CH Local: Uniqlo’s NYC

Uniqlo teams up with local events all over NYC

Advertorial content:

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To compliment the changing foliage this fall in NYC, a number of street festivals and other events popping up around the city reflect the spirit of transience and take advantage of the seasonal temperate climate. From a reinvented triathalon to a Farmer’s Market on steroids, there’s no better way to experience the culture of the city than showcased in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. In support of the events, Uniqlo sponsorship includes pop-up stores in the form of cubes throughout the city. These temporary mini-boxes offer a selection of the brand’s line, with contents tailored to the spirit of the event. Thanks to design by our pals HWKN, the odd white structures function like little architectural invaders in the cityscape too, whether set against a backdrop of densely-packed buildings or adding an ethereal glowing cube to the Meatpacking District.

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Past events have included the DUMBO Arts Festival and Central Park Summerfest. Currently, you can check out the Uniqlo Shop-in-Shop (exclusively vending artist-designed tees) at the MoMA Design Store until 4 October 2011. Other events are scattered around the city throughout the weekend. Food Network’s NYC Food and Wine festival started yesterday and runs through Sunday over at Pier 57.

The New Yorker Festival is also on this weekend with a great lineup of speakers, including Richard Dawkins, The Scissor Sisters and Alain Ducasse. This Sunday, Atlantic Antic will take over four neighborhoods in Brooklyn along Atlantic Avenue with live music and local artisans.

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To find out more about the individual events, times and locations visit our new Local page devoted to helping you make the most of this NYC fall.

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Light Light’s Sublime Levitating Lamps

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Designer Angela Jansen of Design Academy Eindhoven recently collaborated with engineer Ger Jansen on a pair of skeumorphic LED lamps that they’re currently selling through as Light Light. Their website knowingly notes that “It is uncommon for engineers to find good domestic applications for their technology… and it is likewise rare for designers of consumer objects to embrace cutting-edge technology wholeheartedly.” Which, of course, is “perhaps what makes the cross-pollination of ideas between Angela Jansen and Ger Jansen so remarkable.”

The Light Light series creates an incredible visual conversation piece. It is like an optical illusion, yet one that is kind to the eyes and easy on the mind. Once you know how it works, it is still fascinating to behold. It is timeless, classical and, at the same time, contemporary.

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Bombastic copy aside, the products speak for themselves. A handcrafted wooden base complements the semi-conical “lampshade” of the “Silhouette,” while a glass base underscores the modern form of the cylindrical “Eclipse.” Both of the lamps themselves are covered with matte black fabric, while the lighting element consists of LEDs and mirrors (the new ‘smoke and mirrors,’ as it were), and are activated via touch dimmer.

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Some assembly required (illustrated below, not above):

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Last Chance to Register for Print‘s First Color Conference

Why and how does color motivate, trouble, persuade, and feed our spirits? How does Pantone decide upon the “color of the year” and does it involve alcohol—a mimosa, say, or a Bombay Sapphire martini—and/or a dartboard? Why do we feel giddy when walking by the Farrow & Ball emporium that recently opened a few blocks from UnBeige HQ (hint: paint colors like “Dead Salmon,” “Mouse’s Back,” and “Clunch”)? Answers to these questions and many more are on the agenda at Print magazine’s first ever Color Conference, a three-day confab that kicks off on Tuesday at the Art Directors Club in New York. Among the creative thinkers and experts in visual culture scheduled to “reveal their passion for color, their processes, and their ideas on how color connects us all” are Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute, Pentagram’s Eddie Opara, and Cooper-Hewitt director Bill Moggridge, whose tireless engagement with the design community leads us to believe that he has managed to transform his ground-breaking GRiD Compass laptop into some sort of time machine that allows him to be in many places at once. Sign up for the conference here and enter code UNBEIGEPCC to save $50 on the $595 registration fee. And whatever you do, don’t wear beige.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lyric Art: 200 Years of Warner/Chappell Music

Illustrated song lyric posters celebrate the music publishing giant’s anniversary

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With an impressive two centuries in business, Warner/Chappell is celebrating the spirit of their enterprise by doing what they do best—spreading the beauty of music. But in this case, rather than act as a publisher of songs, they instead tasked ten visual artists to dream up interpretations of their favorite lyrics. The result is a collection of images which reflect the emotions of the original work while bringing it into a completely new context.

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Warner/Chappell is donating its share of the income to charity, just another reason to purchase one of these striking posters, available from £90 through Stolen Space.


