12meter squared and the biggest space I've been allowed to fill, I think the results are great, I have laid out every single peice of work i have ever done since graduation in a timeline style, showcasing my portfolio from 2008 until Now.

Unfortunately the above image is the only one that i have, but as soon as i get a chance to get over there I will get some uploaded.

PRESS

2011-02-15T00:53:00.000-08:00

It's busy here in the studio and my head is manic thinking about the arrival of the batch no.2 of embraces, the exhibition at the DMC and the fact that I still need to make a 'standard' for it, and to add to the pressures I have just had it confirmed that I will be exhibiting at both Grand Designs Live (LONDON) 30th April - 8th May and also ICFF (NEW YORK) 14-17 May.

Whilst I fill head is filling up with stress just thinking about the coming months I thought i'd off load a few recent press cuttings:
Ideal Home - Sept/10
Cabinet Maker - Oct/10
Concept for Living - Nov/10
Neo2 - Oct/10 (Spain)
Homestyle - May/10 (Philippines)
DDN Free - Dec/10 (Italy)
Evening Standard - Dec/10
The Sunday Times - Dec/10

Grand Designs - Jan/11

Azure - Jan/11 (Canada)

ARRIVED

2011-02-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

Arrived in Frankfurt today after a manic Week. The week began with me moving house (always easier said than done) and then I had to set up a solo exhibition at the Barnsley DMC in a new area called D:Space. This exhibition runs for 6 weeks and opened it's door on Wednesday 9th of Feb! (more info and pics to come on this very soon). And finally I got the plane this morning to Frankfurt to go and view the Ambiente Exhibition.

Image above of the FREE inflight refreshments, it's been a while since I havn't taken a budget airline so as you can imagine I'm excited about the FREE beer and salami sandwich.

Auf Wiedersehen.

- Posted from my iPhone

Location:Düsseldorfer Straße,Frankfurt,Germany

LOVE DOVES MANUFACTURE

2011-02-07T04:15:00.000-08:00

A quick snap of the laser in action. NICE!

PRODUCT TESTING

2011-01-26T02:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd test the strength of embrace with a spot of indo-boarding. Test successful! Don't worry embrace has had a much more thorough testing than this and I know it's absolutely solid, well it takes my 15 stone weight jumping up and down on it! And it's a brilliant sledge!
PLEASE NOTE: This was an extremely scratched embrace that the delivery driver dropped from his fork lift, do not try this at home! :)

LOVE DOVES

2011-01-25T03:35:00.000-08:00

(DELAYED POST) It was the begining of Decmeber and I was feeling christmasy and creative. Check this out, a quick product designed exclusivly for snowhome, laser cut baubles, flat packed so they can be sent to your loved ones anywhere in world. First exclusive batch sold out in a week! I plan to design a few more things down this line later in the year.

W O O D S K I N S

2011-01-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

Here's the WOOD SKIN a collaboration with an old uni friend Rich. Rich works in a huge graphic design studio and his studio has just had a full re-furb of new iMacs. Rich decided he wanted his mac to stand out at work and turned up one night with some wood effect vinyl he wanted cutting for his screen. To be honest i'm not much of a fan of this as I love the mac as it is, but anyway I gave him a hand with the technical side of things and couldn't bare to see him wasting the HUGE square in the middle of the screen. Here I go again designing with waste. So anyway, I quickly measured my iphone and cut 20 iphone skins from the centre screen, instantly applied it to my phone thought to myself this would sell!

As I always do when the light bulb pings I do a quick google, only to find there are loads and loads of these out there, all different brands all different qualities. But as seen as though we had got 20 from the screen centre and rich had bought all this vinyl we decided to cut the rest of them and focus on some nice packaging!

So the WOODSKIN is not essential and hardly protects your iPhone (it doesn't do a bad job of protecting the back of the iPhone 4), but it's easy to apply and it leaves no trace when removed. We trialed the woodskins in snowhome over xmas and they have been successful.

If i'm totally honest I'm not sure how much I like them, I have one on my phone, and it looks nice, but I occasionally take it off and remember how nice a design the iphone is without it. Finally, I'm not claiming to have been original with this product, and I won't be adding it to my portfolio, but the one thing I will take ownership of is the packaging design. 110gsm tracing paper envelopes, printed in the studio with a nice veneer swatch stuck to the front, utilised from the waste vinyl cut out for the centre button.

