Given that in 2012 Helsinki will be crowned World Design Capital in mind, we already knew this city was strong on design. But these last few weeks it has been transformed into a hive of creative activities with the onset of Helsinki Design Week.

HDW centres on three main subjects: "biomimicry" (or observing how nature deals with things, and copying it), social innovation through participatory design and "the digital city", or how to put interactive technologies into use in an urban context.

Among the highlights is To Declare, an exhibition of products "with message" about climate change, water and eco-related issues, with displays conceived as contemporary art installations. An inspiring, suggestive visit where - according to the curator Kaj Kalin - the thread "is intuitive, our visitors will read between the lines".

Also, there is the tempting Design Market, a place to browse designer clothing, furniture and objects. And Habitare, the furniture and interior design fair.

And if you're thinking of heading over, don't forget the interesting parallel exhibits, some of them on Finnish designer's careers, past and present: See the review on Kaj Franck's ouvre for starters. Also check Finnish graphic design and poster art by the 6G group and Design Stories, an exhibition on the communal way of working by Musta Design. The menu goes on with many more courses of appetizing design, in galleries, open studio nights, seminars, lectures and so on, all topped off with HDW LIVE, a performative mix of music and top fashion design. All in all, a thrilling, brimming week.

Reduce, re-use, recycle. Reinvent. Hoxton Square concept store, KK Outlet, went on a mission to discover how differently we might work if we removed ourselves from the calculated world of machines and computers, for a change, and utilised our own hands and imaginations to create: A number of London's leading designers, artists and stylists were approached and challenged to repurpose everyday or found objects with this physicality in mind, creating entirely new items using as little additional materials as possible. Banana boxes transformed into bicycle mud-guards, paella pans into side tables, handle-bars into chandeliers, estate-agent signs into birdhouses, paintbrushes into coat hooks…and the list goes on.

As part of London's famed Design Week taking place in September, all the new creations will be on display at KK Outlet in a show entitled Object Abuse, and will feature pieces from the likes of Alexander Taylor, Dominic Wilcox, Michael Marriott, F.A.T, Peter Marigold and Max Lamb, to name a few. All the work is for sale through a silent auction, with the proceeds going to St Monica's of Hackney Primary School Art Department.

Next time, you'll think twice before you throw out those old wooden spoons.

Object Abuse is on at KK Outlet, 42 Hoxton Square, London, N1 6PB until 25 September.


Links:
http://www.kkoutlet.com/art/2011/object-abuse
http://www.alexandertaylor.com/collection/punch.html
http://www.dominicwilcox.com/
http://www.michaelmarriott.com/
http://fashionarchitecturetaste.com/
http://maxlamb.org/

Like Jake Dyson's previous highly-engineered wall and floor lights, the new CSYS LED Task Light shows  serious attention to detail. In this case Dyson has honed his attention on precision and control of heat, durability colour and the distribution of light. All while avoiding the environmental issues caused by the use of mercury in CFL, so better inducing an inner glow for the user too.

According to Jake, while LEDs always ran cooler than any other household lights, heat can still damage the diodes, so an efficient cooling system makes his new light last even longer. His solution - to incorporate heat pipes - normally used in laptops to stop them from burning our thighs - is a pretty smart one.

Beyond obscure technical details for experts, we can vouch that the CSYS is an LED lamp put together properly, with thought and style. And the best bit - because long life and coolness counts for nothing if it makes your light cold and harsh - this doesn't make our rooms look like fluorescent-lit fridges either.