Flotspotting: Silas Beebe’s Ideation for Oregon Manifest

Flotspotting-SilasBeebe-OMPortrait.jpgSilas Beebe (left) and Rob Tsunehiro; photo courtesy of Oregon Manifest

At risk of beating the topic to death, at least one of the 33 entries in the 2011 Oregon Manifest has a portfolio on Coroflot, and it just happens to be second place winner Silas Beebe, who collaborated with framebuilder Rob Tsunehiro on a refined city bike with Portland flavor.

The freelance Senior Industrial Designer explains his background and inspiration:

As a fifth generation Oregonian, I want to make this bike a tribute to the importance of local craft and practicality.

I want to use Oregon materials as much as possible: local leather; Douglas Fir, the Oregon state tree, from family timber land; components from local companies like Blaq Bags and Chris King; and, of course, the design and build talent of our team.

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Café Classic Ideation: This design combines some of the best features of both classic American cruisers and European city bikes, but improves upon them with thoughtful and practical integration of cargo and passenger capacity.

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From a purely aesthetic perspective, the bike simply has classic lines and details alongside upscale upholstery; the custom reflective paint has a practical purpose as well.

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Weird French Design for Wall-Mounted Bar Soap is Actually Kind of Awesome

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It looks pretty bizarre, but this idea for wall-mounted soap was apparently once in widespread usage, at least in France. “This was patented in 1950 and used widely in schools, public buildings and by France’s state-run railways,” writes the retailer. “The manufacturers claim you can wash your hands 1,000 times with a 300 g tablet of this pure vegetable soap.”

What I like about it:

– If mounted over the sink to drip-dry, it would eliminate the need to have to constantly drain a soap dish.
– Losing the soap dish also means the bar isn’t constantly sitting in a puddle of its own filth and getting all mealy at the point of contact.
– Suburbanites with room won’t care, but this would actually free up some sinktop space. (The sink in my NYC bathroom is about the size of the one in an airplane bathroom.)

What I don’t like about it:

– They couldn’t use a thumbscrew and it’s held on with a hex nut? What, I’m supposed to get a socket wrench every time I’ve got to put a new bar on?
– I’d have to keep buying these special soap bars from the same manufacturer.

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Actually, strike that last point, I’d probably try to build a jig that perfectly fits a bar of Irish Spring so I could bore the thing out with a Makita.

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CSYS by Jake Dyson

CSYS by Jake Dyson

London Design Festival: industrial designer Jake Dyson presented an LED task light with a heat-pipe cooling system at designjunction last week.

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The CSYS light is inspired by construction cranes.

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A copper pipe conducts heat away from the light source, ensuring greater longevity and brightness from the high intensity LEDs. 

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The lamp is adjustable on three axis and includes a touch-sensitive dimmer switch with light level memory.

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See more designjunction coverage here and all of our London Design Festival stories here.

Here are some more details from the designer:


Heat technology makes the new CSYS LED desk light cool

On 21 September 2011, Jake Dyson will launch the new CSYS LED task light at designjunction, during London Design Festival.  The CSYS LED task light is a dimmable LED lamp that marries the latest technology with sleek design and also addresses environmental concerns.  Jake Dyson and his team have considered current issues with existing LED lights and CFLs (energy saving lights), and are proud to present CSYS as the solution. The CSYS LED task light features a clever application of heat pipe technology that will ensure sustainable quality performance of the LEDs for over 160,000 hours continual use, which equates to up to 37 years.  This technology maintains the quality of the light and good colour rendition, for a vastly increased lifespan.

Jake Dyson says “There is a discernible lack of reliability and innovation in existing LED desk lights.  Current issues in this area include: poor heat management; weak light distribution; light colour erosion; and a lack of comfortable, warm white colour.  This is making consumers and industry alike cautious about committing to this technology in lighting.  We have managed to address all of these problems and believe that CSYS will truly change people’s minds about LED lighting.”

CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps) are the energy saving option that the government recommends, but they have inherent problems such as mercury content, health and landfill disposal issues.  CSYS will provide a cleaner more sustainable mode of lighting, by using the latest high intensity warm white LEDs with a clever cooling system to keep them running brightly and efficiently, for a much longer life span – in fact, for life.  The CSYS LED desk light requires no replacement bulbs, has no mercury content and therefore reduces environmental damage.  And at only 8W the CSYS task light is five times more energy efficient than a comparable halogen bulb.

The new light also promises flexible and precise light direction as it adjusts smoothly and effortlessly through three axes.  It challenges the status quo of mechanical movement of existing lighting.  The spread and the intensity of light can be controlled to your working area and its optical design minimises glare.

The CSYS LED desk light remains true to Jake Dyson’s desire for well-considered, highly engineered and beautifully structured design, as well as his obsession with visual motion mechanics.  It is the result of 18 months of research and development into thermal management systems in order to bring the heat pipe technology used in satellites and processor chips to LED lighting, with huge benefits.

