Giardino Mountain - The Snowy Peak of Design

It's not enough these days to install some quirky furniture and call yourself a design bar, hotel, health club or boutique. While it's true that design has become democratised, the term design has been devalued; becoming a synonym for wacky differentiation. Design is more than owning a Philippe Starck chaise; it's more than playing jazzy house in the elevators, and it's refreshing to see that people still recognise this.

Design Hotels, the association for genuinely great independent hotels has given it's seal of approval to the Giardino Mountain hotel in St. Mortiz. In a world of Heidi style log cabins and dusty grand hotels we flew in to see what the avantgarde property is doing differently. Read our full report on why the Giardino Mountain is the definition of what design all hotels should aspire to.

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Grains of Inspiration

What is it with rice? It gets it's own wine, paper, breakfast cereal and even when it does come in old fashioned grain variety, it commands its own storage. I don't see anybody turning fettuccine in to alcoholic beverages, or throwing macaroni around at weddings; well, not intentionally anyway.

Nonetheless, I picked up this humble rice keeper in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo and particularly like its honest, dovetailed construction. Finished with a leather fob on the lid, perhaps it's this understated simplicity that earns rice its status. It'd be entirely possible to create an interior with a grain of rice as the only inspiration. Simple, versatile, traditional, contemporary. The Room of Rice. You heard it here first.

A Little Bit of Linley

A little design guilt here, as I'm an eternal fan of the Viscount David Linley's store on the Pimlico Road. Marquetry watch boxes, cigar humidors, photos frames and gifts are the epitome of contemporary British craftsmanship - The Union Flag trinket box was recently featured alongside Philippe Stark's gold AK-47 lamp and tweed Anta cushions in a montage of James Bond Skyfall inspired design.

Only the trinket box pictured hails from Peter Jones and not David Linley. Priced at £50, the short stroll to Sloane Square saves you £1,200 on the Linley price, and while it's hand made in India not the Cotswolds, that 96% saving is enough to pick up an AK-47 lamp to complete the Skyfall inspired interior.

The Tube's Last Tycoon

The reason Design Hero Tyler Brûlé famously won't release his Monocle magazine on the iPad isn't because he wants readers to appreciate the three or four different paper stocks used in the publication. It isn't because readers wouldn't be able to detach perfectly formed supplements attached by coloured rubber bands. It's because, on an iPad, nobody is able to see that you're reading Monocle magazine.

With the invasion of Kindles, Kobos and Komodo Dragons, there is only one way to command a presence on the London Tube nowadays [okay two, but brandishing a Komodo Dragon isn't the best of ideas during rush hour]. These Coralie Bickford-Smith designed hardbacks from Penguin Classics celebrate US literary great F. Scott Fitzgerald, and come in a range of metallic designs from the Conran Shop.

They say you might not be able to judge a book by it's cover, but judging the Tycoon with excellent taste, reading the book with the superbly designed geometric cover... is another matter entirely.

Gin Mare - Designed for Cool

Once the preserve of Queen Mother sorts, gin is now firmly established as the urban tipple of choice on a warm day in the capital. Enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years, graphic designers with skinny jeans can't get enough of small-batch brands distilled in gritty corners of the Capital.

But far away from converted loft apartments, and far removed from tiresome vintage branding, Gin Mare is designing a difference. Spotted at this year's Snow Polo in St. Moritz, fur clad models and heli-skiing millionaires were opting for Mare.

Distilled from olives, thyme, rosemary and basil the Mediterranean spirit was being served up with 1724 tonic - made with organic quinine, hand harvested in Argentina. With an effortlessly smart 'wave' design, it looks like Gin Mare will be equally at home on board yachts in Santorini as it is on the slopes of St. Moritz; which is just as well, as that's where said heli-skiing millionaires are likely to be this summer.

Nippon Typographic Domino Co.

I have no idea where these tiles came from, or what they were used for. Actually, that's a lie, they came from a dusty wooden tray in the Sone Chika vintage furniture store in Meguro, Tokyo. Who knows what they were used for. But who cares?! With all that Nippon typographic goodness in New York Taxi Yellow on a grained background reminiscent of Dunhill's Sidecar leather, these little dominoes win all day long.

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The Elemental Miller

The brilliance of Sir Johnny Ive and the design team at Apple is due largely to simplicity. Simple design, uncluttered interfaces, good honest white shiny goodness. The same can't be said for the myriad of Apple accessories from manufacturers keen to dunk said industrial design in rubber cases, covers and protectors.

