New Changes For 2011...Goodbye 2010, Nice Knowing Ya!!

9th December 2010

We are currently in the process of turning the website into an e-commerce website, so you can order your favourite products straight from the REthinkthings website! This will be up and running in the New Year, so you can still currently order from www.Bouf.com until further notice.

The new REthinkthings website retains its iconic brand image in keeping with the green and yellow logo , but the construction itself takes a fresh, funky approach on layout. Produced by Phishtank media, it portrays the innovative designs and products that make REthinkthings so unique and original. The products are featured on the home page with a clickable link which shows a bigger picture of the product. Within the website there are 11 clickable tabs which take you further into the website; these include information on the designers under the REthinkthings label, news on brand development and the all new ‘buy’ tab which takes you directly to purchase your items.

The REthinkthings brand has recently expanded to include creative home accessories licensed in from established and emerging designers and now licenses from the best designers and produces on their behalf. The designer gets royalty and their product gets produced via REthinkthings and marketed to retail outlets and other buyers Europe wide. This is a great opportunity for new and upcoming graduates as it allows their product to be produced in high quality, without costing them a small fortune, to boost their profile. Many more creative practitioners will be set to join Rethinkthings in 2011 as we recruit imaginative thinkers when planning our trade shows through the 5ml design collective. If you think you have a product which fits our brand, your first port of call should be www.5-ml.com.

A lot of exciting things will be happening in 2011 for the REthinkthings brand, so watch this space.

REthinkthings is one brand that is not shy of design shows. In 2010 alone, it participated in Pulse London and Maison et Objet Paris, as well as this month’s Liverpool Design Show. The Liverpool Show gave Ilsa Parry a chance to show her hometown, new concepts which she has created since the last design show in 2009. Ilsa’s REthinkthings brand has grown considerably in the last year, as the freefall of opportunities keep on presenting themselves following her participation in 2009 BBC TV show Design for Life with Philippe Starck

REthinkthings Liverpool display, saw a plethora of brightly coloured objects vibrantly contrasting against the black and green branded backdrop, celebrating new skills, new market focus and unusual quirky ideas. The products are socially or environmentally concious, Well made and thoroughly researched producing items which benefit the user or REthink what we need for sustainable living; from the material used, to how its produced, to how its packaged and shipped. 90 percent of what is on the stand this year, is newly designed, created and produced within the last 12 months. Ilsa Parry - creative director is one designer which who can really deliver.

"Liverpool was successful for us as it helped to consolidate the brand on a local level, with new products from unsigned designers I can now see the company going from strength to strength"

Each product is unique and innovative and REthinkthings relentlessly questions each object and questions how it can be improved for the consumer in response to materials, concept and pricing. The consumer can purchase a REthinkthings product and be at ease knowing that it’s sustainable, well made and produced as well as kind to the planet.

ILSA PARRY LAUNCHES THE FULL RETHINKTHINGS COLLECTION OF 15 PRODUCTS AT LIVERPOOL DESIGN FESTIVAL.

REthinkthings is a design led product brand founded and directed by Ilsa Parry, winner of BBC Design for Life with Phillippe Starck. Ilsa Parry operates as a creativity consultant and independent designer working with brands such as; Bo Concept, Lego, Boss design, McDonalds, Sony and Unilever.

This November, Ilsa Parry returns to her hometown to launch her latest work at Liverpool Design Show. Along with three new product collections, (ONMI bags, Sworth lamps and ForX tableware) she brings along developed icons from the previous year shown at Pulse in Earls Court, London and Maison et Objet, Villepinte Paris. Including:

Kaspa the ghost lamp (Now known as Spook) http://www.facebook.com/spookghost,

Flo the standing aid http://www.facebook.com/flostick,

Spyke drinks vessels http://www.facebook.com/spykeglasses,

Pawly dog standing lamp http://www.facebook.com/pawlydog?ref=ts

and Spierre the festival seat. http://www.facebook.com/spierreseat

Ilsa has worked hard in the past year to expand the REthinkthings range and since her last unveiling at Liverpool in 2009 Ilsa presents 12 new and exciting products including collections from up and coming designers Stephen Rimmer and Julia Jacob, to be licensed exclusively to the REthinkthings brand.

