Faceless Masterpiece - Gideon Rubin

Is it that time of year already? It seemed like only yesterday that Pullman, pulled up with the ultimate Man Cave. Descending on London, Masterpiece brought it's usual gaggle of dealers, collectors and collective millionaires to get down to the serious business of Ruinart-fuelled acquisition.

My favourite this year came from the world's oldest champagne house. Israeli born artist, Gideon Rubin was commissioned to create twelve iconic portraits on recycled Ruinart stock. Gideon's signature portraits omit facial detail, yet his subjects are instantly recognisable [and his paintings instantly desirable]. Only true icons need apply.

Sao Paulo and the Resin Gnomes

Typical, you wait for a gnome and ten come along at once.. After eight months of Design Trawling in Sao Paulo, I came across Coletivo Amor De Madre. Considered by many to be one of the best design stores in the country, the collective, run by Olivia Yassudo Faria also shares it's owner with the one of the countries best contemporary design galleries.

Alongside familiar objects seen in Moscow's DesignBoom, the collective store also exclusively represents a number of Brazilian designers and, unusually, commissions it's own works too. I particularly liked the resin gnomes pictured; reminiscent of the amazing jelly sculptures by Mauro Perucchetti and at a fraction of the Halcyon/Harrods price.

New Designers - His Remastered Voice

At the New Designers preview this week, rather embarrassingly I turned up on the wrong day. Greeted with an exhibition of the UK's most promising graduates in textiles, fashion and jewelry design, I recoiled at turning up at what was essentially the 'Ladies Day' of the London design scene.

Well it seems somebody else made the same mistake. Technically part of the glass and ceramic category, this contemporary gramophone style speaker blew me away. Paul Wearden's fully functioning 'invasion of sound' should have been exhibited alongside product, furniture and graphics, and I for one would love to see it put in to production.