Hasta La Ideas

Joya Fragrance Design Studio

There is something nice about taking a break from your own work to see how and where other creative people work. It’s great voyeuristic fun to see how designers, artists, and makers of all kinds surround themselves with inspiration, tools, and certain comforts. More photographers are jumping in to document the kind of wonderful, crazy creative spaces of the kind that the Selby and Sight Unseen cover so well, and we recently came across a few with some good studio eye candy. With straightforward names like the Makers Project (by Jennifer Causey) and Where They Create (by Paul Barbera), both publish photographic stories of the unique worlds built by creators.

Jeweler Erin Considine

The Makers Project is smaller in scope, focused mainly on small entrepreneurs working in design, fashion, and food in Brooklyn. There’s a nice post on fragrance designers Joya, documenting the process of making their own slipcast porcelain packaging for candles. Printmaker Lena Corwin, co-creator of the Lines & Shapes books, is shown making a print. Jeweler Erin Considine makes and dies some rope necklaces. The Mast Brothers make a few of their handcrafted chocolate bars. Overall, Makers Project is a nice view into the various creators inhabiting New York, and their effort in making a living doing so.

Ad Agency Kessels Kramer

Based in Australia, Barbera’s Where They Create casts a wider net, photographing architects, choreographers, chefs, artists, etc wherever he travels for work. It’s especially fun to see the bigger, collective workspaces that are not just home studios or individual spaces. Kessels Kramer ad agency in the Netherlands did a wild build-out from logs and various found objects, housed inside of what appears to be a church, stained glass and all. Melbourne graphic designers 3 Deep also have a great re-purposed space. The site has a ton of beautiful coverage, and Frame magazine recently published a book of the same name, including 32 studios with interviews and descriptions. So many wonderful takes on workspace from Sydney to Shaghai in one spot is great inspiration to get back to your own work. Or work on your space.

More images after the jump

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It’s too big

I’ll need to see more evidence before I buy this, but a Humans Invent article by Nigel Brown avers that “Caveman instincts make you crave tiny gadgets.” Brown cites a psychologist by the name of Dr. Colin Gill, who believes that

…The association with using smaller and more functional tools dates back to when man first evolved from apes. “We are dealing with, potentially, a fundamental psychological aspect of our evolution,” Gill explains. “If we look at man’s evolution, in most cultures men never carry bags. Men prefer to put things in their pockets, and not have any excess baggage. Some believe that this goes back to when we were hunter gatherers and men didn’t want to carry bulky equipment about.

“We wanted things to be small and functional, something easy that could be hung from a belt, so we could concentrate on hunting antelopes. Therefore men are pre-conditioned to want things smaller, and easily portable. So it is men in particular who drive this design emphasis for things to be smaller.”

I’m not sure it’s caveman instincts so much as pure common sense that makes us want smaller objects. If I have a choice between carrying a brick-like cell phone with a suitcase battery plus a camera plus a Walkman plus a day planner plus a sketchbook plus a Gameboy, versus carrying just an iPhone, I think the better solution is obvious without having to grunt my way through it. Read the full article here and decide for yourself.

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Chinese architects Biad UFO build Beijing’s latest architectural feat

Hand in hand with China’s overall rapid growth and explosive urbanization, recent years have seen a wave of high-design architecture. The
Office for Metropolitan Architecture’s spectacular CCTV tower, opened in 2008 to house the nation’s central television headquarters, is a fantastic example of forward-thinking architecture exploring contemporary concepts of shape and form. Now another Chinese media mogul is taking a swing at making their mark on Beijing’s urban landscape, picking up where projects like the CCTV building left off after the boom spurred by the 2008 Olympics. The Phoenix International Media Center, scheduled to be completed in 2012, currently stands half complete adjacent to Chaoyang Park, signaling the ongoing development of radical architecture in the country as well as Chinese architects themselves, not to mention the strength of Chinese TV networks.

Phoenix, a large satellite TV provider, will eventually move their programming operations there, in addition to housing other businesses, offices and restaurants. The shape of the building recalls yet another famously stunning example of what’s been happening to Beijing’s cityscape of late, the Herzog and De Meuron “Bird’s Nest” Olympic Stadium. Here, the architects have managed to give the basket-like shape a sense of movement, reminiscent of a sea sponge or jellyfish. Digital renderings have the feel of the command bridge on a futuristic space station. The ambitious project has already drummed up a lot of interest, putting it on the shortlist for the 2009 World Architecture Festival and in the Verso Est Chinese Cultural Landscape exhibit at MAXXI in Rome.

Unlike the CCTV tower, the Media Center was designed by BIAD UFo, a firm based in China. An impressive example of the nation’s homegrown architectural talents in the country, it hints at the potential future of Chinese design as more and more buildings spring up.

Photos via Designboom

Story via 120Walker

Additional reporting by Meghan Killeen and Greg Stefano

Alex Andon started experimenting with new ways to bring sea jellies into peoples’ abodes—humble and otherwise—when he was laid off in 2009. Early press (including not one but two mentions in the paper of record in March 2009) presaged the success of the “Desktop Jellyfish Tank,” which has been funded some twenty times over during the first third of Andon’s campaign (which runs until September 12).

Andon, who studied Marine Biology as an undergraduate at Duke, spent the past two years developing bespoke jellyfish solutions for commercial and private clients, eventually arriving at a $350 desktop model for the Medusozoa-inclined Middle American consumer.

Wikipedia never fails to inform and delight:

A kreisel tank is a circular aquarium designed to hold delicate animals such as jellyfish. These aquariums provide slow, circular water flow with a bare minimum of interior hardware, to prevent delicate animals from becoming injured by pumps or the tank itself. Originally a German design (kreisel means spinning top), the tank has no sharp corners, and keeps the housed animals away from the plumbing. Water moving into the tank gives a gentle flow that keeps the inhabitants suspended, and water leaving the tank is covered by a delicate screen that prevents the inhabitants from getting stuck.

The pitch after the jump:

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Geometric-patterned scarves and throws by two Montreal textile designers

Pairing mathematics with craftsmanship, the textile designers behind Montreal label String Theory weave quality yarns into beautifully-patterned super-soft scarves and throw blankets. The two-person team behind the brand works closely with small-batch manufacturers, allowing for wide experimentation with techniques. This artful combination of tradition and innovation results in everyday accessories with Modernist geometric appeal.

Though the designers recently played around with a beautiful blue tone, currently String Theory’s Euclidean designs come in simple black and gray motifs, using mostly Alpaca, cotton and bamboo. Initial designs include intricate String Theory 101 scarf, which mimics the weaving process, and the Big Mess throw, an elegantly scrambled composition.

String Theory sells online, ranging from $120-320.