By Michael Cooper - Sep 28

Highlights from London Design Fair, Design Junction and Biodesign 2018

Good design isn't child's play. Or is it? Here's another fresh bunch of festival favorites from London Design Festival

Having handpicked the heroes from the show floor at 100% Design, we now turn our attention to looking back on a handful of highlights from London Design Fair, Design Junction and Biodesign at London Design Festival 2018. So come with us on a whistle-stop tour, and don't forget your toothbrush.

By Michael Cooper - Sep 25

100% Design Brought Coffee-Flavored Furniture and Huggable Lighting to London Design Festival 2018

A recap of one of LDF's most exciting exhibitions

100% Design is one of the biggest jewels in the crown of London Design Festival, and this year's show floor was generously encrusted with some proper gems from emerging talent. Fresh twists on traditional furniture forms and use of materials resulted in must-see highlights that surfed a rainbow of traits

By Rain Noe - Sep 24

Studio 7.5 on the Design of Herman Miller's New Cosm Chair

"We think a chair should be designed more like a bicycle, not a car"

Herman Miller looks like they may have knocked it out of the seating park again, this time with their new Cosm chair: The Cosm was designed by the Berlin-based design firm Studio 7.5, the same firm behind previous Herman Miller hits the Setu, the Mirra and the Mirra 2. Studio

By Rain Noe - Sep 19

How to Properly, Safely and Affordably Crate a Chair for Shipping

Christopher Schwarz shares his time-tested method

For those of you designer/builders new to the game, selling your first chair will be a wildly satisfying accomplishment. But if your client isn't local, preparing the piece for shipping presents a new challenge--one that, if done half-assed, can completely undo your success with creating and selling the furniture piece

By Rain Noe - Sep 19

"Re-Thinking an Outdated Wearable:" BioLite's New Ergonomic LED HeadLamp

Inexpensive, comfortable and rechargeable

BioLite's a company that knows about outdoor illumination, and thus far their lighting products have been limited to handheld or hanging items. But now, with their new LED HeadLamp, they're expanding into wearables. This being BioLite, the $49, 330-lumen HeadLamp is of course rechargeable, by means of either solar panel

By Emily Engle - Sep 17

A Closer Look at the Collaborative Design Process Behind IDEO & Swarovski's Infinite Aura Chandelier 

We're revisiting this project to dissect the collaboration process with designers from IDEO and the Senior VP of Swarovski Lighting

What do you get when you combine design teams from a company that masters in crystal innovation and one of the leading design firms out there? The Infinite Aura chandelier by IDEO and Swarovski. To bring Infinite Aura to life, the two powerhouse companies joined forces to reimagine the traditional chandelier. The result is a head-turning, functional light, paired with an app that provides connectivity, customization and personal creativity.

By Rain Noe - Sep 06

Fritz Hansen Will Produce Previously Unreleased Arne Jacobsen Chair Design

Jacobsen's Mid-Century Modern Little Giraffe will go into production

Arne Jacobsen is perhaps best known for his Egg or Swan chairs: Another of his chair designs, the Giraffe, is perhaps well-known only among design geeks. The Giraffe was designed in 1959 specifically for the SAS Royal Hotel's restaurant and had, as the name suggests, a rather high back. As

By Emily Engle - Aug 31

Michael Graves Teams Up With Landscape Forms to Create New US Open Courtside Furniture

An excuse to watch tennis

If you've been watching the US Open, you may have noticed a couple of new courtside additions: For the 50th anniversary of the US Open, Michael Graves Architecture & Design and outdoor furniture specialists Landscape Forms were tasked with reimagining and designing the courtside furniture at the USTA Billie Jean

By Rain Noe - Aug 31

A History of Furniture, Condensed Into Easy-to-Digest GIFs

Too easy, we know. So sue us

As Christopher Schwarz wisely pointed out in our interview with him, it is generally rich people who determine our furniture design cues. In other words, if you go to a museum and see a chair from ancient Egypt, or the Renaissance, or the Art Deco period, it's a piece of

By Sam Dunne - Aug 22

Public Transport Patina: Are Danish Train Seats Designed for Wear?

