Posted by
Ray | 31 May 2012
|
Comments (1)
Brooklyn-based designer Brian Volk-Zimmerman can claim a bit of heritage that many of his fellow RISD grads can't muster: his great-great-great uncle John Volk was a "furniture maker of local renown in the early 19th Century." Thus, Volk-Zimmerman's semi-eponymous efforts are an endeavor to "honor a family tradition that he discovered when he found a simply-constructed wooden side chair in the attic of the family farmhouse in which he grew up... The promise of Volk Furniture is that future generations will treasure the simplicity, care and craft embodied in each piece."
Origin aside, the Volk-Zimmerman produces uncommonly fine furniture with a strong sense of craftsmanship and attention to detail in equal measure, and his booth at the ICFF was an understated standout if there ever was one. Of his latest work, he says:
The Spring 2012 collection by Volk Furniture expands on the themes of incorporating re-purposed vintage items and using the tactile beauty of wood and fabrics in unique and inspired ways. Inlaid brass follows the patterns formed by pinhole knots in the solid walnut body of the dresser and hutch. Harris Tweed as upholstery imbues a chair with both style and history and also serves as a beautiful screen for whatever one might store behind the sliding doors of the hutch. Vintage typewriter keys not only mark the focal point of a circular side table of fumed white oak, but can personalize a stool.
The Walnut Dresser with a matching hutch features a Harris tweed panels on the sliding doors and the subtlest of inlays: tiny brass eyes inserted into the existing pinhole knots.
Photo by Maria-Teresa Capelle-Burny, courtesy of Volk Furniture
The custom "mid-century inspired brass V-shaped pulls" match those of the cerused white oak side table, which is paired with a different shirting fabric as the interior lining of the drawers.
Abigail's stool is inlaid with vintage typewriter keys
continued...
Posted by
LinYee Yuan | 31 May 2012
|
Comments (1)
Since 1875, Japanese manufacturer Kaikado has been creating beautifully crafted tin canisters, Chazutsu for tea and drygoods storage. These airtight containers are simple, everyday objects of form and function that get better with use—the patina from regular handling can be admired below and some Kaikado chazutsu have been passed down through generations. The 6th generation family-run company has been handcrafting each canister from their Kyoto-based studio for over 130 years.
The manufacturing process for the Kaikado chazutsu involves anywhere between 130 to 140 steps, "the hand-made tea caddies have virtually remained true to the designs established by Kaikado's founding generation. The die and mold used in the early years of the company is still in use today, whilst some shapes of tea caddy used 130 years ago are still in production today."
continued...
Posted by
Ray | 30 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Yep, that's more or less exactly what it looks like: the sweetest ping pong table you've ever seen. The "Pingtuated Equilipong" by Akke Functional Art is intended to embody a quantum leap in sport and dining alike with the convertible piece.
Niles Eldredge and Stephen J. Gould's Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium proposes that most species exhibit little evolutionary variation for most of their history until rare and rapid events create significant changes.
The ping pong table has just experienced such a phenomenon. This regulation-size ping pong table (that converts to a dining table by removing the 'net') has revolutionized the traditional form.
Since the photos from ICFF hardly do it justice, designer and principal Axel Yberg was happy to provide hi-res photos of the piece...
The materials, per his description: "Mulberry, Chinese chestnut, black walnut, sycamore, red oak, black locust, cherry, holly, sassafras, and ash, reclaimed plumbing pipes and fittings, glass, mirror, steel, aircraft cable, and Edison reproduction light bulbs."
continued...
Posted by
LinYee Yuan | 30 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Stars Above Desk Lamp is a take on 2011's We Are Made of Stars LED Floor Lamp. The colors and form is a nice nod to Memphis.
If the pegboard flooring didn't tip you off, Core77 fave Joseph Ribic of Cleveland-based Objeti takes pride in the hands-on crafting process for his furniture. For 2012's ICFF, Objeti debuted a collection that explores familiar archetypes of Americana.
Objeti's Windsor Chair is a subtle take on that American classic and the Shaker tradition of woodworking. The spindles that make up the back of the chair gently slope into a comfortable seat.