For more info or to buy visit: www.woodskins.co.uk

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S

2010-12-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

I'm home.........well i've been back for around a week now and it's been great to take the rest! I went home with the following xmas to-do list:

1. see family and friends = check

2. go sledging = check

3. get drunk and eat lots of home cooked food = check

4. go on some big dog walks = check

5. do some work (develop a few designs) = NOPE!

When I return to the studio I will probably feel bad about this, but for now it feels good and well deserved! I've spent the majority of the time at my mums new house, she has only been in 2 weeks and they have NO INTERNET, I can't remember the last time I was somewhere without internet, I must say i have enjoyed it, but it's good to be back online!

So as you can see my mum lives at the top of a huge hill, and for the first couple of days there was lots of snow, so I got some good sledging action in. But then the weather got warmer and all the snow went, so I set about steeling my younger brother and sisters christmas presents to make up for the lack of sledging and internet. Below is a quick stop frame of my favourite, the RipStik (www.ripstik.com). Hours of fun! And nicely photographed by my little bro. Cheers Dom.

So apologies for the delayed Christmas post, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody!

I'd also like to to take this opportunity to say thank you to everybody who has supported me and been involved with my designs through 2010. It means alot to me, and I couldn't do what I do without your support.

Again thanks, Merry Christmas and I'll see you in what I plan to be a very creative 2011.

HANGERS

2010-12-20T18:35:00.000-08:00

The results of a busy day cutting hangers that have been requested by various people over the last few months, although I have known about these for a while it has been hard to fit them in, I hope the royal mail don't let me down in getting them there on time. I presume they are for christmas presents. Being so responsible for getting the gifts out, is making me feel a bit like an elf!

I've also added a few close-up snaps of the hand screen printed boxes with some low sun on them as seen as though it's christmas :)

WOODSKIN*

2010-12-14T17:58:00.000-08:00

Another late night in the studio and a quick collaboration with designer/friend Rich Storey. A bigger blog post to come in the new year!

IN USE

2010-12-11T19:03:00.000-08:00

I've just been around at Angus's (snowhome owner) doing a spot of puppy & kid sitting while he went out for a few festive drinks. This is the first time i've seen an embrace truly in situ and truly being used by somebody else that isn't family! It looks great and was a great feeling to see.

This is actually one of my early prototypes cold pressed and hand finished. I'm really surprised it's held up! Although on close inspection I'm not sure you could say it has. But it certainly looks cool in use and with puppy teething marks down the side!

FESTIVAL OF ANGELS

2010-12-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

Just been out for my first round of christmas shopping after work and on my way home walked by the ice sculptures! NICE! Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live in York, as they sure don't have them back home, and if they did they wouldn't last too long!

SUNDAY TIMES

2010-12-07T18:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy beginning to the week for me here in the studio, packing and sending, packing and sending. So busy that stock is now running very low, and the big freeze is making it hard for me to get more stock in. (fingers corssed I will receive a delivery pre xmas). I think the influx of orders might have something to do with the above image, a nice surprise for me on sunday (I know what your thinking, he's too young to read the times.....don't worry! I was informed of the good news!......although, I must say, I really enjoyed the nature photography section of the paper, maybe I'll become a regular reader).

snow

2010-12-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

Embrace in the snow.....why not!

A R I A

2010-11-29T08:30:00.000-08:00

Nice shop photoshoot from Aria including an oak embrace. Aria is a great design shop based in Islington, London. (just off upper street).

www.ariashop.co.uk

'standard' in the evening standard

2010-11-10T14:56:00.001-08:00

GONE GLOBAL

2010-11-04T18:11:00.001-07:00

For well over a year now I have been using google analytics to see my website statistics. Most visited page, referring websites, keywords used to find the site etc... etc... But the one thing I check weekly and sometimes daily is the map overlay (see image above) I can't get enough of it, it feels so rewarding for some reason to know that people are visiting my site overseas.

5.10.10 - 5.11.10 = 5086 website visits coming from 82 different countries. Nice!

i've been blogged

2010-11-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to thank all of those bloggers that direct traffic to my site daily. It really counts and i thank you for writing about me. Here's a few of the blogs that have featured me lately.

Remodelista / Remodelista2

This list could go forever, and sorry for those that didn't get a mention, but this is the top 10 today on the 200 long list of referrals. I seriously cannot thank you enough, I think bloggers create more traffic than the good old magazines these days!

pantone wallstore in situ

2010-10-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

Nice snap of the wallstore here in an ideal home shoot! Thanks Ellie

standard

2010-10-08T01:46:00.000-07:00

100% Design

2010-10-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

I'm back! what a week! well, actually......what a month!

