In preparation for our 2012 summer tour of festivals.......

We ran away from London to blitz some Secret Emporium decor in a beautiful barn in south Cornwall, complete with dogs, good home cooking and log fires (before the heatwave struck with a vengeance!).

Here's a sneak preview of our tent entrance decoration piece in the making. We struck gold with the help of Alexandra Geldenhuys and her nimble fingers, the amazing Skye who's been saving us in the office, and 'the professional carpentry assets' aka 'boyfriends' to carve out some new Emporium letters.....

 We got a little over-excited in the fabric warehouse, but standing firmly by our 'more is more' philosophy

 Flag, following his 'if you can't help, lie on it' motto

We'll be updating you with more images when the decor is finally finished and we plunge into summer madness - watch this space!!

WWF Pandamonium 2012 UK

Body sculptures by 22 famed artists and designers such as Zaha Hadid, Hussein Chalayan and Nicola Formichetti, commissioned to 'celebrate and support 50 years of WWF'......

WWF UK's Pandamonium 2012 - compilation video - click here

and more footage here

 Stuart Haygarth & Sian Evans - 'Temple Tip Bower'

based on a forest-dwelling bowerbird that 'gathers and sorts objects compulsively. However, instead of attracting a mate, it collects temple tips for warmth and protection - a reminder that materials discarded by one person can be life-saving to another'.....brilliant!

(materials: artists' canvas, cold water dye, string, customised safety pins, temple tips (from found spectacles).

 Susie MacMurray (in collaboration with Jo Scorah) - 'Icarus'

inspired by the tale of Icarus, 'the cautionary tale of the dangers of over-reaching ourselves and...disregarding the consequences of our actions'.

(materials: bird netting, ostrich feathers, webbing harness, copper wire)

 Rowan Mersh - Untitled

constructed from  WWF's member magazines, 'reworked using complicated origami [techniques to create] a spectacular undulating sculpture. Visually robust, yet fragile in its structure, Untitled stands for the content in the publications and all that's yet unwritten.'

(materials: folded paper (WWF magazines)

 Julie Verhoeven - 'Desdemona Morris'

'an identity-stricken Desdemona , who is an "ape masking herself as a chintzy courtier with delusions of grandeur", reminding us that aspirations to fast-track evolution may not turn out as planned'. Amazing

(materials: fabric, plastic, wool, wood, hair and spray)

Stephen Jones & Bouke de Vries - 'Chimera Mask'

'a mythical creature from the beak of a predatory bird, the iconic eyes of a panda and the antlers of an antelope'.....'It celebrates the animal kingdom's interdependency and reminds us of "the damage that mankind carelessly causes to its fellow creatures".

(materials: steel mesh, gold electro plated steel and brass, reclaimed ceramic, polyester resin with mounted plaque).

All quotes and images taken from the WWF Pandamonium Catalogue - 

view here