Not Miller. Based in Singapore, Miller men [Colin Chen] cut leather, hammer in a button or two, engrave a name and that's it. Hand-made, man-made, cable tidies, wallets and card holders that'd make even Monocle blush. The tan leather in particular, is a rich and elemental addition to anything Apple.

Couture Coffee - Agnes B. Gaultier

Porcelain shouldn't be messed with. The iconicity of a plan white plate has a simplicity not to be messed with. White dinnerware puts the food and drink centre stage - the same is as true for a mug of builders tea as it is for fine dining from Heston.

But what if your builders are French? or you live on a submarine and you're having your walk in wardrobe extended to accommodate this season's range of stripey blue t-shirts? In such instances, and in such instances alone, Design Trawler deems it permissible to deviate from the formula of plain porcelain. Serve up couture chamomile in these smart mugs from the Agnes B. cafe found in Taipei's Eslite.

Material Reflections in 2013

This year, Design Trawler is once again putting its chips on metal. In the new year we're going to see a progression of the popularity of copper, gold and brass in to fabrics. Taking inspiration from the rather smart Ambassador Suite in Sheraton's new Macau hotel and casino [pictured], reflective fabrics add a richness long embraced by designers like Andrew Martin and Candy & Candy.

Reflective silks, velvets and satin, previously preserves of feminine boudoirs are set to 'man up' in a big way. Think teal, petrol blue and gunmetal grey. Bright reds and oranges carry over the golden metals theme evoking Ozwald Boaeting suit linings and metallic macs from Burberry.

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The Shape of Things to Come

While my 2,000 year old Han Dynasty warrior head is probably my favourite design item, the most important item in my collection is something entirely different. This festive bauble is a miniature version of the Quin.MGX form, most commonly available as a pendant light, from Belgian firm Materialise.

Designed by Yale mathematician turned artist, Bathsheba Grossman, the Quin is the poster child of the 3D printing design revolution. The intricate shape would otherwise be impossible to realise. It's second only to the wheel in terms of what it represents from a design, engineering & aesthetic perspective.

Design Trawler's Design Directory

The year wouldn't be complete without a trip to 2012's World Design Capital. This year, Helsinki wore the crown and Design Trawler dropped by for 24 hours en route to Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and Tokyo. More pictures from the Scandinavian scouting trip below.

With so many cities on the agenda, It's time to launch the Design Directory; a summary of Design Trawler's best design stores, caves and cafe's visited over the past few years. Helsinki included, find top recommendations, rated and ranked, city by city from across the globe.

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Copper Hangs On - HAY

Big brother of design classic the paperclip, the wire clothes hanger is an iconic every day item. Danish design house HAY makes things a little less laundrette with these anodised aluminium hangers. Smartly finished in the must have metal; copper; the wire of the body rejoins the neck without the traditional 'twist' - a subtle detail that separates the HAY hanger from the rest. Perfect for Saville Row open rails.

Surrealism and The City

I recently picked up this surrealist sculpture at the Brussels Design Market. Combining elements of Belgian surrealism, Egyptian classicism and City financialism, I find myself strangely drawn to the combination. Anonymous yet identifiable. Incomplete, and yet absorbed in detail. As yet unnamed.

Design Heroes - Prince Carl Phillip

It would seem that it isn't just Barack Obama that browses the pages of Design Trawler. This week I was invited to lunch at the residence of the Swedish Ambassador in London [No, there were no Ferrero Rochers. Yes, the Ambassador did spoil us] The purpose of the lunch was to discuss Swedish design with a selection of Stockholm's finest, presided over by Prince Carl Philip of Sweden.

The 33 year old royal studied graphic design in both Stockholm and at the Rhode Island School of Design. Since then he's designed cutlery, calendars, cd covers and an architectural fireplace guard which resides with the Ambassador in London. Refreshing to see somebody with the wold at their disposal take such an interest in design. Unsurprising perhaps, that it's a Scandinavian somebody.

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Pinstripe Content by Conran

At the recent Joy of Living charity auction for Maggie's, one lot in particular caught my eye. This Alvis Chair by Benchmark designed by Sir Terrance Conran was upholstered in the instantly recognisable Saville Row pinstripe by Moon.

Which celebrity would have the taste and vision to pair dovetailed oak with sartorial lambswool I thought? If it's a footballer I'm giving up on design for ever. Thankfully, upon closer inspection, there could only be one answer. The chair was commissioned and owned by Sir Terrance Conran himself.