CSYS will be available from Jake Dyson Products direct – go to www.jakedyson.com.  And also from respected design and lighting retailers – contact us for further details.

About Jake Dyson Products:

Jake studied Industrial Design at Central St Martins College of Art and Design. He graduated in 1994 and began work designing retail interiors, working on shops, cafes and clubs. Jake then set up his own workshop, purchasing a mill and a lathe and started experimenting and developing products setting up his company in 2004. His studio and workshop are now based in Clerkenwell.  Other successful products designed and manufactured by Jake Dyson Products include the iconic  Motorlight Floor and Motorlight Wall.

About designjunction:

Following its debut appearance at the Milan Furniture Fair, designjunction is set to be the premier destination at this year’s London Design Festival, bringing together a stellar line-up of 30 international furniture and lighting brands.

Under the creative direction of celebrated British designer Michael Sodeau, designjunction will take over central London’s Victoria House Basement, where brands such as Modus, Hitch Mylius, Cappellini, Swedese, Benchmark, Another Country, Anglepoise, Jake Dyson and Bocci will exhibit their wide and varied collections.


See also:

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SHY Light
by Bec Brittain
Una Sistema by Carlotta de Bevilacqua for Danese Paddle by Benjamin Hubert
for Fabbian

Core77 Design Award 2011: Vintage iPod Dock, Notable for DIY / Hack / Mod

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Over the next months we will be highlighting award-winning projects and ideas from this year’s Core77 Design Awards! For full details on the project, jury commenting and more information about the awards program, go to Core77DesignAwards.com

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DSCF0349.JPGDesigner: Graham Browne
Location: Clayton, MO, USA
Category: DIY / Hack / Mod
Award: Notable



Vintage iPod Dock

A 1958 tabletop radio restored and modified to function as an iPod Dock

There are too many boring iPod docks on the market! I wanted to build an ipod dock worthy of the beautiful design that apple has implemented in their products. The challenges included modifying the original controls in order to interface with the modern Klipsch ipod dock, and restoring a 50 year old radio to like new condition using new aluminum trim and grill material. The end result was freaking sweet, so yes I was vary exited.

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Core77: What’s the latest news or development with your project?

I was featured in the French GQ Magazine! However the old radios I use are very hard to come by—So far I have produced 3 vintage iPod docks.

What is 1 quick anecdote about your project?

While shopping with my girlfriend we discovered an old 50s radio in the basement of an antique store. The moment I saw the funky design I noticed it had a perfect spot to mount an iPod, and the vintage iPod dock was born!

Read on for full details on the project and jury comments.

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SenseMotion Insignia

Lelo launches three new wireless vibrators with motion-activated remotes

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In what seems like an inevitable turn of events in the world of sex toy technology, couture intimates designer Lelo has released the adult toy world’s response to the Nintendo Wii. Lyla, Oden and Tiani make up the company’s new line of remotely controlled wireless vibrators. Designed for couples looking to take a more active role in their partner’s nightly play, the vibrators are accompanied by a disc-shaped control that enables you to adjust the speed and rythmn with the flick of a wrist. The control also conveniently vibrates to let the user know what his or her partner is feeling.

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Waterproof, rechargeable and with a range of 39 feet, Lelo’s SenseMotion-enabled toys are highly versatile. For women, Lyla is a traditional egg massager, equipped with six different patterns at multiple speeds. Tiana has a folding design for interior and exterior stimulation. Men get Oden, an adjustable ring specially designed for use during intercourse.

All of Lelo’s products are made from high-quality silicone and represent the best that the world of adult sex toys has to offer. Couples not only benefit from the fun of mutual play but also have the added advantage of Lelo’s sleek minimalist design. If you’re shy about your nighttime activities, this is one item you can leave out on the dresser without embarrassment. Lelo products are available online through Babeland or the Lelo Store.


London Design Festival 2011: Marion Friedmann Gallery: Enlightened Waste

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Newly-established Marion Friedmann Gallery curated an interesting show in Brompton Design Quarters during the London Design Festival. Enlightened Waste showcased two designers working with recycled materials.

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Thierry Jeannot, French-born but currently based in Mexico, has been working exclusively with the PET bottle as his raw-material for the last five years. He explores various techniques of using the bottle and to transform its materiality. Featured above is his beautiful chandelier, made solely from PET bottles, as well as his rings which consist of bottle screw threads framed in re-used silver.

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Vienna-based Gisela Stiegler has been carving expanded polystyrene for the last six years. Her lamps and wall-consoles are carved by hand out of styrofoam blocks or the boxes that fish mongers use to cool the fish. The slightly pinkish tint in the light sculpture above is actually the fish blood that had soaked into the boxes.

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