Ribic demonstrates the opening action of his new side table. It has a multi-tiered hinge opening that was inspired by old school sewing boxes and fishing tackle boxes.
continued...
Posted by
Ray | 30 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
It was bound to happen sooner or later: this year's ICFF saw not only a handful of (good-to-excellent) satellite shows but also a satellite of a satellite. In homage to the original Salon des Refusés, the 1867 exhibition held outside the official Paris Salon, the nine designers in the 2012 edition have set up some 15 blocks south of the 'parent' exhibition, Sawkill Lumber's 12x12 at WantedDesign.
The city's first flash furniture exhibit made it's debut during New York Design Week 2012, with record crowds passing through the outdoor location at the intersection of 9th Ave. & 14th St. in NYC's Meatpacking District. The show included local designer/makers that were not accepted by a juried show, organizing as a Salon des Refuses (French: Exhibit of the Refused)...
The works, made of locally reclaimed lumber, and a range of other refuse, are a mix of furniture types—benches, chairs, tables, consoles, and an iChamber (part homage to its location opposite the Apple Store). Whether the furniture measures up to other 2012 Design Week installations (the public and critics will judge), does not detract from it's celebration of local craftsmanship, sustainability and public accessibility.
The exhibit is free to the public. As one Refusé reported, "People have interacted with the furniture and designers, and appreciate the relaxed outdoor spot. We definitely didn't feel refused. Other NY Design Week events, by economic necessity, need to charge for admission, though attendees experience an exceptional collection of international and local design. It's hoped that future NY design weeks serve to engage the public more widely and that the success of the Salon des Refusés in terms of public outreach and the inclusion of designers with limited marketing resources, can be multiplied. Restraint in branding the event critical to it's happening.
John Pellinghelli (Whiskey Neat) - The Whiskey Neat Bar (red spruce t/g flooring, scrap metal)
Mairo Notton - Hi-Lo Bench (various pallet woods)
Matthew Hogan (Reliquary Studio) - Refuses Coffee Table (301 W 72nd St)
While it's not quite as cheeky (or outright egalitarian) as the DENNIS Design Center in Milan, the Salon de Refusés was a success, insofar as it embodied both the conscientious mission of Sawkill Lumber and a more public approach to the design festival.
Tony Stanzione (Stanzione Studio) - 2 Chairs (found chairs, reclaimed sapele)
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 30 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
After Artek, the Finnish furniture design powerhouse, turned 75 in 2010 their goal was to expand their time-honored collection of furniture that Alvar Aalto developed in the 30's and 40's and begin collaborations with like-minded architects and designers. "While valuing traditions Artek has at the same time entered a new era. Combining the ideology of the radical founders and a contemporary and dynamic approach to product development, the company is more art and tech than ever."
At ICFF this year, Artek debuted an expansion of their Kiki collection, which earned Ilmari Tapiovaara the gold prize at the Milan Triennale in 1960. Called the godfather of Nordic modernism, Tapiovaara skyrocketed to fame with his Domus chair collection. An interior architect, he noted that "a chair is not just a seat—it is the key to the whole interior." With the Kiki collection, he furthered his goal to design inexpensive furniture for a broader audience. As opposed to Tapiovaara's more organic forms, Kiki is extremely pared down and clean cut. Made from steel tubing instead of wood—his usual material of choice—the Kiki chairs are stackable and durable, and are one of the most popular pieces of public furniture in Finland. For ICFF, Artek added a range of new color options for the fabric on the chairs, benches, lounges and sofas.
Artek's presentation also included the Lento chair by Harri Koskinen. "Lento," Koskinen said, "means flights and its design can be associated with lightness and airiness." He started designing the collection in 2006, and has recently expanded it to include an upholstered version of the chair and lounge chair. Like Tapiovaara, Koskinen wanted to design something practical and affordable. "He searches for clarity and innovative solutions that meet the needs of the consumer and the manufacturer alike. Lento is a graphic product family, but also pleasantly anonymous."
