This is the bit of film I did to go with the pavement studies.
Try and bear with me to the end.

Looking down in Hackney from Ally Capellino on Vimeo.

Looking down in Hackney - I've become obsessed with the patterns on the pavements.

India has taken to moulded plastic chairs like a duck to water. Maybe squatting is on the way out now. The chairs seem full of character and individuality and I had real trouble editing down to this little crowd.

life saver chair

shy petrol pump attendant chair

audience chairs

tribal medicine chair

bus station chairs

chair family

ATM chair

singleton chairs

old couple chairs

shy and less shy chairs

final serious chair.

It's hard to believe but there it is, down an alley behind some Victorian houses, less than 10 minutes walk from my house. The business is run by Daniel Harris - a hardy engineer - kitted out in a tweed boiler suit. The looms have all come from Scotland or the northern mill towns and his best one is made up from parts from 3 different machines.

Here's the annual look at the lovely leaves.

Her name is Morgan Myerscough

The return of the blogging – sorry, I’ve been busy with other stuff.

Inspired by the photo album that I found in Berlin, Aggie and I decided to take a trip on the 50th anniversary of the original journey: Berlin to Nessebar on the Black Sea. We started in Prague and I was excited to see the graphics so strong and so alive on the streets. I loved seeing photos and posters hanging up and somehow the language seems to lend itself to great graphics. I came back and bought a book about Czech Avant Garde book covers by the Josef Čapek which is full of inspiration.

Here are some beautiful toy/sculptures recently exhibited by Zoe and David in the Rossana Orlandi space in Milan. The sculptures combine re-appropriated objects and old toy parts. Some of them have articulated moving parts, allowing them to be configured in different ways.

I just had a trip to Cape Town with some friends and found something I've never come across before - ShweShwe. Here's the history. It's discharge printed from etched copper rollers onto cotton and comes in a heavy smelly wax to preserve it. On a great tour of Khayelitsha township I asked to find a fabric shop and managed to buy some.

The traditional way to use it is in a panelled skirt, some of the fabric was ready marked in the panels for easy sewing. Below are a few examples of ladies wearing their superior creations. After washing the wax disappears and the fabric softens up.

Maybe there is an alternative to bags.