Hasta La Ideas

Seven anthropomorphic designs from Spain’s biggest design fair

Other than sunshine, Spain has an abundance of laughter. Blame it on the jamón, verdejo wine or siestas, the good humor of the country’s people shows up in design too. At this year’s Habitat Valencia, we spotted several examples of one of our favorite ways to add wit to furniture and objects—anthropomorphic design.

From concepts that add function (like a light that doubles as a butler) to those that are just plain cute, the below represent some of the newest and best ways to add Spanish levity to your life.

Originally produced in 2009 for Lladró, Jaime Hayon‘s porcelain clown lamp is still an elegantly cheeky way to jazz up a room. That it turns off and on by a touch to its golden nose seals the deal.

Triangulo‘s new series of modular furniture called Crezko grows with kids, giving them appropriately-styled bedrooms for whichever age they are. The winking chair, produced by the new brand Kimoo, will rock infants to sleep and humor them when they’re old enough to laugh.

Javier Ares Armero lights up the room with his Sisyphean Humallum lamps, which incorporates cord storage into the design.

Part of Estudio Marsical‘s Me Too kids furniture collection, the humorous Ladrillos (Spanish for cinder block) creates shelving through power of adorable little plastic creatures.

Bringing tons of personality to furniture for kids, bm showed off their Facebox in Valencia this year. The uber-cute rolling cabinet’s drawer-pulls give it the appearance of having a face. Guaranteed to get a rise out of any fun-loving tyke, these cabinets (which come in multiple color combos and with different, funny-sized eyes) are a must-have in the design-forward children’s bedroom.

Designed by Nacho Timon, Mr. Light is a well-considered lamp. Not only does the light illuminate for you, it also—by way of interchangeable arms—can act as a towel rack, butler or sitting companion. The cute, functional lamp is a great take on harnessing modular parts to offer dynamic functionality.

Fitting on a desk or fastened to a wall, the Handy by Vandidoo is more than a key hanger, it’s a place to dump the entire contents of all your pockets. Holding keys, a wallet, mail, change, sunglasses or just about anything else that can fit on the steel-toothed tray, the Vandidoo borrows from one of the body’s most useful designs for a high-functioning home accessory.

Ikea has converted the Boyfriend Bench into a fully furnished space. Earlier this month the Ikea in Sydney, Australia ran a four-day trial of Manland, a short-term area for males to park themselves while the missus goes shopping unfettered by the unfortunate modern syndrome of Male Whining. Something like a G-rated Man Cave, Manland is stocked with issues of GQ, free hot dogs, X-Boxes, the game on the telly, and gaming tables both electronic and analog.

In the past week, Manland has gotten tons of international positive press. Am I the only one who thinks this idea reeks of the sad and self-willing infantilization of the modern male? The title of this video on YouTube is “Ikea Introduces Nursery for Men.” Perhaps they should hang a gigantic pair of shiny car keys from the ceiling while a servo arm makes it dangle and jangle.

Years ago men were supposed to be able to withstand hardship and provide. That meant doing things like going out in crappy weather and performing hard manual labor. But nowadays we’re too soft to stroll through a climate-controlled environment lined with soft things to sit on without arguing with our wives. Hell in a handbasket, folks.

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Japanese apparel giant blankets NYC with retail installations in advance of its largest store opening yet

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Savvy readers may have noticed that we were featured in the Voices of New York campaign last month, the first of many initiatives that Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo undertook to celebrate the imminent arrival of their two latest NYC flagship stores. Since then, the brand has been literally putting itself on the map by dropping pop-up shops inside of tidy cubes (designed by our friends at HWKN) all over NYC to showcase signature products, like their colorful cashmere sweaters. As if setting up nearly 20 Uniqlo Cubes all across New York wasn’t enough, the brand also launched a preview of an upcoming addition to their activewear offering as styled by Nicola Formichetti.

It’s easy to forget that Nicola Formichetti is Uniqlo’s Fashion Director, considering his ongoing work with Lady Gaga and designer role at Thierry Mugler. At his low-key TriBeCa storefront, Nicola’s, the Uniqlo Innovation Project, presented a step forward for Uniqlo’s sportier side that bears Formichetti’s touch. The sleek, sparse designs are injected with thoughtful design details that manage to balance style and necessity, with many pieces cut from Uniqlo’s well-known heat retention and water repellent high-tech fabrics. The full range presents a take on “how the future dresses” according to the collection’s site, and will be sure to please fans of versatile and stylish pieces that can transition from play to work and back again.

