This exhibition charts the development of the Aesthetic  Movement in the art and design through the decades from the 1860's to the 1890's. This truly inspiring collection is a pure pleasure to explore. From art and furniture to fashion and jewellery The Cult of Beauty encapsulates the beginnings of today's consumer culture and epitomises William Morris' belief that you should 'have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.' To be seen at the Victoria & Albert Museum

Laurie Anderson, Trisha Brown, Gordon Matta-Clark: Pioneers of the Downtown Scene, New York 1970s at the Barbican.

As inspiring as New York city itself, this post-modern exhibition focuses on the artists and performers who transformed the urban environment and derelict buildings of downtown New York into vibrant public spaces for food, exhibitions and performances. A perfect mix between large conceptual pieces and very personal explorations. An absolute heart-skipping must.

A beautiful, haunting, paradoxical installation by Yohji Yamamoto at the Wapping Project, Wapping Hydraulic Power Station.

The  Dirt exhibition was a facinating commentary on our changing relationship and understanding of dirt, hygiene and cleanliness. Personnally the most intriguing section was on London cholera outbreaks and their translation into early info graphics. I hugely recommend it!

To be added to your watch list is Bert Stern s documentary Jazz on a summer day about the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival in Rodhe Island. I'm dreaming of lazing in the sun, enveloped in jazz this summer...

Happy Easter from all of us at Allies! Indulge yourself with chocolate, great weather and free time! xxx

it is always nice to be featured in Design Week. This time Susanna was aked about her Packaging Hero... Have a pick, have a read!

If you want to feel good, do good.

You may be aware of the recently launched campaign called Action for Happiness. We, at Allies, are joining the movement, as we believe that Happiness should be at the centre of all our relationships - personal or professional.

We want to make our clients happy and satisfied with our work, we want to make their clients satisfied and happy too, and of course we want to be happy to come to work every day and satisfied with what we do.

In order to do so, we believe that communication is key to allow as much clarity and transparency to our clients and for ourselves at the studio.

Primrose Hill. Lunch time.

Her good energy and contagious laugh will be dearly missed at the studio. After 5.8 years at Allies she has decided it was time for her to spread her wings. We only wish her the best for all her future work! xxx

Anna left last weekend and we will miss her this Saturday in Monmouth Coffee, on Maltby Street! But we can't wait for her BA show at the Slade this summer.

The Gabriel Orozco exhibition at Tate Modern is a must.

A friend made our Friday this afternoon with the gift of these beautiful and subtly unusual roses from Absolute Flowers in Little Venice, London. There's nothing quite like fresh flowers to lift the spirits, and we were pleased to see the art-deco-inspired identity we created for Absolute Flowers in all its gold-foiled glory on the bag and compliment slip! Here's to a blooming marvellous weekend for all our allies...

We had an extremely pleasant surprise this afternoon when the latest copy of Elle Decoration landed in the Allies studio - they magazine has featured La Fromagerie's delicious savoury biscuits in its Focus News section, showcasing the packaging we designed for the new range recently. It's lovely to see our work in such a respected setting, and equally satisfying to see the La Fromagerie biscuits still receiving such positive press over a month after their launch. Thanks, Elle Decoration!

Allies have been working on a very special project this month, with the design of a festive window installation for La Fromagerie in Marylebone. Working in collaboration with Emma Oldham of Solange Design, the window provides an elegant, seasonal take on the traditional advent calendar, with a selection of delicious cheeses replacing the more conventional chocolate.

The Christmas window installation for La Fromagerie was based upon our lingering impression of the shop as a Dutch still life made real; it also intended to reflect the shop's status as a source of pure and lovingly-produced products. With this in mind, we evolved the initial concept to incorporate the excitement and engagement of childhood advent memories - an evocative balance of inspiration, education and magic.

The finished window is subtly striking. Classical, yet modern gold foil advent numerals are displayed on the window, with the day's date circled in fluorescent orange. Inside the shop, a simple black & gold open frame holds an exquisite, atmospheric and evocative photograph of the daily cheese, courtesy of photographer Jeremy Coleman. Below, tasting notes are set with wine/beer pairings; every relevant visual changes with the new dawn.

A taster selection of the cheese photography is shown below, but be sure to visit La Fromagerie on Marylebone's Moxon Street to see the installation in person and discover the day's advent cheese choice. Plus, with Christmas just a few days away, now's the perfect time to drop in and pick up some perfectly ripe cheeses and festive fayre for your Christmas table!