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 30 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
I've been impressed with the work coming out of Autoban's Instanbul-based studio ever since I saw their first interior project for the House Cafe restaurants in Turkey. After the success of the Instinye location, which featured large clocktower-shaped framework structures that resemble human-sized birdcages, Autoban designed two more restaurant interiors for House in 2008 and 2009. For New York Design Week, Autoban brought their work Stateside and we finally got a chance to see their blend of luxury and handcrafted design in person.
You might have seen the Q&A that Matter hosted at ICFF with Autoban's founders Seyhan Ozdemir and Sefer Caglar, who spoke about the four new products they collaborated on with De La Espada for their 2012 collection. Three of their pieces were also on display at Matter's design week pop-up location: the Tulip Lamp, the Reedy Bookcase and the Deer Armchair, so called because its legs and arms are "inspired by the thin and fragile legs of a deer." The Reedy Bookcase is a sliding, modular unit that allows you to customize it according to your space. This one gets its name from "the tall, water-side grasses of nature," but I prefer my interpretation of Reedy as a play on the word read, which is what you do with the books you stack in it, right? All these sleek pieces (and more!) are available from Matter's online shop for a price, but hey, those massive ICFF booth spaces don't come cheap.
Pill Lights
Daisy Lamp on Holy Table and Butterfly Chairs.
Tulip Lamp, Nest Chair, Reedy Bookcase
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 29 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Designed for people convalescing at home, the Throne by Universal Kinetics is a modular, highly configurable furniture system that's less expensive than the standard issue in-home hospital bed and attractive enough to use later on. The Throne is basically made of two boxes on wheels. One box supports a "surprisingly comfortable" couch with side tables and lamps than can be attached per your specifications. The other box holds a video monitor for watching movies and using the Internet. To turn the couch into a bed, simply roll the two boxes together to extend the platform. An extra perk are the sliding drawers that are built into the box, so you can store clothes, books etc. right underneath you.
The entire unit is controlled with SmartGrips, a super sensitive contoured grip sensor that can be attached around the neck of a lamp, for example. To change channels on TV or adjust the position of the bed you simply squeeze the grip - perfect for people with reduced motor skills who have trouble using small buttons on a standard remote. And when the convalescing period is over you can keep the Throne as a bed or take it apart for a rolling coffee table/storage unit, a home theatre or love seat. It even acts as its own shipping container and can be assembled at home with just a screwdriver. If images of IKEA are dancing in your head, fret not. With parts made by precise, computer-guided machinery and industrial strength hardware, the Throne is built to last.
The basic configuration starts at $1,300 and goes up from there depending on what features (drawers, trays, tables, a set-up for Tele-Medicine) you want to include. Use the visualization tool to see a rendering of your personalized configuration.
continued...
Posted by
Ray | 29 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
As much as I hate to say it, I've heard the term "reclaimed wood" so much recently that it's starting to lose its meaning, perhaps as an inevitable corollary to the buzz surrounding sustainability and increasing demand for transparency... not to mention epiphenomena such as green fatigue.
In any case, Sawkill Lumber Co. is a NYC-based salvage outfit that specializes in that very thing, and based on their recent exhibition for NY Design Week 2012, I must say that they do it right. They partnered with non-profit Brooklyn Woods, Build-It-Green and 3rd Ward to produce 12x12 at WantedDesign, "a juried design event that brought together twelve designers and the lumber of twelve demolished New York City structures, each transforming the scrap woods into exceptional works of contemporary furniture."
The city's multi-layered history has been renewed through contemporary design, resulting in unique handcrafted furniture works. The 12 pieces will also be sold in a silent auction over the course of the exhibition and through May 25, 2012. Through Brooklyn Woods, a local non-profit, proceeds will benefit a citywide woodshop training program for low-income and high risk New Yorkers.
Nikolai Moderbacher - SI: Progress (862 Washington St., Manhattan)
Each piece is listed with the source of its raw material, a dozen fine timbers from four of the five boroughs.
Moderbacher's piece was a crowdpleaser
Louis Lim - Round & Round (1090 Legget Ave, Bronx)
It's hard to tell from the photos, but the drawer slides freely through the length of the circular bench. Suffice it to say that Lim's piece was a real showstopper
Ten more gems after the jump...
