RCA SECRET SALE 2013

AFFORDABLE ART FAIR, BATTERSEA 2013

Painting by Candice Tripp as featured at the Affordable Art Fair

It's true, art fairs aren't exactly the most inviting. In my fantasy land they would be places of paintings and candy floss; a place where everyone smiles and buys art. In reality they are somewhat like a dentist's waiting room. A little cold, lots of white, and not so many smiles. But the Affordable Art Fair is in town to brighten the scene and prove it all wrong.

I didn't expect it to be so fun. It's packed with all sorts of art – prints of vintage spoons, giant photographs of scenes from around the world, moving portraits and those pieces that make you laugh or   frown. If there was ever a place where every taste in art could be satisfied it's this. The other amazing thing is I could easily talk to gallery owners about any piece I liked.

It's set in an awkward location – Battersea Park, although it also pops up in Hampstead and Bristol over the year – but a shuttle bus service from Sloane Square makes you feel like Knightsbridge royalty. This is what makes it physically accessible. Financially, everything is between £40 to £40,000 so in theory it's for big shots and small pockets. But I'll say that anything with a $40 price tag is a reproduced print the size of a post card. So unless you have a slice of wall that could just do with a sliver of art, the fair is worth going to for a day or afternoon out. The down-to-earth organisers hold regular quick-fire tours to give you an idea of what's on show and how to approach art. Each stop takes you to a different gallery stall, where the managers are given a minute to explain what they're selling and why. There's also artisan food and drink. It all seems pretty posh, but the nice part is, it's really not.

Kitchen perfection. This would look great near a dining table.

The books had been on the shelf for so long the words in their titles travelled onto other covers.

Be so good they can't ignore you

You are my sunshine...

They wished their £1000 purchase didn't look like a Next sale 

IT'S BEEN AND GONE

Rain Room by Random International, Courtesy of Barbican Art Gallery, Copyright Felix Clay

Nothing could have made it better. It took the one uncontrollable thing that causes our perfectly groomed hair to frizz (and in some cases ping into awkward kinks), wedding's to be ruined and Monday morning's to be miserable, and turned it into something beautiful.

I don't know if you've seen Singin' in the Rain yet, but when Gene Kelly kicks about in the water I wish I could join him: throwing my umbrella, raising my arms (a bit like Andy in Shawshank Redemption) and embracing mother nature's power. Followed by the hairdryers and floor cleaners as in the stage version of Singin' in the Rain at London's Palace Theatre.

That is why Random International's (a creative digital installation company) Rain Room at the Barbican was so perfect. (The 2,000 litres of rain fell everywhere in the room except for the spot you're standing on.) 77, 000 people and perfectly-dry-spots later the room closed yesterday night. In five months, it's become the most popular attraction in Barbican history, closing at midnight on Saturday to keep up with those rain lovers pouring in (sorry for the pun).

I love digital or you might even call it 'experience' art. I remember V&A's Decode exhibition couldn't function without us interacting in it. They're almost like toys for adults; and anything that makes you feel like you're five again is worth smiling about.

THE MAKING OF THE MULBERRY SHOW

It's Fashion Week season but who's looking at the clothes just yet?

The first live fashion show I ever saw was Eley Kishimoto Spring/Summer 2008 at London Fashion Week and it's cutesy prints and cuts were showcased against a minimalistic, white backdrop. Here, we were only looking at clothes. But in 2010 I saw a Maria Grachvogel show at The Waldorf's Palm Court, which is ordinarily filled with those having a spot of high tea. There weren't any sounds of clinking china and chitter chatter that morning. Instead, speakers blasted the sound of rain falling and eventually a full on thunderstorm poured down. This time, when the models walked out in their wild printed dresses, it wasn't just the clothes talking. We were already catching onto a 'message'. So my point is, these show's aren't just fashions shows, but platforms for a whole lot more craft.

Flora, Fauna and butterflies might not feel like art but these are artists who transformed Claridge's Ballroom for Mulberry's Autumn Winter 2013/4 presentation show. A total of 420 bluebells, 100 sunflower petals, 26 Mulberry leaves, 1200 butterflies and 30 large-scale poppies.