With the weather we've been enjoying recently the last thing on our minds are April showers. However, it's always best to be prepared for that most typical of English weather phenomena so why not pop down to the first London Undercover pop up shop where you can find well made and wonderfully designed umbrellas.

Having collaborated with the likes of Selfridges and Manolo Blahnik this is a brand with fine taste and the store design reflects this with its stripped back style and carefully selected vintage props. The factory where London Undercover products are made serves as inspiration for the shop and founder Jamie Milestone says that "everything in store had just been completed and brought direct from there so we wanted that to be felt in the way they sit in a retail environment  - like final pieces just out of production". The durable nature of the product is reflected through industrial furniture.

The temporary store will stock limited edition umbrellas as well as the current collection of hats, scarves and bags and, as an extra special touch, they'll be offering a bespoke engraving service. Now is the time to visit the space and invest in a stylish accessory which will be protect you from the elements for many seasons to come.

Until 11th April 2012. 38 Monmouth Street, London WC2H.

Text by Thanh Ma

Pawson House, London, England, November 2009

New York, USA, August 2004

Renowned minimalist architect John Pawson has travelled the globe, using his sense of detail, light, space and texture to design Calvin Klein stores, a Cathay Pacific lounge in Hong Kong, private apartments, galleries and even a Cistercian monastery in the Czech Republic among many other wonderful things.

Never without his digital camera, he takes photographs each day to document ideas and moments which inform his work. Now Phaidon have published a collection of over 270 of those photos in A Visual Inventory. The monumental task of editing down from over 200,000 images has been well worth it and the book itself becomes an aesthetic pleasure. The images span the personal and professional, nature and artifice and show recurring themes in colour, form and texture.

In keeping with a minimalist approach, all the images are left uncropped and unaltered. With one photo and accompanying annotation on each page, the book is a document of the thoughtfulness and distinct world view of one of the most esteemed architects practising today.

Text by Thanh Ma

FUSE 5: 'Alphabet', poster and fonts by Paul Elliman

FUSE 16: 'Mega Family 2', poster and fonts by David Crow

Taschen have published a complete retrospective of the groundbreaking design and typography publication FUSE. To celebrate the release of FUSE20, all issues to date are collected together and showcase the most experimental and forward thinking work from the past two decades.

FUSE was founded in 1991 by design legends Neville Brody and Jon Wozencroft and this special edition features the work of other typographic innovators such as Erik Spiekermann, Stefan Sagmeister, Peter Saville, Jonathan Barnbrook and Tobias Frere-Jones. Viewed as a complete volume, the publication can be appreciated as having been truly revolutionary and ahead of its time.

Downloadable fonts and ten exclusive posters are also included within this collector's item box set offering a visual feast for connoisseurs as well as those looking for a comprehensive introduction to contemporary typography.

Text by Thanh Ma