We visited Top Drawer trade show this year and discovered some amazing products, here are some of our favourites:

You may have seen us tweet this video of Andrew Tanner’s creation; interactive Augmented Reality Wall plate ‘English Hedgerow’.

This product really does have to be seen to be believed. The beautiful design is based on the flora and fauna of English hedgerows and is brought to life using an iOS application that has been created by Unanico Group, to generate an augmented reality experience. The use of technology combined with a classic ceramic design by Andrew allows users to watch as birds and field mice scurry among the brambles, 
flies buzz, and butterflies flutter through the flowers.

Tapi, a ‘tap squeeze drink fountain’ created by Dreamfarm was one of our favourite finds of the day. Described as being a ‘fun and 
convenient drink fountain 
from your tap’ the product is useful and innovative. The Dreamfarm website features plenty more practical products to look at!

The wooden radio of the Magno-series from the designer Singgih Susilo Kartono is made by hand, piece by piece in a workshop in Indonesia. Singgih Kartono wants to “redefine the relationship of the user between the product” and revitalize craft industries and local skills, while using local sustainable materials. Read more about the radio’s here.

The Mirror Ball is back for it’s second year, the event will celebrate all that is Manchester with some of the city’s most favourite faces and will raise money for charity Forever Manchester.

The Mirror Ball 2012 is to be held at The Lowry Hotel on Friday 9th March and will be hosted by celebrity hairdresser and founder of the event Andrew Barn. TV presenter and actor Anthony Crank will compere the event.

NoChintz will be creating the décor for the event for the second year running, it is especially significant as our own Natalie Gray is an ambassador for the Forever Manchester charity.

Created in 2011 by Andrew to celebrate his 30th birthday and his recovery from a brain tumour, The Mirror Ball 2011 raised over £10k for Brain Tumour UK.

As a newly appointed Forever Manchester Ambassador, Andrew has chosen the local charity to be the sole beneficiary of the event in 2012.

For more information as to how to buy tickets please visit www.TheMirrorBall.org. For more news about special guests and raffle lots follow the Twitter at @The_Mirror_Ball or become a fan of Facebook at Facebook.com/TheMirrorBall.

We are delighted to announce that NoChintz have been shortlisted to be a finalist for ‘Work Placement of the Year’ at the National Council for Work Experience awards.

Dominic Beardwell, Operations Director; ‘We feel that work placements, internships and work experience opportunities are integral to the design industry and to be recognised at the NCWE awards is an honour for us.

Our placements are valued and become part of the team, this aspect is important to both staff and placements alike. In many cases placements bring a fresh outlook on projects, something that is always welcome at NoChintz.’

The winners of the awards will be announced at the presentation ceremonyin London on 20^th March.

We are pleased to reveal our work for Urban Splash’s Lakeshore development.

Our aim was to create a show apartment that combined a unique blend of modern luxury with traditional features in a bespokely fashion oriented scenario.

The high ceilings gave us plenty of scope for hanging giant trompe l’oeil printed canvases, whilst the contemporary floating glass dining table by Naughtone was complimented with a huge suspended vintage chandelier.

Throughout the rest of the space we incorporated the Moooi Bottoni sofa (complete with a structured built in bookcase) to divide the living and dining area. We used oversized outdoor furniture fitted within the corner balcony, creating an extra living area outside.

In both of the bedrooms we have continued the lavish furnishing with Persian rugs and soft colours on the walls. Throughout the master bedroom we used striking wall coverings to emphasise ‘his’ and ‘her’ sections for both the dressing area and bathroom.

The coffee table has vintage cigarette cards incorporated under the glass tops, refocusing the attention back to the history of the building, as the former Imperial Tobacco HQ offices.

Situated in Crox Bottom, Bristol, Lakeshore is a unique development of eco homes sitting over its own lake, the lake will be surrounded with lots of spaces to spend your time, including allotments, BBQ areas, an outdoor gym, nature trails and a boules/games area.

Studio, one and two bedroom apartments will be available, the grade II Listed building has 10 acres of green space and numerous eco features, including a ground source heat pump and biomass boiler heating system for more information visit the website here.

Leaning display shelves allowed awards to be displayed without fuss or clutter, and the new furniture transformed the space into a modern entrance.

Peter Masters worked with NoChintz to design a bespoke 16 square metre desking system which encourage staff to work and communicate as a single unit.

NoChintz also space planned and reconfigured the space, updated the kitchen area and provided window coverings.

mediaburst provide SMS products to assist their clients in promoting products and communicating with their customers.

(Photography by Haydn Rydings)

A while ago we blogged about our friends over at Our Studio, along with Northern Digitals holding a screening of ‘Urbanized’ the third part of Gary Hustwit’s design film trilogy.

The screening took place on the 19th January at The Deaf Institute and was a great success. All of the tickets were sold and the NoChintz team in attendance had a great time.

There was interesting debate following the screening about how we use Manchester as a city and what elements we would change or omit.

Urbanized joins Helvetica and Objectified in the trilogy, it is a feature-length documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.

We recently travelled to Florence, Italy for the Pitti Uomo trade show with Canterbury of New Zealand, to exhibit the stand we designed for the international clothing brand.

We created the stand to echo old school Rugby Clubhouses, complete with bitter pumps and snooker table. One of the main features is the wall installation of retro school chairs, designed to reflect the NZ collegiate influence on the clothing range.

We were delighted to collaborate with Canterbury of New Zealand again, we previously exhibited the stand at Bread & Butter in Berlin and were thrilled that it gained plenty of attention at our first year at Pitti Uomo.