by James Balston | Jun 29, 2010 | Architecture, Art, Travel
Today, museums and art galleries are as much about a brand as they are about the art they contain. The biggest brands, namely the Guggenheim, Tate and Louvre, have gone further than most, creating franchises, and bringing their glamour to such far flung outposts as... 
by James Balston | Jun 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
As the plane swoops out over the Mediterranean on its final approach to Perpignan, the great physical mass of the Pyrenees comes into view, cascading dramatically towards the sea, and forming an almost impenetrable barrier between France and Spain. In its foothills,... 
by James Balston | Jun 18, 2010 | Designers & Architects
This year saw the British Interior Design Association achieve Institute status, and is now known as the British Institute of Interior Design, a form of recognition it has been striving for, for years. During all my years as a designer, I was unaware of the... 
by James Balston | Jun 16, 2010 | Homes
Shortly after writing my last post, I watched a BBC4 documentary on the couturier, Valentino. The film was the “fly on the wall” type, following him over a period of a few weeks or months, and recording him at work on a new collection, interspersed with... 
by James Balston | Jun 7, 2010 | Homes, Uncategorized
There are so many different Londons, most of which overlap. Middle class Victorian “villages” cheek by jowl with council estates; scruffy high streets with their charity shops abutting newly gentrified strips with their cafes and delis;...