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 28 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
The San Francisco-based furniture brand, Council, used ICFF to debut its 2012 collection, which included Eric Pfeiffer's award-winning Plank collection and the striking Twig chairs, by Chad Wright. The extended back on the Twig was apparently inspired by the form of the Golden Gate Bridge. It adds a subtle touch of interest to the simple chair, but practically speaking it provides a hook for hanging a bag or a jacket. They come in an array of bright colors just in time for summer.
However, the ICFF Editor's Award for Outdoor Furniture went to the Plank collection, a series of lounges, tables and stacking chairs made from Perrennial Wood, a new material that Council decided to work with after the manufacturer expressed an interest in collaborating on an outdoor collection. With their relaxed slatted seat and minimal frame, the Plank is a contemporary take on the traditional Adirondack chair. Pfeiffer describes it as
...restrained, almost utilitarian in its material use. Each piece boasts a simple curve in wood lightly resting on a powder coated rod base to create an expressive, inviting form. Perennial Wood is a beautiful, humble material providing unique aesthetics and performance characteristics not currently available for the outdoor market.
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 28 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Similar to France's Nouvelle Vague exhibition at WantedDesign, DMY Berlin curated "BER-JFK" at 22 Bond as part of Noho Design District. The exhibition featured work by sixteen designers living and working in Berlin. Whereas most designers are either marketable or experimental, the showing from Berlin bridged both categories with products that are functional, often beautiful and play with form in exciting new ways.
Llotllov's Earl light is made of twenty wooden balls strung on a cable that you can adjust the height and angle of depending on your needs. The strand is capped off by a big wooden bead embedded with an LED light and covered with a silicone shade that you can rotate to direct the light stream.
Hermann August Weizenegger presented the Botanica light, inspired by striated forms in nature. The shade is both spooky and beautiful, resembling, perhaps, a floating marine organism, a strange rock formation or a curtain frozen mid-rise. You can't tell from the picture, but each layer is a sheer strip of fabric so that when it's illuminated in a dark room it gives off a warm glow.
Werner Aisslinger's Hemp Chair is a concept for a monobloc chair made by compressing natural fibers, in this case hemp and kenaf, with Acrodur, a water-based acrylic resin. Unlike other reactive resins, this method releases no phenol or formaldehyde during the cross-linking process. The only by-product of the curing procedure is water. "Design history is driven by new technologies and material innovation," said Aisslinger. "For us designers, the advent of these technologies has always been the starting point for new objects and typologies in design."
My favorite chair in the exhibition is David Geckeler's Fragment Side Chair, a powder-coated steel chair with a unique three-legged orientation. The two front legs have feet that are turned inwards and are balanced by a third tripod leg that extends directly from the chair back. Geckeler plays with form even more with the slightly angled seat and the notches cut in the lower back. Shown here in a sumptuous, light mossy green, Fragment is even more gorgeous in person.
Lastly, Aylin Kayser's show-stopping Schrank 11 is a cabinet inspired by Russian Matryoshka dolls. Made up of eleven cupboards, one placed inside the other, each piece can be taken out and used individually, stacked or hung on the wall. "The trans-generational, open-ended and participatory concept offers users an array of choices and ways of intervening in the system," said Kayser.
After leaving New York, the exhibition takes a break before heading to Buenos Aires Design Festival, Sao Paolo and Design Miami. See more of the work on the exhibition website.
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 25 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
In 2011 Rich Brilliant Willing won the ICFF award for Best New Designer and now, just one year later, they seem like seasoned pros. Their booth was stocked with a few of last year's favorites along with their 2012 collection, the Cask Stool, Fawn Tables, Radient Light and Trig Floor Lamp (as seen in the Core77 OPEN!)—all thoughtful extensions of the simple but striking mix of materials and geometrical focus of their previous work.
The through-tenon joinery and metal braces used in the Cask Stools are reminiscent of the metal enclosures in RBW's popular Branch lighting series. The stools, available in two heights and two colors—white or ebonized oak—are fitted with a foot rest in either blackened steel or a very gorgeous satin brass plated steel. What I love about the white oak option is that at first it looks like a simple, nicely made wooden stool until your eyes drift downwards to the bling—and then POP! That one simple addition really makes the piece sing.
