There’s no doubt about it, geology is a trendy subject in design at the moment. Designers are bringing nature into the interior with all manner of mined materials such as crystals, minerals, geodes, gem stones, marble, sand etc. The more mystical and unusual looking the better. One of our favourite, more recent, examples is by London based design studio Study O Portable, who have made a series of mirrors made out of sliced, polished and silvered pieces of quartz.

The designers were inspired by the essential role that quartz crystal oscillators play in the function of many domestic electrical devices (wrist watches, radios, record players, televisions, telephones, computers to name a few). These rough hewn shards of quartz may be more decorative than they are functional but we like them for the way they draw attention to and celebrate the natural beauty of this valuable and versatile material.

- A.Morris