Alternative 2012 souvenirs

The organisers of east London festival Create commissioned design guru Thorsten van Elten to work with designers to create some ‘well-considered’ London souvenirs.

Donna Wilson has created a series of three Exercise Books – each featuring illustrations of people doing exercise (loosely relating, we presume to the Olympics).

André Klauser has created the Regents Domestic Bollard, a cast-iron, multi-purpose bookend/paperweight/doorstop based on the canalboat mooring bollards found on the Regents Canal.

Dominic Wilcox’s offering is Sound of Making, a vinyl record on to which the artist has recorded a series of makers, well, making things.

Highlights include ‘The sound of making an outfit for Lady Gaga in Hackney’, and ‘The sound of a book-binder at work in Walthamstow’.

Ed Carpenter has designed the rather charming Cockney Rhyming Badges (Ruby Murray, Vera Lynn etc) which will be available in sets of three, based on the subjects of food, work and, erm, swearwords.

Barnaby Barford, meanwhile, has created a set of five bone-china miniature houses, each depicting an east London home, shop or pub. Subjects include Bethnal Green café E Pellicci, and the Blind Beggar pub on Whitechapel Road, famed hangout of the Krays.

The Create souvenirs will be on sale in shops and online through the Create website from 21 June. For more information on Create visit createlondon.org