Like the Cask Stools, the beauty of the Fawn Tables is all in the details, like the way the solid wood table top angles inward to meet the legs, which are also solid wood. The simple, elegant design choices highlight the quality of the materials and the obvious consideration that went into the craftsmanship. "The construction includes an engineered solid wood top for rigidity and durability," making it a piece you buy for life.
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 25 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
In a charming French accent, Romain Lagrange explained the intricacies of "Gates," his wooden croquet set, to a small gathering that was equally charmed by his design objects on view at WantedDesign. Details like a hand-stitched leather-wrapped handle, a custom-made compressed cork mallet and six sycamore maple gates drive the price of this prototype upwards of $400. It's beautiful, though, and photos scarcely do justice to the truly stunning piece of craftsmanship. Except for the mallets, the entire set—six gates, two stakes and two balls—can be packed up into a tidy little carrying case, complete with a leather strap.
Lagrange decided to remake the croquet set because he felt the traditional game sets were cumbersome with too many parts that were awkward to transport. He also wanted to make the game more accessible by creating an indoor version, a throwback to Louis XIV who liked playing croquet but ultimately gave it up when he couldn't play during the winter months... which makes Lagrange's set fit for a king.
Posted by
Ray | 24 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Nine designers continue their exploration of the original brief of the Designers in Residence program at Northumbria University, posted in full in our interview with Director Rickard Wittingham during the inaugural program last year. Once again, residents have set out to "investigate the language of task-focused objects"—i.e. tools—specifically to "design and make [or have produced] a tool that carries out one, some or all of the following physical actions: Ctrl. CSVXZ."
Neil Conley's poster design was featured on the newsletter, which included an excerpt from our interview with Rickard
To that end, the designers created working prototypes—and a requisite bit of documentation, per the directive to include "something that illustrates the design process"—that meet the primary criteria of "[not making] us look stupid when we show it in NYC." As this last tongue-in-cheek bit implies, the results were exhibited at the ICFF this past weekend, alongside several of last years' projects (again, seen in last year's coverage).
Tatsuya Akita's "Chronovora" (Ctrl +) were a personal favorite
David Irwin - Rivet Lights (Cmd+Opt+ -)
Philip Luscombe - Cabinet Knobs (Ctrl O)
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 24 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
France may be a leader in many disciplines—food, film, fashion, art—but so far design is not one of them. That, however, may be beginning to change. In the last three years France has been undergoing something of an "entrepreneurial design frenzy" with an accompanying design market boom and an influx of new design galleries. To show the world what France's emerging design scene has to offer, they're touring around an exhibition called "Nouvelle Vague: The New French Domestic Landscape."
The first stop on the tour was at WantedDesign, and if the five studios whose work was included in the show are any indication, France is on the cusp of not only one of the most refined, considered and beautifully crafted design movements, but one that honors the intellectual and conceptual side of design as well. Here, there were no cute lamps or chairs that were simply cool looking. Each design had not only a purpose but a philosophy.
Juan-Pablo Naranjo, a co-founder of Studio Nocc, expressed his fascination with design Darwinism, the evolution of objects and furniture design. After looking at how the design of a chair or table has changed over time, he considers the individual elements of a single piece of furniture and asks why it evolved that way and whether changing it - adding a kink in its evolutionary timeline—will increase its functionality. What he's discovered is that at the very least these modifications get people to reconsider the way they interact with daily objects.
Take, for example, Nocc's Hypertrophy Chair (above), a basic white chair with one curved, wooden armrest that we might call a normal, standard armrest, and one armrest that arcs from the chair's back down to the floor. How does elongating the armrest make your interaction with this chair different? Suddenly, with this one slight adjustment, it's no longer just a chair anymore. Now you're really thinking not just about how you're going to use this chair, but how you've come to treat chairs in general over the years. From a purely practical point of view, the extra long armrest is great for holding a blanket, your jacket or the newspaper, but it really does much more that.
In the Siamese Table, Nocc gives the side table a side table of its own. In their Objects of Sounds collection, the shapes of the vases, pendant lights and candlesticks are derived from the shape of a sound recording of your voice as your say the name of the object. Both black candlesticks are the physical manifestations of Nocc's two founders saying the same word (see a quick video of how it works).
continued...
