Things We Like

Our weekly round up of things we like on the Design Week news desk.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Design Week is inordinately excited about seeing the new cinema adaptation of John Le Carré’s Cold War classic Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. The film has been getting rave reviews, with many critics praising Swedish director Tomas Alfredson for absolutely nailing the stuffy, smokey atmosphere of 1970s London – the set designs, costumes and cinematography seem to pull off the near-impossible trick of making the mundane seem glamourous. And Kathy Burke plays Connie! Cannot. Wait.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is in cinemas from 16 September.

Manzine

The fifth edition of Manzine, the biannual ‘publication about the male phenonomenon’, has hit shelves. From the cover, which features a winking Red Kite and the strapline ‘In praise of fit birds’, through to the content – articles about cable ties and the meaning of friendship and artist Stephen Walter’s Magnificent Map – the editorial team have pitched the tone absolutely perfectly. Tongue-in-cheek, witty, intelligent, often laugh-out-loud-funny, it’s the perfect antidote to boobs-cars-and-sharks-laden mainstream men’s mags. The editorial design by Warren Jackson is based around a cut-and-paste style reminiscent of early Private Eye, and throws colour sections, paper-stock changes, a wide range of fonts (hello Akkurat Mono!) and experimental page designs into the mix.

To get your hands on The Manzine visit http://www.themanzine.com

Canteen Covent Garden

Today sees the opening of the Covent garden branch of Canteen – a pop-up restaurant concept, marrying British food with British design in its Restaurant in Residence project. It will host a number of events during London Design Festival, complementing the restaurant’s focus on quality design, featuring the likes of Very Good & Proper’s Covent Garden Club chair, and lighting from Urban Cottage Industries.