Let’s have a bit of calm here shall we? 2011 closed with a bit too much excitement; here’s to a nice, dull 2012. Not that January has started quite in that vein, with a studio visit to San Francisco closely followed by an outing to Stockholm, and any number of promising little projects in the works. But there’s 11 months left to the year, so we have hope!

As to the causes of our excitement?

Well. Power of Making closed just 2 weeks ago, with record visitor numbers now confirmed: 320,703 was the final figure (how they get it accurate to those 3 people we have no idea). This makes it the most popular free exhibition since 1950. That’s 1950. On a slightly shallower note, this means it beat the Kylie exhbition. Teehee.

If that wasn’t sufficient:

Long term client and close to our hearts, plans for London’s new Design Museum were unveiled this week and congratulations to them on how well received it has been. Though our contributions, in the form of interpretation policy, collecting policy and permanent exhibition curating are yet to go public, our report (possibly the most extensive and expansive piece of strategy work we’ve ever authored) has been submitted to hugely positive response from the client and wider consultant team. Phew.

Now, among other things, we can get back to following through on the promise that was our Parliament experiment, which in spite of its forlorn and unloved appearance right now has been generating some interesting conversations. And yes, directing our efforts toward making 2012 as calm and low key as possible*.

* Reserving the right to revisit this at any point during the year should it become necessary…

Well maybe the sun never quite shone but it’s been a busy summer, culminating in the opening of Power of Making at the V&A museum, curated by our very own Master Daniel Charny, just a couple of nights ago. What can we add to this and this and this? Maybe 3,000 visitors on the first day is sufficient!

The other highlight of this summer has to be our recent appointment as Content and Interpretation Consultants for the Design Museum’s planned move to the former Commonwealth Institute in 2014. We’re tasked with drafting a new Interpretation Policy and we’re planning the permanent exhibition, as well as further work to their collection, all targeted on a Heritage Lottery stage 2 bid. We’re working with an extensive team including John Pawson Architects, Morag Myerscough and others. Did I mention we’re quite excited about this too?

Other news in the works, including the next stage of Parliament of Owls, Dee judging the Design Fund for Growth (and, ummm, joining the luminaries of the Awesome Foundation?!). But another time. Until then, here’s hoping for that indian summer….

So Daniel has been working hard with the team from the V&A on a joint V&A Crafts Council collaboration. As guest curator, he’s to curate an exhibition (to open in Autumn next year) plus devise related activities and publications. I think ‘whoop whoop’ is the appropriate response.

Meanwhile. Much work for a new client, William Grant & Sons, working closely with longtime collaborators and friends AllofUs, which we’ll be able to talk about sometime soon. We can share in the meantime that we know a lot more about whisky than we once did, no bad thing.

And finally about to go live in a slow, beta-ish kind of way on our exciting, entrepreneurial enterprise entitled the Parliament of Owls. If you’d like to know more, be invited on the trials and prototypes we’re running right now, just drop us a line hi (at) parliamentofowls.tv. The more the merrier.