Posted by
core jr | 23 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
During NY Design Week 2012, Core77 has been following students from six design schools from the United States and France as they employed digital fabrication methods to compete in a 3-Day lighting challenge. Participating schools included Art Center College of Design, Parsons The New School for Design, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), ENSCI les ateliers, Ecole Boulle and Ecole supérieure d'art et design Saint-Etienne.
After a two-part competition where students were first asked to create individual designs and then assigned to teams, the race to the finish line was fast and furious.
In the end, the team of Johanna Lapray (ENSCI), Florent Julien (ENSCI) and Joseph Willet (SCAD) impressed our team of jurors: Core77 Editor-in-Chief Allan Chochinov, Dror Benshetrit, Giulio Cappellini, Simone Rothman (TaiPing) and Chantal Hamaide (Intramuros).
"The SUV Lamp impressed the jury because it was a big idea, perfectly executed and off the beaten path from most laser-cut modular lamps. It's sly use of the marble-ized 3M film, the front grill pattern, the 'volume described by a curved plane'—these were all very sophisticated elements that combined to create a very resolved, unique product." Core77 Congratulates all the students for a job well done!
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 23 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
The main attraction at the Standard Hotel—aka Noho Design District HQ—was "Making 101," a live demonstration from Makers & Brothers, a design and craft collective located in Ireland. Jonathan and Mark Legge (the brothers) teamed up to create "an online retail venture founded on simple things; the handmade, objects of integrity, contemporary vernaculars, a curation of everyday design and craft." They had an offering of some of the items they sell online available for purchase, like Padraig Larkin's Willow Rattle made with nuts inside, the housemade Wooden Spinning Top and the 3-Legged Stools by James Carroll, who was making them there in person.
Based on an old Irish milking stool archetype, Carroll's stools are roughly hewn; The seat is smooth but pocked with his carvings and the legs are whittled to an approximate size and then fitted into the base of the seat. Carroll moved with ease around the stacks of timber in his temporary studio in the front window of the Standard. While we chatted it was clear he had made this stool hundreds of times. The back and forth motion of working the shaving-horse was so natural to him that he didn't miss a stroke as he casually reached into his pocket and handed me his business card.
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 23 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Photos by Mike Garten
When the designers at RUX finished a recent wood-based project, their workshop was littered with leftover wood scraps and offcuts, everything from Maple to sun-bleached Ipe salvaged from the Coney Island boardwalk. Instead of tossing away the bits and pieces, they decided to make it a design challenge to come up with a product that not only made use of the leftover materials, but made it a central part of the final design. The result is the Stickbulb lamp, a skinny LED light housed inside the wooden scraps that can be painted and joined in a variety a ways.
The Bang series joins three sticks together with a steel 'knuckle' or joint - a fresh take on the tripod lamp. It comes in three sizes, Little Bang, Middle Bang and Big Bang. The Torch is a floor lamp made up of just one stick that juts through a weighted steel base so that it leans forward just slightly. My favorite is the Wall Torch, which can be positioned in two ways. You can take it out of its base (no, it's not hot) and face the stick against the wall to create a soft glow, or you can face the light out and raise the stick up to a 90-degree angle to make a reading light. The LED strips look great alone and in a group, housed in raw wood or painted.
Posted by
core jr | 22 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
For the second part of the Student Design Challenge hosted at WantedDesign, students representing three American and three French schools were divided by the judges into small teams based on their individual presentations. With access to acrylic, a laser-cutter and 3M-donated architectural films, the students began meshing their ideas together with their teammates. Challenge judges including Core77 Editor in Chief Allan Chochinov, Parsons Product Design Director Rama Chorpash and New Zealand-based designer David Trubridge worked with students while François Brument helped guide the process. With less than 48 hours until their final presentations, the students had a long road ahead of them.
Participating schools are Art Center College of Design, Parsons The New School for Design, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), ENSCI les ateliers, Ecole Boulle and Ecole supérieure d'art et design Saint-Etienne.