Intentional or not, this thread-bear backrest got us wondering—what would it take for public furniture to age gracefully?

When it comes to chairs—let's face it—few do things better than the Danes. As a visitor to Copenhagen, you could be forgiven for developing a nagging resentment as you inevitably begin to compare the aesthetics of your homeland to the unassumingly stylish public spaces—tripping over the many furniture design classics

By Emily Engle - Aug 22

Floyd's Alex O'Dell and Kyle Hoff on  Innovating Within the Longstanding Furniture Industry

"We don't want it to be a question when you go to move whether or not you should leave our products behind."

Detroit-based furniture company Floyd gained momentum almost instantly through their initial Kickstarter campaign, but what they were pitching to the world wasn't a full piece of furniture. Instead, founders Kyle Hoff and Alex O'Dell focused on developing legs that could be fixed to any flat surface. After raising a quarter of a million dollars for the Floyd Legs, Kyle and Alex understood they were onto something. Following their Kickstarter success, Floyd has launched a bed frame, a table, a de

By Emily Engle - Aug 20

Foscarini and Studio Natural Introduce Versatile Wireless, Rechargeable Lamp

Glamping must-have

Foscarini recently introduced CRI CRI, a wireless lamp with an internal rechargeable battery designed in partnership with Studio Natural. The more casual, functional addition to Foscarini's product lineup is made to thrive both indoors and outdoors, ideal for 'glamping' or dinner on the backyard patio. CRI CRI's handle allows easy

By Rain Noe - Aug 17

Anglepoise Releases "Mini Mini" Version of Their Iconic Task Lamp

Tiny, tote-able, powered by USB

By now you've surely absorbed our must-read series on the Angelpoise, the classic task lamp invented by a 1920s freelance car designer. The iconic design has been put into service by everyone from architects to Pixar, and now the company's producing a half-size version that can be toted around--and plugged

By Rain Noe - Aug 14

An Over-the-Top Puzzle Cabinet by Craig Thibodeau

This Wisteria design features tons of secret compartments and hidden mechanisms

To us, nothing can beat the elegant complexity of cabinetmaker David Roentgen's ingenious pieces from the 18th Century. But that doesn't stop people from trying. Here, San-Diego-based furnituremaker Craig Thibodeau tries to out-Roentgen Roentgen, with this incredibly complex Wisteria Puzzle Cabinet, created in collaboration with puzzle designer Robert Yarger:

By Rain Noe - Aug 13

Yeti's Durable, Comfortable Folding Outdoor Chair

The Hondo Base Camp Chair looks to be an uncompromising design

Yeti, manufacturer of high-end coolers, has applied their fastidious design skills to outdoor furniture. "With a reputation to uphold for durability," the company writes, "we looked to wilderness-tested gear – from climbing harness fabric to downhill mountain bike frames – to create a nearly-indestructible, incredibly comfortable place to park yourself."

By Rain Noe - Aug 03

Ikea Bringing Back Vintage Furniture from the '50s, '70s and '90s

To celebrate their 75th anniversary, they're going digging in the crates

Ikea Bringing Back Vintage Furniture from the '50s, '70s and '90s To celebrate their 75th anniversary, they're going digging in the crates This year marks Ikea's 75th year in business, and to celebrate the company is dusting off old blueprints and reviving some designs from the past. The plan is

By Emily Engle - Aug 02

The Pack Horse Chair Wants You to Focus On Analogue Activities (And Eat More Snacks)

Handy storage compartments make this an ideal place to sit for extended periods of time

Here's an interesting piece of furniture: Michael Cooper's Pack Horse chair not only features a built-in bookshelf, but it also has straps to hold down a blanket and side compartments to keep various objects in place. Even though books are pictured, I'm already contemplating which snacks I could fit around

By Rain Noe - Jul 24

Q&A With Oki Sato/Nendo on Designing a Chair for Fritz Hansen

The N01: Is it Japanese or Scandinavian?