Liverpool 2010 uncovers even more wacky creativity and is set to be a visual delight, with the full range of Sworth lamps shown for the first time in a myriad of glistening seasonal colours developed from the original which won her first prize in the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Environmental Art competition 2009. Sworth is a fun and attractive series made entirely out of waste aluminium from engineering lathes Ilsa will present these in red, green, copper and gold. http://www.facebook.com/sworthlight

ForX tablewear is also brand new to market. Consisting of three pronged forks manipulated and joined in a simple way so that a variety of candles or party foods can be displayed and consumed. it’s a quirky and ironic home accessory which plays on a reconfiguration of standard tableware as servers, available in three sizes, unfinished and powder coated. http://www.bouf.com/buy/product/28740/forx

The final innovation to be unveiled is ONMI, a series of multifunctional bags including ONMI unleashed, developed in partnership with the Liverpool Biennial and the larger version, entitled ONMI Forme. Both are made completely out of Velcro and offer unlimited variation in use due to the innovative rip and grip strips which allow the user to reposition and resize bag elements and pockets. http://www.facebook.com/onmibag?ref=ts

Other changes include new colours for Pawly and Spierre and a functioning prototype for Flo, as seen on Design for Life. All of REthinkthings products can be found online in the rethinkthings bouf shop at www.rethinkthings.co.uk

Notes to editors

High res JPEG images of Ilsa Julia and Stephen along with the REthinkthinkthings products to be unveiled at the show can be emailed to editors directly on request.

Ilsaparry@rethinkthings.co.uk

5ml collective - join us

Join us at maison et objet
http://www.artinliverpool.com/2010/07/designers-urged-to-join-5ml/

Since Ilsa Parry did "Flo" on Design for Life with Philippe Starck

Since the design for life show and paris experience... my life has been like freefall...

I have been involved with so many new projects, and have achieved so much success that I thought it would be a good time to reflect upon the positives in the last six months... being the new year we often forget to look back and instead plough forward blindly... I will soon upload some images of the key things I I have realised, but for now, here is a brief list of my highlights so far and things I am now focussing upon:

2. Kaspa shortlisted for gift of the year by the giftware association
3. Flo finalist in shell live wire grand ideas award
4. Pierre seat finalist in one good chair competition
5. Exhibited REthinkthings products at Pulse
6. Taught myself to use Rhinocad from scratch
7. Developed Kaspa nightlight into commercial product and has gone on sale in 4 retail outlets
8. Realised Pippa and spyke glasses with glasstorm in Scotland
9. Exhibited for the first time at 100% design with 5 of the other design for life contestants curated by me
10. Created a deal for funding to get patent applications on flo pending on US and UK
11. Registered design rights on all developing rethinkthings products
12. Registered REthinkthings TM and Flo TM
13. Rejigged and updated website - due to be done again by 6 month rule
14. Have developed 6 new protoypes of Flo walking aid with free assistance from two northwest universities including 3D scans and prints, currently producing a working prototype
15. Have met with several business angels and am establishing separate business plans for each product
16. Created a few new designs to be prototyped soon for REthinkthings including seating and vases
17. Did 3 radio interviews about the future of the new business I have established
18. Completed a bespoke furniture commission for Kirsty doyle fashion designer
19. Completed a branding commission for flipog
20. Completed my postgraduate studies, graduated last month and nowenrolled on a business enterprise course
21. Established my "ilsa parry" design studio and workshop for commission based activities
22. Exhibited with Mike Cloke at Liverpool design festival - custom stand
23. Won the Liverpool vision innovation award
24. In negotiations for establishing REthinkthings as a ltd company with investment for product development to reach the mass market with the work
25. Was introduced to marketing and business development managers for malmaison by claire my marketing and PR guru at Avenham
26. Currently thinking about developing furniture items for possible collaboration with Bo Concept
27. Working to improve Ilsa Parry brand with Apropos graphic design
28. Visitng lecturer at three north west universities, talks given at other institutions as guest speaker including galleries and design associations
29. Storyteller bench for liverpool city centre refined and ready for production
30. Swarth lamp developed and won chamber of commerce environmental arts award
31. Recognised as course leader at liverpool community college on their 3D course and given an achievement award
32. Exhibited at Pad gallery preston
33. Was contacted by Heals for a product catalogue
34. Commissioned for a big 3D medical education project to commence next year
35. Was taken to Cannes by mcdonalds to pitch to Philippe avansi creative director for mc donalds europe
36. Created merchandise proposals for Liverpool Biennial arts festival, these are to be commissiones and will hopefully be developed for 2010
37. Was approached by Sony and Unilever for freelance creative work
38. Met with and was taken to lunch by Ross Lovegrove in London- a true inspiration
39. Saluted and endorsed by age concern UK for flo product - possibility of working with them to fund and develop flo
40. Currently refurbishing studio to host mini exhibitions and to enable me to take on a regular intern
41. Have applied for part time post in my current full time position to allow me more flexibility with freelance projects
42. Have been offerred HE lecturing on a regular basis and have been approached by other UK universities to offer collaborative project involvement on a sessional basis
43. Trying for a few new furniture packaging and merchandise competitions
44. Currently updating software skills using Solidworks
45. Just sent off a load of proposals for the Chester Rhino Trail next summer
46. Sending forth new proposals for lambanana lighting soon...
47. Doing Pulse on a large stand curated by me as "north west best" with 4 other north west based designers

ITS ALL GO! - photos to follow!