A great example of these collaborations came from an American student who created a radial lamp for his personal presentation. He was partnered with a French student who had created a series of V-shaped acrylic pieces that can be notched together. Together, their pendant light became a sculptural object.
I especially liked the way that this team explored the materiality of the 3M architectural films. Their light was powered by batteries hidden in the fold of this soft-bodied light. The shape undulates into a rolling S-shaped donut.
One of the few projects that successfully explored both materials—laser-cut acrylic and 3M film—this team applied the reflective films to a modular acrylic base to build out mirrored, sculptural table lamp.
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 22 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
The trick to standing out amongst the 35 designers crowded into the Designboom mart at ICFF is not to overwhelm your tiny display space with everything you've ever made. Canadian designer Miss Sinclaire set up shop with just one product, her tiffin lunch kit, and its clean lines and thoughtful design elements easily caught my eye. As anyone who regularly eats their weekly midday meal from plastic togo boxes and ziploc containers knows, it feels really nice to eat off an actual plate with real utensils.
Sinclaire's design gracefully solves one of those problems. The tiffin lunch kit is made up of two stacking bowls and a cork lid that locks the set together under an elastic strap and a metal handle. The bowls, which Sinclaire casts herself in "durable, thin-walled ceramic," are beautifully made. They can be used to separate food like curries and rice or soup and bread, and the cork lid can double as a trivet or even a plate. Pack it up for a picnic or for an office lunch you don't chuck in the bin when you're finished. You can pick one up at Sinclaire's online shop for $65.
Posted by
Ray | 22 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
It should come as no surprise that Vitsœ—a company that employs cycling enthusiasts on both sides of the Atlantic—were happy to host "Built to Last," an exhibition of beautiful bicycles by New York's own Kinfolk Studios. The short talk by Kinfolk co-founder Ryan Carney last Thursday was among the first events to mark the ICFF festivities in town this weekend, which run through tomorrow, May 22.
Carney started the Brooklyn- and Tokyo-based design studio with a few well-traveled buddies who all happened to be into skateboarding and, of course, Japanese track bicycles (also known as Keirin bikes, after the track cycling race). The latter has become their claim to fame, and while the Kinfolk Bicycle Co. remains their most successful enterprise to date, they've since expanded their practice into designing interiors, as well as a bit of client work on the side.
Ryan's Kinfolk hangs in the window; image courtesy of Vitsœ
Over the course of the talk and Q&A session, Carney—a math major who worked as an aerospace engineer prior to launching the brand—shared a brief history of the brand, which he founded in 2008 with John Buellens, Maceo Eagle and Salah Mason when they wanted to get ahold of some Keirin bicycles from Tokyo, where John and Maceo had been living. (It's an obsession that I can relate to: contemporary craft builders notwithstanding, the Japanese are rivaled only by the Italians when it comes to traditional steel track bikes.)
Maceo supplemented Ryan's gloss with a bit of insight into the enduring appeal of Keirin bikes: since spectators bet on the riders (as opposed to the bikes), each and every component is made to extremely strict standards and approved by the NJS, the regulatory organization responsible for ensuring that the only variable is in the competitors themselves.
Co-founder John Buellens
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 22 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Blake Tovin and Matt Richmond of Tovin Design Limited are furniture designers first and foremost, but as they're also huge audiophiles their newest line, Symbol Audio, might just be their biggest indulgence yet. So far there are three products in the line, the consumer friendly Tabletop HIFI, a luxe set of subwoofers that can plug into everything from your iPhone to your record player, the LP Storage Cabinet, which has two CD/DVD drawers and four pull-down storage bins that can hold up to 640 LPS, and the flagship of the line, the Modern Record Console.
With vinyl record sales doubling every year since 2008, Tovin and Richmond think it's high time the all-in-one record player console came back on the market. But the MRC isn't for your average vinyl enthusiast; The electronics on this player are serious business. Open the lid and feast your eyes on "a hand built tube amplifier and turntable set into patinated steel plates" that merge analog sound with a modern wireless system. "Tucked out of view into the steel base is a second dedicated amplifier and subwoofer designed to extend the low end frequency and provide added richness to the sound. For the convenience of streaming digital music. just switch the selector from turntable to WiFi and stream from any digital source through the built-in wireless router."