There is plenty of spiritual overlap between Japanese and Scandinavian design, and we were thrilled to hear that Oki Sato, principal of Nendo, designed a chair for Fritz Hansen. The resultant N01 is a wooden armchair that would serve as a fine example of the work of either culture.

By Rain Noe - Jul 18

The All In, Leon Laskowski's Marvelously Efficient Task Lamp Design

…makes me wonder: What is the responsibility of an industrial designer?

I have a pair of drafting lamps from Ikea (above) that I use on my sewing machine repair bench. They're based on the classic design and are useful for providing illumination at the unusual angles necessary for working on a machine. At $13 a pop they're economical, and a bit

By Joel Moskowitz - Jul 12

Tools & Craft #100: The Finest Water Fountain in New York City

I'm a big fan of pastrami, and I go to Katz's to get it. Katz's has been on Ludlow Street since 1888, and aside from superb pastrami, and what must be the largest restaurant seating capacity in New York City, they have the single coolest water fountain I have ever

By Emily Engle - Jul 05

Jonathan Trayte Merges Furniture and Food at Friedman Benda

Fruiting Habits is on display through July 27th

Artist Jonathan Trayte's first US solo exhibition, Fruiting Habits recently opened at Friedman Benda, and the included pieces are definitely not for the conventional-minded. Trayte's approach to furniture and lighting design is the combination of his fine art/sculpture background and his training as a chef and foundry metal worker. All

By Emily Engle - Jun 27

Yuma Kano Discusses the Magical Process of "Rust Harvesting" 

The Japanese designer developed a method of transferring rust from metal surfaces to acrylic

When we think of rust, the first thing that comes to mind is "old," as the natural process is an indicator of age for most products and even modes of transportation like motorcycles and boats. Through his experimental materials project Rust Harvest, designer Yuma Kano aims to transform our notion

By Rain Noe - Jun 08

Idiosyncratic Furniture Design: Guess How This Stool is Meant to Be Used

I think carpet is a terrible idea. It seems perfectly formed to trap dirt within the pile, it's a nightmare to clean and it's made out of synthetic fibers. And when I saw this furniture object that incorporated carpet, I wondered what the designer was thinking: Then I saw what

By Rain Noe - Jun 08

Back to the Drawing Board

Benjamin Benais brings back the portable drafting table

When was the last time you heard someone say "Back to the drawing board" as a euphemism for reformulating plans? In this age of digital sketching, having an ergonomically slanted surface for drawing on paper no longer seems desirable, at least to mass manufacturers. But French designer Benjamin Benais still

By Rain Noe - May 14

What's Your Favorite Design for a Portable Task Light?

Here's how I use my expensive Festool Syslite, and what's wrong with it

This is my previous-generation Festool Syslite LED work light. I probably wouldn't have paid for one--the new one runs some $200--but I won this in a raffle six years ago at a JLC Live event in Providence. I use this thing a lot in my shop, to augment

By Rain Noe - May 09

A Desk Designed with a Transparent Top for Crafters

The EZ View Desk aims to make finding things easier

For me, a desk is where the computer lives, and a workbench is a separate piece of furniture on which I make medium-sized, hard-edged objects primarily out of wood. For people producing smaller and softer craft objects, however, the desk and workbench are one and the same. I came across

By Rain Noe - May 08

Unusual Vintage Storage Furniture: Dental Cabinets

Check out the removable trays and swing-out platforms

Last weekend I was asked, if I could build any piece of furniture with no production limitations, what would I build? Every designer posed this type of question probably envisions something futuristic, but I had something different in mind. A very unusual antique piece of storage furniture. Knowledgeable vintage hunters