Happy New Year from Daedalian Glass Design!
Over the last year we have all had our ups and downs. The economy continued to flounder despite Gordon's best efforts and saint Michael of Jackson, King of Pop™ died in not so unusual circumstances (for him anyway). The Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland re-started, bringing us one step closer to enlightenment/annihilation and of course Barry (as he is known to his friends), was sworn into the White House as the first Black President of the United States.
Of course to miss all that you would have to be living under a rock. However, only marginally less famous events you may not know are our highlights of 2009! Ok so our highlights are much less famous, but no less important (for us at least)!
In spring we completed work for 2 big corporate clients in the shape of Exxon Mobil and clients at Millbank Tower, London, both by designing and making signage for their buildings. For Exxon Mobil we delivered the second of 2, bespoke signs for their offices in Kazakhstan and in Millbank Tower we created new floor numbers in the lift lobbies on floors.
When summer came around we had completed 2 public works, the first at the new Lytham Hospital in Lancashire and the second at the regenerated Gladstone Conservatory in Stanley Park, Liverpool. Both were done in collaboration with non glass artists. The former created with Caro Inglis, a contemporary artist skilled in the combination of digital imaging technology and craft skills, to create art to reflect the local coastal area. The later developed from the original work by Isla Gladstone, local Liverpudlian artist, famed for floral prints during the arts and crafts movement.
During autumn and winter our standout projects were more art installations. At the Salthouse Harbour Hotel in Ipswich we developed in house and manufactured cladding for the lift shaft, to make a striking centre piece out of dominant architectural necessity; all made entirely from recycled glass. Just in time for Christmas, we also created a striking triptych of religious iconography for St Illtyd's church in Gwent, South Wales.
As well as making unique art and design for the great and good, we also found time to launch a new range of standard design products! Our new range of laminated doors and screens came to market in the final quarter of 2009 and has shown great promise, already being specified for private house renovation projects this year.
So despite not having an easy ride, like everyone else, we still have things we are happy to shout about. In this coming year we are looking to do even more and do it better. We will be releasing some new standard design products and in the coming months finishing work at the new Holiday Inn, Reading, the new Brooklands Hotel and The Savoy Hotel renovation.
We hope you will all have a successful and prosperous New Year and look forward to helping you realise your design ideas and projects.
All the best,
Tom Walmsley