I can't beleive how fast september has gone! 2 new products, 3 all nighters, 10 LATE nights, 1 near death experience driving to London with NO sleep and 1 H U G E exhibition, That pretty much sums up September. Now I'll be spending the next few weeks running through the million and one emails in my inbox!

A few people to thank after this last month:
Angus, cheers for the time off, it helped.
Jonny, cheers for your hands in the workshops. (& mark & si)
Tom, cheers for sharing everything on the exhibition front made things easier.
Grabs, cheers for the help on the stand
Dad, thanks for everything!
Jessy, thank youuuu

100% futures

2010-09-23T11:11:00.001-07:00

I'm up!

- Posted from my iPhone

Packing for the show

2010-09-20T17:08:00.001-07:00

Thanks for the help jessy! Check out simple in bubble

- Posted from my iPhone

BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY BUSY

2010-09-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

www.last-minute.com........there's nothing like a bit of last minute design!

These next few days pre-show are going to be manic, so much to do with so little time. I'm currently doing an all nighter to get a flyer and stand designed so that in the morning I can send it off for print and build my stand.

Above is a few sneaky peaks of prototyping, I'm not going to give the product away just yet!

GET YOURSELF TO 100% DESIGN (EARLS COURT) NEXT WEEK TO SEE THE NEW PRODUCTS!

100% DESIGN - NEW PRODUCTS

2010-09-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

With only 2 weeks until the show it's getting manic in the workshop trying to get new prototypes ready. Here's a sneak peak/clue of what you may see me launching. I say "may" because I'm not big time (yet!) and my stand is only small, so trying to decide what products to put on the stand without over crowding is becoming a difficult one.

If your visiting LONDON in the next few weeks be sure to come along and check out my work. I'll be launching at least one new product and showcasing some of the equally as important existing ones too:

Stand K119

100% Futures

Earls Court, London

23-26 September 2010.

express delivery

2010-08-26T12:46:00.000-07:00

I'M BACK

2010-08-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

It feels like it's been forever......but I'm back after a great 9day bike ride and 5 days in the surf! Now i'm back and fully refreshed I have my mind set on 100%. There is only 5 weeks to go until the show and I have LOTS to do! So this blog post is staying nice and short, stay tuned for prototyping updates!

To see how things went on the 'top2bottom' bike ride, visit:
top-2-bottom.blogspot.com

TOP2BOTTOM

2010-07-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

So it's time for the annual holiday and this year it's going to be a special one! I've decided for some reason to challenge my self by attempting the epic cycle trip from John O'Groats (the most North-Easterly point of Scotland) to Land's End (the most South-westerly point of England). It's a 1000 mile bike ride the full length of the UK, TOP 2 BOTTOM! We will be attempting the trip in 9 days, and it's all in the name of Charity.

Me and 2 other friends will be embraking on the trip and hoping to raise money along the way for Neurosurgical Research. The reason being that my Sister Debbie Green passed away 5 years ago now at the age of 22, due to a bloogclot in her brain. She was kept in intensive care at the Leeds Hospital in the Neuro Ward. The money raised will be going towards better and advancing their equiptment.
If you'd like to sponser us feel free to visit our donation webpage:
http://www.justgiving.com/top-2-bottom

We've also set up a blog that will document our trip down the UK, we'll be uploading pictures and general crack straight from our iPhones along the way. (battery permitting). Visit the blog here:
http://top-2-bottom.blogspot.com/

So once we finish the trip at Lands End, a beer or 2 will be had and then we will head back up the south west coast 30 miles to meet the rest of our pals who will have set up camp in Newquay for the boardmasters festival. Here I will spend 5 days in the Surf in the various bays around newquay! NICE!

EMBRACE FOR KIDS

2010-07-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Back in December I gave my Dad an embrace for Christmas. And when all the family gathered at his house for some festive fun I noticed my niece sat playing on the embrace, using the small table as a bench and the larger one as a desk. Right then I knew it would make a great photo, so when my niece was visiting the studio for the day I thought I'd get some quick snaps. Thanks for the modeling holly :).

HEALS OF LONDON

2010-07-08T23:30:00.000-07:00

I made a quick trip to the capital this week to visit New Designers. The show was good as always but as it was about 39 degrees in the BDC I had to get out and go for a walk! This gave me the chance to grab a frappe latte and visit some of the big design stores! Whilst walking around Heals I noticed something familiar!

