Cameron Booth | Highways of the USA Map | Portland (US) | By Lee Fleming

Oregon-based graphic designer Cameron Booth is a mapmaker whose designs we’ve been following from afar. After almost two years of single-handed research and checking and cross checking, Booth has released his latest map project: The Highways of the United States of America. The extensive map features every single current and signed Interstate Highway and U.S. Highway in the contiguous 48 states.

Booth gained over 20 years of design experience in his hometown of Sydney (Australia) before he relocated to Portland where he works as a Senior Graphic Designer at Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Portland office. Alongside his day job, Booth runs Transit Maps, a tumblr dedicated to celebrating transit maps and diagrams from around the world.

Booth’s latest map project takes many design cues from subway maps but is essentially a ‘simplified road map’ that integrates two complex networks based on geography. A fully archival print, the map is inked on Moab Lasal Matte alpha cellulose paper that is acid and lignin-free. The map interconnects each U.S State but can also be divided into individual states and regions and can be purchased on Booth’s online shop.

Patagonia | Truth to Materials Collection | Ventura, California (US) | By Lee Fleming

Patagonia's recently released Truth to Materials is a capsule collection featuring seven styles brought about by exploring radical new methods of manufacturing. Borne out of a desire to reimagine the inaugural stage of a garment’s life, the collection focuses upon overlooked raw materials integral to production. Each piece in the Truth to Materials collection is made from reclaimed or alternatively sourced fabrics including an undyed cashmere Snap-T Pullover, a reclaimed cotton hoody and crew, a reclaimed wool jacket and a parka.

Celebrating the purest form of a material, the Truth to Materials collection focus on origins and staying true to its starting point during every step of the design and manufacturing process. The reclaimed wool used is sourced from Figli di Michelangelo Calamai (Calami, Italy), founded in 1878. Calami is dedicated to producing reclaimed wool and in this case the pieces were made from discarded wool sweaters that were shred into usable fibres. The reclaimed cotton is from the TAL Group who saved their cotton scraps by sweeping the floors of their factories in China and Malaysia - saving hundreds of tons of cotton from the landfill. The Undyed Cashmere is hand harvested by Mongolian goat herders who brush their flocks as they shift grazing grounds according to the seasons. The colours of the yarns indicate the seasons, caused by nature and produced a material untouched by the process of fibre dyeing, which lessens the environmental impact.

View the Patagonia Truth to Materials short film here and read more about the collection on Patagonia's website .

Mourne Textiles | County Down, Northern Ireland (UK) | By Emma Harrison

Located at the foot of the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland is Mourne Textiles, a family-run business with a rich history of textile production dating back to 1909. Founded by Norwegian weaver Gerd Hay-Edie in 1949, the Mourne factory started life as a small hub of Scandinavian manufacturing in the Irish mountains with Gerd importing all looms and textile machinery from Norway and training local people to hand weave her designs. The business quickly flourished and today remains a family affair with Gerd’s daughter, Karen Hay-Edie as Master Weaver and her grandson, Mario, at the helm of the business.

Mourne’s products include sumptuous throws, cushions, tablewear and rugs weaved on site and made with 'wild' Donegal and Merino yarns spun to exact specifications. Mario is very careful to stay true to his grandmother’s designs and Mourne still uses the Irish tweed, designed by Gerd and made famous by fashion designer Sybil Connolly, in their beautiful throws. 

You can order Mourne’s products online or find their creations at a range of international stockists including London-based Margaret Howell, The New Craftsmen and Mouki Mou.

Clouds by Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert | London (UK) | By Emma Harrison

A keen painter up until the age of 19, when he discovered hot liquid glass, Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert's transatlantic life has always been driven by his creative process. He has dabbled in metals, clay and paints but nothing has captivated his imagination like the gloopy, glossy and mesmerising textures of hot glass flickering at the end of a blow pipe.

Jeremy’s ambitious 2012 Clouds project is impressive in size and imaginative in equal measure; he explains ‘clouds is about a childhood memory I have from when I was seven or eight. A time in my life when everything seemed so big and everything was possible, even magic.’ The 60cm x 60cm x 60cm lights encourage the observer to re-enact this childlike magic and gawp skywards to the delicate and smooth curved lines of each hand blown glass piece.

Clouds is currently on display at Gallery Fumi as part of the 2014 London Design Festival and runs until October 31st (by appointment only).

Patrick Thomson at The New Craftsmen | London (UK) | By Emma Harrison

Trained in menswear at the Royal College of Art, London-based Patrick Thomson creates understated and carefully designed pieces using natural materials. With a workshop in Stroud, Gloucestershire, Thomson has presented his 'Ordinary Thing' collection on The New Craftsmen, an online platform that promotes and sells the work of up-and-coming craft makers from across the British Isles. Pieces from the collection include a Gardener’s apron, vibrant cushions and an oversized ‘Nosebag’ intended as an ‘everyday shopper for the farmer’s market forager’. Each item in the collection is made from canvas, hessian or horsehair and is an example of Thomson’s intention to revitalise plain materials with good and strong design.

IDMC°’s favourite pick is the Log Holder (above) made from highly durable, heavy-weight, water-resistant and rot-proof fabric with sturdy cotton herringbone tape on the straps. The perfect size for collecting logs and woodland scraps to chuck on the fire and warm up those long winter evenings.