This weekend, Uniqlo Cubes will be present at the DUMBO Arts Festival helping to celebrate Brooklyn’s place in the art world. Featuring local, national, and international participants, the festival features over 500 participants. Visitors can experience everything from studio visits to musical performances. We particularly recommend paying a visit to experience the Leo Kuelbs Collection’s Immersive Surfaces presentation, which features artists’ works projected onto the stone anchorage that supports the Manhattan Bridge, turning DUMBO itself into a canvas.

We’ll soon be launching a special edition of CH Local highlighting other upcoming events in NYC that Uniqlo Cubes will be present at, along with our favorite spots nearby, so stay tuned!

Eight stylish boots for men that can walk from city to country

A solid pair of work boots will get any dapper dude through the winter months, whether trudging through the snow to a gallery opening or chopping wood in the wilderness. While a classic pair is sure to last year after year, there are a few labels that make a sturdy boot but let fashion lead the way. From the high-end house of Alexander McQueen to heritage legends Woolrich Woolen Mills, the following are eight pairs of boots for the more sartorially inclined man on the move.

Woolrich Woolen Mills

The ultimate heritage-inspired Para boot adds melton wool for a more casual accent to the traditional Derby brogue styling. A pebble-leather upper, stacked sole with Goodyear welt and waxed laces complete the look for €477. Made in England, check Nitty Gritty for details.

Cole Haan

For a more padded option, the Air Jayhawker ankle boot is lined with leather and supported with Nike Air. The heavily burnished suede lace-up takes its distinguished look from the longwing detailing and heavy welt where the upper meets the leather sole. These subtle boots are perfect for those with subtle style. Get them for $298 from the Cole Haan webshop.

Helm

Helm handmade boots recently partnered with North Carolina-based Raleigh Denim for the new release of their Ray Ray boot. Marking the first time the American-made denim company has allowed their denim to be used by another designer, the boot sports a more tailored toe box with a sophisticated aesthetic. With an Italian crafted sole of Dutch calfskin, the Ray Ray sells for $445 from Helm online.

Grenson

Also made in England, the Glenn boot is designed to resemble an old Italian infantry boot from the late 1800s. With updated materials and craftsmanship, the Glenn features British Millerain waxed canvas and a leather single sole. Available for £195 online through Grenson.

Rachel Comey

Rachel Comey’s Ruger boot resembles those intended for the assembly line, but with a much softer leather and stacked leather sole that is “ideal for a professor of architecture, perfect for a hard day on the instruction site.” The striped leather laces add a nice unfinished look to the glossy black boot, which is available for $403 from the Rachel Comey site.

White’s Boots

Truly American made, the Original Semi-Dress boot is special order only and handcrafted of a five inch mid-weight leather upper. The stitch-down construction shapes the shoe to your foot while the the single layer leather sole continues to add to the personalized fit. Check White’s Boots online, where the Semi-Dress sells for just under $400.

Yohji Yamamoto

As definitely the boldest boot in the lineup, Yohji Yamamoto’s Zip Lace Up boot is the quintessential adaptation of military fashion. The dramatic boots are constructed of rich cowhide leather with 15 sets of lace holes, a full-length black metal zipper on the inside of the foot and a thick black Vibram rubber sole. With an intimidating price tag of just over $1,375, the incredibly detailed boots sell online from London’s LN-CC.

Alexander McQueen

Also inspired by military workwear, the Alexander McQueen’s Zip-Placket boot is just as extravagant as one would expect from the revolutionary label. Made in Italy of pebbled leather and a thick lug rubber sole, the eight-eyelet vamp is fastened with a removable zippered leather placket. High fashion comes at a high price, and these McQueen beauties go for $785 from Park & Bond.

These videos are about twice as long as they need to be in terms of conveying the relevant data, but these looks inside General Motors’ Rapid Prototyping Labs are worth a gander. Anyone who’s worked in an ID firm where you had to e-mail the CADs out to the modelshop and sit on your hands for two days can’t help but feel envious at seeing their onsite stereolithography and selective laser sintering machines.

The editors have blurred out some of what’s on the designers’ monitors and some of the larger physical parts, as GM has apparently worked out a proprietary method for joining RP parts together, like when they need to produce something too big for the machine and have to bang it out in sections. Still, you at least get a good look at the process:

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