While the above pictures are cool, the best pic was of the wallstores hung next to an Eames 'Hang it all' coat rack. But for some reason the iPhone decided to save the image as a big black square. I suppose apple can't do everything right ;)

www.heals.co.uk

FRESH SITE

2010-07-01T03:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.johngreendesigns.co.uk/ takes a long atticipated fresh new look ready for a new portfolio of work to be uploaded. (stay tuned)

SEARCHING FOR STOCKISTS

2010-06-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

I'm currently searching for stockists to take on EMBRACE. Being a salesman is something i've been avoiding since the launch of embrace back in September, and as my TODO list grows with new products to be designed & developed ready to be launched @ LDF, I'm finding less time to try and sell.

I will dedicating one day a week over the next month to be calling a selected range of stockists, that i'd like to deal with. So all you NICE retailers out there expect a phone call.

If you are a NICE design retailer and are reading this, get in touch.

CABINET MAKER

2010-06-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

A nice little email from designer/friend Jason Platten to let me know he stumbled upon an article in the Cabinet Maker magazine with my name on it. A nice little article and biut of publicity for embrace, but I'm not sure it's complimented by the products surrounding it! errrggggghhh is how I would describe some of them.

TARGETBOARD

2010-06-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

The targetboard. A simple magnetic notice board, target board and drywipe surface. Fun and practical! The target board has been designed exclusively for snowhome. www.snow-home.co.uk

The reverse of the targetboard is fitted with a hanging device that not only gives the board a nice shadow gap but allows it to be hung horizontal or vertically.

The arrows are made from natural bird feathers and perfectly, NICE!

For more info and images see the targetboard page on my website: http://www.johngreendesigns.co.uk/work/Pages/targetboard.html

clOck

2010-06-05T16:47:00.000-07:00

So here's a blog post on that surprise product as promised! clOck. This is another product that came about as a result of 'designing with waste' in my student days, when I was too tight to scrap even the smallest bits of wood.

The clock comes neatly packed into a standard 12" pizza box, which I painstakingly printed on some textile beds last week (not recommended, it's hard work). If you clikc on the image and zoom in, you should be able to check out the small wages envelopes I utilised for the screw&plug.

I made a limited batch of the clock's and since showing the them at Create10 there are only 2 remaining. The remaining clocks are available through my webshop for a bargain price of £20. CLICK HERE to visit the webshop.

FLOWER GRENADE

2010-05-31T16:35:00.001-07:00

Here's the results of an early snow-home collaboration. Around about 12 months ago now when I had just started at snowhome, we developed the flower grenade! Some of you who remember my uni portfolio will remember the 'Eco-Pac' I developed for Kettle Chips, a crisp packet that when buried into the ground fully bio-degrades and grows a flower (maybe I'll dig that out and blog it soon). Well, anyway, the flower grenade is not much different!

Inspired by the Guerilla gardening culture this hollow (unfired) clay grenade is packed full of seeds and nutrients so that when launched it explodes and grows into a flower. The unfired clay simply melts in the rain and provides further nutrients for the growing plant.

The flower grenade is now manufactured and distributed by SuckUK and maybe found in many retailers around the UK (not sure about worldwide due to the wild flowers etc...). Although the graphic and packaging design has been somewhat developed it's still nice to see the product finished and on the shelves.

For more info see:

http://www.suck.uk.com/product.php?rangeID=145

CREATE10 - Designworks

2010-05-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

Above is a quick look at the DesignWorks stand at this years Create10 (as promised). As I feature my work on the blog all the time I thought i'd show you the work of some of the other residents at DesignWorks.

image 1: DesignWorks Stand

image 2: Pantone Wallstore (John Green)

image 3: Light I + Thee Apple (Tom Stanley)

image 4: Clock (John Green)

image 5: DesignWorks Stand

image 6: Grow Frame (Andrew Martin)

image 7: Pantone Wallstore (John Green) 3 Fold (Andrew Martin)

A SNEAK PEEK

2010-05-19T04:09:00.000-07:00

This week is the week of 'create10'. The degree show at York St John University, where I'm still based in my studio within the 'DesignWorks' residents space.

Every year at the show the residents also show some of their latest work. However, because I'm focusing on new products to be launched this September during the LDF, I will not be showing any BRAND NEW products. Instead, I've put a little bit of time into creating a limited edition run of an old design from my student days. I'll keep the product a secret until the show (although it's pretty obvious through the image above). I will also be showing the finished Pantone wallstores (by SELETTI) and Embrace (both now available through various UK retailers).

