Raymond Cauchetier and La Novelle Vague

The James Hyman gallery is exhibiting New Wave (nouvelle vague) photographer Raymond Cauchetier's photographs in an exhibition that coincides with the photographers's 90th birthday.

In this image Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg walk down the Champs-Élysées in Jean Luc Godard's À bout de souffle (Breathless). Raymond Cauchetier's photograph has become the emblem of the nouvelle vague. For Cauchetier 'The photographer must be forgotten. It is a shadow.'

This image: À bout de souffle (Champs-Élysées) taken by Raymond Cauchetier, 1959

Natural rugs

Fun, stylish and bold, Pebbles uses specially felted yarns that are spun from top quality 100% wool. The distinctive handcrafted "hard twist" construction produces a thickly looped texture of luxurious density and dimensionality.

This is Rugs of the Worlds Pebbles rug. Colours : Ivory / Brown

Buy Online now in our contemporary collection

Kilim rugs

Kilim, a word of Turkish origin, denotes a pileless textile of many uses produced by one of several flatweaving techniques that have a common or closely related heritage and are practiced in the geographical area that includes parts of Turkey (Anatolia and Thrace), North Africa, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Central Asia and China . Kilims are produced by tightly interweaving the warp and weft strands of the weave to produce a flat surface with no pile.

This studio doesnt need to be stark, warm it up with a brightly coloured kilim rug. In situ a Persian Senneh kilim, found in Rugs of the Worlds Kilim Collection

David Rock exhibition, London

Architect David Rock has had a prominent and multi-faceted career by any yardstick. He worked in Basil Spence in 1950s, made partner at inter-disciplinary practice BDP in the 1960s, formed his own practice Rock Townsend, and presided over RIBA as its president between 1997 and 1999.

Paralleling this rich architectural career, Rock has, since the 1950s, been a graphic designer, illustrator and painter as well as chairing the Scottish Society of Architect Artists. Not surprisingly, his paintings and drawings combine architecture and art, and have been exhibited in numerous shows in London and abroad.

Opened last Friday at the Chris Dyson-designed Eleven Spitalfields gallery, the ‘David Rock: from 50s Architectural Drawings to Recent Paintings’ exhibition looks at Rock’s artistic work. The exhibits on display span early student and postgraduate drawings, later 1950s and 1960s paintings, through to much more recent creations.

There is much to commend this retrospective, not least the timely appreciation for Rock’s thoughtful exploration of colour, texture, weathering and detail in an architectural context, not to mention a chance to savour his award-winning colour scheme paintings like the Owen Jones-awarded scheme for urban colour and the Thames riverside scheme which won the 1953 Soane Medallion.

Design a bespoke rug

If you’re searching for the perfect rug, but can’t find your dream design, don’t despair. You can create a carpet to your exact specifications for less than you might expect.

The Cost
Rugs of the World offers a bespoke service, from design advice to manufacture.Not only can it create designs in a range of textures and finishes, it has 80 stock colours and can match any Pantone shade or colour samples you may have. A 120 x 180cm rug would cost from £600.

Striped rugs

RAISING THE BAR 
A striped rug will make any space seem wider – and chic reflective surfaces help magnify the illusion.

Suo rug, £650 in the contemporary rug collection

Hand knotted contemporarey rug, made with fine quality wool and natural dyes

Brit Insurance Design awards

Check out the highlights of the third annual Brit Insurance Design awards at London's Design Museum, which features 'the world's most compelling and progressive designs' across architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics and transport. Antony Gormley will chair the jury, which will reveal the overall winner on 16 March 2010

Pedal power ... From the UK, the Front Yard Company's Plantlock is shortlisted in the product category

Wall hangings

Liven up a pale living room with brightly patterned ethnic rugs, and use them in unusual ways, like draped over a coffee table and as a wall hanging for striking effect.

Ethnic rugs like this can be found in our TRIBAL RUGS collection.

Miles Davis: a love affair with Paris

While segregation raged in the US, Miles Davis found the freedom and respect he craved in Paris. A new exhibition shows the feeling was mutual

In October, a major Miles Davis exhibition opened at the Musée de la Musique. Called We Want Miles, it gathers together some 400 Davis-related items (including music scores, videos, instruments and photographs) from around the world. "Miles is the first jazz musician to be honoured in this way," says exhibition curator Vincent Bessières. He says that the number of visitors is expected to reach 50,000-70,000 – similar to the numbers who attended previous exhibitions on John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix.

The reason is simple, says Bessières: "Paris was special to Miles, and Miles was special to Paris."

We Want Miles – Miles Davis: Jazz Face to Face with Its Legend is at the Musée de la Musique, Paris, until 17 January, and in Montreal from April to August. George Cole is the author of The Last Miles: the music of Miles Davis 1980-1991 (Equinox)