Sian Zeng, 'Magnetic Wallpaper'

While some of you might have headed to the high street for your Christmas shopping last weekend, ARTS THREAD were scouting for one-of-a-kind handmade gifts at Cockpit Arts’ Christmas Open Studios. Now in it’s 25th year, the award winning Social Enterprise and ‘creative business incubator’ for designer makers opened it’s Holborn studio doors to the public for three days, and will be doing the same at the Deptford studios this weekend.

Hotel The Exchange

Eight students and alumni from the AMFI Amsterdam Fashion Institute have been given the unique opportunity to design the interiors of the conceptual Hotel The Exchange. Situated in a narrow alleyway running from Amsterdam’s Central Station through to Dam Square, the unique fashion hotel will open on the 3rd of December.

Rezwana Ahmed, Textiles

Public View is this year’s exciting Postgraduate Degree Show for the University of Wolverhampton. Held at the diverse arts and exhibition centre in West Bromwich, The Public, it showcases the fresh, innovative and lively talent of the universities Masters student’s.

Mark van Gennip, 'Ink Storm'/ Magnhild Disington, 'The Modern Amulet' & 'Future Connections'

Over 30 of Europe’s most promising and forward-looking designers are being presented to the public at i Fabric. European Talent in the Audax Textielmuseum, Tilburg in the Netherlands.

Organised as part of the Tilburg Textiles event, the exhibition contains work by participating designers from Central Saint Martins, London, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp and the Design Academy, Eindhoven who specialise in fashion, interior textiles and product design.

As the Festival Hub, the V&A has more than a few surprises up its sleeve at this year’s London Design Festival, including Amanda Levete’s Timber Wave installation at the entrance. And inside the imposing Raphael Court is the enchanting Textile Field, an installation by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in collaboration with Danish textile company Kvadrat.

Andrew Heber, Self Sufficiency Tools

Making Believe Exhibition at Mile End Art Pavilion, London, showcases the freshest talent from Goldsmiths University of London MA projects in Critical Practice, Environment and Design, Research, Design Education, Future Design and Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship.

Alasdair Chapman, Plymouth University

ARTS THREAD looks at highlights from spatial design graduates exhibiting at New Designers 2011.

Brinley Clark, University of Hertfordshire - BDC New Designer of the Year Winner

The New Designers part 2 winners have now been announced! Winning the BDC New Designer of the Year Award 2011 is Brinley Clark of the University of Hertfordshire, who has also this year won the Virgin Atlantic Award for Graphic Design.

Lucinda Ireland, Nottingham Trent University - Hallmark Award

The second week of New Designers 2011 award winners include Lucinda Ireland from Nottingham Trent University who has won the Hallmark Award this year for her innovative typography designs.

Filipa Oliveira, Duncan of Jordanstone: University of Dundee - Goldsmiths Company Jewellery Award

The first week’s winners at New Designers have started to take place and include the winner of the New Designers Goldsmiths’ Company award for Jewellery which went this year to Filipa Oliveira a jewellery designer and maker from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design.