Here's a sneak peek of the packaging of that secret product! Once the show is underway, I'll will blog the product and make it available through my webshop: http://johngreendesigns.bigcartel.com/

Embrace in the Design Museum

2010-05-12T05:30:00.000-07:00

For one night only you will be able to see Embrace in the Design Museum.

I'm proud to announce in aid of charity I have donated one OAK embrace to be used as one of the Golden Tombola Prizes at tomorrows (13th may) Spring Awakening event to be held at the Design Museum, London. For more info visit: www.nat.org.uk/springawakening

Tickets to the event are £75 and include a sparkling evening of champagne, canapés and the chance to WIN an Embrace among some other great prizes.

Pantone Wallstore

2010-04-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Last week I received a nice big parcel from SELETTI. I've finally got finished samples including the packaging, and I have to say i'm impressed, especially with the reverse print (see middle image). It's nice to see my name printed on the product and the packaging.

I'm just in the process of taking some pics for the site but here's a few teasers.

MASS PRODUCED

2010-04-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

COURIERS

2010-04-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

forget the NYC couriers and their cool fixed gears. Check out this York courier taking an embrace on his bike. And to add to that he's got a £450 Artemide float light on the other side. NICE, I just hope it's as safe on there as it is in the back of a white van!

Sitting Pretty

2010-04-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

I received a nice image from one of my customers of their embrace in situ. It was a nice feeling to see an embrace that isn't in the workshop.

Now I've received this image I feel the urge to ask all the other embrace owners out there to send in their mages. SO..........if your reading this post, then please feel free to send in a pic of your embrace in situ. Please send them to: jg@johngreendesigns.co.uk

Maybe I'll email a few of you. :)

Objectified Birthday

2010-04-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

I've just received my birthday present courtesy of Angus at snowhome. As you can see he's put a little thought into it, and come up with a selection of gifts that have been evidently well designed, each product in the box is still mass produced and remained unchanged in its design since it's original creation. 'VERY Objectified' as we would normally say.

Each object was carefully packed into a nice Kraft box with an insert labeling each object and linking it to the web where possible.

Cheers Angus

- Posted from my iPhone

SHOP

2010-03-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

While I'm currently on the hunt for new UK and EUROPEAN stockists of embrace, I thought it was about time I made good use of the internet myself and created my own outlet.

This is nothing special and currently only allows the purchase of embrace. However it's 100% secure and in the future I may upload seconds/damaged stock or even prototypes for all of you bargain hunters out there and to free up some space in the studio. (any discounted stock will be listed on here first, so be sure to check back)

Here's the link to my new shop: http://www.johngreendesigns.bigcartel.com/

And be sure to check the 'stockists' page on my website over the coming months to see if embrace is in a stockist near you!

BBC2

2010-03-17T09:12:00.001-07:00

Just arrived at the habitat hq in London to be filmed for a show called the buying game soon to be on your screens BBC2......anyway I've just parked the car next to some guy who is presenting the show. Can u guess who he might be????

Clue=dragonsden

- Posted from my iPhone

THE RESULTS

2010-03-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

TOO MUCH FREE CHAMPAGNE! A great evening in a great venue. It was a massive surprise on the night to find I'd not only been nominated for 'Best Furniture' but also the 'Young Designers award' and to also look around the room and see so many famous 'Design' faces. It was a good feeling to be stood with Sir James Dyson (and Jess) while my work was being played on the same showreel as his.

The results can be seen above along with a quick snap of Me and Max Lamb, (just for the crack). Max is a designer I've always aspired to, ever since my student days and it was great to finally meet him! See his work here: www.maxlamb.org

I don't know too much about Champagne, but after drinking a good bottle and half of Nicolas Feuillatte during the night I know I definitely recommend it.

I also thought I'd include the first page of the awards program as I enjoyed seeing my name in the same sentance as the big time designers!

http://www.homesandgardens.com/events/awards/classic/2010/295618/2010_furniture_award.html http://www.homesandgardens.com/events/awards/classic/2010/295613/2010_young_designer's_award.html

Homes and Gardens Design Awards - THE SHORTLIST

2010-03-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick snap from the this months Homes and Gardens Magazine showing the short list for the awards that I will be attending tomorrow at the V&A. I'm more than happy to have been shortlisted after seeing the this years competition. Some big influential names in there! Certainly not the kind of people I normally compete against.....more people/companies I look up to.