The same level of detail is paid to the exterior, which is made from solid American Walnut that rests on a steel base. The entire console in made and assembled by hand in the US, but unlike the comparably affordable-ish Tabletop HIFI ($1,800) and the LP Storage Cabinet ($2,750 - $5,250), the MRC will run you about $15,000.
continued...
Posted by
Perrin Drumm | 22 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
Fourteen years ago Philippe Starck and Emeco partnered up to produce a recycled aluminum chair that was designed to last 150+ years. "A great chair never should have to be recycled: it's made for life," said Starck. Called the Heritage chair, the entire collection is made from 80% recycle aluminum. In fact, Emeco is known as the aluminum chair company. "That's what we do. Turning 80% recycled aluminum into classic chairs. It's not easy. In fact it takes 77 steps to get there. Sure we use a few machines, but for us they're just tools, operated by us, by hand. 116 hands to be exact. Not all at once though. To make just one chair it takes 50 hands 8 hours. And if you want it polished that's another 8 hours. Made by hand. It's what makes every chair unique. Look underneath a few. Some welds may be more buzzed than burred. Other more burred than buzzed. It's not a mistake. It's human. It's what makes an Emeco chair an Emeco chair."
It's great to see a major manufacturer like Emeco remain committed to making recycled materials a major part of quality design and craftsmanship. Over the years they've collaborate with designers like Frank Gehry and Norman Foster. For their latest collaborative effort, Starck and the folks at Emeco have created Broom, a chair that gives industrial waste a new life. "Imagine," Starck said, "a guy who takes a humble broom and starts to clean the workshop, and with this dust he makes new magic." He's talking about literally sweeping up the leftover waste on a factory floor and creating a revolutionary new new material from it.
continued...
Posted by
core jr | 21 May 2012
|
Comments (1)
When we checked-in with our student designers this Saturday at WantedDesign, they had just started on their challenge with the straight-forward parameters: make a light using laser-cut acrylic and 3M-donated films. Students representing six design schools from the United States and France were hard at work sketching, modeling and exchanging ideas on how to best execute forms and functionalities with the given materials. Participating schools are Art Center College of Design, Parsons The New School for Design, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), ENSCI les ateliers, Ecole Boulle and Ecole supérieure d'art et design Saint-Etienne.
After 24-hours of building models, students from all six schools presented and were then mixed and matched based on their individual ideas. The next phase of the project: overcoming language barriers to build a final lighting concept incorporating the ideas from the full project team. Read our exclusive interview with Student Design Challenge instigator, François Brument.
continued...
Posted by
core jr | 21 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
In case you can't make it down to the Bleeker Street Theater before tomorrow, no worries—you still have time to pickup your fave Tom Dixon find at Fab.com 's online pop-up for NY Design Week. Pickup the Offcut Fluoro bench or the peg stand in natural, black or white. Mirrorball Pendants are a steal! Act fast—some of the pieces are already sold out since the flash sale launched last a week ago and check out our exclusive interview with Tom Dixon on Light, Love and Rock 'n' Roll!
London Underground
Bleeker Street Theater Basement
45 Bleeker Street and Lafayette
Through May 22nd
Posted by
core jr | 21 May 2012
|
Comments (0)
From Broadway to Rockaway, Pelham to Freshkills, 8.2 million people call New York City home. On the occasion of New York Design Week 2012, Core77 takes a moment to survey the landscape of all five boroughs with an open call to designers to represent their hometown. Since its very beginnings, the city has been a trading grounds—a venue at the crossroads of ideas, commerce, materials and innovation. The 35 designers representing nearly as many neighborhoods in the ALL CITY ALL STARS continue to explore that space, negotiating technologies, materials, histories and futures in the crucible of a dynamic city. Interpretations may vary, but the voice of New York City is as bold, inquisitive and imaginative as ever.
>>View Full Gallery
FRIEZE NEW YORK 2013
INTERNATIONAL HOME + HOUSEWARES SHOW 2013
TOKYO DESIGN WEEK 2012
BEIJING DESIGN WEEK 2012
