Hasta La Ideas

by Ariston Anderson

We’ve broken more wine glasses than we care to remember. And forget about putting out the good stuff at parties, but drinking wine out of a plastic cup kills the taste. However, not all plastic cups are created equally. Made of shatterproof thermoplastic polymer resin, Govino wine glasses are designed just like crystal stemless ware. And like crystal, there is no leaching that might alter the body and aroma of the wine. Better still, a handy thumb notch provides the perfect level for a pour.

After extended use, the glasses are meant to be recycled. They’re perfect for entertaining guests, taking on the roof or anywhere else you wouldn’t take the breakables. Purchase a four-pack for $12 on the Govino site.

Reader Iris wrote us an e-mail the other day that sincerely left me baffled. I struggle with a very similar issue in my home. Her question:

I always put away hangers in a cardboard box sitting at the bottom of the wardrobe when the hangers are not in use. However, the hangers are of different size tend to tangle up and it looks very messy. I just wonder whether there’s a neat way of storing them?

Okay, I can help out with the first part of this question and suggest that Iris ditch the cardboard box and exchange it for a hanger holder. I have one very similar to the one in the picture, and I recommend it highly. It is extremely convenient and transports easily to the laundry room when I’m pulling clothes out of the dryer.

HOWEVER (and this is a mighty big however), it only works for standard clothes hangers similar to the ones in the picture. Large suit and coat hangers are too big and get tangled, any hanger with a curve to it doesn’t stack well, skirt hangers never fit, and plain shirt hangers that don’t have bottom rods slide right off of it. I have to leave an empty space at the end of my closet rod to hold all of these non-standard hangers when they’re not in use. And, I always end up making a couple trips back and forth between the laundry room and the closet to grab the specialty hangers when I need them.

Admitting complete and utter defeat, I open the floor to you our readers. How do you keep the non-standard hangers organized when they aren’t in use? Please, fill the comments with your wonderful ideas — Iris and I need your help!

Las Vegas, a city that can be as lonely as it is lively, is accurately depicted in SFMOMA Architecture + Design Forum’s newly commissioned design project, appropriately entitled Diaspora. A double deck of artfully designed playing cards, Diaspora is a collaboration between Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Michael Cunningham and dynamic graphic designer Martin Venezky in conjunction with SFMOMA’s recent exhibition, “Double Down: Two Visions of Vegas.”

Telling the tale of a double movement—humans fleeing the city and animals taking over what remains—the limited edition cards feature curious graphic images and one or two corresponding sentences designed so that each hand dealt tells a different story.

The cards chart a unique moment of collaboration between Cunningham, author of “The Hours,” and Venezky, author of “It Is Beautiful & Then Gone,” because they did not know each other prior to beginning this project. However, their contributions weave together so seamlessly one might assume they are old pals.

The cards come encased in a black linen embossed box and is limited to an edition of 300. Available upon request for $88, the woman to contact is SFMOMA Architecture + Design Forum’s Coordinator, Hayes Firestein at hfirestein [at] sfmoma [dot] org.

Le portfolio de l’artiste portugais Joao Oliveira sobrement intitulé On Repeat. Des magnifiques illustrations et compositions, pour la plupart en noir et blanc. Des oeuvres à découvrir dans la suite et sur son site web.

Following on the success of Town Hall meetings conducted last year on the west coast, the Designers Accord will host its first New York City-based meeting on March 5th, 2009. Smart Design will host in their their spacious conference room in the Starret-Leigh building. Here’s the pitch:

Members of the Designers Accord meet locally to discuss what it means to think and act in socially and environmentally responsible ways in the creative community. Because the commitment to more sustainable design is often a process involving leadership and continuous learning, we believe the face-to-face meetings will provide inspiration and enrichment to Designers Accord members.

When: March 5, 2009, 6-9 PM.
Where: Smart Design New York 601 W. 26th Street #1820
Light refreshments to be served

How it will work:
6:00-6:30 Socializing, networking
6:30-6:45: Update on the Designers Accord Movement
6:45-8:00: Unconference format, where up to 10 people have 5 minute slot to present dieas, cases, provocations, etc. Presenters sign up at the event
8:00-9:00: We’ll identify key themes based on locally relevent issues, and the content of the presentations, and conduct short breakout groups to discuss the major themes identified.

Seating is limited, so please RSVP. jenvandermeer at gmail dot com.

There is no cost for attending, but we will accept donations for the Designers Accord, a not-for-profit organization.

Core77 is a partner of the Designers Accord, providing a platform for adoption of the accord through its design firm listing site DesignDirectory.com.

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