Agnes Chang | Beijing (CN) | By Emma Harrison

Beijing-based Agnes Chang began taking photographs at the age of 23 when she spotted some plants on a camping trip. Inspired by their textures, shapes, patterns and prints, Chang captured the subjects on a friend’s pocket camera and was 'amazed by how charming these plants looked on physical paper'. This sparked an interest in photography that has led Chang to showcase her work on VSCO and Instagram.

Chang is a shining example of how photography-led social media platforms have encouraged emerging talent to be exhibited worldwide; the clean and minimalist web interface of the VSCO grid perfectly complements her simple images and allows them to be displayed with the adequate white space required to frame each shot.

Always inspired by her environment, Chang aims to capture unexpected moments alongside things that 'just naturally seem to go together'. Check out her VSCO feed here.

Lyon & Lyon | Six Mile Pencil | Sheffield (UK) | By Lee Fleming

A stationary staple, the humble pencil is perhaps ‘old fashioned’ and no longer the first desktop tool you’d reach for. However, inspired by our fixation with hi-tech gadgetry, Sheffield-based design agency Lyon & Lyon have created the Six Mile Pencil, a low tech tool that measures how far you've drawn by using a mile ruler printed on the body.

Twin duo Matt and Ben Lyon have updated the pencil’s 500 year design after learning that the pencil can draw for up to six miles/ten kilometres. The Six Mile Pencil contains enough graphite to cover this distance and the product, created by the agency, boasts a simple, colourful and striking design. Lyon & Lyon were keen to use a traditional pencil manufacturer in the process and turned to Nottingham-based Chambers, a 90 year old family run business and one of the last pencil manufacturers remaining in the UK.

Check out The Six Mile Pencil kickstarter page that includes the chance to own a limited edition drawing by award-winning artist Roanna Wells whose specialty is intricate pencil strokes to create her artwork. Lyon & Lyon have also collaborated with legendary British artist Jon Burgerman who will be creating a one off illustration that contains six miles worth of his acclaimed doodles. Visit the Lyon & Lyon website to find out more about The Six Mile Pencil and support their kickstarter here.

Schneid | Eikon Collection | Lübeck (GER) | By Emma Harrison

A contraction of the German expression for ‘being bold’, Schneid is a lighting and furniture design company based in the northern city of Lübeck. The brand, founded in 2010 by trained carpenter and architect Niklas Jessen and literature graduate Julia Mülling, creates sustainable, versatile and environmentally friendly pieces for the home or office.

Schneid’s lighting has a distinctly Scandinavian edge and one of their most recent collections, Eikon (see above), combines a minimal form with sustainable materials and pastel tones. The socket that constitutes the base is surrounded by certified ash, oak or bamboo wood and the light also features a removable lampshade that comes in various bold and pastel hues.

To view Schneid’s full collection or to purchase online, visit their website.

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.